She was sold by Cunard in 1968, her famous distinctive green colour (she had been known as the “Green Goddess”) changed to white and her name to “Caribia”. But the hasty refitting caused two subsequent disastrous cruises for the new owners, including a crew death from an exploding steam line and a fire (causing the ship full of passengers to drift for 20 hours).

All subsequent cruises were cancelled while legal claims mounted, including the final insult of “parking tickets” at New York's docks. In 1974 she was sold to a Taiwanese company for scrap. It was on her journey to Taiwan that she had her rendezvous with Tropical Storm Mary and the rocky shores of Guam.

Her departure from New York was quiet and unobtrusive, unlike her first departure from New York in 1949 amid ribbons, confetti, lively bands and noisy crowds of well-wishers. The German tugboat “Hamburg” led her by a 3,600-foot steel cable, her massive boilers and powerful generators no longer able to control her.

It would have been smooth towing, except along the way one of the “Hamburg's” engines broke down, requiring repairs in Honolulu. Later, close to Guam, a turbo-blower broke down and the starboard engine began operating at greatly reduced power. They would stop on Guam for repairs.

Then they sailed right into a developing tropical depression. Close to Guam, “Hamburg's” Captain radioed they were in trouble. They were now at the mercy of Tropical Storm Mary, being buffeted by 20 knot winds gusting to 45. And “Hamburg” still had “Caribia” in tow. Navy and Coast Guard tugs were unable to assist the stricken tug due to the large swells at the mouth of the harbour blocking their exit.

On her own and seeing the impending disaster of them both going aground, in one last desperate attempt, “Hamburg” shifted behind the “Caribia” in an effort to wrest the ship away from the winds and current dragging her toward the reef. But the tug engine's reduced capacity, and the strong winds, combined to defeat all attempts and soon the tug was being pulled by the liner.

I Was There…

Capt. Ed Harrison (Retd.) writes…
I was the Deputy Director of the Typhoon Warning Centre on Guam at the time. We had heard that the Caribia had been cut loose by the Hamburg and was heading our way, so we drove out to Orote Point, on the other side of the harbour entrance. We had an incredible view of the whole disaster. The ship was still intact, but the bow was aground on the Glass breakwater.

Gigantic waves (40 ft. +) were coming in, right over the breakwater and pounding the ship. I watched as she broke up, and the stern portion sank. The bow remained on the breakwater. Typhoon Mary was a monster, both in size and difficulty to forecast.

Adrift…

Annette Donner continues…
The Captain and crew fought to the last possible moment, but finally just 800 yards off the tip of the breakwater at 8:48am., the Captain ordered “Caribia's” tow line to be cut. The tug immediately swung out to sea to avoid going aground on Orote Point, the “Caribia” left adrift, heading for the breakwater.

The three men aboard were lifted to safety by Air-Sea Rescue helicopter and by 9:15am, the “Caribia's” drift ended abruptly as she crashed against the Glass Breakwater, her bow against the rocks, her stern blocking one-third of the harbour entrance.

Deafening!

The breakwater shuddered as each subsequent wave crashed against then washed over the “Caribia”. She rolled in place, the noise of water and scraping metal on rock, deafening. By early afternoon, 570 feet of “Caribia” slid beneath the water into the harbour, leaving a 150 foot section of bow remaining on the breakwater.

When weather finally permitted side-scanning equipment to be used, her hull was located lying at 30 to 140 feet at a 45 degree list to port. The harbour entrance could be reopened.

The Salvage Operation

Annette continues…
The Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) took control of the situation, being the federal agency controlling navigable rivers and waterways of the United States. Law mandates they are to remove an obstruction if the owners do not. The owners of “Caribia” said they had no intention of doing so.

ACOE began plans to let bids for the salvage work, and closed the site to everyone. “Hamburg” was finally allowed to leave a few months later, once the owners posted bond of over $3 million, the U.S. Government suing for more than $4 million for the costs of salvage and damages.

The Navy team removed 50 tons of ordnance, the biggest job ever undertaken by the Explosive Ordnance Division here. It took almost five months with daily multiple dives, totalling 952 dives and 388 hours spent underwater. (The origin of the LSU was never established, however it is believed to have sunk in the 1950s. Ammunition was dated 1954.)

Eventually the Nippon Salvage Company from Japan contracted to do the salvage of the ship, electing to cut it into 400 ton sections and recover the scrap for sale. Their salvage operation lasted two years, from June 1975 to 1977.

The salvage was filmed in a 60-minute documentary commissioned by the ACOE, this being the first major salvage work that they oversaw. Past established routine had been to contract such work to the Navy Engineer Corps. (The filming was done by local creative divers from the largest dive shop/marine centre in the Pacific in those days, the Coral Reef Marine Centre.)

The “Caribia” was a grand lady who had laid down her life here. A grand dame had come to visit… uninvited, but welcome none-the-less. She had not lost her charm, and stole her way into many hearts, even underwater, just as she had done cruising the surface of the oceans for so many years before.