www.midshipcentury.com

I wonder what the next one will be.

As depressing and inevitable as it is, it is also quite fascinating to see how this process takes place. I predict it will be much faster from here on out.

All the best,

Many thanks for the latest picture of the ex ss France.

As many have said, slow progress is being made in cutting her up however with it not being too long before the monsoons are due again it could delay the work even more.

Its interesting to see the mobile crane on the beach which I expect is being used to bring the cut off sections of the hull ashore.

I expect that can only working at low tide.

[ 05-10-2008: Message edited by: Malcolm @ cruisepage ]

quote:

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Originally posted by dougnewman:
[QBThe poor ship has had an incredibly long death....[/QB]

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quote:

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Originally posted by dougnewman:
. She is by far the largest passenger ship ever to be scrapped.

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Also, I guess if so inclined, you could make the same argument for the Normandie. But she was scrapped in stages with only the hull being towed away for final disposal.

Maybe it would have more precise to say that the Norway/France is the largest passenger ship to be scrapped on a beach???

Anyway, Doug's point was well taken and correct relative to the scrapping method being employed on the Norway/France.

Garnett

[ 05-10-2008: Message edited by: Garnett ]

quote:

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Originally posted by dougnewman:
I suppose one might consider QUEEN ELIZABETH the largest passenger ship ever to be scrapped, but I tend not to consider a wreck to be the same thing. If one counts QUEEN ELIZABETH one must also count NORMANDIE, making NORWAY only the third-largest passenger ship to be scrapped.

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http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x12qz_lancement-du-france_events

[ 05-11-2008: Message edited by: Vaccaro ]

quote:

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Originally posted by Malcolm @ cruisepage:
Is it taking longer to cut her up than normal? It seems to be a very slow death.

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I don't know, but compared to how slowly the superstructure demolition seemed to go a few months ago, it's looking like they're going at warp speed now. Perhaps they were trying to wait and see how far they could winch it ashore, and finally gave up.

The fact that speculation-driven market prices for scrap metal have gone through the roof lately might have something to do with it, too. If even American breakers like ESCO Marine can make an unsubsidized profit scrapping toxic Navy ghost ships these days, I can safely guess that the Alang breakers decided they'd be better off going ahead and scrapping what they could now, instead of facing the possibility of a price bubble bursting by the time they figured out how to winch the whole ship ashore.

from another board: SS Norway Gruop

quote:

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I had sailed on the Norway for the 4th time not too long before her boiler exploded after Star Cruises took over.. When I boarded the
ship I immediatly saw a huge differnce in the upkeep of the ship.. The curtains were dirty, a lot of areas on the ship smelled like sewage.. or bad plumbing.. in either case it wasnt pleasant... Club
International had been repainted but the colors werent the beautiful high quality that the room used to have.. The Library was gone and
turned into a retail store.. Even some of the exterior paint wasnt looking so good..

In essence, they literally neglected the ship to death..It's a shame, but now that the verdict is out on the boiler explosion and negligence resulting in loss of human life, I know my observations were correct.. I had a suite and when I turned back the bed, the sheets were actually dirty.. I was floored.. It wasn't the beautiful well maintained ship I had sailed on 3 other times.. I knew something wasn't right.. and now the proof is out.. I think the thing that makes us all so sad is that the ship wasnt worn out, she wasnt in terrible shape, she didnt need to be scrapped, she just needed to be taken care of properly..

So therefore none of this ever needed to happen.. If you neglect anything long enough it dies.. try not watering house plants or never paying attention to your spouse.. the marrage dies and so do the plants.. In the same way, now the Norway is gone.. it simply didnt need to happen this way..I am glad the NTSB report is now public.. I will miss her..
Mike

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Truth is NCL wanted to be rid of the ship by the mid 90's. She is a classic Citroen on a taxi cab service. They could not sell her for the price they wanted and were stuck.

[ 05-13-2008: Message edited by: desirod7 ]