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Ivernia
Ivernia - Franconia - Fedor Shalyapin
This page is devoted to postcards and photographs of the
Cunard
liner
Ivernia
. She was the second of four sisterships built by Cunard between 1954-57:-
Saxonia
-
Ivernia
-
Carinthia
-
Sylvania
Ivernia
was built in 1954 by John Brown & Co, Clydebank. She was the second four ships primarily intended for the Canadian service, and their dimensions were determined by the St Lawrence Seaway. During the summer they would sail to Quebec and Montreal, and in the winter (when the St Lawrence Seaway is iced over) to Halifax and New York. Construction of
Ivernia
started in 1954, and she commenced her maiden voyage from Greenock to Quebec and Montreal on 1st July 1955. She was 21717 gross tons, and 608 feet in length. She carried 110 first class passengers and 833 tourist class. Her decor was contemporary for the time, and most unlike the traditional interiors of earlier Cunarders. Many regular passengers were not impressed, and the last two sisters,
Carinthia
and
Sylvania
, reverted to a more traditional style. From April 1957,
Ivernia
sailed from Southampton to Montreal, rather than from Liverpool. Many of her sailings then included Rotterdam, to tap the European market, whilst her sister
Saxonia
often called at Le Havre.
The late 1950s were boom years for Cunard, and
Ivernia
was initially very successful on her designed routes. However, air was becoming increasingly the dominant mode of trans-Atlantic travel, and Cunard announced a significant financial loss in June 1962. It was announced that
Saxonia
and
Ivernia
would be rebuilt at John Browns to make them more suitable for cruising.
Ivernia
had completed 109 round voyages across the Atlantic when she was sent back to her builders in October 1962, reappearing as the
Franconia
in Cunard's cruising green livery. The interiors had been refitted, and a new lido had been built on the aft decks, replacing the aft cargo hatches. passenger capacity had been reduced to 119 first and 728 tourist class, and air conditioning had been installed throughout. Despite the cruising modifications,
Franconia
re-entered service on the North Atlantic run in July 1963. She ran successfully through the summer and switched to her planned cruising itinerary from New York in the winter, returning to the trans-Atlantic routes in April 1964. Other ships in the Cunard fleet, including the
Queens
, were being sent on experimental cruises from this time. The later sisters,
Carinthia
and
Sylvania
, had continued on year-round trans-Atlantic service. Passenger numbers were dropping, particularly in winter, and
Sylvania
was sent on a cruise from Liverpool in February 1965, despite not being suited to such work.
Carinthia
followed suit on her first winter cruise in January 1966. May 1966 saw the national Seaman's strike in the UK. All four sisters were affected, being held at Southampton or Liverpool. Services were resumed in July, but the strike had a devastating effect on Cunard's finances. On 8th May 1967, Sir Basil Smallpiece (Cunard's chairman) announced the withdrawal of all Cunard liners apart from
Carmania
,
Franconia
, and the new
Queen Elizabeth 2
.
Franconia
was used purely for cruising from 1967, and took over the weekly New York to Bermuda run when Furness-Withy withdrew, taking 28 cruises through the summer, with only one diversion to cruise to Canada.
In 1970, Cunard took a 50% interest in Overseas National Airways, which had two cruise ships on order to operate on fly-cruises, forming the company Cunard-ONA. Shortly after this, ONA were forced to withdraw from the arrangement, leaving Cunard to continue alone. The ships were delivered as
Cunard Adventurer
and
Cunard Ambassador
. In 1971, Cunard was taken over by Trafalgar House. They looked at upgrading the
Carmania
and
Franconia
, but decided it would be too expensive, and the ships were withdrawn and offered for sale, to be replaced by the new
Cunard Adventurer
and
Cunard Ambassador
.
Franconia
left on her last Bermuda cruise on 2nd October 1971, whilst
Carmania's
last cruise left Naples for Southampton on 24th October, arriving on the 31st, the last day of the four sisters in Cunard service.
Carmania
and
Franconia
remained at Southampton for seven months, when they were moved to the River Fal, where they joined the
Southern Cross
which had been withdrawn shortly after them. At one point is was hoped to sell them to Ted Arison for his fledgling Carnival Cruises, but agreement could not be reached.
Carmania
and
Franconia
eventually began new careers under the hammer and sickle as the
Leonid Sobinov
and
Fedor Shalyapin
. The sisters received very little interior changes before beginning a varied career as Soviet cruise ships, travelling all over the world. Following the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1989, the sisters became owned by the Ukraine, although nominally belonging to Maltese holding companies. Their condition deteriorated over the next few years and they were both laid up in the Black Sea in 1995.
Leonid Sobinov
was broken up in 1999, although her sister remained laid up for some time longer.
Ship Names on this Page:-
Ivernia
- Cunard Line: 1955-62
Franconia
- Cunard Line: 1963-73
Fedor Shalyapin
- Black Sea Shipping: 1973-1999
Cunard Line Pages:-
Cunard - Header Page
Cunard - Page 1
- Ocean Liners 1838-1899
Cunard - Page 2
- Ocean Liners 1900-1914
Cunard - Page 3
- Ocean Liners 1915-1939
Cunard - Page 4
- Ocean Liners 1940-1970
Cunard - Page 5
- Cruise Ships 1971-
Associated Pages:-
Soviet Passenger Ships
- Header Page
Soviet Page 3: Purchased Ships
- Vessels purchased by the Soviet Bloc after 1948
Ferry Postcards
Cruise Ship Postcards
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References:-
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Ivernia
(Cunard Line: 1954-68)
21900 tons, 608ft long, 860 passengers
Cunard Line official card of
Ivernia
.
Photo Precision postcard S20613 of
Ivernia
.
Judges postcard 28302 of
Ivernia
.
Franconia
(Cunard Line: 1954-68)
A Cunard Line official card of
Franconia
(ex-
Ivernia
).
This card was also issued as
Carmania
(ex-
Saxonia
).
A Cunard Line official letter card of
Franconia
(ex-
Ivernia
).
A J.Arthur Dixon official card (no serial number) of
Franconia
(ex-
Ivernia
), with later white hull.
A less common J.Arthur Dixon official card (no serial number) of
Franconia
(ex-
Ivernia
), with later white hull.
This is a traditional-sized card, smaller than the usual continental size used by Dixon.
A CT Publishing card of
Franconia
(ex-
Ivernia
), with later white hull.
Franconia
and
Carmania
laid up in the River Fal, with
Southern Cross
.
Fedor Shalyapin
(Black Sea Shipping: 1973-1999)
CTC postcard of
Fedor Shalyapin
.
Click to open larger image in new window
Black Sea Shipping Co official postcard of
Fedor Shalyapin
.
Japanese postcard of
Fedor Shalyapin
.
Click to open larger image in new window
Simplon Postcards release sc2002 of
Fedor Shalyapin
.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, Southampton, 1984.
CT Publishing postcards 050 of
Fedor Shalyapin
.
Photo: © Bert Pellegrom, North Sea Canal, June 23rd 1994.
Photograph of
Fedor Shalyapin
in the North Sea Canal.
Photo: © Wil Moojen, 23rd June 1994.
Photograph of
Fedor Shalyapin
in the North Sea Canal.
Photo: © Wil Moojen, 23rd June 1994.
Photograph of
Fedor Shalyapin
in the North Sea Canal.
Photo: © Wil Moojen, 23rd July 1994.
Photograph of
Fedor Shalyapin
in the North Sea Canal.
Photo: © Wil Moojen, 23rd July 1994.
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