The Life of SS Oriana #oceanliner #oriana #history #shiplife #cruiseship #sydney #ship #australia

SS Oriana Launched: 3 November 1959 Maiden voyage: 3 December 1960 Decommissioned: 27 March 1986 Fate: Converted into a hotel ship in 1986. Service ended after ship sank at her berth after a storm in 2004 & was scrapped post refloating. Launched by Princess Alexandra. Oriana 1st appeared as an Orient Line ship, with a corn-coloured hull, until 1966, when that company was fully absorbed into the P&O group. Oriana's maiden voyage was from Southampton to Sydney in December 1960, during this voyage the Oriana was the first ocean liner to berth at the Fremantle Passenger Terminal. She was briefly the largest passenger liner in service on the UK to Australia & New Zealand route with capacity for more than 2,000 passengers in two classes (first & tourist), until the introduction of the 45,733 ton SS Canberra in 1961. In 1962, the Oriana collided with the USS Kearsarge (CVS-33), resulting in damage & an eventual court case with the US government. In August 1970, the Oriana caught fire while steaming out of Southampton. This occurred when the boiler room caught fire at the beginning of its journey across the Atlantic on its way to USA, New Zealand & Australia. Repairs took more than two weeks. From 1973, Oriana was converted to operate as a one class cruise ship & from 1981 until retirement in March 1986 was based in Sydney. The Oriana was sold to become a floating hotel & tourist attraction, first in Japan & later in China. As a result of damage sustained from a severe storm whilst in the port of Dalian in 2004, SS Oriana was finally sold to local breakers in 2005. My father went on holiday to the Fiji islands with his friends in the early 1980s aboard the Oriana. The photos are from this website: ssmaritime.com/build-oriana.htm