Sitmar Cruises

Sitmar Cruises was the passenger-shipping identity of Società Italiana Trasporti Marittimi, a company whose name was derived from the Italian phrase for Italian Maritime Transport Company. It was established by Alexandre Vlasov, a Russian émigré who began with Mediterranean cargo operations in 1937. The company’s early vessels were lost during the Second World War, but Vlasov rebuilt the business after 1945 and gradually shifted its emphasis from cargo to passengers. A major stage in Sitmar’s development came through contracts with the International Refugee Organization. The company used former American military and cargo vessels to transport displaced Europeans to Australia, North America and other destinations. Its ships, including Castelbianco, Castelverde and Fairsea, acquired a reputation for relatively good accommodation and food compared with many other operators carrying migrants. During the 1950s, Sitmar expanded into scheduled passenger services linking Europe with Australia and, for a time, Central and South America. It also operated seasonal tourist services in the North Atlantic. By the late 1950s, the company had abandoned most of its Central and South American and North Atlantic routes and concentrated on Europe–Australasia passenger traffic. From 1955 to 1970 it repeatedly won Australian government contracts to carry British migrants under the Assisted Passage Scheme. Ships such as Fairsea, Fairsky and Fairstar became closely associated with the migration route from Southampton to Australia. The loss of the Australian contract in 1970 forced a strategic change, as Sitmar turned increasingly toward leisure cruising. The brand became known as Sitmar Cruises in the North American market during the 1970s. Fairsea and Fairwind were refitted for cruising, while the company also maintained a full-time Sydney-based operation. Sitmar’s positioning combined traditional ocean-liner heritage with family-oriented cruising and an emphasis on service. Its Australian operation briefly used the Sea Travel Centres marketing arrangement with Shaw Savill, but that partnership ended as regular circumnavigations were discontinued. In the 1980s, Sitmar moved beyond converted historic ships and commissioned newbuilds. Fairsky entered service in 1984, followed by further orders from French and Italian shipyards. The planned vessels incorporated a new visual identity featuring a blue funnel and white swan emblem, replacing the older Vlasov funnel mark. Some of the new ships were delivered only after the acquisition process had begun and entered service under Princess Cruises names. P&O acquired Sitmar Cruises and its ships in July 1988. In Australia, Fairstar retained its name for a period under P&O-Sitmar Cruises, which became P&O Holidays in 1991. Most of the operating and unfinished fleet moved to Princess Cruises, bringing the independent Sitmar brand to an end. Sitmar’s legacy continued through ships later operated by Princess, P&O Cruises Australia and other companies. The former Regal Princess, originally ordered for Sitmar, eventually entered service as Ambience for Ambassador Cruise Line and has been identified as the last operating ship designed for the former Sitmar fleet.

Sitmar began in 1937 when Alexandre Vlasov operated two small cargo ships in the Mediterranean. The company’s vessels were lost during the Second World War, after which Vlasov reconstructed the business with a mixture of cargo and passenger ships. The company’s funnel mark was a letter V, reflecting the Vlasov family name, while the corporate name referred to Società Italiana Trasporti Marittimi. After the war, Sitmar entered the refugee-transport business. Former American vessels Wooster Victory and Vassar Victory became Castelverde and Castelbianco and were chartered for International Refugee Organization work. Following the end of the IRO contracts in 1952, both ships were rebuilt for migrant and passenger service. Fairsea, formerly the escort carrier USS Charger, also carried refugees and migrants to Australia and North America. Castel Felice joined the fleet in 1952 after conversion from the former SS Kenya. Sitmar became particularly important on the Britain–Australia route. From 1955 through 1970, it held successive five-year Australian government contracts to carry British emigrants under the Assisted Passage Scheme. Fairsea began the service, Fairsky joined in 1958 after conversion from the former escort carrier HMS Attacker, and Fairstar entered the route after Sitmar acquired the former troopship Oxfordshire. The company’s passenger services were noted for comparatively comfortable accommodation and food, helping it distinguish itself in a competitive migration market. Sitmar’s wider liner network contracted during the 1950s. Services to Central and South America and seasonal North Atlantic operations were abandoned by 1957, leaving Europe–Australasia as the principal long-distance market. The company’s cargo and tanker interests continued through related Vlasov companies, while the Sitmar passenger identity increasingly focused on migrant transportation and later tourism. The loss of the Australian migration contract in 1970 marked a decisive turning point. Sitmar refitted former Cunard vessels Carinthia and Sylvania, renamed Fairland and Fairwind, and developed a North American cruise business from 1972. In Australia, Fairsky continued as a full-time cruise ship from 1974. After Fairsky was sold following a 1977 collision, Sitmar acquired Principe Perfeito and planned to convert it into another Fairsky, but the conversion was judged uneconomic and the vessel was sold in 1982. Sitmar then pursued newbuildings rather than relying solely on converted liners. Fairsky entered service in 1984 as the company’s first new cruise ship. In the middle of the decade Sitmar ordered additional ships from Chantiers de l’Atlantique and Fincantieri. The planned fleet used a modern blue-funnel and white-swan identity, although the rebranding was only partially applied before the company was sold. Boris Vlasov participated in the design direction of the new vessels before his death in 1987. P&O bought Sitmar Cruises in July 1988. Fairsky became Sky Princess and later Pacific Sky, while the new Sitmar Fair Majesty entered service as Star Princess. The two large Italian-built ships ordered for Sitmar became Crown Princess and Regal Princess. In Australia, Fairstar continued under P&O-Sitmar Cruises and later P&O Holidays. The acquisition ended Sitmar as an independent brand, but its vessels continued in the fleets of Princess Cruises, P&O Cruises Australia and later operators. The former Regal Princess ultimately became Ambience, preserving a physical link to the Sitmar newbuild program.

