SS France

[dhermann1]

For those interested in classic ocean liners, this is a good website. He has been following the fate of the SS France/Norway/Blue Lady as it sits on the beach at Alang, India, waiting to be saved from the breaker's torch. It's a very complicated and depressing story. The conditions in the ship breaking industry are appalling, and the politics are very dirty.
http://www.ssmaritime.com/newsupdates.htm
This only underscores how very lucky we are to still have the QM.

 

[dhermann1]

SS France/Norway being cut up

It's looking pretty bad for the SS France/SS Norway/SS Blue Lady.
This is how she looks right now. The tip of the prow has been cut off, and holes cut into her sides. It looks as if destruction has begun. What a damned shame. Makes the existence of the QM even more miraculous.
http://www.ssmaritime.com/newsupdates-1.htm

 

[The Wingnut]

Sad fate...usually by the time a ship reaches Indian hands, it's all over. SS America suffered a similar fate. She's now little more than some bits of blue steel poking out of the surf off the shore of Fuerteventura.

 

[Valhson]

Okay I will play the devils advocate here and I of all people hate to see ships to the boneyard.

What was the ship going to be used for again? I agree that it is always sad when one of these ol girls goes to the boneyard and as a Naval Architect I hate to see it but all practical purposes what could it be used for once it reached Indian hands?

Cruise ships have low GM for your comfort, and with weight growth over time, the stability is certainly shot. So not safe for Sea… Maybe dry berthing and a hotel? Could be I suppose but don’t understand the purpose of that considering the economic side of it.

The Queen Mary being the highest of a pedigree, So I understand keeping her around. But why the France? I am not saying it was a poor vessel, only that I am missing the link Her fate at the boneyard may be better than rusting away at a dock with a small organization trying to battle the never ending war of rust and deterioration.

 

[dhermann1]

Like the SS United States. Good point. I think a lot of people hoped she could be turned into a floating hotel, like the QM. There was a group in France, and a group in Dubai who had various schemes.

 

[Valhson]

Got ya.

I saw that but considering that the entire vessel is covered in lead paint, It wasn't going to happen in the EU.

Really is sad though. I enjoy the larger Cruise ships. So much went into these things just for the purpose of mass relaxiation. I do agree it is a shame. The only vessels that should be saved are the Cruise ships. The others I can see as there are way too many of them. And Ex-military designs make great artifical reefs.

The entire story reminds me of Stan Rogers song “the Last Watch”

 

[Tomasso]

For some reason the debacle that was the demise of The SS Normandie bothers me much more than the fate of the SS France. [huh]

 

[dhermann1]

Normandie

The Normandie was, in my humble opinion, the greatest ship that ever floated.
You could say the France was an attempt to recapture some of her glory. But the France was a very beautiful ship, and it is a shame to see her destroyed. The old ocean liners (as opposed to modern cruise ships) were just so elegant. They were designed to plow their way through the stormy North Atlantic, rather than paddle along in the mild seas of the Caribbean, so they didn't have so many balconies piled around their circumference. They had really gorgeous interiors, based on the old fashioned sense of elegance. Among the greatest ones were the Ile de France, the Normandie, the QM, the Aquitania and the Mauretania, the Conte de Savioa, and the Titanic. But the comforts of those ships would not compare with modern ships. Such utterly gorgeous objects, all gone now.

 

[Story]

The SS United States

Added to this thread, with the slim hopes that the United States can avoid the France's fate.

http://planphilly.com/node/1559

For the fashionistas -
Members of the crew pause for a photograph while the ship is docked in Southampton in 1956. Photograph by Joe Rota.
http://www.ss-united-states.com/galleryvt.html

The company that owns the SS United States, docked and decaying on the Delaware River in South Philadelphia, has announced that it is accepting bids from scrappers after failing to find a buyer willing to keep the ship intact (see previous story).

Meanwhile, a new campaign has been unveiled to save the ship from being scuttled.

To beef up efforts to stop America's national flagship from being destroyed, the The SS United States Conservancy Advisory Council has launched a new campaign called "Save Our Ship" (SOS).

Dan McSweeney, is executive director of the conservancy:

"It's a national fundraising and awareness campaign. We think we can generate enough momentum in terms of raising money, reaching out to public officials, and reaching out to influential individuals to save the ship, essentially. And the ultimate goal is to repurpose that ship as a stationary attraction, either in Philadelphia or in New York."

Those donating will receive a certificate giving them symbolic ownership of a plank of the ship's deck. For more information go to www.ssusplankowner.org

 

[Tomasso]

For some reason the debacle that was the demise of The SS Normandie bothers me much more than the fate of the SS France. [huh]

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