RMS ''Empress of Britain'' was a
transatlantic
Transatlantic, Trans-Atlantic or TransAtlantic may refer to:
Film
* Transatlantic Pictures, a film production company from 1948 to 1950
* Transatlantic Enterprises, an American production company in the late 1970s
* ''Transatlantic'' (1931 film), ...
ocean liner
An ocean liner is a passenger ship primarily used as a form of transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships).
Ca ...
built by
Fairfield Shipbuilding
The Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Limited was a Scottish shipbuilder, shipbuilding company in the Govan area on the River Clyde, Clyde in Glasgow. Fairfields, as it is often known, was a major warship builder, turning out many v ...
at
Govan
Govan ( ; Cumbric?: ''Gwovan'?''; Scots: ''Gouan''; Scottish Gaelic: ''Baile a' Ghobhainn'') is a district, parish, and former burgh now part of south-west City of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the south ba ...
on the
Clyde Clyde may refer to:
People
* Clyde (given name)
* Clyde (surname)
Places
For townships see also Clyde Township
Australia
* Clyde, New South Wales
* Clyde, Victoria
* Clyde River, New South Wales
Canada
* Clyde, Alberta
* Clyde, Ontario, a tow ...
in Scotland in 1955-1956 for
Canadian Pacific Steamships
CP Ships was a large Canadian shipping company established in the 19th century. From the late 1880s until after World War II, the company was Canada's largest operator of Atlantic and Pacific steamships. Many immigrants travelled on CP ships fr ...
(CP). This ship — the third of three CP vessels to be named ''Empress of Britain'' — regularly traversed the trans-Atlantic route between
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
and
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
until 1964, completing 123 voyages under the Canadian Pacific flag.
History
''Empress of Britain''
''Empress of Britain'' was built by Fairfield Shipbuilding in Govan near
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
, Scotland.
She was launched on 22 June 1955 by HM
Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
. This was nearly fifty years after the first CP ''Empress of Britain'' was launched from Govan in November 1905. Eleven months later, she set out on a maiden voyage from Liverpool to Montreal, leaving Liverpool on 20 April 1956.
[Ship List]
Description of ''Empress of Britain''
The 25,516-ton vessel had a length of 640 feet, and her beam was 85.2 feet. The ship had one funnel, one mast, twin propellers and an average speed of 20 knots. The
ocean liner
An ocean liner is a passenger ship primarily used as a form of transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships).
Ca ...
provided accommodation for 160 first class passengers and for 984 tourist class passengers.
''Queen Anna Maria''
In November 1964, the former CP ''Empress'' was sold to the
Greek Line
The Greek Line, formally known as the General Steam Navigation Company of Greece, was a passenger ship line that operated from 1939 to 1975. The Greek Line was owned by the Ormos Shipping Company.
The Greek Line was founded in 1939 with the acqui ...
; and the ship was renamed SS ''Queen Anna Maria''. This ''Queen'' was rebuilt with a new lido area at the stern and remeasured under Greek rules to 21,716 gross tons, implying a significant reduction in size. In fact her genuine tonnage had been increased by superstructure extension at the stern and the measurement was an attempt to reduce dock dues. With accommodation for 168 first-class passengers and for 1,145 tourist-class passengers, she sailed on the Piraeus to Naples to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
route. Later, she provided service on the Haifa to New York route. In due course, these liner services were replaced by full time, one class, cruising. In 1975, she was laid up at Piraeus for a time.
''Carnivale''
In 1976, the former Greek ''Queen'' was sold to
Carnival Cruise Lines
Carnival Cruise Line is an international cruise line with headquarters in Doral, Florida. The company is a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc. Its logo is a funnel shaped like a whale's tail, with a red, white, and blue color scheme. This ...
; and the ship was renamed — this time as the SS ''Carnivale''. As Carnival's market expanded and the company could afford to buy new ships, the ship transferred into a Latin market subsidiary cruise line.
''Fiesta Marina''
In 1993, Carnival Cruise Lines transferred registration of the ''Carnivale'' to a subsidiary cruise line,
Fiesta Marina Cruises; and the ship was renamed SS ''Fiesta Marina.'' She became something of a test ship in a cruise line expansion venture which proved ultimately to be unsuccessful.
''Olympic''
In 1994, Fiesta Marine sold ex-''FiestaMarina'' to
Epirotiki; and the ship was renamed ''Olympic''. In 1996, she was transferred to Royal Olympic Cruises, operating under the same name.
''The Topaz''
In 1997, the former ''Olympic'' was sold to Cyprus-based
Thomson Holidays
Thomson Travel Group plc was a business formed by the Thomson Corporation of Canada, when it was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1998. It was acquired by Preussag AG, an industrial and transport conglomerate, in 2000. The group continu ...
; and the ship was renamed ''The Topaz''.
In 2003, the vessel was chartered, and then later sold to
Topaz International to sail for
Peace Boat
is a global non-government organization headquartered in Japan established for the purpose of raising awareness and building connections internationally among groups that work for peace, human rights, environmental protection and sustainable dev ...
operating under the name ''Peace Boat'' – she was repainted white with a blue funnel and her name painted in large letters across both sides of the hull. In October 2005, ''The Topaz'' was inspected and found to be in immaculate condition, the steam turbines engines operating flawlessly. Topaz International were looking for a buyer for ''The Topaz'' and they had maintained the ship in excellent condition. It was hoped that a buyer could be found as ''The Topaz'' offered any potential buyer the opportunity of a ready to work ship. However, rising oil prices combined with inefficient 50-year-old engines proved too much for any potential buyer. In April 2008, ''The Topaz'' was retired from the Peace Boat organization.
After retirement
After ''Topaz'' was retired in April 2008, she was laid up. On 15 June, while she was anchored, she was struck by the tanker ''
Champion Brali''. The collision severed off part of her bow. During her lay up, she was sold to the
breakers. In the late summer of 2008, ''Topaz'' was beached in
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, Alan ...
, India to be scrapped. She was placed not too far away from where the remains of the /SS ''Norway'' are located.
The ship began demolition a few months after being beached. As of November 2009, most of the ship had been scrapped.
See also
*
Ships built at Govan
Notes
References
* Musk, George. (1981)
''Canadian Pacific: The Story of the Famous Shipping Line.'' Newton Abbot, Devon:
David & Charles.
External links
Shipping Times: Clydebuilt Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Empress Of Britain (1955)
Ships built on the River Clyde
Ships of CP Ships
Ships of Carnival Cruise Line
1955 ships
Ocean liners of Canada