SS ''Atlantic'' was an American-built vessel that operated for 42 years in various capacities. First designated SS ''Badger Mariner'', she was originally built as a freighter in 1953. However, her career as a

cargo vessel A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. Cargo ships are usual ...

was relatively short. In 1958, she was rebuilt as a

passenger liner A passenger ship is a merchant ship whose primary function is to carry passengers on the sea. The category does not include cargo vessels which have accommodations for limited numbers of passengers, such as the ubiquitous twelve-passenger freig ...

. Renamed SS ''Atlantic'', this ship became familiar to many American tourists during the 1960s, making cruises to the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

and

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

. In 1971, she was retired from commercial service and purchased by C. Y. Tung, a Chinese shipping magnate, and converted to a

university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

at sea, first as the SS ''Universe Campus'', then as the SS ''Universe''.

Freighter

SS ''Badger Mariner'' was built as a 9,214 gross register ton

cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's List of seas, seas and Ocean, oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. ...

. Construction occurred in 1952 and 1953 at Sun Ship Building & Dry Dock Co., in

Chester, Pennsylvania Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in the Philadelphia metropolitan area (also known as the Delaware Valley) on the western bank of the Delaware River between Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware. ...

. She was launched on July 1, 1953. SS ''Badger Mariner'' was one of approximately 35 cargo ships of the C4-S-1a class designed and built to provide fast support for the US military, following the retirement of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

liberty ships Liberty ships were a class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Although British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost construction. ...

. She had a central-island

superstructure A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships. Aboard ships and large boats On water craft, the superstruct ...

, with three large deck cranes located forward and two large deck cranes located aft. These cranes serviced four forward hatches and two aft hatches, all of which were hydraulically operated. She had a length of 564 feet, a beam of 76 feet, and a

draft Draft, the draft, or draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a v ...

of 26 feet, and could achieve a maximum speed of 20

knots A knot is a fastening in rope or interwoven lines. Knot or knots may also refer to: Other common meanings * Knot (unit), of speed * Knot (wood), a timber imperfection Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Knots'' (film), a 2004 film * ''Kn ...

. Her cargo capacity was 769,949

cubic feet The cubic foot (symbol ft3 or cu ft)
, . is an Arnold_Bernstein, American Banner Lines.

Cruise ship

Upon acquiring the SS ''Badger Mariner'' in 1958, the American Banner Lines undertook an extensive conversion, turning the ship into a medium-sized

. This work took place at the Ingalls Ship Building Corporation at

Pascagoula, Mississippi Pascagoula ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Jackson County, Mississippi, United States. It is the principal city of the Pascagoula metropolitan area, and is part of the Gulfport, Mississippi, Gulfport–Biloxi, Mississippi, Biloxi–Pascag ...

. Following this conversion, the linear dimensions of the ship remained the same. However, with the addition of passenger decks, her gross register tonnage increased to 14,138. She was renamed SS ''Atlantic''. The conversion successfully masked the ship’s origins as a freighter, and gave her a modern, well-proportioned, though slightly boxy, profile. Overall, her appearance was in keeping with other passenger vessels designed and built in the late 1950s and early 1960s. She sported a black

hull Hull may refer to: Structures * The hull of an armored fighting vehicle, housing the chassis * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a sea-going craft * Submarine hull Ma ...

with a white strip at the base of the

, the lower deck of which retained the black coloration of the hull. Her upper superstructure was white and was topped by a squat blue

funnel A funnel is a tube or pipe that is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, used for guiding liquid or powder into a small opening. Funnels are usually made of stainless steel, aluminium, glass, or plastic. The material used in its constructi ...

. She featured glass-enclosed

promenade An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortification, fortress or city walls ...

s, running most of the length of both sides of the

promenade deck The promenade deck is a deck found on several types of passenger ships and riverboats. It usually extends from bow to stern, on both sides, and includes areas open to the outside, resulting in a continuous outside walkway suitable for ''prome ...

, and spacious public rooms. On June 11, 1958, SS ''Atlantic'' departed on her maiden voyage. While under the American Banner Lines flag, she ran between

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

, and

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

. This service did not return the expected profit, and the vessel was again placed on the market in 1959. SS ''Atlantic'' was soon acquired by the

American Export Lines American Export-Isbrandtsen Lines, New York, was the leading US-flag shipping company between the U.S. east coast and the Mediterranean from 1919 to 1977, offering both cargo ship and passenger ship services, until it declared bankruptcy and was ...

. An extensive refit, completed in May, 1960, increased her tonnage to 18,100 gross registered tons. She was turned into a warm-weather

cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports of call, where passengers may go on Tourism, tours k ...

, catering primarily to tourist class passengers. She was equipped with a large outdoor pool and was given an all white

and superstructure. Her

, in keeping with the

livery, was marked by black, white, and buff stripes. She could accommodate 880 passengers, 40 housed in first class accommodations. The vessel was fully

air conditioned Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C (US) or air con (UK), is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space to achieve a more comfortable interior temperature, and in some cases, also controlling the humidity of internal air. Air c ...

and each passenger cabin was equipped with a private bathroom. She was fitted with stabilizers in 1961. SS ''Atlantic'' had six passenger decks, with the uppermost designated as the Bridge Deck, and those below as the Boat Deck, Promenade Deck, Upper Deck, Main Deck, and “A” Deck, respectively. Between 1960 and 1967, SS ''Atlantic'' ran successful cruises between

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, and the

, stopping at St. Thomas, Jamaica and other destinations. Her voyages were advertised as Beachcomber Cruises to the Caribbean. She also made 24-day cruises to the

. In January 1967, the SS ''Atlantic'' ran aground on a

sand bar In oceanography, geomorphology, and geoscience, a shoal is a natural submerged ridge, bank, or bar that consists of, or is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material, and rises from the bed of a body of water close to the surface or ...

when leaving

Port Everglades Port Everglades is a seaport in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, located in Broward County. Port Everglades is one of South Florida's foremost economic engines, as it is the gateway for both international trade and cruise vacations. In 2022, Port Eve ...

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale ( ) is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and most populous city in Broward County, Florida, Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the ...

on a seven-day Caribbean cruise. Tugs required two days to dislodge the ship, which returned to Port Everglades without significant damage. Later in 1967, the vessel was withdrawn from service due to declines in passenger traffic.

University at Sea

In 1971, the vessel was purchased by C. Y. Tung, was registered to Seawise Foundation, Inc., and was designated SS ''Universe Campus''. From this point forward, she had a very successful career traveling the globe as a university at sea. The vessel housed about 500 students and 60 faculty members for four-month semesters. In 1976, SS ''Universe Campus'' was renamed SS ''Universe''. By 1989, she had carried more than 20,000 students.

Disposition

As a result of aging

boilers A boiler is a closed vessel in which fluid (generally water) is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications, including water heating, central ...

, delayed sailings, and mounting repair bills, SS ''Universe'' was retired in 1995. She was towed to Alang, India, where she was scrapped in 1996.

References

External links

Video: Let's Take the SS Atlantic to the Mediterranean in 1961!
{{DEFAULTSORT:Atlantic Cruise ships Passenger ships Cargo ships of the United States Ocean liners Cargo liners Ships built by the Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Company 1953 ships