ssMaritime

Authors
collection
MS
Port
Later
names: Akrotiri Express.
Currently
cruising as the Princess Daphne

Princess
Daphne (ex Port Sydney) seen before her refit in 2007/08
Photographer
unknown

MS
Port
From
the authors private collection
Ordered by Port Line Ltd., a subsidiary of
Cunard for the use on their route between the
Port
Although carrying twelve passengers,
essentially they where refrigerated freighters, having six holds (also
for general cargo), built to operate what was known as the
meat run between
Port Line continued this service until 1968, when both ships were transferred to the management of BluePort Line, being a company formed by Blue Star Line and Port Line. Their service remained unaltered.
These fine ships operated between the UK to New Zealand and Australia from 1955 to 1971 when it was finally decided by BluePort to pull the ships from the run and lay them up and place them on the market as container ships were taking over the meat service from regular cargo ships, and passengers no longer choose to travel by sea as much and it seemed that travelling by jet began to rule.

Postcard
of the Port
From
the authors private collection
Specifications
Builder
Swan Hunter and Wigham Richardson, Wallsend,
Built for Port Line
Laid
down
Launched 29 October 1954
Maiden
Voyage
5 March 1955
Width 21.30m / 69.88ft
Propulsion 2 six cylinder Doxford diesels engines 12,200 hp
Screws Two
Service speed 17
Passengers 12
Passenger decks 3
Port
of registry
Livery Grey hull, white superstructure, Red and black capped funnels with to black bands.
Red boot topping
Holds
6 Mostly refrigerated (also general cargo) for
transporting frozen meat or dairy produce

MS
Port
Photo
from the late John Dyson collection
At first it is thought that it was planned to
convert them into passenger car ferries and thus Port Melbourne
was given the name of Therisos Express and the Port Sydney the Akrotiri
Express. Both ships retained these names whilst awaiting their
rebuilding.

Photographer
unknown
However, the Greek Karras company wanted to
diversify into the lucrative American cruise market as Karras
Cruises and thus both ships were taken to the small Greek seaport
Akrotiri Express (Port Sydney) was the first to be completed in June 1975 and she was renamed Daphne and entered service in July. Therisos Express (Port Melbourne) was completed next and she entered service for the Karras Cruise Line in 1976 named Danae.

Karras
Cruises MS Daphne just after being rebuilt
From
the authors private collection
MS Daphne was chartered to the Lauro Line (Once better known as Flotta Lauro or Star Lauro) in 1978 and then to the Italian Costa Cruise Line in 1979. She was then purchased outright by Costa in 1984. In 1990 a joint venture between Costa and Sovcomflot created Prestige Cruises, which saw another technical change in ownership.

Postcard
of the Costa Cruises Daphne
From
the authors private collection
In 1996 Daphne was sold to Leisure Cruises of Panama, who renamed her Switzerland, She operated mostly for the Swiss market and undertook a world cruises and visited Australia and New Zealand in 1998.

MS
Switzerland in
Photo
taken by & © Reuben Goossens (the author)
After an extensive refit at

MV
Ocean Monarch
Photographer
unknown
In November 2007 she was sold to Classic
International Cruises and after a refit she will join the
companies fleet of fine classic cruise ships and she will be
renamed MV Princess Daphne and she was to join her fleet mate MS
Funchal in a series of cruises in Australia during the 2008/09
summer, which has proven to be a great success for the classic
Funchal over the past 5 years.

Classic
International Cruises MV Princess Danae
(Authors
collection)

Memories
of the old days Port Sydney is seen here in Auckland NZ
Photographer
unknown
If you have enjoyed the MS Port Sydney/Daphne/Ocean
Monarch/Princess Daphne article, and you feel you might have
something of interest to add, be it a story, photographs, I would
appreciate hearing from you - info@ssmaritime.com
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