Galileo

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john sefton
Posts: 1816
Joined: Sun Mar 22, 2009 1:59 pm

Galileo

Post by john sefton » Sun Mar 28, 2010 9:11 pm

Italian Lloyd Triestino.
Built 1963 by CR dell'Adriatico, Monfalcone. Yard no 1862.
27,888Gt. Length 702' Beam 94'. Twin screw turbines. 44000shp. Speed 24 knots.
Passengers 156 First. 1594 tourist. Crew 443.
Maiden voyage Genoa to Sydney. Converted to Cruise Liner 1977. Sold 1983 to Chandries Group, Greece. Reg. Panama. Renamed GALILEO (from GALILEI)1984, refitted for Caribbean cruising.
Log Book May 1990
Antigua SG1288
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FrenchShips
Posts: 70
Joined: Wed Apr 01, 2009 4:31 pm

Re: Galileo

Post by FrenchShips » Tue Mar 30, 2010 6:44 pm

Sent to Bremerhaven in October of 1989 for a complete rebuilding by Lloyd Werft and emerged as Meridian for Celebity Cruises. After company sold to Royal Caribbean, sold to Sun Cruises of Singapore end 97. As Sun Vista, after a fire on 21 May 1999, capsized, and sank 45 nautical miles west of Penang Island.

aukepalmhof
Posts: 7771
Joined: Thu Apr 02, 2009 1:28 am

Re: Galileo

Post by aukepalmhof » Tue Mar 30, 2010 8:26 pm

Built as a passenger- cargo vessel under yard No 1862 by Cant. Riuniti dell’Adriatico, Monfalcone, Italy for Lloyd Triestino S.p.A. di Navigazone, Genoa, Italy.
1960 Ordered.
02 July 1961 launched as the GALILEO GALILEI.
Tonnage 29,907 grt., 9,336 dwt. Dim. 213.65 x 28.71 x 8.60m. (draught).
Powered by four De Laval-San Andrea steam turbines, geared to twin shafts, 44,000 shp., speed 22.5 knots.
Passenger accommodation for 156 first class, 1,594 tourist class.
Cargo handling gear; 4 – 5 tons derricks, 2 – 15½ derricks, 4 – 5 tons cranes and two conveyor belts for refrigerated cargo.
23 March 1963 completed.

She was built for the Italian emigrant trade to Australia with her sister GUGLIELMO MARCONI.
23 March 1963 she made first a cruise voyage in the Mediterranean.
22 April 1963 she left Genoa for her maiden voyage via the Suez Canal to Australia.
Till 1967 she sailed regular to Australia via the Suez Canal, but when it canal closed down she made occasional round the world voyages, and some cruises from out Sydney.
13 January 1975 she struck a reef off the coast of West Africa on an outward voyage to Australia and diverted to Monrovia for repairs, where during inspection it was found that she got extensive bottom damage, and she returned back to Genoa, where she was dry-docked.
Returning again in service during March 1975.
26 May 1977 at a very short notice, the voyage from Italy to Australia was cancelled, leaving over 1.000 passengers stranded.
A new company was formed the Italia Crociere Internazionali who would operate the GALILEO GALILEI and GUGLIELMO MARCONI and two other Italian passengers ships in the cruise market based in the Mediterranean.
21 October 1977 till 24 March 1979 she was extensively refitted by Cant. Nav. Riunite in Palermo in a cruise vessel for the American market.
Passenger accommodation was reduced to 900 passengers in one class.
During this operation she was transferred to the Italia Crociere International, Genoa, Italy.
After her refit she made first seven cruises from Genoa in the western Mediterranean.
1980 Was she laid up.
1981 Chartered for four months by Chandris Cruises, to make cruises during the Mediterranean summer season, thereafter again laid up.
August 1983 the GALILEO GALILEI was bought by the Chandris Group for US$4 million, 22 October was she registered under the flag of Panama, with owners given as Fourth Transoceanic Shipping Co. Ltd.
She was sent to the yard in Genoa for a refit of US$ 10 million.
Her passenger accommodation was increased to 1,262. And the name of the ship was shortened to GALILEO.
After her refit was she chartered by Fantasy Cruises in Miami, and she was used for various short cruises from the American East Coast. May 1984 she crossed the Atlantic for her first cruise from New York.
26 June she left for her first cruise for her charterers to Bermuda.
12 October 1984 she began operating from Miami for short cruises.
May 1985 she was moving north to start again short cruises from New York and other east coast ports.
The next years she was used in the winter months from Miami and during the summer she moved north to make cruises from east coast ports.
After her 1989 summer season she was sent to the Lloyd Werft in Bremerhaven where she arrived on 12 October for a US$ 55 million rebuilding .in a luxurious modern cruise liner.
When the work was nearly completed she was renamed in MERIDIAN with homeport Nassau, Bahamas.
22 February 1990 was she handed back to her owners by the shipyard the Fantasy Cruises (Chandris) Ltd., but she would be operated by Celebrity Cruises.
Tonnage given as 30, 440 grt, with an accommodation for 1,106 passengers with a maximum of 1,428 passengers.
01 March 1990 she left Bremerhaven for Port Everglades, during the crossing she was hit by bad weather in which one of her screws was damaged, and after arrival she had to enter dry-dock at Norfolk for repair.
At least on 1 April she started with her first cruise from Port Everglades for the Caribbean.
Thereafter used from several USA east coast ports.
The MERIDIAN was used in the winter months in the Caribbean from Port Everglades and moved during the summer months to the north the next years.
28 September 1997 she was sold to Metro Holdings Ltd., Bahamas (Sun Cruises at Singapore) for US$ 65 million dollar.
01 October 1997 she left Baltimore under her new name SUN VISTA first to Piraeus, Greece to taken on board building supplies before she passed through the Suez Canal to Singapore and the Sembawang Shipyard to be converted in a casino cruise vessel. Arrived Singapore on 19 December 1997.
30 November 1997 she began on her first voyage from Singapore for short cruises mostly with Asian passengers to Tioman, Malacca, Penang, Medan and Bintan.

20 May 1999 Fire broke out in the engine room believed to have been caused by a short circuit in the engine room when off Penang, Malaysia, and some 1,104 passengers and crew were evacuated.
She subsequently capsized and sank 21 May 1999 in a position 04 36N 99 52E. At that time she was cruising and bound for Singapore.
Divers later plugged leaks in the bunker tanks, but a large oil slick drifted north from the sunken vessel.

Source: Marine News. http://www.faktaomfartyg.se/galileo_galilei_1963.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Galileo_Galilei The Chandris Liners and Celebrity Cruises by Peter Plowman.
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