About this site
The site does not set out to record a vessel's history or ownership.Nor will you find an abundance of photographs. Both of these aspects are left to the many dedicated sites you can find on the web. A few have been listed (click here) for your convenience. Photographs and sketches that appear in the Photos/Sketches/Aboard pages are by the author (unless otherwise indicated). Vessels in service in 1960 that carried 12 or more passengers were the original foundation of the database.
It is periodically reviewed and updated (also corrected at times). The abbreviations used in the results tables should be obvious; in case they are not, here are some of them:
- agrd = aground
- arr = arrived
- blt = built
- chr = christened
- CTL = constructive total loss
- conv = converted or conversion
- fndrd = foundered
- lch = launch or launched
- ld up = laid up
- mdn vge = maiden voyage
- sc = scrapped
Searches
for SHIPS are by IMO.number or full name. Searching by incomplete name will result in a large number of irrelevant entries.
for SHIPBUILDERS are by name or location. As far as possible builders are listed by their company names, but searches may be conducted using parts of the name. For instance 'chantier' would produce a large number of unconnected yards. Likewise 'Nantes' all those located there. But 'Atlantique' would produce only one yard, and list all ships built when the yard had that name. For major builders a prepared search is available listing all ships built at that location whatever the builder's previous or subsequent names. Many current listings on other web-sites use only the current name of the builder, which for me is unhelpful.
The Directory lists all the ship names on this web site's database.
The IDX in Photo option list all the ships for which a photograph is displayed. New photographs are added as available and from time to time photographs of existing ships are rotated.
Data
Ships are traditionally christened when launched into the water. Modern cruise ships are built in dry-docks and floated out so many cruise companies treat the christening as the launch date. For the purpose of the database the day the ship meets the water, 'float-out', is the launch date.
Some trivial facts:Here