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OCEAN
LINERS PORTAL
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~ Your Gateway to Historic Ocean Liners of the World ~ |
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HOMEPAGE
THE OCEAN LINERS |
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The S.S. Great Britain was built in 1843 in the Great Western Dockyard in Bristol and she was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel. She was launched by HRH Prince Albert, The Prince Consort. She is notable as the world's first iron hulled, steam powered ocean liner. Indeed she is the forerunner of all modern ships. She was built for the transatlantic service to New York. In 1970 she was rescued by the SS Great Britain Trust from an uncertain future as a Crown Wreck in the Falkland Islands and repatriated home to the UK and her birthplace. Today she is preserved in the dock where she was built in Bristol, England, UK as a tourist attraction. She exemplifies the industry and inventiveness of the Victorian era and symbolises the birth of international passenger travel and world communications. She is the world's first ocean liner and lives on to inspire present and future generations. Website: www.ssgreatbritain.org Enjoy England www.enjoyengland.com Visit Britain www.visitbritain.com
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S.S.
GREAT BRITAIN (1843)
~ The Forerunner of All Modern Ships ~ BRISTOL, ENGLAND, UK
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S.S. LA PALMA (1912)  ~ The Last Canary Islands Inter-Island Steamship ~ TENERIFE, THE CANARY ISLANDS |
The La Palma was built in 1912 by W.
Harkerss & Son Ltd., Míddlesborough in England for the Canaries
Inter-Insular Mail Steamship Company and their inter-island liner
service. She is a last reminder of the ships from the period of the ill
fated Titanic and indeed the diminutive La Palma was built in the same
year as the Titanic. She is truly a unique and historic survivor. She is now preserved by the Canaries Steamship La Palma Foundation who are working to restore her to full operational condition so she can be a roving historical attraction. Once restored she will be based in Tenerife and house a Museum of Canary Islands Navigation & Nautical Library as well as cultural facilities, restaurant and cafe. Thus she will live on as a living museum and reminder of the Canary Island steamships. Website: http://www.correillolapalma.com/ Canary Islands Tourism Board http://www.turismodecanarias.com/en/main.php Spain Tourism http://www.spain.info/ |
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The
Hikawa Maru was built in 1929 at the Yokohama Dock Company for NYK
Line and served on their trans-pacific service from Japan to the USA
via Hawaii. Service
combined with superb food and her beautiful art
deco interiors saw her become a much sought after ship and passengers
gave her the nickname “Queen of the Pacific.” She served during the
Second World War as a hospital ship and returned to passenger service
with NYK Line
in 1954.
She was retired from service in 1961 and became a tourist attraction in Yokohama. She is the last surviving Japanese ocean liner and the only one to survive the Second World War. In 2006 with the liquidation of her owners and closed to the public. However she was then entrusted in March 2007 into the ownership of NYK Line - her original owners. After refurbishment the Hikawa Maru reopened as a museum and tourist attraction on the 25th April 2008 as NYK Hikawamaru and so will live on and continue to inspire present and future generations. Website: coming soon Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO) www.jnto.go.jp NYK Maritime Museum, Yokohama http://www.nyk.com/rekishi/e/ NYK Line http://www.nyk.com/english/index.htm |
M.S.
HIKAWA MARU
(1929)
~ The Queen of the Pacific ~ YOKOHAMA,
JAPAN
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M.S. Moonta (1931) (NOW KNOWN AS LYDIA)
~ The Last of the Australian Coastal Liners ~ LE BARCARES,
LANGEDOC-ROUSILLION REGION, FRANCE
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The Moonta was built in 1931 by the Burmeister & Wain shipyard, Copenhagen, Denmark for the Adelaide Steamship Company and their Australian coastal liner service. She was retired from service in 1955 and sold to Hellenic Maritime Lines. She was renamed Lydia and sailed on the Marseilles to Egypt via Italy and Greece service. In 1966 she was retired from service and laid up in Piraeus, Greece. However she would not be scrapped as the Lydia was acquired by a French organisation and taken to Marseilles. There her engines and propeller screw were removed and she was converted for use as a casino and restaurant ship. She was installed in her new home at Le Barcares in the Langedoc-Rousillion region of France on the Mediterranean coast. There a special basin was cut into the sand for her and when she was in place the basin was filled with sand thus making her now landlocked. Today she is a feature of this Mediterranean resort as the Casino Le Lydia and is owned by the Partouche Group. So remarkably this is the sole survivor of the Australian coastal liners and she lives on and will continue to inspire present and future generations on a beach in southern France! Website: www.partouche.com (Click on "casino", then "tous nos casinos", then click French flag, select "Langedoc-Rousillion region" on map, then "Port Barcares - Le Lydia") France Tourism www.francetourism.com |
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The RMS Queen Mary has had a
most illustrious career through war and peace. In the 1930s she had a
celebrated rivalry with the great S/S Normandie in a legendary race
between the
two ships to capture the coveted Blue Riband. She served In the postwar period she operated Cunard
Line’s coveted
two-ship Atlantic Ferry service from Southampton to Today the legendary Queen Mary lives on as
a tourist attraction and hotel in Long Beach, California, USA and
continues to inspire present and future generations.
