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The 53,329-ton United
States entered service for the
United States Line in 1952 and the French
lines 66,348 ton France entered
service in 1962. In response to these two
liners, the Italia Line ordered
Michelangelo and her sister ship
Raffaello as replacements for
their 33,340 ton Leonardo
da Vinci and
Cristoforo Colombo.
Michelangelo entered service on
the Genoa - New York run May 12th 1965.
She was caught up in a severe storm on a
crossing to New York April 12th 1966. The
50-foot waves created by that storm hit
the ship with such a force they badly
damaged her superstructure and swept two
passengers overboard.
Below, Michelangelo arriving
at New York
Repairs to the damage had to be made
in America before Michelangelo
could be returned to the normally sunny
route between Genoa and New York. By the
1970s, all the large liners operating on
the Atlantic run were losing money due to
the loss of passengers to the airlines.
After a few years of government
subsidies, it became obvious these liners
could never be operated on the Atlantic
run at a profit again.
Michelangelo was subsequently
taken out of service and laid up at Genoa
in June 1975. Although a few cruise lines
thought about converting her to a full
time cruise ship, they considered
Michelangelo to large for the
cruise industry. The conversion of the
French liner France to a cruise
ship in 1979 showed that large cruise
ships were the way of the future. This
new era in cruising came too late for
Michelangelo as the Sha of Iran
had bought her in 1977 to serve as a
military accommodation ship based at
Bandar Abbas. After 14 years in Iran, she
was towed to a scrap yard in Pakistan to
be cut up.
Below, Michelangelo &
Leonardo da Vinci at Genoa
Below, Michelangelo battling
through the storm April 12th 1966
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