SS Constitution

This article is about the ocean liner. For the United States Navy frigate, see USS Constitution. For other ships, see Constitution (disambiguation).

SS Constitution was an ocean liner owned by American Export Lines, sister ship of SS Independence. Both were constructed in the United States and made their maiden voyages in 1951.

SS Constitution in the 1950s
History
United States
Name	1951–1974: Constitution 1974–1982: Oceanic Constitution 1982–1997: Constitution
Owner	1951–1974: American Export Lines 1974–1979: Atlantic Far East Lines 1980–1982: American Hawaii Cruises 1982–1996: American Global Line 1996–1997: American Hawaii Cruises
Port of registry	1951–1974: New York,  United States 1980–1997: Honolulu,  United States[1]
Builder	Bethlehem Steel Corporation's Fore River Shipyard, Quincy, Massachusetts, US
Yard number	1619[1]
Laid down	1950
Launched	September 16, 1950[1]
Completed	1951
Maiden voyage	June 25, 1951[1]
In service	1951
Out of service	1997
Identification	IMO number: 5078882
Fate	Sank while under tow to shipbreakers on November 17, 1997
General characteristics (as built)[1]
Type	Ocean liner
Tonnage	23,754 GRT 11,229 NRT 7,250 t DWT
Length	208.01 m (682 ft 5 in)
Beam	27.18 m (89 ft 2 in)
Draft	9.20 m (30 ft 2 in)
Installed power	2 × Bethlehem Steel Corporation steam turbines; 40456 kW
Speed	23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph)
Capacity	1,000 passengers
General characteristics (after 1959 refit)[1]
Type	Cruise ship
Tonnage	23,754 GRT
Capacity	395 passengers
General characteristics (after 1974 refit)[1]
Capacity	950 passengers
General characteristics (after 1980 refit)[1]
Tonnage	20,221 GRT
Capacity	1,073 passengers

History

Further information: SS Independence

SS Constitution on a visit to Haifa on March 10, 1953

Commissioned in 1951, she started her long career sailing on the New York City-Genoa-Naples-Gibraltar route to Europe. Following service on American Export's "Sunlane" cruise to Europe in the 1950s and 1960s, the two ships sailed for American Hawaii Cruises and American Global Line for many years in the 1980s and 1990s. U.S. ships with U.S. crews meeting the criteria of the Passenger Services Act were able to cruise the Islands^{[clarification needed]} without sailing to a foreign port.

SS Constitution in Hawaii

SS Constitution in Hawaii, August 1986

SS Constitution in Hawaii, August 1986

Constitution was retired in 1995; while under tow to be scrapped, the liner sank 700 nautical miles (1,300 km) north of the Hawaiian Islands on November 17, 1997. The exact location of the wreck has yet to be discovered.^[2]

In popular culture

Constitution was featured in several episodes of the situation comedy I Love Lucy starring Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, starting with episode, "Bon Voyage," aired January 16, 1956. Lucy Ricardo missed the ship and had to be ferried by air by a then-novel helicopter.

American movie actress Grace Kelly sailed aboard Constitution from New York to Monaco for her wedding to Prince Rainier in 1956.

Constitution was featured in the 1957 film, An Affair to Remember starring Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr. Former President Harry S. Truman and his wife Bess sailed back to New York from Europe on the Constitution in the summer of 1958. The ship was also featured in the beginning and end of an episode of the Naked City TV series titled "No Naked Ladies in Front of Giovanni's House!" aired April 17, 1963. The ship also featured prominently in the Magnum, P.I. television series episode titled "All Thieves on Deck" aired January 30, 1986.

Sinking

The SS Constitution was retired from the American Hawaii Cruises fleet in 1995 and had fallen into disrepair by 1997.^[3] On November 17, 1997, the ship was being towed to a scrapping shipyard to be dismantled when it sank about 800 miles north of Hawaii.^[4]