California Travel & Tourism Commission
Discover America |
R.M.S.
QUEEN MARY (1934)
~ The British Art Deco Masterpiece ~ LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA, USA |
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M.S. CHARLESVILLE (1951) (NOW KNOWN AS M.S.
GEORG BUCHNER)
~ The Last of the
Congo-boats ~
ROSTOCK, GERMANY |
The
Charlesville was built in 1950 by Cockrill-Ougree of Hoboken, Belgium
as the last of a class of five sister ships. She was built as a
cargo-passenger liner for the Compagnie Maritime Belge's service from
Antwerp to Matadi in the Belgian Congo. She was eventually sold to a
German shipping company in 1967 and was renamed Georg Buchner. In 1974
she was transferred to another German shipping company. Finally she
was preserved in Rostock in Germany in 1977 as the Georg
Buchner. Initially she served as a maritime training school. In
1997 she was transferred to the ownership of the City of Rostock. There
she serves as a youth hostel, hotel and training facility. Today she
remains
a rare survivor of a cargo-passenger combi liner.
Website: www.ms-georg-buechner.m-vp.de |
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The Brazil Maru is
the last surviving Japanese passenger / cargo ocean liner. She was
built in 1954 for the Japan to South America liner service of OSK
Line. It was
preserved in 1974 at Toba in Japan but due to poor visitor numbers
eventually closed in
the 1990s and was apparently sold for scrapping in Guangzhou, China in
1996.
However
in February 2008 it was discovered that she, in fact,
had not been scrapped but instead became a floating tourist attraction
in Zhanjiang,
Guangdong Province, China. So a classic ocean liner long thought lost
has reappeared and in fact remains in preservation today for present
and future generations to enjoy.
China
National Tourism
Administration
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M.S. BRAZIL MARU (1954) (NOW KNOWN AS M.S. PEARL MARU)  ZHANJIANG, GUANGDONG
PROVINCE, CHINA
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The
M.S. Jadran was built in 1956 by Brodogradiliste
Uljanik, Pula,
Croatia (formerly Yugoslavia) for Jadranska
Linijiska Plovidba (Jadrolinja). She served on their Adriatic liner
service from
Venice to Piraeus via Split and Dubrovnik. She was retired from service
in 1976 and sold to Canadian owners.
Today she lives on preserved as a restaurant ship in Toronto, Canada berthed at Queens West Dock and continues to inspire present and future generations. Today she is known as Captain John's Harbour Boat Restaurant and Banquet Facilities. Website: www.captainjohns.ca
Canada Tourism Commission www.canadatourism.com |
M.S. JADRAN (1956)  QUEENS WEST DOCK TORONTO, CANADA |
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S.S.
ROTTERDAM (1958)
~
The Pride of the Netherlands ~
ROTTERDAM, THE
NETHERLANDS
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The
Rotterdam was built in 1958 by the Rotterdam Drydock Co. for Holland
America Line. She was the last true ocean liner built
for the shipping company. She was the largest
passenger liner ever built in the Netherlands. She served on the
transatlantic
service until 1971 and later on cruises. She had a most progressive
design and soon became known as one of the most
luxurious and beautiful liners on the oceans. In 2003 the ship was
retired from service and acquired for the City of Rotterdam as a
tourist attraction and hotel. After refurbishment she returned to her
former homeport of Rotterdam and opened to the public in 2008.Today the
famous S.S.
Rotterdam lives on as a tourist attraction and hotel in Rotterdam, the
Netherlands and continues to inspire present and future generations.
Website: www.derotterdam.com Steamship Rotterdam Foundation www.ssrotterdam.net Netherlands Board of Tourism & Conventions
COMING SOON
DUE TO OPEN IN 2008
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nuclear ship Savannah was built in 1959 by the New York Shipbuilding
Corporation, Camden, New Jersey, USA for the U.S. Maritime
Administration. She was a product of President Eisenhower's famous
"Atoms for Peace" initiative and was designed as a passenger
cargo combi liner. She served as a roving goodwill ship as well as
demonstrating the application of nuclear propulsion to commercial
shipping. She was indeed the world's first nuclear powered merchant
ship.
