1933 *S. S. SILVIA* BERMUDA & WEST INDIES (FURNESS BERMUDA LINE) U.K./NY. COVER For Sale

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1933 *S. S. SILVIA* BERMUDA & WEST INDIES (FURNESS BERMUDA LINE) U.K./NY. COVER:
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Furness Bermuda Linewas aUKshipping line that operated in the 20th century. It was part ofFurness, Withyand ran passenger liners betweenNew Yorkand theBritish Overseas TerritoryofBermudafrom 1919 to 1966.

The Quebec Steam Ship Company had served Bermuda since 1874.Canada Steamship Linestook over the company in 1913 and sold it in 1919 to Furness, Withy, who renamed it the Furness Bermuda Line. At first the route had only one ship,[1]the 5,530GRTBermudian,[2]which Sir James Laing & Sons had built in 1904 and which Furness, Withy renamedFort Hamilton.[3]

In 1921 Furness, Withy bought a pair of ships from theAdelaide Steamship Company: the 7,785GRTWandillaand 7,784GRTWillochra.[2]They werequadruple-expansionsteamships thatWilliam Beardmore and CompanyinGlasgowhad built in 1912[4]and 1913.[2]

Furness, Withy hadWillochrafitted out with berths for 400 first class passengers and renamed herFort St. George. It hadWandillamodified to carry 380 first class and 50 second class passengers, replaced her cargo holds with tanks to supply Bermuda with fresh water, and renamed herRMSFort Victoria.

At the same time Furness Withy invested in tourist development such as hotels on Bermuda.[1]

Furness, Withy had competition from theRoyal Mail Steam Packet Company, which had long served Bermuda. After the First World War enough tourists from North America wanted to sail to Bermuda for RMSP to employ prestigious \"A-series\" liners such as the 10,537GRTAraguaya, 11,073GRTAvonand 12,015GRTArcadianon the route. However, in 1926 RMSP withdrew its service between the USA, Bermuda and West Indies.[5]

Furness, Withy soldFort Hamilton[6]and ordered a 19,086GRTpassenger liner for the route. Normally it would take 27 months to build a ship of such size,[7]butWorkman, Clark and CompanyinBelfastcompleted themotor shipBermudain December 1927,[8]just 16 months after laying her keel. She had berths for 691 passengers, could sail between New York and Hamilton in about 40 hours,[9]and was an immediate success.[7]

TheGreat Depressionthat began in 1929 caused a worldwide slump in shipping. Most types of cargo and passenger traffic sharply declined. Many hundreds of ships were laid up, and thousands of officers and tens of thousands of seamen were laid off.[10]Most of Furness, Withy\'s cargo and passenger services were affected.

But bookings from the USA to Bermuda, many of them for one-week short holidays, remained buoyant.[11]Furness, Withy ordered a second large ship in order to offer two sailings each week: one on Saturday and the other midweek.[7]

However, before the new ship could be completed, Furness, Withy suffered two setbacks. In December 1929Fort Victoriawas sunk when the 5,946GRTAlgonquincollided with her in fog inAmbrose Channeloff New York.[2]Then in June 1931,Bermuda\'s passenger accommodation was gutted by fire inHamilton Harbour.Bermuda\'s hull and main engines survived, so she was returned to Workman, Clark to be repaired.[11]

But in the shipping slump, even modern passenger liners were laid up and readily available. Furness, Withy was able tocharterships includingCunard Line\'s 20,175GRTRMSFranconiaand theVeendam (II)ofHolland America Linevessel to maintain its Bermuda service.[11][12]

Monarch of Bermudawas launched in March 1931 and completed that November. At 22,424GRTwas larger and more luxurious thanBermuda, with berths for 830 first class and 30 second class of Bermudaat itsWalkershipyard.[13]She was aturbine steamer, and was Furness, Withy\'s first ship to haveturbo-electric transmission. She was swifter thanBermuda, easily exceeding 19 knots (35km/h) on hersea trials.[11]

In November 1931Bermuda\'s rebuild at Belfast was nearly complete when she suffered a second fire that caused more serious damage than the first.[7]Between them the two fires caused damage estimated to cost herunderwriters£1.25 million.[14]Workman, Clark bought the wreck[9]and Furness, Withy ordered a turbo-electricsister shipforMonarch of Bermuda.[11]

In the meantime Furness, Withy temporarily achieved its aim of a two-ship service by chartering moderncabin linersfromCanadian Pacific: the 20,021GRTDuchess of Yorkfor several trips in 1931 and 1932[15]and the 20,123GRTDuchess of Bedfordin the early months of 1933. The latter maintained the service alongsideMonarch of BermudauntilQueen of Bermudawas completed.[16]

