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Carnivale (ship)
Encyclopedia
RMS Empress of Britain was a transatlantic ocean liner
Ocean liner
An ocean liner is a ship designed to transport people from one seaport to another along regular long-distance maritime routes according to a schedule. Liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes .Cargo vessels running to a schedule are sometimes referred to as...
built by Fairfield Shipbuilding at Govan
Govan
Govan is a district and former burgh now part of southwest City of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the south bank of the River Clyde, opposite the mouth of the River Kelvin and the district of Partick....
on the Clyde
River Clyde
The River Clyde is a major river in Scotland. It is the ninth longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third longest in Scotland. Flowing through the major city of Glasgow, it was an important river for shipbuilding and trade in the British Empire....
in Scotland in 1955-1956 for Canadian Pacific Steamship
CP Ships
CP Ships was a large Canadian container shipping company, prior to being taken over by Hapag Lloyd in late 2005. CP Ships had its head office in the City of Westminster in London and later in the City Place Gatwick development on the property of London Gatwick Airport in Crawley, West Sussex.The...
(CP). This ship—the third of three CP vessels to be named Empress of Britain -- regularly traversed the trans-Atlantic route between Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
until 1964, completing 123 voyages under the Canadian Pacific flag. This Empress was distinguished by the Royal Mail Ship
Royal Mail Ship
Royal Mail Ship , usually seen in its abbreviated form RMS, a designation which dates back to 1840, is the ship prefix used for seagoing vessels that carry mail under contract by Royal Mail...
(RMS) prefix in front of her name because the British government and Canadian Pacific Railway
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
(CPR) had decades earlier reached agreement on a contract for subsidized trans-oceanic mail service.
Empress of Britain
The Empress of Britain was built by Fairfield Shipbuilding in Govan near GlasgowGlasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, Scotland. She was launched on June 22, 1955 by HM Queen Elizabeth II. This was nearly fifty years after the first CP Empress of Britain was launched from Govan in November 1905. Eleven months later, she set out on a maiden voyage from Liverpool to Montreal, departing Liverpool on April 20, 1956.
The 25,516 ton vessel had a length of 640 feet, and her beam was 85.2 feet. The ship had one funnel, one mast, twin propellers and an average speed of 20 knots. The ocean liner provided accommodation for 160 first class passengers and for 984 tourist class passengers.
Queen Anna Maria
In November 1964, this former CP Empress was sold to the Greek LineGreek Line
The Greek Line formally known as the General Steam Navigation Company of Greece was a passenger ship line that operated from 1939 until 1975. The Greek Line was owned by the Ormos Shipping Company. The line operated transatlantic and short to long distance voyages...
; and the ship was re named SS Queen Anna Maria. This Queen rebuilt to 21,716 gross tons with accommodation for 168 first-class passengers and for 1,145 tourist-class passengers. She sailed on the Piraeus to Naples to New York route. Later, she provided service on the Haifa to New York route. In 1975, she was laid up at Piraeus for a time.
Carnivale
In 1976, this former Greek Queen was sold to Carnival Cruise LinesCarnival Cruise Lines
Carnival Cruise Lines is a British-American owned cruise line, based in Doral, Florida, a suburb of Miami in the United States. Originally an independent company founded in 1972 by Ted Arison, the company is now one of eleven cruise ship brands owned and operated by Carnival Corporation & plc...
; and the ship was re named yet again—this time as the SS Carnivale. As Carnival's market expanded and the company was able to afford buying new ships, the ship transferred in to a Latin market subsidiary cruise line.
Fiesta Marina
In 1993, Carnival Cruise Lines transferred registration of the Carnivale to a subsidiary cruise line, Fiesta Marina CruisesFiesta Marina Cruises
Fiesta Marina Cruises was an experimental short-lived subsidiary cruise line of Carnival Cruise Lines. The cruise line was marketed toward the Latin/Spanish-speaking population, residing in the United States and abroad. The cruise line sailed out of San Juan, Puerto Rico and Caracas, Venezuela. The...
; and the ship was re named SS Fiesta Marina. She became something of a test ship in a cruise line expansion venture which proved ultimately to be unsuccessful.
Olympic
In 1994, Fiesta Marine sold the former FiestaMarina to Epirotiki; and the ship was re named the Olympic. In 1996, she was transferred to Royal Olympic Cruises operating under the same name.Topaz
In 1997, the former Olympic was sold to Cyprus-based Thomson HolidaysThomson Holidays
Thomson Holidays is a UK based travel operator and part of TUI Travel PLC. The company was founded as part of the Thomson Travel Group in 1965 following the acquisition of three package holiday travel agencies and the airline Britannia Airways by Roy Thomson...
; and the ship was re named Topaz.
In 2003, the vessel was chartered, and then later sold to Topaz International to sail for Peace Boat
Peace Boat
is a global non-government organization headquartered in Japan established for the purpose of raising awareness and building connections internationally among groups that work for peace, human rights, environmental protection and sustainable development. "Peace Boat" may also refer to one of the...
operating under the name Peace Boat. In April 2008, she was retired from the Peace Boat organization.
After Retirement
After the Topaz was retired in April, she was laid up. On June 15, while she was anchored, she was struck by the tanker Champion Brali. The collision severed off part of her bow. During her lay up, she was sold to the breakersShip breaking
Ship breaking or ship demolition is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships for scrap recycling. Most ships have a lifespan of a few decades before there is so much wear that refitting and repair becomes uneconomical. Ship breaking allows materials from the ship, especially...
. In the late summer of 2008, the Topaz was beached in Alang, India to be scrapped. She was placed not too far away from where the remains of the / SS Norway are located. The ship began demolition a few months after being beached. As of November 2009, most of the ship had been scrapped.