She was retired from service in 1971 and for a while was preserved at the Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum in South Carolina. In 1982 she was designated on the National Register of Historic Places. But in 1994 she was returned to the US Maritime Administration and stored in the James River Reserve Fleet. Today she is undergoing refurbishment and refit work at Norfolk,Virginia, USA and then will undergo decommissioning of her nuclear reactor. After that it is likely that the U.S. Maritime Administration will offer the ship for preservation. Thus she will live on for present and future generations as a lasting symbol of President Eisenhower's "Atoms for Peace" initiative and as a platform for debating the merits of nuclear energy. Website: http://www.marad.dot.gov/offices/msp/ship_operations/nss/index.htm Discover America www.discoveramerica.com COMING SOON |
N.S. SAVANNAH (1959)
 ~ The World's First Nuclear Powered Merchant Ship ~ |
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M.S. Cap San Diego (1961)  ~ The White Swan of the South Atlantic ~ HAMBURG, GERMANY |
The Cap San Diego was built by Deutsche Werft in Hamburg for the Hamburg Sud shipping company and their service from Hamburg to South America. She was the last of the "Cap-San" class of 6 sister ships to be built. However in 1981 with the increasing move to container ships, she was sold by Hamburg Sud to a Spanish shipping company. She was finally withdrawn from service in 1986 and sold for scrap. However the City of Hamburg stepped in and saved her as a maritime monument and her ownership was transferred to the Hamburger Admiralitat foundation in 1987. She is operated by the Cap San Diego Betriebsgesellschaft mbH. Today she lives on her home port city of Hamburg as a historical maritime monument, museum ship and tourist attraction. Uniquely she is still maintained in operational condition. The Cap San Diego is a lasting legacy of Germany's maritime shipbuilding traditions. She is one of the last surviving cargo-passenger combi liners and is a symbol of the great port city of Hamburg. Website: www.capsandiego.de Germany Tourism www.germany-tourism.de |
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The
Ancerville was built by Chantiers
de l'Atlantique, St Nazaire, France for the Compagnie de Navigation
Paquet in 1962. She was launched on the 5th April 1962 by President
Charles de Gaulle. She served on the route from Marseilles to Dakar,
Senegal via Casablanca (Morocco) and the Canary Islands. In 1970 her
ownership transferred to the Nouvelle Compagnie de Paquebots,
Marseilles. In 1973 she was sold to the Peoples Republic of China and
renamed Minghua. She was placed on the China to East Africa service.
After 1981 she operated cruises from Australia.
In 1983 she was retired from service and berthed at Shekou, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China. This area is located on the Pearl River delta across from Hong Kong. There she was renamed Sea World by Deng Xiaoping and became a hotel and entertainment complex as part of the Sea World Plaza in the Shekou Industrial Zone then being developed by the China Merchants Group. Over time the berth around the ship eventually was filled in as new development took place until the ship became totally land locked. Today Shekou is a popular expat residential community. In 1998 the ship closed due to management difficulties and after a fire. However after refurbishment between 2001 and 2004 the complex reopened in December 2004. Today she remains a popular hotel, restaurant and entertainment complex in the expat Shekou area of Shenzhen near Hong Kong. China National Tourism Administration http://en.cnta.gov.cn/lyen/index.asp Discover Hong Kong www.discoverhongkong.com |
M.S. Ancerville (1962) (NOW KNOWN AS M.S. MINGHUA SEA WORLD)  SHEKOU, SHENZHEN GUANGDONG PROVINCE, CHINA |
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M.S.
KUNGSHOLM (1965)
~
The Last of the White Vikings ~
GOTHENBURG, SWEDEN
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The
Kungsholm was the last passenger
ship built
for the Swedish American Line. She was built by John
Brown & Co. (Clydebank) Ltd who also built many other famous ships
including the Royal Yacht Britannia and three of the legendary Cunard
Queens. She was also the largest
ship built for the shipping company. She served on the transatlantic
service and on cruises. She soon became known as one of the most
luxurious and beautiful liners on the oceans.
Sweden.Se - The Gateway to Sweden www.sweden.se COMING SOON
LIKELY TO OPEN IN 2010 |
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The QE2 is the last ocean liner built on the River Clyde and was built by John Brown & Co. (Clydebank) Ltd. This famous shipyard had also built other famous ships such as the previous Cunard Queens (Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth) and the Royal Yacht Britannia. The QE2 was launched in 1967 by HM Queen Elizabeth II. She is Cunard Line's longest serving ship and was in service for over 40 years. She even single handedly continued the tradition of the transatlantic service between Southampton and New York for 30 years until 2004 and the arrival of the new RMS Queen Mary 2. She was also legendary for her World Cruises and completed 26 in her long career. In 1982 she was called up and served as a troopship during the Falklands War. She is truly one of the most iconic ocean liners ever built and certainly deserves the title of “The Most Famous Ocean Liner in the World”. In November 2008 the QE2 will be retired from service by Cunard Line. She has been acquired by Istithmar (the investment holding company of Dubai World) and will be preserved at The Palm Jumeirah, Dubai as a hotel, restaurant, heritage attraction and entertainment complex. Thus the world famous QE2 will live on to inspire present and future generations. Istithmar www.istithmar.ae Dubai World www.dubaiworld.ae The Palm Jumeirah, Dubai www.thepalm.ae Dubai Government: Department of Tourism & Commerce Marketing www.dubaitourism.ae COMING SOON
LIKELY TO OPEN IN 2009
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R.M.S.
QUEEN ELIZABETH 2 (1967)
~
The Most Famous Ocean Liner in the World ~
THE
PALM JUMEIRAH, DUBAI,
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES |
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