View source for SS Monterey

{{Short description|1931 ocean liner}}
{{about|the 1931 ocean liner|the 1897 steamer|SS Monterey (1897)|other ships with similar names|USS Monterey}}

{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
| Ship image             = Ss monterey, 1930s.jpg
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{{Infobox ship career
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| Ship country           = United States
| Ship flag              = {{USN flag|2000}}
| Ship name              = ''Monterey''
| Ship namesake          =
| Ship owner             =
| Ship operator          = *[[Matson Lines]]
*[[Chandris Lines]]
| Ship registry          =
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| Ship ordered           =
| Ship awarded           =
| Ship builder           = [[Fore River Shipyard]], [[Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation]]
| Ship original cost     =
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| Ship laid down         =
| Ship launched          = 10 October 1931<ref name= "T/S Monterey">{{cite web|url=http://www.faktaomfartyg.se/monterey_1932.htm|title=T/S Monterey|access-date=2016-02-13}}</ref>
| Ship sponsor           =
| Ship christened        =
| Ship completed         = April 1932{{sfn|Maritime Administration}}
| Ship acquired          =
| Ship commissioned      =
| Ship decommissioned    =
| Ship maiden voyage     = 3 June 1932
| Ship in service        = 3 June 1932 – 21 October 2000
| Ship out of service    =
| Ship renamed           = *Feb. 1956: ''Matsonia''{{sfn|Maritime Administration}}
*30 Nov. 1963: ''Lurline''{{sfn|Maritime Administration}}
*30 June 1970: ''Britanis''{{sfn|Maritime Administration}}
*1998: ''Belofin-1''
| Ship reclassified      =
| Ship refit             =
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| Ship reinstated=
| Ship homeport          =
| Ship identification    = *{{IMO Number|5229223}}
* Official Number 231480{{sfn|Maritime Administration}}
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| Ship captured          =
| Ship fate              = Sunk, 21 October 2000
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{{Infobox ship characteristics
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| Header caption         =
| Ship type              = [[Ocean liner]]
| Ship tonnage           = {{GRT|18,017}}
| Ship displacement      = 
| Ship length            = {{convert|632|ft|m|abbr=on}}
| Ship beam              = {{convert|79|ft|m|abbr=on}}
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| Ship draft             =
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| Ship hold depth        =
| Ship decks             = *5 (1931–1970) <ref name="CabinPlan">{{Cite web |url=http://ssmaritime.com/matson-mariposa-monterey-3.htm |title=SS Monterey & Mariposa Cabin Plan |first=Reuben |last=Goossens |date=January 9, 2007 |publisher=ssmaritime.com |access-date=May 4, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220625235802/http://ssmaritime.com/matson-mariposa-monterey-3.htm |archive-date=June 25, 2022 }}</ref>
*7 (1971–2000) <ref name="CabinPlan2">{{Cite web |url=http://ssmaritime.com/Monterey-APC-Cruises-2.htm |title=Maiden Voyage Brochure, Deck Plan & APC's Bankruptcy |first=Reuben |last=Goossens |date=March 4, 2014 |publisher=ssmaritime.com |access-date=May 4, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220625224018/http://ssmaritime.com/Monterey-APC-Cruises-2.htm |archive-date=June 25, 2022 }}</ref>
| Ship deck clearance    =
| Ship power             =
| Ship propulsion        = 2 × Bethlehem geared [[steam turbine]]s, {{convert|28450|shp|2|abbr=on}}
| Ship sail plan         =
| Ship speed             = {{convert|22.84|kn|lk=in}}
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| Ship capacity          = 701 passengers (472 first class, 229 cabin class)
| Ship complement        =
| Ship crew              = 360
| Ship notes             =
}}
|}

