ssMaritime.com &
ssMaritime.net
With
Reuben Goossens
Maritime Historian
Cogedar Line
MS
Aurelia
Other names: Huascaran,
Beaverbrae, Aurelia, Romanza, Romantica
A fine photograph of
the MS Aurelia
Author’s private collection
Launched as the 9,951 GRT
(Gross Registered Tons) passenger cargo ship MS
Huascaran on December
15, 1938 was she was delivered her owners on April 27, 1939. As built she
had accommodations for just 39 first class passengers in her relatively
luxuriously appointed mid ships section. She departed for her maiden voyage on April 29, 1939
from Hamburg to Genoa. Upon her return she commenced the
service she was built for, the Hamburg
to the West Coast of South America service and continued on this service until
1940.
A waterline model of
the MS Huascaran seen as built in 1939
Provided by www.shipmodels.co.uk
In 1940 she was taken over by the German Navy
and converted into a submarine depot and repair ship operating in northern
waters and served and remarkably survived the war. However, after the war she
was seized by the British Government who handed her over to the Canadians on November 14, 1945,
after an refit back to a passenger cargo ship she was
managed by the Park Steamship Co until September 2, 1947, when she was sold to Canadian
Pacific and refitted at Sorel,
Quebec.
Canadian Pacific
MS Beaverbrae
Author’s private collection
Her refit saw her accommodations increase up
to 775 passengers. Externally she looked much the same, except for the
additional lifeboats on Boat Deck and those double tiered far aft. When
completed her tonnage was listed as 9,034 GRT.
On February 7, 1948
she was officially renamed Beaverbrae and become an emigrant ship between Germany and Canada. She departed from St Louis on her maiden voyage for Canadian Pacific on February 8, 1948
and sailed for Bremerhaven, a service she
continued until 1951, when she turned around in Bremen.
One of the more unusual features of this ship
was, she carried passengers from Germany
to Canada, but returned to Germany only as
a full fledged cargo ship.
In fact, one of the converted holds was transformed for the westbound voyage
into a number of dormitories and then this was removed and used as a hold
eastward.
First Cogedar post
card of MS Aurelia
Author’s private collection
As the migrant trade slowed she was sold on November 1, 1954
to the well known Italian shipping Company, Cia,
Genovese do Armamento, or as many better know it -
Cogedar Line. Having taken delivery they renamed her Aurelia and they took her
to Monfalcone (Trieste) in order to extensively
rebuild her as a major passenger liner to be operated mostly on the profitable Italy to New Zealand and Australian service.
Second Cogedar post
card of MS Aurelia
Author’s private collection
Her superstructure was stretched forward and
aft making her an attractive ship for the day. On Promenade Deck (Upper Deck
having an open, but a glass enclosed promenade/sports deck) the after half
contained the large Dinning Room. The deck above, Lido Deck, had six
contemporary style public rooms, which extended from below the Bridge to as far
as the Lido Deck with its swimming pool. She had 238 cabins accommodating 1,124
passengers. Accommodations raged from 2 to 8 berth cabins. 13 cabins on Lido
Deck had a toilet, with either their own, or a shared shower. Air-Conditioning
had been installed throughout the ship. Her new tonnage was now listed as
10,022 GRT.
Aurelia seen after her
refit
Author’s private collection
On May 13, 1955 Aurelia departed Trieste
for Sydney for her first voyage, However her home port would soon become Genoa,
and she departed from there on her first Genoa
to Australia and New Zealand
voyage on November 15.
During the European winter months of 1958/59
new Man Diesels were fitted during another major refit, which saw her profile
further enhanced. She was now listed as 10,480 GRT. Having been transferred to Bremerhaven
and northern European ports, she departed Bremerhaven
on June 12, 1959
for Sydney.
Aurelia was chartered by Council on Student Travel for one round trip from Bremen to New
York, arriving June 27, 1960. This experiment was repeated in
1961 twice in 1962 and 1963.
In 1964 she also made a number of voyages from
Rotterdam, also calling at Bremerhaven,
or visa versa, to Australia,
in addition to five transatlantic voyages from Channel ports to New York. On December 9 1964,
Aurelia departed from Rotterdam on her first of three round the
world voyage sailing via the Panama
to New Zealand and Australia returning via the Suez
Canal. Thereafter she returned to her return voyages
via the Suez.
