CRUISE SHIP COVER SS YARMOUTH CASTLE 12 JULY 1954 SANK OFF NASSAU 13 NOV 1965

You are bidding on a cruise ship cover from the S/S Yarmouth Castle dated 12 July 1954. SS Yarmouth Castle, built as Evangeline, was an American steamship whose loss in a disastrous fire in 1965 prompted new laws regarding safety at sea.The ship was the second of two identical ships built by the William Cramp & Sons Ship and Engine Building Company for the Eastern Steamship Lines for service on the New York City - Yarmouth, Nova Scotia route, operating in practice out of Boston as well.During World War II, Evangeline was turned over to the War Shipping Administration, which operated all oceangoing vessels for the United States, and was used primarily as an army troop transport. Eastern Steamship Lines resumed control of the ship on July 1, 1946.After a short period in service, the ship was laid up, and then sold in 1954 and put under Liberian registry, operating from Boston to Nova Scotia, then to the Caribbean. In 1963 Evangeline was sold again, put under Panamanian registry and renamed Yarmouth Castle; the ship was operated by Yarmouth Cruise Lines between Miami and Nassau, Bahamas from 1964 until the disaster on November 12, 1965. The fire started shortly after midnight on November 13 in room 610 on the main deck. At the time of the fire, the room was being used as a storage space and contained mattresses, chairs and other combustible materials. No sprinkler head was installed in the room. The source of the fire could not be determinedFourteen critically injured people were taken by helicopter from Bahama Star to Nassau hospitals. Bahama Star rescued 240 passengers and 133 crew. Finnpulp rescued 51 passengers and 41 crew. Both ships arrived in Nassau on November 13.Eighty-seven people went down with the ship, and three of the rescued passengers later died at hospitals, bringing the final death toll to 90. Of the dead, only two were crew members: stewardess Phyllis Hall and ship's physician Lisardo Diaz-Toorens. While some bodies were recovered, most were lost with the ship.The Yarmouth Castle fire was the worst disaster in North American waters since the SS Noronic burned and sank in Toronto Harbour with the loss of up to 139 lives in 1949. The cover is machine cancelled at Miami Beach, FL on 12 July 1954 and franked with a 3c 'International Red Cross' stamp. There is a partial hand cancel marking of 'Jul 10 1954' below the 3c stamp that may have been applied on the ship, since it is 2 days earlier than the machine cancel. This may be of interest to members of the PMCC. Overall cover condition is very good. The cover is a standard No. 6-3/4, 3-5/8 x 6-1/2". I accept PAYPAL. Please check my other listings on eBay. Discount on multiple winning bidders, up to 3 covers for 95c S/H. If you are the winning bidder on 2 or more of my covers please send me a request for an invoice so I can adjust the S/H amount to save you money. Thank you for your time and interest. Good Luck!