Nea Hellas: The Ship That Brought Thousands of Greeks to the US

The Nea Hellas docked. Credit: Greek Shipping Miracle

The historical rider vessel Nea Hellas brought tens of thousands of Greeks to America, enabling them to fulfill their dreams of a amended life. Between the years 1939 to 1955, this steamship was the main flight way by which thousands fled poverty, Nazi Germany, and the hard postwar years successful Europe.

Especially during the past years of her service, the ship helped reunite Greeks with their loved ones who had already settled successful the onshore of freedom.

The Nea Hellas was built successful the years aft WWI successful Glasgow, Scotland. Christened arsenic the Turbine Steam Ship (T.S.S.) Tuscania, it went into work successful 1921. At a value of 16,991 tons, it was considered an illustration of “state of the art” marine engineering astatine the time.

The vessel was sold to the General Steam Navigation Company of Greece, which was owned by a well-established Greek shipping family, the Goulandris brothers. They wanted to re-establish a trans-Atlantic work betwixt Greece and the U.S., which had been interrupted successful October 1935.

The 177-meter (531 feet) agelong vessel was renamed Nea Hellas (meaning “New Greece”) and arrived successful the Athenian port of Piraeus connected the greeting of March 8, 1939.

Nea Hellas: the state-of-the-art vas with six decks

The diary Naftika Chronika (Nautical Chronicles) described however thousands of Greeks came to the King Constantine Pier successful the larboard of Piraeus to get a glimpse of the state-of-the-art vessel. “People who descended to the large harbor, saw a monolithic and precise elegant vessel with six decks successful beforehand of them,” the diary wrote.

The vessel had first, 2nd (then known arsenic “tourist”), and third-class cabins arsenic good arsenic restaurants and halls. Naftika Chronika reported that successful each 3 levels of accommodations, the passengers recovered spacious halls with bully prime furnishings, and the interiors were nicely decorated.

“The floors were wholly refurbished successful 1938, and fixed a rubber coating,” according to the journal. “The walls of the communal spaces were lined with luxurious woods, portion the furnishings successful archetypal people was covered with silk fabrics.”

A archetypal people compartment connected the Nea Hellas. Source: Naftika Chronika, 1939.

The Nea Hellas’ first-class restaurant. Source: Naftika Chronika, 1939.

The Nea Hellas ne'er attained the “glamour ship” presumption of immoderate of her contemporaries, specified arsenic the Queen Mary, the Mauretania, and the Normandie. However, the vessel was tastefully furnished and rather comfortable.

Its maiden transatlantic voyage from Piraeus to New York began connected May 19, 1939.

Capable of a velocity of sixteen knots, the Nea Hellas would instrumentality 2 weeks to transport the 8 100 passengers and 2 100 unit members to the different broadside of the Atlantic.

However, tickets connected the vessel were not inexpensive astatine all. Eli Pinhas, whose household sailed from Piraeus to New York successful 1951, wrote that “the fare was $205 each for my parents, my 3 ½ twelvemonth aged sister was fractional price—$102.50—and my 9-month-old member was $10. Tax was $16. The full for each 4 tickets was $538.50.”

Grand invited of the vessel successful New York

The New York Herald Tribune noted the archetypal accomplishment of the Nea Hellas successful New York. It reported that during her archetypal enactment there, a bid of parties and dinners celebrating her accomplishment were planned for the New York business, social, and diplomatic community.

The Herald Tribune, successful what amounts to a singular humanities acquisition to the families of the passengers and crew, also recorded the names of immoderate of the passengers and Captain Cardaras.

Unfortunately, the festivities for the vessel were short-lived. Within months of her maiden crossing, WWII broke retired successful Europe, and the Nea Hellas was placed nether allied control, being enactment into work arsenic a unit transport.

During the adjacent 7 years, the vessel was affectionately dubbed the “Nelly Wallace” by her galore passengers successful the equipped services.

After the war, the Nea Hellas resumed its work connected the Piraeus-New York way until 1955 erstwhile it was renamed the New York, erstwhile it went connected to ply the bluish Europe-America route.

By 1959, the vessel had reached the expansive property of thirty-seven years.

On November 14, 1959 it returned to its location larboard of Piraeus for the past time, 20 years aft its archetypal departure arsenic the pridefulness of the Greek nation.

On August 19, 1961 the vessel near Piraeus for Onomichi, Japan wherever it met its bittersweet but inevitable destiny successful the scrap yards.

Like galore large ships agelong gone, it near an indelible representation for those whose lives were touched by it. It became a large symbolic span successful their lives.

Jim Kalafatis, who made 4 crossings connected Nea Hellas successful the aboriginal 1950s wrote that the vessel would ever beryllium 1 of his happiest and astir treasured puerility memories.

Kalafatis recalled recently, “I retrieve the ship’s skipper letting maine stroke her steam whistle astatine noon to let passengers to acceptable their watches to the changing clip zones. What a thrill to a 7 twelvemonth old! To a young lad who called the ‘Nea Ellas’ location for a full of 8 weeks, she volition ne'er beryllium forgotten.”