Chandris Group
Encyclopedia
Chandris Line was a Greece
-based shipping company founded in 1960 by Anthony Chandris to operate ocean liner
s between Greece and Australia
. Initially the company also traded under the names Greek Australian Line, National Greek Australian Line and Europe-Australia Line. Following a period of expansion, in 1974 Chandris Line merged with Chandris Cruises—a separate company founded in 1960 by Anthony Chandris' brother Dimitri Chandris to operate cruises in the Mediterranean—to form Chandris Line Chandris Cruises. After 1977 the company concentrated solely on cruising and was rebranded Chandris Cruises. In 1985 Chandris Cruises acquired Fantasy Cruises, and subsequently their North American operations were rebranded as Chandris Fantasy Cruises. The company ceased trading in 1996. All of the company's ships had a chi
, a letter of the Greek alphabet
, on their funnels. The chi also acted as a logo for them and their subsidiary Celebrity Cruises
.
, decided to establish a new passenger shipping company to carry migrant
s from Europe to Australia. Together with his brother Dimitri Chandris, Anthony Chandris had previously been involved in Charlton Steam Shipping Company's failed migrant service in the 1940s, but now wanted to attempt entering the migrant trade again. In October 1959 Anthony Chandris purchased from Union-Castle Line
for £1.5 million as the first ship of the new Chandris Line. Following delivery to Chandris Line on 19 November 1959 the Bloemfontein Castle was renamed Patris and rebuilt with increased passenger capacity for migrant service. Anthony Chandris made two contracts to increase the profitability of the ship: with the Intergovermental Committee on European Migration
to carry assisted migrants from Europe to Australia; and with the Greek Government to carry mail from Greece to Australia. As a result the Patris gained the right to use the Royal Hellenic Mail Ship (RHMS) ship prefix
, therefore becoming known as . Following rebuilding the Patris first departed Pireus on 14 December 1959, arriving in Fremantle
, Australia on 2 January 1960 and her final Australian destination, Sydney
on 9 January 1959. Initially the Patris operator was marketed as Greek-Australian Line, later National Greek-Australian Line.
The Patris proved highly popular on the Greece—Australia service, and in 1960 Chandris Line began looking for a second ship. In November 1960 Chandris Line chartered the from Societe Generale de Transports Maritimes. During the northern hemisphere
summer seasons of 1961 and 1962 the ship was chartered to Caribbean Cruise Line for cruises out of New York City
, spending the rest of the year in liner service between the United Kingdom
and Australia. In April 1962 the Bretagne was renamed , but she was destroyed by a fire while in drydock in April 1963. The Brittanys UK-Australia version was marketed as Europe-Australia Line.
In September 1963 Chandris Line acquired the Matson Line ship as a replacement for the Brittany. Renamed , the ship entered service with Chandris Line on the United Kingdom—Mediterranean—Australia -route in December 1963. A second United States
-built liner joined the Chandris Line fleet in November 1964 when was purchased from the United States Lines
. Following rebuilding she entered service with Chandris Line in August 1965 as , joining Ellinis on the UK-Australia service. The Australis particularly proved to be an extremely popular ship on the run from United Kingdom to Australia, usually operating at full capacity. Chandris Line expanded further in 1965 when they acquired National Hellenic American Line and their sole ship, , from Home Lines
. Although the Queen Frederica was a relatively old ship, Anthony Chandris considered her to be well suited for the North America
n cruise market. During the summer months she was used for cruising out of New York, while during the winters she was used in Pireus—New York and Pireus—Australia liner services. For some time the Queen Frederica was marketed as a Chandris Lines/National Hellenic American Line ship. The Queen Fredericas cruise service from New York proved short, as new legislation came in effect in the US at the end of 1967, aimed at improving safety standards on cruise ships. Bringing the Queen Frederica in-line with the new requirements would have been extremely costly, and as a result she was withdrawn from the North American cruise service in September 1967. As a replacement Chandris Line acquired the former Union-Castle liner , which was renamed and entered cruise service for Chandris Line in August 1968.
