Giulio Cesare (ship, 1951)
 The structurally identical sister ship Augustus as the Philippines in Manila
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The Giulio Cesare was a passenger ship of the Italian Italia Società di Navigazione ( Italian Line ) put into service in 1951 . The Giulio Cesare and her sister ship Augustus were the first Italian passenger ships of the post-war period and, with their innovative design, were considered revolutionary and modern when they entered service.
The Giulio Cesare and the Augustus were built to serve from Genoa to South America . The structurally identical ships were extremely successful and a short time later were supplemented by the even larger sister ships Andrea Doria and Cristoforo Colombo , which had a similar design.
The Giulio Cesare remained in service until a rudder damage in January 1973 and was scrapped in 1974 as the first Italian passenger ship of the post-war period.
Building and construction
The Italian Line had lost almost all of its larger passenger ships during the war and therefore ordered two identical sister ships financed by the state in 1949, which were to be among the most modern and comfortable in the world. The new ships were ordered from Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico in Trieste and should have a new design. The machinery for both ships was built by Societa Anonima Fiat in Turin .
On May 18, 1950, the first of the two ships, the Giulio Cesare (under the shipyard number 1756) was launched. Godmother was Donna Ida Einaudi, the wife of the then Italian President Luigi Einaudi . The ship was named after the Roman statesman and general Gaius Iulius Caesar . The Giulio Cesare was completed in September 1951.
With a speed of 23.3 knots, she was the fastest passenger ship on her route. However, the strong machinery had the disadvantage that the ship vibrated heavily when moving at full speed.
period of service
The Giulio Cesare set out on her maiden voyage from Genoa via Naples , Tunis , Algiers , Barcelona and Palma de Mallorca back to Genoa on October 17, 1951 and completed it without incident. Then she ran from October 27, 1951 on the route from Genoa to Montevideo . The Giulio Cesare , together with her sister ship, was considered the most modern and luxurious passenger ship of its time and was described by the press as the pride of the Italian merchant fleet.
In January 1953, the ship was used for a five-day cruise to Israel and then switched back to its old line to South America. The ship stayed on this route until June 1956. It then switched to the route from Genoa via Cannes and Naples to New York to replace the Andrea Doria , who sank after a collision in May 1956 .
At the end of November 1958, the Giulio Cesare was stuck in the port of Genoa for several days because of a strike by dock workers. This happened to her in July 1959 in the port of New York.
After 32 Atlantic crossings, the Giulio Cesare switched back to her old route from Italy to South America in 1960. In 1961 the ship changed the port of destination from Montevideo to La Plata .
In 1964 the ship was modernized and got, among other things, a new cinema. In addition, the passenger facilities were renewed and the division of classes changed. The Giulio Cesare then returned to service on the old route to Montevideo for another nine years.
On March 9, 1965, the Giulio Cesare was driven and slightly damaged during a turning maneuver in the port of Montevideo by a strong gust of wind against the Greek freighter Samareitis . From 1968 the port of departure and destination of the ship changed to Naples.
Retirement
On January 14, 1973, the Giulio Cesare was at the beginning of another Atlantic crossing when the ship's steering system failed. The Giulio Cesare had to interrupt her voyage and be towed back to the port of Naples. Investigations on the ship showed that the steering system had to be replaced. However, this was very expensive, which is why the Italian Line decided to decommission the 22 year old ship.
On April 20, 1973, the former flagship of the Italian Line was sold to the Terrestre Marittima shipyard in La Spezia for scrapping. After she had left the port on May 7, 1973 with tug assistance, the Giulio Cesare was towed by the tug Ariel to the shipyard in La Spezia on May 11, 1973 , where the ship was anchored for several months. In August 1974 the scrapping of the Giulio Cesare began . This made her the first post-war Italian passenger ship to be decommissioned and scrapped.
Furnishing
The ship had space for 1180 passengers, 178 first class, 288 cabin class and 714 tourist class. After the renovation in 1964, the cabin class was dropped, so that there was now space for 180 first class passengers and 1000 tourist class. All cabins and lounges of the Giulio Cesare had air conditioning. The first class cabins consisted of two to four rooms and each had its own telephone and bathroom. The cabin class accommodations also had their own bathroom.
The tourist class was not particularly luxurious, but still comfortably equipped compared to other passenger ships of the time. The first class included an observation lounge, a reading and writing room, a large reception hall, the main lobby, a smoking room, several bars, a card and games room, the main dining room and a separate dining room for children. The cabin and tourist class each also had a dining room, a lounge and a smoking room. There was also a separate swimming pool for each class. The board chapel was used by all three classes.
Sister ship
The sister ship Augustus stayed in service much longer than the Giulio Cesare . After being withdrawn from the Italian Line fleet in 1976, it was sold to Asia and served as a passenger and cruise ship under several owners and names. Most recently it was used as a floating hotel under the name Philippines in Manila . In 2012, the former Augustus was scrapped in Alang, India, as the last existing ship on the Italian Line.
literature
- Ernst Foerster : The passenger and cargo motor ship "Giulio Cesare": built at the Cantieri Riuniti dell Adriatico shipyard, Trieste for the shipping company Italia, Genoa . In: Ship and Harbor . Seehafen Verlag, Hamburg 1951, p. 376-390 .
Web links
- History of the ship on ssmaritime
- Picture gallery of the sister ships
- Italian Line promotional video for maiden voyage on YouTube (Italian)
- The history of the sister ships
- Color photos of the ship on shipspotting.com
- Detailed picture gallery with all public areas and some cabins of the ship
Individual evidence
- ↑ Michael L. Grace: HISTORY of the ITALIAN LINE. September 4, 2010, accessed July 3, 2015 .
- ↑ GIULIO CESARE -transatlantico. 2010, accessed July 3, 2015 .
- ↑ Joe Rogers: AUGUSTUS and GIULIO CESARE. Retrieved December 25, 2015 .
- ^ Björn Larsson: Maritime Timetable Images. July 7, 2004, accessed July 6, 2015 .
- ^ Reuben Goossens: MS Giulio Cesare. Retrieved July 3, 2015 .
- ↑ Enrico Veneruso: Giulio Cesare. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on July 6, 2015 ; Retrieved July 6, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ GIULIO CESARE. (No longer available online.) 2004, archived from the original on July 5, 2015 ; Retrieved July 3, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Peter Knego: Double Decked! MV AUGUSTUS (1951), Part One. July 15, 2010, accessed July 3, 2015 .
- ^ Reuben Goossens: Italia Line MS Giulio Cesare & Augustus. Retrieved July 3, 2015 .
- ↑ Peter Knego: MS PHILIPPINES. Retrieved July 3, 2015 .
