He bought the world’s oldest passenger ship — and spent $18 million turning it into a hotel

Bintan, Indonesia —

In 1914, two years after the Titanic embarked on its ill-fated maiden voyage, the steam-powered SS Medina rolled off the shipyard at Newport News, Virginia.

The vessel has had many lives — and many names — since, in a career that eventually made it the oldest active passenger ship on the oceans. But the 111-year-old boat’s latest assignment is, perhaps, the unlikeliest of them all.

Originally used to transport onions and other goods, the Medina was conscripted to assist America’s World War II efforts. It was then converted into a passenger ship, the SS Roma, and fitted with a diesel engine before serving as a cruise liner under the name MS Franca C. In 1977, it was acquired by a Christian organization and renamed MV Doulos, a missionary ship and floating library.