In 1970 Matson Line offered another of their ships—the second 1932-built Lurline, originally named Matsonia and a sister ship to the Ellinis—for sale in 1970, Chandris Line were quick to purchase the ship. Given a large-scale refit in which particular attention was given to dual usage of the ship in both liner and cruise services, the former Lurline emerged in February 1971 as , joining Ellinis and Australis on the UK—Australia liner service.
Patris, which had served without interruption on the Greece—Australia service from 1959, was assigned to a new service in 1972 due to declining passenger numbers, offering a much-shortedned liner service from Singapore
to Australia, alongside occasional cruises from Australian ports. A similar fate befell Ellinis in 1973, when she was taken off the declining UK-Australia liner service and reassigned for cruising on European waters.
had been almost completely destroyed in a storm, and Patris found employment as a temporary accommodation ship for the residents of the destroyed city. This occupation lasted for only a year, after which a radically new use was found for the ship: she was converted into a ro-ro car/passenger ferry and used on services linking Ancona
in Italy to Patras and Pireus in Greece. In 1979 Patris was sold to Karageorgis Lines who retained her in the same service.
The Chandris liner service to Australia was closed down in late 1977 when Australis arrived in Australia as the last ship carrying government-sponsored migrant. From there on all migrant transport was handled by airplanes.
Ellinis was taken out of service in 1980 and laid up at Perama Bay. She remained laid up for several years, being used as a source of spare parts for her sister ship Britanis. In 1988 Chandris founded a subsidiary, Celebrity Cruises
, transferring the ex Italian liner Galileo to this new line. Celebrity prospered, with four newbuilt cruise ships entering service for them during the remaining Chandris years. Soon the popularity of Chandris grew tremendously low, with more focused needed on Celebrity, so it was decided to dissolve all other assets. After almost 37 years, Chandris Lines begin to stop all operations in 1996, this plan ending with the phasing out of their Fantasy Cruises branch and layup of the Britanis in 1998. To this date only one Chandris ship, the cruise ferry The Azur, has not been scrapped.
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
-based shipping company founded in 1960 by Anthony Chandris to operate ocean liner
Ocean liner
An ocean liner is a ship designed to transport people from one seaport to another along regular long-distance maritime routes according to a schedule. Liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes .Cargo vessels running to a schedule are sometimes referred to as...
s between Greece and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Initially the company also traded under the names Greek Australian Line, National Greek Australian Line and Europe-Australia Line. Following a period of expansion, in 1974 Chandris Line merged with Chandris Cruises—a separate company founded in 1960 by Anthony Chandris' brother Dimitri Chandris to operate cruises in the Mediterranean—to form Chandris Line Chandris Cruises. After 1977 the company concentrated solely on cruising and was rebranded Chandris Cruises. In 1985 Chandris Cruises acquired Fantasy Cruises, and subsequently their North American operations were rebranded as Chandris Fantasy Cruises. The company ceased trading in 1996. All of the company's ships had a chi
Chi (letter)
Chi is the 22nd letter of the Greek alphabet, pronounced as in English.-Greek:-Ancient Greek:Its value in Ancient Greek was an aspirated velar stop .-Koine Greek:...
, a letter of the Greek alphabet
Greek alphabet
The Greek alphabet is the script that has been used to write the Greek language since at least 730 BC . The alphabet in its classical and modern form consists of 24 letters ordered in sequence from alpha to omega...
, on their funnels. The chi also acted as a logo for them and their subsidiary Celebrity Cruises
Celebrity Cruises
Celebrity Cruises is a cruise line founded in 1988 by the Greek Chandris Group. In 1997, Celebrity Cruises Ltd. merged with Royal Caribbean International to become Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., which operates Celebrity, Royal Caribbean International, Azamara Club Cruises, Pullmantur Cruises and CDF...
.
