Building
the SS Oriana, the very last Orient Liner to be built!
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With
Reuben Goossens
Maritime
Historian, Cruise‘n’Ship Reviewer, Author & Lecturer
Please
Note: All ssmaritime and my other related
ssmaritime sites are 100% non-commercial and privately owned sites. Be assured
that I am NOT associated with any cruise or shipping companies or travel/cruise
agencies or any other organisations! The author has been in the passenger
shipping industry since May 1960 and is now semi-retired, but continues to
write article on classic liners and cruise ships in order to better to inform
cruise and ship enthusiasts for their pleasure!
Page
One
Building
SS Oriana
Updated
August 2018
Introduction:
I
created the following three pages for those who fondly remember SS Oriana, the
very last Orient Line liner to be built. In addition, I trust it will stimulate
interest in the younger generation to look back at the days when the building,
launching and a maiden voyage of a grand ocean-liner really meant something to
the world. These great ships made the news worldwide! Sadly, at the time of
compiling these pages (November 14, 2005) SS Oriana is slowly being demolished
in China,
thus I felt that you might like to look back at the following events: her
birth, her launching, her sea trials and her handover to Orient Line,
concluding with her maiden voyage to Australia
and New
Zealand.
Mr. Charles F. Morris Orient Line Naval Architect one of the
designers of the SS
Oriana.
For those who have sailed on SS Oriana, I
trust that these pages will have you reliving your voyage be it as a passenger
or as a crewmember. I am also aware that there are many who admired this fine
ship as she sailed around the world, and whilst she was in port. I hope you
will also gain much as you begin reading this special SS Oriana feature. A
complete INDEX is located at the bottom of the page. For me she is
very special having sailed on her a good number of times, and the memories will
always be with me!
Please Note:
“Building SS
Oriana” and the
majority of photographs on this very special feature were provided to myself to be used on ssMaritime.com by Mrs. Pauline Wakefield (UK).
Mrs. Wakefield is the wife of the late Mr.
Charles F. Morris,
who was one of
the well known and long standing
Orient Line Naval Architect’s, who
designed the last great Orient Liner ever to be built, the SS Oriana. Many may well remember Mr.
Morris’ magnificent book, “Origins, Orient and Oriana.”
I sincerely thank Mrs. Wakefield for
her valuable contribution to this feature and
for her husband, private collection of photographs, many of which have
never been seen before, thus many photographs featured are extremely rare, and
they were made only available for the use & © to ssMaritime.com.
Reuben Goossens
- Retired.
Commenced
in the Passenger Shipping Industry in 1960.
***************************
Part One:
Building SS Oriana:
The
contract for the £14 million the ship that would become the SS Oriana being
placed on May 12, 1954 and she would be built by Vickers-Armstrong Shipbuilders
at Barrow-in-Furness,
Cumbria,
England.
However, work on the ship did not commence until September 18, 1957. The first
plate for her keel was numbered, 1061, which many jokingly claimed as being her
“Maiden Name.” Just over two year later, on November 3, 1959,
Princess Alexandra officiated at her launching. She was then towed to her
fit-out berth to be completed. Another twelve months later she commenced her
sea trials and she was officially handed over to Orient Line on November 15,
1960 for her to commence her wonderful career!
Orient
Line Naval Architects studying their plans
Here
we see the actual “number 1061”, being
Oriana’s very first steel plate used for the official “laying of
the keel”
A
proud moment as she her keel is
being laid
It
those days many steel plates were still moved manually
The
quality welding on Oriana certainly stood the test of time
One
of the massive hull sections is being lowered in its place
Slowly
the hull is coming together
She
is beginning to look like an ocean liner, all that is
now needed is a bow!
Above
and below: It is time to fit Oriana’s Bulbous
bow cone
Amazingly,
the Oriana was the very first British liner to be fitted with a bulbous bow
Here
we see some exacting work done, under the eye of an inspector, on the ships
turbines
The
twin screws of SS Oriana were driven through double-reduction gearing by two
sets of steam turbines (above) HP, IP, and LP, of Parmetrada
design, which provided a total shaft (below) horsepower of 65,000 at 147
revolutions per minute of the propellers.
A
fine photo of one of the shaft’s
Here
we see the grinding of the propeller shaft
The
propellers were each made from single solid castings of 20ft in diameter, and
were made of nickel-aluminium bronze. Each propeller weighed around 29 tons.
Fitting
the propellers was a slow and a precise job
SS Oriana
had one set of stabilizer fins, each were a good 120sq feet
Above and
below: Fitting parts of Oriana’s aluminium upper superstructure
Part of her advanced design called for an all
aluminium alloy superstructure, which saved a great deal of weight. The steel
weight of Oriana was 13,650 tons, whilst her aluminium superstructure was just
1,040 tons.
Here
we see the Tourist Class swimming pool being lowered into its place
As
the hull has been completed, now comes the task of painting all of the ships
hull
***********************************
SS
Oriana - Main Index:
PART ONE …
Designing & Building the Oriana - ONLY available to ssmaritime.com:
Images from the naval architect & designer
of the SS Oriana:
Page 1: The building of
SS Oriana
Page 2: The launching
and fitting out of SS Oriana
Page 3: Sea trials and
Oriana’s maiden voyage
Page 4: Deck
Plan, Rare Photographs and other Images
Page
5: Countless Specifications & Oriana Facts (NEW)
PART TWO …
Oriana’s General History Pages:
Page 1: History and Images of the Oriana
Page 2: Oriana Postcards issued in
1960
Page 3: Oriana Photo Album - Page 1
Page 4: Oriana Photo Album - Page 2
Page 5: Oriana “Lady of the
Sea” by Neil Whitmore
Page 6: The Paul Oliver & Colin
Pursehouse Collection
Page 6b: Paul Oliver Story
Page 7: Dalian - See
the sad photographs of SS Oriana damaged during a storm
Page 7b: Oriana at Zhangiagang
shipyard in China - Taken 29 July & 9 September 2005, the
demolition of a liner
***********************************
How I miss those great days when ships like
the SS Orcades, Oronsay or P&O’s Himalaya and Iberia
made you feel like you lived on a real Castle at Sea. I hope and pray that you will enjoy this very
special detailed feature on the great SS Oriana and that you will be able to
relive some wonderful memories,
be it from a voyage or the joy of watching this great Liner whilst she was in
port!
Reuben Goossens.
Also Visit my Features on these Orient Lines & P&O
Ships
Orient
Lines: RMS Orcades
- SS Oronsay
- SS Oriana
- RMS Orion
P&O:
RMS Kaisar-i-Hind - RMS Strathaird
- SS Iberia - SS Canberra
This
is recommended reading!
“Orient Line –
A Fleet History”
Is
available from “Ships
in Focus”
Email:
sales@shipsinfocus.co.uk
***************************
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you will discover over 1,358 Classic Liners & the 1914 built
MV Doulos Feature
Photographs
on ssmaritime.com, & .net and associate sites are: 1.
By the author. 2. From
the author’s private collection. 3. Or as provided by Shipping
Companies and their Publicity Companies as well as by private photographers or
collectors. Credit is given to all contributors whenever possible.
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