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|'''Owners:''' |
|'''Owners:''' |
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|[[1955]]-[[1973]]: [[Shaw, Savill & Albion Line]]<br>1973-[[1980]]: [[Ulysses Line]]<br>[[1981]]-[[1986]]: [[Western Cruise Line]]<br>1986-[[1991]]: [[Admiral Cruises]]<br>1991-[[1997]]: [[Dolphin Cruise Lines]]<br>1997-[[1999]]: [[Premier Cruise |
|[[1955]]-[[1973]]: [[Shaw, Savill & Albion Line]]<br>1973-[[1980]]: [[Ulysses Line]]<br>[[1981]]-[[1986]]: [[Western Cruise Line]]<br>1986-[[1991]]: [[Admiral Cruises]]<br>1991-[[1997]]: [[Dolphin Cruise Lines]]<br>1997-[[1999]]: [[Premier Cruise Line]]<br>1999-[[2003]]: [[Imperial Majesty Cruises]] |
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|'''Entered service:''' |
|'''Entered service:''' |
Revision as of 00:56, 9 December 2007
SS Southern Cross | |
Builder: | Harland & Wolff, Belfast, United Kingdom |
Owners: | 1955-1973: Shaw, Savill & Albion Line 1973-1980: Ulysses Line 1981-1986: Western Cruise Line 1986-1991: Admiral Cruises 1991-1997: Dolphin Cruise Lines 1997-1999: Premier Cruise Line 1999-2003: Imperial Majesty Cruises |
Entered service: | 1955 as Southern Cross 1975 as Calypso 1980 as Calypso I 1981 as Azure Seas 1992 as OceanBreeze |
Tonnage: | 20,204 gross register (as built) |
Length: | 184,50 meters / 604 feet |
Width: | 24 meters / 78.4 feet |
Depth: | 25 feet |
Propulsion: | 2 × Steam turbines |
Speed: | 20 knots |
Passenger capacity: | 1160 (originally) |
Status: | Scrapped |
SS Southern Cross was an ocean liner built in 1955 by Harland & Wolff, Belfast, Northern Ireland for the United Kingdom-based Shaw, Savill & Albion Line for Europe—Australia service. In 1975 she was rebuilt as a cruise ship and subsequently sailed under the names SS Calypso, SS Azure Seas and SS OceanBreeze until 2004 when she was sold for scrap.
The Southern Cross was the first passenger ship of over 20,000 gross register tons to be built that had the engine room (and as a result of that, the funnel) located at the rear of the ship, rather than midship.[1] She started a trend of aft-engined ships, and today all passengers ships are built this way.
Design and construction
The Southern Cross was planned in the early 1950s as the new flagship of the Shaw, Savill & Albion Line to be used on the Europe—Australia immigrant run. However the ship was by no means a simple ship for carrying immigrants. When the ship was under planning, Shaw Savill chairman Basil Sanderson came up with the revolutionary idea of placing the ship's engines and funnel aft, freeing the areas midship (which is generally considered the comfortable area for passengers) for cabins and public rooms. Sanderson eventually managed to persuade the board of the viability of his idea, and on July 16 1952 an order for the new all-passenger liner was placed at the famous Harland & Wolff shipyard.[1]
Although the new ship was designed as an all-tourist-class vessel for an immigrant route, she was designed with fairly luxurious facilities for her time. All passenger cabins were air-conditioned, fitted with hot and cold running water, and inside cabins had circular lights that were switched on gradually in the morning, mimicking the rising of the sun. However, only the most expensive cabins had private bathroom facilities.[1] The aft-funnel arrangement made it possible to build a large open lido deck midship, including a 5,000 square feet sports deck area.[2] In addition to the two outdoor pools there was one indoor pool.[1] All inside public spaces were air conditioned, and included a two-deck high cinema (also used as a dancing venue), two large public lounges, two restaurants, a writing room/library and a smoking room. Wood panelling was widely used in the interior decorations, that were made to be light, airy, and modern to be comfortable in oppressive tropical climates.[1]
Externally the ship was of a completely new design. In addition to the funnel being places quite far back the ship, the bridge was placed quite far back, being closer to midship that the bow. The meant the superstructure extended quite far more forward than the bridge. The design didn't win high accolades at the time, a contemporary review describing her as being "not very beautiful, but very efficient",[3] but it should be noted that P&O's famous SS Canberra of 1961, ordered one year after the Southern Cross entered service, was built to an almost identical design. Like all Shaw Savill ships of the time, the Southern Cross sported a grey hull, light green superstructure and an orange funnell with a black top.