'''SS ''Monterey''''' was a luxury [[ocean liner]] launched on 10 October 1931. The ship was completed April 1932 and is shown in registers as a 1932 ship.{{sfn|Maritime Administration}}{{sfn|Lloyds |1941–1942}}<ref group=note>The Matson liner, operating as a troopship, is sometimes erroneously seen as USAT ''Matsonia''. A much smaller ship, official number 232021, {{GRT|5,236}}, ex ''Puerto Rico'', ex ''Hati'' built by Newport News Shipbuilding, Newport News, Virginia, is also seen in most registers with a 1932 date. This smaller ship was also acquired by WSA on 26 September 1942, allocated to the U.S. Army under bareboat charter and ''did'' operate as {{USAT|Monterey}}. It was this ship that was considered and rejected by Navy as ''Alameda'' (AP-68).</ref> ''Monterey'' was the third of the four ships of the [[Matson Lines]] "White Fleet", which were designed by [[William Francis Gibbs]] and also included {{SS|Malolo}}, {{SS|Mariposa|1931|6}} and {{SS|Lurline|1932|6}}. ''Monterey'' was identical to ''Mariposa'' and very similar to ''Lurline''. During [[World War II]] ''Monterey'' was used as a [[troopship]] operated by Matson as agents of the [[War Shipping Administration]] (WSA).{{sfn|Maritime Administration}} ''Monterey'' was a large, fast transport capable of sailing independently and was allocated to serving Army troop transport requirements.{{sfn|Wardlow|1999|p=}} The ship was involved in an attack on a convoy near [[Action off Cape Bougaroun|Cape Bougaroun]].

==Career with Matson Lines==
''Monterey'' was built to promote travel to [[Hawaii]] and for [[Pacific Ocean]] liner service including regular stops in ports along the [[West Coast of the United States]], [[Samoa]], [[Fiji]], [[New Zealand]] and [[Australia]]. On 12 May 1932 she took 83 passengers from [[New York City]] to the [[West Coast of the United States|West Coast]] on a positioning cruise. Her maiden voyage officially began 3 June 1932 in [[San Francisco, California]] after which she made stops in [[Los Angeles]], [[Honolulu]], [[Auckland]], [[Pago Pago]], [[Suva]], [[Sydney]] and [[Melbourne]]. She scored a [[public relations]] triumph when she carried much-appreciated supplies to the [[Bear (ship)|''Bear of Oakland'']] on [[Richard Evelyn Byrd#Byrd's later Antarctic expeditions|Byrd's second expedition]] to the [[South Pole]].

==War service==
In [[World War II]] ''Monterey'' served as a fast troop carrier, often operating alone so she would not be slowed by formation navigation in a convoy. The [[United States Maritime Commission]] chartered her in 1941 before the US declaration of war to carry 150 Chinese, Korean and Japanese missionaries and stranded US citizens back to San Francisco. Once home, she was quickly refitted to hold 3,500 soldiers. The ship was delivered to WSA by Oceanic Steamship Company, a Matson entity, 3 December 1941 at San Francisco.{{sfn|Maritime Administration}} On 16 December 1941 she steamed to Hawaii with 3,349 fresh troops, returning with 800 casualties of the [[attack on Pearl Harbor]].

