Raffaello (ship, 1965)

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Raffaello
SS Raffaello (33491819201) .jpg
Ship data
flag ItalyItaly (trade flag) Italy
Ship type Passenger ship
home port Genoa
Owner Italia - Società di Navigazione
Shipyard Cantieri Navali Ansaldo di Sestri Ponente, Genoa
Launch March 24, 1963
takeover July 1965
Commissioning July 25, 1965
Whereabouts Sank in 1983 after an air raid
Ship dimensions and crew
length
275.5 m ( Lüa )
width 31.2 m
Draft Max. 10.4 m
measurement 45,911 GRT
 
crew 725
Machine system
machine 4 Ansaldo steam turbines
Machine
performance 		87,000 PS (63,988 kW)
Top
speed 		32 kn (59 km / h)
propeller 2
Transport capacities
Load capacity 5,552 dw
Permitted number of passengers First class: 531
Cabin class: 550
Tourist class: 690

The Raffaello was a transatlantic passenger steamer put into service in 1965 by the Italian shipping company Italia - Società di Navigazione ( Italian Line ).

The name refers to the famous Italian Renaissance painter Raffaello Sanzio (1483–1520), in German: Raffael .

The ship

The Raffaello was, as her almost simultaneously built sister ship Michelangelo , 275.50 meters long, 31.20 meters wide and had a maximum draft of 10.40 meters. It could carry 1,771 passengers, 531 of them in first class, 550 in cabin class and 690 in tourist class. The ship was powered by four steam turbines. The average cruising speed was 26.5 knots and the top speed was just under 32 knots. The two sister ships not only stood out for their sleek and elegant silhouette, but also for their unusual design. The fuselage was not painted black, as is usually the case with passenger steamers, but painted completely white. The chimneys were surrounded by a birdcage-like latticework and equipped with long, black spoilers to deflect smoke and soot.

Mission history

The Raffaello was launched on March 24, 1963. On July 25, 1965, she left Genoa on her maiden voyage to New York . On October 31 of the same year, on a trip to New York, a fire broke out in the engine room, forcing the crew to turn back; the ship had to return to Genoa with only one propeller. In May 1970, the Raffaello collided with a tanker in the Bay of Algeciras .

  • The Raffaello 1970 in the port of Genoa

  • The ship laid up off La Spezia in 1976

With increasing competition from commercial air traffic , the Raffaello and Michelangelo lost more and more passengers at the end of the 1960s and could never be operated economically; on some voyages the number of crew members even exceeded the number of passengers. Both ships could only sail for a few more years with the help of state subsidies. The shipping company tried to cut costs by reducing the crew, shortening lay times and reducing speed. In addition, the ship was used as a cruise ship for a while, but even here the Raffaello only made losses. In 1975 the state stopped paying subsidies and the Società Italia decided to put the Michelangelo and Raffaello out of service after just ten years. The two ships were laid up first in Genoa and then in La Spezia .

After several prospective buyers had inspected the ships with no results and the Società di Navigazione had rejected an offer to buy from the Italian shipping company Home Lines, the Michelangelo and Raffaello were finally sold to the Shah of Persia in early 1977, where they were intended to be used as a barge. The Raffaello anchored in the port of Bushehr and served as a floating barracks. After just a few years, the ship was badly run down as a result of neglect and infested with rats.

1983 was Raffaello shot at an Iraqi air raid on fire and sank in the shallow waters of the port 28 ° 49 '0.2 "  N , 50 ° 52' 36.6"  O . The wreck has not yet been removed.

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