SS Monterey

SS "Monterey" was a luxury ocean liner launched on 10 October 1931. The ship was completed April 1932 and is shown in registers as a 1932 ship. "Monterey" was the third of the four ships of the Matson Lines "White Fleet", which were designed by William Francis Gibbs and also included , and . "Monterey" was identical to "Mariposa" and very similar to "Lurline". During World War II "Monterey" was used as a troopship operated by Matson as agents of the War Shipping Administration (WSA). "Monterey" was a large, fast transport capable of sailing independently and was allocated to serving Army troop transport requirements. The ship was involved in an attack on a convoy near Cape Bougaroun.
Career with Matson Lines.
"Monterey" was built to promote travel to Hawaii and for Pacific Ocean liner service including regular stops in ports along the West Coast of the United States, Samoa, Fiji, New Zealand and Australia. On 12 May 1932 she took 83 passengers from New York City to the West Coast on a positioning cruise. Her maiden voyage officially began 3 June 1932 in San Francisco, California after which she made stops in Los Angeles, Honolulu, Auckland, Pago Pago, Suva, Sydney and Melbourne. She scored a public relations triumph when she carried much-appreciated supplies to the "Bear of Oakland" on Byrd's second expedition to the South Pole.
War service.
In World War II "Monterey" served as a fast troop carrier, often operating alone so she would not be slowed by formation navigation in a convoy. The United States Maritime Commission chartered her in 1941 before the US declaration of war to carry 150 Chinese, Korean and Japanese missionaries and stranded US citizens back to San Francisco. Once home, she was quickly refitted to hold 3,500 soldiers. The ship was delivered to WSA by Oceanic Steamship Company, a Matson entity, 3 December 1941 at San Francisco. On 16 December 1941 she steamed to Hawaii with 3,349 fresh troops, returning with 800 casualties of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Post-war name changes.
On 26 September 1946 the "Monterey" arrived at Bethlehem-Alameda Shipyard in Alameda, California for refitting and return to passenger service with Matson. Money ran out on the project after 30% of the work had been completed. For five years she sat idle in Alameda, then was purchased by the US Government in August 1952. She was towed to the mothball fleet in nearby Suisun Bay.
"Monterey" to "Matsonia".
Meanwhile, Matson was enjoying fair post-war success with "Lurline" and was looking to expand their passenger operation once more. Matson had a C4 "Mariner" class vessel undergoing conversion to a cruise ship for the Oceania and Australasia region; this ship was originally named "Free State Mariner" but Matson had renamed her "Monterey". Matson bought the old mothballed SS "Monterey" back from the US Government on 3 February 1956 and had to come up with a new name for her: she was rechristened SS "Matsonia", replacing their earlier "Matsonia" which had been sold to Home Lines in 1954 and subsequently renamed. The new "Matsonia" (ex-"Monterey") first sailed from New York to San Francisco on 22 May 1957 to team up with her sister "Lurline" on the San Francisco – Los Angeles – Honolulu run.
"Matsonia" to "Lurline".
Within five years, profits from passenger service had fallen to the point where Matson decided to anchor "Matsonia" indefinitely in San Francisco Bay. Sister ship "Lurline" continued to operate but suffered a major turbine problem in February 1963; one that would require costly repairs. Instead of repairing "Lurline", Matson sold the well-loved ship to Chandris Lines to be rechristened "Ellinis". Stung by poor public opinion regarding the maneuver, Matson rechristened the former "Matsonia" (ex-"Monterey") as the new "Lurline" on 6 December 1963 and returned her to service.
"Lurline" to "Britanis".
By 1970, passenger receipts were down so low that Matson chose to cease passenger liner service altogether. On 25 June 1970, "Lurline" arrived in San Francisco to be sold to Chandris Lines. Five days later she steamed under new ownership out of the Golden Gate toward Piraeus with the new name "Britanis" with radio callsign SZWE (later HPEN).
Service with Chandris Lines.
At Piraeus, "Britanis" was greatly modified to hold 1,655 passengers, mainly by subdividing existing cabins and converting cargo holds to new cabin areas. She re-entered service on 21 February 1971 under the Chandris 'Fantasy Cruises' division, leaving Southampton bound for Sydney and back; a regular round-trip she would make for three years. In 1974 she saw service as a cruise ship in the Caribbean during winter and Europe during the summer. In May 1982 "Britanis" cruised between New York and Bermuda with a smaller capacity of 1,200 passengers.
In winter 1983–1984, "Britanis" sailed from Miami to the Caribbean, then sailed from New York in the summer. A major overhaul in 1986 included parts from her sister "Ellinis" (ex-"Lurline"), some of which went to "Ellinis" from "Homeric" (ex-"Mariposa") when "Homeric" was scrapped in 1974. At this point, parts from three sister ships were now bound together in "Britanis". The refit gave "Britanis" eight years of Caribbean cruising until 19 November 1994.
US Government charter.
"Britanis" was chartered by the US Government in 1994 as a floating barracks for military personnel at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. She suffered minor damage from an electrical fire, was repaired at US Government expense, then laid up at Tampa, Florida in late 1996.
Final years.
Chandris opted to sell "Britanis" as part of a plan to cease cruise line operations for Fantasy Cruises and further invest in their newer Celebrity Cruises brand. The ship was maintained in anchorage until 24 January 1998 when she was sold to AG Belofin Investments of Liechtenstein and renamed "Belofin-1".
On June 9, 1999 the SF Chronicle reported that the ship may be turned into a hotel at the San Francisco bay. See picture for details and entire news text. Note, pictures appear in the upper right of the wikipedia section.
Her new owners intended to recoup their investment by selling the ship to scrappers, but a downturn in steel prices held them up for more than a year. On 3 July 2000, "Belofin-1" was towed by the Ukrainian tug "Iribis" out of Tampa Bay with the former CN Marine ferry MV "Bluenose" lashed to her port side. The ships were bound for ship breakers in India, but "Bluenose" ended up going to Mexico. "Belofin-1" apparently began taking on water and listing during the voyage but nobody was on board to correct the list. The tugboat crew cut her free and "Belofin-1" capsized and sank due to progressive flooding, some south of Cape Town, South Africa on 21 October 2000.