Saga Ruby
Encyclopedia
MS Saga Ruby is a cruise ship
Cruise ship
A cruise ship or cruise liner is a passenger ship used for pleasure voyages, where the voyage itself and the ship's amenities are part of the experience, as well as the different destinations along the way...
owned and operated by Saga Cruises
Saga Cruises
Saga Cruises, also known as Saga Holidays is a British based cruise line, a division of the Saga Group. Only passengers of 50 years of age or older are allowed on board Saga's vessels as they are designed specifically for this demographic's needs....
. She was built as the combined ocean liner
Ocean liner
An ocean liner is a ship designed to transport people from one seaport to another along regular long-distance maritime routes according to a schedule. Liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes .Cargo vessels running to a schedule are sometimes referred to as...
/cruise ship MS Vistafjord in 1973 by Swan Hunter Shipbuilders in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
for the Norwegian America Line
Norwegian America Line
Norwegian America Line , was a cruise ship line, originally an operator of passenger and cargo ships. Founded in 1910, the company ran a regular transatlantic service between Norway and the United States, and later to East Africa as well....
. In 1983 she was sold to Cunard Line
Cunard Line
Cunard Line is a British-American owned shipping company based at Carnival House in Southampton, England and operated by Carnival UK. It has been a leading operator of passenger ships on the North Atlantic for over a century...
, retaining her original name until 1999 when she was renamed MS Caronia. In 2004 she was sold to her current owners.
Concept and construction
The Vistafjord was ordered by Norwegian America LineNorwegian America Line
Norwegian America Line , was a cruise ship line, originally an operator of passenger and cargo ships. Founded in 1910, the company ran a regular transatlantic service between Norway and the United States, and later to East Africa as well....
(NAL) from Swan Hunter Shipbuilders, Newcastle
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. She was based on the company's 1965-built , but with an enlarged hull, additional superstructure deck and improved interior layout. However, as the cost of building the Sagafjord had put her builders, Forges et Chantiers de la Mediterranee, out of business, the Vistafjord had to be built at a different shipyard. She was launched on 15 May 1972 and delivered to the Norwegian America Line exactly a year later on 15 May 1973. She is the last cruise ship to have been built in the United Kingdom.
Service history
On 22 May 1973 the Vistafjord set on her maiden voyage, a transatlantic crossing from OsloOslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
to New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. After this initial crossing she was used exclusively in cruise service from New York to the Bahamas. At the time the Norwegian-flagged Vistafjord was considered to be amongst the most luxurious cruise ships in the world, sharing the top 5 in Berlitz Complete Guide to Cruising with the Sagafjord and Royal Viking Line
Royal Viking Line
The Royal Viking Line was an upmarket cruise line that operated from 1972 until 1998. The company was the brain child of Warren Titus and had its headquarters at One Embarcadero Center in San Francisco.- History :...
's Royal Viking Star, Royal Viking Sky and Royal Viking Sea for several years.
Although their ships were high-rated, Norwegian America Line had trouble making profit. In 1983 Trafalgar House
Trafalgar House (company)
Trafalgar House Public Limited Company was a British conglomerate with interests in property investment, property development, engineering, construction, shipping, hotels, energy and publishing...
, the owners of Cunard Line
Cunard Line
Cunard Line is a British-American owned shipping company based at Carnival House in Southampton, England and operated by Carnival UK. It has been a leading operator of passenger ships on the North Atlantic for over a century...
, purchased NAL and in October 1983 the Vistafjord joined the Cunard fleet. She retained her original name and the grey NAL hull colour, but received Cunard Line funnel colours and was re-registered to the Bahamas. Despite the flag change she retained Norwegian command staff.
In 1999 the decision was made to rename the Vistafjord with a more traditional Cunard Line name. On 10 December 1999 she was renamed MS Caronia and re-registered in the United Kingdom. She continued service with Cunard until November 2004, when she was sold to Saga Cruises
Saga Cruises
Saga Cruises, also known as Saga Holidays is a British based cruise line, a division of the Saga Group. Only passengers of 50 years of age or older are allowed on board Saga's vessels as they are designed specifically for this demographic's needs....
