1970: OM's first ship 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 good news Logos carried. OM leaders began looking for another ship to develop the increasing opportunities.
1977: OM Ships International purchased a second ship and called her Doulos (another Greek word, meaning 'bond-servant') with the vision that the vessel and those on board would be a servant to the nations. Doulos was 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 off the southern Argentinian coast. 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 ministry began 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 the two ships! In April 2004, OM Ships purchased a 12,000-ton ocean-going ferry and renamed the vessel Logos Hope.
2009: After several years of work by hundreds of volunteers from all around the globe, Logos Hope launched into active service in February 2009 from Koege, Denmark.
Opportunities have far exceeded the initial vision, and millions of lives all around the globe have been impacted. After five exciting decades of ministry, we continue to be passionate about who we are and what we do.
We have a proven track record backed by five decades of experience. If numbers are anything to go by...