La Sultana

Built in 1962 for shipping and transportation services the boat was originally named Aji-Petri. She could carry 102 passengers in cabins, with 110 more passengers on the deck and 46 crew members on board.[7] In 1970, during Cold War tensions, the family of ships gradually stopped ferrying passengers in the Black Sea in order to be re-fitted for strategic purposes by the USSR.[3][8] The ship was eventually sent to the North Atlantic and used for unofficial spying on the United States and United Kingdom by the International Organisation of Telecommunications.[5][9] At the conclusion of the Cold War she was returned to a Bulgarian shipping company and resumed her transportation and shipping role.[10] In 2007, she was acquired by the La Sultana Group to be re-fitted as a luxury yacht.[10][11]

After undergoing a seven-year refitting, including being stripped from top to bottom,[12] the bow has been raised to create a shielded ipe wood deck. The yacht houses seven cabins on six floors. Part of the re-fitting included upgrading to a diesel Mitsubishi engine that is used to drive the original propeller.[10] Although it no longer serves as the engine telegraph, the Bulgarian language engine order telegraph is still prominently displayed while the original push button steering controls are still used.[13][6] La Sultana carries three tender boats, two Lancel boats and an XPro 490.[11] In 2016, La Sultana was included in Refit, a book published by Boat International Media, that highlights yacht refits, rebuilds and restorations.[14]