Italian Line Explained

Italian Line
Foundation:1932
Location:Genoa, Italy
Defunct:2002

Italian Line and from 1992 Italia Line, whose official name was Italia di Navigazione S.p.A., was a passenger shipping line that operated regular transatlantic services between Italy and the United States, and Italy and South America. During the late 1960s the company turned to running cruises, and from 1981 it became a global freight operator.

History

The company was founded in 1932 through a merger of the Genoa-based Navigazione Generale Italiana (NGI), the Turin-based Lloyd Sabaudo, and the Trieste-based Cosulich STN lines, encouraged by the Italian government. The new company acquired the Cosulich-owned ships and, the Lloyd Sabaudo-owned, and and the NGI-owned,, and . The same year two previously ordered ocean liners were delivered to the company:, that won the Blue Riband in 1933, and .

In World War II the company lost many ships, including Rex and Conte di Savoia. Others were captured by the United States and converted into troopships; four of them survived the war: Conte Biancamano, Conte Grande, Saturnia, and Vulcania.

Commercial service was resumed in 1947 under the company's new name Società di navigazione Italia. In addition to the four vessels returned to the company by the United States, two new vessels, and were commissioned in 1953 and 1954. In 1956, Andrea Doria, the company's three-year-old flagship collided with the Swedish ship Stockholm near Nantucket and sank, with passenger deaths estimated at 46 or 55. The company replaced Andrea Doria with, which went into service in 1960. This ship was based on the same design as Andrea Doria, but was larger, and featured technical innovations.

In the late 1950s aircraft passenger travel had yet to have a noticeable effect on ocean-going passenger numbers between the United States and the Mediterranean. The Italian Line, therefore, ordered two new ships: and . Building the ships took longer than expected, and they were not delivered until 1965. Being late into service, they were unable to compete profitably on the North Atlantic route. Although planned for cruising as an alternative, the ships had several design flaws that made their use as cruise ships problematic.

Despite huge financial loss, the Italian Line operated the transatlantic route until 1976, after which the Leonardo da Vinci was withdrawn from service; the Michelangelo and Raffaello had been sold the previous year. The Cristoforo Colombo was also withdrawn from service at this time. The Leonardo da Vinci became a cruise ship in 1977–78, after which it was withdrawn due to high fuel costs. In 1979 and 1980 the company operated two ex-Lloyd Triestino liners, and, as cruise ships, but this again proved unprofitable.

Because of the unprofitability of the cruise business, the Italian Line turned to freight shipping. It operated its principal container services between the Mediterranean, the west coast of North America, and Central and South America, carrying about of freight in 2001.

Previously owned by the Italian government, the company was privatized in 1998 when sold to d'Amico Società di Navigazione. In August 2002, it was acquired by CP Ships, and in 2005 the Italian Line name ceased to exist following CP's one-brand strategy. CP Ships itself was bought-out in late 2005 by TUI AG, and merged with Hapag-Lloyd in mid-2006.

