Trieste - On a Not So Slow Boat to China on the Lloyd Triestino's 'Victoria'
“The White Arrow”, “The Dove of the Orient”, “The Ship of Maharajahs”... these were some of the epithets which were given to the motorship Victoria of the Lloyd Triestino. At the end of the 'Twenties, the company's technical office was faced with a complex but obvious problem: the design of a new liner which would replace the two already obsolete vessels Helouan and Vienna, born before the First World War which, with the exception of those wartime years, had served with dignity on the express route between Italy and Alexandria in Egypt.
The higher speeds obtainable with the latest generation of propulsion machinery, the competition posed by the Società Italiana di Servizi Marittimi (SITMAR) of Genoa which was running its two most recent steamships, Esperia and Ausonia, on the same route, a worrying contraction in traffic and, finally, the restructuring of the Lloyd Triestino by Lloyd Sabaudo, persuaded the company to order just a single ship; the possibility of a sister ship would have to wait for more favourable economic times. Following a favourable experience with some diesel-driven combi-ships, it was decided that the new flagship should be a motor vessel: four powerful Sulzer diesels, built at the famous Fabbrica Macchine Sant'Andrea of Trieste, were connected directly to the same number of propellers with the intention of giving the ship a service speed of 20 knots.
The Victoria (a name chosen after consideration had been given to Alessandrina and Cleopatra) was also one of the very first passenger ships in the World built to the new standards of Safety of Life At Sea (SOLAS 1929); in addition to a cellular double bottom which extended from the fore to the stern peak, she was divided into eleven watertight compartments with the engine room in the middle section and the forward and aft sections devoted to cargo. There was also a garage for cars accessible over a ramp connected to the quay. Despite being much smaller than the great transatlantic liners, the Victoria attracted international attention for several reasons: apart from her speed, she had a particularly graceful and streamlined appearance, her interiors were in the Modern style and the first class main lounge was fitted with air-conditioning: she was indeed the first passenger ship in the World to have this amenity thanks to a plant designed by the Carrier company of America and built in England.
For more information please visit www.italianliners.com/victoria-en
The ship was the property of Lloyd Triestino, originally founded as Österreichischer Lloyd, which is a shipping company with its head office in Trieste, Italy, and run by Evergreen Marine Corporation.
It was founded as "Österreichischer Lloyd" (or "Austrian Lloyd") in 1836 and became one of the world's biggest shipping companies by managing most oversea trade and passenger travel of Austria-Hungary until 1918. The Austrian Lloyd was running regular services from Trieste to the Near East, India, China and the Far East, Brazil, the USA and Northern Europe. It also was one of the first to use steam ships.
The company's name was changed to "Lloyd Triestino" in 1919, when Trieste became a part of Italy. At this time, the company also faced major restructuring in order to recover losses incurred during World War I. By the end of the 1930s, Lloyd Triestino, with its offshoot Marittima Italiana, was once again a major world shipping power, owning a fleet of 85 vessels with 17 services to east Africa, southern Africa, Asia, and Australia.[2] The company was once again crippled by the devastation of World War II in the 1940s. During the War, Lloyd Triestino lost 68 ships and 1,000 sailors. At the end, they were reduced to a fleet of just 5 ships and were once again faced with a massive recovery operation. By 1956, the Lloyd Triestino fleet had grown to 31 ships.
Lloyd Triestino entered into a partnership with Taiwanese shipping giant, Evergreen Marine, Corp., in 1993.[3] This successful partnership has grown over the years, and now also includes Evergreen's British based line, Hatsu Marine Ltd., which was created in 2000.
On March 1, 2006, Lloyd Triestino's name officially changed to Italia Marittima. Ship names are gradually being changed from the prefix "LT" to "Ital" to reflect this change (e.g. LT Cortesia and Ital Contessa).
