Fairsky
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (August 2009) |
History | |
---|---|
Name |
|
Port of registry | Panama Panama 1958-1968 Monrovia Liberia 1968-1977 |
Builder | Western Pipe and Steel Company, San Francisco |
Laid down | 17 April 1941 (as a C3 Cargo Ship ) |
Launched | 27 September 1942 |
Identification | IMO number: 5111622 |
Fate | Scrapped, 24 May 1980 |
General characteristics | |
Tonnage | 12,464 GRT |
Length | 153 m (502 ft 0 in) |
Beam | 21.2 m (69 ft 7 in) |
Propulsion | Single screw |
Speed | 17.5 knots (32.4 km/h; 20.1 mph) |
Capacity | 1,461 one-class passengers |
The
Prior service
Fairsky was laid down in 1941 as a
The vessel was returned to the custody of the United States Navy at Norfolk, Virginia in December 1945 and was struck from the U.S. Navy list in February 1946. The ship was next sold to the U.S. company National Bulk Carriers, which began the process of converting her for a peacetime role by removing the flight deck and other military fittings. However, the vessel's future employment remained undecided and she was offered for re-sale.
Conversion to ocean liner
In 1950 the ship was bought by the former Russian emigre shipowner, Alexander Vlasov. Laid up for another two years, in 1952 she was renamed Castel Forte and sent to the Newport News shipyard in the United States, intended for conversion to a refrigerated cargo ship for Vlasov's Italian-managed Sitmar Line. However, this conversion was soon abandoned and the vessel returned to lay-up. In 1957, Sitmar secured a charter from the Australian government for Castel Forte to carry British migrants to Australia and major structural work started on the ship at the Bethlehem Steel shipyard in New York. The vessel was moved to Genoa in December 1957, where the interior refitting was completed in May 1958. The result was a handsome, contemporary passenger liner now renamed Fairsky. Tourist one class accommodation for a maximum of 1,461 was provided in 461 cabins over five decks. Reflecting similar arrangements in earlier company ships Fairsea and Castel Felice, Fairsky featured just seven cabins with private facilities, located forward on the Sun Deck, beneath the Bridge Deck. Air-conditioning was installed throughout the ship and a good range of comfortable public rooms was provided, mostly on the Boat Deck. Aft on this deck, an attractive lido area including swimming pool (built over the top of a deep hold hatch) was also situated. Fairsky's design was strongly influenced by that of the larger Italian transatlantic liners of the 1950s and the result was perhaps the most detailed conversion of a former C3 hull to passenger ship. On 26 June 1958 the vessel commenced service from Southampton under the command of Sitmar's senior Master, Captain Jorge Petrescu. Fairsky was registered in Panama under the nominal ownership of the Fairline Shipping Corporation, though remained operated by Sitmar while in Vlasov ownership. The port of registry was later changed to that of Monrovia, Liberia.
The migrant contract
Fairsky thus joined the Fairsea (formerly another wartime escort carrier
In 1964 the three vessels were joined in the migrant service by a fourth, Fairstar (the extensively refitted former British troopship Oxfordshire). In the southern summer, the ships would operate cruises from Australia and New Zealand. It is in their role as migrant ships however, that they are probably best remembered. Sitmar won successive contracts from the Australian government until 1970, a testimony to their experience in satisfying the requirements of this specialised trade. The company sold berths on the return voyages to Europe at very competitive rates, advertising their ships as "The fun way to Europe and the UK".
While precise figures are not available, the four ships were responsible for the transportation of hundreds of thousands of European settlers to Australia, spanning over 20 years in total. Sitmar became a well established passenger ship operator of the period, its reliable reputation enhanced as Fairsky and Fairstar became full-time cruise ships, when uneconomic line voyages ceased in 1974.
Life on board
Fairsky was well designed for long voyages, with five open, teak-clad upper decks including a deep swimming pool aft, courts marked for deck tennis and quoits. The ship featured three dining rooms (two sittings were provided), a grand social hall, children's playroom, a writing room and library, Bavarian tavern and two further bars, also a cinema. Medical facilities included a fully equipped hospital with operating theatre and isolation ward.
One of the guest bands which played on the ship was
The first female Prime Minister of Australia (2010-2013), Julia Gillard and her family migrated to South Australia from Southampton, UK, arriving at Adelaide, South Australia aboard Fairsky, in 1966. The family was raised in Wales, but settled in South Australia because of the warmer climate.[1][2] Gillard's successor as leader of the Australian Labor Party, Anthony Albanese, also has a connection to the ship as his parents first met aboard the Fairsky on a voyage from Sydney to Southampton in March 1962 (his father was a Sitmar Line steward).[3]
Routes
The ship travelled through the
Following the
An alternative route sometimes used by Fairsky was to cross the Atlantic Ocean with a stop at the island of Madeira, then on to the Panama Canal via Curaçao. Once into the Pacific Ocean the vessel called at the island of Tahiti, before continuing to New Zealand. Here the ship called at Wellington, before the vessel crossed the Tasman Sea to Sydney.
Later career and demise
In 1970 Sitmar lost the migrant contract to
Fairsky served well in this new role for another three years, but in June 1977 suffered serious hull damage when she collided with a recently submerged wreck near Jakarta, Indonesia. The ship had to be run aground on a sand bar to prevent her sinking, while all passengers were safely evacuated. Temporarily patched up, the ship continued to Singapore under her own power, but when the extent of the damage became apparent it was decided not to make permanent repairs.
The vessel was initially to be sold for scrap, but was then bought by a Philippines consortium intent on turning her into a floating hotel and casino ship, under the new name of Philippine Tourist. However, before the conversion in Manila Bay was completed, the vessel was gutted by a fire on 3 November 1979. The wreck was finally sold for demolition, arriving in Hong Kong under tow on 27 May 1980, bringing to a sudden end a long, varied and otherwise highly successful career.
Footnotes
- ^ Kent, Jacqueline (27 June 2013). "Julia Gillard: from the Welsh mines to the summit of Australian politics". The Guardian Australia. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
- ^ "Julia Gillard: before office". National Archives of Australia. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
- ^ Middleton, Karen (2016). Albanese: Telling It Straight. Vintage Australia. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
See also
- Fairstar
- List of cruise ships
- Cruise ships
- List of ocean liners
- Ocean liners
References
- The Sitmar Ships – Fairsky retrieved 12 September 2007
Bibliography
- Eliseo, Maurizio (1998). The Sitmar Liners and the V Ships. London, UK: Carmania Press. ISBN 0-9534291-0-5.
- Goldberg, Mark H (1992). Caviar & Cargo - The C3 Passenger Ships. North American Maritime Books. ISBN 978-1-879180-01-7.
- Hobbs, David (Cdr, MBE, Royal Navy)(2003). Royal Navy Escort Carriers. Liskeard, UK: Maritime Books.
- Plowman, Peter (2004). The Sitmar Liners Past and Present. Sydney, NSW: Rosenberg. ISBN 1-877058-25-4.