CRUISE SHIPS
T.S.S. ATLAS
She was built in 1951 as the ocean liner RYNDAM for the Holland America Line. She would be sold and completely rebuilt by the Greek cruise line Epirotiki in 1972 and renamed ATLAS. She would serve as a cruise ship up until the late 80s when she was withdrawn from service. During her later life, she would end up as a floating casino in Gulfport, Mississippi, being renamed to PRIDE of MISSISSIPPI, then to PRIDE of GALVESTON and finally to COPA CASINO. She was sold for scrap in 2003, however she would end up sinking off the Dominican Republic whilst being towed to the breakers at Alang, India.
M.S. COLUMBUS C
She was originally built as the KUNGSHOLM in 1952 for Swedish American Line. She was sold first in 1965 to North German Lloyd and renamed EUROPA and then again in 1980 to Costa Cruises who renamed her COLUMBUS C. She would meet her end in 1984 when she accidentally collided with a breakwater near Cadiz, Spain and quickly began to take on water. She made it into the port but sank at she reached the quayside, settling upright in the mud. When she was inspected, it was decided the damage she had received was too costly to repair and she ended being raised and sent to Barcelona for scrapping the following year.
M.S. COSTA CONCORDIA
Launched in 2005, she made the news in 2012 when she struck a rock off the island of Giglio (Italy), began to sink and rolled onto her starboard side, grounding on a rocky ledge less than 50 yards from shore. 32 people lost their lives in the disaster. Her half sunk hulk would later be refloated and sent to be broken up at Genoa in 2014.
S.S. LA JENELLE
She was built as the BORINQUEN in 1930 and operated by the New York & Porto Rico Steamship Lines. She was requisitioned by the military during the second world war and converted into a troopship, being one of many Army transports used as support of the Normandy landings.
Following the war she was sold and put back into passenger service. She was rebuilt and changed ownership numerous times over the next 10 years, being renamed to PUERTO RICO in 1949, AROSA STAR in 1954 and BAHAMA STAR in 1959.
In 1965, she came to the aid of the burning YARMOUTH CASTLE, a disaster that cost the lives of 90 passengers. New regulations were put in place following the disaster (including outlawing ships with wooden superstructures) and due to the high cost of converting the ship to meet the new regulations, the BAHAMA STAR was sold on to the Western Steamship Company in 1969 and renamed LA JENELLE. They had hoped to turn her into a floating restaurant and casino in Port Hueneme, California but nothing ever came of it and her owners would later anchor her just outside the harbour to avoid the expensive berthing fees. In April of 1970, she dragged her anchor during a gale and ended up on the beach, healing right over on her port side and was abandoned. A fire gutted her interiors and the wreck would later be dismantled on site, although some of her lower hull was filled in and used to form a new arm of the Port Hueneme breakwater. The rest of her cut up superstructure was dumped offshore and now makes up part of the La Jenelle artificial reef.
T.S.S. MARDI GRAS
Carnival Cruise Line's very first ship, now one of the largest cruise lines in the world and one of the most important ships in the history of cruising.
She was originally built for Canadian Pacific Steamships Ltd. in 1960 and named EMPRESS of CANADA. She would be sold to Carnival in 1972 and renamed MARDI GRAS. She was sold once again to Greece's Epirotiki Line in 1993 and initially renamed OLYMPIC. Chartered that same year by Gold Star Cruises, she was briefly renamed to STAR of TEXAS until 1994 was she was laid up and then taken back to Greece to be renamed again renamed to APOLLON following the merger of Epirotiki and Sun Lines in 1995. She operated for another 8 years until 2003 when she was sold and scrapped at Alang, India, having been in service for over 40 years.
She was built in 1948 by Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson Ltd as the French combination passenger/cargo ship DJEBEL DIRA for the Cie de Navigation Mixte. In 1970 she was sold to new owners Spyros Billinis in Greece where she was extensively rebuilt into a cruise ship and renamed PHOENIX. In 1979, she would be sold again to Athens Marine Cruises and renamed MELODY. In 1980, while on passage to Haifa in Israel, she sustained some damage during a gale and was laid up at Eleusis, Greece eventually passing on to the Hellenic Industrial Development Bank in 1986. After many years of lay up, in 1990, she was sold once again this time to Cougar Shipping Co Ltd who began work on re-activating her for passenger service. However that same year she caught fire while undergoing renovations and the burning hulk was beached on Atalanti Island, West of Piraeus Port. The ship would be a total loss and remained beached there until 2009, when the wreck was mostly dismantled on site.
T.S. MELODY
M.T.S. OCEANOS
Launched in 1952 as the passenger/cargo ship JEAN LABORDE, one of four sister ships built for Messageries Maritimes. She would change hands and be renamed many times over the years, finally being acquired by Epirotiki Lines in 1976 and renamed OCEANOS. In 1991, while in heavy seas off the South African coast, she sustained some damage below the waterline and began to sink. Many of the ships crew abandoned ship before the passengers and the rescue effort had to be lead by the ships entertainers. No lives would be lost and the wreck now lies on her side in over 90 meters of water.