We knew it was coming though the minute she left Bremerhaven. It was just when.

From the Southern Daily Echo today:

By Keith Hamilton

So finally it looks like the old girl is to set sail on that mournful one-way voyage to the scrapyard, as the death knell sounds for legendary liner SS France.

These days the giant vessel is known as Blue Lady and lies waiting off the coast of India for her fate to be sealed.

For more than a decade, France, with her two distinctive winged funnels, was a familiar and well-loved sight on the port skyline of Southampton.

The splendid vessel represented French taste and the French artisitc way of life and quickly attracted many passengers, tempted by her unique atmosphere and character.

After her glory days on the Atlantic, France - at the time the longest liner in the world - was laid up and then converted for a new career as a cruise ship, sailing under the name SS Norway.

In recent years the ship made the occasional nostalgic call to Southampton - each time bringing out thousands of sightseers to renew their association with this elegant vessel that was the epitome of continental chic.

She cruised the Caribbean successfully as Norway, but after a severe engine-room explosion the ship never really recovered, and despite ambitious plans to turn her into a floating casino in the Far East or a tourist attraction in Dubai, she was ultimately towed to India.

Concerns over the amount of asbestos still on board Blue Lady meant it was down to the Indian Supreme Court to decide whether or not the liner could be broken up by local workers.

The green light for the start of the work has now been given, and it is expected the ship-breakers will now begin to move in on the vessel.

Even after extensive refits there was much that still dated back to 1962, when the liner visited Southampton for the first time.

The ship's main restaurant, Windward - once first class - still featured a glorious grand staircase that swept down into the huge public room with its elegant murals and artwork, while Club Internationae featured two impressive crystal statues and an intimate cocktail bar.

Many of her cabins retained the original 1960s fittings and furniture - an echo of the time she would power her way from Southampton to New York.

Over the years, Southampton gave the liner two great send-offs. The first was her maiden sailing in February 1962, and the second in May 1980, when the liner, as Norway, called at the port before making a positioning voyage to Florida.

France was launched by Chantiers de L'Atlantique and launched by the then president's wife, Madame de Gaulle, on May 11, 1960. The new liner first visited Southampton in the month before her maiden voyage for a series of tests alongside the old Ocean Terminal in the Eastern Docks.

In service France settled down well, with hardly any teething troubles. Geared turbine machinery gave her a speed in excess of 30 knots and offered Britain's ageing liners still competition.

Operating costs were spiralling, and as the number of passengers switched to air travel the financial situation grew so bad the French Line abandoned their service in 1974.

SS FRANCE, rest in peace and... adieu.

(screenshots captured from the game Virtual Sailor)

[ 08-15-2006: Message edited by: Vaccaro ]

May ye rest in peace, old girl. Shame, I hardly knew you. I shall now pour myself a cocktail in your honor.

[ 08-15-2006: Message edited by: BigUFan ]

Although we're talking about a 'she', this statment holds true of ssFRANCE/NORWAY,...

-Russ

[ 08-15-2006: Message edited by: linerguy ]

quote:

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Originally posted by J.S.S.Normandie:
This website has wonderful pictures of Norway inside and out.

S.S. Norway

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Great photos--thanks for sharing. And this website reminds me of how we all psyched ourselves up for the last farewell to NORWAY as she left Miami for the 'last time' on Sept. 2, 2001, on her way up to NYC and thence over to Europe. I bitterly regretted not being aboard her for that trip, but was among the throngs of people down at the end of Government Cut watching her sail away.

Of course within 10 days our world had changed dramatically, and the NORWAY did come back. I was fortunate enough to board her several more times, including 2 more sailings before the explosion.

Beware, that's very short but... sad. The proud and still intact ship (from the distance we can see her) is filmed from the beach itself with workers around the cameraman.

Another sad thing is that French news only very briefly report now about the dismanting but had not spoke about the ship during the past 4 or 5 months (at least) and this is the first time this evening they dare to do so...

How sad...

[ 08-16-2006: Message edited by: Vaccaro ]

You can do the same on clicking on News on France 2 and selecting 20h27m3s (Inde : le désamiantage de l'ex-paquebot France).