From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cunard Ambassador
in Key West after an on-board fire, September 1974
|
History
|
Name
| Cunard Ambassador
|
Owner
| Cunard Line
|
Route
| |
Builder
| Rotterdamsche Droogdok Maatschappij
|
Yard number
| 666
|
Launched
| 16 March 1972
|
Completed
| October 1972
|
Identification
| IMO number
:
7208144
|
Fate
| Sold to C. Clausen after an onboard fire 12 September 1974 and converted to a livestock carrier.
|
Name
| Linda Clausen
|
Owner
| C. Clausen D/S A/S, København
|
Acquired
| 1975
|
Refit
| Converted to a livestock carrier in 1975
|
Fate
| Sold to Lembu Shipping Corporation of Panama
|
Name
| Procyon
|
Owner
| Lembu Shipping Corporation of Panama
|
Acquired
| 1980
|
Fate
| Sold to Qatar Transport & Marine Services of
Doha
|
Name
| Raslan
|
Owner
| Qatar Transport & Marine Services of Doha
|
Acquired
| 1983
|
Fate
| Sold for scrap after a fire on 3 July 1983. Arrived in Kaohsiung, Taiwan for scapping on 7 September 1984.
|
General characteristics
|
Type
| Cruise ship
|
Tonnage
| 14,155
GT
|
Length
| 484 ft (148 m) long
|
Beam
| 71 ft (22 m)
|
Decks
| 7
|
Installed power
| Diesel engines
|
Propulsion
| Two propellers
|
Speed
| 20.5 knots (38.0 km/h; 23.6 mph)
|
Capacity
| 806 all-one-class passengers
|
MV
Cunard Ambassador
was a
cruise ship
planned as one of a class of eight ships for the charter airline
Overseas National Airways
. At the same time, the
Cunard Line
was moving into the cruise market because the increasing popularity of international flights meant that its transatlantic passenger services were no longer viable.
Ship history
[
edit
]
Because of the cost of the eight-ship project,
Overseas National Airways
soon ran into financial troubles and was forced to abandon it. Cunard saw the opportunity and quickly took the project on, soon reducing the order to two ships, which it christened
Cunard Adventurer
(1971) and
Cunard Ambassador
(1972). Both ships were intended for seven-day cruises, including
New York City
to
Bermuda
,
San Juan
to other
Caribbean
ports, and
Vancouver
to
Alaska
during the summer seasons.
The two ships were less successful than intended.
Cunard Adventurer
was soon sold and became
Sunward II
and later
Triton
;
Cunard Ambassador
was withdrawn from
Cunard
service on September 12, 1974 after a fire on a positioning trip. There were no passengers on board and no fatalities but, after being towed to
Key West
, the ship was declared a total loss.
The hulk was sold as a gutted hull and refitted to become the
Danish
sheep carrier,
Linda Clausen
later the same year. In 1980, she was sold again and became
Procyon
. In April 1981 she again caught fire, whilst bunkering in Singapore; the salvors Smit, SISEA and SELCO successfully fought the fire. The ship was again repaired and, in 1983, renamed
Raslan
. In 1983, only a year after being rechristened
Raslan
, she suffered another devastating fire in the
Indian Ocean
. The ship was deemed was beyond economic repair so after thirteen years of service the hulk was sold to
Taiwanese
ship breakers and scrapped.
Influence
[
edit
]
Shortly after the sale of
Cunard Adventurer
and the first fire on
Cunard Ambassador
,
Cunard
planned two new ships,
Cunard Countess
and
Cunard Conquest
, later changed to
Cunard Princess
. The design incorporated many features of the failed
Adventurer
and
Ambassador
including a similar sleek profile and angular funnel and the white-painted hull.
References
[
edit
]
- “Picture History of the Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth”, William H. Miller Jr., Dover Publications Inc., 2004
- “Picture History of the Cunard Line 1840?1990”,
Frank O. Braynard
and William H. Miller Jr., Dover Publications Inc., 1990
- “Doomed Ships; Great Ocean Liner Disasters”, William H. Miller Jr., Dover Publications Inc., 2006
External links
[
edit
]
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Current fleet
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Former ships
1840–1994
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For MoWT
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Years indicate year of entry into Cunard service.
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