Chandris Line
In 1959 Anthony Chandris, son of the Greek freight shipping company owner John D. ChandrisJohn D. Chandris
John D. Chandris was a Greek shipping magnate.Chandris was born in Chios, then part of the Ottoman Empire. In 1915, after years of experience in the shipping industry, he bought his first ship, the S/S Dimitrios. By World War I, Chandris' fleet was made up of four ships, including steamships...
, decided to establish a new passenger shipping company to carry migrant
Migrant
Migrant may refer to:*Immigration and emigration, the migration of humans*Bird migration*Migrant worker*Migrant literature...
s from Europe to Australia. Together with his brother Dimitri Chandris, Anthony Chandris had previously been involved in Charlton Steam Shipping Company's failed migrant service in the 1940s, but now wanted to attempt entering the migrant trade again. In October 1959 Anthony Chandris purchased from Union-Castle Line
Union-Castle Line
The Union-Castle Line was a prominent British shipping line that operated a fleet of passenger liners and cargo ships between Europe and Africa from 1900 to 1977. It was formed from the merger of the Union Line and Castle Shipping Line...
for £1.5 million as the first ship of the new Chandris Line. Following delivery to Chandris Line on 19 November 1959 the Bloemfontein Castle was renamed Patris and rebuilt with increased passenger capacity for migrant service. Anthony Chandris made two contracts to increase the profitability of the ship: with the Intergovermental Committee on European Migration
International Organization for Migration
The International Organization for Migration is an intergovernmental organization. It was initially established in 1951 as the Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration to help resettle people displaced by World War II....
to carry assisted migrants from Europe to Australia; and with the Greek Government to carry mail from Greece to Australia. As a result the Patris gained the right to use the Royal Hellenic Mail Ship (RHMS) ship prefix
Ship prefix
A ship prefix is a combination of letters, usually abbreviations, used in front of the name of a civilian or naval ship.Prefixes for civilian vessels may either identify the type of propulsion, such as "SS" for steamship, or purpose, such as "RV" for research vessel. Civilian prefixes are often...
, therefore becoming known as . Following rebuilding the Patris first departed Pireus on 14 December 1959, arriving in Fremantle
Fremantle
Freemantle is a suburb of Southampton in England.Fremantle or Freemantle may also refer to:- Places :* Fremantle, the port city to the capital Perth, Western Australia...
, Australia on 2 January 1960 and her final Australian destination, Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
on 9 January 1959. Initially the Patris operator was marketed as Greek-Australian Line, later National Greek-Australian Line.
Northern Hemisphere
The Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is north of its equator—the word hemisphere literally means “half sphere”. It is also that half of the celestial sphere north of the celestial equator...
summer seasons of 1961 and 1962 the ship was chartered to Caribbean Cruise Line for cruises out of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, spending the rest of the year in liner service between the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Australia. In April 1962 the Bretagne was renamed , but she was destroyed by a fire while in drydock in April 1963. The Brittanys UK-Australia version was marketed as Europe-Australia Line.
In September 1963 Chandris Line acquired the Matson Line ship as a replacement for the Brittany. Renamed , the ship entered service with Chandris Line on the United Kingdom—Mediterranean—Australia -route in December 1963. A second United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
-built liner joined the Chandris Line fleet in November 1964 when was purchased from the United States Lines
United States Lines
United States Lines was a transatlantic shipping company that operated cargo services from 1921 to 1989, and ocean liners until 1969—most famously the SS United States.-1920s:...
. Following rebuilding she entered service with Chandris Line in August 1965 as , joining Ellinis on the UK-Australia service. The Australis particularly proved to be an extremely popular ship on the run from United Kingdom to Australia, usually operating at full capacity. Chandris Line expanded further in 1965 when they acquired National Hellenic American Line and their sole ship, , from Home Lines
Home Lines
Home Lines was an Italian passenger shipping company that operated both ocean liners and cruise ships. The company was founded in 1946, and it ceased operations in 1988 when merged into Holland America Line. Although based in Genoa, Homes Lines was an international company with ships registered in...
