[ALARIC]

I did get some response to the 2012 article and learned that the issues that led to Northern Star’s early scrapping can be summarised as follows;
• The Boeing 747 which went into commercial service in 1970 and effectively ended long distance liner travel for ever.
• Shaw Savill decided to compensate for the loss of the liner trade by going into the Cruise Market, although they had no background in this business.
• It was decided that Southern Cross was unsuitable for cruising due to the many 4 and 6 berth cabins without private toilet facilities. Laid up in 1971 and sold to Greek owners in 1972, who kept the public rooms, gutted and re-built most of the cabins and proved that Southern Cross made a rather good Cruise Ship after all.
• Shaw Savill purchased Empress of England from Canadian Pacific in 1970, renamed her Ocean Monarch and sent her to Cammell-Laird to make her suitable for cruising alongside Northern Star. The spec. was wrong and the project went seriously over budget and over time. Although I don’t know the details, the ship was never satisfactory in service with Shaw Savill.
• The entry into the Cruise Bussiness was not a success, both ships were withdrawn from service and scrapped in 1975. A contributing factor was Northern Star’s main gears (I never liked them). The oil drain tanks were near or adjacent to the after sewage tank and bacterial contamination caused damage to the gearing.
• The overriding cause of the early scrapping of Northern Star was poor management. From the end of WW2 until his retirement in 1963 the company had been led and managed by an outstanding Chairman, Basil Sanderson. After his departure the company went into rapid decline. In 1975 the Chairman was Dr. Beeching, who had previously managed and closed large parts of British Railways. His philosophy was, if it was loosing money, don’t make sensible investment, just scrap it.