Classic Liners from great Trans-Atlantic liners or Liners sailing the Globe and also Passenger-Cargo ships with 10 to 240 passengers

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Introduction:

Welcome to ssMaritime.com. In the past year I have managed to add some companies and individual ships to the list as well as having updated a good number of my earlier features, for believe me some of them really needed a good clean up! But for personal health reasons, sadly I am forced to slow down! Therefore, I will only update the occasional feature that is already online, when I am able, and if possible I may add a new ship now and then, but not as before. However, due to the flood of emails that arrive each day, I will no longer be able to answer any further emails!

Looking Back:

To date I have written well over 700 major Passenger and Passenger-Cargo Liners, and a good number of humble Migrant ships, many of these being converted War-Time Victory Class ships, such as the type C3 & C4 Class Vessels. Some of these ships were rebuilt into rather humble Migrant Liners, whilst others became far more modern and even glamorous Migrant Liners, such as Flotta Lauro’s TSS Roma and Sydney, as well as Sitmar’s TSS Fairsky, and these ships made significant inroads into maritime history. I hope that through the pages off ssMaritime you will discover many wonderful memories, be it for those past passengers and their relatives who may have sailed on these wonderful ships, from days of old until their demise in the late 1970s.

The author is seen aboard the MV Athena in 2011 whilst on a-

voyage from Australia to England on the classic ship built ---

in 1948 and was completely rebuilt from the hull up in 1995-

She is still sailing today as the CMC Cruises (UK) MV Astoria-

To Conclude:

I must say a very special thank you, to all ship lovers from around the world, for I have been astounded that there have been so many of you reading ssMaritime; in fact this site has now almost reached almost 519 million readers to date from when it first came online 23 years ago, and that, dear friends, simply blows my mind! Without a doubt, the number of emails That comes into my inbox certainly reflects those numbers, and as I look back to those early days when I was merely a clumsy computer hack, with some of the most awful pages and pictures, yet you were so kind for you loved them, yet obviously those pages must have had something, mostly a good story and the details you were looking for. Please remember, that all my sites have always remained 100% non-commercial, for my purpose has been to give happy memories and joy to past passengers from around the world and those who really love passenger lines and older cruise ships! Be assured, it has been a great joy for me to present these many Classic Liners, which I have been able to write about over so many years, therefore, enjoy the memories!

The ssMaritime Main Index is located Below & as well as at the Bottom of the Page and be assured that you will discover a “Ship lover’s delight” with over 700 great ships, both Liners, Migrant Ships as well as Passenger-Cargo Liners and all of these will have you reading and returning for a long to come!

Reuben Goossens - Retired.

Maritime Historian, Author, Lecturer & Cruise‘n’Ship Reviewer.

Commenced in the Passenger Shipping & Cruise Industry in 1960.

You may enter the ssMaritime Main INDEX here, or discover my New & Updated Features below!

NEW & UPDATED Features

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A Fully Updated Feature with 2 New Pages Added

Flags of the Netherlands & Royal Rotterdam Lloyd

August 2017: In mid July, I received a wonderful story from a daughter, who was born in Australia, but her Mum, Father and Baby brother sailed on the M.S. Sibajak from Rotterdam on May 17, 1958. If you have read Page Three, you will have noted that I also was on this voyage, was bound for Wellington New Zealand, whilst Family Salden-Van Mulken was heading to Melbourne Australia. Of course the story regarding my voyage can be found on the Sibajak Index at the bottom of the page.

This is a delightfully written and a comprehensive story regarding the family departing their hometown down the south east of Holland travelling by bus to Rotterdam, and then comes a comprehensive description of the voyage, with personal photographs of the families’ voyage to Melbourne.