. Although the Queen Frederica was a relatively old ship, Anthony Chandris considered her to be well suited for the North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n cruise market. During the summer months she was used for cruising out of New York, while during the winters she was used in Pireus—New York and Pireus—Australia liner services. For some time the Queen Frederica was marketed as a Chandris Lines/National Hellenic American Line ship. The Queen Fredericas cruise service from New York proved short, as new legislation came in effect in the US at the end of 1967, aimed at improving safety standards on cruise ships. Bringing the Queen Frederica in-line with the new requirements would have been extremely costly, and as a result she was withdrawn from the North American cruise service in September 1967. As a replacement Chandris Line acquired the former Union-Castle liner , which was renamed and entered cruise service for Chandris Line in August 1968.
In 1970 Matson Line offered another of their ships—the second 1932-built Lurline, originally named Matsonia and a sister ship to the Ellinis—for sale in 1970, Chandris Line were quick to purchase the ship. Given a large-scale refit in which particular attention was given to dual usage of the ship in both liner and cruise services, the former Lurline emerged in February 1971 as , joining Ellinis and Australis on the UK—Australia liner service.
Patris, which had served without interruption on the Greece—Australia service from 1959, was assigned to a new service in 1972 due to declining passenger numbers, offering a much-shortedned liner service from Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
to Australia, alongside occasional cruises from Australian ports. A similar fate befell Ellinis in 1973, when she was taken off the declining UK-Australia liner service and reassigned for cruising on European waters.
1974—1996: Chandris Cruises
With the amount of liner passengers between Europe and Australia dwindling, the Britanis was taken off liner service and rerouted to full-time cruising in 1975. During the same year the north Australian city of DarwinDarwin, Northern Territory
Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...
had been almost completely destroyed in a storm, and Patris found employment as a temporary accommodation ship for the residents of the destroyed city. This occupation lasted for only a year, after which a radically new use was found for the ship: she was converted into a ro-ro car/passenger ferry and used on services linking Ancona
Ancona
Ancona is a city and a seaport in the Marche region, in central Italy, with a population of 101,909 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region....
in Italy to Patras and Pireus in Greece. In 1979 Patris was sold to Karageorgis Lines who retained her in the same service.
The Chandris liner service to Australia was closed down in late 1977 when Australis arrived in Australia as the last ship carrying government-sponsored migrant. From there on all migrant transport was handled by airplanes.
Ellinis was taken out of service in 1980 and laid up at Perama Bay. She remained laid up for several years, being used as a source of spare parts for her sister ship Britanis. In 1988 Chandris founded a subsidiary, Celebrity Cruises
Celebrity Cruises
Celebrity Cruises is a cruise line founded in 1988 by the Greek Chandris Group. In 1997, Celebrity Cruises Ltd. merged with Royal Caribbean International to become Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., which operates Celebrity, Royal Caribbean International, Azamara Club Cruises, Pullmantur Cruises and CDF...
, transferring the ex Italian liner Galileo to this new line. Celebrity prospered, with four newbuilt cruise ships entering service for them during the remaining Chandris years. Soon the popularity of Chandris grew tremendously low, with more focused needed on Celebrity, so it was decided to dissolve all other assets. After almost 37 years, Chandris Lines begin to stop all operations in 1996, this plan ending with the phasing out of their Fantasy Cruises branch and layup of the Britanis in 1998. To this date only one Chandris ship, the cruise ferry The Azur, has not been scrapped.
