With one of the most classic silhouettes afloat, the stunning SAVARONA looks at home in Malta's Vittorioso Harbor on 22 June, 1998. Photo by and copyright Peter Knego.
MV SAVARONA
The magnificent 4,646 gross ton, 446 by 53 foot twin funneled ultra deluxe cruise ship SAVARONA was built as the world’s largest private yacht in 1931 for American heiress, Mrs. Emily Cadwallader, at Blohm and Voss in Hamburg. The Gibbs and Cox-designed ship was prevented from sailing to the US by prohibitive import duties and was thus rarely used. In 1938, SAVARONA was sold to the Turkish government for use as an accommodation ship for ailing leader Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who spent only six weeks aboard until being moved by stretcher to the Dolmabache Palace, where he eventually died. The ship sat idle through the war, and was then converted to the training ship GUNES DIL. In 1979, she was gutted by fire at Istanbul and left to rot, until being chartered for 49 years by Gemi Kutarma Denizcilik ve Turizm, who re-engined and rebuilt her (for approximately $25 million) with incredibly opulent accommodation for 32 guests. SAVARONA's stunning accommodation boasts 16 suites of varying sizes, a Turkish bath, a library/suite dedicated to Ataturk (furnished with many of his personal artifacts), and a gold-trimmed grand staircase that survives from the ship's original incarnation. Vintage Passenger Ship Roundup index