The very latest news on the SS United States

[DocF]

I've talked to a consulting engineer friend of mine who is involved in this deal with NCL. He can't say very much, but I get the impression he is as puzzled by them wanting it as I am.

 

Doc

[bcscot]

I don't know the history. Why has she been allowed to sit & rot for so long without being scrapped?

[DocF]

The ship was built with a huge government subsidy and was operated under a government subsidy. The primary reason was to provide a US flagged ship that could be used for a very fast troop transport. Remember, this was the time of the cold war.

 

When the government operating subsidy was withdrawn, there was no way the United States could be operated at a profit, so it was mothballed.

 

This is speculation based on some background information I've gleaned over the years. First, the ship is grossly overpowered compared to other ships in this size range. That is why she was so fast. Second, with the original hidden military purpose, the U. S. government was probably very selective in who it might allow to buy the vessel. For these reasons, there were even fewer potential buyers than would hve been expected.

 

Also, remember that she was retired at the nadir of oceanic travel. There were many hulls around which were much cheaper to operate. These were chosen by many of the newly formed cruise lines in that time frame.

 

Doc

[bcscot]

I thought there must be more to this story. Your account was very interesting & made a lot of sense. Thank You.

 

I have a book called 'Liners', which has a picture of the United States on the front cover. She was a very sleek & stream lined ship. Was she the last ship to win the 'Blue Ribband of the Atlantic'? Was her speed record for crossing the Atlantic ever beaten?

[scottyo72]

It was actually illegal to sell the SSUS to a foreign company for years after she was laid up. If not for that clause in the building subsidy, she might have been turned into a cruise ship.

 

SSUS was the last liner to hold the Blue Riband. She still holds the record for the fastest westbound crossing. The record for the fastest eastbound crossing was taken by an ocean going catamaran ferry being delivered from the builder in Tasmania to the operator in England. That record has since been broken by other similar vessels. They do not do regular crossings, and I don't think they were even carrying a payload. It's pretty much a publicity stunt and kind of a sore point with the liner folks. :(

 

I thought there must be more to this story. Your account was very interesting & made a lot of sense. Thank You.

 

I have a book called 'Liners', which has a picture of the United States on the front cover. She was a very sleek & stream lined ship. Was she the last ship to win the 'Blue Ribband of the Atlantic'? Was her speed record for crossing the Atlantic ever beaten?

[bcscot]

Thank you Scottyo72. It seems that the old 'United States' is yet another casualty of bureaucracy. Interesting story though.

[RHefley228]

It is my understanding that the Queen Elizabeth was in Fort Lauderdale as the 'Elizabeth' before being sold.

 

She was on display at Port Everglades in 1970 during or just after her conversion to "Seawise University." I have a paperweight I bought when touring her then, made of a piece of teak from her deck. The interior was quite beautiful, and I remember they showed us one stateroom that had been painted pink for Elizabeth Taylor and another painted white for the Queen Mother; in both cases it seemed like an odd thing to do to perfectly nice wood. The whole floating university thing sounded financially questionable, and I wasn't terribly surprised when she "accidentally" burned and sank.

[RHefley228]

Please go to 'www.maritimematters.com' & scrole down to the article on the 'Elizabeth' in Florida.You may find it interesting.

 

You're right. It's fascinating and horrifying, and even screwier than I remembered; it sounds like a Carl Hiaasen novel...

[bcscot]

Thank you. Not many people seem to be aware that the Queen Elizabeth was in Florida for a while. I certainly was not, until I read that article. How amazing that you visited her there & even have a piece of her. She was a very popular ship & it was so sad that she was lost. I hope to stay on the Queen Mary this october & would love to have been able to stay on the Queen Elizabeth when visiting Florida. Apart from a James Bond movie, the old lady seems to have been forgotten by many, which would not be the case if she had been able to stay in Fort Lauderdale. Have you visited the Queen Mary?

We are booked on the QE2 & QM2 next year, so if it all comes off according to plan, we will be on three generations of Cunard Queens in a year. I think that it is great to be able to do that, thanks to the preservation of these special old liners.

[RHefley228]

Have you visited the Queen Mary?

We are booked on the QE2 & QM2 next year

 

I toured the QM when I was doing a play in Long Beach in 1989-90, but never spent the night on her, which I now greatly regret. At that time, the Spruce Goose was nearby, which I also toured; both were fascinating. I have never been on the QE2, though some friends sailed on her several times working for Murder Mystery, Inc. and loved the experience, even though their bar bills often exceeded their salaries.

[RHefley228]

P.S.: What I loved about both ships was the sense that a tuxedo was really the only thing to wear each evening at dinner, if one was going to be semi-formal. A vanished age, I guess... Anyway, I do hope you'll post a report after your two-Q voyages.

[bcscot]

I notice that you sailed on the Chandris Britanis in 1993; the old 1932 Monterey, a classic ship of Pacific travel I understand. I am looking at a picture of her; a fine looking old vessel. How was she in Chandris hands, sixty years later? They also had the Victoria, the old Union Castle Line Dunnottar Castle, which was a 1930s ship which was only recently scrapped, the last of the Union Castle ships. I am sorry not to have experienced her before she went.

You also sailed on a very young Statendam. She was a lot older when I sailed on her & I am due to sail on her sister, the Ryndam, next month; nice ships.

Speaking about drama on the QE2, I have just been reading about how part of the British/PBS drama series, Brideshead Revisited, was filmed on the QE2. They apparently made historical gaffs by showing the first class deck pool which transatlantic liners did not have. Great drama though.