TWO SISTER SHIPS TWO SEPARATE SAGAS The last two passenger vessels that were constructed by Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) were virtual twins. The SANTA ROSA and the SANTA PAULA were designed by famed naval architect William Francis Gibbs for Grace Line. They were assigned NNS Hulls 521 and 522, respectively, when a contract for slightly less than $44 million was awarded to the shipyard in January 1956. Their design reminded many maritime observers of the classic profiles of the Gibbs-designed/NNS-built transatlantic liners AMERICA and UNITED STATES. However, they were medium-sized vessels that featured a single smoke stack; albeit one of the familiar streamlined type that had become a Gibbs trademark.
Considered medium-sized passenger/cargo vessels, they were configured to carry only 308 passengers each, all in First Class accommodations that featured private bathrooms for every stateroom. Fully air-conditioned, their design also featured the then-innovative use of Gyrofin stabilizers. Unlike transatlantic liners and because of their intended use on South American routes, each of these ships was fitted with a large outdoor swimming pool. Grace Line planned to use them as replacements for smaller ships with the same names. Built in 1932, their predecessors had seen hard service as troop transports during World War II. The new SANTA ROSA and SANTA PAULA were to become the third set of ships owned and operated by that steamship company which honored their namesake California coastal cities. Their dimensional data and other characteristics were identical: Slight over 583 feet in length, with beams of 84 feet, they displaced 19,238 tons. Each of these twin-screwed vessels was fitted with three boilers and a set of geared turbines that developed 20,000 SHP. Their top speed was 20 knots. A large inner bottom assembly for SANTA ROSA was placed on Shipway #6 at NNS on January 15, 1957. In an unusual keel-laying ceremony, four young ladies, representing their native South American countries served by Grace Line, lowered this assembly the last few inches. Their white gloves were in sharp contrast to the type normally used to manipulate chain hoists. Three months later, the daughters of two veteran shipbuilders and two young Grace Line female employees repeated this ceremony for SANTA PAULA on an adjacent sliding shipway. A little over seven months after her keel was laid, SANTA ROSA was ready for launch. That event took place on a Wednesday in late August, 1957 at 11:30AM; coinciding with high slack tide in the James River. As was the practice then, when ships were structurally completed and launched in fast succession, her shipbuilders only paused long enough to watch the brief ceremonies, climaxed by the new passenger vessel s slide to the sea. 2
To help celebrate the newest vessel in their fleet, Grace Line arranged for the older SANTA ROSA (on the left in the below photo) to make a slight detour in a voyage from South America to New York; allowing her passengers to have the rare opportunity to observe a ship launching from an unusual vantage point in the James. In contrast to that summer event, the SANTA PAULA was christened by Pat Nixon on a very cold day in January of 1958. The launching took place at noon, but the ambient temperature was only 28 degrees Fahrenheit. As Mrs. Nixon and her two daughters shivered before the christening signal was given, shipbuilders worried about the condition of the grease applied to the shipway. Right up to the time of launch, workers scurried under the vessel, using torches to heat but not set afire the grease. Happily, the launching operation went off without a hitch. But the christening did not. Pat Nixon took two swings, without success, before the sliding ship moved beyond reach. Saving the day, a shipyard worker, stationed on the ship s bow, raised the stubborn bottle filled with California champagne which apparently didn t like the cold weather and successfully completed the christening process. The age-old superstition of bad luck following an improperly christened ship was seemingly thus averted. Once launched, both of these vessels were completed at the yard s southside piers. One after the other, their streamlined stacks were installed as single subassemblies. SANTA ROSA successfully passed her sea trials in May of 1958 and was delivered the following month. Her sister ship followed close behind in October of that year. Before being delivered, SANTA PAULA played host to an open house for hundreds of shipyard employees and their families. It was a fitting climax for what proved to be the last passenger liner construction work at NNS. 3
After delivery, they entered into scheduled service between New York and ports on both the Atlantic and the Pacific sides of Central and South America. In March of 1959, heading for her home port of New York in a dense fog, the SANTA ROSA was involved in a collision with a tanker of the type mass produced during the 1940 s. The passenger ship s bow was severely damaged and a portion of the tanker s stern was crushed. The tanker s smoke stack was ripped away and ended up oddly balanced on the SANTA ROSA s bow. Returning to her Newport News birthplace, the SANTA ROSA s mangled bow was cut away and replaced by a quickly manufactured replacement assembly weighing 50 tons. It took less than three weeks of time to make her whole again. For a few years, the twin SANTAs sailed on regular schedules for Grace Line. However, unable to profitably compete with jet airliners, in the early 1960 s their owners abandoned the Southern Hemisphere passenger trade in which they had been engaged for decades. For the rest of the 1960 s, the two passenger liners participated in the growing Caribbean cruise trade. Their one-class design proved particularly beneficial for this evolving mode of ocean passenger service. 4
