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quote:April 13: Since the 1961-built BIG RED BOAT III (former TRANSVAAL CASTLE, SA VAAL, FESTIVALE, ISLANDBREEZE) was reported sold for scrap in February, she has remained moored next to the laid up REMBRANDT at Freeport, Bahamas. Smoke now issues from her funnel as her boilers are fired to prepare her for her final journey to the beaches of India. This sad news seems to spell the end of the final passenger mail ship built for Union Castle Line, and the first former Carnival Cruise Line ship to go to the breakers. Ironically, an inspection in December 2002 by Maritime Matters' Peter Knego, found her to be in remarkably good condition, save for some cosmetic exterior fading.
I guess with fuel prices the way they are, most any steam ship is a pretty awful business proposition. I have a feeling her fuel consumption is a primary factor - maybe the primary factor - that nobody has bought her.
quote:Originally posted at MaritimeMatters:This sad news seems to spell the end of the final passenger mail ship built for Union Castle Line
What about WINSOR CASTLE?
quote:Originally posted by Keitaro:What about WINSOR CASTLE?
She's two years older. He doesn't mean the final one left, he means the final one built.
quote:Originally posted by Keitaro:I thought the WINSOR CASTLE was built for Union Castle Line????
WINDSOR CASTLE was indeed built for Union Castle Line.
Maybe that is why Thompson renegged on her re-charter after Premier sank?
I do not know how much of the Union Castle interiors are left.
Well Good bye Island Breeze!!
1961-1966 (from Simplon Postcards):2001 (picture taken by nathan):
[ 04-13-2003: Message edited by: Keitaro ]
quote:Originally posted by desirod7:I had heard that when she was drydocked after the tugboat accident, they did find some major hull rot.
This happened in the summer of 2000. a month b4 Premier went under. Her propellors sliced into a tugboat, sank the tug and damaged the propellors.
Same month the BRB II severed a power line in Rhode Island and all her elevators and A/C broke down. I departed Rembrandterdam 11 days before she was siezed in Halifax. Whew!!
Regal: which is looking for a 2nd ship could have bought Island Breeze for cash, but did not, and Thompson not wanting to 'rent' her, so she must not be in good shape.
Carnival did a good job in converting her, so she functioned well as a cruiseship despite the decor which was changed by Dolphin.
quote:Originally posted by Keitaro:When did this accident occured? I never heard about it?
What did Dolphin do to the decor?
quote:Originally posted by desirod7:Regal: which is looking for a 2nd ship could have bought Island Breeze for cash, but did not, and Thompson not wanting to 'rent' her, so she must not be in good shape.
I still think the steam turbines are a big problem. I don't know about Thomson, but at least for Regal. They are used to the operating costs of a smaller diesel ship.
A similar instance - Pullmantur was looking at buying COSTA RIVIERA to run alongside OCEANIC.
They didn't buy her because to run her would have cost $2 million/year more than the amount of money it would cost to lease and to operate an R-ship, plus initial investment. The newer, superior ship was actually far cheaper.
Old ships cost a lot of money to run.
That's not to say she's in good condition - I have no idea though Peter Knego says she is in good condition and I see no reason not to believe it - but operating costs are a big factor especially nowadays with high fuel prices.
quote: Cruiseny said:That's not to say she's in good condition - I have no idea though Peter Knego says she is in good condition and I see no reason not to believe it - but operating costs are a big factor especially nowadays with high fuel prices.
I saw the tour and the ship looked perfectly fine inside. Her hull doesn't look like it needed work other than new paint.
quote:Originally posted by Keitaro:I saw the tour and the ship looked perfectly fine inside. Her hull doesn't look like it needed work other than new paint.
What tour ? I don't think he has one for her yet?
Have you got some sort of sneak preview ?
quote:Cruiseny said:What tour ? I don't think he has one for her yet?Have you got some sort of sneak preview ?
I remember back in December, he had a link to some pictures he took at the inspection. The link is gone, but I wished I had saved those pictures!
[ 04-14-2003: Message edited by: Ðraikar ]
quote: Maru said:In 1977 TRANSVAAL CASTLE was sold to Festivale Maritime Inc,renamed FESTIVALE and converted into a cruise ship
Huh? I thought she was sold to Ted Arison/Carnival Cruise Line?
Many remained of the original space until last moment ?web page
In many cases, cruise lines set up a new offshore firm (in someplace like Panama, or the Bahamas) for every ship they build or acquire.
The ship was of course refitted in Japan. From what I understand, all of her interiors were almost entirely gutted. This is very different from CARNIVALE and MARDI GRAS - when FESTIVALE came out, she was virtually a new ship from a passenger's perspective. She was the first with Joe Farcus' interiors too.
I think her profile actually improved after the refit.
quote: Cruiseny said:Festivale Maritime Inc was probably just a Carnival subsidiary set up to own the ship.In many cases, cruise lines set up a new offshore firm (in someplace like Panama, or the Bahamas) for every ship they build or acquire.
What do these firms do?
quote:Originally posted by Keitaro:What do these firms do?
They own the ship .
No, seriously, firms like this are set up specifically to severely limit the liability of the parent company in the event of something happening with one of their ships. It's just there for legal purposes, the ship is actually owned by the cruise line. Unless of course it is leased - for instance some of the new RCI newbuilds are actually owned by leasing companies, and RCI simply "rents" them . Of course many people do this with their cars, airlines do it with their airplanes, and so on...
The wost offender as far as these offshore companies goes, at least in the cruise industry, is International Shipping Partners who seem to do everything possible to disguise themselves from a legal point of view. It is common knowledge that they owned SCANDINAVIAN STAR during her disaster, for instance, but they have not been held liable because there is no proof that they did... Because they have spun a giant web of companies that are actually all fronts for their business but that legally are totally seperate entities in different countries. This is common practice in shipping but ISP is one of the few companies in the cruise business that actively tries to evade the law as far as that goes, or at least they did - successfully - in the case of SCANDINAVIAN STAR.
This is unfortunate. She was running alongside us for quite a while when we were on the Carnival Triumph to Halifax a few years back. How's that for irony?
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