SOUTHERN CROSS / CALYPSO / AZURE SEAS / OCEANBREEZE

BUILT BY HARLAND AND WOLFF IN BELFAST.SHE WAS LAID UP IN 1971 - SHE WAS THEN SOLD IN 1973 TO A GREEK COMPANY AND RE-NAMED THE 'CALYPSO' .

IN 1980 SHE WAS  AGAIN SOLD, THIS TIME TO THE EASTER STEAMSHIP LINE ( PANAMA ) AND RE-NAMED 'AZURE SEAS'.

HER LAST OWNERS WERE THE IMPERIAL MAJESTY CRUISE LINE OF POMPANO BEACH, FLA AND SHE  SAILED UNDER THE NAME OF ' OCEANBREEZE '

IN JULY 2003 SHE WAS SOLD IN THE BAHAMAS AND WAS SCRAPPED IN INDIA.

SHE WAS 48 YEARS OLD.

 I NEVER PERSONALLY SAILED ON THIS VESSEL, BUT I DID GO ON BOARD HER IN THE EARLY 1970'S WHEN SHE WAS IN SOUTHAMPTON, THE RADIO COLLEGE WHERE I WAS TRAINING HAD ARRANGED THE TRIP, IT WAS THE FIRST SHIP OF ANY SIZE THAT I HAD BEEN ON, AND I FOUND HER VERY IMPRESSIVE, SHE DID COME IN FOR CRITICISM OF HER INTERIOR FROM TIME TO TIME, BUT SHAW SAVILL ALWAYS DID THINGS THEIR WAY, AND SHE WAS A SUCCESS, WHICH UN-FORTUNATELY WAS NOT REALLY THE CASE WITH THE NORTHERN STAR, SHE CAME ALONG A BIT TO LATE TO REALLY HAVE WORKED.

RECENTLY SHE COULD BE SPOTTED ON MICHAEL PALIN'S  NEW TV PROGRAMME "HIMALAYAS" AWAITING DEMOLITION AT THE BANGLADESH BREAKERS YARD ( THIS INFORMATION IS WELL OUT OF DATE NOW )

RADIO ROOM

THIS PICTURE OF THE RADIO ROOM WAS TAKEN VERY EARLY ON IN THE VESSELS LIFE, IN ALL LIKELY HOOD THIS IS THE ORIGINAL INSTALLATION FITTED PRIOR TO HER BEING  LAUNCHED. IT WOULD HAVE BEEN CHANGE SEVERAL TIMES DURING THE VESSELS LIFE.

THE RECEIVER TO THE R/O'S RIGHT IS THE MARCONI ELECTRA, THE ONE TO THE LEFT BEING THE MARCONI MERCURY RECEIVER.

ABOVE THE MERCURY RECEIVER IS THE ALERT 500 kHz WATCH KEEPING/EMERGENCY RECEIVER. ABOVE THE ELECTRA RECEIVER IS THE MARCONI AUTOMATIC KEYING DEVICE. TO THE LEFT OF THESE TWO PIECES OF EQUIPMENT IS THE AERIAL SWITCHING UNIT.

 IN THE CORNER IS THE MARCONI RELIANCE EMERGENCY TRANSMITTER. TO THE RELIANCE'S LEFT IS A MARCONI ATALANTA RECEIVER. I AM NOT SURE WHAT IS SITTING ON TOP OF THE ATALANTA, I FIRST THOUGHT IT COULD POSSIBLY BE A AUTOMATIC WATCH KEEPING RECEIVER, BUT I DON'T RECOGNISE IT AS BEING FROM MARCONI MARINE,AND APART FROM THAT THERE WAS PROBABLY NO NEED TO CARRY SUCH A RECEIVER ONBOARD, AS THE VESSEL HAD A COMPLIMENT OF FOUR R/O'S AND THE VESSEL WOULD HAVE HAD A MANNED WATCH 24 X 7 AT SEA. ABOVE IT ON THE BULK HEAD IS THE BATTERY CHARGING UNIT, AND TO THE LEFT THE MAIN TRANSMITTER A  MARCONI GLOBESPAN.

 THE OPERATOR APPEARS TO BE USING A MECHANICAL VIBOPLEX MORSE KEY. THE RADIO OFFICERS ( FOUR IN TOTAL ) WOULD HAVE BEEN EMPLOYED BY MARCONI MARINE AND NOT DIRECTLY BY SHAW SAVILL & ALBION.

THE THREE RADIO CALLSIGNS ON  PLAQUES ON THE BULKHEAD ARE GSWW / SOUTHERN  CROSS'S CALLSIGN, GTZM / MARCONI MARINE COLLECTIVE CALLSIGN AND GZTR / SHAW SAVILL & ALBION'S COLLECTIVE CALLSIGN.