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Made to promote the Cunard ship RMS Caronia -- the largest passenger ship of its day intended to make around-the-world cruises -- this film is narrated by filmmaker John Bransby. The three-month "round the world adventure" shown begins in the United States and continues on to Trinidad, Brazil, South Africa, Zanzibar, India, Ceylon, Singapore, Thailand, Bali, Manila, Hong Kong, Japan, Hawaii, California, Mexico and Panama -- 23 ports in 17 countries.
RMS Caronia was a 34,183 gross register tons (GRT) passenger ship of the Cunard Line (then Cunard White Star Line). Launched on 30 October 1947, she served with Cunard until 1967. She was nicknamed the "Green Goddess" . She is credited as one of the first "dual-purpose" built ships: suited to cruising, but also capable of transatlantic crossings. After leaving Cunard she briefly served as SS Caribia in 1969, after which she was laid up in New York until 1974 when she was sold for scrap. While being towed to Taiwan for scrapping, she was caught in a storm on 12 August. After her tow lines were cut, she repeatedly crashed on the rocky breakwater outside Apra Harbor, Guam subsequently breaking into three.
After World War II, the Cunard White Star Line operated three ships on the Southampton-New York run. The famous RMS Queen Mary and RMS Queen Elizabeth operated an express service, with the smaller and slower RMS Mauretania sailing as the third ship on the route. The company placed an order for a running mate to the Mauretania. With cruising in mind, the new ship - soon to be named Caronia by Princess Elizabeth - received many different features from her Cunard White Star fleetmates.
The brand new RMS Caronia made her maiden voyage on 4 January 1949 between Southampton and New York. Two more transatlantic crossings followed before the ship embarked on her first cruises from New York to the Caribbean. During her first years she spent most of the year on transatlantic crossings; only during the winter was she engaged in cruising. In 1951 she made her first world cruise. From 1952 onwards she made transatlantic crossings only in August and September, with the rest of the year dedicated to cruising. In May 1953 the Caronia made what was perhaps her most famous cruise, associated with the coronation ceremony of Queen Elizabeth II (who had christened the Caronia six years earlier). The ship was used as a hotel, as most of the accommodation in the UK was fully booked.
1959 saw Caronia making regular transatlantic crossings for the last time. Competition from the jet airliner meant there weren't enough passengers for her in the North Atlantic trade. To keep up with her newer competitors, Cunard decided that new suites and a lido deck should be built, and her interior brought up to date. As a result of climbing operating costs, 1967 was the first year when the Caronia didn't profit her owners. Due to increased competition, Cunard decided to withdraw her from service at the end of the year. Fittingly, Caronia's last voyage for Cunard was a transatlantic crossing from New York to Southampton.
In early 1968 the Caronia was sold to Star Shipping. Renamed SS Columbia, she sailed to Greece for refitting. Cunard had allowed Caronia to fall behind her maintenance schedule, and her engines needed a major overhaul. Whilst she was being rebuilt Andrew Konstaninidis took control of Columbia, buying out the other owners of Star Line and renaming her the SS Caribia. Her refitting was completed and she was given a new all-white colour scheme. February 1969 saw the Caribia embark on her first cruise from New York to the Caribbean. The voyage was hindered by a malfunction in her waste system. Things turned for the worse on her second cruise, when an explosion in the engine room resulted in the death of one crew member and the severe scalding of another. The incident undermined public confidence in the vessel. The Caribia limped back to New York, never to make a commercial voyage again.
Plans to revive the Caribia were considered for the next five years, but she remained docked in New York and her berthing debts continued to accumulate. Finally in 1974 her owners gave in and sold the once great ship for scrap. German ocean tug Hamburg was entrusted with the task of towing the Caribia to a breaker's yard in Taiwan but on the way she was wrecked. She was in active service for only 19 years.
This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD and 2K. For more information visit www.PeriscopeFilm.com
17 мар 2015
