MV Munster (1947)

MV Orpheus

MV Orpheus docked at Prince Rupert, B.C in October 1970
History
Name:	MV Munster
Builder:	Harland & Wolff
Launched:	25 March 1947
Completed:	17 January 1948
Fate:	Commissioned by B&I Line
Name:	MV Munster
Owner:	B&I Line
Acquired:	1948
Fate:	Transferred to Epirotiki Lines
Name:	MV Theseus
Owner:	Epirotiki Lines
Acquired:	1969
Decommissioned:	1998
Renamed:	MV Orpheus (c.1970)
Struck:	2000
Identification:	IMO number: 5243762
Fate:	Decommissioned and Scrapped
General characteristics
Tonnage:	5,078 tonnes GRT
Length:	110 metres (360 ft)
Speed:	15 knots
Capacity:	1,500; later, 372
Crew:	105

MV Orpheus was a cruise ship launched on 25 March 1947 and completed on 17 January 1948 by the shipyard Harland and Wolff in Belfast as Munster for B&I Line.^[1] It replaced the earlier Munster, built in 1938, which sank in 1940.

By 1967, the ship, onto which cars were loaded by crane, began to look dated compared to newer ships of the roll-on/roll-off variety. It was sold in 1969 to Epirotiki Lines.

It was renamed Theseus for about a year before being given its final name, Orpheus. Epirotiki overhauled the ship for two years to bring it in line with market conditions, reducing its capacity for passengers from 1,500 to 372 while increasing passenger comfort, adding a pool and redesigning the cabins.

Orpheus was relocated to the Americas where it sailed in Alaska, Mexico, and Panama for about one year. It was then relocated to Greece and operated in the Mediterranean.

In 1974, the cruise line Swan Hellenic chartered the ship. Despite its age, Orpheus was very popular with British passengers, but by the mid-1980s it became difficult for the ship to hide its age. Swan Hellenic replaced it with Minerva. Orpheus was decommissioned in 1998 and scrapped in 2000.

References

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