Surriento

Built by Furness Shipbuilding Co Ltd in England, Surriento began life as Santa Maria in 1927. She was one of two vessels specially commissioned for Grace Steamship Company of New York, with permission to be built outside the USA provided they avoided American coastal trade.

Grace Line Service (1928-1941)

Originally designed as a combination passenger-cargo vessel, Santa Maria operated on the New York to Chile route via Panama and Peru. Her interior accommodations were luxuriously appointed, featuring 86 staterooms and suites for 157 first-class passengers spread across four decks amidships. The vessel was also equipped with over 74,000 cubic feet of cargo space, primarily used for transporting citrus produce. Her sister ship was the Santa Barbara.

Wartime Service (1941-1947)

Following America's entry into World War II in December 1941, both sister ships were acquired by the US Government. Renamed USS Barnett, she was fitted with 5-inch and three-inch guns plus anti-aircraft weapons. She served for over six years in both Atlantic and Pacific theaters before being laid up in Virginia among other surplus vessels.

Flotta Lauro Service (1948-1966)

In 1948, Flotta Lauro purchased the vessel. After being towed to Baltimore and made seaworthy, she sailed to Genoa for extensive refitting. Renamed Surriento, she received additional accommodation aft and was configured to carry 1,055 passengers in first and tourist classes. Her inaugural voyage on the Italy-Australia emigrant route occurred in May 1949.

In 1956, she was transferred to the Central American emigrant route. A major reconstruction in 1959 gave her a completely new profile, featuring a single streamlined funnel and modernized superstructure. The foremast was truncated, the main-mast removed, and passenger accommodations were converted to single-class configuration for 1,080 passengers.

In 1965, Surriento was chartered to the Israeli Zim Line for trans-Mediterranean voyages. Despite her recent overhaul, she was sold for scrapping in 1966 and broken up at Spezia, Italy.

Key Facts