World of Ships – May 2018

TALK OF MEDWAY

PADDLER OFFER

60 I World of Ships I Paddle Steamers

KISFALUDY

BUILT 2014-15 in Szeged and completed near Siofok.

DIMENSIONS 26.2m x 5.5m (hull), 9.2m (over paddles).

ENGINES Diesel generator powering paddles together with

Deutz diesel-powered auxiliary screw at stern.

Kisfaludy is a close replica of the Lake

Balaton steamer of the same name, which

entered service in 1846 and ran until 1887

after the wooden hull was given an iron

ABOVE Pamjaty Azima has operated as a hotel ship

on the Danube’s west bank in Budapest’s northern

suburbs since 2006 and still retains her compound

diagonal engine dating back to 1903.

The Medway Maritime Trust were reported

to have looked into the possibility of trying to

acquire what was one of the finest and most

imposing Danube steamers, and bringing

it via the Black Sea and Mediterranean to

Kent. In the end nothing materialised and the

twin-funnel vessel, Szoke Tisza, was broken up

following a lengthy lay-up that ended in 2012

with the vessel sinking when winter ice caused

the hull to crack.

Originally completed in Budapest in 1917

as IV Karoly, along with sister vessel Zita

Kiralyne, the pair, with space for up to 1,000

passengers, were the first large steamers built

for Danube service after Hungary broke away

from Austrian control to form an independent

national navigation operation. During 1919

IV Karoly’s name was changed to Sas, with

another switch to Szent Imre in 1930 and then

to Felszabadulas in 1950. The vessel, powered

by a triple diagonal engine of 800hp, spent

four years interned in Austria following the end

of World War II, before returning to service

with sailings from Budapest to the resorts of

the Danube bend.

There was a change of role in 1975, when

Felszabadulas was converted to sail as a cabin

steamer for overnight trips with berths for 175

and going downstream as far as Orsova and

the Iron Gates. Felszabadulas was withdrawn

in August 1974 and used as a floating canteen

for staff of the River Navigation branch in

Budapest until sale to the City of Szeged in

1979, where she was established as a hotel

following a tow via the former Yugoslavia to

reach the River Tisza. After the vessel initially

prospered in the new role, business eventually

ceased, although when the vessel was cut

up in 2012 it is reported that the engine was

saved for preservation at a Szeged museum.

ABOVE A bow view of the steamer after her

move to Szeged and a change of name to

Szoke Tisza.

shell in 1869. The replica has a steel hull, as

well as an aft deck shelter, wheelhouse and

paddle vents, which are the most noticeable

features, although never part of the original

steam ship design. With a draught of 1.22m

and a displacement 85 tonnes, Kisfaludy

sails between Balatonfüred, Keszthely,

Balatonkenese and Aörs. Lake Balaton is also

reported to have another replica paddler,

Hableany, which was built in 2004 and carries

this date along with 1867, when the original

Hableany entered service.

PAMJATY AZINA

A 96.6m cabin steamer, she was originally

built in 1903 for use on Russian rivers as

Harkov and later, as Pamjaty Azina, was in

service until around 1994, when she was sold

for use in Albania. Renovation took place in

a shipyard at Vac, Hungary, with completion

in 1996, but the Albanian project fell through

and the ship remained in Hungary.

Since 2006 she has been used as a hotel

vessel located on the western bank of the

River Danube in the northern suburbs of

Budapest. The boiler was removed in 2008 to

be later followed by the paddle wheels, with

LAKE BALATON REPLICA

LAKE BALATON

the sponson spaces developed as fitness rooms

aboard what is marketed as Hotel Aquamarina

since acquisition by the Minol Group. The

vessel’s two cylinder compound diagonal

engine is still in place and on display.

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