Floating Paradise Lost: MV ACHILLE LAURO, Part One: The Volcanic Life of an Extraordinary Ship

Part one of what ultimately became six chapters, this eighteen minute video commemorates the history and challenged career of the famed cruise ship Achille Lauro, which was originally the Dutch liner Willem Ruys. Using archival images and video footage shot of and on board the Achille Lauro in her final years, we tell the ship’s full story from her construction in Holland just before World War Two to her final fire that resulted in her sinking off Somalia on December 2, 1994. She was a strikingly beautiful ship and had a very popular following, despite numerous fires, collisions and the notorious hijacking of 1985 that resulted in the death of passenger Leon Klinghoffer. Her last operators, Starlauro, were a division of the vast MSC container shipping line. After the Achille Lauro sank, Starlauro changed its name to MSC Cruises and is now one of the biggest cruise lines in the world. As always, if you enjoy this video, please do click “like” and if you haven’t already, we’d love to have you subscribe to the MidShipCentury YouTube channel by clicking the icon on the lower right of the video screen. Thank you! #achillelauro #willemruys #flottalauro #starlauro #royalrotterdamlloyd #angelinalauro #msccruises #msccrociere #disaster-at-sea #fire-at-sea #hijacked #collisions