SS Shalom

SS "Shalom" was a combined ocean liner/cruise ship built in 1964 by Chantiers de l'Atlantique, St Nazaire, France for ZIM Lines, Israel for transatlantic service from Haifa to New York. In 1967 she was sold to the German Atlantic Line, becoming their second SS "Hanseatic". Subsequenly she served as SS "Doric" for Home Lines, SS "Royal Odyssey" for Royal Cruise Line and SS "Regent Sun" for Regency Cruises. She was laid up in 1995 following the bankruptcy of Regency Cruises. Numerous attempts were made to bring her back to service, but none were successful and the ship sunk outside Cape St. Francis, South Africa on 26 July 2001 while en-route to India to be scrapped.

On November 26 1964 the "Shalom" accidentally rammed the Norwegian tanker "Stolt Dagali" outside New York, resulting in the loss of 19 "Stolt Dagali" crew members as well as the tanker itself.

Concept and construction

ZIM Lines had begun transatlantic operations from Haifa to New York in 1953 with the SS "Jerusalem". In 1959 they placed an order for a brand new ship for the transatlantic service with Chantiers de l'Atlantique, France. Proposed names for the new ship included "Shlomo-Hamelech", "King David" and "King Solomon", but ZIM finally opted for "Shalom" (peace) as the name of their new flagship.

The "Shalom" was floated out of drydock on 10 November 1962, and after fitting out she commenced on her sea trials on 24 January 1964. In February of the same year she was delivered to ZIM Lines, arriving in Haifa for the first time on 3 March 1964.

After just six months in service the "Shalom" was rebuilt at Wilton-Feyenoord, Rotterdam, The Netherlands with additional first-class cabins. During her subsequent career she was also rebuilt in 1973 before entering service for Home Lines and in 1982 before entering service for Royal Cruise Line.

ervice history

1964-1967: Zim Lines

The brand-new "Shalom" begun her career with a series of short cruises out of Haifa, before embarking on her fully booked first crossing to New York on 17 April 1964. However, by the time she entered service the transatlantic liner trade was already in decline, with more passenger crossing the Atlantic by air than by sea since 1959. [cite book |title=The Complete Guide to Cruising and Cruise Ships |last=Ward |first=Douglas |year=2006 |publisher=Berlitz |location=Singapore |isbn=981-246-739-4 |pages=p. 23 ] To make her better suited for cruise service, the "Shalom" was rebuilt in Holland in October 1964, increasing the number of first-class cabins.

On November 26 1964, while outbound from New York on a cruise in thick fog, the "Shalom" collided with the vegetable oil-carrying Norwegian tanker "Stolt Dagali" just outside Point Pleasant. The "Shalom"'s bow cut the "Stolt Dagali" in half, killing 19 members of the tanker's crew. The bow section of the tanker sunk in convert|130|ft|m|2|abbr=on deep water, but her aft remained afloat and was later salvaged. The "Shalom"'s bow was badly damaged, but she was able to return to New York under her own power, where she was repaired.

In 1965, barely a year after the "Shalom" had been delivered, ZIM Lines made the decision to abandon transatlantic service, with their ship sold off during the next two years.cite web |url=http://www.simplonpc.co.uk/Shalom_Doric.html |title=Shalom |accessdate=2008-02-16 |author=Ian Boyle |language= |work=Simplon Postcards ] The "Shalom" stayed in ZIM service until November 1967, when she was sold to German Atlantic Line.

1967-1973: German Atlantic Line

The German Atlantic Line had been without a ship since the first SS "Hanseatic" had been destroyed by fire in New York in September 1966.cite web |url=http://www.simplonpc.co.uk/HamburgAtlantik.html |title=Hamburg Atlantik Line / Deutsche Atlantik Line / Hanseatic Tours |accessdate=2008-02-16 |date= |format= |author=Ian Boyle |work=Simplon Postcards ] On 9 November 1967 the "Shalom" was sold to the German Atlantic Line and renamed "Hanseatic", becoming the second ship with that name. On 16 December 1967 the new "Hanseatic" set on a crossing from Cuxhaven, Germany to New York with only special invited guests onboard. After that she was used for cruising around North America and Europe. During 1968 she was also used on transatlantic service, but after that year German Atlantic decided to abandon liner service and concentrate solely on cruising.

1973-1981: Home Lines

In 1973 the "Hanseatic" was again sold as a replacement for a ship lost in a fire, this time for Home Lines' SS "Homeric". [cite web |url=http://www.simplonpc.co.uk/HomeLinePCs.html |title=Home Lines |accessdate=2008-02-16 |author=Ian Boyle |work=Simplon Postcards] Home Lines and German Atlantic Line were both led by Vernicos Eugenides, which made the transfer of "Hanseatic" to the former's fleet a straightforward affair. After being sold to Home Lines on 25 September 1973, the "Hanseatic" was renamed "Doric" and subsequently rebuilt with a larger after superstructure. Home Lines used her for cruising from Port Everglades to the West Indies during the northern hemisphere winter season, and New York to Bermuda during the summer season.

