SS ''Himalaya'' was a British

passenger ship A passenger ship is a merchant ship whose primary function is to carry passengers on the sea. The category does not include cargo vessels which have accommodations for limited numbers of passengers, such as the ubiquitous twelve-passenger freig ...

of the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, launched in 1948, which operated mainly between Britain and Australia. She was withdrawn from service in 1974 and scrapped the next year.

History

''Himalaya'' was built at Barrow-in-Furness by Vickers-Armstrongs and launched 5 October 1948. She had an identical hull and machinery to the Orient Line's '' Orcades'' (yard no. 950 to ''Himalayas 951), though differing in superstructure and internal layout. She began her service on the Tilbury- Bombay-

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

route in 1949 following her departure from the shipbuilding yard in August. During her commission ''Himalaya'' underwent a number of improvements the first of which was, although controversial at the time, a funnel cowl to keep the liner's decks clear of debris without interference to the boilers.

Arthur C. Clarke Sir Arthur Charles Clarke (16 December 191719 March 2008) was an English science-fiction writer, science writer, futurist, inventor, undersea explorer, and television series host. He co-wrote the screenplay for the 1968 film '' 2001: A Spac ...

completed his book, ''

The City and the Stars ''The City and the Stars'' is a science fiction novel by British writer Arthur C. Clarke, published in 1956. This novel is a complete rewrite of his earlier ''Against the Fall of Night'', Clarke's first novel, which had been published in '' Star ...

'', on board ''Himalaya'' during a voyage to Sydney between September 1954 and March 1955, as mentioned at the end of the book. In 1958 she pioneered a new South Pacific route for P&O, from Melbourne and Sydney to San Francisco and Los Angeles via

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

, Honolulu and Vancouver. The following year she was routed from Los Angeles to Singapore and then onward to London. In the winter of 1959-60 she was given a major refit by the Rotterdam Drydock Co., which include the installation of full air conditioning. In 1963, following the sale of the Strath Class liners by P&O, ''Himalaya'', along with ''Orcades'', was converted to all tourist class and was often used on assisted immigrant sailings. SS_Himalaya_Final_Voyage

''Himalaya'' arrived at Hong Kong on 31 October 1974 on her final commercial voyage. She was sold to Tong Cheng Steel Manufacturing Co. Ltd, and scrapped in

Kaohsiung Kaohsiung City (Mandarin Chinese: ; Wade–Giles: ''Kao¹-hsiung²;'' Pinyin: ''Gāoxióng'') is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsi ...

, Taiwan, in 1975. ''Himalaya'' was in a background scene, while docked in Hong Kong, in an episode of the series I Spy Season: 01 Ep: 02. ''A Cup of Kindness.''

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photo gallery

{{DEFAULTSORT:Himalaya (1948) Ships of P&O (company) Steam turbine-powered ships Ships built in Barrow-in-Furness 1948 ships

History

See also

References

External links