• 1988

  P&O acquisition ends independent Sitmar operations

  [1]Sitmar Cruisesen.wikipedia.org

  P&O acquires the brand and fleet; most ships move to Princess Cruises and the Australian business becomes P&O-Sitmar Cruises.

• 1984

  Fairsky enters service

  [1]Sitmar Cruisesen.wikipedia.org

  Sitmar’s first new cruise ship enters service for the North American market.

• 1972

  North American cruise expansion

  [1]Sitmar Cruisesen.wikipedia.org

  Refitted Fairsea and Fairwind support Sitmar’s development as a North American cruise operator.

• 1970

  Sitmar loses the Australian migration contract

  [1]Sitmar Cruisesen.wikipedia.org

  Chandris Lines wins the replacement contract, prompting Sitmar to accelerate its move into leisure cruising.

• 1955

  Australian assisted-passage service begins

  [1]Sitmar Cruisesen.wikipedia.org

  Sitmar starts a long-running contract carrying British emigrants from Southampton to Australia.

• 1952

  Refugee-transport contracts end

  [1]Sitmar Cruisesen.wikipedia.org

  Sitmar completes major International Refugee Organization work and refits vessels for commercial migrant services.

• 1947

  Postwar shift toward passenger shipping

  [1]Sitmar Cruisesen.wikipedia.org

  After rebuilding following wartime losses, the company begins replacing much of its cargo activity with passenger operations.

• 1937

  SITMAR begins cargo operations

  [1]Sitmar Cruisesen.wikipedia.org

  Alexandre Vlasov establishes the Mediterranean shipping business that would become Sitmar.

A service-oriented passenger and cruise operator that combined migrant transportation, traditional liner routes and family-focused leisure cruising.

• Passenger liner and cruise ship

  Fairsea

  Sitmar used two different ships under the Fairsea name. The first, formerly USS Charger, supported refugee and migrant transport and later Australian services before being scrapped after an engine-room fire. The second, formerly Fairland, was a refitted former Cunard liner used in Sitmar’s North American cruise operation from the early 1970s.

• Cruise ship · 1971

  Fairwind

  Fairwind was formerly the Cunard liner Sylvania. After Sitmar’s loss of the Australian migration contract, it was refitted alongside Fairsea and used to establish a more substantial leisure-cruise presence in North America.

• Passenger liner and cruise ship · 1958

  Fairsky

  Sitmar used the Fairsky name for several ships. Fairsky (2), converted from the former escort carrier Castel Forte, carried migrants to Australia and later operated full-time cruises from Sydney. Fairsky (4), launched in 1984, was Sitmar’s first newbuild and later became Sky Princess under Princess Cruises.

• Passenger liner and cruise ship · 1964

  Fairstar

  Fairstar was the former troopship Oxfordshire, acquired in 1963 and used on migrant voyages between Britain and Australia before becoming an important Sydney-based cruise ship. It retained its name after the P&O acquisition under the P&O-Sitmar Cruises operation.

• Cruise ship newbuild · 1988

  Sitmar Fair Majesty

  Ordered for Sitmar and built at Chantiers de l’Atlantique, this ship was delivered after the P&O transaction and entered Princess Cruises service as Star Princess in 1989.

• Cruise ship newbuilds · 1990

  Crown Princess and Regal Princess

  These approximately 70,000-gross-ton ships were ordered by Sitmar and built by Fincantieri to external designs associated with Renzo Piano. They entered service as Crown Princess and Regal Princess after the P&O acquisition, later operating for P&O Cruises Australia as Pacific Jewel and Pacific Dawn.

• 1972Sea Travel Centres

  Australia · United Kingdom

  Sitmar and Shaw Savill used a joint line-voyage marketing arrangement during the final period of regular circumnavigation services.

  Outcome. The arrangement was short-lived and ended when both companies ceased regular circumnavigations in 1974.

  Source
• 1955British Assisted Passage Scheme

  United Kingdom · Australia

  Sitmar repeatedly carried British emigrants from Southampton to Australia under Australian government assisted-passage contracts.

  Outcome. The company lost the contract in 1970, accelerating its transition to leisure cruising.

  Source

• 1988

  Sale to P&OM&A

  Background

  P&O negotiated to acquire Sitmar during a period of fleet renewal and brand redesign.

  Action taken

  P&O purchased the company and its ships in July 1988.

  Aftermath

  Most vessels transferred to Princess Cruises, while the Australian operation continued temporarily as P&O-Sitmar Cruises.

  Source

• 1984

  Commissioning of the first Sitmar newbuildProduct launch

  Background

  Sitmar had historically relied heavily on acquired and converted passenger ships.

  Action taken

  The company introduced Fairsky, its first purpose-built cruise ship.

  Aftermath

  Additional newbuild orders followed, although the later ships were delivered under successor brands after the P&O acquisition.

  Source

• 1970

  Shift from migration transport to leisure cruisingStrategy

  Background

  Sitmar lost the long-running Australian assisted-passage contract to Chandris Lines.

  Action taken

  The company refitted former Cunard liners and concentrated more heavily on North American and Australian cruise operations.

  Aftermath

  Sitmar established a recognizable leisure-cruise business before ordering new ships in the 1980s.

  Source

1. 1Sitmar Cruisesen.wikipedia.org