SS Chusan

SS Chusan was a British ocean liner and cruise ship, built for the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company's Indian and Far East Service in 1950. She was named after Chusan, a small island off China. A smaller version of SS Himalaya (1948), Chusan measured ; and a capacity of 1,565 passengers and crew. She was built as a replacement for RMS Viceroy of India, lost in the Second World War. She was 646.5 ft long. Chusan is said to have brought new standards of shipboard luxury to India and the Far East.[2] She was the last passenger liner built for P & O by Vickers-Armstrongs.

Chusan entered service in 1950, with her maiden voyage from London, England, to Bombay, India. But she first made two "shake down" "all first class trips", one of a week's length and the other of a fortnight, sailing to Lisbon, Casablanca and Madeira. For most of her working life, she carried passengers between London, Bombay, and Japan, but from 1963 also operated to Sydney, Australia. In 1973, she retired from service and was sold to be scrapped at Chou’s Iron and Steel Company Ltd. in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.[2]

Dimensions

Ownership by P&O (1950-1970)

Chusan's maiden voyage was a nine-day cruise from Southampton to Madeira and Lisbon beginning on 1 July 1950. On 15 September 1950 she then made a voyage from London to Bombay via the Suez Canal. The service for which Chusan was intended commenced on 7 November 1950, from London to Hong Kong. After this, she would continue to the Far East, along with the ships SS Corfu, SS Carthage, and SS Canton. In November 1950, Chusan resumed P&O's service to Japan, and made the first call after World War 2 at Yokohama. In December 1951 she carried the first batch of Malayan student teachers to England to begin their training at Kirkby College in Lancashire. The journey started in Hong Kong, picked up the student teachers in Singapore and Penang on 12 December and arrived in London on New Year's Day, 1952.[5]

Chusan was fitted with a Thornycroft funnel top in May 1952. This was done to reduce the deposit of soot and smut on her decks. The job was done by R&H Green and Silley Weir Ltd. at London.

On 12 June 1953, Chusan accidentally collided with the freighter Prospector, off the Goodwin Sands in the English Channel. The collision tore a 26 ft breach in her hull. Consequently, she returned to London for two days of repairs.

In April 1954, Chusan departed London for a world cruise lasting 92 days, which was a first for the P&O Line.

In March 1955, another incident occurred, which involved bringing a smallpox-infected passenger to Port Said, Egypt. A bomb hoax during a Mediterranean cruise occurred on 2 September 1955, and the ship returned to Naples to be searched.

Passenger capacity was changed to 464 in first class and 541 in tourist (second) class in the year 1959. Chusan was refitted from December 1959 throughout March 1960, which involved the installation of air conditioning throughout the ship. She was transferred to P&O-Orient Lines in May 1960. Chusan was taken off Far East passenger service for use on cruises, before being again transferred to a regular service from Australia to Yokohama, with an intermediate port of call at Hong Kong.

In October 1966, she was again transferred back to P&O Lines. Passenger capacity was again changed to 455 in first class and 517 in tourist class.[4]

country	United Kingdom
owner	Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company
operator	1950–1960, P&O Line. 1960–1966, P&O-Orient Lines. 1966–1973, P&O Line
registry	London
route	Tilbury-Bombay-Hong Kong-Yokohama
ordered	May 1946
builder	Vickers Armstrong Ltd, Barrow in Furness
yard number	964
laid down	February 1947
launched	28 June 1949
completed	1950
maiden voyage	15 September 1950
out of service	1973
fate	Broken up at Chou’s Iron and Steel Company Ltd, Kaoshiung, Taiwan, in 1973

Dimensions

Planning and construction (1946-1950)

Ownership by P&O (1950-1970)

Final years (1970-1973)

Timeline

See also

External links

References