TSS Fairstar

	TSS Fairstar
History
United Kingdom
Name	Oxfordshire
Owner	Bibby Line
Route	Various
Builder	Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Govan
Launched	15 December 1955
Maiden voyage	28 February 1957
Out of service	1962
Renamed	Fairstar, 1964
Refit	1963–1964 (from Troopship to Liner)
Name	Fairstar
Owner	SITMAR, P&O
Port of registry	Monrovia, Liberia
Route	UK-Australia Liner run, South Pacific, New Zealand, Asia
Maiden voyage	19 May 1964
Out of service	1997
Identification	IMO number: 5267732; Callsign: 5MXH;
Fate	Scrapped at Alang, India, 1997
General characteristics
Type	Oxfordshire: Troopship; Fairstar: Passenger liner, cruise ship;
Tonnage	Oxfordshire: 20,586 GRT; Fairstar: 21,619 GRT;
Length	187.76 m (616 ft 0 in)
Beam	23.86 m (78 ft 3 in)
Draught	8.41 m (27 ft 7 in)
Decks	10
Propulsion	4 × Pametrada steam turbines manufactured by the shipbuilder, double reduction gears to twin screws, 18,000 shp (13,423 kW)
Speed	17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph)
Boats & landing ; craft carried	16
Capacity	Oxfordshire: 1,500; Fairstar: 1,868;
Troops	Oxfordshire: 1,000
Crew	Oxfordshire: 409; Fairstar: 460;

TSS (

Turbine Steam Ship) Fairstar (Fairstar, the Fun Ship) was a popular Australian-based cruise ship operating out of Sydney for 22 years. Originally completed in 1957 as the British troopship

Oxfordshire, it was converted to become the Fairstar in 1964 for immigrant voyages and from December 1974 was permanently engaged in cruising.

Background

In the early 1950s, the

British-India Steam Navigation Company for an almost identical vessel, which would become Nevasa. These new ships would become the largest and last British vessels built solely for trooping. It was intended that the pair would take up twenty-year charters from the British Government, to secure their employment. Consequently, Bibby Line sold the original 1912 Oxfordshire and plans for the new ship proceeded with the ship to be built at the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company of Glasgow. The keel of the new vessel (designated as 'Ship No. 755') was laid down with 8,396 tons (8 531 t) of steel assigned for the construction. On 15 December 1955 the Oxfordshire was launched by Lady Dorothea Head, wife of the Minister for War, Lord Head

. Fitting out of the ship took over a year, with her sea trials commencing on 29 January 1957.

The Oxfordshire was officially handed over to the Bibby Line on 14 February 1957 when she steamed towards

Ceylon, Aden, Port Said and Suez in Egypt. However, by the early 1960s the use of aircraft to fulfil transport requirements and the declining number of overseas British garrisons meant that trooping by sea was soon to be redundant. In 1962 the British Government finally decided to rely entirely on air trooping, so the long-term charters of Oxfordshire and near sister-ship Nevasa were terminated and the vessels withdrawn from service. The last active troopship Oxfordshire followed Nevasa (despatched in October 1962), to lay up in the safe haven of Cornwall's River Fal

in December of that year.

It was at this time that the migrant trade to Australia was booming. British and European migrants were given assisted passage to Australia – only having to pay ten pounds, with the balance paid by the Federal Government. The Vlasov Group passenger division, SITMAR Line, was already well established as a migrant carrier to Australia and they quickly showed an interest in the idle Oxfordshire. A six-year charter agreement with an option to purchase the ship was signed in February 1963 between the Bibby Line and Fairstar Shipping Corporation (another subsidiary of Vlasov Group).