For further information please visit en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italia_Marittima and www.italianliners.com/lloyd-triestino-en
This painting was just one of many fascinating exhibits at a special exhibition titled “Lloyd. Trieste and its Ships round the World" which we visited back in April this year. For more information please visit eng.lloydtrieste.it/
Trieste - On a Not So Slow Boat to China on the Lloyd Triestino's 'Victoria'
“The White Arrow”, “The Dove of the Orient”, “The Ship of Maharajahs”... these were some of the epithets which were given to the motorship Victoria of the Lloyd Triestino. At the end of the 'Twenties, the company's technical office was faced with a complex but obvious problem: the design of a new liner which would replace the two already obsolete vessels Helouan and Vienna, born before the First World War which, with the exception of those wartime years, had served with dignity on the express route between Italy and Alexandria in Egypt.
The higher speeds obtainable with the latest generation of propulsion machinery, the competition posed by the Società Italiana di Servizi Marittimi (SITMAR) of Genoa which was running its two most recent steamships, Esperia and Ausonia, on the same route, a worrying contraction in traffic and, finally, the restructuring of the Lloyd Triestino by Lloyd Sabaudo, persuaded the company to order just a single ship; the possibility of a sister ship would have to wait for more favourable economic times. Following a favourable experience with some diesel-driven combi-ships, it was decided that the new flagship should be a motor vessel: four powerful Sulzer diesels, built at the famous Fabbrica Macchine Sant'Andrea of Trieste, were connected directly to the same number of propellers with the intention of giving the ship a service speed of 20 knots.
The Victoria (a name chosen after consideration had been given to Alessandrina and Cleopatra) was also one of the very first passenger ships in the World built to the new standards of Safety of Life At Sea (SOLAS 1929); in addition to a cellular double bottom which extended from the fore to the stern peak, she was divided into eleven watertight compartments with the engine room in the middle section and the forward and aft sections devoted to cargo. There was also a garage for cars accessible over a ramp connected to the quay. Despite being much smaller than the great transatlantic liners, the Victoria attracted international attention for several reasons: apart from her speed, she had a particularly graceful and streamlined appearance, her interiors were in the Modern style and the first class main lounge was fitted with air-conditioning: she was indeed the first passenger ship in the World to have this amenity thanks to a plant designed by the Carrier company of America and built in England.
For more information please visit www.italianliners.com/victoria-en
The ship was the property of Lloyd Triestino, originally founded as Österreichischer Lloyd, which is a shipping company with its head office in Trieste, Italy, and run by Evergreen Marine Corporation.
It was founded as "Österreichischer Lloyd" (or "Austrian Lloyd") in 1836 and became one of the world's biggest shipping companies by managing most oversea trade and passenger travel of Austria-Hungary until 1918. The Austrian Lloyd was running regular services from Trieste to the Near East, India, China and the Far East, Brazil, the USA and Northern Europe. It also was one of the first to use steam ships.
The company's name was changed to "Lloyd Triestino" in 1919, when Trieste became a part of Italy. At this time, the company also faced major restructuring in order to recover losses incurred during World War I. By the end of the 1930s, Lloyd Triestino, with its offshoot Marittima Italiana, was once again a major world shipping power, owning a fleet of 85 vessels with 17 services to east Africa, southern Africa, Asia, and Australia.[2] The company was once again crippled by the devastation of World War II in the 1940s. During the War, Lloyd Triestino lost 68 ships and 1,000 sailors. At the end, they were reduced to a fleet of just 5 ships and were once again faced with a massive recovery operation. By 1956, the Lloyd Triestino fleet had grown to 31 ships.
Lloyd Triestino entered into a partnership with Taiwanese shipping giant, Evergreen Marine, Corp., in 1993.[3] This successful partnership has grown over the years, and now also includes Evergreen's British based line, Hatsu Marine Ltd., which was created in 2000.
On March 1, 2006, Lloyd Triestino's name officially changed to Italia Marittima. Ship names are gradually being changed from the prefix "LT" to "Ital" to reflect this change (e.g. LT Cortesia and Ital Contessa).
For further information please visit en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italia_Marittima and www.italianliners.com/lloyd-triestino-en
This painting was just one of many fascinating exhibits at a special exhibition titled “Lloyd. Trieste and its Ships round the World" which we visited back in April this year. For more information please visit eng.lloydtrieste.it/