[6] The ship initially provided a liner service between Genoa, Italy and Buenos Aires, Argentina via Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The cruise ship sank in international waters flying the Panamanian flag, making Panama responsible for the investigation of the sinking.

The ship's captain told the United States Coast Guard rescuers that his boat was in imminent danger of sinking as a result of its engine room being flooded in high winds and 25-foot (7.6 m) seas.

[3][4] At the time of the sinking, Steven Cotton of the International Transport Workers' Federation in London stated that he wished that the ship, which went down 225 nautical miles (417 km) off the Virginia coast, had gone down 25 nautical miles (46 km) closer to the coast because that would have put the case in the hands of American investigators.

"[11] The vessel had just been purchased by Cruise Ventures III, a subsidiary of New York-based DLJ Capital Funding, and was traveling from Halifax, Nova Scotia to Charleston, South Carolina.