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SS Aurelia |
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She was originally built for Hamburg America Line (Hapag) for Hamburg - Genoa and later Hamburg South America route as a cargo-passenger ship. During the WW2 she served as a submarine depot and repair ship for the German Navy. After the war she was handed over to the Canadian Government and in 1947 was sold to Canadian Pacific. The Beaverbrae was built as the Huascaran for the Hamburg America Line (Hapag) by Blohm & Voss, Hamburg in 1938. She was built as a 10,480 gross ton ship with a length of 487.5ft x beam 60.3ft, one funnel, one mast single screw and a speed of 17 knots. She was built primarily as a cargo ship for Hamburg - Geno and later Hamburg - South America route and with a capacity for 58 (or 32?) passengers. Launched on December 15, 1938, she sailed on her maiden voyage from Hamburg to the West coast of South America. War broke out and on her return was taken over by the German Navy and converted to a submarine depot and repair ship. She spent most of her time in Norway where she was captured undamaged by the Allies in 1945 and allocated to the Canadian Government. Taken over by the War Assets Corporation, she arrived in Liverpool in April 1947 for a refit. In June she sailed for Montreal as part of Canada's war reparations and was allocated to North American Transports Inc. for use as a cargo liner. At that time she was Canada's largest merchant ship. Purchased by Canadian Pacific on September 2, 1947, she was renamed Beaverbrae and rebuilt to carry migrants from Europe to Canda. She was then 9,034 gross tons, had one funnel, two masts and cabin accommodation for 74 passengers and dormitory accommodation for another 699. On 8th February she sailed on her first voyage from St John NB with cargo for London (subsequent cargo voyages to Antwerp) and then to Bremen for passengers; and made 51 sailings from Bremen to Canada with displaced persons. She was the only "Beaver" ship to carry cargo eastbound and passengers westbound (the others were cargo ships) and was also the only one under Canadian registration and with a Canadian crew. Canadian Pacific worked with the International Refugee Organisation and with the Canadian Christian Council for the Relief of Refugees and the refugees were forwarded from collection points on the German frontiers to the despatching centre in Bremen. Here they were examined by Canadian government officials for health and security. Documentation and embarkation arrangements were handled by the Canadian Pacific office in Bremen. The Beaverbrae made an average of one sailing each month and usually carried between 500 and 700 emigrants, of whom approximately one in five were children. They were destined for friends or relatives in Canada and few could speak English. Before the ship reached port, the purser would issue each emigrant with an identification tag, indicating their destination. When advice was received in Montreal that the ship had left Bremen, arrangements were made for two special trains with colonist and baggage cars to be assembled at the port of entry. The first train would usually be routed to Montreal and Toronto, and the second to Winnipeg and points west, almost every car destined to a different part of the country. A special three-car unit was attached to each train to feed the refugees. One car was fitted as a kitchen, the second as a dining car by day and a sleeper for the crew at night, the third being used as a recreation and dining car for the passengers. The Beaverbrae made her last emigrant voyage when she left Bremen on 28th July 1954, having carried over 38,000 refugees to Canada. Over time, demand declined and she was sold to Compagnia Genovese d'Armamento (Cogedar), Genoa on November 1, 1954 and was rebuilt for emigrant service on the Genoa - Sydney rouute. At Monfalcone, her superstructure was enlarged 10,022 tons and with accommodation for 1,124 tourist class passengers. Renamed Aurelia, she sailed from Trieste on May 13, 1955, via Suez to Australia from Trieste and made later voyages from Genoa. Re-engined in 1958-59 and rebuilt to 10,480 tons, she started her first Bremen-Suez-Australia voyage on June 12, 1959. In June 1960, she made a Bremen-New York voyage for the Council on Student Travel. She made a total of 34 round voyages between English Channel ports and New York between May 1962 and August 1969. On the 29 October 1968 she sailed from Sydney for the last time .In 1970, she was sold to Chandris Lines and was registered at Piraeus, refitted and used for cruising, and accordingly her capacity was reduced to 470 passengers. She cruised mostly in the Mediterranean, however her itinerary also included Brazil, the Indian Ocean and South Africa. In 1977 she was chartered to Lloyd Brasileiro, Brazil for cruises, in 1979 registered at Panama and transferred to Armadora Romanza SA, Panama. [North Atlantic Seaway by N.R.P. Bonsor, vol.4, p.1760] [Canadian Pacific 100 years by George Musk] [Great Passenger Ships of the World by Arnold Kludas, vol.6, p.171] In 1979 she ran aground in the Aegean and badly damaged her bow. After that she cruised for various companies and had another name change to Romantica. In 1991, she was sold to New Ambassador Cruises of Cyprus for Cyprus - Egypt - Israel cruises. The company went bankrupt in 1995 and the ship was bought by Paradise Cruises, Cyprus. On October 4, 1997 she caught fire off Limassol, Cyprus and Romantica was completely gutted and declared a Constructive Total Loss. In April 1998 she was towed to Alexandria, Egypt for scrapping and was scrapped in 1999. International Refugee Organization - Group Resettlement to Australia:
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