| Career | |
|---|---|
| Name: | 1967-1996: Winston Churchill 1996-2004: Mayan Empress |
| Operator: | 1967-1996: DFDS Seaways 1996-1963: Empress Cruise Lines |
| Port of registry: | 1967-1996: Esbjerg, Denmark 1996-2004: Kingstown, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
| Builder: | Cantieri Navali del Torrino e Riuniti, Genoa |
| Yard number: | 277 |
| Launched: | 1967 |
| Identification: | IMO number: 6718233 |
| Fate: | Broken up in 2004 |
| General characteristics [1] | |
| Tonnage: | 8,657 GT (gross tonnage) |
| Length: | 140.65 m (461 ft 5 in) |
| Beam: | 20.53 m (67 ft 4 in) |
| Draught: | 5.59 m (18 ft 4 in) |
| Installed power: | 2 x B&W 1050-VT2BF-110 diesels |
| Speed: | 21 knots |
| Capacity: | 750 Passengers 180 Cars |
The MS Winston Churchill was built in 1967 by Cantieri Navali del Torrino e Riuniti S.P.A. Riva Trigoso, Genoa, Italy.
The Winston Churchill was built as a car ferry for the Scandinavian Seaways DFDS service from Esbjerg to Harwich, and proved a very successful vessel on the route. As demand for vehicle-carrying services grew, larger vessels were required for the route and the Winston Churchill was transferred to the River Tyne in 1978, for the twice-weekly service to Gothenburg, following the arrival of the new DFDS vessel MS Dana Anglia on the Harwich route. She was eventually replaced on the Esbjerg route out of the Tyne by a new vessel, the MS King of Scandinavia in 1995, and moved to a new route, also from the Tyne, to IJmuiden, Netherlands, which she maintained until the following year. She was badly damaged by a fire in her alternator room during a refit at Esbjerg in April 1996, and she was subsequently repaired and sold to Empress Cruise Lines, becoming the Mayan Empress. She was eventually sold for scrap in India in 2004.