MV Reina del Pacifico

RMMV Reina del Pacifico was a 17,702 GRT passenger ship of the Pacific Steam Navigation Company. Built by Harland and Wolff at Belfast, she was launched on 23 September 1930, and was the largest and fastest motor liner of her time, sailing from Liverpool to the Caribbean, Panama Canal and South America.[3]

History
United Kingdom
Name: Reina del Pacifico
Owner: Pacific Steam Navigation Company
Port of registry: Liverpool
Builder: Harland & Wolff, Belfast
Yard number: 852[1]
Launched: 23 September 1930
Completed: 24 March 1931[1]
Maiden voyage: Liverpool — Valparaíso, Chile
In service: 9 April 1931
Out of service: 27 April 1958
Fate: Scrapped, 1958
General characteristics [2]
Tonnage: 17,702 gross register tons (GRT)
Length: 551.3 ft (168.0 m)
Beam: 76.3 ft (23.3 m)
Draught: 31 feet 2 3⁄4 inches (9.52 m)
Depth: 37.8 ft (11.5 m)
Installed power: 2,844 NHP
Propulsion: 4-stroke diesel engines; 4 screws
Speed: 18 knots (33 km/h)
Troops: in early January 1945 sailed from Liverpool to Ceylon with Royal Naval personnel destined for the Far East theatre of war; arriving in Colombo on 22 February.
Sensors and
processing systems:

She became famous in 1937 after the former British Labour Prime Minister, Ramsay MacDonald died aboard whilst on a cruise at the age of 71, just two years after leaving government.[4]

During the Second World War she was requisitioned for service as a troopship, and also took part in the landings in North Africa, Sicily and Normandy.[4][5] Earlier in December 1939 she had taken elements of the First Canadian Division to Britain.

In January 1947 she returned to her owners, refurbished, but was the subject of a serious crankcase explosion on 11th September whilst on trials off Copeland Island in the North Channel, after being refitted at her builder's yard at Belfast, before re-entering commercial service. The explosion caused the deaths of twenty-eight members of her crew and the PSNC's technical staff. She returned to service in 1948 on the Liverpool-Valparaíso service.[4] She ran aground 5.5 nautical miles (10.2 km) north of Ireland Island, Bermuda, on 8 July 1957,[6] but was successfully refloated three days later, on 11 July.[7]

On 27 April 1958, Reina del Pacifico departed on her last voyage before being withdrawn from service and was subsequently scrapped at the yard of J Cashmore at Newport in Monmouthshire, Wales.[3]

The wooden panelling off the Ship can be found at The Cornmarket, Old Ropery, off Fenwick Street, Liverpool a beautiful example of a traditional seafarers pub. Old Shipmates from the Blue Funnel meet there once a month.

References
  1. McCluskie, Tom (2013). The Rise and Fall of Harland and Wolff. Stroud: The History Press. p. 140. ISBN 9780752488615.
  2. "Reina del Pacifico - Statistics". oceanlinermuseum.co.uk. 2006. Retrieved 29 January 2011.
  3. "Reina del Pacifico - The Queen of the Pacific". oceanlinermuseum.co.uk. 2010. Retrieved 27 January 2011.
  4. "Reina del Pacifico - Ship History". oceanlinermuseum.co.uk. 2006. Retrieved 27 January 2011.
  5. "Reina del Pacifico". Archived from the original on 2 August 2016. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
  6. "British Liner Aground". The Times (53888). London. 9 July 1957. col F, p. 10.
  7. "Reina Del Pacifico Refloated". The Times (53891). London. 12 July 1957. col F, p. 10.


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