At the outbreak of World War Two the Constructions Navales shipyard at La Coitat was in the process of laying down the keel for a new vessel. The war slowed down the building of this vessel, it was not until 1944 that it was launched, named Marechal Petain. The unfinished hull was towed to Port Bouc to await the end of the war. However in August 1944 the retreating Germans sank the ship in shallow waters. The ship's owners raised the vessel during 1946 and moved it to Toulon, despite its sinking the damage sustained was minimal. The ship returned to its original builders for repair and fitting out, by 1949 it was ready to be placed into service. Its name had been changed, the former name was now associated with the collaborationist and very unpopular Vichy regime of the Nazi occupation, the more patriotic La Marseillaise was chosen.
The ship had been fitted out for working the route to the French colonies in South East Asia, in this case Saigon, making her maiden voyage on August 19th 1949. Ports of call included Port Said, Djibouti, Colombo, Singapore, Saigon, Hong Kong & Manila. The ship remained on this run until early in 1954. The sun had set on the French colonies in the Far East, the need for ships like La Marseillaise had greatly diminished. The ship was reallocated to Mediterranean duties, but proved unsuitable for this, her French registry also provoked resentment due to French military action in Algeria. The ship was commandeered by the French government in the Algerian crisis and later in 1956 for the Suez crisis, when it made two sailings as a hospital ship, in addition to being a troop carrier. When the ship was returned to Messageries Maritime in February 1957 it was obvious that it no longer had a future under its existing role.
 | La Marseillaise very early in her career |
As a result the ship was almost immediately sold to the Panama based Arosa Line and renamed Arosa Sky. Her passenger accomodation was reconfiguered to cater for the predominantly tourist class passengers that the ship was aiming to cater to. The first voyage under the new owners was on May 10th 1957 from Bremerhaven to New York. Within a year the Arosa Line was facing bankruptcy, the ship being sold on to the Costa Lines
After a refit the ship entered service during 1959, now named the Bianca C working the Naples - Genoa - La Guaira (Venezuela) circuit.
The ship's last voyage commenced on October 12th 1961, on the regular route from Naples to La Guaira. Ten days into the trip whilst anchored in the harbour at St George, Grenada an explosion in one of the engine's air manifolds ruptured a nearby fuel tank. This explosion started a fire which could not be contained and spread throughout the ship. The quiet Sunday morning was soon disturbed by the Bianca C's whistles sounding the emergency alarm. The town's residents responded magnificently, literally using whatever was afloat in the harbour to assist the evacuation of the ship's passengers and crew. Such were their efforts that of the 673 people on the ship only three died in the tragedy, one crewman was killed in the initial explosion, two other crew died later of their injuries.
The fire burned out of control for several days - the crew were never able to use the onboard firefighting equipment and the port of St George had nothing suitable for such a large fire. A nearby naval vessel, the British frigate HMS Londonderry out of Puerto Rico was summonsed to provide assistance, the port authorities were concerned the ship might sink and block the harbour channel, however the captain would not allow the Bianca C to be moved until properly inspected. The decision was made to tow the ship from the harbour and beach her in nearby shallow water. The tow was only partially successful, the ship was able to clear the harbour, but controlling the ship in open water with a jammed rudder was too much for the small frigate. The tow line eventually parted, the ship started to take on water and sank on an even keel in waters 150 feet deep about one mile from Port Saline. The Bianca C came to rest upright on a sandy part of the ocean floor. The stern separated from the rest of the ship coming to rest on its starboard side.
Because of the proximity of the wreck to St George it became a major attraction for divers. The wreck has been looted of its more valuable scrap metals, brass etc, and most notably its bronze propellors. The damage caused by the fire and its four decades on the ocean floor have considerably weakened the structure to the extent that it is now starting to collapse in on itself.
Length: 593 feet
Breadth: 75.5 feet
Gross Weight: 17,321 tons; 18,427 tons as Bianca C
Engines: 3 x 8,330 bhp @ 131rpm or 10,330 bhp @ 141rpm
Screws: 3
Maximum speed: 22 knots
Passengers: 344 1st, 74 2nd, 318 3rd as La Marseillaise; 202 1st & 1,030 tourist as Arosa Sky
 | A factory view of one of the three diesel engines built to power the La Marseillaise. These were rated at 8,330hp at 131 rpm or 10,330hp at 141 rpm, and were built at CCM's St Denis Works. |
One or two people who have stopped by this website have, besides their interest in railways, professed an interest in scuba diving. The following notes and views come from Lindsay Knight who has dived on the wreck of the Bianca C and reports that it is one of the world's top ten wrecks to dive on.
The ship now sits in about 170 feet of warm Caribbean waters - clearly evidenced by the colourful growth across the ship's structure. As mentioned the fire weakened the ship's structure causing the stern to twist through ninety degrees, ending up on its side whilst the rest of the ship sits upright on the seafloor, still attached to the stern by a mass of twisted wreckage. Forward of the bridge much is still intact. At some point the funnel fell to the starboard side and now lies flattened on top of the wreckage, the giant 'C' can still be made out.
The three views above come from the camera of Lindsay Knight and show a passenger cabin, looking up to the promenade deck and a ship's railing.
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