In 1953 Basil Sanderson approached Queen Elizabeth II, asking if she would be willing to launch the ship and choose a name for her from a list of suggestions. The Queen agreed to launch the ship, and chose the name Southern Cross for the ship. When the ship was launched on August 17 1954, she became the first passenger liner to be lanuched by a reigning monarch.[1]
Service history
1955-1971
On February 23 1955 the Southern Cross was delivered to her owners. After a series of shakedown cruises she left for her first trip from Europe to Australia and back again. Taking 76 days for one circumnavigation, the Southern Cross sailed from Southampton to Capetown, from there to Australia and New Zealand, and then continuing eastwards across the Pacific to to Europe via the Panama canal. Normally she made four such circumnavigations every year.[1]
The Southern Cross enjoyed great success during the early years of her Shaw Savill service, and in the late 1950s a second ship of similar design but larger dimensions was ordered, and entered service in 1962 as SS Northern Star. When she entered service, the Northern Star replaced the Southern Cross on the eastwards Australian run, and the Southern Cross took over the westwards itenary, visiting the same ports as pbefore but in reversed order.[1]
Through-out the 1960s the competition from the jet aeroplane increased on the Australian run, and the around-the-year service to Australia was no longer financially viable. As a result the Southern Cross was used for cruising from Liverpool to the Mediterranean from June 1971 onwards. although her design was otherwise well suited for cruising, the ship did not have toilet facilities in all cabins, which made her an unpopular cruise ship, and after just five months of cruising shaw Savill decided to lay up the ship in November of the same year.[1]
1973-1980
After spending over a year laid up, first in Southampton and then at River Fal, the Southern Cross was sold to Greece-based Ulysses Lines in January 1973. Renamed SS Calypso, the ship sailed to Piraeus where she was rebuilt into a proper cruise ship.[1] The original interior layout was retained with the exception of the indoors pool which was replaced by a disco, but all interior furnishings were replaced with fashionable minimalist chrome and plastic creations to conform with the then-newest SOLAS regulations.[4] Additionally the cabins were rebuilt so that all now sported private bathrooms. This meant a slightly reduction of passenger capacity, from the original 1,160 to 1,000.[1]
Painted in cruise-like whites with an attractive blue/white funnel, the Calypso entered service for Ulysses Lines in March 1975, initially cruising around the Mediterranean with Piraeus as the starting point. After a few months she was chartered to the UK-based Thomson Cruises and used for cruising from Tilbury and Southampton.[1] Thomson withdrew from the cruise business in 1976 and the Calypso returned to Ulysses Lines, who used her for cruising around the Mediterranean, as well as a season for cruising around South America in 1978-1979, and seven-night cruises from Miami to the Caribbean from 1979 onwards.[4] At some point she was also used for cruises from New York to Bermuda.[1] In 1980 the ship was renamed SS Calypso I and used for cruises from Los Angeles to Alaska.[4]
1980-1991
In late 1980 the Calypso was sold again, this time to the United States-based Eastern Cruise Lines, who used her to start west-coast of US service under the name Western Cruise Lines. Renamed SS Azure Seas, the ship's interiors were redecorated once more to keep in the spirit of the times. In addition a new casino was built in place of the forward pool area. The ship's official passenger capacity was slashed down to 821.[2] With her funnel painted dark blue, the Azure Seas was placed on three-and four-night cruises from Los Angeles[4] to Ensenada and Catalina, and soon became highly popular.[1]
In 1986 Western Cruise Lines and Eastern Cruise Lines merged with their west-coast competitor Sundance Cruises to form Admiral Cruises.[2] No change was made to the Azure Seas' itenary however.[1] In the late 1980s the ship was rebuilt again, this time the casino was moved to where the cinema balcony had been, with conference rooms and deluxe cabins built in place of the former casino.[2] She continued her popular west-coast cruises until 1991, when she was transferred to cruising from Fort Laurendale to the Bahamas. However, in the same year Admiral Cruises was bought by Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. The new owners had little interest in keeping the old Azure Seas in service, and she was sold to Dolphin Cruise Line.[1]
1991-2003
Re-named SS OceanBreeze and sporting a new white-funneled livery with curving blue stripes along the hull, the 36-year-old ship started cruising on a seven-night itinerary from Aruba in 1992. In 1996 the OceanBreeze was moved to cruising from New York and Florida. Another change of ownership was in order for the ship in 1997 when Dolphin Cruise Line, Premier Cruises and Seawind Cruises merged to form Premier Cruise Line. The OceanBreeze was re-painted in the new company's colors, with a dark blue funnel and a blue and yellow hull, but otherwise her service continued as it had before.[1]
In 1999 Premier Cruise Lines chartered the OceanBreeze to the newly founded Imperial Majesty Cruises. Her old name, crew and hull colors were maintained, only the company name(on the hull) and the logo on the funnel was changed. Imperial Majesty placed the OceanBreeze on two-night cruises from Fort Lauderdale to Nassau. The ship proved to be very popular on this route, and later in 1999[1] (some sources state early 2000[4]) Imperial Majesty Cruises decided to buy her. In October 2000 she was rebuilt at Newport News at the cost of $3,500,000 with more up-to-date interiors. The OceanBreeze was expected by many to continue sailing until the new SOLAS-regulations come in effect in 2010,[1] but this proved not to be as the OceanBreeze -although popular - was actually not at all well suited for the itinerary she was used for. Running a steam turbine powered ship on two-night itineraries was highly expensive, and an additional $5 would have been needed to rebuilt the ship to conform the Americans with Disabilities Act. In addition to this the ship, not having bow thrusters, needed assistance of a tug every time she visited a port.[4] When a profitable lease agreement of ship not handicapped in the same manner as the OceanBreeze came up in 2003, Imperial Majesty Cruises decided to sell the OceanBreeze for scrap. In November 2003 she was beached in Alang, India where she was broken up.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t The Great Ocean Liners - Southern Cross, retrieved 10. 7. 2007
- ^ a b c d Maritime Matters - Ocean Breeze, retrieved 19. 7. 2007
- ^ Template:Fi icon Bo Rosen: Laivojen Kirja, page 72. WSOY, Porvoo, 1959
- ^ a b c d e f ssMaritime - SS Southern Cross, retrieved 17. 9. 2007.