ssMaritime.com - with around 1,120 Classic Liners and Passenger-Cargo Ships online.

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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Ships of the Month - September ~ October

Ship of the Month 1 - T.S.M.V. Bulolo of 1938

The delightful Australian Burns, Philp liner and a renowned WW2 ship for many reasons

Ship of the Month 2 - S.S. Montoro of 1911

Another Burns, Philp ship, she was sold in 1948 to become the remarkable S.S. Haven

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Go to “Ships of the Month” and keep on reading

Introduction:

Welcome to ssMaritime.com. So far this year in 2019, I have managed to add a few Classic Liners to ssMaritime as I had them in my portfolio partially completed, as well as slowly updating some of my earlier features, for believe me some of them really needed a good clean up, and sadly there are many more that need work. But as most of my readers will know, I have been suffering from a variety of extreme bad health issues, as well as having poor eye sight these days, and all this is sadly slowing me down greatly, and continuing this site and adding new ships, which I love to do so much is suffering greatly! Therefore, I only do a little work whenever I am able, and I will do my very best whenever possible to add a “Company” or a “Ship of the Month” but this will be done on a quarterly basis, but from now they will be based on ships that I already have online.

Please note, due to the flood of emails that arrive each and every day, I no longer personally reply to the vast majority of the emails received, as 99.9% of the emails will be taken care of by my friend and carer Mr. Eng Tan, and those who seek a reply will receive a pre-written email. However, some very special emails with a specific most worthwhile question will be shown to me, and when it is possible I will send an answer as some you will have already discovered, although it may take a little time pending my condition at that time. But you will never receive an answer if it is regarding a passenger or a crew list, or a sailing schedule, for if I have a sailing schedule, believe me it will be shown online already. However, I do have schedules for the three Dutch liners MS Sibajak, Johan van Oldenbarnevelt, and the MS Oranje and I have details of every voyage these three ships have ever made whilst in Dutch ownership.

Looking Back:

It is hard to believe, that I have now written on over 1,300 ships, including so many of the great Passenger Liners, but also many Passenger-Cargo Liners.

The Great Trans-Atlantic Liner and Cruise Ship the S.S. Queen Elizabeth 2 is seen as built in 1969

Of course she was refitted a good number of times including having been given new diesel engines

The Dutch M.S. Randfontein sold in 1971 to become the M.S. Nieuw Holland

based in Australia operating on the Asian service to Japan and China, etc

In addition, there are also a good number of humble Migrant ships, many of these being converted War-Time C3 & C4 Class Vessels, and the two ships shown below, both were converted into fully operational aircraft carriers, The ship seen below received a more simple exterior refit like most in this class, but she did have some delightful and more traditional German style public venues.

Built as a C3 Class ship in 1941, and used as an aircraft carrier in WW2

Converted into a migrant ship the M.S. Nelly in 1949

And received an extensive refit and renamed Seven Seas in 1953

Whilst other C-Class ships were rebuilt into fine looking Migrant Liners, being delightfully modern and even glamorous ships. Ships that come to mind are the Italian Flotta Lauro’s TSS Roma and Sydney, as well as Sitmar Lines TSS Fairsky, and these ships made significant inroads into maritime history!

Another 1941 C Class ship & served WW2 and was sold to Sitmar Line to become T.S.S. Fairsky in 1957

And it is my sincere hope, that through the pages of ssMaritime you may rediscover some wonderful memories, be it for past passengers and their relatives who may have sailed on these amazing ships, from days of old until their demise in the late 1970s to the 1990s. And not to forget the Classic Cruise Ships some of which are still sailing.-

In Conclusion:

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 this site, in fact friends ssMaritime.com has reached as of recently over 532 million readers, and that, dear friends simply blows my mind! And please remember, that all my maritime/cruise sites have always been and will remain 100% non-commercial, for my purpose has been to provide wonderful and hopefully joyful memories to past passengers from around the world, and those who really love passenger liners and older cruise ships! Be assured, it has been a great joy for me to present these many classic ships to, and it has been a joy to have been able to write for so many years, thus all I can say is; go and enjoy the now on some 1,300 wonderful maritime memories!

ssMaritime’s Main Index is located just Below & as well at the Bottom of the Page, be assured that you will discover a “Ship lover’s delight” with so many great ships, both Liners, humble Migrant Ships as well as some wonderful Passenger-Cargo Liners from countless countries around the globe, and all of these will have you reading and returning for a long time to come!

Reuben Goossens, - Retired!

Maritime Historian, Commenced in the Passenger Shipping & Cruise Industry in 1960.

Email: rg@ssmaritime.com.

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Or ENTER HERE

Or Continue to Read my Two “Ships of the Month” & My ‘Mercy Ships’ Feature Below!

