''Ocean Monarch'' was a

passenger A passenger (also abbreviated as pax) is a person who travels in a vehicle, but does not bear any responsibility for the tasks required for that vehicle to arrive at its destination or otherwise operate the vehicle, and is not a steward. The ...

steamship that was built by Vickers-Armstrongs in 1950. She served with

Furness Bermuda Line Furness Bermuda Line was a United Kingdom, UK shipping line that operated in the 20th century. It was part of Furness Withy, Furness, Withy and ran passenger liners between Port of New York and New Jersey, New York and the British Overseas Territo ...

for fifteen years, then with a Bulgarian company for three years, renamed ''Varna''. She spent much of the 1970s laid up, and was renamed ''Venus'' and then ''Riviera''. In the early 1980s, she was renamed ''Reina del Mar'' and refitted for further use as a cruise ship, but a fire gutted her; and she was scuttled on 1 June 1981 after another fire broke out.

History

''Ocean Monarch'' was built by

Vickers-Armstrongs Vickers-Armstrongs Limited was a British engineering conglomerate formed by the merger of the assets of Vickers Limited and Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Company in 1927. The majority of the company was nationalised in the 1960s and 1970s, w ...

Ltd, High Walker, at a cost of £2,500,000. She was yard number 119, and was launched on 27 July 1950, with completion in March 1951. She was the first postwar-built ship designed especially for the American cruise market. Accommodations were for 414 first class passengers only. ''Ocean Monarch'' was awarded a gold medal by the American Institute for Designing for her "outstanding beauty and unusual design features of a cruise ship". ''Ocean Monarch'' served the New York – Bermuda route. As well as conveying passengers she was used to supply fresh drinking water to the island. She served with

Furness Withy Furness Withy was a major British transport business. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange. History The company was founded by Christopher Furness and Henry Withy (1852–1922) in 1891 in Hartlepool. This was achieved by the amalgamation ...

via subsidiary

until 1966. On 22 September she was laid up in the

River Fal The River Fal ( kw, Dowr Fala) flows through Cornwall, England, rising at Pentevale on Goss Moor (between St. Columb and Roche) and reaching the English Channel at Falmouth. On or near the banks of the Fal are the castles of Pendennis and ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlan ...

. In 1967, she was sold to Navigation Maritime Bulgare and renamed ''Varna''. Operated by Balkantourist, Varna, She was used on cruises from

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

. ''Varna'' was laid up in 1970 at

Perama Perama ( el, Πέραμα) is a suburb of Piraeus. It is part of Athens urban area and belogs to the Piraeus regional unit. It lies on the southwest edge of the Aegaleo mountains, on the Saronic Gulf coast. It is 8 km northwest of Piraeus ...

, Greece. In 1973, ''Varna'' was chartered by Sovereign Cruises, but only made two voyages with them. She was then laid up again. Her name was changed to ''Venus'' in 1977, and ''Riviera'' in 1978. in 1979, she was refurbished for use by Trans-Tirreno Express. She was chartered by SUR-Seereisen,

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

, who announced a series of Mediterranean cruises to take place in summer 1981. Her name was changed to ''Reina del Mar''. Before these cruises took place the ship was renovated. On 28 May 1981, a fire broke out which completely gutted the passenger accommodation. The ship was towed out of

Ambelakia Ampelakia ( el, Αμπελάκια, meaning vineyards) is a town and a former municipality of Salamis Island, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Salamis, of which it is a municipal unit. It lies on t ...

, where the renovation was being carried out. The tow parted and ''Reina del Mar'' ran aground on Salamina Island. After being refloated, she was moored near '' Rasa Sayang'', which had also been gutted by fire. On 1 June 1981, a new fire broke out on ''Reina del Mar'', and she was then scuttled off Kynosoura.

Description and propulsion

The ship had a crew of about 250 and had berths for up to 414 passengers, all first class. Her length overall was , and her beam was .

References

Bibliography

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External links

Poem about ''Ocean Monarch''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ocean Monarch (1950) Ships built on the River Tyne 1950 ships Cruise ships Passenger ships of the United Kingdom Passenger ships of Bulgaria Passenger ships of Greece Ship fires Maritime incidents in 1981 Shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea