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Design
and Construction (1939 – 1947):
Both the
Nederland Line and Royal
Rotterdam Lloyd Line served the Dutch East Indies
route. Royal Rotterdam Lloyd Line, had ships such as the elegant trio
of liners
- Slamat, Indrapoera,
and
Sibajak, each being 12,000 GRT. However, regardless of their past
elegance,
these ships were rather antiquated, as the Nederland Line had
introduced a
number of superior ships such as the elegant and very popular Johan van
Oldenbarnevelt, which commenced her Dutch East
Indies
service in 1930. Then in 1939, the Nederland Line introduced a new
modern ship
for her time, the Oranje. She joined the JVO to the East Indies. The maiden voyage Oranje to Indonesia
was so popular, that Royal
Rotterdam Lloyd Line knew that they needed to compete with the
Nederland Line,
and build a superior liner.
The keel
of the ship was
laid down in January 1939 at the De Schelde
shipyard
in Vlissingen (Flushing).
However, with
the outbreak of the war, the construction was halted and she remained
on the
slipway. The Germans first attempted to bomb her, then strangely enough
they
even continued the construction, which was sabotaged number times by
the Dutch
resistance. Soon the Germans gave up the idea, and left the ship to
deteriorate. The rusting hull somehow survived the chaos of war.
After the
war, it was
decided to complete her, becoming a matter of national pride. It was an
exciting day on the 1st July 1946;
she was
launched by Mrs E. E. Ruys-van Houten and
was
christened Willem Ruys after the founder of the Royal Rotterdam Lloyd
Line.
Royal
Rotterdam
Lloyd Line Era (1947 – 1965):
On the 2nd
December
1947, the 21,119 GRT Willem Ruys set out on her maiden voyage from Rotterdam to the Dutch East
Indies.
Queen Wilhelmina had granted the company a Royal prefix for its
services during
the war, thus the company was now officially named “Royal Rotterdam
Lloyd.” The
Willem Ruys featured a superstructure very different to any liner ever
built.
She pioneered the low-slung aluminium lifeboats, within the
upper-works’
flanks. The next ship to adopt this unique arrangement was P&O’s Canberra in
1961. Today,
all cruise ships follow this layout, pioneered by Willem Ruys. Compared
to
Oranje, her rival, she was the more luxurious of the two, setting new
standards
of comfort in all classes.
Willem
Ruys, became the most
popular liner on the Indonesia
route, thus finally Royal Rotterdam Lloyd Line had a worthy rival to
the Nederland
Line’s, Oranje. Dutch ships sailed back and forth to Indonesia,
until an event, which
was about to change the Dutch shipping industry dramatically. The East Indies, group of islands, having been a
Dutch colony
since the 17th century, gained its independence in 1949. The
flow of
traffic between the Netherlands
and Indonesia
thus suffered a meltdown. Before being placed on a new service in 1958,
Willem
Ruys was involved with a minor collision with her rival, Oranje in the Red Sea. There was no loss of life. After
repairs, Royal
Rotterdam Lloyd Line decided to deploy her on the North
Atlantic
run. First, she was placed on the New York
service, and later Canada
was included.
Her next
incarnation would
see her to have a major facelift at the Wilton-Fijenoord
shipyard. Soon she would ply on her new round the world service to Australia and New Zealand.
Her new specifications
would see her tonnage increase to 23,114 GRT, and now carrying
275-first class,
and 770-second class.
She
commenced her new
service in March 1959, sailing eastward, via the Panama Canal, whist
Johan van
Oldenbarnevelt and Oranje sailed westward, via the Suez
Canal. She and her two comrades at sea, JVO and Oranje,
were a
popular alternative to the British liners, and saw excellent loadings.
The two
companies Royal Rotterdam Lloyd Line and the Netherland Line
collectively operated
under the banner of “Royal Dutch Mails.” as they together with Greek,
and
Italian companies, operated on the migrant service to Australia,
with paying passengers
on the return voyage, most being migrants visiting their families back
home. In
February 1963, the 33-year old JVO was sold to the Greek Line, to
become the
ill-fated Lakonia, taking up cruise duties
from the UK to the Mediterranean.
At the end
of 1964, due to
poor passenger loadings, Willem Ruys was laid up in Rotterdam,
whilst her running mate the Oranje was laid up in Amsterdam.
Flotta
Lauro Lines Era (1965 – 1994):
Both were
placed on the
market and sold to Flotta Lauro Lines. In January 1965, she was
officially
handed over and renamed Achille Lauro. Oranje was renamed Angelina
Lauro.
