MV Victoria (1959)

MV Victoria anchored in Bukoba, Tanzania in 2012
History
Kenya Colony
Name: RMS Victoria
Port of registry: Kisumu
Route: around Lake Victoria
Builder: Yarrow Shipbuilders[1]
Yard number: 2165[1]
Launched: 1959 (Paisley);[1] 1960 (Kisumu)
Completed: 1961[1]
History
Kenya, Uganda
Name: MV Victoria
Port of registry: Kisumu
Fate: Transferred to Tanzania
History
Tanzania
Name: MV Victoria
Operator: Marine Services Company Limited
Port of registry: Mwanza
Acquired: 1977
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]

History

Yarrow Shipbuilders at Scotstoun, Glasgow built Victoria in 1960.[5] She was then disassembled 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 EAR&H 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]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Cameron, Stuart; Strathdee, Paul. "Victoria". Clyde-built Database. Retrieved 2011-05-22.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "MV. Victoria". Vessels. Marine Services Company Limited. Retrieved 2011-06-26.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Kenya". Internet Archive. Internet Archive. 1961. Retrieved 2011-05-18.
  4. 1 2 3 McCrow, Malcolm. "Marine Services". East African Railways and Harbours. Malcolm McCrow. Retrieved 2011-05-17.
  5. ↑ Brown, D.C. (1960). "Check Point". IMechE Proceedings. Institution of Mechanical Engineers. 50.
  6. ↑ von Kienlin, Markus (2007-12-17). "RMS Victoria". Katalog. Deutsche Gesellschaft für Eisenbahngeschichte. Retrieved 2011-05-18.
  7. 1 2 "Gazette Notice No 3467; East Africa Railways & Harbours; Amendments to Tariff Book No 3". Kenya Gazette. LXIII. 1961-07-18. Retrieved 2011-05-18.
  8. ↑ "Home". Marine Services Company Limited. Retrieved 2011-06-26.
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