Family photographs taken out on Deck and during the Crossing the Equator Ceremony

The story of the voyage was written, by (the now late) Mrs. Mia Van Mulken, and it is a beautifully told story that includes all of the ports of call. She brings the voyage back to life with her remarkable descriptions. Included are full colour brochures in Dutch, which can be enlarged, as well as a four-page Royal Rotterdam Lloyd Instruction letter re their voyage, etc, this letter is located on Part Two, which has yet another brochure and some further photographs.

An aerial photograph of the M.S. Sibajak seen at Sea sailing at full speed bound for Australia

For interest, I have also updated all the other M.S. Sibajak pages to make them suitable for Google Chrome and some other search engines, but if you have problems, just head for good old Google!

Enter the Family Salden-Van Mulken Story - HERE

Or: www.ssmaritime.com/Sibajak-SaldenVanMulken-family.htm

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Updated & A New Page

Union Steamship Company of New Zealand

HMS Aorangi

The 17,491 GRT Trans-Pacific passenger liner RMS Aorangi accommodated 970 passengers as built

RMS Aorangi was constructed by Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Co., Ltd., Glasgow in 1923, and she was launched and named ‘Aorangi’ (Maori for Mt Cook or better ‘Cloud Piercer’) on June 17, 1924. Her name was most suitable, considering that she was a revolutionary ship with her stately tall funnels, as well as being the largest and fastest motor powered ship in the world.

This magnificently appointed Trans-Pacific Liner, operating a regular service from Sydney via Auckland, Suva, and Honolulu to Vancouver and return. Later San Francisco was also included.

During WW2 she served well as a troopship, a supply ship, as well as a partial hospital ship sailing worldwide. Later she became an accommodation ship and then the flagship for the Commodore Fleet in Asia. After a lengthy refit in Sydney she returned to service after the war.

This amazing ship has a fine story to tell, and this feature has two pages, packed with countless photographs and is a must-read!

Enter the Two Page RMS Aorangi feature

Page Two covers her WW2 services

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New Feature ~ Anchor Line

A Trio Identical Sisters Built 10 Years Apart

RMS Circassia (III) 1937 - RMS Cilicia 1938

& RMS Caledonia (V) 1948

R.M.S. Circassia (III) the first of the identical trio of ships built in 1937

The first two of these three ships, RMS Circassia and Cilicia were built pre-WW2, and both served on their dedicated passenger service from Liverpool sailing via Gibraltar, Port Said, Aden, Karachi to Bombay, India and return. However within two years both ships were commissioned to enter the war and they served well in various guises. They returned to their passenger services having received a comprehensive refit. Then 10 years after the Circassia had been built the third of the trio was completed, the RMS Caledonia and these ships had a fine career and they were greatly loved for their luxurious public venues, excellent accommodations, fine service and their superb catering in the Dining Room.

Enter the Anchor Line Feature

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I trust that the above new and updated feature above will be greatly enjoyed as they it has many new and/or larger photographs; in addition I have added new details to some of its and added additional details where applicable!

Reuben Goossens.

ENTER OUR… ssMaritime Main INDEX

Where you will discover over 700 Classic Passenger & Passenger-Cargo Liners!

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Visit the Following Special Maritime Sites

Visit the author’s cruise pages

www.cruise-australia.com

Also visit Maritime Links & our Maritime Art pages!

“Blue Water Liners sailing to the distant shores.
I watched them come, I watched them go and I watched them die.”

ssMaritime.com & ssMaritime.net

Where the ships of the past make history & the 1914 built MV Doulos Story

Please Note: ssmaritime and associated sites are 100% non-commercial and the author has never sought funding or favours, never have and never will!

Photographs on ssmaritime and associate pages are either by the author or from the author’s private collection. In addition, some images and photographs that have been provided by Shipping Companies or private photographers or collectors. Credit is given to all contributors however, there are some photographs provided to me without details regarding the photographer or owner concerned. Therefore, I hereby invite if owners of these images would be so kind to make them-selves known to me (my email address can be found on www.ssmaritime.com) in order that due credit may be given.