. Following a £17 million refit at Valletta
Valletta
Valletta is the capital of Malta, colloquially known as Il-Belt in Maltese. It is located in the central-eastern portion of the island of Malta, and the historical city has a population of 6,098. The name "Valletta" is traditionally reserved for the historic walled citadel that serves as Malta's...
, Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
the Caronia reappeared as MS Saga Ruby in March 2005. In the Saga Cruises fleet she joined her former Norwegian America Line fleetmate Sagafjord (now named Saga Rose
Saga Rose
MS Saga Rose was an ocean liner formerly owned and operated by Saga Cruises on worldwide cruises targeted at the senior market out of the United Kingdom. She was built in 1965 by Société Nouvelle des Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée for Norwegian America Line as the combined ocean...
).
Exterior design
The Vistafjord was built with a very traditional ocean liner profile, with the funnel placed amidship and a notable sheerSheer (ship)
The sheer is a measure of longitudinal main deck curvature, in naval architecture.The practice of building sheer into a ship dates back to the era of small sailing ships. These vessels were built with the decks curving upwards at the bow and stern in order to increase stability by preventing the...
on her hull. The superstructure is terraced both at the fore and aft of the ship. In two refits during her Cunard Line career additional structures were added to the rear and top of the superstructure.
In Norwegian America Line service the Vistafjord carried the traditional NAL livery, with a grey hull, white superstructure, yellow mast and a yellow funnel with red, white and blue (colours of the flag of Norway
Flag of Norway
The flag of Norway is red with an indigo blue Scandinavian cross outlined in white that extends to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side in the style of the Dannebrog, the flag of Denmark.- History :...
) stripes. Following sale to Cunard she retained the grey hull colour, but her funnel was painted in the red/black Cunard colours and her mast white. A red "Cunard" text was later added to her superstructure. Coinciding with her renaming into Caronia in 1999 the ship's hull was repainted black. As Saga Ruby her hull was repainted dark blue and her funnel yellow, with a dark blue top and a narrow white stripe separating the two colours.
Technical details
Main engines- 2×Sulzer 9RD68 made by George Clark & NEMGeorge Clark & NEMGeorge Clark & NEM was a leading British marine engineering business. The Company was based in Sunderland and was a major employer in the area.-History:...
, 24000 BHP. - Port main engine turns anti-clockwise engine number #1696 cylinders are numbered from 82561 through to 69.
- Starboard main engine turns clockwise engine number #1697 cylinders numbered from 82570 through to 78.
- Maximum economic loading is 5 MW per engine at 135 rpm, this produces a speed of 20 knots (39.2 km/h). At this speed the engines consume approximately 48 tonnes per day of IFO 180 fuel oil which relates to 42 litres, 11 US or 9 UK gallons per nautical mile.
Auxiliary engines
- 6×Bergen LDG6 - 670 kW
- 1×Wartsila CW170L8 1040 kW
Boilers
- 2× SAACKE Spanner MK III marine boilers at 10 bar (1 MPa; 145 psi)
- 2× SAACKE exhaust gas boilers at 10 bar (1 MPa; 145 psi)
Other specifications
- Gas oil (GO) capacity—normal cruising: 440 tonnes (970,034 lb)
- Marine diesel oil (MDO) capacity—normal cruising: N/A
- Heavy fuel oil (HFO) capacity—normal cruising: 1900 tonnes (4,188,783 lb)
- HFO Specification, Grade (IFO 380, IFO 180, >IFO 180 etc.): IFO 180
- HFO storage tanks (type & location): deep tanks
- Lubricating oil (LO) capacity—normal cruising: 100 tonnes (220,462.3 lb)
- LO storage tanks (type & location): double bottoms
- Fuel consumption per 24 hours—normal cruising: 50 tonnes (110,231.1 lb) IFO + 12 tonnes (26,455.5 lb) MGO
- Fuel consumption per 24 hours—max: 60 tonnes (132,277.4 lb)
- Fuel consumption per 24 hours—penetrating ice: 65 tonnes (143,300.5 lb)
Generators
- Saga Ruby has 1 emergency and 7 main electrical generators.
- The emergency generator is a Caterpillar SR4 producing 275 kW at 440 V.
