Pitcairn Island issued in 2013 a set of $2 stamps and a first day cover depicting cruiseships.
The set shows the PACIFIC PRINCESS she is also depict on the first day cover, the MARINA, ARCADIA and COSTA NEOROMANTICA.
Below is given what the Pitcairn Island Post gives on the set.
The Guide to Pitcairn states that after Folger's discovery of the community in 1808, the pattern of communication was essentially one of irregular naval and merchant ship visits. The opening of the Panama Canal in 1914 brought new life to the island and changed the connection with Pitcairn's neighbours with New Zealand becoming a more important link than Tahiti. Passenger services however via the New Zealand Shipping Company and the Shaw Savill and Albion Company were eventually withdrawn which left only cargo vessels to call en-route and this vital communication provided vital supplies for the Islanders. In recent years the worldwide increase in interest to cruise the world's oceans has led to a new vitality within the Pitcairn community.
The following commentary has been kindly provided courtesy of the Pitcairn Islands Tourism department:
"With the number of visiting cruise ships steadily increasing each year, Pitcairn's cruise ship season is always a busy time. Typically it starts around Oct/Nov and runs through to April the following year. The size and type of ship ranges from small expedition vessels, carrying 100 or so passengers, to huge ocean liners carrying up to 2500 - 3000 passengers. With this in mind, Pitcairners must find time to get into their studios and workshops to create their carvings, curios and artwork. These days there's a huge range of Pitcairn keepsakes available, from jewellery, to all types of wooden carvings, bowls and platters, caps & T. Shirts, hand-woven traditional baskets, Bounty and Longboat models, handmade soaps and, of course, Pitcairn Honey.
Most cruise ship companies confirm their booking to visit the island at least a year or so in advance. The booking is confirmed by the Island's Immigration Officer, an announcement of the pending visit made over the radio and the ship's name, arrival and departure times added to the Cruise Ship Bookings List which is ever present on the Public Notice Board at the Square.
As the day of arrival draws near the Immigration Officer, Tourism Coordinator, Mayor and Provisions Officer start corresponding, via email, with the ship to coordinate activities for the day. This varies depending on roles and whether the ship's Captain intends to land passengers or feels it's safer to have the Pitcairn Community go on-board to set up the Pitcairn Island Curio and Craft Market, deliver a lecture and mix and mingle with passengers for a few hours. These days approximately 35 - 45 Pitcairn residents might go out to visit a ship which is unable to land passengers. Those who are unwell or perhaps a little too frail to climb the Jacob's ladder to board the ship are encouraged to allow friends and family to take their goods on board for them - ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to trade and benefit from sales.
Landing cruise ship passengers is always at the Captain's discretion, depending on weather and sea conditions on the day. This means that everyone must be ready to either get themselves and their curio and crafts to the landing in time to go out to the ship or to set up their goods and trading tables along the main road or at the Square in Adamstown. Either way it's always a happy and exciting time with no one really sure which way it will go until the Captain has made his or her final decision.
If the decision is to land passengers, the Captain will opt to use either the ship's own tenders or the Pitcairn Longboats to ferry passengers ashore. And, with the first arrivals everything falls into place. Tourism staff welcome the passengers as they arrive at the Bounty Bay landing, providing them with walking maps and general visitor information. A handful of local Quad Bike Operators provide taxi services up the Hill of Difficulty to the Square and later, once everyone's ashore, guided tours of the island. Frequently though, after several days at sea, many passengers prefer to 'walk the island' taking in Pitcairn's natural and built attractions at their own pace. And, for such a small island, there is a lot to see – including the Church where the Bounty Bible is on display, the Pitcairn Islands Museum, the cemetery and the local market. Those who are fit and healthy wander up over the hill to the top of the island and beyond, visiting St. Paul's Pool, Highest Point, Ship's Landing Point and if they're lucky, the island's one and only Galapagos Tortoise Miz.T
For many cruise ship passengers, getting to Pitcairn is the highlight of their trip. Whether they are able to land or not most convey that having the opportunity to personally meet the descendants of the Bounty Mutineers and learn about their day to day lives is what really makes their time at Pitcairn so truly memorable. And it's a mutual experience. Over generations Pitcairners have forged lifelong friendships with passengers, captains and crew who have visited via cruise ships. At the close of a typical visit both visitors and locals are refreshed and revitalised - satisfied with the day's events, sights seen and friends made".
