liner ANTILLES

Compagnie Générale Transatlantique, 1953 - 1971

Design features

Antilles (steel liner) 1953 - 1971
hull material : ...................steel
previous name(s) of ship : ........
detailed type : ...................steel liner
type of propulsion : ..............2 propellers
building year of ship : ...........1952
name of shipyard : ................Arsenal
place of construction : ...........Brest
year of entering the fleet : ......1953
length (in meters) : ..............173,23
width (in meters) : ...............24,4
gross tonnage (in tons) : .........19828
deadweight (in tons) : ............5781
type of engine : ..................2 double reduction geared turbine sets
engine power (in HP) : ............42000
nominal speed (in Knots) : ........23

History

Built identical to FLANDRE, ANTILLES will not experience the same difficulties as her sister-ship and will make an outstanding career till her tragic end in 1971. ANTILLES was launched 6 months before the liner FLANDRE but her completion was delayed due to the consequences of the technical problems encountered on FLANDRE and finally went into service with a 10 months delay from the initial schedule in April 1953. With FLANDRE, she is the biggest French liner ever built to serve the West Indies and Central America. Her speed afforded her to link up Le Havre and Fort de France in 7 days. When put into service, ANTILLES was equipped - like FLANDRE – with a very low funnel. In the tropics, the rear decks were continuously stained with dirty works. For this reason, in February 1956, the technical services in Le Havre cut out the funnel and put up a 3-meter higher one, then giving a younger look to the outline of the ship. This alteration – nevertheless crowned with success – nas never been carried out on FLANDRE, even after her definitive transfer to the West Indies line in 1962. On the other hand, both ships will be identically modernized during winter 1963-64 through the generalization of air conditioning and the partial alteration of the internal accomodations. During her career, like many liners of the French Line, ANTILLES will lend several times assistance to merchant ships in 1964, 1966 and 1971. During the fifties, apart from a few cruises in the European and American waters, ANTILLES links up above all the network of West Indies and the « Firm Coast »* where she drains off the « cream » of first class passengers. From 1958, in winter, her monthly trips are marketed in Europe and United States, without schedule alteration, in a way like « pleasure trips » cruises with schedules of a regular line. In the sixties, to meet stronger and stronger requests, the system is ajusted and foresees, since 1966, loop-trips in the West Indies combined with the possibility to join the West Indies and to return to the starting point by plane. Like FRANCE at the same time, ANTILLES is shared among the regular links and the cruises. During one of these cruises, on the 8th January 1971, the liner hits a reef not indicated on the charts, in the vicinity of the Mosquito Island, while she was on her way from La Guayra to Barbados. The impact having entailed the breaking of a fuel tank, the overheated engine room caught fire right away. In spite of his efforts, the crew cannot succeed to bring the fire under control and the passengers are therefore evacuated in the lifeboats and directed to the Mosquito Island. On morning 9th, they are transferred on the liner QUEEN ELISABETH 2, who came to the rescue and on the cargo ships SUFFREN and POINTE ALLEGRE from the French Line. The fire has entailed no victim, but the liner is wasted and burns right through. The wreck will break in two pieces from the 9th January and will waste away during 6 weeks. With the passing months and years, she will break in several pieces, then will sink slowly under the water level. What still remains is now entirely submerged. The liner DE GRASSE ex-BERGENSFJORD built in 1956 will take the place of ANTILLES but the transatlantic links will come to an end as soon as 1973, and with them, the history of a regular line, the beginning of which dates back to 1862.


* Coasts of the Caribbean sea and the Mexican gulf.