Captain Per Kristoffersen, Kyriaki and Werner Soelch aboard the “Mariner of the Seas” (Royal Caribbean)

Authors: Werner Soelch (WS), member of Deutscher Faehrschiffahrtsverein e.V. (DFV, German Ferry Shipping Society)
Heribert Schroepfer
Co-author Web layout: Hans Soelch, xyania internet verlag
Web Consultants: Anton Soelch, Daniela Soelch.


Store this Web site on your computer, for one never knows when it will disappear from the Web.

You are welcome to this historical survey and to use it FREELY under the conditions mentioned with the previous chapter. For commercial use (reserved by copyright) and for high-quality pictures and for placing advertisements please contact Hans Soelch: kontakt@xyania.de

Commercial cooperation, missing photographs and information would be welcome.

For world's grand express trains connecting with the Ocean liners and ferries, and for the new high-speed trains, download FREELY a Web site by Werner Soelch and Hans Soelch with historical texts and more than 600 photographs: www.trains-worldexpresses.com

For more information about railways and electric locomotives log on to: www.elektrolok.de and www.lok-vogel.de

Successor of regular Ocean liner traffic is jet air transport. A global historical analysis, looking back and ahead, is under preparation. You'll be welcome to download it FREELY: www.aviation-airtransport.com. The Web sites will continually be updated.

For buses see the web site of Robert Mayr: www.europas-busse.de

While we strive for utmost precision, we cannot be responsible for any inaccuracies or unnoticed changes, neither for any subsequent damage arising. We are not responsible for the contents of other Web sites connected via an external link, neither for any damage arising. Our Web sites.com are written in English, with travel descriptions also in German. For translations via external links the authors cannot take any responsibility.

Abbreviations: Tons, t, ts, gt, g, GRT = gross tonnage. As the subject of this survey is the history of passenger shipping from the beginning, the ancient term "tons" is used and nowadays' abbreviation gt (figures taken from old German sources were based on BRT). The deadweight generally is not mentioned. Year = year of delivery, not launch date Dimensions = length over all by beam, in metres (1ft = 0.3048 m) hp, h.p. = horsepower (dependent on sources) kW = kilowatt (1 kW = 1.36 hp. Generally the power of the diesel engines is different from the lower output of the electric engines). k, kn = knots (nm per hour) lanem = ferries' lane metres nm = nautical miles (1nm = 1.852 km) pax = number of passengers, different dependent on sources. For nowadays' cruise ships, generally the lower-berth capacity is given. After the first quarter of the 20th century the liners generally were powered by geared steam turbines, not specially mentioned with the text. For car ferries and nowadays' cruise ships diesel engines are standard, not mentioned with the text, too. In the text accents and umlauts were avoided.

Aknowledgements:
Our thanks go to all the people and institutions who have contributed to the researches by information and pictures. The names of the providers of photographs are mentioned with the pictures. Special thanks go to British Museum, London; Deutscher Faehrschiffahrtsverein e.V. and the magazine Ferries, Deutsches Museum Muenchen; Deutsches Schiffahrtsmuseum Bremerhaven; DB Museum Nurnberg, Dir. Dr. Juergen Franzke; the Hong Kong Study Circle and Reg. Kirk; the India Study Circle and Colonel C.N.M. Blair; the Institute of Marine History & H.C.G., Piraeus; Museum fuer Hamburgische Geschichte and Herr Carl-Boie Salchow; National Maritime Museum London and Meredith Wells, A.W.H. Pearsall and N.E. Upham; Nederlands Scheepvaart Museum, Amsterdam; Hellenic Maritime Museum, Piraeus; Nautical Museum of Greece, Piraeus; Technisches Museum, Vienna; Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munich; Library of Congress, Washington; Fincantieri; Meyer Werft; STX Europe, formerly Aker Yards; Canadian Pacific; Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigaton Co. and Mrs. Kristian Swengley; Mr. Th. A.W. Ruys of Rotterdam Lloyd; Union Castle Mail Steamship Co.; the other shipping companies concerned, their Captains and Engineers, and the relevant Port Authorities; the magazine Ferries, edited by Frank Heine; Lloyd’s List; ShipPax; the magazine Ships Monthly; the Web sites flickr.com, wikimedia.org and other ones and their providers of photographs; M. Adam; Hugh Bennett; Gerald Berger; Dr. Ertugrul Caner; Jean Paul Caracalla; Captain Stelios Christoforou; Marc Dahlstrom; Alan B. Deitch; Ray Ellis; Th. M. Elsing; Friedhelm Ernst; Contre-Amiral Jean Eynaud de Fay; Elena Fourtouni; Nikos Goudis; Georgeos Handrinos, Astrid Hansen; Peter Heigl; philately shop Detlef Hilmer; Helga Jeanmonod-Mayr; Alguin Kitson; Juergen Klein; Spiros Kotsonis; Antonis Koutsodontis; Bjorn Larsson (Timetableimages); M.D. Lengelle (‘Vauquesal Papin’); Fotis Marinelis; General George Marketis; Stelios M.; Chen Melling; Heiko Mueller and Matthias Schulze; Captain Sideris Mylonas; Margit Orthgiess; Captain Evangelis Panagiotatos; William Pearce; Dr. R. Plantey with his worldwide photo collection; John H. Price; Eric Rodriguez (32@hotmail.com), tourist guide in Panama; Dr. Henning Saul and Sigi Saul; Theo Schmidt; Volker Schmidt; Miltiades Spiridopoulos, University of Piraeus; R. M. Startup, Postal History Society of New Zealand; Dr. Fritz Stoeckl, Georgeos Togias, Josef Ungewitter with his unique timetable collection; Karl-Heinz Walraf; Otto and Julieta Wiedemann; Captain Haralabos Velianitis; Hermann Willenbrock.

Our personal thanks go to Gertraud Schroepfer, Kyriaki Soelch, Ingrid Mayer, Kurt and Gerta Soelch, Hans Soelch sr. and Maria Soelch, Dr. Helene Bruscha and to all our family members.

Our thanks go also to all the authors of the relevant books, magazines and Web sites. The authors apologize to anybody who might have been overlooked.

For more of the beautiful historic posters collected by J. Klein see Albert Muehl/Juergen Klein: Travelling in Luxury, EK-Verlag.

Text layout service:
Kiki Katsouli, Aegina, Greece (katkikgr@yahoo.gr)

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