TS Leda

TS Leda was operated by Bergen Line between Britain and Norway as a North Sea ferry for over 20 years from 1953. She was rebuilt in 1981 as a cruise liner and later became an accommodation vessel at a penal colony for terrorists and members of the Mafia. In 2002, whilst being broken up, she was boarded by Greenpeace campaigners protesting about conditions in the shipbreaking industry.

TS Leda passing Haugesund, Norway, October 1973
History
Name:
  • Leda (1952-79)
  • Najla (1979-81)[1]
  • Albatross (1981-84)
  • Alegro (1984-85)
  • Albatross (1985-88)
  • Betsy Ross (1987-89)
  • Amalfi (1989-90)
  • Star of Venice (1990-2002)[2]
Owner:
  • Det Bergenske Dampskibsselskab (1952-77)[1]
  • Stord Vaerft (1977-79)[2]
  • Kuwait Livestock (1979-81)
  • Aspis Maritime (1981)
  • Dolphin Hellas (1981-89)
  • Beacon Seaways (1989-90)
  • Valgas Trading (Vanuatu) (1990-1993)
  • Newport Shipping (1993-95)
  • Star of Venice Navigation (1995 - 2001)
Operator:
  • Bergenske Dampskibsselskab (1952-79)
  • Kuwait Livestock (1979-81)
  • Dolphin Hellas and on charter (1984-89)
  • American Star (Greece) (1989)
  • StarLauro (1989-90)
  • Star Cruise Line (1990-92)
  • Mediterranean Cruises (1998-2000)
Port of registry:
  • Bergen (1952-79)
  • Kuwait (1979-82)
  • Piraeus (1982-90)
  • Port Vila (1990-93)
  • Panama City (1993-2001)
Route: Newcastle upon Tyne - (dock at North Shields) - Bergen - Stavanger[3] (1957-74)
Builder: Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson, River Tyne, United Kingdom
Launched: 3 September 1952[3]
Completed: April 1953
In service: 1953[3]
Out of service:
  • 1974-84
  • 1989
  • 1992-98
  • 2000-02
Identification:
Fate: Scrapped in 2002
General characteristics
Type:
  • Ferry (1952-74)
  • Accommodation ship (1977-80)
  • Cruise liner (1984-91)
  • Floating hostel (1992)
  • Cruise liner (1998-99)
Tonnage:
  • 6,670 GRT (6,471 GRT after 1981)
  • 1,970 DWT
Length: 133.51 m (438 ft 0 in)[4]
Beam: 17.43 m (57 ft 2 in)[4]
Draught: 9.15 m (30 ft 0 in)[4][note 1]
Decks: 11 decks
Installed power: 13,000 SHP steam turbines.[5]
Propulsion:
  • Two Parsons geared steam turbines
  • Two screw propellers[2]
Speed: 22 knots (41 km/h)[1]

Bergen Line ferry

TS Leda was a passenger and cargo vessel operating between 1953 and 1974 as a twice weekly North Sea ferry between Bergen, Stavanger and Newcastle upon Tyne.

Built by Swan Hunter for Det Bergenske Dampskibsselskab (Bergen Line), she was launched in 1952 by Princess Astrid of Norway accompanied by her father, Crown Prince Olav.[2] Leda replaced the Vega which had been sunk in the war and was important for the Bergen Line in operating the ferry service (the "Norwegian Royal Mail Route") that had started in 1890. The first Norwegian vessel to be built with stabilisers,[5]Leda's powerful steam turbines made her quiet and good at sea.[6] She was of a particularly elegant and, for her day, modern design with a raked stem, tripod mast and a single broad funnel.[2][7] She had accommodation for 119 first class passengers and 384 tourist class.[3] Up to 18 cars, lifted on and off by her own electric cranes, could be accommodated in three cargo holds. She ran two sailings a week in each direction. Throughout most of the 1960s she ran three round trips per week in the summer. The sailing took 17 hours to Stavanger; direct sailings to Bergen took 19 hours.[2]

On her inaugural cruise, with King Haakon on board, she ran aground in Oslofjord but this only delayed her entering service by a few days.[2] On 21 December 1957 when about 120 miles southwest of Stavanger Leda received a message from Stonehaven Radio Station saying that the Scottish freighter SS Narva was in distress. In winds gusting to severe gale Leda turned and went three miles to reach Narva which was rapidly sinking and which reported it had no lifeboats to launch. Narva herself had been going to assist another vessel in distress. Leda launched its lifeboat and the crew could hear Narva's crew but not see any of them. The ship sank at about 04:40 and Leda's lifeboat, despite further searching, found none of the 28 crew. The Leda stayed at the scene until morning. Despite sea and air searches, none of Narva's crew were rescued.[8]

