Italian Line

The Italian Line or 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.

Italian Line
Founded1932
Defunct2002
HeadquartersGenoa, Italy

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 MS Saturnia and MS Vulcania, the Lloyd Sabaudo-owned SS Conte Rosso, SS Conte Biancamano and SS Conte Grande and the NGI-owned SS Giulio Cesare, SS Duilio, SS Roma and MS Augustus. The same year two previously commissioned ocean liners were delivered to the company: SS Rex, that captured the Blue Riband in 1933, and SS Conte di Savoia.

SS Giulio Cesare, built in 1923, in Italian Line service 1932–1937

During World War II, the company lost many ships, including the Rex and the 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, SS Andrea Doria and SS Cristoforo Colombo 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 the Andrea Doria with the SS Leonardo da Vinci, 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, the SS Michelangelo and SS Raffaello. Construction of the ships took longer than expected, and they were not delivered until 1965. Being late into service, they were not able to profitably compete 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 Leonardo da Vinci became a cruise ship in 1977–1978, after which it was withdrawn due to high fuel costs. In 1979 and 1980 the company operated two ex-Lloyd Triestino liners, SS Galileo Galilei and SS Guglielmo Marconi, as a 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 180,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) 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
Image Built Name Tonnage[1] Shipyard Operated Notes
1908 SS Tel Aviv 08,312 GRT8312 GRT Russell & Co., Scotland 1932–1934 Former Cosulich Line ship; scrapped 1934
1917 SS Colombo 12003 GRT Palmer S.& E. Co. Ld., Jarrow on Tyne 1932–1941 Refurbished in passenger vessel by Cantieri Baia Napoli. Scuttled at Massaua, 3 April 1941
1922 SS Giulio Cesare 21848 GRT Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson, Ltd, UK 1932–1937 transferred to Lloyd Triestino
1923 SS Conte Verde 18765 GRT William Beardmore & Co., Scotland 1932–1940
1923 SS Duilio 24281 GRT Ansaldo Shipyards, Italy 1932–1937 transferred to Lloyd Triestino, scrapped 1948
1925 SS Conte Biancamano 24416 GRT William Beardmore & Co., Scotland 1932–1940
1947–1960
1926 SS Roma 32583 GRT Ansaldo Shipyards, Italy 1932–1939
1926 MS Vulcania 23970 GRT Cantiere Navale Triestino, Italy 1932–1940
1947–1965		 sold to Siosa Lines
1927 MS Saturnia 23940 GRT Cantiere Navale Triestino, Italy 1932–1940
1946–1965		 scrapped 1965
1927 SS Conte Grande 25661 GRT Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino, Italy 1932–1940
1947–1961		 scrapped in 1961
1927 SS Conte Rosso 18017 GRT William Beardmore & Co., Scotland 1932–1940 torpedoed and sunk by HMS Upholder, 24 May 1941
1928 MS Augustus 32650 GRT Ansaldo Shipyards, Italy 1932–1939 largest diesel-engined liner of her time
1932 SS Conte di Savoia 48502 GRT Cantieri Riuniti dell' Adriatico, Italy 1932–1940 scuttled in Venice by retreating German forces, 11 September 1943. Raised 1945 and scrapped.
1932 SS Rex 51062 GRT Ansaldo Shipyards, Italy 1932–1940 bombed and sunk off Trieste by RAF and SAAF bombers, 8 September 1944
1932 MS Neptunia 19475 GRT Cantieri Riuniti dell' Adriatico, Italy 1937–1940 torpedoed and sunk by HMS Upholder, 18 September 1941
1932 MS Oceania 19507 GRT Cantieri Riuniti dell' Adriatico, Italy 1937–1940 torpedoed and sunk by HMS Upholder, 18 September 1941
1951 MS Giulio Cesare 27078 GRT Cantieri Riuniti dell' Adriatico, Italy 1951–1973 scrapped 1973
1951 MS Augustus 27090 GRT Cantieri Riuniti dell' Adriatico, Italy 1952–1976 scrapped 2012
1951 SS Andrea Doria 29083 GRT Ansaldo Shipyards, Italy 1953–1956 capsized and sank on 25 July 1956 after colliding with MS Stockholm
1953 SS Cristoforo Colombo 29191 GRT Ansaldo Shipyards, Italy 1954–1977 scrapped 1982 in Kaohsiung, Taiwan
1960 SS Leonardo da Vinci 33340 GRT Ansaldo Shipyards, Italy 1960–1980 burned and capsized 4 July 1980, raised and scrapped 1982
1951 MS Rossini 13225 GRT Cantieri Riuniti dell' Adriatico - San Marco Trieste, Italy 1963 scrapped 1977
1951 MS Donizetti 13226 GRT Cantieri Riuniti dell' Adriatico - San Marco Trieste, Italy 1963 scrapped 1977
1951 MS Verdi 13226 GRT Cantieri Riuniti dell' Adriatico - San Marco Trieste, Italy 1963 scrapped 1977
1963 SS Guglielmo Marconi 27905 GRT Cantieri Riuniti dell' Adriatico, Italy 1975–1981 scrapped 2002
1965 T/S Michelangelo 45911 GRT Ansaldo Shipyards, Italy 1965–1975 scrapped 1991
1965 T/S Raffaello 45933 GRT Cantieri Riuniti dell' Adriatico, Italy 1965–1975 sunk 1983

