Click the logo above to reach
the ssMaritime FrontPage for News Updates & “Ship of the Month”
With Reuben Goossens
Maritime Historian,
Cruise‘n’Ship Reviewer & Author
Chandris
Lines
RHMS
Patris
ex Union
Castle Line
RMS Bloemfontein Castle
Later,
Mediterranean Island / Mediterranean Star / Terra
Bloemfontein Castle
Part One – RMS Bloemfontein
Castle
The Bloemfontein Castle the first of an identical quartet, and was
built by Harland & Wolff at Belfast. Her duties were to take emigrants
from England to Rhodesia.
However, due to the cancellation of assisted passages, it was decided to
complete her, but changed her design.
On August 25, 1949, Bloemfontein Castle was launched by Mrs Leif England
being the wife of the High Commissioner for the Union of South Africa in London. She
was completed in March
25, 1950. Although based on pre war Union Castle Liners having
identical hulls and similar superstructures, such as the Dunnottar
Castle, there were differences between
her and past Union Castle Liners, one being that she was the first one class
liner to be built for Union
Castle. Also, her original design had
two masts, which was changed to a single mast located directly aft of the
bridge, in additions she was given a flush foredeck. She had five hatches, two forward and three aft, served by
six 10 ton and four 5 ton derricks. Her cargo spaces were insulated to
transport fruit, and general cargo. However, other compartments were
refrigerated for frozen produce.
Aerial photograph of the RMS Bloemfontein
Castle at sea
Her main public rooms were
located on promenade deck. The Main Lounge was located forward and occupied the
full width of the ship, making it a particularly spacious room. Next was the
library and writing room, which was connected by a gallery to a large smoking
room. The Dining Room was located on Upper deck, with seating for 386
passengers, thus requiring two seating’s to accommodate her complement of
730 passengers. It was considered that her standard appointments were better
than first class on many of her pre war sisters, and she became a popular ship
I her early days.
Bloemfontein Castle
departed London on April 6, 1950 for her maiden voyage from
London to Rotterdam, Las Palmas, Ascension Island, St. Helena, and Walvis Bay
concluding in Cape Town.
She returned via Port Elizabeth, East London, Durban, Maputo and Beira,
after which she undertook a series of sailings and cruises, but never
successfully.
Bloemfontein Castle uneventful service with Union Castle
would be remembered for just one incident. On January 8, 1955 she received a distress
call from the Dutch liner Klipfontein, which was located off Mozambique. She
rescued her 116 passengers and 118 crew.
In 1959, due to the ever declining loadings, Union Castle
decided having a number of smaller ships, to consolidate their operations and
decided to place several ships including the Bloemfontein up for sale. She
was soon purchased and she returned to Southampton
on November 9, and she was handed over to her new owners.
Specifications: Bloemfontein
Castle
Builder: Harland
& Wolff, Belfast
Tonnage: 18,400
GRT (Gross Registered Tons)
Length: 594.6ft
– 181m
Beam: 76ft
- 23.1m
Draught: 29ft
– 8.8m
Propulsion: Two
Burmeister & Wain Diesels – 20,000 BHP
Screws: Two
Speed: 18
knots.
Decks: 5
Passengers: 730
one class
Bloemfontein Castle seen in Cape Town
Part Two – RHMS Patris
An early Chandris postcard of the all white
RHMS Patris
The Greek Chandris Lines (England)
purchased her for their Australian service. Chandris renamed her Patris
(Mother Country or Homeland in Greek);
she was taken to North Shields where she was given a three week refit, for her
new role sailing from Greece
to Australia.
Cabins were built and others were extensively remodelled, now able to accommodate
some 1000 Tourist Class and 36 First Class passengers. In order to accomplish
this, extra cabins were built down on D (Doric) Deck. In addition a second dinning room
was built. She received a new all white livery with red boot topping. Her
funnel was blue with a black top and a large white X, being the company’s
insignia. X is ‘Ch’ in the Greek alphabet and obviously stood for
‘Chandris.’
Upon completion, her ownership was changed to the
National Greek Australia Line and she headed for Piraeus.
Her decks were now named from the top, Aegean, Mediterranean, Ionian, Corinthic, Cretan and Doric.
Here
we see another postcard of the Patris but with a blue ribbon added
She departed Piraeus
on December 14, 1959
for her maiden voyage to Australia,
sailing via the Suez Canal to Fremantle,
Melbourne, and Sydney, where she arrived on January 9, 1960. After several voyages,
later that year, Patris ran aground in the Suez but was soon pulled off the sand bank
and she continued on her voyage.
