The SS ''Eugenio C'' was a 1966

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built ocean liner/

cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as ...

originally owned by the Costa Line. She was scrapped as the ''Big Red'' at Alang, India in June 2005.

History

''Eugenio C'' was ordered for the South American service by Costa ( Linea C), to replace the ''Frederico C'' on that route. Her keel was laid on 4 January 1964, with ''Eugenio C'' being delivered to Costa on 22 August 1966, the same day she set out on her maiden trans-Atlantic voyage. For 10 years she only operated trans-Atlantic voyages between

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and

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, until passenger loading dropped rapidly in the 1970s, when the ''Eugenio C'' began cruising. After 1983 she would cross the

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twice a year on a repositioning voyage. In 1984 she was extensively renovated and renamed the ''Eugenio Costa''. It was planned the vessel would be renamed American Adventure and transferred to American Family Cruises, which was to be a branch of Costa, but this plan was never realized. ''Eugenio Costa'' completed her last cruise for her original owners in November 1996. Costa sold the ''Eugenio Costa'' to the Bremer Vulcan shipyards in part exchange for the construction of the ''

Costa Victoria ''Costa Victoria'' was a ''Victoria''-class cruise ship launched in 1995 and operated by Costa Cruises, a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc, from 1996 until 2020. Built at Bremen, Germany, she was designed to reflect the spirit of Italy, w ...

''. Lowline Shipping would go on to acquire her and well charter her to Direct Cruises, a British cruise line which offered budget cruises marketed via

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. $12 million

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was spent on refitting the ''Eugenio Costa'' into the ''Edinburgh Castle''. The vessel's mechanical problems brought about great difficulty to Direct and Lowline, until Direct filed for liquidation and Lowline Shipping filed for bankruptcy in 1999. Ownership of ''Edinburgh Castle'' was passed on to Lowline's main creditor, shipbuilder Cammell Laird. Cammell Laird, Hebburn - geograph

Cammell Laird chartered the vessel to

Premier Cruises Premier Cruises was a cruise line holding company formed in the early 1990s that focused on the family cruise market as well as on developing cruise operations in new geographic markets. The company's business focus was to acquire older cruise ves ...

, renaming her ''The Big Red Boat II'' and having her go under a 10-month $25 million

overhaul. Premier went into liquidation in September 2000, as a result Cammell Laird briefly chartered her to the

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, after which time she was laid up at

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alongside fellow ex-Premier fleet mates ''Rembrandt'' and ''Big Red Boat III''.

Demise

''The Big Red Boat II'' was sold to Argo Ship Management, who kept her up on the market. By 2005 it was obvious cruise companies were not willing to take their chances with her due to her history of mechanical problems. The vessel was renamed ''Red Boat'', stopping in the

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to refuel before being broken up for scrap at

Alang Alang is a census town in Bhavnagar district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Because it is home to the Alang Ship Breaking Yard, Alang beaches are considered the world's largest ship graveyard. Demographics As of the 2001 Indian census, Al ...

scrapyards.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eugenio C, SS 1964 ships Cruise ships of the United Kingdom Ocean liners Ships of Costa Cruises Ships built in Monfalcone Ships built by Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico