Princess Daphne (ship)

Princess Daphne at Tallinn on 14 July 2012
History
Name	Port Sydney (1954–1972) Akrotiri Express (1972–1974) Daphne (1974–1997) Switzerland (1997–2003) Ocean Monarch (2003–2005) Hellenic Aid (2005–2005) Ocean Monarch (2005–2008) Princess Daphne (2008–2014) Daphne (2014–2014)[1]
Owner	1954–72 Port Line 2008–2014 Golden Laurel Maritime[2]
Operator	Port Line (1954–1972) Delian Cruises (1975–1978) Lauro Lines (1978–1979) Costa Cruises (1979–1990) Prestige Cruises (1990-1995) Costa Cruises (1995–1997) Leisure Cruises (1997–2001) Majestic International Cruises (200?–0?) Page & Moy (200?–200?) Majestic International Cruises (200?–2007) Monarch Classic Cruises (2007–2008) Classic International Cruises (2008–2012)
Port of registry	1955–1972 London 1972–1984 Piraeus 1984–1990 Panama 1990–1996 Monrovia 2006–2008: Piraeus 2008–2012: Madeira
Builder	Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson
Yard number	1827[3]
Launched	29 October 1954
Completed	1955
Identification	Call sign: CQSD IMO number: 5282627 MMSI number: 255718000
Fate	Scrapped at Alang, India in 2014.
General characteristics
Tonnage	As Port Sydney: 10,166 GRT, 5,585 NRT, 10,950 DWT After 1975 conversion: 15,833 GRT
Length	162.3 m (532.5 ft)[4]
Beam	21.34 m (70.0 ft)[4]
Decks	10 (7 for passenger use)[4]
Installed power	13,200 bhp
Propulsion	2 × screws 2 × Doxford diesel engines
Capacity	530 passengers[5] in 231 cabins[4]

The MS Princess Daphne, formerly Ocean Monarch, Ocean Odyssey, Switzerland, Daphne, Akrotiri Express.[2] was a medium-sized cruise ship. She had originally been the refrigerated cargo ship Port Sydney. Her sister ship was Princess Danae, which was built as Port Melbourne.

History

Port Sydney

Daphne at Amsterdam on 28 May 1976

Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson built her in Wallsend, England as a refrigerated cargo ship for Port Line. She was launched on 29 October 1954 and completed in March 1955.[6]

Daphné in 1992

Between 1972 and 1974, she was converted into a cruise ship at Chalkis Shipyard, Piraeus, Greece.[7]

She served as a hospital ship in Sri Lanka in 2005.[7]

Ocean Monarch in Kiel in 2008

It was announced on 14 June 2014 that the Princess Daphne had arrived in Alang India under the name Daphne for scrapping, following a voyage from the Cretan port of Souda, where she was laid up in September 2012. She was given back to the Patimanios brothers by the bank following the sale of the assets of Classic International Cruises' fleet in 2013. In early 2014, rumors began to circulate saying she was to return to service under the "Classic International Cruises" banner. These rumors were proven false when it was announced that she was sold to Indian scrap merchants. She was beached at Alang, India, by 1 July 2014 and scrapping commenced soon after.[8]

Princess Daphne

References

1. "Port Sydney - Akrotiri Express - Daphne - Switzerland - (Ocean Odyssey?) - Ocean Monarch - Hellenic Aid - Ocean Monarch".
2. "Princess Daphne". shipspotting.com. Retrieved 26 April 2012.
3. Asklander, Micke. "M/S PORT SYDNEY (1955)". Fakta om Fartyg (in Swedish). Retrieved 2012-11-27.
4. "The cruise vessel Ocean Monarch". Retrieved 27 April 2012.
5. Themelis, Michalis. "PASSENGER SHIP 530 PAX 162m". M.T.Y. Ships & Yachts Brokerage. Archived from the original on 11 February 2013. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
6. "Port Sydney". Tyne Built Ships. Shipping and Shipbuilding Research Trust. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
7. Asklander, Micke. "M/S PORT SYDNEY". Retrieved 27 April 2012.
8. "Daphne". maritimematters.com. Retrieved 24 December 2018.

External links

• Professional photographs from shipspotting.com
• Deck plans and cabins
• (in Swedish) Ship details and history