SS Bretagne

SS Bretagne was a French ocean liner launched at Saint-Nazaire on 20 July 1951 for the Société Générale de Transport Maritimes (SGTM), a Marseille-based company operating passenger services. She was the second of two related ships built for the company, following SS Provence, which had been launched in Newcastle a year earlier. Bretagne was distinguished from her sister by having three boilers rather than two, giving her greater reserve power and making her better suited to maintaining schedules when delays occurred. After two short shakedown cruises, Bretagne began her maiden voyage from Marseille on 14 February 1952. The itinerary linked Mediterranean ports including Genoa, Naples and Barcelona with Dakar and major South American destinations such as Bahia, Rio de Janeiro, Santos, Montevideo and Buenos Aires. Together with Provence, she supported both conventional liner traffic and immigration service between Europe and South America. Her accommodation reflected the social structure of post-war migration: first-class passengers received comparatively refined facilities, while most berths were allocated to third- and fourth-class travelers. Fourth-class passengers, many of them poorer Italian emigrants seeking new opportunities in South America, were housed in large communal dormitories separated by sex. By the end of the 1950s, tourism and immigration traffic had weakened, and SGTM made both ships available for charter. Anthony Chandris was seeking another vessel for Chandris Lines' Europe–Australia operation and selected Bretagne because of her additional boiler and higher speed. A one-year charter agreement, including an option to purchase, was signed on 18 November 1960. Before entering her new service, the ship underwent a substantial refit at Genoa in early 1961. The former third- and fourth-class arrangements were removed, passenger spaces were air-conditioned, and a second swimming pool was added. The revised layout was designed for 1,050 tourist-class passengers. In May 1961, the refitted liner went to Boston under a sub-charter arrangement with Caribbean Cruise Line and began New England–Caribbean cruises on 9 June. Passenger reactions to the service operation were reportedly mixed, but Chandris considered the redesigned ship promising. The company purchased Bretagne at Southampton on 20 September 1961 for £3 million, before the original charter period had ended. She initially sailed under the Europe Australia Line identity, traveling from Southampton through Madeira, Cape Town and Durban to Fremantle, Melbourne and Sydney, then returning via ports in Asia, the Indian Ocean, the Mediterranean and Europe. After several such voyages, Chandris assumed full control in June 1962. A further conversion at Genoa added a ballroom seating approximately 500 people and expanded the ship's entertainment capabilities. The vessel was renamed SS Brittany and her French crew was replaced by Greek seamen. Beginning on 20 June 1962, Brittany operated nine week-long New York–West Indies round trips carrying up to 500 passengers in the best cabins. Favorable publicity and average occupancy of about 95 percent encouraged Chandris to plan an expansion to roughly 1,500 single-class berths. Additional cabins were created by converting refrigerated cargo spaces while the ship was operating in the Caribbean. She also resumed winter round-the-world service to Australasia, offering an expedited customs procedure at Wellington in which New Zealand officials began processing passengers aboard ship after departing Sydney. The vessel's career ended in 1963. During her fourth return voyage toward Southampton, she called at Piraeus with serious engine problems. Passengers were disembarked and forwarded to their destinations while the ship entered dry dock at Hellenic Shipyards in Skaramagas for repairs. On 8 April, a welding torch ignited a fire that spread beyond control. Concern that the flames could reach the fuel tanks led to the ship being towed out of the dock and beached, where the fire was allowed to burn. Brittany was declared a total loss. Her remains were later towed to La Spezia and scrapped in March 1964. Chandris responded to the loss by purchasing SS Lurline in September 1963 and renaming her Ellinis.

SS Bretagne was constructed at Saint-Nazaire for the Société Générale de Transport Maritimes, a French company whose passenger operations were based in Marseille. Launched on 20 July 1951, she was the second ship in a two-vessel series completed for the company. Her sister, SS Provence, had been launched at Newcastle in 1950. Although the ships were closely related, Bretagne received three boilers while Provence received two, giving Bretagne greater potential speed and better ability to recover from delays. Following two short trials or shakedown cruises, Bretagne entered regular service on 14 February 1952 with a maiden voyage from Marseille. Her route passed through Genoa, Naples, Barcelona and Dakar before continuing to Bahia, Rio de Janeiro, Santos, Montevideo and Buenos Aires. The ship operated in both liner and immigration service, with Provence serving alongside her on Europe–South America routes. Her accommodation was divided by class. First-class passengers received the finest facilities, but most of the ship's capacity was devoted to third- and fourth-class travelers. The latter category was primarily used by poorer Italian emigrants and consisted of large gender-segregated dormitories. Changing passenger patterns eventually made the original business model less attractive. As tourism and immigration declined, SGTM placed Bretagne and Provence on the charter market. Chandris Lines, led by Anthony Chandris, wanted a second ship for a Europe–Australia route and considered Bretagne especially suitable because of her extra boiler. On 18 November 1960, the parties signed a one-year charter with an option to buy. French seafarers remained aboard during the charter and for six months after a possible purchase. The ship was refitted at Genoa in January 1961. Third- and fourth-class accommodation was eliminated, all passenger areas were air-conditioned rather than only the first-class sections, and a second swimming pool was installed. The new configuration provided approximately 1,050 tourist-class berths. In May, Bretagne sailed to Boston under a further sub-charter arrangement with Caribbean Cruise Line. From 9 June she operated New England–Caribbean cruises. Although passengers reportedly criticized the partner's service standards, Chandris approved of the physical layout and purchased the vessel at Southampton on 20 September 1961 for £3 million. Bretagne then entered Europe–Australia service under the Europe Australia Line identity, traveling from Southampton through Madeira, Cape Town and Durban to Fremantle, Melbourne and Sydney. Her return voyages called at Brisbane, Bali, Singapore, Colombo, Aden, Port Said, Piraeus, Marseille and Lisbon. She completed four additional Australian voyages before Chandris took full ownership and operational control in June 1962. A second Genoa conversion created a ballroom capable of seating around 500 people for live entertainment. The ship was renamed SS Brittany and its French complement was replaced by approximately 320 Greek seamen. Brittany's next phase centered on leisure cruising. On 20 June 1962, she began a program of nine week-long round trips between New York and the West Indies, initially accepting only about 500 passengers in the best cabins. The cruises received more favorable publicity than the earlier Boston operation, and occupancy averaged about 95 percent. Chandris planned to enlarge the passenger complement by converting two refrigerated cargo spaces into cabins, creating a single-class arrangement of approximately 1,500 berths. The work was carried out while the vessel continued operating between New York and the Caribbean. During the winter, she resumed round-the-world service to Australasia. A notable operational innovation was the embarkation of New Zealand customs officials at Sydney so that immigration processing could begin before the ship reached Wellington. The final voyage period was interrupted by mechanical trouble. On the fourth return trip toward Southampton in late March 1963, Brittany stopped at Piraeus with serious engine problems. Passengers were put ashore and sent onward while the vessel entered dry dock at Hellenic Shipyards in Skaramagas. Repairs were nearly complete on 8 April when a welder's torch started a fire. The blaze spread rapidly, and the possibility that the flames could reach the ship's fuel tanks forced the vessel to be towed from the dock and beached. The resulting damage was irreparable. The hulk was later sent to La Spezia, where it was scrapped in March 1964. Chandris replaced the lost ship by buying SS Lurline in September 1963 and renaming her Ellinis.

