Editing MS Achille Lauro (section)

==Service history==

===As the ''Willem Ruys''===
[[File:M.S. Willem Ruys N.V. Rotterdamsche Lloyd, KITLV 1403728.tiff|thumb|left|MS ''Willem Ruys'']]

====On the East Indies route====
As ''Willem Ruys'', the ship began her maiden voyage on 5 December 1947. Together with her main competitor and running mate, the [[MS Oranje|MS ''Oranje'']] of the [[Netherland Line]], she became a popular fixture on the [[Dutch East Indies]] route. However, when the East Indies gained independence from The Netherlands in 1949, passenger numbers decreased.

The future [[prime minister of Singapore]], [[Lee Kuan Yew]], travelled aboard ''Willem Ruys'' as a fresh graduate upon completing his studies in the United Kingdom.<ref name="Time">{{cite magazine|url=http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2056737-5,00.html|title=The Singapore Story|magazine=Time|date= 3 March 2011}}</ref>

====Collision with ''Oranje''====
On 6 January 1953, ''Willem Ruys'' collided in the Red Sea with running mate {{MS|Oranje||2}}, which was heading in the opposite direction. At that time, it was common for passenger ships to pass each other at close range to entertain their passengers. During the (later heavily criticized) abrupt and fast approach of ''Oranje'', ''Willem Ruys'' made an unexpected swing to the left, resulting in a collision. ''Oranje'' badly damaged her bow. Due to the possibility that she would be impounded for safety reasons, she was unable to call at Colombo as scheduled, and went directly to Jakarta. ''Willem Ruys'' suffered less damage. There was no loss of life involved. Later, it was determined that miscommunication on both ships had caused the collision.

====''Journey to Java''====
During 1957, the English diplomat, author and diarist [[Harold Nicolson]] and his wife, the author and poet [[Vita Sackville-West]], toured the [[Far East]] for two months aboard ''Willem Ruys''. The voyage is documented in ''Journey to Java'', his published journal of the trip,<ref name="Journey To Java">{{cite book |title= Journey to Java |last= Nicolson|first= Harold|year= 1957|publisher= Constable|location= London |url=https://archive.org/details/journeytojava0000haro}}</ref> which provides a detailed account of [[first class travel]] on the vessel in the 1950s interlarded with rambling literary reflections.

====Later years====
After repairs, Royal Rotterdam Lloyd decided to release ''Willem Ruys'' on the North Atlantic run. First, she was placed on the [[New York (state)|New York]] service, and later Canada was included.

In 1958, the Royal Rotterdamsche Lloyd and the [[Netherland Line]] signed a co-operative agreement to create a round-the-world passenger service. The joint fleet would sail under the banner of "The Royal Dutch Mail Ships". Together with ''Oranje'' and ''[[TSMS Lakonia|Johan van Oldenbarneveldt]]'', ''Willem Ruys'' underwent an extensive refit to prepare her for this new service. She made two charter trips to [[Montreal]] for the Europa-Canada service. Then, from 20 September 1958, until 25 February 1959, she underwent a major facelift at the [[Wilton-Fijenoord]] shipyard in Amsterdam, turning her from a passenger liner into a cruise ship. Her original four class distinctions became First and Tourist Class. A hundred new cabins were installed and [[air-conditioning]] was extended throughout all accommodations. The Javanese crew members were replaced by Europeans, who required upgraded crew accommodation. Externally, she was fitted with a new glazing in Tourist Class Wintergarden, her forward funnel was heightened and [[Stabilizer (ship)|stabilizers]] were fitted. ''Willem Ruys'' was now able to accommodate 275 first class and 770 tourist class passengers, although there were many interchangeable cabins which had additional berths fitted, which could increase the maximum passenger number to 1167. Her new specifications would see her tonnage increase from 21,119 to 23,114 [[tonnage|gross register ton]].

On 7 March 1959, ''Willem Ruys'' went off on her new world service to Australia and New Zealand. She departed from [[Rotterdam]], sailing via [[Southampton]], the Mediterranean, the [[Suez Canal]], [[Fremantle]], [[Melbourne]], [[Sydney]], [[New Zealand]], returning via the [[Panama Canal]]. The Royal Dutch Mail Ships (''Willem Ruys'', ''Johan van Oldenbarnevelt'' and ''Oranje'') became a popular alternative to the British liners.

At the end of 1964, due to a strong drop in passenger numbers, ''Willem Ruys'' was laid up in [[Rotterdam]] and put up for sale.

=== As ''Achille Lauro'' {{Anchor|As Achille Lauro}}===
[[File:"Achille Lauro" - Palermo, 1965 (2).JPG|thumb|left|The ''Achille Lauro'' on fire during her conversion work in 1965]]
In 1965, she was sold to the [[Flotta Lauro Line]] and renamed ''Achille Lauro'' after [[Achille Lauro|the company's owner]]. She was extensively rebuilt and modernized after an August 1965 onboard explosion, and entered service in 1966 carrying passengers to [[Sydney]], Australia. The ship played a role in evacuating the families of British servicemen caught up in unrest in [[Aden]], and made one of the last northbound transits through the [[Suez Canal]] before its closure during the [[Six-Day War]].