2013 will see eight cruise ships visit with eleven expected in 2014. These ships are often very large and like the Queen Victoria and those in this stamp issue, carry passengers and crew totalling over 2,000 people which is over 40 times the population of Pitcairn!
Built as a cruise passenger ship under yard No 6194 by Fincantiere Cantiere Navali Italiani S.p.A., Genoa for Marina New Build LLC. at Doral, Florida.
18 June 2007 ordered.
10 March 2009 laid down.
04 April 2010 floated out as the MARINA.
Tonnage 66,084 grt, 29.151 nrt, 7,662 dwt, dim. 239.3 x 32.19 x 37.07m., length bpp. 213.36, draught 7.6m.
Powered: Diesel electric by four Wärtsilä diesel engines,32,608 hp (24,000 kW), the electric motors have a output of 12,000 kW. each, twin shafts, speed 19.5 knots.
Accommodation for 1,258 passengers.
18 January 2011 delivered to owners, Marshall Islands flag and registry. Homeport Majuo. Managed by Oceania Cruises.
Building cost about 600 million USA Dollar.
MS MARINA is an Oceania-class cruise ship, which was constructed at Fincantieri's Sestri Ponente yards in Italy for Oceania Cruises. The MARINA is the first in a duo of cruise ships, and was followed by the MS RIVIERA May 2012, the option for the third ship was declined. The ship was named in Miami by Mary Hart on February 5, 2011.
The finalization of contract for the construction of MARINA and her sister ship, plus an option for a third, was reached on 18 June 2007. The MARINA is a mid-sized ship, at 66,000 tons and was designed by the Yran & Storbratten (Y&S) architectural firm The keel of Marina was laid on 10 March 2009 and included the welding of a U.S. silver dollar coin and a pre-Castro Cuban peso coin in the keel and is believed to bring fortune to the ship, its passengers and crew during their seagoing life.
MARINA has nine dining venues. The Grand Dining Room, more casual Terraces, and poolside Waves Grill are open seating, no-charge and open daily. Four specialty dining restaurants require reservations (typically up to two per stateroom) are available at no added charge: the cruise line's signature Polo Grill, Toscana, the new French Bistro Jacques and the Pan Asian restaurant Red Ginger. Two additional venues are available at an added charge: Privee private dining and La Reserve. MARINA has a diesel-electric powerplant with a pair of controllable pitch propellers. The ship's interior is decorated with rich woods, Italian marble, granite, wool carpets...
01 January 1889 launched under the name RUNIC.
Tonnage 4.639 gross, 3.122 net, dim. 131.27 x 13.77 x 9.14m.
Powered by one 3-cyl triple expansion steamengine, manufactured by the ships builder, 424 nhp., speed 13 knots.
1889 Completed.
21 February 1889 sailed for her maiden voyage from Liverpool to New York. She and her sister the CUFIC were the first livestock carriers of the White Star Lines.
Carried general cargo outward and returned home with around 1000 life cattle.
1895 Sold to the West India & Pacific SS Co., renamed TAMPICAN.
31 December 1899 transferred to F. Leyland & Co., not renamed.
The same year reboilered, still in the service from Liverpool to New York.
1912 Sold to H.E.Moss & Co., Liverpool, not renamed.
Immediately sold to South Pacific Whaling Co., Christiania (now Oslo), renamed in IMO.
Converted in a whale oil tanker for Antarctic whaling service.
