SS Cristoforo Colombo

Company registration number: 3002 IMO number: 5082285

The Cristoforo Colombo was a 1954 put into operation in trans-Atlantic passenger steamers of the Italian shipping company Italia - Società di Navigazione ( Italian Line ). The Cristoforo Colombo was the largest ship of the Italian merchant navy at its entry. She was the sister ship of the 1956 sunken Andrea Doria.

Planning

The Second World War had devastating consequences for the Italian Line. Their two biggest and most prestigious ships Rex and the Conte di Savoia, had been severely damaged in attacks and perished. To compensate for these losses new ships had to be built. The goal of the Reederei was to provide passenger ships in service that were not quite as big as the Rex, but still luxurious, comfortable and elegant. In addition, they should restore the prestige of Italy in the field of transatlantic shipping service.

The result of the planning were the two more than 29,000 -ton sister ships Andrea Doria ( named after the General ) and Cristoforo Colombo ( named after the explorer Christopher Columbus ). They were built at the yard numbers 918 and 1478 at the shipyard Cantieri Navali Ansaldo di Sestri Ponente in Genoa. The first of the two ships, the Andrea Doria was placed on Kiel on 9 February 1950. The keel laying of the Cristoforo Colombo was followed on February 19, 1952 The launch of the Andrea Doria was held on 16 June 1951.; of the Cristoforo Colombo on May 10, 1953.

The two ships were planned as a luxury liner and were very exquisitely furnished. The facilities included an ballroom, a lounge, a music room and several swimming pools. The Cristoforo Colombo was 213.6 meters long, 27.4 meters wide and has ten decks 229 passengers in first class, 222 passengers in the cabin class and 604 passengers in economy class record. The crew consisted of 563 persons. The sea trials were conducted between June 6 and 10, 1954.

North Atlantic route

On July 15, 1954, the Cristoforo Colombo was in Genoa on her maiden voyage to New York with stops in Naples, Cannes and Gibraltar. She was taller than the Andrea Doria and at the time the largest Italian merchant ship. After the demise of her sister ship 1956, she was initially alone on this route until in June 1960, the replacement for the Andrea Doria, the Leonardo da Vinci ( 33,340 GRT), was put into service. In spring 1964, the Cristoforo Colombo brought several valuable sculptures of the Vatican to the 1964 World's Fair in New York.

The Cristoforo Colombo and Leonardo da Vinci were considered the flagships of Italy on the North Atlantic until 1965, Michelangelo ( 45 911 GRT) and Raffaello ( 45 933 GRT) were put into service. Then, the Cristoforo Colombo is set on route from Trieste via Venice, Piraeus, Messina, Palermo and Naples to Halifax and New York. 1966 her hull was completely painted white to match the more modern ships in the fleet, which had given up the combined black and white paint. In 1971, she collided with the Lisbon Ana Mafaldo and had to be sent for repair to Trieste.

Last years

In 1973, the Cristoforo Colombo from the New York service was withdrawn and placed on the South America route, taking into account the South African cities of Rio de Janeiro, Santos, Montevideo and Buenos Aires started off with stops in Naples, Cannes, Barcelona and Lisbon. On this route they should replace the 1951 which entered service in Giulio Cesare, which was withdrawn from the market due to a rudder damage.

In 1977 the ship was sold to the Venezuelan construction company CVG Siderurgica del Orinoco CA and used in Puerto Ordaz as an accommodation ship for construction workers. In 1981 she was sold for demolition to Taiwan. On July 24, 1983, she arrived in Kaohsiung, where on 27 August 1983, the demolition work by Yih Shen Steel Enterprise Co. Ltd.. began.

207235
de