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. The company later began operating leisure cruises as the jet age

Jet age

The Jet Age is a period of history defined by the social change brought about by the advent of large aircraft powered by turbine engines. These aircraft are able to fly much higher, faster, and farther than older piston-powered propliners, making transcontinental and inter-continental travel...

 replaced passenger ships as the means of transportation across the Atlantic Ocean

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

. Except for one ship, all of the other ships that the Greek Line operated were second-hand purchases. Their only ship built was the Olympia. One of the line's former ships, the Queen Anna Maria, later became the Carnivale. The Carnivale was second ship to sail for the then newly formed Carnival Cruise Lines

Carnival 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...

, which today is one of the largest cruise lines in the world. None of the Greek Line's former ships are in operation. The last ship was retired and sold for scrap in the spring of 2009.

Ships That Operated For The Greek Line

Ship	Year Built	Sailed for Greek Line	Gross Tonnage Gross tonnage Gross tonnage is a unitless index related to a ship's overall internal volume. Gross tonnage is different from gross register tonnage...	Notes
Nea Hellas later New York	1922	1939-1959		First ship to operate for the Greek Line. She was scrapped in 1961.
Katoomba later Columbia	1913	1946-1957	Unknown
Neptunia	1920	1948-1957	Unknown
Canberra	1913	1948-1954	Unknown
Olympia	1953	1953-1975		The first and only newbuild for the line. She was converted into a cruise ship during the late 1970s and early 1980s. She was later known as the Caribe, Caribe I, and the Regal Empress. She was the last surviving ship until she was sold for scrap in early 2009.
Arkadia	1931	1958-1966
Lakonia TSMS Lakonia The TSMS Lakonia, originally named MS Johan van Oldenbarnevelt, was an ocean liner and troop ship that operated for over 30 years, before burning on December 22, 1963 with high loss of life.-Construction:...	1930	1963		Destroyed by fire during a voyage in December 1963. The fire was responsible for the loss of 128 people. The ship sank soon after.
Queen Anna Maria	1956	1968-1975		Formerly the Empress Of Britain. She later became the Carnivale, Fiesta Marina, Olympic, and The Topaz. She was sold for scrap in 2008.