SS Ocean Monarch (1950)
{{other ships|Ocean Monarch|SS Reina del Mar}}
{{short description|British-built passenger steamship}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2023}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2023}}
| {{Infobox ship begin
}} {{Infobox ship image | Ship image = Oceanmonarch bermuda.jpg | Ship caption = }} {{Infobox ship career | Hide header = | Ship country =United Kingdom | Ship flag = | Ship name = *Ocean Monarch (1951–67)
| Ship namesake = | Ship owner = *Furness, Withy (1951–67)
| Ship operator = *Furness Bermuda Line (1951–66)
| Ship registry = *{{flagicon|United Kingdom|civil}} London (1951–67) | Ship route = New York – Nassau – Bermuda (1951–67) | Ship ordered = | Ship awarded = | Ship builder = Vickers-Armstrong, High Walker | Ship original cost = £2,500,000 | Ship yard number = 119 | Ship laid down = | Ship launched = 27 July 1950 | Ship sponsor = | Ship christened = | Ship completed = March 1951 | Ship acquired = | Ship commissioned = | Ship maiden voyage = 3 May 1951 | Ship in service = | Ship out of service = *Laid up 1966–67
| Ship renamed = | Ship reclassified = | Ship refit = | Ship identification=*UK official number 184384 (1951–67)
| Ship nickname = | Ship honours = American Academy of Designing Gold Medal | Ship captured = | Ship fate = Caught fire & sank, 1981 | Ship notes = | Ship badge = }} {{Infobox ship characteristics | Hide header = | Header caption = | Ship type = ocean liner | Ship tonnage = {{GRT|13654}}, {{NRT|7135}}, {{DWT|4905}} | Ship displacement = | Ship length = *{{cvt|561|ft|1|in|2|abbr=on}} overall
| Ship beam = {{cvt|72.2|ft|abbr=on}} | Ship height = | Ship draught = {{cvt|24|ft|0|in|abbr=on}} | Ship depth = {{cvt|35.8|ft|abbr=on}} | Ship hold depth = | Ship decks = 3 | Ship power = 11,500 shp |Ship propulsion = *4 × steam turbines | Ship speed = {{convert|18|kn|km/h}} | Ship range = | Ship capacity = 414 × 1st class passengers | Ship crew = about 250 | Ship sensors = wireless direction finding, echo sounding device, gyrocompass, radar | Ship notes = }} |
Ocean Monarch was a passenger steamship that was built by Vickers-Armstrongs in 1950. She served with Furness Bermuda Line for fifteen years, then with a Bulgarian company for three years, renamed Varna. She spent much of the 1970s laid up, and was renamed Venus and then Riviera. In the early 1980s, she was renamed Reina del Mar and refitted for further use as a cruise ship, but a fire gutted her; and she was scuttled on 1 June 1981 after another fire broke out.
History
Ocean Monarch was built by Vickers-Armstrongs Ltd, High Walker,{{cite book |first=Keith |last=Eastlake |year=1998 |title=Sea Disasters, the truth behind the tragedies |pages=33 |publisher=Greenwich Editions |place=London |isbn=0-86288-149-8}} at a cost of £2,500,000.{{cite news |url=http://www.shieldsgazette.com/CustomPages/CustomPage.aspx?PageID=44936§ionID=6149 |title=Cookson country |newspaper=The Shields Gazette |access-date=13 November 2009}} She was yard number 119, and was launched on 27 July 1950, with completion in March 1951.{{csr|register=MSI|id=5260447|access-date=3 November 2009}} She was the first postwar-built ship designed especially for the American cruise market. Accommodations were for 414 first class passengers only. Ocean Monarch was awarded a gold medal by the American Institute for Designing for her "outstanding beauty and unusual design features of a cruise ship".{{Cite book |last1=Plowman |first1=Piers |last2=Card |first2=Stephen J |url= https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/65177653|title=Queen of Bermuda and the Furness Bermuda Line |year=2002 |publisher=Bermuda Maritime Museum Press |isbn=0-921560-10-9 |place=The Old Royal Naval Dockyard, Bermuda |oclc=65177653}}
Ocean Monarch served the New York – Bermuda route. As well as conveying passengers she was used to supply fresh drinking water to the island. She served with Furness Withy via subsidiary Furness Bermuda Line until 1966. On 22 September she was laid up in the River Fal, Cornwall.{{cite web |url= http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/descriptions/ShipsO.html |title=OCEAN MONARCH / VARNA / REINA DEL MAR 1951 |publisher=The Ships List |access-date=13 November 2009 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120217042006/http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/descriptions/ShipsO.html |archivedate=17 February 2012 }}
In 1967, she was sold to Navigation Maritime Bulgare and renamed Varna. Operated by Balkantourist, Varna, She was used on cruises from Montreal, Canada. Varna was laid up in 1970 at Perama, Greece. In 1973, Varna was chartered by Sovereign Cruises, but only made two voyages with them. She was then laid up again. Her name was changed to Venus in 1977, and Riviera in 1978. in 1979, she was refurbished for use by Trans-Tirreno Express.
She was chartered by SUR-Seereisen, Germany, who announced a series of Mediterranean cruises to take place in summer 1981. Her name was changed to Reina del Mar. Before these cruises took place the ship was renovated. On 28 May 1981, a fire broke out which completely gutted the passenger accommodation. The ship was towed out of Ambelakia, where the renovation was being carried out. The tow parted and Reina del Mar ran aground on Salamina Island. After being refloated, she was moored near Rasa Sayang, which had also been gutted by fire. On 1 June 1981, a new fire broke out on Reina del Mar, and she was then scuttled off Kynosoura.
Description and propulsion
The ship had a crew of about 250 and had berths for up to 414 passengers,{{cite web |url=http://furnessbermudaline.com/index_files/Page729.htm |title=Facts and figures |publisher=Furness Bermuda Line |access-date=13 November 2009}} all first class. Her length overall was {{convert|561|ft|1|in|m|2}}, and her beam was {{cvt|72.2|ft|abbr=on}}.
References
{{reflist}}
Bibliography
- {{cite book |last=Burrell |first=David |year=1992 |title=Furness Withy 1891–1991 |place=Kendal |publisher=World Ship Society |isbn=0-905617-70-3}}
- {{cite book |last1=Mitchell |first1=WH |last2=Sawyer |first2=LA |year=1967 |title=Cruising Ships |place=New York |publisher=Doubleday}}
External links
- [https://archive.today/20130202023231/http://www.shieldsgazette.com/cookson/A-poem-to-tug-at.5281569.jp Poem about Ocean Monarch]
{{1981 shipwrecks}}
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Category:Ships built on the River Tyne
Category:Passenger ships of the United Kingdom
Category:Passenger ships of Bulgaria
Category:Passenger ships of Greece