Northern Star
History
United Kingdom
NameNorthern Star
OwnerShaw, Savill & Albion Line
Port of registrySouthampton
RouteSouthampton – Las Palmas – Cape Town – Durban – Fremantle – Melbourne – Sydney – Wellington – Auckland – Rarotonga – Tahiti – Acapulco – Panama – Curacao – Trinidad – Barbados – Lisbon – Southampton
BuilderVickers-Armstrongs, High Walker
Yard number175
Launched27 June 1961
Completed26 June 1962
In service10 July 1962
Out of service1975
Identification5257543
FateScrapped 1975
General characteristics
TypeOcean liner
Tonnage24,731 GRT (1968, 23,983 GRT)
Length650 ft (200 m)
Beam83 ft (25 m)
Installed power22,000 shp
PropulsionGeared turbines, twin screw
Speed22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph)
Capacity1,437 tourist class

SS Northern Star was an ocean liner completed in 1962 for the United Kingdom-based Shaw, Savill & Albion Line's tourist class round the world service via South Africa and Australia. She was essentially an enlarged version of the Southern Cross, built seven years earlier. Northern Star sailed out via the Cape and home via Panama, while her fleet mate sailed out via Panama and home via the Cape.

History

From the early 1970s she spent most of her time cruising, but was continually beset with mechanical problems due to inadequate maintenance. With the great increase in oil prices in 1973/4 she became uneconomic and would have required an expensive and time-consuming refit to make up for the deferred maintenance and so was withdrawn from service at the end of her 1975 summer cruise programme. In spite of being only twelve years old her poor mechanical condition made her unattractive to other operators and she was sold for scrapping. On 11 December 1975 she arrived at Kaohsiung to be broken up by Li Chong Steel and Iron Works.[1]

Ship on the slipway prior to launching

References

  1. Kludas, Great Passenger Ships of the World Vol.5
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