Saga Rose
Encyclopedia
MS Saga Rose was an 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...
formerly owned and operated by Saga Cruises
Saga Cruises
Saga Cruises, also known as Saga Holidays is a British based cruise line, a division of the Saga Group. Only passengers of 50 years of age or older are allowed on board Saga's vessels as they are designed specifically for this demographic's needs....
on worldwide cruises targeted at the senior
Old age
Old age consists of ages nearing or surpassing the average life span of human beings, and thus the end of the human life cycle...
market out of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. She was built in 1965 by Société Nouvelle des Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée
Société Nouvelle des Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée
The Société Nouvelle des Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée was a French shipbuilding company. The 'Société des Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée' was founded in 1853 by Philip Taylor, while a new company, the 'Nouvelle' société, was founded in 1856. It had shipyards in La Seyne-sur-Mer,...
for Norwegian America Line
Norwegian America Line
Norwegian America Line , was a cruise ship line, originally an operator of passenger and cargo ships. Founded in 1910, the company ran a regular transatlantic service between Norway and the United States, and later to East Africa as well....
as the combined 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...
/cruise ship MS Sagafjord. Between 1983 and 1996 the Sagafjord was operated by Cunard Line
Cunard Line
Cunard Line is a British-American owned shipping company based at Carnival House in Southampton, England and operated by Carnival UK. It has been a leading operator of passenger ships on the North Atlantic for over a century...
. In 1996—1997 she was shortly operated by Transocean Tours
Transocean Tours
Transocean Tours is a Germany-based cruise line that operates three ocean-going cruise ships on the German and British markets, as well as five river cruise ships on the German market...
as MS Gripsholm prior to being sold to Saga. She was retired from service in October 2009.
Concept and construction
The Sagafjord was built by Société Nouvelle des Forges et Chantiers de la MéditerranéeSociété Nouvelle des Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée
The Société Nouvelle des Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée was a French shipbuilding company. The 'Société des Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée' was founded in 1853 by Philip Taylor, while a new company, the 'Nouvelle' société, was founded in 1856. It had shipyards in La Seyne-sur-Mer,...
, France, who received the original plans and specifications for the vessel from the as the Norwegian America Line
Norwegian America Line
Norwegian America Line , was a cruise ship line, originally an operator of passenger and cargo ships. Founded in 1910, the company ran a regular transatlantic service between Norway and the United States, and later to East Africa as well....
during the summer of 1960. The build contract was undertaken on 24 September 1962 and the keel finally laid on 19 June 1963 before her launch on 13 June 1964. She underwent sea trials from May until September in 1965 and was finally christened on 18 September 1965 Sagafjord in Toulon
Toulon
Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....
. The construction of the Sagafjord was so expensive that it put the shipyard out of business.
Service history
The Sagafjord undertook her maiden voyage from OsloOslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
on 2 October to 11 October 1965. At the time she was built to set the mark of luxury. She sailed with Norwegian America Line until 1983, when the company was taken over by Cunard Line
Cunard Line
Cunard Line is a British-American owned shipping company based at Carnival House in Southampton, England and operated by Carnival UK. It has been a leading operator of passenger ships on the North Atlantic for over a century...
. The ship retained her original name through-out her service with Cunard.
In 1996—1997 the Sagafjord was chartered to Transocean Tours
Transocean Tours
Transocean Tours is a Germany-based cruise line that operates three ocean-going cruise ships on the German and British markets, as well as five river cruise ships on the German market...
as part of a 6 month deal. While in service with Transocean Tours she was renamed MS Gripsholm. During this time she was damaged by fire. She was sold to Saga Shipping in 1997, who renamed her MS Saga Rose. The ship was refurbished prior to entering service with her new owners.
On 11 June 2008 during a visit to Southampton the second bosun died after entering a ballast tank which had a reduced oxygen atmosphere due to corrosion.
The Saga Rose was retired from service in October 2009 due to her not fulfilling the requirements of the new SOLAS 2010 regulations and was left with an uncertain future.
On 21 February 2010, Saga Rose was reported as setting out from Gibraltar, where she had been laid up since her final cruise with Saga Cruises, with her destination listed as Kenya. Rumors circulated about a possible sale for use as an accommodation ship. The stories proved false, as the ship was merely repositioned to a new anchorage and remained in Gibraltar.
In early April, Saga Rose finally put to sea, with Port Elizabeth, South Africa listed as her destination. Once again, rumours of a conversion to a hotel ship circulated. On 29 April, Saga Rose docked in Durban for refuelling, and was under-way again with her destination now reported to be Maputo, Mozambique. Rather than dock again in Africa, Saga Rose next headed into the Indian Ocean, with Saga Cruises refusing to comment on the ships' possible sale for scrap or any other use. By 23 May, the ship was off the Taiwanese coast with her destination being reported as Japan.
On 27 May, Saga Rose reached the harbour of Shanghai, China. After a few days at anchor, she continued further inland up the Yangtze River, docking in the Jiangyin district on May 29, seemingly confirming speculation that the ship had been sold for scrap, as Jiangyin is home to the Changjiang Ship Recycling Yard, China's largest ship dismantling facility. In 2003, the same yard scrapped Sea World, the former King Alexander and Nanny, a 245,000 ton oil tanker that ranked as the 4th largest ship ever built. In October, 2011 scrapping had begun .
The Saga Rose currently holds the record for the most World Cruises ever completed by a ship with 44 altogether. Even surpassing the RMS Queen Elizabeth 2
RMS Queen Elizabeth 2
Queen Elizabeth 2, often referred to simply as the QE2, is an ocean liner that was operated by Cunard from 1969 to 2008. Following her retirement from cruising, she is now owned by Istithmar...
.
External links
- Ocean Cruising (official website for the cruise line)
- Sagafjord on Chris' Cunard Page