===War voyages===
* 1941 With urgent need to reinforce Hawaii the Army pushed loading two fast ships, ''Monterey'' and [[SS Malolo|''Matsonia'']] with troops, aircraft and ammunition in hopes of their sailing independently by 13 December. The Navy opposed any unescorted convoys and, despite Army arguments at the highest levels, the ships were delayed until the 16th when ''Monterey'', ''Matsonia'' and ''Lurline'' sailed under escort.{{sfn| Leighton |Coakley| 1995 |pp=146–147}}
* 6 January 1942 San Diego to Pago Pago filled to capacity with Marines, arrived 19 January.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.armed-guard.com/troop15.html|title=Monterey|website=www.armed-guard.com}}</ref><ref name=Buckner>{{Cite book|last=Buckner|first=Maj. David N.|title=A Brief History of the 10th&nbsp;Marines|editor=Marine Corps Historical Division|publisher=[[United States Marine Corps]]|location=Washington D.C.|year=1981|id=19000308400|url=http://www.marines.mil/Portals/59/Publications/A%20Brief%20History%20of%20the%2010th%20Marines%20PCN%2019000308400_1.pdf}}</ref>
* 17 February 1942 San Francisco to Brisbane with 4,000 Army troops; convoy with ''Matsonia'' and ''Mormacsea''<ref>[http://www.oceanlinermuseum.co.uk/Monterey%201932%20History.html Ocean Liner Museum. ''S/S'' Monterey]</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-WH2Navy-c19.html|title=CHAPTER 19 — Turn of the Tide in the Pacific &#124; NZETC|website=nzetc.victoria.ac.nz}}</ref>
* 9 March 1942 arrived Brisbane
* 22 April 1942 left San Francisco for Adelaide, Panama, Key West
* 1 July 1942 New York to Glasgow with 5,800 troops
* 6 August 1942 New York to Glasgow with 6,000 troops
* 27 August 1942 Glasgow to New York, arrived 5 September 1942
* 2 November 1942 convoy New York to Casablanca, arrived 16 November 1942
* 14 January 1943 left New York in a convoy to Casablanca; arrived 25 January
* 5 March 1943 New York to Casablanca
* 1 April 1943 sailed alone to Casablanca; arrived 12 April
* 29 April 1943 New York to Casablanca
* 2 June 1943 New York to Panama
* 26 June 1943 San Francisco to Brisbane, Panama
* 1943 New York to Brazil
* 21 August 1943 New York to Oran with the highest number of soldiers for a Matson ship: 6,855. Traveled in convoy.
* 8 October 1943 New York to Liverpool with 6,747 troops; on to Gibraltar and Naples in convoy of 43 ships.
** The voyage to Naples was her first taste of combat. On 6 November 1943 in an [[action off Cape Bougaroun]],  [[Algeria]], 25 aircraft attacked the convoy. ''Monterey'' shot down an enemy bomber which passed over the ship and tore away the radio mast before crashing into the ocean. In convoy, the [[W. R. Grace and Company|Grace Line]] troopship ''Santa Elena'' was torpedoed and began to sink. ''Monterey'' rescued 1,675 using her boats and nets, taking the survivors to Naples.
* July 1944 [[Milne Bay]] to [[Oro Bay]]; ran aground, troops offloaded, ship refloated with the tide
* 21 Sept 1944 San Francisco to Oro Bay, New Guinea transporting WAC's <ref>original WAC personal correspondence</ref>
* 20 January 1945 left San Francisco with US and Canadian troops, as well as Royal Air Force personnel, for [[New Guinea]]
* 4 February 1945 arrived [[Finschhafen District|Finschafen Harbor]], New Guinea<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.bookfinder.com/book/1591130220/|title=Troopship Monterey |isbn=978-1591130222 |author=Quigley, Harry E.|website=www.bookfinder.com}}</ref>
* 16 February 1946 took Australian [[war bride]]s from Sydney to San Francisco, stopping along the way at Suva, Fiji and Honolulu, Hawaii.<ref>The Sun, Sydney, Australia, February 16, 1946</ref>

==Post-war name changes==
On 26 September 1946 the ''Monterey'' arrived at Bethlehem-Alameda Shipyard in [[Alameda, California]] for refitting and return to passenger service with Matson. Money ran out on the project after 30% of the work had been completed. For five years she sat idle in Alameda, then was purchased by the US Government in August 1952. She was towed to the [[reserve fleet|mothball fleet]] in nearby [[Suisun Bay]].

[[File:Menu Cover SS Monterey.jpg|thumb|SS Monterey – Dinner menu cover for 6th October 1959.]]
[[File:SS Monterey Dinner Menu October 1959.jpg|thumb|SS Monterey – Dinner menu for 6th October 1959.]]
[[File:SS Monterey Dinner Menu Wine List 6th October 1959.jpg|thumb|alt=SS Monterey dinner menu wine list for 6th October 1959.|SS Monterey – Dinner menu wine list for 6th October 1959.]]

