She was built in 1986 by Van der Giessen de Noord as MS Koningin Beatrix for SMZ.

The GNV Blu was built in 1986 by Van der Giessen de Noord as the Koningin Beatrix.

In 2003 the Koningin Beatrix was transferred to the Karlskrona – Gdynia route and renamed Stena Baltica.

Externally, a large vehicle door and ramp was constructed at the bow and number of lifeboats were removed.

She arrived in Barcelona prior to a charter to Acciona Trasmediterránea to replace the burnt out Sorrento, which caught fire in May 2015.

Since 3 September 2020, the vessel is chartered by the Italian Ministry of the Interior to be used as a quarantine ship in the landings emergency in Sicily.