Revised 25 July 2002
[new photo added]
TEESSHIPS
FAVOURITE SHIPS
CLEOPATRA
The first Victory ship!
You'll get so many firsts, and seconds, and thirds, on this site that you'll be sick with nostalgitis!
CLEOPATRA at Hartlepool Dock on 11
November 1975 (an appropriate date in view of her history)
- and I find it very hard to believe this was more than
a quarter of a century ago!!!!
25.7.02: .... and I just knew I had other shots of her somewhere. Here's one I found:
(sorry it's a bit mottled!!)
CAREER DETAILS
CLEOPATRA: 8193gt
19.11.1943: keel laid by Oregon Shipbuilding
Corporation, Portland, Oregon, yard no. 1001; 12.1.1944:
launched; 29.2.1944: delivered as UNITED VICTORY; 1946: acquired
by Renfrew Navigation Co. Ltd., (Furness Withy); 1947 renamed
KHEDIVE ISMAIL; 1948: sold to Khedivial Mail Line for new service
between Egypt and US East coast; converted to carry 100
passengers; 15.3.1948: inaugural sailing from Alexandria; 1956:
renamed CLEOPATRA; 1960: management transferred to United Arab
Maritime Company; 6.1960: aground at Gibraltar; ownership
subsequently passed to The Egyptian Navigation Co.; 13.11.1975:
sailed from Hartlepool but suffered boiler explosion; early 1976:
repairs completed while berthed in River Tees; 24.8.1981: arrived
Gadani Beach, Pakistan, to be broken up.
(Information mainly from VICTORY SHIPS AND TANKERS by Sawyer and Mitchell; for details and photographs of the 1960 grounding see SHIPS IN FOCUS RECORD 11).
NOTE: In the brief career details included in the WSS publication FURNESS WITHY 1891-1991 by David Burrell there is an unfortunate transposition of data between the KHEDIVE ISMAIL and a sister ship MOHAMED ALI EL KEBIR, which was actually ex Atchison Victory, as correctly depicted photographically elsewhere in the book.)