Blue Star Line:The best way to go to London

Company photo post card of the passenger cargo liners of the ARGENTINA STAR-class.
The ARGENTINA STAR and her three sisters were built in 1947-1948 for the London - Lisbon - Brazil - River Plate service of the famous Blue Star Line. They were combi-liners transporting general cargo southbound and refrigerated meat homebound. All four had very good accommodation for about 52 first class passengers.
They always called in Lisbon on both ways, South and North and were very popular with local passengers traveling to London, specially the shipping enthusiasts. While the Royal Mail Line would disembark their passengers in Southampton, the Blue Star Liners went directly to the London docks and most of the times they had to anchor in the river Thames waiting for a berth or the right tide. This would be the highlight of the trip, as in the fifties and sixties London was one of the major ports of the world and there was a constant flow of shipping up and down river. For a ship enthusiast on the decks of the anchored ARGENTINA STAR that could mean hours of endless pleasure... It all ended in 1972 when the last three ships were withdrawn and sold to Taiwan for scrap.
Texto e imagens /Text and images copyright L.M.Correia. For other posts and images, check our archive at the right column of the main page. Click on the photos to see them enlarged. Thanks for your visit and comments. Luís Miguel Correia