A
superb photograph of the Patris in Sydney
ready for a cruise
Patris seen during her Australian
duties
Due to the closure of the Suez Canal between 1967
and 1972, she sailed to Australia
via Cape Town, returning via
the Panama Canal.
During the late sixties and early seventies, Patris operated a number of
cruises out of Sydney,
as well as Trans Tasman voyages. RHMS Patris made a
total of 91 voyages to Australia
between 1959 and 1975, bringing countless thousands of Greek Migrants to Australia to
start a new life Down Under.
Patris departing Sydney for a cruise
Like most shipping companies of the day, Patris
suffered low loadings, thus alternative routes were sought. Chandris decided on
a new idea on a Fremantle to Singapore
service, as a cruise ship, and due to the cheap airfares available from Singapore, Patris would operate an inexpensive
Fly/Cruise operation to and from the UK
and Europe. Sadly the popularity of this
venture soon declined and two years later in 1974 she was laid up in Singapore for a short time, but Chandris decided
to try again and gave her another refit and recommenced their Fremantle, Singapore
services. Then cyclone Tracy hit and mostly
destroyed the Australian Northern Territory city of Darwin on Christmas day 1974. Chandris
offered to charter the Patris to the Australian Government for her to be used
as a floating hostel, for the many that lost their homes. She arrived in Darwin on February 14, 1975
and concluded her hostel duties in November 1975. After departing Darwin in November, Patris
said goodbye to Australia
as she never returned to our shores.
A nice view of a well built ship at sea
Altered specifications for RHMS Patris
Tonnage: 16,259 GRT
Passengers: 36 First & 1000 Tourist,
then 1,550 One Class
Mediterranean
Star 750
Crew: 325 (Patris)
After her time in Darwin,
Patris was in a poor state, thus Chandris sent her to Greece and
refitted her to become a passenger car ferry. She could carry 260 cars in
garage space in what was Doric deck, which had all her cabins and service areas
ripped out. Cars were loaded through large side-loading doors cut into her
hull. Patris commenced her new service early 1977, under the joint operation of
Chandris & Karageorgis Lines on the Venice, Ancona to Patras service.
She operated some cruises, but these were not successful.
Looking very
attractive in her new livery as the Karageorgis Lines Mediterranean Star
*Photographer unknown – Please see Note at bottom of
page re photographs
Two years later, in 1980, Chandris Lines sold her
outright to Karageorgis Line who renamed her Mediterranean Island.
In 1981 Karageorgis changed her name to Mediterranean Star and placed her on
the Piraeus-Alexandria run. Although still under the ownership of Karageorgis
Line, she was registered under the Star Navigation Corp banner and later she
transferred within the Karageorgis group of companies, Consolidated Ocean
Transports. In 1982 she suffered a major fire in her engine room fire, causing
all passengers and most of her crew to abandon ship. With a reduced crew, she
was sent to Perama for repairs, yet she remained laid up.
Above and below: Mediterranean Star
*Photographer(s) unknown – Please see Note
at bottom of page re photographs
Finally in 1987, this once proud Union Castle
and Chandris liner was sold was sold to a St Vincent owner for breaking up who
renamed re-named her “Terra” for her voyage to Karachi in Pakistan,
where she was broken up.
Page Two
– MS Patris
Robert Mills’ 14 night Cruise to Melbourne & New
Zealand - December 1970
Also visit
the following Chandris Liners …
SS
Ellinis - SS Australis - SS
Britanis
Use
the Back button on your browser or Close the Page to return to the previous
page
or go to our INDEX
***********************************
Who is the Author of ssMaritime?
Commenced
in the passenger Shipping Industry in May 1960
ssMaritime.com & ssMaritime.net
Where
the ships of the past make history & the 1914
built MV Doulos Story
Also
visit my …
“Save The Classic Liners Campaign” & “Classic Ocean Voyages” pages
Photographs on ssmaritime and associate pages are by the author
or from the author’s private collection. In addition there are some images that have been
provided by Shipping Companies and private photographers or collectors. Credit
is given to all contributors. However, there are some photographs provided to
me without details regarding the photographer/owner concerned. I hereby invite
if owners of these images would be so kind to make them-selves known to me (my
email address may be found on www.ssmaritime.com
only), in order that due credit may be given. I know what it is like, I have
seen a multitude of my own photographs on other sites, yet these individuals
either refuse to provide credit or remove them when asked, knowing full well
that there is no legal comeback when it comes to the net. However, let us show these
charlatans up and do the right thing at all times and give credit where credit
is due!
This
notice covers all pages, although, and I have done my best to ensure that all
photographs are duly credited and that this notice is displaced on each page,
that is, when a page is updated!
ssMaritime
is owned and © Copyright by Reuben Goossens - All Rights Reserved