MS Oranje

Oranje in August 1941, shortly after her conversion to a hospital ship
History
Name	Oranje (1939–1964) Angelina Lauro (1965–1979)
Owner	Netherland Line (1939–1964) Lauro Lines (1965–1979)
Operator	Netherlands Lines (1939–1941) Australian Government WWII Service (1941–1946) Netherlands Lines (1947–1964) Lauro Lines (1965–1977) Costa Lines (Chartered 1977–1979)
Port of registry	1939–1964: Amsterdam, Netherlands 1964–1979: Naples, Italy
Builder	N. V. Nederlandsche Scheepsbouw-Maatschappij, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Yard number	270
Laid down	2 July 1937
Launched	8 September 1938
Completed	15 July 1939
Out of service	30 March 1979
Identification	Call sign: PGOF → IBHO IMO number: 5264077
Fate	Destroyed by fire on 30 March 1979; sank on 24 September 1979
General characteristics
Tonnage	24,377 GRT (after refit) 20,017 GRT(originally)
Length	672.4 ft (204.9 m) (after refit) 656 ft (200 m) (originally)
Beam	83.6 ft (25.5 m)
Decks	8
Installed power	3 x 12-cylinder Sulzer diesels 37,500 hp (28,000 kW) at 145 rpm
Propulsion	Triple Screw
Speed	22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph) (service) 26 knots (48 km/h; 30 mph) (maximum)
Capacity	740 passengers, original in 1939

The MS Oranje, later known as Angelina Lauro, was a passenger liner, a wartime hospital ship and finally a cruise ship that was burnt out and subsequently lost while being towed for scrap. She sank in a storm in the mid-Pacific, on 24 September 1979. The ship underwent 25 years' service as Oranje, and fifteen as Angelina Lauro. She was a cruise ship for the last seven years of her career.

File:Angelina Lauro (former Oranje).jpg

The Angelina Lauro

External links

• Detailed website with many photographs
• Allatsea.com
• An eyewitness account: The Angelina Lauro fire
• Oranje during and after WW2