History


       
RETURN TO THE HOMEPAGE                                                                                                                                                                                                                    S/S REINA DEL MAR 1956


 
The S/S Reina del Mar was the last passenger ship built for the Pacific Steam Navigation Company's South American service. She served on their route from Liverpool to the Caribbean and South America, via the Panama Canal. However the South American service was discontinued in 1964 and she was chartered to the Travel Savings Association as a cruise ship and in 1975 transferred to Union-Castle Line and spent many years as a very popular and successful cruise ship.

Design and Construction (1955 – 1956):

She was built by Harland & Wolff Ltd in Belfast and was launched on 7th June 1955 and she cost £5,000,000 to build.

Pacific Steam Navigation era (1956 – 1964):

The Reina del Mar commenced her maiden voyage from Liverpool to Valparaiso via the Panama Canal on 3rd May 1956. At the time she was the largest, fastest and only fully air-conditioned passenger liner operating a regular service between the UK, France, Spain and the west coast of South America.

Travel Savings Association (TSA) era (1964):

On 5th March 1964 she completed her final South American voyage and was chartered to the South African Max Wilson's Travel Savings Association for cruising and transatlantic summer sailings. The shareholders of TSA became Canadian Pacific, Union-Castle and Royal Mail Lines. During 1964 she was refurbished for her new role and equipped with a cinema and extra lido decks as it was also the intention to use the ship as a hotel at its ports of call. She reappeared in June 1964 with the black TSA logo on a yellow funnel. Under Union-Castle management the ship commenced her first sailing to New York on 10th June 1964.

Union-Castle Line era (1964 – 1975):

In the October 1964 Union-Castle became the sole owner of TSA but not the ship. However, in the November she was converted into a one class ship with 1026 berths, although capacity was restricted to 998, and was repainted in full Union-Castle colours. She operated winter cruises from South Africa to South America; Union-Castle’s only venture into the cruise business.

In 1969 she was transferred within the Furness Withy Group to Royal Mail Lines. By this time Royal Mail Lines had become the registered owner of all PSNC ships but the Reina del Mar never traded under the Royal Mail umbrella and was chartered to Union-Castle for five years.

In 1973 she was acquired by Union-Castle before the charter expired and traded for a further two years before being broken up at Kaohsiung in Taiwan by Tung Cheng Steel Co. where she arrived on the 30th July 1975 and demolition was completed on the 10th December 1975.













(c) Cruise Ship History Collection 2018 including www.thecunarders.co.uk                                                                                                                                                                              A Edward Elliott