Island Breeze (ship)
Encyclopedia
RMS Transvaal Castle was an ocean liner
built in 1961 by John Brown & Company
in Scotland for the United Kingdom-based Union-Castle Line
for their service between Southampton
and Durban
. In 1966 she was sold to the South Africa-based Safmarine
and renamed S.A. Vaal for further service on the same route. Following cessation of the service between the UK and South Africa in 1977 the ship was sold to Carnival Cruise Lines
and rebuilt in Japan
as the cruise ship
SS Festivale, re-entering service in 1978. In 1996 she was sold to Dolphin Cruise Line and renamed IslandBreeze. The vessel spent some of her time under Dolphin Cruise Line ownership on charter to Thomson Cruises. In 1998 the ship was sold to Premier Cruise Line
and renamed SS Big Red Boat III. Following the bankruptcy of Premier Cruise Line 2000, Big Red Boat III was laid up until 2003 when she was sold to the scrappers in Alang, India. The ship became The Big Red Boat for her final voyage to the scrapyard.
Transvaal Castle was the last in a series of three similar but not identical ships planned by the Union-Castle Line
in the 1950s as replacements for the company's oldest ships , and . The Transvaal Castle was preceded by the (delivered in 1958) and (delivered in 1960). Unlike her earlier near-sisters the Transvaal Castle was planned as a one-class liner. At , she was to be the company's second-largest ship, surpassed only by the Windsor Castle.
The contract for the construction of the Transvaal Castle was awarded to the John Brown & Company
shipyard at Clydebank
, Scotland. The vessel was launched from drydock on 17 January 1961, and delivered to Union-Castle on 16 December 1961.
in the United Kingdom to Durban
in South Africa on 18 January 1962. With the new ships the travel time between the UK and South Africa was cut from 13½ days to 11½ days, with departures from both Southampton and Durban at 4 PM on Thursday, every week. In 1965 the departure time was altered to 1 PM every Friday.
In order to better cater to the increasing number of South African passengers and the demands of the South African government, the Transvaal Castle and her fleetmate were transferred to the South African Safmarine
in 1966. The Transvaal Castle was taken over by Safmarine on 12 January 1966 and renamed S.A. Vaal. The ship's hull was repainted white and her funnel changed to Safmarine's mid-grey, with three thin lines of the then South African national colours: orange white and blue. RMS S.A. Vaal remained registered in London and continued to operate on the same service as before. Thus the UK—South Africa service became a joint operation between Union-Castle and Safmarine. In February 1969 the S.A. Vaal was re-registered to Cape Town.
The Union-Castle/Safmarine joint mailship service declined heavily during the 1970s. This was due to a combination of adverse economic factors including the loss of earnings from high value cargoes, which were increasingly being carried in the more efficient, revolutionary new container ships. After Pendennis Castle was withdrawn in June 1976 just two mailships remained on the route - Union-Castle's Windsor Castle and Safmarine's S.A. Vaal - in addition to Union-Castle's last cargo/passenger vessels RMMV Good Hope Castle and RMMV Southampton Castle (carrying just 12 passengers each) and other chartered cargo-only tonnage. The jointly owned passenger liner service ceased completely in October 1977, with the S.A. Vaal being the last to arrive in Southampton on 10 October 1977. (Safmarine attempted to restart the serviced in 1984 with the second-hand cruise ship
, but this was not successful).
and renamed SS Festivale. Carnival converted her into a cruise ship in Japan
at the cost of $30 million, removing former cargo holds and doubling the vessel's passenger capacity, installing further lounges also dedicated discothèques and casinos. The vessel became one of Carnival's "First Generation" cruise ships.
With Carnival later creating substantially larger cruise liners, the Festivale eventually became redundant. There was still a market for passengers who preferred "traditional" looking ships, and after a brief charter with Thomson Cruises, Premier Cruise Line
purchased the vessel in 1998. They named her Big Red Boat III, as she was their third liner, and like all of their ships, had her hull painted a bright and somewhat garish red.
