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History of RMS Caronia
RMS Caronia was a 34,183 gross register tons (GRT) passenger
ship of the Cunard Line (then Cunard White Star Line).
Launched on 30 October 1947, she served with Cunard until
1967. She was nicknamed the "Green Goddess" . She is
credited as one of the first "dual-purpose" built ships:
suited to cruising, but also capable of transatlantic
crossings. After leaving Cunard she briefly served as SS
Caribia in 1969, after which she was laid up in New York
until 1974 when she was sold for scrap. While being towed to
Taiwan for scrapping, she was caught in a storm on 12
August. After her tow lines were cut, she repeatedly crashed
on the rocky breakwater outside Apra Harbor, Guam
subsequently breaking into three.
After World War II, the Cunard White Star Line operated
three ships on the Southampton—New York run. The famous RMS
Queen Mary and RMS Queen Elizabeth operated an express
service, with the smaller and slower RMS Mauretania sailing
as the third ship on the route. The company placed an order
for a running mate to the Mauretania, a ship of similar
speed and proportions for the transatlantic run. Ultimately
this was not to be the role of the new ship. Cunard White
Star's executives decided that the new ship would be built
primarily for cruising.
With cruising in mind, the new ship - soon to be named
Caronia by Princess Elizabeth - received many different
features from her Cunard White Star fleetmates. An outdoor
swimming pool was a new thing, as was having bathroom /
shower facilities in every cabin. However, unlike modern
cruise ships her accommodation was divided into two classes
on transatlantic voyages; First and Cabin.
On cruises all accommodation was sold as one class although
many staterooms, both on A deck and R deck were usually
allocated to Cabin Class. Even some cabins on B deck were
sold on cruises. Both restaurants served the same menu in
just one sitting and you were allocated to a restaurant
dependent upon the location of your stateroom. On short
cruises to the Caribbean and South America, every cabin was
offered for occupation and often, like on transatlantic
crossings, there would be two sittings for Luncheon and
Dinner.
To distinguish her from Cunard White Star's liners, the
company decided to give her a different colour scheme.
Instead of going for the usual all-white cruiseship look,
Caronia received a unique livery in different shades of
green, making her highly attractive and instantly
recognisable. Another striking feature of the ship was her
funnel, one of the largest ever installed aboard a ship.
Like those of the later SS United States, the funnel easily
caught the wind, making the ship somewhat difficult to
handle. This was the largest passenger ship to be built in
Scotland after World War 2 until Queen Elizabeth 2 twenty
years later.
1949-1959: A ship ahead of her time
The brand new RMS Caronia made her maiden voyage on 4
January 1949 between Southampton and New York. Two more
transatlantic crossings followed before the ship embarked on
her first cruises from New York to the Caribbean. During her
first years she spent most of the year on transatlantic
crossings; only during the winter was she engaged in
cruising. In 1951 she made her first world cruise. From 1952
onwards she made transatlantic crossings only in August and
September, with the rest of the year dedicated to cruising.
In May 1953 the Caronia made what was perhaps her most
famous cruise, associated with the coronation ceremony of
Queen Elizabeth II (who had christened the Caronia six years
earlier). The ship was used as a hotel, as most of the
accommodation in the UK was fully booked.
Her annual refit in November 1956 saw Caronia modernised for
southern cruising with air-conditioning outfitted through
the entire ship. Her world cruise of 1958 saw her suffer the
most serious accident of her career. Sailing slowly out of
Yokohama harbour to avoid collision with a U.S. Naval
vessel, high winds drove her against the harbour's
breakwater, causing serious damage to her bow and
demolishing a harbor lighthouse in the process. Fortunately
the United States Navy allowed Cunard to use their drydock
at the Yokosuka yard for repairs to the Caronia. That same
year Caronia 's autumn cruise in the Mediterranean had to
be cancelled due to political tensions in the Middle East.