'ConOx'

The complex plan to convert the Oxfordshire into a ship that was suitable for both liner voyages and cruises was one of the most ambitious projects to be overseen by the Vlasov engineers. On 19 May 1963 the Oxfordshire entered the Wilton-Fijenoord shipyard at Schiedam to commence the transformation. The project was known as the "Conox Project" (Conversion of Oxfordshire). Unfortunately, the project took longer than expected and cost more than anticipated (£4.5 million). In May 1964 it was then decided to buy the ship outright and move her to Southampton to complete the fitting out. The handsome, new-look ship was quite changed from her former image: the superstructure was lengthened both fore and aft, three pairs of cargo booms were replaced by cranes, also the signal mast and funnel housing were redesigned. Internally, the vessel was completely transformed, with contemporary 'One Class Tourist' accommodation for a maximum of 1,868 passengers in 488 cabins, all but 68 of which were equipped with private shower and toilet facilities.

Fairstar

On 19 May 1964 the Fairstar left Southampton with a full complement of passengers, mostly migrants, on her maiden voyage to Sydney, Australia, joining older company vessels

Chandris Lines

in 1970, Fairsea having been withdrawn in 1969 following a disabling engine-room fire mid-Pacific. Castel Felice also went to the breakers in October 1970, after a career of almost 40 years. Fairsky was laid up in Southampton in February 1972, not returning to the Australian service until November 1973.
Fairstar was used more and more for cruising over the following years and in November 1974, the vessel departed Southampton for her last liner voyage. Fairstar then began cruising as a permanent cruise ship from Australia in December 1974. Most of the cruises were to the South Pacific, however she often made annual trips to Asia where the vessel would be dry-docked in Singapore for routine maintenance and upgrades in between cruises. Fairstar thus joined Fairsky in full-time cruising, Fairsky having finally been withdrawn in July 1974 from the now unsubsidised UK-Australia route. Both ships remained in service together for a further three years, until the sudden unfortunate demise of Fairsky in June 1977, after the vessel struck a submerged wreck near Jakarta, Indonesia and was found to be beyond economic repair.
Several upgrades were made to Fairstar during her career, the most notable occurring in April 1989, not long after SITMAR was sold to P&O Australia for $210 million. During the refit, her boat deck was extended, lounges and passenger cabins were upgraded and a new potable water plant installed. The passenger capacity was also reduced to 1,280. The funnel sported a new colour scheme: a blue swan on a white funnel (it was originally changed to a white swan on a blue logo in July 1988).

The end of Fairstar

During the 1990s, Fairstar suffered an increasing number of breakdowns and problems. New
SOLAS
(Safety Of Life At Sea) requirements that were to be introduced in 1997 meant that Fairstar would require extensive upgrading which would cost millions of dollars. In late 1996, the managing director of P&O, Mr Phil Young, announced that Fairstar's long career would conclude the following year. When the news was broken to the public, the final cruise was sold out in a few hours. On 21 January 1997, Fairstar sailed on her last ever cruise, visiting Amédée Island, Nouméa, Lifou, Vila and Havannah-Boulari Passage before finally returning to Sydney. On her return to Sydney, she had the traditional long white pennant flying from her mainmast.
The name "RIPA" was then roughly painted on her bow (which many believe stood for "Rest In Peace Always") and she flew the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines flag. Soon after, she slipped out of Sydney Harbour and arrived at Alang, India on 10 April 1997 where she was broken up for scrap.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to IMO 5267732.

Bibliography

Andrews, Malcolm (1996). The Fabulous Fairstar. Sydney, NSW: Harper Collins.
ISBN 0-7322-5765-4
.

Eliseo, Maurizio (1998). The Sitmar Liners & the V Ships. London, UK: Carmania Press.
ISBN 0-9534291-0-5
.

Plowman, Peter (2004). The Sitmar Liners Past and Present. Sydney, NSW: Rosenberg.
ISBN 1-877058-25-4
.

Fairstar the Funship. Waterloo, Sydney, NSW: Bartel Collectors World Pty Ltd.
ISBN 0-646-01657-1
.

See also

Fairsky

List of cruise ships

Cruise ships

List of ocean liners

Ocean liners

Troopship

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