Vickers-Armstrongs built the 22,575GRTQueen of Bermudaat itsBarrow-in-Furnessshipyard, launching her in September 1932 and completing her in February 1933.[17]

Queen of Bermudalooked likeMonarch of Bermudabut had slightly larger cabins and only 731 berths.[11]They were nicknamed the \"Millionaires\' Ships\".[18]

The pair competed with each other on speed. EventuallyQueen of Bermudatook the record with a passage from New York to Hamilton in 32 hours, 48 minutes, which meant that her speed averaged 20.33 knots (37.65km/h).[18]

In 1935 Furness, Withy soldFort St. GeorgetoLloyd Triestino, who renamed herCesarea.[2]In 1938, to meet the high demand of the Bermuda service, Furness chartedWhite Star Line\'sGeorgicto operate in tandem with theMonarch of BermudaandQueen of Bermuda.[19]

In theSecond World WarMonarch of Bermudawas converted into a troop ship and theAdmiraltyrequisitionedQueen of Bermudaas anarmed merchant cruiser.Queen of Bermudawas released from theRoyal Navyin 1943 and spent the next few years as a troop ship.[20]

Both ships survived the war, but for a while afterwards theMinistry of Transportcontinued to use both ships as military and government transports. Furness, Withy made do with two small ships on the route between New York and Bermuda.[21]

Eventually the UK Government releasedMonarch of Bermudaand Furness, Withy started having her converted back into a luxury liner to return to her former route. But in March 1947[22]while being refitted she was damaged by fire, so Furness Withy sold her to the UK Government.[1]The UK Government then releasedQueen of Bermuda. Her refit took 18 months, cost more than her original building and was not completed until February 1949.[22]

TheQueen of Bermudareturned to the New York to Bermuda service after the war. Furness, Withy wanted a second ship to replace theMonarch of Bermuda, and restore a twice-weekly scheduled service, eventually deciding on building a smaller new cruise ship. Vickers-Armstrongs completed the 13,834GRTOcean Monarchat Walker in 1951. In October 1961 theQueen of Bermudawas sent toHarland and WolffinBelfastfor a refit, to modernize the ship.The bow was reshaped, and all three iconic funnels were removed, replaced with one modern funnel was installed amidship.[19]This gave the ship the distinction of being the only ocean liner to have sailed with one, two and three funnels. She andQueen of Bermudacontinued to serve the island until late 1966, when Furness, Withy ceased its Bermuda service.[1]TheQueen of Bermudawould be sold for scrap, while theOcean Monarchwas she was laid up until 1967, when she was sold toNavigation Maritime Bulgareand renamedVarna.

• Built for Quebec Steam Ship Company as theBermudian
• Sold toCosulich Linein 1926

• Built as SSWandilla,Adelaide Steamship Company
• Sister ship to Fort Victoria

• Built as the SSWillochra,Adelaide Steamship Company
• Sister ship to Fort St. Clark and Company,Belfast,N. IrelandBurned, towed & wrecked/ partially scrapped 1933[25]
  • First Purpose built ship for the line
  Monarch of Newcastle upon Tyne,EnglandScrapped 1966
  • Caught fire at shipyard during postwar refit, sold toShaw, Savill & Albion Line
  Queen of Bermuda19331933–39, 1943–66Vickers-Armstrongs,Walker, Newcastle upon Tyne,EnglandScrapped 1966
  • sister ship toMonarch of Bermuda
  Fort Townshend19361939, 1945-1950Blythswood Shipbuilding, Glasgow,Scotland[26]Scrapped 1984
  • Built for Furness Withy Red Cross Line
  • sister ship toFort Amherst
  Fort Amherst19361945-1952Blythswood Shipbuilding, Glasgow,Scotland[27]Scrapped 1964
  • Built for Furness Withy Red Cross Line
  • sister ship toFort Townshend
  Ocean Newcastle upon Tyne,EnglandBurned, sank 1981
  • Last ship built for the line
  Furness Bermuda Tenders[edit]Ship NameYear CompletedYears in Service for whaler, Adty No 878.Smiths Dock Company,South Bank,UK[28]Scrapped 1958
  • Built as H.M.S.Arctic Whale, purchased by Furness in 1923 for service to St. George Hotel[29]
  • Sold to Bermuda Transportation Co, Hamilton
  Castle Harbour

• Purpose built for Furness Bermuda Line for service to St George Hotel & Mid Ocean Club, and later Castle Harbour Hotel

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