Page 316 - ΝΑΥΤΙΚΑ ΧΡΟΝΙΚΑ - ΜΑΙΟΣ 2024

MARITIME HISTORY

liner managing to surpass that speed for the next
two decades.
The competition for the Blue Riband was fea-
tured regularly in the pages of Naftika Chronika
as maritime nations, especially in Europe, began
to compete for this accolade, which would bring
worldwide acclaim to vessels flying their flag,
resulting in a fierce rivalry.
It is worth noting that the Blue Riband was
not just a decorative accolade. As per Naftika
Chronika’s 15 June 1936 issue, the Blue Riband
contributed significantly to securing clientele.
Many passengers crossing the Atlantic wanted
to experience the thrill of travelling onboard the
fastest ocean liner in the world. This fact was
commercially exploited as a marketing tool by
companies managing vessels that were “reign-
ing” holders of the Blue Riband .
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The Race for the Blue Riband in the 1930s
In 1929, the British record of the “Mauretania”
was finally broken by Norddeutscher Lloyd’s
“Bremen” and “Europa” claiming the Blue Riband
as their own in 1929 (27.83 knots - 51.54 km/h)
and 1930 (27.91 knots - 51.69 km/h) respectively.
Despite having lost, surrendered, or given all its
pre-war vessels towards war reparations, the
German passenger shipping industry was able
to finance the construction of two “floating cit-
ies,” the “Bremen” and “Europa,” as mentioned by
Naftika Chronika . These ships were built without
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any subsidies from the German state, which was
highly uncommon for the period’s newbuilding
projects . At the time of writing, the magazine
6
stated that, apart from their superior speed,
these German ocean liners garnered a bigger
accolade was based on average speed rather than The “Leviathan” percentage of passengers moving across the
a trip’s total duration. Speed records for west- at Southampton: Atlantic compared to their British competitors.
bound and eastbound voyages were recorded An advertisment for As German pride was restored, British maritime
United States Lines
separately, given that the more challenging west- from the late 1920s (US prestige was hurt.
bound voyage that went against the Gulf Stream National Archives and This German “maritime victory” caused immense
resulted in slower speeds. Records Administration). concern to the British maritime community,
As mentioned above, the first decades of trans- which saw a record of over 20 decades being bro-
atlantic shipping were dominated by British ken by two state-of-the-art German ocean liners.
companies. However, just before the turn of the That led the British Cunard Line to order a new
20th century, the construction of the German “hyper-colossus” that would allow the company
ocean liner "Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse" in 1897, to compete with the newly built German vessels.
the biggest passenger vessel of its era and the 4 Naftika Chronika, When Cunard Line announced the construction
first four-funnel liner in history, turned the tables, Issue No 132 (15 June of a new 73,000-tonne vessel, it was welcomed
winning the Blue Riband in 1898. The speed 1936), p. 12. with enthusiasm by the British maritime commu-
record would go on to be broken by several Ger- 5 Naftika Chronika, nity, who believed that the "Mauretania", which
man ocean liners, keeping the Blue Riband on a Issue No 16 was built in 1907, was way past its glory days.
German vessel until 1907, when the "Lusitania" (15 August 1931), p. 14. The new “Cunarder” was none other than the
brought the title back to Britain. Two years later, 6 S. G. Sturmey, British "Queen Mary", one of Britain’s finest ocean lin-
the "Mauretania", with a record speed of 26.06 Shipping and World ers ever built. Construction on the ship, originally
knots (48.26 km/h), would keep the record in Brit- Competition, The Athlone known as “Hull Number 534”, began in December
Press-University of
ish hands for over 20 years, with no other ocean London, 1962, p. 108. 1930 on the River Clyde in Scotland by the John

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