A video published on social media shows the moment when the former Ocean Diamond wasbeached in Aliaga, Turkey.

After 50 years of service, the expedition vessel arrived at the ship recycling yard to be dismantled last Saturday.

As part of the beaching operation, the shipwas intentionally grounded, having sailed towards a slot of the breaking yard at full speed.

The former Ocean Diamond will now be recycled, with its building materials and fixtures being removed for repurposing or recycling.

Renamed Diamond XI, the vessel was last operated by Bridgeman Services Group (Bridgemans), which turned it into a floating hotel earlier this year.

According to a statement shared by the Vancouver-based operator, the 150-cabin ship was retired and sold in favor of the acquisition of a larger vessel.

After being bought from SunStone Ships earlier this year, the Diamond XI underwent a retrofit in preparation for a contract in the Mediterranean.

AIS data shows that the vessel visited ports in Israel, Cyprus and Turkey since being acquired by Bridgemans.

Following the successful completion of a contract, Bridgeman decided to retire the ship to support the acquisition of a significantly larger vessel to serve a client in the LNG industry.

“We obtained the Diamond XI and refit the vessel to meet our clients’ request for a premium mid-sized floatel. Shortly after the acquisition, the vessel performed superbly on an accommodation assignment in the southeast Mediterranean,” said Brian Grange, president of Bridgemans.

“With the emergence of new business opportunities, we recently made the difficult decision to retire the Diamond XI early and acquire a significantly larger vessel to serve a new floatel contract. We plan to add another 100-300 pax floatel to our fleet in the new year,” he added.

Originally built as a ro-ro freighter in 1973, the Diamond XI was converted into a boutique cruise ship in the mid-1980s.

The vessel operated for Regent Seven Seas, Ponant, Iceland ProCruises, Quark Expeditions and other cruise lines during its four-decades-long cruising career.