MS Regal Empress
 Regal Empress photographed in 2006 | |
| Career | |
|---|---|
| Name: |
1953—1981: SS Olympia 1981—1983: SS Caribe 1983—1993: MS Caribe I 1993-2009 : MS Regal Empress[1] |
| Owner: |
1953—1974: Greek Line 1974—1981: Unknown 1981—1985: Sally Shipping 1985—1993: Olympia Caribbean Shipping Co 1993—2004: Regal Cruise Line 2004—2009: Celebration Cruise Holdings[2] |
| Operator: |
1953—1974: Greek Line 1974—1983: laid up/rebuilt 1983—1993: Commodore Cruise Line 1993—2003: Regal Cruise Line 2003—2009: Imperial Majesty Cruise Line[1] |
| Port of registry: |
1953—1968: Monrovia, 22x20px Liberia 1968—1981: Andros, 22x20px Greece 1981—1983: Hamburg, 22x20px West Germany 1983—1993: Panama City, 22x20px Panama 1993—2009: Nassau,  Bahamas[1] |
| Builder: | Alexander Stephen & Sons, Glasgow, Scotland[1] |
| Yard number: | 636[1] |
| Launched: | 16 April 1953[1] |
| Christened: | 12 October 1953[1] |
| Maiden voyage: | 15 October 1953[1] |
| In service: | 15 October 1953[1] |
| Out of service: | 9 March 2009 |
| Identification: | IMO number: 5262835[1] Bahaman call sign: C6LW2[3] |
| Fate: | Sold to Indian ship breakers in early March, 2009 |
| Status: | Scrapped |
| General characteristics (as built) | |
| Tonnage: | 22,979 GRT |
| Length: | 611 ft (186.5 m) |
| Draught: | 28 ft (8.6 m) |
| Decks: | 10 |
| Installed power: | Parson Steam Turbines |
| Propulsion: | Two propellers |
| Speed: | 21 kts |
| Capacity: | 138 First class, 1169 Tourist class passengers |
| General characteristics (after 1983 refit) | |
| Tonnage: | 21,909 GRT |
| Installed power: | 2 Klockner-Humbolt-Deutz diesel engines |
| Speed: | 18 kts |
| Capacity: | 1475 passengers |
| Crew: | 900 |
MS Regal Empress was a cruise ship that recently operated for Imperial Majesty Cruise Line.[2] She was built in 1953 by Alexander Stephen & Sons at Glasgow, Scotland as the ocean liner SS Olympia for the Greek Line. Greek Line withdrew the Olympia from service in 1974. Following an extended lay-up period and reconstruction into a diesel-engined Caribbean cruise ship, the ship re-emerged in 1983 as MS Caribe I for Commodore Cruise Line. In 1993 she was sold to Regal Cruise Line and received her final name. She operated for Imperial Majesty Cruise Line from 2003 until 2009.[1] The Regal Empress was also the last vintage passenger ship to regularly sail from the United States.
Service history
The only ship built for the Greek Line was initially named Olympia. The Olympia was completed by Alexander Stephen & Sons, on the River Clyde, in 1953. She was initially measured at 22,979 gross register tons (GRT), and carried 138 First Class, and 1169 Tourist Class passengers. She was registered in Liberia. Parsons turbines of 25000shp drove her at a service speed of 21 knots (23 knots maximum). The maiden voyage left Glasgow for Liverpool and New York on October 20, 1953. Her first voyage on the intended route from Piraeus to New York did not take place until March 1955 due to legal complications. In 1961, the route was extended to Haifa, Israel. In 1968, Olympia was registered in Greece, and spent more time cruising, this becoming her exclusive occupation in 1970. By this time she had been re-measured at 17,400 GRT. She was laid up at Piraeus in 1974, and the Greek Line suffered financial collapse the following year.
In 1981, the Olympia was bought by Sally Shipping and refitted, with diesels replacing the steam turbines. She returned to cruising as the Caribe I in 1983, in the Commodore Cruise Line fleet. The ship's original funnel had been replaced by exhaust pipes decorated in a framework design. In 1988, this was replaced by a more traditional funnel. In 1993 she was sold to Regal Cruises and renamed Regal Empress, and began sailing out of Port Manatee in the winters and New York City during the summers. She is now described as being only 14,500 GRT.[2]
Following the collapse of Regal Cruises, the Regal Empress was purchased by Imperial Majesty Cruise Line for their two-night cruise service to The Bahamas, the Regal Empress being cheaper to operate and carrying more passengers than their own ship OceanBreeze. The Regal Empress was used in a late-2007 episode of the TV show Mythbusters. They confirmed a myth that you can waterski from the back of a cruise ship. A video of the event can be found on YouTube.[4] However, this has already been proven in 2006 with the cruise ship MS Deutschland - see the wepbage of the German TV show.[5] In September 2008, the Regal Empress was removed from service to be used as an aid in the recovery of the aftermath of Hurricane Ike. She was laid up in Texas for about 2 months. She returned to service in December 2008.
Her last voyage took place on March 6, 2009. On March 9, 2009 the Regal Empress was retired by Imperial Majesty Cruise Line. She was laid up for sale and inspection in Freeport, Bahamas until late March. It was reported by Maritime Matters on March 26 that the Regal Empress was sold for scrap.[6][7] The Regal Empress was replaced by a newer ship, the MS Bahamas Celebration. The new ship carries on the same cruise itineraries as the Regal Empress did. However, the Bahamas Celebration is currently operating for a new cruise line, Celebration Cruise Line. The new cruise line is owned by the same company that had operated the Regal Empress.[6]
The Regal Empress departed Freeport in early April to sail to her final destination in Alang. Her voyage took over 3 months to complete. During her voyage, she was renamed the Regal Tmpress. She was beached on 24 July 2009.[6] In October, scrapping began starting from the bow of the ship. The demolition of the ship was completed in early 2010. [8]
References
| 50x40px | This article includes a list of references or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate. (September 2008) |
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 Asklander, Micke. "T/S Olympia (1963) 2009: Regal Tmpress" (in Swedish). Fakta om Fartyg. http://www.faktaomfartyg.se/olympia_1953.htm. Retrieved 2009-03-03.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Goossens, Reuben. "T.S.S. Olympia". ssMaritime. http://www.ssmaritime.com/olympia0.htm. Retrieved 2009-03-03.
- ↑ "Particulars - Ship station: Regal Empress". International telecommunication union. http://www.itu.int/cgi-bin/htsh/mars/ship_detail.sh?lng=en&484805®AL+EMPRESS. Retrieved 2009-03-03.
- ↑ YouTube
- ↑ Kopfball
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 http://www.maritimematters.com/shipnews.html
- ↑ http://www.indiascrap.net/cgi-bin/rexview.cgi?rex=000242&wsc=60-0465&offset=0
- ↑ http://www.midshipcentury.com/
Links
- http://ships.galutschek.at/regal_empress/ - Video clips
