MV Aurora (1955)

MV ''Aurora'' is a cruise ship built in Germany in 1955. After several changes of ownership and name, she is moored in Stockton, California, US, and undergoing restoration.

History

Launch and passenger service

''Aurora'' was launched as the ''Wappen von Hamburg'' for HADAG at Blohm & Voss, intended to be used for day-long cruises from Hamburg to Helgoland. Her maiden cruise in the North Sea carried a full complement of 1,600 passengers.Kurtis Alexander
"Shipwrecked On Little Potato Slough"
''San Francisco Chronicle'', October 8, 2020.
Passengers were seated in salons and cafeterias on three decks, and enjoyed the view from galleries and sun decks. In the 1950s through -70s, this trip was a popular getaway, especially on weekends. Private cars were still not the norm, and a mini-cruise provided a change of scenery in comfort.
Furthermore, visits to the Island of Helgoland were not possible before 1955. Until 1952, the island had been under UK administration and was used as a Royal Air Force and Royal Navy bombing target, completely devastating the infrastructure. Especially in the first years after starting to open for tourism again, many people were eager to see and visit the island for themselves that had been closed off for 20 years.

Her cruising speed of 17.5 knots meant that the 90 nautical mile trip from Hamburg to Heligoland would take 5 hours. This made day trips from Hamburg less than practical, because visitors would only have maybe two or three hours on the island. Most guests would take the train from Hamburg to Cuxhaven and only take the ship for the 36 nautical miles from that port to the island. Still, the schedule presented a challenge.
Therefore, ''Wappen von Hamburg'' was replaced after only seven years of service by a second ship of the same name. Her replacement launched in 1962 made 21.5 knots, meaning that day trippers now could spend up to two hours more on the island holding the same departure times.
In 1960, ''Wappen Von Hamburg''(1955) was sold to the Greek Nomikos Line. She was renamed ''Delos'' and refitted as one of the first luxury Aegean cruise ships, with the addition of a swimming pool and air conditioning in all cabins.Chris Willson and Peter Knego
Aurora Yacht News
Wordpress, August 26, 2012, retrieved October 11, 2020.

In 1967, the ship was sold to the Alaska Cruise Line (Westtours) of Vancouver and renamed to ''Polar Star'' for expedition cruises in Alaskan waters, then in 1970 resold to West Cruise Lines of Panama and renamed to ''Pacific Star'' and then ''Polar Star'' for expedition cruises in the South Atlantic. In 1972 Donald L. Ferguson bought her, renamed her ''Xanadu'', and added antiques to her luxury fittings."M/S Wappen von Hamburg"
Faktaomfartyg.se, retrieved October 11, 2020 .

Post-cruising career

As the cruise industry began to fade, ''Xanadu'' was sold two further times and then in 1977 laid up and some of her fittings were auctioned. After repossession by a Seattle bank in Vancouver, she was sold in 1982 to Pan Aleutian Seafoods as a factory ship for crab, and in 1984 laid up again, in Tacoma.

In 1985, a new owner renamed her again to ''Expex'' and moored her at Los Angeles for trade show and exhibition use. A forty-foot intermodal container was mounted on her stern.

After this venture was unsuccessful, the ship was sold to Friendships, a Christian sect based in Wilmington, California, who renamed her ''Faithful''. They repainted her hull blue but instead of using her for relief work, housed converts on the ship until she was seized by the Coast Guard.

Dr. James Mitchell bought ''Faithful'' from Friendships to use as a hospital ship, but in 2005 the ''Faithful'', which by now had rusting metal, fading and peeled paint, and missing railings, to Al Boraq Aviation, who planned to refurbish her as a luxury yacht and had her towed to Alameda. This refurbishment did not materialize; she was declared an abandoned vessel and eventually an arrangement was made to have her removed. In 2010 the '' Life After People'' episode "Holiday Hell" featured the ship with an interview with maritime enthusiast Peter Knego coloumnist for Maritime Matters on her history and condition.

Refurbishment

After seeing a Craigslist ad in 2008, Chris Willson bought the ship from the then owner, a marine salvage dealer who had been ordered by the California State Lands Commission to move the ship from Decker Island, in the San Joaquin River delta, but could not afford to do so. Willson had her towed to Rio Vista, where restoration work began, and then a year later, in August 2010, renamed ''Aurora'', to Pier 38 in San Francisco, with plans to eventually open her as a tourist attraction. The following year, a Port of San Francisco wharfinger gave him three days' notice to move ''Aurora'' because Pier 38 was to be shut down due to structural and electrical issues.

''Aurora'' was ultimately towed from San Francisco back to the delta in 2012 and moored at a marina in Little Potato Slough, approximately 15 miles from Stockton.George Schneider
"AURORA - IMO 5088227"
at Stockton, ''Shipspotting'', arch 22, 2015 April 16, 2015. Soon after, the marina went out of business over debts and regulatory problems, so Willson and his partner moved to the ship to watch over it. he is working with volunteers to complete restoration of ''Aurora'', with plans to find a location that will host her as a tourist attraction.

In popular culture

The ship was an inspiration for '' The Love Boat'' and was used as a filming location for the 1963 film '' From Russia with Love''.

References

External links

Official websitearchived
on February 20, 2016

Christopher Wilson, "Aurora Restoration Project Part 1"
''Museum Ships'' (first of a series)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aurora (1955)
Ocean liners
Cruise ships
Passenger ships of Germany
Museum ships in San Francisco
Museum ships in California
1955 ships