She was
about to be
extensively rebuilt and modernised by CN Riuniti
di Palermo. On the 29th
August, the ship was
rocked by an explosion, and a fire broke out. After the ship was made
safe,
work was continued, but obviously, her completion was delayed.
Externally
there were some
significant changes made to this already beautiful ship. The most
obvious
being, her twin funnels, each were the heightened, painted blue, with
the
traditional Lauro star added. The high slim-line funnels were topped by
stylish
twin smoke dispersers, giving Achille Lauro a distinctive look. In
addition,
promenade deck was extended forward with glazing, whilst her upper
decks aft
were also glazed in to protect the forward pool from the wind. Her hull
was
repainted dark blue, with a red boot topping. Undoubtedly, she was a
magnificent sight, for a pre-war ship, looking very much like new
modern liner.
Her gross tonnage had now been increased to 23,629. Sadly, the Achille
Lauro
became a much troubled ship right up to her eventual sinking on the 2nd
December 1994.
This
beautiful ship was
placed once again on the Australian service. On the 13th
April 1966
Achille Lauro departed Genoa heading
for Sydney, Australia
continuing on to Wellington,
New Zealand.
She remained on this service for six years. However, due to a lack of
passengers, she was withdrawn from service. Achille Lauro was about to
join the
cruise industry.
Achille
Lauro was involved
in a collision with a cargo ship, the Youssef.
This
incident resulted in one casualty. Sadly, the Youssef
sank. Then in 1981, Achille Lauro suffered yet another fire. After
repairs, she
was placed back into service again.
In 1982,
the Tenerife authorities seized her
as Lauro Line had not
paid the port duties. She remained laid up for several months before
she was
able return to her homeport, Genoa.
She was again laid up until Lauro Lines paid their various debts.
Lauro
Lines merged with the
Chandris Line in 1985. It would be this year that
became Achille Lauro’s most notorious year
ever, with
an event, which the world would remember, even to this day. On the 7th
October 1985, Achille Lauro was on a ten-day cruise;
however, just before arriving at Alexandria,
the Achille Lauro was taken hostage by five Palestinian terrorists. Not
since
the hijacking of the Argentinean Liner Santa Maria, by a Portuguese
rebel group
on the 23rd January 1961 had a liner ever been taken
hostage. The Santa Maria
was held for
13 days. The Palestinian terrorists were in a rage, when they murdered
a
disabled passenger, American Mr. Leon Klinghoffer.
After which, they threw him and his wheelchair overboard. After various
demands, the Egyptian authorities gave the hijackers permission to
leave the
ship without punishment. As they left the ship, they made a victorious
lap around
the harbour, soon after they departed by plane. However, the American
authorities forced them down over Sicily.
In the meantime, the Egyptian government retained the Achille Lauro, in
retaliation. Again, whilst under the Italian flag, she suffered another
crisis.
Eight days later, the Achille Lauro returned to her homeport. One of
the
terrorists was captured by the Americans during the 2003 Iraq War.
The ship
continued her
cruise duties, although she was re-flagged in 1987, when the Lauro Line
became Star
Lauro. In 1990, a TV movie was made, named, “Voyage of Terror - The
Achille Lauro Affair,”
starring Burt Lancaster and Eve Marie Saint. Like most movies, we
cannot
believe what it shows, as general exterior shots were of other cruise
ships,
even cargo ships, but it came off reasonably well.
Several
years later came the
demise of the great Willem Ruys / Achille Lauro. On the 30th
November
1994, she was cruising off Somalia
in the Indian ocean, when yet another fire broke out. This time there
would be
no reprieve for her, as this fire would be devastating. After the fire
began to
burn out of control, the captain gave the order to abandon ship at 0500
local
time, 0200 GMT. All 1,090 passengers and crew abandoned ship. The
tanker
‘Hawaiian King’ was the first of a number of ships that answered
Achille
Lauro’s SOS.
The
Panamanian registered
‘Hawaiian King’ rescued most of the passengers. Sadly, two souls died,
and
eight were injured during the transfer of passengers from life rafts
onto the
tanker. As night fell, survivors were recovering onboard the ‘Hawaiian
King.’ The US Navy cruiser Gettysburg. which by now had been stocked with
much needed food.
The fire raged for three days, and the Achille Lauro was declared a
total loss.
“The Achille Lauro is listing by at least 40 degrees, and you can still
see
smoke and flames, the passenger decks on the stern side are burning,
and flames
are licking halfway up the vessel,” said the tanker’s captain, Dimitrios Skapinakis.
Achille
Lauro sank on the 2nd December 1994.
Thus ends
the story of the
once mighty Willem Ruys 1947 – 1994.
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