International identifiers

SCAC Code

ITAU
BIC Code (Container prefixes): ITAU

Ships

Passenger ships

ImageBuiltNameTonnage[1] ShipyardOperatedNotes
1908align=center 08,312 GRT8,312 GRTRussell & Co., Scotland1932–1934Former Cosulich Line ship; scrapped 1934
1917align=Center 12,003 GRTPalmer S&E Co Ltd, Jarrow on Tyne1932–1941Refurbished in passenger vessel by Cantieri Baia Napoli. Scuttled at Massaua, 3 April 1941
1922align=Center 21,848 GRTSwan Hunter & Wigham Richardson, Ltd, UK1932–1937transferred to Lloyd Triestino
1923align=Center 18,765 GRTWilliam Beardmore & Co., Scotland1932–1940
1923align=Center 24,281 GRTAnsaldo Shipyards, Italy1932–1937transferred to Lloyd Triestino, scrapped 1948
1925align=Center 24,416 GRTWilliam Beardmore & Co., Scotland1932–1940
1947–1960
1926align=Center 32,583 GRTAnsaldo Shipyards, Italy1932–1939
1926align=Center 23,970 GRTCantiere Navale Triestino, Italy1932–1940
1947–1965		sold to Siosa Lines
1927align=Center 23,940 GRTCantiere Navale Triestino, Italy1932–1940
1946–1965		scrapped 1965
1927align=Center 25,661 GRTStabilimento Tecnico Triestino, Italy1932–1940
1947–1961		scrapped in 1961
1927align=Center 18,017 GRTWilliam Beardmore & Co., Scotland1932–1940torpedoed and sunk by, 24 May 1941
1928align=Center 32,650 GRTAnsaldo Shipyards, Italy1932–1939largest diesel-engined liner of her time
1932align=Center 48,502 GRTCantieri Riuniti dell' Adriatico, Italy1932–1940scuttled in Venice by retreating German forces, 11 September 1943. Raised 1945 and scrapped.
1932align=Center 51,062 GRTAnsaldo Shipyards, Italy1932–1940bombed and sunk off Trieste by RAF and SAAF bombers, 8 September 1944
1932align=Center 19,475 GRTCantieri Riuniti dell' Adriatico, Italy 1937–1940torpedoed and sunk by, 18 September 1941
1932align=Center 19,507 GRTCantieri Riuniti dell' Adriatico, Italy1937–1940torpedoed and sunk by, 18 September 1941
1951align=Center 27,078 GRTCantieri Riuniti dell' Adriatico, Italy1951–1973scrapped 1973
1951align=Center 27,090 GRTCantieri Riuniti dell' Adriatico, Italy1952–1976scrapped 2012
1951align=Center 29,083 GRTAnsaldo Shipyards, Italy1953–1956capsized and sank on 25 July 1956 after colliding with
1953align=Center 29,191 GRTAnsaldo Shipyards, Italy1954–1977scrapped 1982 in Kaohsiung, Taiwan
1960align=Center 33,340 GRTAnsaldo Shipyards, Italy1960–1980burned and capsized 4 July 1980, raised and scrapped 1982
1951align=Center 13,225 GRTCantieri Riuniti dell' Adriatico - San Marco Trieste, Italy1963scrapped 1977
1951align=Center 13,226 GRTCantieri Riuniti dell' Adriatico - San Marco Trieste, Italy1963scrapped 1977
1951align=Center 13,226 GRTCantieri Riuniti dell' Adriatico - San Marco Trieste, Italy1963scrapped 1977
1963align=Center 27,905 GRTCantieri Riuniti dell' Adriatico, Italy1975–1981scrapped 2002
1963align=Center 27,888 GRTCantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico, Monfalcone, Italy1979-1983Caught fire and sank on 21 May 1999
1965align=Center 45,911 GRTAnsaldo Shipyards, Italy1965–1975scrapped 1991
1965align=Center 45,933 GRTCantieri Riuniti dell' Adriatico, Italy1965–1975sunk 1983

Container ships

Built Name Tonnage Capacity Shipyard IMO number Call sign Flag Status/Comments
1985Aquitaniaalign=Center 17702 GTalign=Center Stocznia Szczecinska S.A., Polandalign=Center 8300975align=Center HPUEalign=Center Panama1991 chartered, 1993 purchased from Cyprus
1989Cristoforo Colomboalign=Center 32630 GTalign=Center Fincantieri-Cantieri Navali Italiani S.p.A., Italyalign=Center 8618449align=Center ICYSalign=Center Italy2002 to d'Amico shipping Italia
1989Amerigo Vespuccialign=Center 32630 GTalign=Center Fincantieri-Cantieri Navali Italiani S.p.A., Italyalign=Center 8618451align=Center ICBAalign=Center Italy2002 to d'Amico shipping Italia
1991S. Cabotoalign=Center 15783 GTalign=Center Fincantieri-Cantieri Navali Italiani S.p.A., Italyalign=Center 8618413align=Center ICMSalign=Center Italy2002 to d'Amico shipping Italia
1992Californiaalign=Center 17123 GTalign=Center Naikai Zosen Corp., Japanalign=Center 8901743align=Center ICFCalign=Center Italy2002 to d'Amico shipping Italia
1994Cielo del Cilealign=Center 15778 GTalign=Center Thyssen Nordseewerke GmbH, Germanyalign=Center 9046253align=Center ELVB3 align=Center Liberia2002 to d'Amico shipping Italia
1997Dollart Traderalign=Center 16165 GTalign=Center MTW Schiffswerft GmbH, Germanyalign=Center 9162356align=Center V2OD5 align=Center Antigua & Barbuda2002 to d'Amico shipping Italia
1998Cielo di San Franciscoalign=Center 25359 GTalign=Center Volkswerft Stralsund GmbH, Germanyalign=Center 9153408align=Center DGZO align=Center Germany2002 to d'Amico shipping Italia
1998Cielo del Canadaalign=Center 25361 GTalign=Center Meeres-Technik-Wismar, Germanyalign=Center 9138290align=Center V2PE2 align=Center Antigua & Barbuda2002 to d'Amico shipping Italia
2000Cielo del Caribealign=Center 13066 GTalign=Center Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft MbH & Co. KG, Germanyalign=Center 9202053align=Center ELXN2 align=Center Liberia2002 to d'Amico shipping Italia
2002Cielo d'Americaalign=Center 25580 GTalign=Center Thyssen Nordseewerke GmbH, Germanyalign=Center 9239733align=Center ICCV align=Center Italy2002 to d'Amico shipping Italia
2002Cielo d'Europaalign=Center 25535 GTalign=Center Thyssen Nordseewerke GmbH, Germanyalign=Center 9236664align=Center ICCP align=Center Italy2002 to d'Amico shipping Italia

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. GRT is gross register tonnage

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