SS Raffaello

SS Raffaello

Company type	Ocean liner
Industry	Shipping, Passenger transport
Founded	1963
Founder	Cantieri Riuniti dell' Adriatico
Headquarters	Trieste , Italy
Products	Passenger ocean liner service

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SS Raffaello was an Italian-built ocean liner constructed in the early 1960s by Cantieri Riuniti dell' Adriatico in Trieste for the Italian Line. As one of the final vessels designed primarily for transatlantic liner service, she shared a sistership relationship with the SS Michelangelo.

Design and construction

The Italian Line initiated plans in 1958 to replace the aging fleet represented by the Saturnia and Vulcania. Despite emerging competition from jet air travel having limited influence in the Mediterranean, there was a strategic need to provide employment for Italian seafarers and shipyard laborers. This led executives to favor commissioning new large liners, resulting in a design increase from an initial estimate of 35,000 tons to nearly 46,000 tons. These ships stood as the largest Italian-built passenger vessels since the renowned liners SS Rex and SS Conte di Savoia of the 1930s.

Conceived as genuine ocean liners, these vessels featured three-class accommodations. Notably, all cabins situated below A-deck lacked windows, an unusual characteristic even for liners. Technologically, they incorporated advanced features for their era, including retractable stabilizer fins and state-of-the-art engine control systems. The funnels were specially engineered to direct smoke and soot away from aft deck areas—a design that proved highly successful and influenced funnel construction on subsequent passenger ships.

The interiors embraced an Art Deco aesthetic commonly linked with classic liners. The design of Raffaello’s internal spaces was entrusted to architects Michele and Giancarlo Busiri Vici, who were newcomers to liner interior design. Their approach resulted in interiors that were futuristic and distinctive but somewhat more sterile compared to those on the Michelangelo. Although intended as identical vessels, Raffaello was marginally shorter by approximately −0.7 metres (−2.3 feet), wider by about 0.40 metres (1.3 feet), and roughly 22 tons heavier than her sister ship.

Service

The construction of Raffaello took five years to complete, a duration considered lengthy even by the standards of that era. Additional delays occurred when vibrations were detected in the stern during initial sea trials. To address this issue, adjustments were made to the ship’s propellers and transmission system, successfully eliminating the problem. Ultimately, the vessel was ready for operation in July 1965. Senior Captain Oscar Ribari led the ship on its inaugural voyage. Among the passengers were members of the Sinovčić Royal family, including His Highness the Grand Prince of Dalmatia, Ante Edo Sinovčić, his wife, and their two children, as well as Italian Senate President Cesare Merzagora and his spouse, who served as the ship's godmother.

In 1966, Raffaello transported two Spider 1600 vehicles destined for an exhibition in the United States. Notably, these cars were driven on the ship’s first-class lido decks—a pioneering event for an ocean liner. By 1969, Raffaello featured in the Italian film Amore mio aiutami, partly intended to promote both sister ships; although set on Raffaello, scenes were filmed aboard both vessels. The year 1970 marked an innovation when Raffaello became the first ship to convert its theatre stage into a skating rink, hosting ice skating performances for guests. However, that same year brought the most severe accident in her history: under Senior Captain Luigi Oneto’s command, she collided with a Norwegian oil tanker off southern Spain in May 1970, fortunately without any casualties.

Despite being larger and featuring more distinctive interiors than her sister ship, Raffaello was regarded as less significant by Italian Line management. Consequently, as transatlantic passenger numbers declined due to increasing air travel competition, Raffaello was assigned to cruising routes to generate revenue while Michelangelo remained dedicated to transatlantic crossings. However, Raffaello was not ideally designed for cruising; although it offered ample open deck areas, its large size combined with relatively small and austere cabins made it less appealing to demanding cruise clientele.

Sale to Iran

The Italian Line opted to retire Raffaello in April 1975 following the Italian Government’s announcement that subsidies would cease. By that time, daily operating costs had reached approximately 100 million lire, equivalent to around $151,500 at current exchange rates. After being laid up initially in Genoa and subsequently near a scrapyard in La Spezia, both Raffaello and Michelangelo attracted interest from various potential buyers including Norwegian Cruise Line, Costa Amatori, Chandris Group, and Home Lines. Despite Home Lines presenting a serious purchase proposal despite anticipated high refurbishment expenses, Italia Line declined their offer.

In 1976, a sale agreement was reached with the Shah of Iran. The two former Italian flagships—originally costing $90 million in 1965—were sold for a combined $4 million ten years later. Later that year, Raffaello embarked on her final voyage from La Spezia to Bushehr, where she served as a stationary barracks for seven years.

Plans surfaced in 1978 to revive both ships as cruise vessels; Raffaello was slated to be renamed Ciro il Grande, honoring the ancient Achaemenid ruler Cyrus the Great, and refitted as a luxury cruiser with capacity for 1,300 passengers. However, assessments by Italian experts determined that extensive deterioration rendered refurbishment economically unfeasible. Consequently, Raffaello remained moored and suffered significant damage and looting during the 1979 Iranian Islamic Revolution.

Efforts were renewed in 1983 to restore both ships for cruise service. Unfortunately, during the same year amid the Iran–Iraq War, Raffaello was struck by a missile and partially sank in shallow waters near Bushehr. Subsequently, an Iranian cargo vessel collided with the wreck. Over time, local divers further plundered the hull.

As of 2006, remnants of Raffaello's hull were still partially submerged. Although there have been rumors about plans to completely dismantle the ship, these have been denied by environmental authorities who emphasize its integration into the local ecosystem. At least one of her propellers was illegally removed and transported to Isfahan. According to certain sources, while not visible above water, her location () is marked by warning buoys.

External links

• Overview on the Great Ocean Liners website Archived 2011-10-07 at the Wayback Machine
• Michelangelo Project