''Achille Lauro'' was converted to a cruise ship in early 1972, during which time she suffered a disastrous fire. A 1975 collision with the cargo ship ''Youseff'' resulted in the sinking of the latter, and another onboard fire in 1981 took her out of service for a time. She was laid up in [[Tenerife]] when Lauro Lines went bankrupt in 1982. The [[Chandris Line]] took possession of her under a charter arrangement in 1985, shortly before the hijacking.

The ship was chartered by a private group for the duration of the [[1987 America's Cup]] series held in Fremantle, Western Australia, to act as a viewing platform and accommodation for 1,400 visitors. It also housed the international jury which oversaw the races.

====1985 hijacking====
{{Main|Achille Lauro hijacking}}
On 7 October 1985, four members of the [[Palestine Liberation Front]] (PLF) took control of the liner off Egypt as she was sailing from [[Alexandria]] to [[Port Said]]. Holding the passengers and crew hostage, they directed the vessel to sail to [[Tartus]], [[Syria]], and demanded the release of 50 [[Palestinians]] then in Israeli prisons. After being refused permission to dock at Tartus, the hijackers killed disabled Jewish-American passenger [[Leon Klinghoffer]] and then threw his body overboard.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web |last=Berman |first=Daphna |url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=981987&contrassID=2&subContrassID=16 |title=Klinghoffer daughters recall personal tragedy at commemoration of terror victims outside Israel |work=Haaretz |date=9 May 2008}}</ref>

The ship then headed back towards Port Said, and after two days of negotiations, the hijackers agreed to abandon the liner in exchange for safe conduct and were flown towards [[Tunisia]] aboard an Egyptian commercial airliner. This airliner, however, was intercepted by U.S. Navy [[Grumman F-14 Tomcat|F-14 Tomcat]] fighter aircraft and directed to land in [[Sicily]]. There, the United States [[Delta Force]] unsuccessfully attempted to extract the hijackers in order to try them in the United States, thereby causing the [[Crisis of Sigonella|Sigonella Crisis]]. The four terrorists were ultimately sentenced to prison terms by the Italian courts, while the operation's mastermind, who had not taken part in the actual hijacking, was given passage to Yugoslavia and escaped.<ref>{{cite news|title=U.S. Reported to have evidence linking PLO Aide to Hijacking|first=Philip|last=Shenon|newspaper=The New York Times|date=October 14, 1985|url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1985/10/14/077673.html?pageNumber=1}}</ref>

====Later years, fire, and sinking====
The ship continued in service. She was re-flagged in 1989 when the Lauro Line was taken over by the [[Mediterranean Shipping Company]] to become "StarLauro".

[[File:MS Achille Lauro lifebouy.jpg|thumb|Lifebuoy from the ''Achille Lauro'' (at top right), now on display in the [[Maritime Museum Rotterdam|Rotterdam Maritime Museum]]]]
In the evening of 30 November 1994 she caught fire off the coast of [[Somalia]] while ''en route'' to [[South Africa]], with 979 passengers and crew aboard. At that time, Italian officials said the fire had been caused by a discarded cigarette. Later analysis suggests that the fire started in the engine room after one of the crankcases exploded which allowed cooling oil to get into the exhaust. Because of a lack of supervision, the fire burned out of control before its discovery.<ref name="NYTimes">{{cite news |last=Cowell |first=Alan |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/12/02/world/achille-lauro-smolders-after-1000-are-rescued.html|title=''Achille Lauro'' Smolders After 1,000 are Rescued|work=[[The New York Times]]|date= 2 December 1994 |access-date=30 September 2019 }}</ref> The crew battled the fire unsuccessfully for several hours, first with hoses and then by passing buckets from the swimming pool. Entertainer [[Moss Hills]], who led rescue efforts during the sinking of MTS ''[[MTS Oceanos|Oceanos]]'' in 1991, recalled that pouring water on an oil fire was ineffective, while making the conflagration worse.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-7RGBfR4Cs | title=The Story of the ''Achille Lauro ''| website=[[YouTube]] }}</ref> The vessel was abandoned in the morning after developing a list. A small number of crew and passengers were unable to board the main lifeboats due to flames coming up from the hull, so they climbed down a rope ladder from the stern to reach inflatable boats. Two died and eight were injured during the evacuation and transfer to rescue ships. Among the ships that responded to the call were [[USS Gettysburg (CG-64)|USS ''Gettysburg'']] and {{USS|Halyburton|FFG-40|6}}.<ref name="BBC">{{Cite news |title=BBC on This Day 30 November 1994: Blazing liner abandoned off east Africa |work=[[BBC News]] |date=2008 |access-date=30 September 2019 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/30/newsid_2525000/2525643.stm }}</ref> ''Achille Lauro'' sank on 2 December 1994, which was witnessed by a fire tugboat that had arrived to assess salvageability. The wreck has not been located since.<ref>{{cite web|author=Reuben Goossens |url=http://www.ssmaritime.com/achillelauro.htm |title=''Achille Lauro'' |publisher=ssMaritime.com |access-date=30 September 2019 }}</ref>