| Career | |
|---|---|
| Name: | RMS Victoria until 1963; MV Victoria |
| Operator: | Marine Services Company Limited |
| Port of registry: | Kisumu (until 1977), Mwanza |
| Route: | around Lake Victoria |
| Builder: | Yarrow Shipbuilders[1] |
| Yard number: | 2165[1] |
| Launched: | 1959 (Paisley);[1] 1960 (Kisumu) |
| Completed: | 1961[1] |
| Status: | in service |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | ferry[1] |
| Tonnage: | 1,599 GRT[2] |
| Length: | 79.6 m (261 ft)[2] |
| Beam: | 12.5 m (41 ft)[2] |
| Draught: | 3.96 m (13.0 ft)[2] |
| Installed power: | diesel[1] |
| Propulsion: | twin screw[3] |
| Capacity: | originally 230 passengers & 200 tons of cargo;[3] now 1,200 passengers & 200 tons of cargo[2] |
MV Victoria is a Lake Victoria ferry operated by the Marine Services Company Limited of Tanzania.[2] Until Kenyan independence from the United Kingdom in 1963 she was the Royal Mail Ship RMS Victoria.[4]
Yarrow Shipbuilders at Scotstoun, Glasgow built Victoria in 1960.[5] She was then "knocked down" and exported to Mombasa in 1,500 crates[3] and reassembled at Kisumu[4] on Lake Victoria for the East African Railways and Harbours Corporation (EAR&H) in 1961.[6] When the ship was commissioned Elizabeth II granted her the Royal Mail Ship (RMS) designation: the only EAR&H ship to receive this distinction.[4]
When commissioned in 1961, Victoria had capacity for 230 passengers and 200 tons of freight[3] and had refrigeration for perishable cargo.[7] She took over the EAR&H's circular service around the ports of Lake Victoria, halving the total journey time to two and a half days[3] which enabled her to serve all ports on the lake twice a week. EAR&H accordingly introduced new fares for passengers and rates for different classes of freight on her.[7]
In 1977 EARH was divided between Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda and Victoria was transferred to the new Tanzania Railways Corporation. In 1997 TRC's inland shipping division became a separate company, the Marine Services Company Ltd.[8]