Premier Cruises went bankrupt in 2000, and their ships were seized in various ports in the Caribbean
, North America
, and Europe
. By now ageing, outmoded and in need of repairs, the Big Red Boat III could find no work and was sold to the shipbreakers in Alang, India
in the summer of 2003. She was scrapped in 2003-2004.
Ocean liner
An ocean liner is a ship designed to transport people from one seaport to another along regular long-distance maritime routes according to a schedule. Liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes .Cargo vessels running to a schedule are sometimes referred to as...
built in 1961 by John Brown & Company
John Brown & Company
John Brown and Company of Clydebank was a pre-eminent Scottish marine engineering and shipbuilding firm, responsible for building many notable and world-famous ships, such as the , the , the , the , the , and the...
in Scotland for the United Kingdom-based Union-Castle Line
Union-Castle Line
The Union-Castle Line was a prominent British shipping line that operated a fleet of passenger liners and cargo ships between Europe and Africa from 1900 to 1977. It was formed from the merger of the Union Line and Castle Shipping Line...
for their service between Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
and Durban
Durban
Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...
. In 1966 she was sold to the South Africa-based Safmarine
Safmarine
Safmarine is an international shipping business offering container and break-bulk shipping services worldwide....
and renamed S.A. Vaal for further service on the same route. Following cessation of the service between the UK and South Africa in 1977 the ship was sold to Carnival Cruise Lines
Carnival Cruise Lines
Carnival Cruise Lines is a British-American owned cruise line, based in Doral, Florida, a suburb of Miami in the United States. Originally an independent company founded in 1972 by Ted Arison, the company is now one of eleven cruise ship brands owned and operated by Carnival Corporation & plc...
and rebuilt in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
as the cruise ship
Cruise ship
A cruise ship or cruise liner is a passenger ship used for pleasure voyages, where the voyage itself and the ship's amenities are part of the experience, as well as the different destinations along the way...
SS Festivale, re-entering service in 1978. In 1996 she was sold to Dolphin Cruise Line and renamed IslandBreeze. The vessel spent some of her time under Dolphin Cruise Line ownership on charter to Thomson Cruises. In 1998 the ship was sold to Premier Cruise Line
Premier Cruise Line
Premier Cruise Line a subsidiary of Premier Cruises, was a cruise line that was headquartered in Cape Canaveral, Florida. It was at one time licensed as the official cruise line of Walt Disney World and used the trademark "The Big Red Boat" based on the color scheme of some of its ships...
and renamed SS Big Red Boat III. Following the bankruptcy of Premier Cruise Line 2000, Big Red Boat III was laid up until 2003 when she was sold to the scrappers in Alang, India. The ship became The Big Red Boat for her final voyage to the scrapyard.
Concept and construction
RMSRoyal Mail Ship
Royal Mail Ship , usually seen in its abbreviated form RMS, a designation which dates back to 1840, is the ship prefix used for seagoing vessels that carry mail under contract by Royal Mail...
Transvaal Castle was the last in a series of three similar but not identical ships planned by the Union-Castle Line
Union-Castle Line
The Union-Castle Line was a prominent British shipping line that operated a fleet of passenger liners and cargo ships between Europe and Africa from 1900 to 1977. It was formed from the merger of the Union Line and Castle Shipping Line...
in the 1950s as replacements for the company's oldest ships , and . The Transvaal Castle was preceded by the (delivered in 1958) and (delivered in 1960). Unlike her earlier near-sisters the Transvaal Castle was planned as a one-class liner. At , she was to be the company's second-largest ship, surpassed only by the Windsor Castle.
The contract for the construction of the Transvaal Castle was awarded to the John Brown & Company
John Brown & Company
John Brown and Company of Clydebank was a pre-eminent Scottish marine engineering and shipbuilding firm, responsible for building many notable and world-famous ships, such as the , the , the , the , the , and the...
shipyard at Clydebank
Clydebank
Clydebank is a town in West Dunbartonshire, in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. Situated on the north bank of the River Clyde, Clydebank borders Dumbarton, the town with which it was combined to form West Dunbartonshire, as well as the town of Milngavie in East Dunbartonshire, and the Yoker and...
