Blue Riband

The Blue Riband is an award held by the ship with the record for a transatlantic crossing. The first steam powered crossing of the Atlantic was in 1833. The Blue Riband was a creation of the transatlantic shipping companies in the 1860s, for the publicity opportunities of possessing the fastest ship. There were separate awards for the fastest eastbound and westbound crossings. It was represented by a blue penant in the top mast of the ship, until 1930 when Sir Harold Hales initiated a trophy. The Hales Trophy is awarded on the basis of average speed, since the distance of transatlantic routes varies. The last superliner to hold the trophy was the SS United States, which set a time that was not beaten until 1990

Some of the ships that held the award with the date first achieved:

• RMS Lusitania; March 31, 1894
• SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse; November 29, 1897
• Deutschland; July 12, 1900
• Mauretania; December 5, 1907
• Bremen; July 22, 1929
• Rex; August 16, 1933
• Normandie; June 3, 1935
• RMS Queen Mary; August 24, 1936
• SS United States; July 7, 1952
• Hoverspeed Great Britain; 1990

Reference

• Arnd Stroeh, "From Superliners to Airliners", as of February 27, 2003; [1]
• The Blue Riband of the North Atlantic, westbound and eastbound holders, greatships.net; [2]
  • which cites:
  • North Atlantic Seaway, Vol. 5, N.R.P. Bonsor, 1980
• Danish ferry sets new Atlantic-crossing record!!, vulkanusa.com; [3]