Original Oriana damaged but still afloat

The former P&O cruise liner Oriana, transformed into a theme park in China, is reported to be still afloat despite suffering damage during gales last month.

A news agency reported earlier this week that Oriana had sunk, but this appears to have been a misinterpretation of original reports carried by the Chinese Xinhau news service.

The SS Maritime website said yesterday that one of its associates had visited the wharf in Dalian on Tuesday and had seen the ship afloat.

Photos carried on the website showed the ship with a heavy list to port and said salvage efforts were underway.

The state of the ship appeared to be similar to what was shown in a Xinhau photo dated June 17, a day after gales struck the area. Xinhau said the 41,915-tonne Oriana, the predecessor of the current cruise ship of the same name, broke loose from its moorings and was partially flooded.

Oriana was launched in 1960 and was well known in Australasia - first on voyages to England and later in the South Pacific.

- HERALD STAFF