 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom | |
| Name | Reina del Pacifico |
| Namesake | Spanish for "Queen of the Pacific" |
| Owner | Pacific Steam Navigation Co |
| Port of registry |  Liverpool |
| Route | Liverpool –Bermuda – Caribbean –Panama Canal –Valparaíso |
| Builder | Harland and Wolff,Belfast |
| Yard number | 852 |
| Launched | 23 September 1930 |
| Completed | 24 March 1931 |
| Maiden voyage | 9 April 1931 |
| Out of service | 27 April 1958 |
| Identification |
|
| Fate | Scrapped 1958 |
| General characteristics[1] | |
| Tonnage | 17,707 GRT |
| Length | |
| Beam | 76.3 ft (23.3 m) |
| Draught | 31 feet2+3⁄4 inches (9.52 m) |
| Depth | 37.8 ft (11.5 m) |
| Installed power | |
| Propulsion | 4-strokediesel engines; 4screws |
| Speed | 19knots (35 km/h) |
| Capacity | 880 passengers (as built) |
| Sensors & processing systems |
|
MVReina del Pacifico was a 17,707 GRTocean liner of thePacific Steam Navigation Company. She was built inNorthern Ireland in 1930–31 and sailed betweenLiverpool and the Pacific coast of South America until 1939. She served as atroop ship from 1939 until 1946. She returned to her civilian route in 1948 and was scrapped in 1958.
Harland and Wolff built the ship atBelfast, launching her on 23 September 1930 and completing her on 24 March 1931.[2]
Harland and Wolff had alicense to buildBurmeister & Wainmarine diesel engines.Reina del Pacifico was built with four sets of these engines driving four propellers. They developed a total of 5,500BHP or 2,844NHP at 145rpm, giving her a speed of 19knots (35 km/h).[3]
The ship was briefly the largest and fastest motor liner of her time.[citation needed] These records soon passed to larger and faster ships being built in Italy[4] and Belgium,[5] but for some yearsReina del Pacifico remained the largest ship operating scheduled services to the Pacific coast of South America.[6][7]
The ship had berths for 880 passengers, divided into three classes. The designer of her interior décor travelled to seeEl Escorial palace in Madrid to get ideas. Her public saloons were decorated inMoresque andSpanish Colonial styles. On herpromenade deck was a Grand Hall two decks high.[8]
Reina del Pacifico had nosisters, but her appearance was typical of Harland and Wolff passengermotor ships of her time. She had two broad, low funnels and acruiser stern. Pacific Steam ships traditionally had black hulls, but the company had Harland and Wolff paintReina del Pacifico's hull white.[3][9]
Reina del Pacifico's UKofficial number was 162339. Hercode letters were LGVR[10] until they were superseded in 1934 by thecall sign GMPS.[11]
The ship's regular route was between Liverpool andValparaíso in Chile viaBermuda, the Caribbean and thePanama Canal.[12]
In 1933, the architecture faculty of theUniversidad de Chile took a student tour aboard this boat, the trip was to the city in northern Chile,Antofagasta. On that trip, an idea arose among the university students to create a hymn that represented them and that is when Julio Cordero Vallejos began to create a melody on the piano and sang a phrase that would become a legend to this day: "Ser un romántico viajero".[13] It would be just the beginning of what is now the official anthem of theClub Universidad de Chile, an anthem which is sung in the stadiums every time the club plays its soccer matches.[1]
In November 1937 a former UK Prime Minister,Ramsay MacDonald, died aboard her at the age of 71 while on holiday.[14] In 1939, a British expedition to theCentral Andes inPeru shipped toSouth America with the MV Reina del Pacifico.[15]
In the Second World War she was requisitioned to be atroop ship. Many of her passenger fittings were removed and stored inBootle.[16]
In December 1939 she took 1,455 troops[17] of the First Canadian Division fromHalifax, Nova Scotia to theFirth of Clyde. The ship took part in the landings inNorth Africa,Sicily andNormandy.[14] On 28 January 1945 the ship sailed from Liverpool[18] toCeylon withRoyal Navy personnel destined for the Far East theatre of war. She reached Colombo on 21 February.
In either September 1946[19] or January 1947[14] theMinistry of Transport returned the ship to her owners, who had Harland and Wolff refit her in Belfast for civilian service. Her original passenger fittings, stored in Bootle, had beendestroyed in an air raid. Refitting her with new fittings took a year.[16]
Onsea trials on 11 September 1947 she suffered a seriouscrankcase explosion in herengine room off theCopeland Islands in theNorth Channel. The explosion caused the death of 28 members of her crew, Harland and Wolff staff and Pacific Steam's technical staff. Repairing the damage and rectifying the problem took a further year. She finally resumed her Liverpool – Valparaíso route in October 1948.[14][16]
On 8 July 1957 the ship ran aground 5½ miles (9 km) north ofIreland Island, Bermuda.[20] She was refloated three days later, on 11 July.[21]
A new Pacific Steam liner for the route,Reina del Mar, was launched in 1955 and completed in 1956.[22] On 27 April 1958Reina del Pacifico reached Liverpool at the end of her final passenger voyage before being withdrawn from service. She was scrapped byJohn Cashmore Ltd atNewport, Wales, starting on 11 May.[12]
Reina del Pacifico'sbell is preserved in theWilliamson Art Gallery and Museum,Birkenhead. The ornate wood panelling from her Cigar Lounge forms part of the interior of The Cornmarket public house in Liverpool.
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1957 | |
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