SS
Flavia, Aurelia’s modern running mate
Author’s
private collection)
During the later stages,
SS Aurelia operated on the Australian route with her newer more modern mate the
SS Flavia, which was built as the Cunard Lines SS Media.
However after the closure of the Suez Canal in
1967 and the rapid decline of the migrant trader and passenger numbers the end
of the end of the Cogedar line-service was sadly insight. Although having
operated cruises with moderate success the end was in sight.
Aurelia departed Rotterdam
bound for Australia on September 23, 1968
and she would sail via Cape Town
in both directions. Sadly for many, the Aurelia departed Sydney for the final time on October 29, 1968.
Upon her return she was extensively refitted to become a full time cruise ship.
Her accommodations were reduced to just 470 passengers and she departed
Southampton on February 5 on her first cruise to Madeira,
but due to lengthy delays during the refit, her first three cruises had been
cancelled, and her cruises either did not prove popular or the public had lost
trust in the company operating them.
The series was cancelled in May.
She
operated six of transatlantic sailings were undertaken under charter; by 1969
she had made a total 34 transatlantic voyages during her career.
Upon her return from the sixth return voyage she was returned to cruising out
of Southampton in September, but again this
proved to be unsuccessful and Aurelia was placed on the market.
Chandris
Cruises Romanza
Chandris purchased her in September
1970, and renamed her Romanza. She was refitted at Piraeus to become a full time cruise ship.
Under Chandris she was listed as being 8,891 GRT.
She commenced cruising in 1971, and proved to be a great success in the Mediterranean. However, in her later career she did have
a number of mishaps. Her first mishap occurred in October 1979, when she was
grounded on Dhenousa
Island during an Aegean cruise. As she
suffered hull damage, passengers were transferred to another Chandris cruise
ship, The Victoria. Romanza was taken under tow back to Piraeus for repairs. In 1983 chartered to
Lloyd Brasileiro after which she accommodated 707
passengers.
In
1991, she was sold to New Ambassador Cruises of Cyprus
and renamed Romantica to operate on the Egypt and Israelcruise
program from Limassol. There cruises were quite successful, but completion from
Louis Cruise Line ended her service. New Ambassador Cruises went bankrupt in
1995 and Romantica was laid up at Piraeus.
In 1997, she was bought by Cyprus-based Paradise Cruises and received yet
another refurbishment. She operated short Mediterranean 3enjoying reasonable
success.
Romantica
on fire--
Then on October 4 1997, whilst on a cruise she caught
fire off Limassol. Sadly, the fire totally gutted the ship. Her old fleet mate,
now a Louis Cruise ship, the Princesa Victoria (previously her Chandris running
mate) came to her aid once again and safely took onboard all passengers and
crew. A scorched Romantica was towed to an anchorage just outside the harbour
at Limassol. In April 1998 she was towed to Alexandria, Egypt
to be broken up.
Above &
Below: A tragic sight of the fire ravaged MS Romantica
Specifications
Built: Blohm
& Voss Hamburg
Yard #: 518
Launched: December 15, 1938
Hamburg-America Line: April 27, 1939
Tonnage: 10,480 GRT - Aurelia
Length: 148.7m
- 487 feet
Width: 18.4m
- 60 feet
Draft: 6.7m – 21 feet
Engine: Diesel-electric
(3 MAN type diesels)
Screw: Single
Speed: 17
knots
Passengers: 32 First Class
Passengers: 1,124
Crew Aurelia: 28
Fully
air-conditioned
Three
photographs of Aurelia & Romanza in her better days
Aurelia
in her heyday
A fine aerial
photograph of the Chandris cruise ship Romanza
Romanza passing
through the Corinth
Canal
MS Aurelia
& Cogedar Line INDEX:
Page One: MS Aurelia
– history page
Page Two: The Bulthuis Family Story
Page Three: MS Aurelia - Photo Page (From a brochure)
Page Four: Jacoba Ris-Török Story
Also read: Other Cogedar Line ships …
MS Flaminia – (The old Cogedar liner)
RMS Media / SS Flavia – (The last of the Cogedar
ships)
**************************************************
I trust you have enjoyed reading about
this loved passenger liner. If you have sailed on her I would like to hear from
you, and if you have any photographs I would greatly appreciate some,
especially those of the interiors and out on deck. Email Me!
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Photographs on
ssmaritime and associate pages are: 1. By the author.
2. From the author’s private collection. 3. As provided by Shipping
Companies and private photographers or collectors. Credit is given to all
contributors. However, there are photographs provided to me without details
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