Design

In the evolution of today's modern cruise ships, the Oceanic is a historically significant ship. She was built with cruising in mind first, followed by part-time transatlantic crossing. Compared to how ships were built up to 1965 the design of the Oceanic can be considered a major shift. In the waning era of the transatlantic trade, very few companies truly embraced the coming change. This fundamental philosophical change in architectural approach created a paradigm shift in ship construction. The Oceanic, at the time of her completion, was cutting edge and many of her features are design norms for today's mega-ships. In the photo below, the beautiful bow of the Oceanic with long graceful lines is akin to that of a powerful battleship.

A few of the innovative design features to highlight are; the location of the life boats, magnadrome and elimination of sheer. First, on most transatlantic liners, with few exceptions, lifeboats had been located on the highest deck (usually boat deck). However, on the Oceanic, the lifeboats are located lower down on hull. This provides passengers with an unobstructed view of the sea from the top of the ship. This also has a big link to the next feature, the magnadrome. Ship buffs will undoubtedly point out that there are other ships prior the Oceanic that have had lifeboats located on lower decks such as the Oriana of 1959. However, the intended purpose of the Oriana was not transatlantic crossings or cruising but rather immigrant trade between the UK and Australia. Note the lifeboats in the photo below, clealy located below the top most decks.

The second feature was the development of the all-weather, external pool. The main pool on the Oceanic is located between the main mast and funnel on one of the ships highest decks. The placement of the pool itself was not unique but the clever addition of a sliding glass roof over the pool is. The location of the pool and accessibility was a huge hit with passengers.

Finally, the elimination of sheer has revolutionized ship building. From the top edge of the bow, the curve that flows backward towards the stern is sheer. When looking at the Oceanic from the side, one will see that the decks are parallel to the waterline. While this is not uncommon in any modern cruise ship, rarely would one find a ship built prior to 1965 without decks that arch forward with the bow. When walking down an internal hallway on a ship with pronounced sheer, one would not be able to see the other end of the hallway as the floor and ceiling seem intersect ahead. The below photo gives a good view of the straight lines of the hull.

The anatomical change of removing sheer has allowed for enhanced modularization of ship building. Almost all cabins aboard today's ships are pre-fabricated in almost the same way that "mobile homes" are mass produced in the United States. With linear decks, prefab cabins can be guided into place through an opening in a ship's side, in as much the same way baggage containers are loaded into the cargo holds of modern jumbo jets.

The Oceanic has another connection to a modern day super-liner, the Queen Mary 2. Like the QM2 but less pronounced, the Oceanic has a Constanzi stern. A Constanzi stern has two parts. The upper part of the stern is rounded (cruiser style stern) but at the waterline, like most modern ships, it is boxy and flat (transom stern). This combination of a cruiser and transom at the waterline, while odd and seemingly out of place, has extremely good hydrodynamic properties and can reduce vibration. The transom stern can have a hydroplaning effect helping to give lift to the stern as she makes speed thereby increasing efficiency while the rounded cruiser stern provides a more graceful, refined architectural appearance. Below is a view of the Constanzi stern with ears protruding on both the port and starboard sides at the waterline.

Vital Statistics

Another unique feature of the Oceanic is her power plant package. She has 4 boilers that drive 4 steam turbines. This engine set up, while once popular, is very rare today. The last cruise ship built with steam turbines was the Fairsky for Sitmar in 1984.

Current & Future

The Oceanic went through a systematic modernization program when she was purchased by Pullmantur in 2000. Not many ships built before 1970 are able to meet the SOLAS 2010 regulations. The result of the Pullmantur upgrades means that the Oceanic does meet or exceed the 2010 requirements. As long as the Oceanic continues to receive proper care and attention, she should be able to sail on for many more years. In the photo below, hopefully the old adage, a happy crew makes happy ship!

With good news, there is usually bad news. For the Oceanic, her age is catching up with her. She was recently detained in the US for cracks in her hull and again in Canada for safety violations. The Peace Boat group has had a problematic safety and maintenance record due in part to their purchase of older ships. One hopes the Peace Boat group will invest in the Oceanic to keep her seaworthy and safe.

The Oceanic is still a beautiful, impressive, graceful ship and we hope to see her sailing for many more years to come.

To see more images of the Oceanic in Singapore, visit our gallery here.

A very special thank you to Madeline from Marina at Keppel Bay and Debra & Pamela Devied for the help in making this article possible.