New international maritime safety regulations are forcing the world’s largest floating bookshop and oldest passenger liner, the MV Doulos, to the scrapyard.

The 94-year-old Malta-flagged ship, whose name means “servant” in Greek, would have to be decommissioned in 2010 if the ship owners do not get the ship refurbished to comply with the new regulations when they come into force.

“The cost is just prohibitive,” media relations officer Marli Santos-Tirelli said at a briefing prior to the opening of the ship’s book fair at the Sim Kheng Hong Port in Pending.

The ship, built in 1914 in Newport News, United States, had too many inflammable materials and equipment on board and was antiquated, Ms Santos-Tirelli said.

The wall panels of the ship’s cabins, for example, are non-fire retardant and the wood is thought to be more than 50 years old. The ship’s deck is also wooden.

The Doulos does not have much high-tech navigation equipment and its one diesel engine is deemed a liability.

Ms Santos-Tirelli said the owners, the German charity Gute Bucher Fur Alle (Good Books for All), are battling to save the ship from being decommissioned.

“They are still in talks to prolong the service life of the ship. Should the talks fail, the ship could probably end up as a floating restaurant in a European port,” she said.

The Doulos has travelled to more than 100 countries including Malta and carried more than half a million books with over 6,000 titles.

In many of the countries they visited, the crew of the Doulos also carry out community projects, like building houses for the poor, assisting local communities in obtaining clean water and offering primary medical care.

The Doulos is now carrying a crew of 350 from 50 countries, including two Malaysians.