Please Note; the QE2 is now open as a Luxury Hotel in Dubai

Visit my comprehensive Hotel Queen Elizabeth 2 feature

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Ship of the Month One

Burns, Philp & Co, Ltd.

T.S.M.V. Bulolo

The delightful tropical looking, all white 6,397 Ton Bulolo

The Bulolo was one of the most loved Australian, 240 First Class Passenger-Cargo Liner built on the Clyde, Scotland and completed in 1938. Sadly she only made eight peacetime voyages fro Australia to Papua New Guinea, for she was soon commissioned and converted as an Armed Merchant Cruiser (AMC-F82), and then in March 1942 the H.M.S. Bulolo was sold to the Admiralty who had her converted into the very first ever “Landing Ship and Headquarters” (L.S.H.). It would be in this role she became famous for many reasons. It was Admiral (Earl) Mountbatten who came up with the idea of using Landing Ships that would be able to operate as Headquarters during amphibious warfare. She had an outstanding career, including in January 1943 at the “Casablanca Conference”, where Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt would be on board the Bulolo to discuss plans for the next stages of the war. The Bulolo was chosen as the “Command Ship” at D-Day invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944 and she remained there until PM June 27, as she had sustained damage whilst at anchor having been hit and bombed, but not severely damaged. There is a special page covering her WW2 service online with photographs, including King Georges visiting the H.M.S Bulolo on April 24, 1944, inspecting the invasion fleet and Bulolo’s crew!

After the war she was returned to Burns, Philp and she was restored to her original beautiful self, but with improvements, but with fewer passengers, She returned to her regular services, although she did and occasional incident, but these are all described on her two pages … Her History Page, and WW2 Page.

For further details and many photographs of the ships and their interiors enter the LINK below!

Go to Page One; the TSMV Bulolo Feature

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Ship of the Month Two

Burns, Philp & Co, Ltd.

S.S. Montoro - 1911 to 1948

S.S. Haven - 1948 to 1955

A fine starboard view of the S.S. Montoro

The Burns, Philp & Co, Ltd., 1911 built S.S. Montoro was a typical sturdy Clyde Shipbuilding & Engineering Company, constructed passenger-cargo liner at tonnage of 4,088 GRT (Gross Registered Tons). She offered excellent accommodations for 100 passengers in First Class and 40 Passengers in Second Class. Once delivered she headed for Australia and arrived at her home port of Sydney in Australia, having arrived she was fully stocked up and made ready for passenger services, etc. She then departed Sydney on her maiden voyage on March 2, 1912, sailing via Brisbane, Darwin, Batavia to Singapore, and return. The Montoro had a long life, and she also operated on the Papua New Guinea service, as well as serving as a troopship during WW2.

She was sold to an Asian company and was renamed the “HAVEN” and a remarkable and heroic story this ship can tell, as she rescued refugees out of Shanghai during the most dangerous of situations! Thus her name was most suitable she was indeed a safe haven for many, and almost half of those recued from Shanghai came to Australia on this fine ship.

For full details with photographs enter the link to her feature below.

Enter the SS Montoro & SS Haven Feature

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PLEASE SUPPORT … “Mercy Ships”

Mercy Ships is VERY Unique and does Amazing Medical Work.

This is a Work I Personally Support, and have done so for a very long time!

Please Join me and Support this Most Worthwhile Cause!

M.V. Africa Mercy

Mercy Ships - helps those who have severe medical needs in desperately poor lands around the globe, and they need our help!

Everyone on the ship, crew, nurses, doctors, surgeons, etc, is a volunteer, and Mercy Ships completely rely on our donations. Thus friends, your every single dollar counts, and be assured not a single dollar will be wasted on wages for every dollar will be spent on surgeries and healing children and all who need help!

Please give at least $25.00 per month, or a single donation of $300.00, or more if you so wish? Thank you very much!

Click the Image above or HERE to enter my Mercy Ships Feature

To Donate Click … https://mercyships.org.au/donate/

Also visit my Mercy-Ships feature, their current ship and past classic ships

Thank you for your help - Reuben Goossens.

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

Also Visit Maritime Links & the Maritime Art pages!

Or ENTER HERE

Featuring over 1,300 Classic Passenger Liners, Passenger-Cargo Liners & Classic Cruise Ships!

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ssMaritime.com & ssMaritime.net

Where you will discover Classic Liners & Cruise Ships & the 1914 built MV Doulos Story

The Author has been in Passenger Shipping & the Cruise Industry for some 60 years!

Also visit the …

Save The Classic Liners Campaign

Founded in the early 1990’s - The author is the founder and president

Email the Author: rg@ssmaritime.com

Please Note: ssmaritime and associated sites are 100% non-commercial and the author seeks no funding or favours of any shape or form, never have and never will!

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

This notice covers all pages; although, and I have done my best to ensure that all photographs are duly credited and that this notice is displaced on each page, that is, when a page is updated!