- The main generators consist of 6 Bergen RSGB-8 producing a maximum 690 kW each and 1 Cummins KTA 3067-G producing a maximum 750 kW. The maximum safe working loads are 550 kW for the Bergens, and 400 kW for the Cummins; at this loading the total power is 3700 kW. During cruises in Northern waters, the average daily loading is 2,975 kW. The tropical waters loading of the generators will result in an average fuel consumption of 15.5 tonnes per day of marine gas oil.
- The Bergens are numbered :
- Starboard Outer is #1, engine serial number #1986.
- Starboard Center is #2, engine serial number #1987.
- Starboard Inner is #3, engine serial number #1988.
- Port Inner is #4, engine serial number #1989.
- Port Centre is #5, engine serial number #1990.
- Port Outer is #6, engine serial number #1991.
- The Cummins engine has a serial number of #33105825.
- The power is supplied from the main switchboard to 21 transformers that take the voltage down from 440 V to 120 V for the cabin and public areas.
Air conditioning
Three Carrier 19XL5353306CR (R134a) marine air conditioning units which supplies treated chilled fresh water to 42 air handling units (AHU). The Carrier units each consume 400 kW (at 100%) of electricity for the motors, which results in 1,734 kW (5,917,000 Btu/h) cooling from the plant. The AHU’s provide 14750000 ft3/h of conditioned air. This relates to 8 air changes per hour in cabins, 15 changes per hour in the public rooms, and 60 changes per hour in the galley.- The engine room inlet fans produce 306000 m3/h and the exhaust fans remove 50000 m3/h. The main engines, generators, and boilers use approximately 230000 m3/h of fresh air at full load.
Auxiliary
- 22 pumps, 11 sea water and 11 fresh water accomplish the cooling for the above units.
- The 11 sea water consist of 3 for the main engine cooling system, 3 for the diesel generators, 4 for the air conditioning units, and 1 for the Cummins.
- The 11 fresh water consists of 3 for the main engine jacket water, 3 for the diesel generators, 3 for the main engine piston cooling, and 2 for main engine nozzle cooling.
Boilers
- SAACKE Built & Commissioned
- Steam is supplied at 9 bar (0.9 MPa; 130.5 psi) (wet) with a total boiler output of 19,300 kg/h (42,500 lb/h).
- This is supplied by :
- 2 Spanner oil–fired Swirlyflow boilers type j.5655/6 producing 11,000 kg/h (24,300 lb/h) using an average of 3 tonnes per day of fuel.
- 2 main engine Spanner Swirlyflow exhaust gas boilers type J.5657/58 producing 6,200 kg/h (13,700 lb/h).
- The steam is used to heat the fuel to a suitable injection temperature, for air conditioning re-heat, and for domestic hot water. The two domestic water heaters are retrofit and are Alpha Laval Plate Heaters type M10-BFG.
Refrigeration
- The provision plant is a retrofit with the new R-404a gas. It has two sides—a high temperature (plus boxes) and a low temperature (minus boxes) system. The plus system has a 35 kW (119,000 Btu/h) cooling capacity, and the minus system has a 41 kW (140,000 Btu/h) cooling capacity.
- There are 20 ice-producing machines on board, which are capable of producing 9450 lb (4,286.4 kg) per day. There are also 471 cabin sized 2.8 or refrigerators on board, 347 in passenger cabins.
Stabilisers
Denny Brown AEG units which have a designation “Swan Hunter Ship 39 Contract”. They take a full load current of 26 kW per main motor, and have a fin length of 15 feet (4.6 m), and are 7 feet (2.1 m) wide.Water production plant
Three water production plants on board capable of producing 627 tonnes per day. They are the following:- An Atlas-Danmark Distiller AFGU 2SN091 which is a 200 tonne per day unit.
- A Matrix Reverse Osmosis 66K SWRO Silver-D which is a 250 tonne per day unit.
- A Matrix Reverse Osmosis 44K SWRO Silver D produces 120 tonnes per day.
Steering gear
- The Steering Gear was manufactured by AEG is a vane type RDC 630/100 with a Standard Vickers VSG Mark III Pump. It also has an unusual emergency steering pump, which is driven by a pneumatic motor.