The Achille Lauro, originally the Willem Ruys, was a passenger liner. It is most remembered for its 1985 hijacking.
Ordered in 1938, her keel was laid in 1939 at Vlissingen, Netherlands, for Rotterdamsche Lloyd. Interrupted by World War II and two bombing raids, the ship was not launched until July 1946 as the Willem Ruys. Completed in late 1947, she began her maiden voyage on December 2, 1947. She was 192 metres (630 ft) in length, 25 metres (82 ft) in beam, and had a draught of 8.9 metres (29.2 ft) and measured 21,110 long tons (21,450 metric tons). She could accommodate 900 passengers. She had 8 Sulzer engines, driving 2 propellers. In 1964, she was sold to the Flotta Lauro Line, or Star Lauro, (Now MSC Cruises) and renamed the Achille Lauro (after the former mayor of Naples, Achille Lauro).
The same year, Star Lauro also acquired the Achille Lauro's sister ship, Angelina Lauro. Extensively rebuilt and modernized, Achille Lauro entered service in 1966. The Achille Lauro played a role in evacuating the families of British servicemen caught up in the Six Day War, arriving in Cairo on June 1 1967. The Achille Lauro was destroyed by fire on November 30, 1994, and sank as a result of the fire three days later on December 2. Oddly, the Angelina Lauro was also eventually destroyed by fire.