The Fate of the Great Liner La France
By James Donahue
When launched by the wife of the late French President Charles De Gaulle on May 11, 1960, the 1,027-foot-long liner La France was the longest and considered among the finest liners in the world.
She held that title until the Queen Mary 2 came on the scene in 2004.
The La France remained among the finest and most popular liners operating on the Atlantic crossing until the oil crisis drove the cost of fuel from $3 to $12 a barrel in 1973. The French government withdrew its financial support for the Compagnie Generale Transatlantique (French Line). The ship was withdrawn from service the next year after the crew struck for more money.
By that time the La France had completed 377 crossings and 93 cruises, carried a total of 588,024 passengers on trans-Atlantic crossings and 113,872 passengers on cruises, and steamed for a total of 1,860,000 nautical miles.
The great ship sat idle for the next five years, but its time was not over. The Norwegian Cruise Line purchased the liner, changed its name to Norway, and redesigned the vessel for exclusive luxury cruise service. After the Norway went into service in 1980 it became so popular it launched a major boom in the construction of a new competitive number of world cruise ships.
Eventually the competition overtook the Norway. As profits fell, her owners cut back on maintenance. The ship began experiencing mechanical problems. An explosion that ripped through the engine room and killed eight crew members while the ship was moored in Miami in 2003 proved to be the end of this once proud ship.
The old La France went out of service and was moored for the next five years in a Malaysian scrap yard as owners battled with the courts over the safety of tearing apart a ship laced with asbestos, PCBs, lead and mercury used in its construction. Groups like Greenpeace got involved and the issue went to court. The ship was finally scrapped in India in 2008.
By James Donahue
When launched by the wife of the late French President Charles De Gaulle on May 11, 1960, the 1,027-foot-long liner La France was the longest and considered among the finest liners in the world.
She held that title until the Queen Mary 2 came on the scene in 2004.
The La France remained among the finest and most popular liners operating on the Atlantic crossing until the oil crisis drove the cost of fuel from $3 to $12 a barrel in 1973. The French government withdrew its financial support for the Compagnie Generale Transatlantique (French Line). The ship was withdrawn from service the next year after the crew struck for more money.
By that time the La France had completed 377 crossings and 93 cruises, carried a total of 588,024 passengers on trans-Atlantic crossings and 113,872 passengers on cruises, and steamed for a total of 1,860,000 nautical miles.
The great ship sat idle for the next five years, but its time was not over. The Norwegian Cruise Line purchased the liner, changed its name to Norway, and redesigned the vessel for exclusive luxury cruise service. After the Norway went into service in 1980 it became so popular it launched a major boom in the construction of a new competitive number of world cruise ships.
Eventually the competition overtook the Norway. As profits fell, her owners cut back on maintenance. The ship began experiencing mechanical problems. An explosion that ripped through the engine room and killed eight crew members while the ship was moored in Miami in 2003 proved to be the end of this once proud ship.
The old La France went out of service and was moored for the next five years in a Malaysian scrap yard as owners battled with the courts over the safety of tearing apart a ship laced with asbestos, PCBs, lead and mercury used in its construction. Groups like Greenpeace got involved and the issue went to court. The ship was finally scrapped in India in 2008.