The Aranui 5 recently arrived in the fishing village of Teahupo’o to function as a floating hotel for the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics.
The 254-guest vessel is serving as an Olympic Village for sports delegations participating in the surfing competitions, which are taking place in French Polynesia.
Operated by Aranui Cruises, the ship is accommodating not only surfers and their teams but also officials attending the games.
A total of 48 athletes from 20 different countries are staying on the vessel, which is anchored in a bay near Teahupo’o, a small town just outside the capital of French Polynesia.
After arriving earlier this month, the Aranui 5 will remain anchored for the Olympics until July 30, 2024.
According to Olympics.com, this is the first time an Olympic Village has been created on a ship.
Athletes onboard can take advantage of 24-hour dining, an activity center with foosball and ping pong, a waterslide and an Olympic gift shop, according to a report on the website.
The Aranui 5 also offers a spa, and a gym, in addition to 103 private staterooms and suites.
A five-minute tender ride connects the ship to Teahupo’o and its beaches, where the competition is being held, Olympics.com added.
The Aranui 5 entered service in 2015 as a mixed-use ship, carrying not only passengers but also cargo.
Replacing the Aranui 3, the vessel is operated by Aranui Cruises on a series of itineraries across Polynesia, the Marquesas, the Society Islands and more.
In previous editions of the Olympic Games, other cruise ships were also used as floating accommodations for workers and delegations.
In 2012, three vessels, the Gemini, the Braemar and the Deutschland, docked near London, UK, for the Summer Games.
Four years later, the Norwegian Getaway and the Silver Cloud were used as floating hotels during the Rio 2016 Olympics in Brazil.