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- Willem
Ruys - Achille Lauro
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- This page
is devoted to postcards and photographs of the Royal Rotterdam
Lloyd liner Willem
Ruys,
later Achille Lauro of Lauro Lines and Starlauro.
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- The Willem
Ruys was laid down in January 1939, shortly before the
outbreak of WW2. Little work was carried out during the war,
often held up by resistance groups. Willem
Ruys was finally launched in July 1946, and delivered
in November 1947, with the maiden voyage Rotterdam-Indonesia
starting on December 2nd. This service was operated until December
1957, when political changes caused its cessation. Willem
Ruys ran a number of transatlantic crossings before being
rebuilt for a round-the -world service, which started in 1959.
This was not a great success, and she was sold to Lauro
Lines in 1964. She was named after her new owner, but did
not enter service until April 1966 following an explosion and
fire during conversion work. The route was from North Europe
(Bremerhaven, Rotterdam, Southampton)-Genoa-Sydney-Wellington,
which operated until 1972 when Achille Lauro became a
fulltime cruise ship. Lauro Lines
were in financial trouble by the late 1970s, and the Achille
Lauro was arrested in Tenerife in 1982. She lay there for
a year, until the Italian Government arranged to have her brought
back to Genoa. After a further year's lay-up, a joint charter
arrangement for Mediterranean cruises was made between Lauro
Lines and Chandris Lines.
Chandris pulled out after the much-publicized hijacking in October
1985 affected passenger numbers. Lauro struggled on until 1987,
when it was bought by the Swiss-based Mediterranean Shipping
Company, who rebranded the company as StarLauro
Cruises. This venerable ship served with them until November
1994, when she caught fire on a Genoa-South Africa cruise. The
ship was abandoned, and sank two days later.
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- Ship Names on this
Page:-
- Willem
Ruys
- Rotterdam Lloyd 1947-64
- Achille
Lauro
- Lauro Lines 1964-87
- Achille
Lauro
- Starlauro 1987-94
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- Associated Pages:-
- Chandris
Lines
- Lauro
Lines
- Rotterdam
Lloyd
- StarLauro
Cruises
- Ocean
Liner Postcards
- Cruise
Ship Postcards
- Simplon
Postcards Home Page
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- Willem Ruys
- (Rotterdam
Lloyd: 1947-64)
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- Two
official Rotterdam Lloyd cards of Willem Ruys.
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- This
official Royal Rotterdam Lloyd card shows Willem Ruys after rebuilding
for the Round-the-World service.
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- Ern.Thill,
Bruxelles, postcard of Willem Ruys at Antwerp.
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- A
modern poster reproduction, published by Art Unlimited, Amsterdam
(serial A9498) is shown below.
- The
poster shows the Willem Ruys and her route, is
by James Greig and dates from ca.1948.
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- A
modern card of Willem Ruys published by Vormgeving, Rotterdam,
using a painting by Robert E.Murk.
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- This
is a modern card, showing earlier condition, published by the
Rotterdam Maritime Museum.
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- The
following pictures of Willem Ruys are taken from a souvenir
book published for the Round-the-World service in 1959. The front
and back covers are shown below. Harold Nicholson, and his wife
Vita Sackville-West, travelled on her to Java in 1957, and he
wrote the travel book Journey to Java about the experience.
Included is the following description of the ship:-
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- "V.
And I find this boat one of the best designed that we have ever
seen. The cabins are wonderfully comfortable, the bunks resilient,
the water hot, the lighting and ventilation perfectly arranged.
The public rooms-the saloon, the smoking room and bar, the library
and the gallery that connects them-all open into each other and
should serve as a model of design for an Embassy or Government
House. The furniture is soft and unobtrusive, the carpets of
thick grey pile, and the decoration restful. The rooms are so
skilfully lit that one can read even small print and yet there
is no glare at all".
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- Willem
Ruys in
the Panama Canal.
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- Achille Lauro
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Lines: 1964-87)
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- The Round-the-World
service was not a great success, and Rotterdam Lloyd sold the
Willem Ruys to Achille Lauro in 1964. After a lengthy
rebuild, she returned to service with her owners name in 1966.
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- Four
official Lauro Lines postcards of the liner Achille Lauro
are shown below.
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- TFC
Charter
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- The following
details on TFC were supplied by Derek Walker:- TFC was a South
African travel agency which basically pioneered the cruising
industry in South Africa in the 1980's. The Achille was brought
out by them to operate the December to January season for local
cruise fans. Usually there were short Durban-Cape Town voyages
with a Christmas and a new years cruise to Mauritius. I sailed
on her in 26/12/1986 - 03/01/1987 on the New Year cruise and
after I returned she did a voyage to Australia which could be
where this particular postcard originates from. There were problems
with South Africans and visa's on that voyage and I do not recall
her going to Australia for a few years afterwards. TFC folded
following the sinking of the Oceanos. They had been bought out
by another group and the scandal from the Oceanos sunk the company.
The last ship they brought out was the Aegean Dolphin in 1992.
The previous owners of TFC formed Starlight Cruises and have
successfully brought out the Achille, Symphony, Rhapsody and
Monterey.
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- This
card of Achille Lauro at Sydney has the logo TFC. Note
P&O's Sea Princess in the background.
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- Another
card of Achille Lauro at Sydney, photographed just after
the one above.
- This
one is published by Marine Photographic.
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- Croisieres
Notre Temps Charter
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- Croisieres
Notre Temps postcard of Achille Lauro, published for their
20th anniversary.
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- Chantry
Classics modern postcard CC/S34 of Achille Lauro at Capetown
- Photograph:
© Errol Cornish.
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- Achille Lauro
- (Starlauro:
1987-94)
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- Two
official Starlauro postcards of the liner Achille Lauro.
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- A
Starlight Cruises postcard of the liner Achille Lauro,
with the title, "Returning to Cruise South African Waters
Nov 94 to April 95". Unfortunately, the ship never made
it to Souths Africa, since it was in November 1994 that she caught
fire and sank on the way down to take up this charter.
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- Simplon
Postcards sc2038, released August 1993, of Achille Lauro
at Antwerp.
- Photograph:
© Phillipe Holthof.
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- CT
Publishing modern postcard 086 of Achille Lauro at Capri.
- Photograph:
© Richard Weiss.
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- Photograph
of Achille Lauro (right) and Chandris Lines' Romanza at Kusadasi in 1988.
- Photo:
© Francesco Galantino.
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- Achille
Lauro
and an 8-year old Francesco in 1991, photographed from Monterey.
- Photo:
© Francesco Galantino.
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Lines - Rotterdam
LLoyd - Lauro Lines - StarLauro
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- ©1999-2005
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