During the First World War was she chartered by the Belgian Relief Commission.
06 December 1917 when she was in ballast steaming across Halifax Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada outward bound with destination New York came she in collision with the French ship MONT BLANC around 08.45 a.m., which was loaded with ammunition and inward bound.
The IMO struck the MONT BLANC abreast of the forward hold, causing some barrels of the 35-ton benzol, carried as deck cargo, to ignite the picric acid in the hold below.
The crew of the MONT BLANC fully aware of the dangers of the cargo on board abandoned the vessel, leaving the blazing MONT BLANC drifting in the stream. The fire attracted many spectators to the waterfront, and she drifted into Halifax’s Pier 6.
Some vessels tried to put a towline on board the burning vessel, and to tow her away from the pier, but at
09.00 the MONT BLANC erupted causing the greatest man made explosion before the Atomic bomb. The blast was felt 120 miles away.
Most part of the densely populated suburb of Richmond was flattened, and within a 16-mile radius 1.630 buildings were destroyed. Only two vessels were lost the MONT BLANC and a wooden schooner the LOLAR, all other damaged vessels in port were later repaired.
Officially 1.963 people were killed, with 9.000 injured and 199 blinded by flying glass, although the casualties aboard the ships in the harbour bring the death toll closer to 3.000.
The captain and the pilot and 5 of de crew of 41 on board the IMO were killed during the explosion, she was hurled across the stream, with most of her upper structure ripped away, and grounded.
After four months the IMO was refloated and towed to New York for repair.
1918 She was rebuilt in a whale factory ship, renamed in GUVERNOREN.
30 November 1921 during heavy fog she ran aground on the rocks at Cow Bay, two miles off Cape Carysfort on East Flakland, all crew were saved.
Salvage attempts were made but the GUVERNOREN was not refloated, and salvage work was halted on 03 December 1921, and she was abandoned to the sea.
Today the wreckage is still there from the waterline up, and lying on her starboard side.
The other ship on fire as seen on the stamp must be the MONT BLANC. The design is wrong, the fire started in the forward hold, and not as seen on the stamp on the afterpart of the vessel.
Built as a cargo vessel under yard No 460 by Sir Raylton Dixon & Co., Ltd. Middelsbrough, U.K. for the Soc. Générale de Transport Maritimes á Vapeur, Marseille.
Launched under the name MONT BLANC.
Tonnage 3.279 gross, 2.251 net, dim. 320 x 44.8 x 15.3ft.
Powered by a triple expansion steam engine 247 nhp. Speed 9.5 knots, one propeller.
June 1899 delivered to owners.
1906 Sold to E. Anquetil, Rouen, France.
1915 Sold to G Petit, Rouen.
1916 Sold to Cie Générale Transatlantique, St Nazaire.
06 December 1917 on a voyage from New York to Halifax under command of Captain Aime Le Medec loaded with a cargo of around 5.000 ton high explosives, she came in collision with the outward bound Norwegian IMO, both ships were under pilot control, and there was plenty of room and it visibility was good.
When both ships approached each other there was a lot of confusion, and a collision happened.
After some barrels of benzol loaded on deck of the MONT BLANC ignited, the crew on board aware of the dangers of the cargo abandoned the vessel and rowed hard for the shore, and just after she landed about 20 minutes later the MONT BLANC did exploded at 09.05 a.m. and she was disintegrated into a mass of wreckage.
Only one men of the crew of the MONT BLANC was lost.
Falkland Islands 2005 £1.20 sg?, scott?
Source: North Atlantic Seaway by Bonsor. Dictionary of Disasters at sea during the age of steam by Hocking. Some web-sites. http://museum.gov.ns.ca/mma/AtoZ/imo.html http://museum.gov.ns.ca/mma/Ato/montblanc.html (A google search gives plenty of sites on this explosion.)
Register of Merchant ships completed in 1899.
