Le paquebot Araguaya de la compagnie Royal Mail Steam Packet. RMSP Ocean cruising steamer Araguaya (twin-screw 10196 tons gross). Coll agence Adhémar |
Alors que la compagnie connaît de graves difficultés financières en 1929 (avant d'être liquidée), il est revendu à la compagnie yougoslave Yugoslav Lloyd en 1930 et rebaptisé Kraljica Marija (Queen Mary en serbo-croate) pour naviguer en Mer Noire et en Méditerranée pendant dix ans. En janvier 1940, le gouvernement français l'achète pour compenser la perte du Bretagne. Donné en gérance à la Transat et rebaptisé Savoie II pour la ligne des Antilles, en raison de la guerre, il est affecté à la ligne reliant Marseille à l'Afrique de l'Ouest.
Le 8 novembre 1942, alors qu'il se trouve à quai à Casablanca,il est complètement détruit par les forces aériennes et navales qui appuient le débarquement en Afrique du Nord. Trois morts. Il est renfloué puis démoli sur place.
The Araguaya was built by Workman Clark & Co, Belfast in 1906 for Royal Mail Steam Packet Co. She was a 10,537 gross ton ship, length 515.2ft x beam 61.3ft, one funnel, two masts, twin screw and a speed of 15 knots. There was passenger accommodation for 300-1st, 100-2nd and 800-3rd class. Launched by the Countess of Aberdeen on 5th Jun.1906, she sailed from Southampton on 12th Oct. on her maiden voyage to Brazil, Montevideo and Buenos Aires where she loaded frozen meat. Apart from two Kiel cruises in 1912, she continued on this service until 1917 when she was fitted as a hospital ship. After one voyage to Halifax and one to Capetown, she was handed over to the Canadian Government as a Canadian Military Hospital Ship and between then and 1920 made 19 voyages between the UK and Canada and transported 15,000 patients. In 1920 she was handed back to RMSP Co, refitted and on 29th Oct.1920 resumed Southampton - Buenos Aires voyages. On 19th dec.1921 she commenced her first Hamburg - Southampton - New York sailing and made 6 round voyages on this route. In 1926 she was refitted as a cruise ship with accommodation for 365-1st class passengers, but with the advent of the slump in 1930, was sold to Jugoslavenska Lloyd (Yugoslav Lloyd) and renamed Kraljica Marija (Queen Maria). She was mainly employed on Black Sea and Mediterranean cruises until 1940 when she went to the French Line and was renamed Savoie. Used again on the South America route, she was sunk near Casablanca on 8th Nov.1942 while taking part in the American landings in North Africa.