ssMaritime
Maritime Historian
The
Del-Triplets
SS Del
Norte, Del Sud &
SS Del Norte showing off her revolutionary
forward circular superstructure design and massive dummy funnel
Please
Note: All images (except those marked) are
from the author’s private collection
The Mississippi Shipping Company, better
known as the Delta Line, that had its home port at
There is no doubt that the design of these
ships were far from the norm, yet considering that originally their hulls were
to be based on the standard C-3 design cargo ship hulls one would wonder
why these ships were so remarkable. However, with the full assistance of
Admiral Vickery, the head of the construction division of the American Maritime
Commission, Delta Line managed to arrange for three of these of these hulls be
redesigned to suit their special needs to hasten the reestablishment of the
company’s passenger cargo services to South America, this is how the
“Del Triplets” were born. Their overall and final design was
created by naval architect George G. Sharp of
The ships were all built at the Ingalls
Shipyard,
Officer on the Bridge checking the radar
These three luxuriously appointed American passenger cargo ships introduced a brand new fashion in having twin tall smoke uptakes placed just behind their huge squat style dummy funnel. Inside this dummy funnel were two decks of officer’s quarters, as well as the radio room and an emergency generator. The other distinguished feature of their design was the almost circular shape of their forward superstructure, thus many of the staterooms were wedge shaped. All the staterooms were outside and had private facilities and like the whole ship they were fully air-conditioned. In order to lighten their weight the superstructure was constructed almost entirely of aluminium.
In keeping with the company trade name,
“Delta Line”, their three new ships were all given “
The “
A delightful colour photograph of the SS Del
Norte
Photographer unknown - *Please see the photo notes at
bottom of page
The Del Norte was the first of the trio to
be completed and she departed on her maiden voyage to
SS Del Sud was the second of the Trio to depart
on her maiden voyage in March 1947
The last to be completed was the SS Del Mar,
which departed on her maiden voyage in June 1947
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Specifications:
Built:????????????????????????????????????????? Ingalls
Shipbuilding Corp at
Yard Number & launched:???????????? SS
Del Norte: 327 –
????????????????????????????????????????????????? SS
Del Sud: 438 –
????????????????????????????????????????????????? SS
Tonnage:??????????????????????????????????? 10,073
Length:?????????????????????????????????????? 150.6m
- 494ft
Width:??????????????????????????????????????? 21.1m
– 69.2ft
Engine:?????????????????????????????????????? Electric
Steam Co, D.R. Geared steam turbines
Screw:??????????????????????????????????????? Single
Speed:??????????????????????????????????????? 17
knots (max 18 knots)
Passengers:???????????????????????????????? 120
First Class only
Crew:????????????????????????????????????????? 367
*********************************
The above are two Delta Line advertising posters
Above and below: The “Del Triplets”
Deck Plan – The dinning room was located
Below Main deck forward below the Great dome
shown as an interior grey area
They maintained a regular schedule of two
departures per month from US Gulf ports to the Caribbean and
Above and below: A 1950 schedule
A 32 page brochure re the Trio’s cruise
The author has been in contact with a past passenger of the Del Sud and he stated that life on board her was a leisurely affair and she offered him the best cruise in memory and he has sailed around the globe on world cruises as well as the Queen Mary, etc! These ships somehow resembled something much closer to the modern cruise ships of today, than the traditional liners of the past, yet retaining all the qualities of the classic days of sailing. This trio ships offered a relaxed approach to cruising, but with a modern twist.
*********************************
The “
The Grand Lounge (Blue) – looking forward
on board the SS Del Sud
-------
Above left is the Grand Lounge (Red) on the SS
Del Norte and right the Grand Lounge (Green) on the SS Del Mar
This is a view from the forward “Deck
Café” looking aft through the “Bar” to the aft “Grand
Lounge”
The Library
The restaurant had high ceilings and a dome
amidships
All cabins were extremely spacious
There was always space to entertain
The triplets had massive deck spaces for such a
small number of passengers
The ever popular Swimming Pool
*********************************
The grey hulled "Del Trio" sailed for twenty years and they certainly had a strong and a regular following of past passengers, including many rich and famous people. But, after twenty years slowly things started to change as economic problems were arising on the horizon with the ever increasing fuel costs and with the airlines taking more and more passengers from shipping companies as their fares were getting ower and lower, thus loadings with all shipping lines around the world were suffering!
This photograph says that they were
resorts, but also clearly shows their massive cargo capacity!
Delta Line had to make a hard line decision, for had obviously come to a point that the massive operating costs had by now far exceeded any of the profits that passenger loadings could provide and thus in 1967 the company decided to convert the Trio over to “express cargo ships.” Meaning the end of the passenger trade!
1967 = The End of the Line!
It had been hoped by many that they would return to passenger service, or at least one of these ships, but it was considered that they were no longer viable and that they were now out of date as new and modern ships were being build, by far superior to the now old ”Dels”. I am not speaking I passenger terms, but cargo for Delta knew that was where the money was to be made and a new kind of ship was being built being container ship, which by far was superior in cargo handling and port turn around.
The three ships were chartered for a
single voyage to
The story is told as follows: “When
it came time for the Del Norte, being the first of her class to be completed,
to make her final departure from
SS Del Norte was a ship that refused to
leave her home port
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Who is the Author of ssMaritime?
Commenced
in the passenger Shipping Industry in May 1960
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