the ship was re-positioned in Dubai to begin what was an unsuccessful Persian Gulf cruise program, providing the first luxury cruise line service between Dubai and Gulf Cooperation Council countries. The ship was then positioned in Beirut and scheduled to begin a 2006 cruise season in the Mediterranean Sea. In July 2006, Orient Queen was used to help evacuate United States citizens from Lebanon because of the ongoing conflict with Israel. Orient Queen was escorted by , a U.S. Navy guided missile destroyer, and . It took the evacuees to the port of Larnaca in Cyprus. In August 2006, Orient Queen was sold to Louis Cruise Lines of Cyprus and operated cruises under the same name. In 2013, Louis Cruise Lines renamed Orient Queen as Louis Aura, which sailed to the Greek Isles from Limassol, Cyprus and Piraeus, Greece. Under the flag of Malta, the ship was owned and operated by the Cyprus-based company Louis Cruises. For the summer season of 2014, the ship executed 3/4/5/6 & 7-day cruises to the Greek Isles departing from Limassol, Cyprus. In 2017, the Turkish travel agency Etstur chartered the ship. At the end of May 2017, the ship was renamed Aegean Queen after more than a year's layover and returned to service in July 2017. In October 2017, the ship was again out of service near Piraeus. With her 49 years of service, she was one of the longest-serving cruise ships in the world. In 2018, she was sold for scrap, and was broken up at Alang, India on 17 July 2018. References External links Shipspotting.com 1968 ships Ships built in Bremen (state) Ships of Norwegian Cruise Line Ships of Celestyal Cruises