MV Brazil Maru

MV Brazil Maru
Brazil Maru at sea in 1955
History
Japan
Name
  • 1954–1974: Brazil Maru
  • 1974–1997: Toba Brazil Maru
  • 1997–1998: Zhanjiang
  • 1998–present: Hai Shang Cheng Shi
Namesake
Owner
Operator1974-1996: Toba Brazil Maru Tourist Company
RouteJapan-South America
BuilderShin Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Kobe Shipyard, Kobe, Japan
Laid down27 October 1953
Launched6 April 1954
Completed1954
Maiden voyage1954
In service1954
Out of serviceFebruary 1974
FateTourist attraction, currently closed
StatusBeached, Zhanjiang
General characteristics
TypeCargo liner
Tonnage10,100 GRT
Length156 m (512 ft)[1]
Beam19.60 m (64.3 ft)
Depth11.90 m (39.0 ft)
Installed power1 Shin-Mitsubishi Kobe Sulzer 10RSD76 diesel engine
Propulsionsingle screw, 9,000 bhp (6,700 kW)
Speed16.2 knots (30.0 km/h; 18.6 mph)
Capacity
  • 982 passengers: 12 first class, 68 second class, 902 third class
  • 360 passengers: 12 cabin class, 348 economy class (1965 rebuild)[2]
Crew118[1]

MV Brazil Maru is a retired Japanese cargo liner that sailed for the Japanese shipping company, Osaka Shosen KK [ja], on the Japan to South America immigrant service from 1954 to 1963.

Built by the Shin Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Kobe Shipyard in Kobe, Japan, she was launched on 6 April 1954 and departed on her maiden voyage later that year. She was transferred to Nihon Ijusen KK in 1963 and later Mitsui O.S.K. Lines in 1970. After a decline in the immigrant trade and a period as an unsuccessful cruise ship. The Brazil Maru was retired in 1974 and moored as a maritime tourist attraction named Toba Brazil Maru in Toba, Mie Prefecture, Japan, but was closed and sold to ship breakers at Shanghai in 1996. Sold again in 1997 and beached as a tourist attraction Hai Shang Cheng Shi in Zhanjiang, Guangdong Province, China in 1998, the vessel remains there today but has since closed.

Construction

[edit]

After the Second World War, Osaka Shosen KK [ja] resumed its South American service under permission granted by the SCAP.[3] Following the San Francisco Peace Treaty of 1952, South American emigration was reinstated as a national policy, and Osaka Shosen KK subsequently converted three cargo ships into cargo-passenger ships with the addition of third-class cabins that were hastily added.[4] Seeking more tonnage on the immigrant-run, Osaka Shosen KK decided to build the Brazil Maru.[5]

The Brazil Maru was laid down on 27 October 1953 at the Shin-Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Kobe Shipyard, she was launched on 6 April 1954, and completed on the 10th of July.[4] She was powered by the first of the newly in production Shin-Mitsubishi Kobe Sulzer 10RSD76 diesel engine, which was developed by the shipyard, and provided a total of 9,000 brake horsepower to one propeller.[5]

Immigrant-run and cruising

[edit]

Shortly after completion, the Brazil Maru departed on her maiden voyage from Kobe with a complement of 603 emigrants to Brazil and 293 other passengers on board.[3]

Brazil Maru covered in ribbons during departure from a port

The Brazil Marus initial years were marked by economic success, including the construction of a sister ship, the 10,983 ton Argentina Maru in 1958. However, the emergence of the Japanese economic miracle in the 1950s led to a decrease in Japanese immigration to South America.[3][6]

In 1963, the Brazil Maru was transferred to Nihon Ijusen KK and bareboat chartered back to Osaka Shosen KK.[3][7] Further declines in immigration from Japan in the 1960s led to the number of emigrants traveling aboard the Brazil Maru to fall below 1,000 per year, and the Brazil Maru was refitted at the Shin-Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Kobe Shipyard in August 1965 to reduce its passenger capacity by half,[5] now only operating on the immigrant-run three times a year.[6]

The Brazil Maru was registered to Mitsui O.S.K. Lines in 1970.[7] Utilized increasingly for cruising from Japan to Shanghai, the Brazil Maru proved unsuccessful and was withdrawn from service in February 1974.[6][8] Over 20 years, the Brazil Maru had made a total of 58 long-distance voyages, including 55 voyages to South America and other special voyages to Australia, transporting about 67,000 passengers on the South American route, of which about 12,000 were immigrants.[9]

Retirement and conversion

[edit]

After being retired, the Brazil Maru was moored in Toba, Mie Prefecture, Japan, and began operating as a maritime tourist attraction called the Toba Brazil Maru on 1 July 1974.[5] It was operated by the Toba Brazil Maru Tourist Company, which was funded by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, as well as the Toba City Development Public Corporation, Kintetsu Railway, Ataka Sangyo Co., Ltd., and other Mitsui Group companies.