1959-1967: Competition catches up
1959 saw Caronia making regular transatlantic crossings for
the last time. Competition from the jet airliner meant there
weren't enough passengers for her in the North Atlantic
trade. From here her transatlantic crossings were
repositioning voyages. The first each year being a Sterling
Cruise, so called because all other Caronia cruises were
paid for only in US Dollars, and taking a southerly route
via the Bahamas instead of the usual direct route. Decreased
passenger numbers in the North Atlantic also meant that more
of Cunard's liners were rebuilt into cruise use and received
a similar green colour scheme to that of the Caronia, which
in 1962 were established as the line's official cruise
colours when RMS Mauretania was repainted for cruising
(though not otherwise significantly adapted for the role).
In 1963 the heavily rebuilt and renamed RMS Franconia and
RMS Carmania followed suit. By this time the Caronia's
itineraries had settled into a yearly pattern, each cruise
having found its ideal individual place in the calendar.
By the early 1960s other shipping companies were catching up
with Cunard and building their own purpose-built cruiseships,
which in addition to being better equipped than the Caronia
were better suited for cruising than she had ever been. To
keep up with her newer competitors, Cunard decided that in
November 1965 Caronia would be drydocked for ten weeks, new
suites and a lido deck built, and her interior brought up to
date. 1966 brought with it a seamen's strike in Britain,
which upset the Caronia's itineraries badly. As a result of
climbing operating costs, 1967 was the first year when the
Caronia didn't profit her owners. Due to increased
competition, Cunard decided to withdraw her from service at
the end of the year. Fittingly, Caronia's last voyage for
Cunard was a transatlantic crossing from New York to
Southampton.
1968-1974: Final Years
In early 1968 the Caronia was sold to Star Shipping, a
company owned by US and Panamian interests. Renamed SS
Columbia, she sailed to Greece for refitting. Cunard had
allowed Caronia to fall behind her maintenance schedule, and
her engines needed a major overhaul. Replacement parts were
ordered from a Greek company rather than from the original
manufacturer. Whilst she was being rebuilt Andrew
Konstaninidis took control of Columbia, buying out the other
owners of Star Line and renaming her the SS Caribia. Her
refitting was completed and she was given a new all-white
colour scheme. Registered in Panama, her tonnage was now
reduced to 25,794 GRT under Panamanian rules (which saved
dock dues). February 1969 saw the Caribia embark on her
first cruise from New York to the Caribbean. The voyage was
hindered by a malfunction in her waste system. Things turned
for the worse on her second cruise, when an explosion in the
engine room resulted in the death of one crew member and the
severe scalding of another. In addition the ship lost all
electrical power for twenty hours before repairs allowed her
to return to port. The incident undermined public confidence
in the vessel. The Caribia limped back to New York, never to
make a commercial voyage again.
Plans to revive the Caribia were considered for the next
five years, but she remained docked in New York and her
berthing debts continued to accumulate. Finally in 1974 her
owners gave in and sold the once great ship for scrap.
German ocean tug Hamburg was entrusted with the task of
towing the Caribia to a breaker's yard in Taiwan. Whilst
near Honolulu the ship was in danger of capsizing; but
repairs were made and they continued on. The two ships
sailed into a bad storm near Guam. The Hamburg's generators
failed and her crew were forced to cut the Caribia loose to
save their own vessel. The storm's winds drove the lifeless
ship against Apra Harbour's breakwater, where she was
wrecked.
Being a danger to local shipping, the wrecked Caribia was
swiftly cut up. However, before she could be cut up, it was
discovered that she had come to rest beside a Korean War era
landing craft that had sunk in that same location. The
Landing craft was loaded with tons of munitions including
22mm, 40mm, 5", and 8" shells. This required the careful
removal of all of these materials before removal of the
Caribia could continue. Her removal was all the more urgent
because the Caribia's hulk totally blocked Apra harbor's
entrance. No commercial or military vessels could leave or
enter the harbor until significant portions of her stern had
first been removed. As Apra is the only deep water harbor on
Guam, this made resupply of many vital commodities (e.g.,
petroleum products) impossible or difficult. Her life ended
just 25 years after she was commissioned. Despite being
probably the most forward-looking ship of her time, she was
in active service for only 19 years.
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