Ships
| Ship | Built | In service | Tonnage | Status as of 2010 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 1959—1979 | Scrapped in Pakistan 1987. | ||
| |
1952 | 1961—1962 1962—1963 |
Destroyed by fire in Greece, 1963. | |
| 1932 | 1963—1980 | Scrapped in Taiwan 1987. | ||
| Regina SS Regina SS Regina was a tanker built in Belfast in 1904 that sank in 1940 near Bradenton Beach, Florida, United States. It is located in the Gulf of Mexico, 75 yards off the coast from Bradenton Beach. In April 2005, it became the tenth Florida Underwater Archaeological Preserve. On December 6 of the same... |
1939 | 1964–1979 | Scrapped, 1985. | |
| Carina II SS Princess Helene SS Princess Helene was a historic Canadian passenger and freight ferry operated by the Canadian Pacific Railway .The Princess of Helene was built in 1930 at Dumbarton, Scotland... |
1930 | 1964–1972 | Laid up 1972, scrapped 1977. | |
| Fiesta TSS Mona's Queen TSS Mona’s Queen No 165283 was a passenger vessel operated by the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company from 1946 to 1962. She was built at a cost of £411,241 ,.-Dimensions:... |
1946 | 1964–197? | Laid up mid 1970s, scrapped 1981. | |
| Fantasia | 1935 | 1964–1976 | Destroyed in fire, 1976. | |
| |
1940 | 1965—1977 1979 |
Grounded at Fuerteventura Fuerteventura Fuerteventura , a Spanish island, is one of the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa. It is situated at 28°20' north, 14°00' west. At 1,660 km² it is the second largest of the Canary Islands, after Tenerife... , 1994, while en-route to hotel service in Thailand. Subsequently destroyed. |
|
| 1927 | 1965—1973 | Scrapped 1978. | ||
| 1952 | 1968—1980, 1984—1996 | Scrapped in India 2001. | ||
| Fiorita | 1950 | 1970–1977 | Laid up, was chartered numerous times before she capsized in 1987. | |
| Romanza | 1939 | 1970–1991 | Sold 1991, destroyed in a fire and subsequently, 1997. | |
| Atlantis | 1944 | 1970–1972 | Sold 1972, scrapped 2005. | |
| Radiosa | 1947 | 1970–1982 | Laid up 1982, scrapped 1988. | |
| Regina Magna | 1939 | 1972–1977 | Became accommodation ship 1977, sank en-route to scrappers 1980. | |
| Britanis SS Monterey SS Monterey was a luxury ocean liner launched on 10 October 1931; one of four ships in the Matson Lines "White Fleet" which included , and . Monterey, the third of four Matson ships designed by William Francis Gibbs was identical to Mariposa and very similar to her sister ship Lurline... |
1932 | 1971—1996 | Sold for scrap 1998, sank under tow in 2000. | |
| The Victoria | 1936 | 1975–1994 | Sold to Louis Cruise Lines Louis Cruise Lines Louis Cruises is a Cyprus-based cruise line that operates cruises from Cyprus, France, Italy, India and Greece . The company also charters several ships to Thomson Cruises... , broken up in 2004. |
|
| Galileo SS Galileo Galilei SS Galileo Galilei was an ocean liner built in 1963 by Cantieri Riuniti dell' Adriatico, Monfalcone, Italy for Lloyd Triestino's Italy—Australia service. In 1979 she was converted to a cruise ship, and subsequently sailed under the names Galileo and Meridian... |
1963 | 1983–1988 | Transferred to Celebrity Cruises Celebrity Cruises Celebrity Cruises is a cruise line founded in 1988 by the Greek Chandris Group. In 1997, Celebrity Cruises Ltd. merged with Royal Caribbean International to become Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., which operates Celebrity, Royal Caribbean International, Azamara Club Cruises, Pullmantur Cruises and CDF... 1990, sold to Sun Cruises 1997, sank as the Sun Vista, May 1999. |
|
| The Azur MS Royal Iris MS Royal Iris is a 1971 built car ferry/cruise ferry which was later rebuilt into a cruise ship in 1981. She is the last surviving ship ever owned by the Chandris Lines. She is the last surviving ship out of three near identical sisters, the others being the ill-fated Scandinavian Star and the... |
1971 | 1987–1994 | Sold to Festival Cruises Festival Cruises Festival Cruises was a Greece-based cruise line that operated between 1994 and 2004. It was founded in 1992 by the Greek entrepreneur George Poulides using second-hand ships... , now operating as the Royal Iris. |