The Greek cruise ship ITHACA photographed leaving the Alcântara passenger ship terminal in Lisbon, 21 January 1976. It was my negative NO. 649., and I had started taking photos of ships seriously in February 1975.
Built in Hamburg in 1956 as the ZION for Zim Lines of Israel, the ITHACA was the ship's third name as between 1966 and 1972 she was the flagship of Sociedade Geral of Lisbon, as the AMÉLIA DE MELLO, used for five years on the Lisbon - Cape Verde - Angola service. Sold in 1972 to Vlassopulos interests and rebuilt at Bilbao as a cruise ship. Chartered to Thomson Cruises as the ITHACA, she operated in the Mediterranean and Eastern Atlantic until she was renamed DOLPHIN IV in 1978 and transferred to Miami under the management of Paquet Ulysses Line. It was the start of a very sucessfull operation of 3 and 4 day Bahama cruises from Miami. In 1995 she was sold to Cape Canaveral Cruise Line but continued cruising to the Bahamas from Cape Canaveral until September 2000. Sold to India for scrapping in December 2000, she was scrapped at Alang, India, in 2003.
Her sistership ISRAEL was also sold to Portugal in 1966 becoming the ANGRA DO HERÍSMO until sold for scap in Spain in 1974.
Words and photo copyright Luís Miguel Correia - 2007
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