July 27, 1950
The luxury liner SS Ocean Monarch was launched at the Vickers-Armstrongs Ltd. shipyard at Newcastle-upon-Tyne in northeastern England. This yacht-like, single-funnel ship was built by Vickers-Armstrongs for the steamship line Furness, Withy & Company (also called Furness Withy).
Those on hand for the launch of Ocean Monarch included California-born Mary Duffil Lewis. As the wife of Brian Edmund Lewis, 2nd Baron Essendon (a village and civil parish in southern England), she was formally known as Lady Essendon. Her father-in-law Frederick Lewis, 1st Baron Essendon, was chairman of Furness Withy until his death in 1944.
In its account of Ocean Monarch’s launch, the Boston Globe highlighted the role played by Lady Essendon. This newspaper reported, “Lady Essendon was the sponsor of the 15,000-ton [13,607.8-metric ton] vessel at the ceremony attended by high steamship, shipbuilding and government officials.”
Starting in the spring of the following year, Ocean Monarch was used for Furness Withy’s New York City-Bermuda route. This liner could accommodate more than 400 passengers and had the distinction of being the first post-World War II ship specifically designed for the American. cruise market.
The Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported a month before the ship’s launch, “One of the features that will make the ‘Ocean Monarch’ the most modern ship in its field is the innovation in construction and design permitting the accommodation of all passengers in outside staterooms, each with private bath.”
Other notable parts of the new liner included a mosaic-tile swimming pool and sun deck. The ship was awarded a gold medal by the Academy of Designing for her “outstanding beauty” and unique features. Another one of Ocean Monarch’s key advantages was her comparatively small size, which allowed her to make calls at ports that larger cruise ships could not even enter.
For these reasons and others, Ocean Monarch helped inaugurate a new era in cruises originating at American ports and traveling to Bermuda and other small-island tourist destinations. Along with transporting passengers to and from Bermuda, the ship also regularly brought needed fresh water to that island.
Ocean Monarch remained in the service of Furness Withy until 1966. Over the next 15 years, this ship was taken over by a total of three other companies. She also underwent four name changes — Varna, Venus, Riviera, and Reina del Mar. This vessel was scuttled off the Greek island of Salamis in 1981 after being severely damaged by fire.
Photo Credit: Seavoyage1 (licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en)
For more information on SS Ocean Monarch, please check out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Ocean_Monarch_(1950)
Transportation History 
I sailed on the Ocean Monarch with my parents in 1957. The cruise was a 13 day cruise to the Caribbean with stops in Kingston, Cristobal, Port au Prince, and Cartehana. It was a lovely ship bid was not fully air conditioned. Only the restaurant, and lounges had ac.
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Thank you, George, for sharing your memories of sailing on the Ocean Monarch with your parents.
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