===''Monterey'' to ''Matsonia''===
Meanwhile, Matson was enjoying fair post-war success with ''Lurline'' and was looking to expand their passenger operation once more. Matson had a [[Long Range Shipbuilding Program#The Program in the postwar|C4 "Mariner" class]] vessel undergoing conversion to a [[cruise ship]] for the [[Oceania]] and [[Australasia]] region; this ship was originally named ''Free State Mariner'' but Matson had renamed her ''Monterey''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/mariner-unit.htm|title=C4-S-1a Mariner / APA-248 Paul Revere / AKA-112 Tulare|website=www.globalsecurity.org}}</ref> Matson bought the old mothballed SS ''Monterey'' back from the US Government on 3 February 1956 and had to come up with a new name for her: she was rechristened SS ''Matsonia'', replacing their earlier ''Matsonia'' which had been sold to [[Home Lines]] in 1954 and subsequently renamed.  The new ''Matsonia'' (ex-''Monterey'') first sailed from New York to San Francisco on 22 May 1957 to team up with her sister ''Lurline'' on the San Francisco – Los Angeles – Honolulu run.

===''Matsonia'' to ''Lurline''===
Within five years, profits from passenger service had fallen to the point where Matson decided to anchor ''Matsonia'' indefinitely in [[San Francisco Bay]]. Sister ship ''Lurline'' continued to operate but suffered a major turbine problem in February 1963; one that would require costly repairs. Instead of repairing ''Lurline'', Matson sold the well-loved ship to [[Chandris Lines]] to be rechristened ''Ellinis''. Stung by poor public opinion regarding the maneuver, Matson rechristened the former ''Matsonia'' (ex-''Monterey'') as the new ''Lurline'' on 6 December 1963 and returned her to service.

==''Lurline'' to ''Britanis''==
By 1970, passenger receipts were down so low that Matson chose to cease passenger liner service altogether. On 25 June 1970, ''Lurline'' arrived in San Francisco to be sold to Chandris Lines. Five days later she steamed under new ownership out of the [[Golden Gate]] toward [[Piraeus]] with the new name ''Britanis'' with radio callsign SZWE (later HPEN).

==Service with Chandris Lines==
At Piraeus, ''Britanis'' was greatly modified to hold 1,655 passengers, mainly by subdividing existing cabins and converting cargo holds to new cabin areas. She re-entered service on 21 February 1971 under the Chandris 'Fantasy Cruises' division, leaving [[Southampton]] bound for Sydney and back; a regular round-trip she would make for three years. In 1974 she saw service as a [[cruise ship]] in the Caribbean during winter and [[Europe]] during the summer. In May 1982 ''Britanis'' cruised between New York and Bermuda with a smaller capacity of 1,200 passengers.

In winter 1983–1984, ''Britanis'' sailed from Miami to the Caribbean, then sailed from New York in the summer. A major overhaul in 1986 included parts from her sister ''Ellinis'' (ex-''Lurline''), some of which went to ''Ellinis'' from ''Homeric'' (ex-''Mariposa'') when ''Homeric'' was scrapped in 1974. At this point, parts from three sister ships were now bound together in ''Britanis''. The refit gave ''Britanis'' eight years of Caribbean cruising until 19 November 1994.

===US Government charter===
''Britanis'' was chartered by the US Government in 1994 as a floating barracks for military personnel at [[Guantanamo Bay Naval Base|Guantanamo Bay]], [[Cuba]]. She suffered minor damage from an electrical fire, was repaired at US Government expense, then laid up at [[Tampa, Florida]] in late 1996.

==Final years==
Chandris opted to sell ''Britanis'' as part of a plan to cease cruise line operations for Fantasy Cruises and further invest in their newer [[Celebrity Cruises]] brand. The ship was maintained in anchorage until 24 January 1998 when she was sold to AG Belofin Investments of [[Liechtenstein]] and renamed ''Belofin-1''.
On June 9, 1999, the [[San Francisco Chronicle|SF Chronicle]] reported that the ship may be turned into a [[hotel]] at the [[San Francisco Bay]].

