During construction gangway collapsed 31 January 1951 killing 18 and injuring 46.

 

The Compania Argentina de Pesca, whose president was Alfredo Ryan, commissioned Harland and Wolff, to build a 25,000-ton whale factory ship, the largest vessel of its class in the world. The honoured guest, la Senora Eva Peron, wife of the president of Argentina, was invited to christen the ship Juan Peron, but due to ongoing political foment, she declined. In Evita's place, Irene McClurg, the secretary working for the Harland and Wolff shipyard responsible for their Latin American business.

 

The Norwegian crew assigned to her first whale harvest was obstructed by the Norwegian international laws limiting the pursuit of their intended pelagic whaling expedition in Antarctica. Instead, they took the Juan Peron to Port Arthur, Texas, to load bunker C fuel oil for Argentina.

 

Unfortunately, she ran into the pier causing extensive damage, resulting in expensive repairs and litigation. When she arrived in Argentina December 6th, 1951 with the same load of fuel oil, her draught prevented her from entering the access channels to the port. Consequently, the petroleum had to be loaded into lighters and towed into port.

 

She became known as the most cursed vessel  Harland and Wolff ever built.

 

After Peron's death it was renamed the Cruz Del Sur.

 

She was towed from Mobile (Alabama) to Yokahama (Japan) sometime in 1969, where she was cut up into 2 units. A new bow section was built by the Mitsubishi H1 shipyard that converted her into an off-shore drilling barge and was christened Offshore Western VII. In 1989, she was renamed the Ismaya and used as a pontoon.

 

In 1974, the stern section of the ship was converted into an offshore drilling rig in Taiwan and christened the Western Offshore VIII. Then in 1985, she was transferred to the Western Offshore drilling and Exploring Co., managed by the Fluor Drilling Services inc.

 

By 1988, she had been sold to the Frigg Shipping Ltd, managed by Lauritzen and christened Deepsea Duchess. Two year later, she was sold to KS Deepsea Drillships managed by Odfjell Drillships.

 

In 1990, she was rechristened the Dan Duchess.

 

She was sold to Sinapore Falcon Drilling Co. of the R. & B. Falcon Corporation of Houston (Texas) and christened Falcon Duchess in mid-1995.

 

Then in 2000, she was sold to Frontier Drilling of Bergen, Norway, registered in the Bahamas and rechristened Frontier Duchess.

 

Sold again, she was christened Noble Duchess and finally she became the Paragon MDS1