MS Achille Lauro

The MS Achille Lauro was an Italian cruise ship registered in Naples and built between 1939 and 1947 in the Netherlands under the name of Willem Ruys.[1] It burned in the Indian Ocean off Somalia in 1994.[4]

Achille Lauro in Piraeus, Greece
History
Name:
  • Willem Ruys (1947–1965)[1]
  • Achille Lauro (1965–1994)
Namesake:
  • Willem Ruys
  • Achille Lauro
Owner:
  • 1947–1965: N. V. Koninklijke Rotterdamsche Lloyd, Vlissingen, Netherlands
  • 1965–1989: Achille Lauro FU G. & C.
  • 1989–1994: Star Lauro S.P.A.[2]
Operator:
  • Royal Rotterdam Lloyd (1947–1964)
  • Flotta Lauro Lines (1965–1989)
  • StarLauro (1989–1994)
Port of registry:
Ordered: 7 May 1938
Builder: Koninklijke Maatschappij "De Schelde" Shipbuilding
Yard number: 214
Laid down: 25 January 1939[2]
Launched: 1 July 1946[2] (Delayed due to WWII)
Christened: by HM Queen Wilhelmina[3]
Completed: 21 November 1947[2]
Maiden voyage: 2 December 1947[2]
Out of service: 30 November 1994
Identification:
Fate: Sank on 2 December 1994 off the coast of Somalia due to fire on board.[4]
General characteristics
Tonnage:
  • 21,119 GRT as built
  • 23,629 GRT after refurbishment
Length: 642 ft (196 m)[3]
Beam: 82 ft (25 m)[3]
Draft: 29.3 ft (8.9 m)[3]
Decks: 9 [3] (6 passenger accessible)[2]
Installed power:
  • 2 × Sulzer/ Winterthur + 6 × Sulzer/de Schelde
  • 32,000 bhp (24,000 kW)[2]
Propulsion: 2 propellers[2]
Speed: 22.0 kn (40.7 km/h)[2]
Capacity:
  • 869 passengers (as built)[2]
  • 1,372 passengers[3]
Crew: 300 [3]

She was hijacked by the Palestinian Liberation Front, where Jewish American Leon Klinghoffer was shot dead and thrown overboard from this cruise ship in 1985.[5]

References
  1. Nicolson, Harold (1957). Journey to Java. London: Constable.
  2. "Name ship: Willem Ruys". Stichting Maritiem-Historische Databank. Retrieved March 12, 2016.
  3. Ward, Douglas (1995). Berlitz Complete Guide to Cruising & Cruise Ships. Oxford: Berlitz. ISBN 978-2-8315-1327-0.
  4. Cowell, Alan (2 December 1994). "Achille Lauro Smolders After 1,000 Are Rescued". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
  5. Berman, Daphna (9 May 2008). "Klinghoffer daughters recall personal tragedy at commemoration of terror victims outside Israel". Haaretz.

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