Federico C.
_(Kiel_67.674).jpg) The Federico C. visits the Kiel Week 1976
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The Federico C. was a passenger ship put into service in 1958 by the Italian shipping company Costa Crociere and its first new building. The ship, originally designed for the liner service to South America, was used for cruises from 1968 and remained in the Costa Crociere fleet until 1983. In the following years it was under different owners for Caribbean cruises in use and was here renamed several times: 1983 Royale , 1989 StarShip Royale and 1990 in SeaBreeze I . In September 2000, the 42-year-old ship was taken out of service due to the insolvency of its owner. On December 17, 2000 the SeaBreeze I sank under unspecified circumstances while towing 225 nautical miles off the coast of Virginia .
history
Federico C.
_(Kiel_67.675).jpg)
The Federico C. was built under construction number 1516 in the Gio shipyard . Ansaldo & C. in Sestri Ponente and was launched on March 31, 1957. Namesake was Federico Costa, one of the three sons of the company co-founder Giacomo Costa. In March 1958 the ship was delivered to Costa Crociere as the first new building and the largest unit in the fleet. On March 22, 1958, the Federico C. set out on her maiden voyage from Genoa via Rio de Janeiro to Buenos Aires . The ship traveled this route in the transatlantic service for the next 8 years.
In 1966 the Federico C. was replaced by the newer and larger Eugenio C. (also named after one of the sons of Giacomo Costa) both as the flagship of Costa Crociere and on the route to South America. The ship then went on the Genoa route to Florida and was used for cruises to the Caribbean and Venezuela . In 1968 the Federico C was rebuilt; In addition to a chimney extension, the ship received additional superstructures in front of the navigation bridge, and the upper promenade corridor was closed. The Federico C. was from now on used exclusively for cruises.
In June 1976 the Federico C. was the first Costa Crociere ship to dock in the port of Kiel . The reason for the visit was the Kiel Week there . This marked the beginning of a partnership between the city of Kiel and Costa Crociere, who have regularly docked there with their ships ever since.
Royale / StarShip Royale
In December 1983 the ship was decommissioned after 25 years in service for Costa Crociere and sold as a royale to the Panama- based US shipping company Premier Cruises . From February 1984 the ship was used for cruises from Port Canaveral to the Caribbean.
In February 1989 the Royale was sold to the Panama-based Cia de Vapores Fanal SA and was named StarShip Royale . Ulysses Cruises continued to use the ship for Caribbean cruises. The period of service with the new owner was short-lived.
SeaBreeze I
After just one year which was StarShip Royale to the US in 1990 Dolphin Cruise Line sold in SeaBreeze I renamed. The small shipping company operated the ship together with the Dolphin IV and from 1992 with the OceanBreeze as its largest unit, also mainly in the Caribbean.
In 1997 the Dolphin Cruise Line was taken over by Premier Cruises, which means that the SeaBreeze I was back in service for this shipping company after eight years. From now on, trips to Canada and Alaska were offered in addition to Caribbean tours .
After Premier Cruises had to file for bankruptcy, the ship was arrested on September 14, 2000 in Halifax . In December of the same year, the SeaBreeze I was foreclosed and finally went to International Shipping Partners in Panama. At this point in time, the 42-year-old ship was most likely to be scrapped.
On December 17, 2000 , the SeaBreeze I was in distress in a storm about 225 nautical miles off the coast of Virginia on a tow from Halifax to Galveston . There were 34 crew members on board who were rescued by helicopters of the United States Coast Guard . Although the Coast Guard did not expect such a large ship to sink in a storm, the SeaBreeze I sank a short time later. According to the master's statement, the reason for this was a boiler in the engine room, which was released from its anchorage by the storm and damaged the hull through which water penetrated the ship.
The cause of the sinking of the SeaBreeze I is controversial for various reasons. The ship was estimated to be worth an estimated $ 6 to 7 million scrap, but was insured for $ 20 million prior to its towing trip. The International Federation of Transport Workers noted that sinking the ship in US waters would have been better as it would have resulted in intensive investigations. However, the SeaBreeze I sank not far (about 25 miles) outside of US waters. The details of the sinking are still unclear.
Web links
- Illustrated curriculum vitae of the ship (Swedish)
- CV and photos of the ship from all epochs (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ Brian J. Cudahy: The Cruise Ship Phenomenon in North America . Cornell Maritime Press, Centerville 2001, ISBN 978-0-87033-529-7 , page 181.
- ↑ Kiel and Costa Kreuzfahrten - 40 years of partnership. In: Cruisestart.de. September 8, 2016, accessed July 21, 2019 .