In preparation for the delivery of the new MS "Atlantic" in 1982, [cite web |url=http://www.faktaomfartyg.se/atlantic_1982.htm |title=M/S Atlantic (1982) |accessdate=2008-02-16 |author=Micke Asklander |work= [http://www.faktaomfartyg.se/ Fakta om Fartyg] |language=in Swedish ] Home Lines sold the "Doric" to Royal Cruise Line in 1981.

1981-1988: Royal Cruise Line

Under her new owners the "Doric" was renamed "Royal Odyssey". Before entering service for Royal Cruise Line, she received a four-month refit at the Greek shipyards of Perama and Neorion, where her funnel was rebuilt, her topmost deck expanded and a bulbous bow added below the waterline. The "Royal Odyssey" entered service for Royal Cruise Line on 25 May 1982, used for cruises all around the world, including occasional cruises around the Pacific from Australia.cite web |url=http://www.simplonpc.co.uk/RoyalCruiseLine.html |title=Royal Cruise Line |accessdate=2008-02-16 |author=Ian Boyle |work=Simplon Postcards]

In June 1988 Royal Cruise Line took delivery of the new MS "Crown Odyssey". [cite web |url=http://www.faktaomfartyg.se/crown_odyssey_1988.htm |title=M/S Crown Odyssey (1988) |accessdate=2008-02-16 |author=Micke Asklander |work= [http://www.faktaomfartyg.se/ Fakta om Fartyg] |language=in Swedish ] The company operated with a three-ship fleet until November of the same year, when the "Royal Odyssey" was sold to Regency Cruises.

1988-1995: Regency Cruises

The "Royal Odyssey" was renamed "Regent Sun" by Regency Cruises, and entered service for them on 9 December 1988. She continued sailing for Regency until 3 November 1995 when she was arrested at Nassau, Bahamas due to the poor financial situation of her owners. Subsequently the "Regent Sun" and all other Regency ships were laid up and put for sale.

1995-2001: laid up

Following the collapse of Regency Cruises, the "Regent Sun" never returned to active service, despite the interest expressed by several companies in operating her. In October 1996 Royal Venture Cruises wished to charter her under the name "Sun Venture" for additional cruise service, while in 1997 Premier Cruises expressed interest in purchasing the ship, but withdrew their offer due to her poor condition. In 1998 the ship was first sold to Tony Travel & Agency and renamed "Sun", then sometime later to International Shipping Partners and renamed "Sun 11", but despite these changes in ownership she remained laid up at The Bahamas. In 2000 International Shipping Partners begun rebuilding the "Sun 11" into a hotel ship, with a planned new name as "Canyon Ranch at Sea", but this plan too fell through, and in 2001 the "Sun 11" was sold to Indian shipbreakers. While en-route to India under tow, the "Sun 11" started taking in water on 25 July 2001 while outside South African territorial waters. The South African authorities forbade the ship to enter South African waters, and on 26 July she sank outside Cape St. Francis.

Design

Exterior design

The "Shalom" was designed according to the principles of the era, with engines placed two-thirds aft and two slim funnels placed side-by side instead of the large traditional funnels. The funnel design in particular resembled SS "Rotterdam" of Holland America Line and SS "Canberra" of P&O, both of which were still under construction at the time the "Shalom" was being designed. Her hull and superstructure design were optimized for transatlantic traffic, with the promenade decks entirely glass-enclosed.

In original livery the "Shalom" was almost entirely white, with an all-white hull and superstructure and white funnels with only small black bands around them, with the ZIM Lines logo between them. Originally her name and homeport were written on her hull in both Latin and Hebrew alphabet. When she entered service for German Atlantic Line, the name "Hanseatic" was written with large letters on her bow, arguably unbalancing her profile. In Home Lines service she received yellow funnels and a yellow radar mast, with the name written in the bow in somewhat smaller typeface.

The 1982 refit radically altered the ship's profile, when the original slim funnels were replaced with a single large one, and the outer decks between the bridge and the funnel were built in. Additionally a bulbous bow was added below the waterline, improving the ship's sea-keeping abilities. Ruting the refit the ship's livery was also altered, with the new funnel painted in blue and white, while a white decorative ribbon was added to her hull. The exact same livery was maintained as "Regent Sun", with the Regency Cruises funnel symbol replacing that of Royal Cruise Line.

Interior design

The public spaces onboard the "Shalom" were spread over two decks, originally named "Rainbow" and "Olive Branch", which were the sixth- and seventh-highest passenger-accessible decks respectively. Facilities included a cinema, winter garden, tavern, shopping center, night club, and separate lounges for first- and tourist-class passengers. "Shalom"'s award-winning interiors were mostly designed by Dora Gad in a bright, contemporary style.

References