1970: GBA Ships’ first vessel was called Logos, meaning ‘the Word’ in Greek. The vessel sailed on her maiden voyage to India in 1971. People flocked to the ship, hungry for the literature and hope Logos carried. In time, GBA Ships began looking for another ship to develop the increasing opportunities.

1977: GBA Ships purchased a second vessel and called her Doulos (another Greek word, meaning ‘bond-servant’) with the vision that the ship and those on board would be a servant to the nations. Doulos is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s oldest active ocean-going passenger ship.

1988: Logos ended her service in January 1988 after running aground in a storm in the Beagle Channel between Argentinia and Chila. Despite atrocious weather conditions, not a single life was lost – a tribute to high safety standards, weekly lifeboat drills and God’s protection. During 17 years of service, Logos sailed 231,250 nautical miles, visiting 257 ports in 103 different countries and territories.

1989: Within a year of the tragic accident, Logos was replaced with a passenger car ferry, renamed Logos II. After changing ownership in 1989, her car decks were rebuilt and she was converted into a service vessel of a different kind.

2004: Opportunities for service continue to overstretch the ships’ capacity. In 2002, a record number of 800,000 visitors climbed Logos II’s gangways, and in 2003 more than 1,400,000 visitors came on board Doulos and Logos II! In April 2004, GBA Ships purchased a 12,000-ton ocean-going ferry and renamed the vessel Logos Hope.

2009: After large-scale renovations in a Croation shipyard and extensive outfitting work in Kiel, Germany, then Køge, Denmark, Logos Hope was launched into service in February 2009. The ship takes over the work of Logos II which was retired from service in 2008. Over 10 million visitors came on board during two decades of service in more than 80 countries.

Opportunities have far exceeded the initial vision, and millions of lives all around the globe have been impacted. After nearly four exciting decades of service, we continue to be passionate about our vision and its outworking through the international communities living and serving on board our two ocean-going ships.