''Empress of Australia'' was a ferry operated by the

Australian National Line Australian National Line (ANL) was a coastal shipping line established in by the Government of Australia in 1956. It was sold in 1998 by the Howard government to CMA CGM. History Australian National Line was formed on 1 October 1956 as the ...

. Ordered in 1962 by the Australian National Line and launched by Cockatoo Docks & Engineering Company on 18 January 1964, ''Empress of Australia'' was the largest passenger ferry built in the world. From the time of her 16 January 1965 maiden voyage, the ship could carry up to 250 passengers in cabins, 91 cars, 16 trucks, and 160

intermodal container An intermodal container, often called a shipping container, is a large standardized shipping container, designed and built for intermodal freight transport, meaning these containers can be used across different modes of transport – from ship ...

s. The ferry made three runs from Sydney to Tasmania every fortnight until 1972; one each to Hobart, Bell Bay and

Burnie Burnie is a port city on the north-west coast of Tasmania, Australia. When founded in 1827, it was named Emu Bay, being renamed after William Burnie, a director of the Van Diemen's Land Company, in the early 1840s. , Burnie had an urban popu ...

. In 1972, the ship was transferred to the

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

to Tasmania route, replacing . She was modified at the

State Dockyard The State Dockyard was a ship building and maintenance facility operated by the Government of New South Wales in Carrington, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia between 1942 and 1987. History In 1942, the State Dockyard opened on the site of ...

: the installation of 190 reclining seats in the original lounge increased her passenger capacity to 440, and a deck was added at the aft end. ''Empress of Australia'' began sailing between Melbourne and Devonport on 28 June 1972, and continued making Bass Strait crossings until 1986. ''Empress of Australia'' was replaced in 1986 by , also a car ferry. The ship was sold to

Cypriot Cypriot (in older sources often "Cypriote") refers to someone or something of, from, or related to the country of Cyprus. * Cypriot people, or of Cypriot descent; this includes: **Armenian Cypriots **Greek Cypriots **Maronite Cypriots **Turkish C ...

owners and heavily refitted and converted into a cruise ship, she was renamed ''Royal Pacific''. On 23 August 1992, she was rammed by the Taiwanese fishing vessel ''Terfu 51'' in the Straits of Malacca, and sank, resulting in thirty deaths. The deaths are most likely attributed to the crew's choice to abandon ship first.

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* * 1964 ships Ships built in New South Wales Ferries of Tasmania Royal Pacific Bass Strait ferries Maritime incidents in 1992 Ships sunk in collisions Sunken cruise ships {{ferry-stub