In November of 1964, an Israeli passenger vessel collided with a tanker off the New Jersey coast, slicing off its stern. The SANTA PAULA was the first ship to respond to the tanker s SOS, rescuing 25 of the 43 seamen onboard that sinking vessel. Despite enjoying near-capacity bookings as a cruise ship, the SANTA PAULA was taken out of service in the early 1970 s, and after a brief lay-up she was sold to a Greek shipping line and renamed STELLA POLARIS. In 1978, she was sold again, this time to National Hotels and Tourism Company, who had her converted in Yugoslavia to become a floating hotel. Moved to the Middle East, she was landlocked in Kuwait City. She was first known as the Kuwait Marriott Marina Hotel when opened for business in early 1979. Ten years later, her name was changed to the Ramada al Salam Hotel. When Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1991, she was attacked and set ablaze. Although declared a total loss, much of her propulsion machinery was salvageable and later utilized to help keep her sister ship operational into the 21 st century. After rusting away for a few years, the burned out hulk of the former liner SANTA PAULA was scrapped in place. Her slightly older sister had better luck for a number of years. Until mid-2012, the SANTA ROSA was a rare survivor in the maritime world; possibly the only American-built, steam-driven passenger ship that was still operational. Her propulsion machinery had remained unchanged from when it was manufactured and installed six decades ago. But outwardly, her appearance had been altered in recent years. While her original hull form, for the most part, remained untouched, her superstructure, internal passenger spaces and funnel configuration experienced radical change. 5
Taken out of service by her original owners, SANTA ROSA was sold to Vintero Corporation, who planned to return her to the Caribbean cruise trade. Financial difficulties intervened, and for fifteen years she was laid up in Baltimore. In 1989, she was sold again and towed to Greece for modernization. First renamed PACIFIC SUN and then DIAMOND ISLAND, a major rebuild effort that cost $70 million (in 1990 dollars) resulted in her overall appearance being greatly altered. Her once-replaced bow was replaced again; this time to give her a rakish look forward. Her single funnel was also modified, but not necessarily for the better Her cargo handling gear was replaced by large extensions to her superstructure, fore and aft, that destroyed her once-graceful liner look. As rebuilt, she was all about maximizing the number of cruise passengers. When she returned to service in 1990, she could handle 1,198 passengers and a crew of over 400. Like many aging passenger vessels relegated to cruise service, her subsequent career involved several changes in her ownership and also to her name. After ownership had passed to Regency Cruises shortly after her refit was completed, she operated as RAINBOW and then under the name of REGENT RAINBOW until 1995. Sold to Louis Cruises, she was renamed EMERALD and then had another, albeit curious name change, becoming THE EMERALD. She remained in service until 2009, when she was laid up in Greece. Rumors circulated for a few more years as to her next role. Although her future was uncertain, she was made SOLAS 2010 compliant to promote a possible sale for future use as a cruise ship. 6
In excellent condition, despite her age, the former classic liner SANTA ROSA is shown below, riding at anchor in Greece. Unlike other vessels abandoned and deteriorating nearby, she was maintained in near-operational condition. This effort included maintaining her machinery spaces. Her 1950 s vintage engine room control stations had all the appearance of becoming operational again on short notice. Her passenger spaces also exhibited an unusually well-kept appearance for a vessel that has been laid up for almost three years. Even her weather decks were well maintained. 7
In June of 2012, unable to find a new owner/operator for this classic steam ship; THE EMERALD was sold for $5 million for scrap. On July 4, 2012, she steamed under her own power out of Piraeus, Greece; perhaps the only steamship to do so in modern times. She arrived off Alang, India in late July and was beached on August 2nd. She has now been reduced to unrecognizable piles of scrap metal. Two sister ships two separate sagas...two equally sad endings. Typically, vessels like the SANTA ROSA and the SANTA PAULA are expected to have nominal life spans of sea-going service of forty years; absent maritime accidents, acts of war, economic downturns or life extensions. SANTA ROSA lasted for 54 years, with some promise of many more; either as a rejuvenated cruise ship or possibly as a floating hotel. But a depressed global economy and the current cruise line trend to build ever bigger diesel-powered vessels resulted in her eventual demise. Subtracting the times she had been laid up or undergoing modification, her years of sea-going service roughly totaled 35. SANTA PAULA, perhaps cursed by less than a flawless christening, only lasted 33 years, including the lengthy period of time she was laid up and the year in which she was converted to floating hotel service. Landlocked and well maintained, had SANTA PAULA not been damaged during the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, her life span almost certainly would have been extended by decades. ~ POSTSCRIPT ~ These twin passenger vessels were not only the last built at Newport News, they were the last to come off the sliding ways at NNS. When SANTA ROSA was launched, I just happened to be in the vicinity and witnessed her become waterborne for the first time. Funny how that sort of thing happened over and over during my years of apprenticeship at NNS. I m sure I was not alone in enjoying such coincidental happenings. Little did I or anyone else present on that occasion realize that the end of two eras of shipbuilding at Newport News were so near at hand; i.e., the construction of ocean liners and a few years later the last sliding launching. All just a part of what I so often refer to these days as The Shipyard That Was Bill Lee December 2012 8