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Builder: John Brown & Co Ltd, Clydebank, Glasgow, Scotland.
Completed : December 1948.
Gross tonnage: 34172.
Dimensions: 715ft x 91ft. Depth 53ft. Engines: Six steam turbines ; high-pressure, double-reduction geared ; intermediate pressure and low pressure single-reduction geared.
Screws: Twin.
Collision bulkhead: One.
Watertight bulkheads: Nine.
Decks: Six.
Normal speed: 22 knots.
Officers and crew: 600.
Passenger accommodation : 581 first and 351 cabin class. (Accommodations are combined into a single class when pleasure cruising.)
Maiden voyage: Southampton-Cherbourg New York on January 4, 1949.
Built as a dual-purpose ship but mostly for cruis¬ing. She was the largest single-funnelled liner in the world, and has a promenade deck 495ft long.
The Caronia has six 45ft launches to carry her pas¬sengers ashore during cruises.
The hull of the Caronia is painted in three shades of light green to blend with the milieu of her tropical cruises. On January 6, 1951, she left New York on a hundred-day cruise all over the world covering more than 8200 miles.
Engaged in a cruise service to ports all over the world and works mostly out of New York with a few transatlantic voyages to South¬ampton via Le Havre each year. Commenced her last voyage for Cunard on November 18, 1967, and was subsequently sold to Universal Lines with renaming to Columbia in 1968. Caribia in late1968. On March 11, 1969, an explosion occurred in the engine room and killed one man during a cruise off St Thomas. The ship was stalled and drifted for 20 hours before returning to St Thomas. She arrived at Curacao two days later and was repaired at San Juan. Anchored in York harbour in early 1970 and later moored at the United States Lines' dock at pier 86 in June 1970. Removed to pier 56 in June 1971. Three mortgages totalling some $5 million and twenty liens pending resolvement kept her idle.
Remained laid up at New York until sold to Taiwanese shipbreakers in early 1974. Towed from New York on 27th April 1974 by the ocean tug Hamburg.
On 12th August 1974 encountered tropical storm “Mary” three miles off Apra Harbour, Guam, suffering generator problems. The tug cut the tow line and Cariba drifted toward the breakwater, hitting it the next morning. Broke in three on 14th August, her stern section drifting into the harbour entrance.
Broken up by local wreckers.

Tristan da Cunha SG558

North Atlantic Passenger Liners since 1900. Nicholas T Cairis