Container ships
Built Name Tonnage Capacity Shipyard IMO number Call sign Flag Status/Comments
1985 Aquitania 17702 GT 1077 TEU Stocznia Szczecinska S.A., Poland 8300975 HPUE Panama 1991 chartered, 1993 purchased from Cyprus
1989 Cristoforo Colombo 32630 GT 3632 TEU Fincantieri-Cantieri Navali Italiani S.p.A., Italy 8618449 ICYS Italy 2002 to d'Amico shipping Italia
1989 Amerigo Vespucci 32630 GT 3632 TEU Fincantieri-Cantieri Navali Italiani S.p.A., Italy 8618451 ICBA Italy 2002 to d'Amico shipping Italia
1991 S. Caboto 15783 GT 1268 TEU Fincantieri-Cantieri Navali Italiani S.p.A., Italy 8618413 ICMS Italy 2002 to d'Amico shipping Italia
1992 California 17123 GT 1410 TEU Naikai Zosen Corp., Japan 8901743 ICFC Italy 2002 to d'Amico shipping Italia
1994 Cielo del Cile 15778 GT 1512 TEU Thyssen Nordseewerke GmbH, Germany 9046253 ELVB3 Liberia 2002 to d'Amico shipping Italia
1997 Dollart Trader 16165 GT 1608 TEU MTW Schiffswerft GmbH, Germany 9162356 V2OD5 Antigua & Barbuda 2002 to d'Amico shipping Italia
1998 Cielo di San Francisco 25359 GT 2474 TEU Volkswerft Stralsund GmbH, Germany 9153408 DGZO Germany 2002 to d'Amico shipping Italia
1998 Cielo del Canada 25361 GT 2470 TEU Meeres-Technik-Wismar, Germany 9138290 V2PE2 Antigua & Barbuda 2002 to d'Amico shipping Italia
2000 Cielo del Caribe 13066 GT 1302 TEU Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft MbH & Co. KG, Germany 9202053 ELXN2 Liberia 2002 to d'Amico shipping Italia
2002 Cielo d'America 25580 GT 2462 TEU Thyssen Nordseewerke GmbH, Germany 9239733 ICCV Italy 2002 to d'Amico shipping Italia
2002 Cielo d'Europa 25535 GT 2462 TEU Thyssen Nordseewerke GmbH, Germany 9236664 ICCP Italy 2002 to d'Amico shipping Italia
  • GRT = Gross Register Tonnage
  • GT = Gross Tonnage
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References
  1. GRT is Gross Register Tonnage

Further reading
  • Bureau International des Containers (Container prefix codes, now linking Italia Line units to Hapag-Lloyd due to the merger)
  • CP Ships: Press release – CP Ships Completes Acquisition of Italia Di Navigazione, 6 August 2002
  • CP Ships: Press release – CP Ships Adopts a Single Brand, 28. April 2005
  • Italia Line: Official website – page offline – please refer to History of CP Ships
  • William H. Miller (1999). Picture History of the Italian Line, 1932–1977. Dover Publications. ISBN 978-0-486-40489-9.
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