, Scotland. The vessel was launched from drydock on 17 January 1961, and delivered to Union-Castle on 16 December 1961.
1961—1977: United Kingdom—South Africa liner service
The new Transvaal Castle set on her maiden voyage from SouthamptonSouthampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
in the United Kingdom to Durban
Durban
Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...
in South Africa on 18 January 1962. With the new ships the travel time between the UK and South Africa was cut from 13½ days to 11½ days, with departures from both Southampton and Durban at 4 PM on Thursday, every week. In 1965 the departure time was altered to 1 PM every Friday.
In order to better cater to the increasing number of South African passengers and the demands of the South African government, the Transvaal Castle and her fleetmate were transferred to the South African Safmarine
Safmarine
Safmarine is an international shipping business offering container and break-bulk shipping services worldwide....
in 1966. The Transvaal Castle was taken over by Safmarine on 12 January 1966 and renamed S.A. Vaal. The ship's hull was repainted white and her funnel changed to Safmarine's mid-grey, with three thin lines of the then South African national colours: orange white and blue. RMS S.A. Vaal remained registered in London and continued to operate on the same service as before. Thus the UK—South Africa service became a joint operation between Union-Castle and Safmarine. In February 1969 the S.A. Vaal was re-registered to Cape Town.
The Union-Castle/Safmarine joint mailship service declined heavily during the 1970s. This was due to a combination of adverse economic factors including the loss of earnings from high value cargoes, which were increasingly being carried in the more efficient, revolutionary new container ships. After Pendennis Castle was withdrawn in June 1976 just two mailships remained on the route - Union-Castle's Windsor Castle and Safmarine's S.A. Vaal - in addition to Union-Castle's last cargo/passenger vessels RMMV Good Hope Castle and RMMV Southampton Castle (carrying just 12 passengers each) and other chartered cargo-only tonnage. The jointly owned passenger liner service ceased completely in October 1977, with the S.A. Vaal being the last to arrive in Southampton on 10 October 1977. (Safmarine attempted to restart the serviced in 1984 with the second-hand cruise ship
Cruise ship
A cruise ship or cruise liner is a passenger ship used for pleasure voyages, where the voyage itself and the ship's amenities are part of the experience, as well as the different destinations along the way...
, but this was not successful).
1978—2003: Cruise ship service
Following the withdrawal from service the S.A. Vaal was sold to Carnival Cruise LinesCarnival Cruise Lines
Carnival Cruise Lines is a British-American owned cruise line, based in Doral, Florida, a suburb of Miami in the United States. Originally an independent company founded in 1972 by Ted Arison, the company is now one of eleven cruise ship brands owned and operated by Carnival Corporation & plc...
and renamed SS Festivale. Carnival converted her into a cruise ship in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
at the cost of $30 million, removing former cargo holds and doubling the vessel's passenger capacity, installing further lounges also dedicated discothèques and casinos. The vessel became one of Carnival's "First Generation" cruise ships.
With Carnival later creating substantially larger cruise liners, the Festivale eventually became redundant. There was still a market for passengers who preferred "traditional" looking ships, and after a brief charter with Thomson Cruises, Premier Cruise Line
Premier Cruise Line
Premier Cruise Line a subsidiary of Premier Cruises, was a cruise line that was headquartered in Cape Canaveral, Florida. It was at one time licensed as the official cruise line of Walt Disney World and used the trademark "The Big Red Boat" based on the color scheme of some of its ships...
purchased the vessel in 1998. They named her Big Red Boat III, as she was their third liner, and like all of their ships, had her hull painted a bright and somewhat garish red.
Premier Cruises went bankrupt in 2000, and their ships were seized in various ports in the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. By now ageing, outmoded and in need of repairs, the Big Red Boat III could find no work and was sold to the shipbreakers in Alang, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
in the summer of 2003. She was scrapped in 2003-2004.