Her new owners intended to recoup their investment by selling the ship to scrappers, but a downturn in steel prices held them up for more than a year. On 3 July 2000, ''Belofin-1'' was towed by the [[Ukraine|Ukrainian]] tug ''Iribis'' out of Tampa Bay with the former [[CN Marine]] ferry [[MV Bluenose|MV ''Bluenose'']] lashed to her port side. The ships were bound for [[ship breaking|ship breakers]] in India, but ''Bluenose'' ended up going to Mexico. ''Belofin-1'' apparently began taking on water and [[angle of list|listing]] during the voyage but nobody was on board to correct the list. The [[tugboat]] crew cut her free and ''Belofin-1'' capsized and sank due to progressive flooding, some {{convert|50|nmi|km|abbr=on}} south of [[Cape Town]], [[South Africa]] on 21 October 2000.

== In popular culture ==

In the [[Earle Stanley Gardner]] novel ''The Case of the Stuttering Bishop'' (1936), the titular character is revealed to have traveled from Australia to San Francisco aboard the ''Monterey''.  The ship's name was retained for the [[motion picture]] adaptation the year following the novel's publication.

The song "[[Bridal Train]]", released in 2004, is about the war brides who travelled on the ''Monterey'' in 1946, and refers to the ship by name in the opening lines.

== Footnotes ==
{{reflist|group=note}}

== See also ==
* [[SS Mariposa (1931)|SS ''Mariposa'' (1931)]]
* [[SS Malolo|SS ''Malolo'' (1926)]]
* [[SS Lurline (1932)|SS ''Lurline'' (1932)]]
* [[SS Manoa|SS ''Manoa'' (1913)]]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}
* {{cite book |last1=Leighton |first1=Richard M |last2=Coakley |first2=Robert W |year=1995 |title=The War Department — Global Logistics And Strategy 1940–1943 |series=United States Army In World War II |location=Washington, DC |publisher=Center Of Military History, United States Army |lccn=55060001 }}
* {{cite web |url=https://plimsoll.southampton.gov.uk/shipdata/pdfs/41/41b0595.pdf |title=Lloyd's Register |author=Lloyds |date=1941–1942 |publisher=Lloyd's Register (through PlimsollShipData) |access-date=18 June 2014 }}
* {{cite web |url=http://www.marad.dot.gov/sh/ShipHistory/Detail/11968 |title=''Monterey'' |author=Maritime Administration |work=Ship History Database Vessel Status Card |publisher= U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration |access-date=18 June 2014 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Wardlow |first1=Chester |year=1999 |title=The Technical Services—The Transportation Corps: Responsibilities, Organization, And Operations |series=United States Army In World War II |location=Washington, DC |publisher=Center Of Military History, United States Army |lccn=99490905  }}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite book |title=Troopship Monterey |last=Quigley |first=Harry E. |year=2001 |publisher=Booklocker Inc.|isbn=978-1591130222 }}

==External links==
* [http://www.oceanlinermuseum.co.uk/Monterey%201932.html Ocean Liner Virtual Museum: ''S.S. Monterey 1932'']
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080127064501/http://www.geocities.com/chandrislines/britanis.html Chandris Lines ''Britanis'']
* [http://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?149348 Britanis SS (1970~1998) Belofin I SS (+2000)] at wreck site
* [http://www.ssmaritime.com/britanis.htm ''Britanis''] at ssMaritime

{{Ocean liners designed by William Francis Gibbs}}
{{2000 shipwrecks}}

{{coord missing|Atlantic Ocean}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Monterey}}

[[Category:1931 ships]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 2000]]
[[Category:Ocean liners]]
[[Category:Sunken cruise ships]]
[[Category:Ships built in Quincy, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean]]
[[Category:Cruise ships of the United States]]
[[Category:Troop ships of the War Shipping Administration]]