SS Argentina (1958)

SS Argentina was an ocean liner launched at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi, United States in 1958. The ship was the last ocean liner to be completed in the United States.The ship was originally named Argentina for Moore-McCormack's South American service, but was renamed a number of times. The ship last served as a cruise ship for Commodore Cruise Line under the name Enchanted Isle and was scrapped in Alang, India, in 2003 sailing under the name New Orleans for the final voyage.

For other ships with the same name, see SS Argentina.
Argentina, c.1963
History
Name: Argentina
Operator: Moore-McCormack Lines, Inc.
Port of registry: Panama
Builder: Ingalls Shipbuilding, Pascagoula, Mississippi
Cost: $24,444,181 ($217 million today)
Launched: March 12, 1958
Sponsored by: Mrs. William T. Moore
Christened: March 12, 1958
Completed: 1958
Maiden voyage: December 12, 1958
Identification:
Fate: Scrapped in Alang, India starting December 9, 2003
General characteristics
Tonnage: 14,208 GRT
Displacement: 5,238 DWT
Length: 574.5 ft (175.1 m)
Beam: 88.19 ft (26.9 m)
Draft: 27.25 ft (8.3 m)
Installed power: 35,000 SHP
Propulsion: Twin screw, General Electric DR Geared Turbines
Speed: 23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph)
Capacity: 557 passengers

Design and construction

Argentina was a replacement for Moore-McCormack's SS Argentina (1929). Argentina and her sister ship, Brasil, used MARAD Design P2-S2-9a. Construction was subsidized by the United States Maritime Administration under title V, sections 501 and 504 of the Merchant Marine Act of 1936.[1]

Ingalls Shipbuilding had the lowest US bid at $24,444,181 ($217 million today) for each of the two ships. The Maritime administration subsidized the cost of construction by paying $19,528,362 ($173 million today) to support the US shipbuilding industry. Meaning that the ships would have cost nearly $20 million less if they had been built outside the United States.[2] As of 2015, Brasil and Argentina were the last luxury liners built in the United States.[3]

The design included Denny-Brown stabilizers, a system of retractable fins to stabilize the ships in heavy seas.[4]

History

Argentina was launched March 12, 1958 and christened by Mrs. William T. Moore, wife of the Moore-McCormack lines president.[5] The ship departed Pascagoula December 1, 1958 bound for New York to be delivered.[6] The ship departed on her maiden voyage December 12, 1958.[7]

In 1968, Charles Reid, captain of Argentina, disappeared from the ship while underway in the Caribbean and was lost at sea.[8] His death was labelled an "apparent suicide" by Moore-McCormack lines.[9]

Under the name Monarch Star, the ship suffered an engine failure in January 1977 of the coast of Cuba forcing 368 passengers to transfer to a sister ship Monarch Sun.[10]

Under the name Bermuda Star, the ship was undergoing a $25 million ($51.6 million today) overhaul by Southwest Marine, Inc at the Port of Portland, Oregon in December 1989 when a fire broke out on board. The fire resulted in a five alarm response and five of the crew went to a local hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation.[11] The fire started on the promenade deck and was started by a cutting torch. Damage was estimated at $2 million ($4.13 million today).[12]

Enchanted Isle as seen in Kiel, 1994.

Bermuda Star ran aground in Buzzards Bay, five miles from Woods Hole, Massachusetts, in poor visibility in June 1990. The ship sustained a 90 ft long tear in the hull, two feet wide near the fuel tanks. Over a thousand passengers were evacuated[13] and about 7,500 U.S. gallons (28,000 L) of number 6 fuel oil was spilled.[14][15] The ship was to be towed to a drydock in New York for repairs.[16] The incident occurred in the days following the June 8, 1990 Mega Borg Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico and the story was paired with the Mega Borg story in news media.

She served Commodore Cruise Line under the name Enchanted Isle.[7]

In 1994, Enchanted Isle became a floating hotel in Saint Petersburg, Russia, returning to the Commodore fleet the following year.[17]

The ship was renamed New Orleans and sailed under its own power to India for scrapping. The ship was beached at Alang during high tide on December 9, 2003 and was scrapped over the following months.[7]

References
  1. "Shipbuilding and Repair" (PDF). Annual Report. US Maritime Administration: 57. 1956. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
  2. "Announcement to the Press". The Moormack News. Moore-McCormack (Autumn 1955). Retrieved September 26, 2015.
  3. Rutherford, Joe (June 30, 2008). "In 1958, Argentina sailed out of Ingalls". Daily Journal. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
  4. "SS Argentina Launching Planned Here March 12". Ingalls News Via Moore-mccormack.com. February 7, 1958. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
  5. "Argentina Launching Scheduled for March 12th". Ingalls News Via Moore-mccormack.com. March 7, 1958. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
  6. "New Passenger Liner Sails". Gadsden Times. Associated Press. December 1, 1958. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
  7. "Argentina 1958". 7seasvessels.com. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
  8. "Captain of Liner Argentina Reported Lost Overboard". St. Petersburg Times. November 2, 1968. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
  9. "Death Apparent Suicide". The Virgin Islands Daily News. November 6, 1968. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
  10. "368 Leave Stalled Cruise Ship". The Milwaukee Sentinel. UPI. January 12, 1977. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
  11. "Fire breaks out on cruise ship being repaired". Eugene Register-Guard. December 7, 1989. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
  12. "Ship Fire Blamed on Welder's Torch". Eugene Register-Guard. December 8, 1989. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
  13. "Cruise ship aground off Cape Cod; might spill 110,000 gallons of fuel". Allegheny Times. June 11, 1990. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
  14. "Bad weather delays action on grounded cruise ship". The Free Lance Star. June 12, 1990. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
  15. "Oil from crippled ship heads toward Cape Cod". The Daily Gazette. June 12, 1990. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
  16. "Cruise ship fuel fouls island beach". Lodi News-Sentinel. June 13, 1990. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
  17. Miller, William H. Jr. (1995). The Pictorial Encyclopedia of Ocean Liners, 1860-1994. Mineola: Dover Publications. p. 8. ISBN 0-486-28137-X.
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