On July 1, 1953, the ship was launched at the Sun Shipbuilding shipyard as the Badger Mariner type C4-S-1a ( Mariner class ) turbine cargo ship . The US Maritime Administration took over the ship intended for use with the US Marine Corps.
Conversion to a passenger ship
After the American shipping company American Banner Lines took over the ship from the German-American shipowner Arnold Bernstein in 1957, they sent the freighter to the shipyard, where it was converted into the MARAD type P2-S1-1v as the third ship after the Mariposa and Monterey . The conversion to a passenger ship with cargo facilities and over 95% seats in the tourist class as well as a separate toilet for each cabin was based on the model of the Holland America Line's statendam , Ryndam and Maasdam, which were successful at the time . After the already delayed delivery, the converted ship was renamed Atlantic and began its combined transatlantic passenger and cargo line service in June 1957. The line was not lucky, as the opening coincided with the start of the transatlantic airline service, which was able to attract a large number of travelers in a very short time, after which the ship was sold to American Export Lines in November 1959 .
American Export Lines and Uncertain Years
From 1960 on, the Atlantic was used on the route from the east coast of the United States to the Mediterranean Sea and on occasional cruises, and the now unprofitable ship was launched in 1968. In 1971 the ship was sold to Orient Overseas Line by the shipowner CY Tung from Hong Kong, who used the ship as a floating university until 1976 after the fire of the former Queen Elizabeth under the name Universe Campus . In 1976, the ship was given to the Island Navigation Corporation and it was renamed Universe . After another 20 years of service in Asia, the Universe finally arrived in India for demolition in 1996.