• 1964

  Scrapping at La Spezia

  [1]SS Bretagne (1951)en.wikipedia.org

  The remains were sent to La Spezia and scrapped in March.

• 1963

  Fire and total loss

  [1]SS Bretagne (1951)en.wikipedia.org

  A shipyard fire during repairs at Skaramagas caused damage that ended the vessel's career.

• 1962

  Renaming as Brittany

  [1]SS Bretagne (1951)en.wikipedia.org

  After further conversion, including a large ballroom, the ship was renamed Brittany and placed under a Greek crew.

• 1961

  Tourist-class refit and Caribbean debut

  [1]SS Bretagne (1951)en.wikipedia.org

  A Genoa refit removed the lower-class accommodation, added air conditioning and a second pool, and preceded New England–Caribbean cruises.

• 1961

  Purchase by Chandris

  [1]SS Bretagne (1951)en.wikipedia.org

  Chandris purchased Bretagne at Southampton on 20 September.

• 1960

  Chandris charter

  [1]SS Bretagne (1951)en.wikipedia.org

  Chandris Lines signed a one-year charter with an option to purchase the ship for its Europe–Australia plans.

• 1952

  Entry into service

  [1]SS Bretagne (1951)en.wikipedia.org

  Bretagne began her maiden voyage from Marseille on 14 February, serving Mediterranean, West African and South American ports.

• 1951

  Launch at Saint-Nazaire

  [1]SS Bretagne (1951)en.wikipedia.org

  SS Bretagne was launched on 20 July at Saint-Nazaire as the second of SGTM's two related post-war liners.

Originally positioned as a post-war French liner serving both traditional passengers and European emigrants traveling to South America, SS Bretagne was later repositioned as a more modern tourist and cruise vessel. Chandris' refits emphasized single-class tourist accommodation, air conditioning, swimming pools, entertainment and leisure cruising.

• Ocean liner · 1951

  SS Bretagne

  The original French passenger liner operated by SGTM from 1952. It combined first-class accommodation with substantial third- and fourth-class capacity and served Mediterranean, West African and South American ports in both liner and immigration traffic.

• Cruise ship · 1962

  Brittany

  The ship's post-1962 identity under Chandris Lines. Following conversion, it emphasized single-class tourist travel, entertainment, swimming pools, air-conditioned passenger spaces and cruises from New York to the West Indies, while also undertaking round-the-world voyages to Australasia.

• 1962

  Rebrand and expand cruise configurationGeneration change

  Background

  After taking full control, Chandris sought to establish the ship as a leisure and entertainment product rather than a conventional immigrant liner.

  Action taken

  The ship was renamed Brittany, fitted with a ballroom, re-crewed with Greek seamen and prepared for New York–West Indies cruises and expanded passenger capacity.

  Aftermath

  The cruises achieved reported average occupancy of about 95 percent, but the ship was lost in a shipyard fire the following year.

  Source

• 1961

  Convert Bretagne from migration liner to tourist vesselStrategy

  Background

  Declining immigration and tourism patterns made the original class-based liner configuration less attractive.

  Action taken

  The Genoa refit removed third- and fourth-class accommodation, added air conditioning throughout passenger areas and installed a second swimming pool.

  Aftermath

  The vessel entered New England–Caribbean cruising with approximately 1,050 tourist-class berths and later underwent additional changes for a larger single-class capacity.

  Source

• 1960

  Charter Bretagne for Europe–Australia serviceStrategy

  Background

  Chandris Lines wanted to expand its Europe–Australia operation and selected Bretagne because her three-boiler configuration offered greater speed potential than her sister ship.

  Action taken

  Chandris signed a one-year charter with an option to purchase and subsequently assumed the vessel for its long-distance passenger network.

  Aftermath

  The charter led to Chandris' purchase of the ship and her deployment on Europe–Australia voyages before the company shifted her toward cruising.

  Source

1. 1SS Bretagne (1951)en.wikipedia.org