TS Bremen

The four propeller turbine ship “Bremen”) was launched with this name as the fifth passenger ship of the shipping line “Norddeutscher Lloyd”) and had its maiden voyage in July 1959. The shipping line had bought the former French troop-carrier “Pasteur”), which had been built in 1938, and completely rebuilt it. In spite of the competition from air traffic, the shipping line dared to put a large ship into operation. However, there was not enough money to build a completely new ship. The purchase and rebuilding of the “Pasteur”) was about half as expensive as building a new ship and cost about 100 million DM.

In order to make a modern passenger ship out of the former troop-carrier, extensive rebuilding measures were necessary. After the modernization of the technical equipment, the four existing propellers were driven by four turbines and three generators. In that way the ship now achieved 60,000 hp and a maximum speed of 26 knots. Two stabilizers were to enable a smooth sail on the high seas. The former steam funnel was replaced by an oval exhaust shaft. Instead of the former loading cranes and masts, discrete derrick booms and antennas were assembled. A new signal mast was installed above the bridge. The bridge was about 20 metres above water level. The whole ship was over 50 m high and towered above the water level by about 40 m. The rebuilding was also meant to emphasize the elegant silhouette of the passenger ship.

At that time, the TS Bremen was the largest and most modern German passenger ship. The 212 m long and 27.5 m wide jumbo could accommodate about 1,150 passengers and 544 crew members. The passengers were cared for in ten kitchens and a sickbay with an operating theatre. Masseurs, hairdressers, a bar, a swimming pool, a sauna, a kindergarten, a library, a cinema and a large shopping centre completed the swimming town. Five decks were placed over each other like a split-level house and offered a lot of outdoor space. If you walked along all of the decks, you could walk five to ten kilometres.

Due to the high losses caused by the ever-growing competition of air traffic, from 1965 onwards, shipping shifted more and more towards cruises. After 175 Atlantic crossings and 117 cruises, the Norddeutsche Lloyd sold the TS Bremen in January 1972 to the Greek shipping line Chandris. There, the ship was only in operation for two years before it was sold to Saudi Arabia in 1977. It was there used as a hotel ship in Jeddah. In 1980 it was destined to be towed to Hongkong for scrapping. But it sank on the way there and since then has been lying at the bottom of the Indian Ocean.