The passenger ship Mariposa, originally built as the freighter Pine Tree Mariner, was in operation for over 40 years.[1] It had five passenger decks and various amenities including an outdoor pool on the boat deck and the cinema on the lower decks.[2][3]
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name |
|
| Operator |
|
| Builder | Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation Quincy, Massachusetts |
| Launched | 1952 |
| In service | 1953 |
| Out of service | 1995 |
| Identification | IMO number: 5225370 |
| Fate | Scrapped at Alang, India, 1996 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage | 14,812 GRT |
| Decks | 5 |
History
editAs a freighter
editIn November 1952, the ship was launched at the Bethlehem Shipbuilding shipyard in Quincy as a turbine general cargo freighter Pine Tree Mariner of the type C4-S-1a (Mariner class). In 1953, the US Maritime Commission took over the ship, which was intended for use by the US Marine Corps.[4][5] [6][7]
Conversion to a combined freighter/passenger ship
editAfter the US shipping company Matson Navigation Company took over the ship in 1955/56, it sent the Pine Tree Mariner to the Willamette Iron & Steel Corporation shipyard in Portland, Oregon, where it was converted to a combined ship of the MARAD type P2-S1-1g. After delivery, the converted ship was renamed Mariposa and began its combined passenger and freight service between San Francisco, Honolulu, Auckland and Sydney on October 27, 1956, together with the Monterey.[8][9][10][11]
Pacific Far East Line and uncertain years
editIn 1971, Matson sold the pair of ships Mariposa and Monterey to the shipping company Pacific Far East Line, also based in San Francisco, which used both ships on Pacific cruises until 1978 and laid them up in 1978 when government subsidies to maintain the service ended.[12] In 1979, it was sold to the airline President World Airways from San Francisco, which had the ship towed to Japan in November 1980. After arriving in Japan in January 1981, the ship was laid up there before being returned to the Pacific Far East Line in 1981. In 1983, the shipping company China Ocean Shipping acquired the Mariposa, renamed her Jin Jiang and used her on the Shanghai-Hong Kong route. In 1992 she was renamed Queen of Jun Jiang, followed by another renaming to Heng Li the following year. After thirteen years of service in Asia, the Heng Li finally arrived in India for demolition in the spring of 1996.[13][14][15][16]
References
edit- ^ "SS Monterey (3)". ssmaritime.com. Retrieved 2024-08-25.
- ^ "SS Monterey & Mariposa Cabin Plan". ssmaritime.com. Retrieved 2024-08-24.
- ^ "Mariposa". natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 2024-08-25.
- ^ "C4-S-1a Mariner / APA-248 Paul Revere / AKA-112 Tulare". www.globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 2024-08-24.
- ^ "All Ships Built to MARAD Designs". 2012-02-11. Archived from the original on 2012-02-11. Retrieved 2024-08-24.
- ^ "Pine Tree Mariner - ShipSpotting". ShipSpotting. Retrieved 2024-08-25.
- ^ "Ship: PINE TREE MARINER". ShipVault. Retrieved 2024-08-25.
- ^ "SS Monterey (3) and SS Mariposa (3)". ssmaritime.com. Retrieved 2024-08-24.
- ^ "MATSON History". matson.com. Retrieved 2024-08-24.
- ^ Grace, Michael. "SAIL ABORD THE SS MARIPOSA – 1960s – LAST OF THE U.S. FLAG CRUISE SHIPS…". Cruising The Past. Retrieved 2024-08-25.
- ^ "Matson Lines - Mariposa, Monterey, Lurline". lastoceanliners.com. Retrieved 2024-08-25.
- ^ O'Brien, Duncan (2008). The white ships: Matson Line to Hawaii, New Zealand, Australia via Samoa, Fiji; 1927 - 1978; [Malolo, Mariposa, Monterey, Lurline, Matsonia; a tribute to Matson's luxury liners]. Victoria, B.C: Pier 10 Media. ISBN 978-0-9686734-1-6.
- ^ "S.S. Mariposa (II)". greatships.net. Retrieved 2024-08-24.
- ^ "SS Monterey (3) and SS Mariposa (3)". ssmaritime.com. Retrieved 2024-08-24.
- ^ "Jin Jang ShipSpotting". Shipspotting.com. Retrieved 2024-08-24.
- ^ "Jin Jiang". Ships Nostalgia. 2013-04-02. Retrieved 2024-08-25.