B-456 / LA FAYETTE


Container ship LA FAYETTE (type B-456)

Keel laid: 30 December 1977

Launched: 17 June 1978

Delivered: 16 November 1978

Cellular container ship built for a French shipowner. Along with nine very similar type B-463 vessels, the La Fayette was among the first cellular container ships built in Poland. They showed that Polish shipyards went toe-to-toe with the state-of-the-art trends in global shipbuilding.

Technical specifications:

capacity: 27,400 GRT, 23,400 DWT, 1500 TEU;

dimensions: 178.0 x 23.2 x 9.6 m

propulsion: Sulzer 10RND90 diesel engine with 29,000 hp

speed: 21.5 knots

crew: 50

One type B-456 vessel was built for a French shipowner in 1977-1978.


A ship’s performance is determined by several factors. One of them is the speed of the handling operations in port. For centuries, this had been done by hand or with continuously improved cranes, one by one, box by box. Larger ship sizes and the longer duration of these operations caused the need to look for ways to speed up the handling. The idea to use various kinds of containers came up as early as in the 18th century. Shipowners, railways and other carriers quickly saw their advantages, but the containers that were used at the time, though constantly upgraded, were too small and not durable enough. The breakthrough came only in 1956 when the American shipowner Sea-Land Shipping introduced a standard, durable container able to be carried by any transport vehicle. Sea-Land’s containers had another special feature: they were stackable, while a system of corner locks and lashings ensured that the stacks would not fall apart. It turned out that the use of standardised containers reduced the transport costs over 30 times and, from then on, containerisation took over the world. Every major line shipowner had to introduce container ships into their fleets and every major shipyard had to have such vessels in its portfolio.

Gdańsk Shipyard began building semi-container ships—general cargo vessels that were able to carry a limited number of containers—as early as in the 1960s. However, due to market pressure, in August 1975 the keel was laid under the first cellular container ship (type B-463) able to carry over 1500 twenty-foot containers, some of them refrigerated. Ships in this series were ordered by Western shipowners: the German Hapag-Lloyd (the Caribia Express and Cordillera Express), the Dutch Koninklijke Nederlandsche Maatschappij Stoomboot (the Hollandia) and the British Harrison Line (the Astronomer and the Adviser), who decided to establish a consortium to service a container line from Europe to the ports of the Caribbean Sea. A French shipowner, the Compagnie General Maritime (CGM), who ordered another such ship, the Caraibe, joined shortly afterwards.

Good ship performance caused the shipowners to repeat their order and in 1977 the keels were laid in Gdańsk Shipyard under a further three type B-463 vessels: the America Express and Allemania Express (for Hapag-Lloyd) and the Author (for Harrison).

In 1982, the British Astronomer was requisitioned for service in the Royal Navy and converted into a helicopter support ship. It took part in the Falklands War and remained in military service afterwards. In 1983, it was renamed the HMS Reliant and, in 1984, it took part in the operations of the British peacekeeping forces in the eastern Mediterranean. In 1986, it was withdrawn from military service and reconverted into a container ship; it sailed as a container ship until it was broken up in 1998. The Dutch Hollandia was sent to the ship breaking yard in 2002; the other ships of this type were scrapped in 2009-2011.

The French CGM lines also ordered another container ship called the La Fayette in 1977. However, it was based on a somewhat different design, designated B-456. It changed both owners and names in its lifetime. In 1993, it was renamed the Brisbane Star, in 1997 the Singapore Star, and in 1998 it was called the P&O Nedlloyd Lyttelton. It was scrapped in 2002.


A ship’s performance is determined by several factors. One of them is the speed of the handling operations in port. For centuries, this had been done by hand or with continuously improved cranes, one by one, box by box. Larger ship sizes and the longer duration of these operations caused the need to look for ways to speed up the handling. The idea to use various kinds of containers came up as early as in the 18th century. Shipowners, railways and other carriers quickly saw their advantages, but the containers that were used at the time, though constantly upgraded, were too small and not durable enough. The breakthrough came only in 1956 when the American shipowner Sea-Land Shipping introduced a standard, durable container able to be carried by any transport vehicle. Sea-Land’s containers had another special feature: they were stackable, while a system of corner locks and lashings ensured that the stacks would not fall apart. It turned out that the use of standardised containers reduced the transport costs over 30 times and, from then on, containerisation took over the world. Every major line shipowner had to introduce container ships into their fleets and every major shipyard had to have such vessels in its portfolio.

Gdańsk Shipyard began building semi-container ships—general cargo vessels that were able to carry a limited number of containers—as early as in the 1960s. However, due to market pressure, in August 1975 the keel was laid under the first cellular container ship (type B-463) able to carry over 1500 twenty-foot containers, some of them refrigerated. Ships in this series were ordered by Western shipowners: the German Hapag-Lloyd (the Caribia Express and Cordillera Express), the Dutch Koninklijke Nederlandsche Maatschappij Stoomboot (the Hollandia) and the British Harrison Line (the Astronomer and the Adviser), who decided to establish a consortium to service a container line from Europe to the ports of the Caribbean Sea. A French shipowner, the Compagnie General Maritime (CGM), who ordered another such ship, the Caraibe, joined shortly afterwards.

Good ship performance caused the shipowners to repeat their order and in 1977 the keels were laid in Gdańsk Shipyard under a further three type B-463 vessels: the America Express and Allemania Express (for Hapag-Lloyd) and the Author (for Harrison).

In 1982, the British Astronomer was requisitioned for service in the Royal Navy and converted into a helicopter support ship. It took part in the Falklands War and remained in military service afterwards. In 1983, it was renamed the HMS Reliant and, in 1984, it took part in the operations of the British peacekeeping forces in the eastern Mediterranean. In 1986, it was withdrawn from military service and reconverted into a container ship; it sailed as a container ship until it was broken up in 1998. The Dutch Hollandia was sent to the ship breaking yard in 2002; the other ships of this type were scrapped in 2009-2011.

The French CGM lines also ordered another container ship called the La Fayette in 1977. However, it was based on a somewhat different design, designated B-456. It changed both owners and names in its lifetime. In 1993, it was renamed the Brisbane Star, in 1997 the Singapore Star, and in 1998 it was called the P&O Nedlloyd Lyttelton. It was scrapped in 2002.

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