Later history

During her long and varied history Leda went through many changes of name, ownership and use.[9] In the oil crisis of the 1970s her lack of fuel-efficiency and the advent of roll-on/roll-off ferries led to her being laid up in Bergen in 1974, then being chartered as a hostel for oil rig workers until 1979.[6] She was purchased for use as a livestock carrier but instead, as Najla,[note 2][2] she was again used for accommodation, this time in the Hebrides, Scotland.[5]

In 1980 she was purchased by Dolphin (Hellas) of Piraeus, renamed Albatross, and rebuilt at Perama to become a cruise liner. The aluminium superstructure was extended, the funnel re-shaped and the mainmast removed. By the time the changes were complete in 1984 a swimming pool had been provided and there were 202 cabins accommodating 484 passengers. After some Mediterranean cruises in 1984, and temporarily renamed Alegro, in the same year she undertook cruises in South America. The year 1985 saw Mediterranean, Atlantic and Norwegian cruises under the name Albatross.[2]

Star of Venice at Genoa, 1992

In 1985 she was chartered to the American Star Line (Greek owned) and renamed Betsy Ross in honour of Betsy Ross who made the first American Flag for cruises between Florida and Brazil. However, these were undersubscribed so instead she ran cruises between Venice and Piraeus until being laid-up. By this time her general condition was deteriorating and a charter for African cruises had to be abandoned after a short time.[10] In 1989 she was chartered as Amalfi, only to be laid up for debt at Venice.[2] She was purchased at auction in 1990 by Stargas, renamed Star of Venice, and put under the Vanuatu flag.[note 3] After a fire in 1991 she was repaired in Rijeka only to become a floating police hostel in 1992 both at Genoa[note 4] and at Pianosa, Italy, at that time a maximum-security prison island which housed terrorists and members of the Mafia.[2][11][12] Once more she was laid up at Venice until being brought into operation for Mediterranean Cruises in 1998, with disastrous results stemming from her poor mechanical condition. In 2000 she was last used as a hotel ship at Ravenna.[5]

Demise

In 2001 Star of Venice was towed to Aliağa, Turkey, to be broken up.[1] Shortly afterwards in 2002, and while she was being scrapped, the Greenpeace vessel Rainbow Warrior arrived as part of a campaign against toxic waste and poor working conditions in the shipbreaking industry. One of the Greenpeace demonstrations took place on the Star of Venice's hulk.[13]

Notes
  1. Some references, e.g. Cooke, state 20 feet draught.
  2. Lloyd's Register also listed her as Nalja.
  3. Under the ownership of Valgas Trading.
  4. For the Columbus International Exposition celebrating the quincentenary of Columbus’s first voyage to the Americas.

References
  1. "Leda (5205253)". Miramar Ship Index. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
  2. Cooke, Anthony (1996). Liners and Cruise Ships. Some notable smaller vessels. London: Carmania Press. pp. 42–45. ISBN 0-9518656-5-X.
  3. "Swan Hunter". The best of British engineering 1750 - 1960. Grace's Guide. 18 May 2009. Archived from the original on 14 October 2009. Retrieved 14 October 2009.
  4. "Leda T/S" (in Norwegian). Nettsurfer. Archived from the original on 18 November 2009. Retrieved 26 October 2009. English translation
  5. Cox, Martin; Knego, Peter. "Shipping News June to December 2001". Maritime Matters Ocean liner history and cruise ship news. Archived from the original on 14 October 2009.
  6. Bent, Mike. "Hurtigrute Photo Gallery Seven". The Bergen to Stavanger "Nattrute". Archived from the original on 14 October 2009.
  7. "Leda of Bergen. Any information?, part 2, part 3, " Captain's Voyage - Bulletin board. 2006 - 2008. Archived from the original on 2009-10-16
  8. Haugen, Hellick (23 December 1957). "28 on Ship are Missing". News and Courier. Retrieved 28 November 2013.
    "Inquiry into loss of Glasgow ship". Glasgow Herald. 13 November 1958. Retrieved 28 November 2013.
    Board of Trade (1957). Wreck Report for 'Narva', 20645 (PDF). HMSO. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 April 2015. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  9. Asklanda, Micke. "T/S Leda". Välkommen till Fakta om Fartyg (Welcome to facts about ships) (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 15 October 2009. English translation
  10. D.R. Walker (3 August 2004). "The Great Betsy Ross Debacle". The All at Sea Network. Archived from the original on 14 October 2009.
  11. Pinna, Alberto (1 September 1992). "Troops responsible for overseeing transferred Mafia prisoners". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). Archived from the original on 16 October 2009. Retrieved 16 October 2009. English translation
  12. Waddington, Richard (21 July 1992). "Italian pledge on anti-Mafia force". The Independent. Archived from the original on 15 October 2009. Retrieved 15 October 2009.
  13. "Greenpeacers Nabbed Protesting Turkish Shipbreaking". Environment News Service. 14 January 2002. Archived from the original on 15 October 2009. Retrieved 15 October 2009.


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