Tourist attraction Toba Brazil Maru seen closed in January of 1996

The Toba Brazil Maru featured new exhibition rooms such as the "Marine Corner", which included models of ancient ships, and the "Brazil Corner," which showed the nature and culture of Brazil through videos and panels, as well as amenities such as a restaurant, a game corner, and a shopping corner.[9] Kids playground equipment designed to look like the character of Lemuel Gulliver from Irish writer Jonathan Swifts book Gulliver's Travels was installed on the ship, but was removed and relocated to the Shimin no Mori Park in Toba in 1985.[10]

The Toba Brazil Maru closed in January 1996 due to poor business, and was sold to breakers in Shanghai for dismantling, a farewell party for the ship was held on board on January 20, and she departed Toba for Shanghai on 29 May.[11] The Toba Brazil Maru was purchased in 1997 by Zhang Huasheng, chairman of Zhanjiang Maritime City Tourism and Entertainment, a company based in Zhanjiang, Guangdong Province, China. Renamed Zhanjiang, she was beached in Zhanjiang in 1998 and used as a floating tourist attraction called Hai Shang Cheng Shi. Modified to house new facilities and restaurants, her exterior and wheelhouse were left largely intact.[12][13]

Photos taken in 2012 showed the Hai Shang Cheng Shi was still open but in disrepair, with damaged lifeboats and heavy rusting.[14] She was seen undergoing maintenance in 2018.[15] In 2020, the Hai Shang Cheng Shi was used as a set in the Chinese television series The Bad Kids[16] By 2022, the Hai Shang Cheng Shi was reportedly closed and can be seen via satellite in Zhanjiang as of 2024.[17][18]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b The Japanese Society of Naval Architects and Maritime Engineers. "Osaka Shosen "Brazil Maru" (2nd generation) Photo Album (Part 1)". zousen-shiryoukan.jasnaoe.or.jp. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  2. ^ Björn Larsson (2005). "Mitsui-OSK Lines". www.timetableimages.com. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d Toshio Okada (1966). The 80-Year History of Osaka Shosen Co., Ltd. Osaka Shosen Mitsui Senpaku.
  4. ^ a b Kobe Shipyard 50 Year History Compilation Committee (1957). 50 Year History of the New Mitsubishi Kobe Shipyard. Shin Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. Kobe Shipyard. p. 143.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ a b c d "Nakanihon Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. Kobe Shipyard". Ships of Nakanihon Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. Kobe Shipyard. jpnships.g.dgdg.jp. Archived from the original on 14 December 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  6. ^ a b c Hisashi Noma (1993). Cultural History of Luxury Cruise Ships. NTT Shuppan. ISBN 4-87188-210-1.
  7. ^ a b Haworth, Roger. "5050866". Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  8. ^ Acemva (2009). "Brazil Maru". historiasdebarcos.blogspot.com. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  9. ^ a b Tsutomu Katayama (1976). Ad Campaign: Records and Analysis of 18 Cases. Diamond Publishing.
  10. ^ "An adventurous trip to Toba - Encounter the giant park playground equipment named "Gulliver"". Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  11. ^ "Brazil Maru Farewell Party". Brazil Maru Farewell Party. www.geocities.jp. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  12. ^ "Vol. 696". Ships of the World. Kaijinsha. 2008.
  13. ^ Wada Yoshiji (2009). "The Brazil Maru is still alive!!". 40anos.nikkeybrasil.com.br. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  14. ^ worlddiscoverer (2013). "Hai Shang Cheng Shi". www.flickr.com. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  15. ^ Lee Zuzu (2018). "Zhanjiang's sea-viewing corridor is about 1.7 kilometers long and is the most beautiful view of Xiashan". k.sina.cn. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  16. ^ Great Channel (2020). "The hit drama "The Bad Kids" has increased tourism in Zhanjiang, where filming took place, by 261%". www.thepaper.cn/. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  17. ^ Travel and life of Hannan (2022). "Why is the once glorious Maritime City of Zhanjiang now deserted and rusty?". www.ixigua.com/. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  18. ^ "21°12'59.0"N 110°25'13.3"E · Xiashan District, Zhanjiang, Guangdong Province, China".
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