SS Orsova (1953)

SS Orsova, was a British ocean liner, built by Vickers Armstrong Shipbuilders Ltd. of Barrow-in-Furness, England for the Orient Steam Navigation Company (Orient Line) for their Great Britain-to-Australia services via the Suez Canal. She was the final development of the 28,000 ton class which began with the SS Orcades of 1948 and continued with the SS Oronsay of 1951. In 1960, in conjuction with the introduction of the new larger and faster Oriana and Canberra, the fleets of Orient (which was majority owned by P&O) and P&O were combined as P&O-Orient Lines, although the Orient ships retained their corn coloured hulls and sailed under their own house flag. In 1966, P&O acquired the balance of the Orient shares and the Orient Line was discontinued, with Orsova and her fleet mates being transferred to the ownership of the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O), painted white and under the P&O houseflag.

Description

She had a gross register tonnage of 28,790 GRT and a 30-foot (9.1 m) draft. Length: 220 metres (720 ft). Breadth: 28 metres (92 ft). Cruising speed: 22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph). Maximum speed: 26 knots (48 km/h; 30 mph). Propulsion: twin screw, double reduction turbine. Maiden voyage from Tilbury to Sydney: 17 March 1954. Orsova had no masts. Her funnel was capped with a distinctive 'Welsh bonnet' flue extension. She was built with an all-welded hull, the first passenger liner to be so constructed, and her bulkhead and wall linings were plastic-clad.

Orșova

Orșova (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈorʃova]; German: Orschowa, Hungarian: Orsova, Serbian: Оршава/Oršava, Bulgarian: Орсово, Polish: Orszawa, Czech: Oršava, Turkish: Adakale) is a port city on the Danube river in southwestern Romania's Mehedinți County. It is one of four localities in the county located in the Banat historical region. It is situated just above the Iron Gates, on the spot where the Cerna River meets the Danube.

Demographics

At the 2011 census, 95.2% of inhabitants were Romanians, 1.3% Czechs, 1% Roma, 0.9% Germans, 0.7% Serbs and 0.5% Hungarians.

History