Scillonian (1955)
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The TSMV
Scillonian (also referred to as Scillonian II) was a passenger ferry built for the Isles of Scilly Steamship Company in 1955 by John I. Thornycroft & Company
of Woolston, Southampton
. She was designed to carry 500 passengers and cargo between Penzance
, Cornwall
, to the offshore Isles of Scilly
.
. The second Scillonian was powered by two 6 cylinder four stroke diesel engine
s (manufactured by Ruston & Hornsby) which propelled two three-blade screws, giving the ship a maximum speed of 15.5 knots.
The new passenger ferry made her first trip to the Isles of Scilly on 23 March 1956, sailing from Southampton
to St Mary's. On her arrival, critics found the second Scillonian "too big, they will never hold her, not suitable or not as good a sea boat as the old boat" (the same had happened when the first Scillonian went into service in 1926 and would happen again with Scillonian III
in 1977). Like her predecessor, the second Scillonian operated mainly between the Isles of Scilly and Penzance, although she sometimes diverted to Falmouth
or St Ives
in bad weather. A frequent traveller aboard the ship was Harold Wilson
who had a holiday home in the Isles of Scilly. Between 1964 to 1966 she was joined on her route by the Queen of the Isles
. Scillonian was eventually replaced by Scillonian III
in May 1977, and was sold to P&A Campbell
.
. In her first season Devonia deputised for Balmoral on the Bristol Channel
, and ran on the Thames. P&A Campbell hoped to use her freight capacity to serve Lundy
, work eventually taken over by the Oldenburg
. Over the winter of 1977/1978, Devonia was chartered for oil rig
ferry work at Loch Kishorn
, before returning to the Bristol Channel. P&A Campbell ceased operations in 1980, after which the ship was acquired by Torbay Seaways and renamed Devoniun in 1982. She operated trips to the Channel Islands and local excursions from Torquay. In 1984 she was sold to Norse Atlantic Ferries, and renamed Syllingar after arriving in the Orkney Islands
in November 1984. She made up to two return trips each week between Kirkwall
, Westray
and Scalloway
, plus additional cruises to Foula
and Fair Isle
. Financial problems forced the service to cease in August 1985. Following her period as Syllingar the ship was renamed Remvi in 1986, and ran across the Adriatic for Hellenic Cruising Holidays until 1989. As Africa Queen she was operated by J.A.R. Atlantic Ocean Ltd of Belize
from 1989 to 1997 and sailed off West Africa. The latter company renamed her the Princess Eliana in 1997 before her final sale in 1998 as Olga J to the Cypriot Greek ship-owner, John Christodoulo, who was director of Asterias Maritime, a company registered in Belize. The ship and her crew were finally abandoned by her owner in Bourgas, Bulgaria
and she later sank there in 2004.
Royal 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...
Scillonian (also referred to as Scillonian II) was a passenger ferry built for the Isles of Scilly Steamship Company in 1955 by John I. Thornycroft & Company
John I. Thornycroft & Company
John I. Thornycroft & Company Limited, usually known simply as Thornycroft was a British shipbuilding firm started by John Isaac Thornycroft in the 19th century.-History:...
of Woolston, Southampton
Woolston, Southampton
Woolston is a suburb of Southampton, Hampshire, located on the eastern bank of the River Itchen. It is bounded by the River Itchen, Hampshire, Sholing, Peartree Green, Itchen and Weston.The area is rich in maritime and aviation history...
. She was designed to carry 500 passengers and cargo between Penzance
Penzance
Penzance is a town, civil parish, and port in Cornwall, England, in the United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is approximately 75 miles west of Plymouth and 300 miles west-southwest of London...
, Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, to the offshore Isles of Scilly
Isles of Scilly
The Isles of Scilly form an archipelago off the southwestern tip of the Cornish peninsula of Great Britain. The islands have had a unitary authority council since 1890, and are separate from the Cornwall unitary authority, but some services are combined with Cornwall and the islands are still part...
.
Serving the Isles of Scilly
The ship was ordered on 18 March 1954 at a contract price of £250,000 (£ as of ), planned as a replacement for the first Scillonian which had been in continuous service since 1926. The new ship was laid down on 25 March 1955, completed on 15 November 1955 and christened by HRH The Duchess of GloucesterPrincess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester
Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester was a member of the British Royal Family, the wife and then widow of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, the third son of George V and Queen Mary.The daughter of the 7th Duke of Buccleuch & Queensberry, Scotland’s largest landowner, her brothers Walter and...
. The second Scillonian was powered by two 6 cylinder four stroke diesel engine
Diesel engine
A diesel engine is an internal combustion engine that uses the heat of compression to initiate ignition to burn the fuel, which is injected into the combustion chamber...
s (manufactured by Ruston & Hornsby) which propelled two three-blade screws, giving the ship a maximum speed of 15.5 knots.
The new passenger ferry made her first trip to the Isles of Scilly on 23 March 1956, sailing from 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...
to St Mary's. On her arrival, critics found the second Scillonian "too big, they will never hold her, not suitable or not as good a sea boat as the old boat" (the same had happened when the first Scillonian went into service in 1926 and would happen again with Scillonian III
Scillonian III
RMV Scillonian III is a passenger ship based at Penzance in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, run by the Isles of Scilly Steamship Company...
in 1977). Like her predecessor, the second Scillonian operated mainly between the Isles of Scilly and Penzance, although she sometimes diverted to Falmouth
Falmouth, Cornwall
Falmouth is a town, civil parish and port on the River Fal on the south coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It has a total resident population of 21,635.Falmouth is the terminus of the A39, which begins some 200 miles away in Bath, Somerset....
or St Ives
St Ives, Cornwall
St Ives is a seaside town, civil parish and port in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town lies north of Penzance and west of Camborne on the coast of the Celtic Sea. In former times it was commercially dependent on fishing. The decline in fishing, however, caused a shift in commercial...
in bad weather. A frequent traveller aboard the ship was Harold Wilson
Harold Wilson
James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, FSS, PC was a British Labour Member of Parliament, Leader of the Labour Party. He was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the 1960s and 1970s, winning four general elections, including a minority government after the...
who had a holiday home in the Isles of Scilly. Between 1964 to 1966 she was joined on her route by the Queen of the Isles
Queen of the Isles
The Queen of the Isles was a ferry built for the Isles of Scilly Steamship Company in 1964 by Charles Hill & Sons. She was designed to carry passengers and cargo between Penzance, Cornwall, UK, to the offshore Isles of Scilly, complementing the service provided by the other company ship Scillonian...
. Scillonian was eventually replaced by Scillonian III
Scillonian III
RMV Scillonian III is a passenger ship based at Penzance in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, run by the Isles of Scilly Steamship Company...
in May 1977, and was sold to P&A Campbell
P and A Campbell
P & A Campbell Ltd of Bristol with its White Funnel Fleet became the dominant excursion-steamer operator in the Bristol Channel by the 1890s; and along the South Coast of England in the first half of the twentieth century.-The White Funnel fleet:...
.
Later fate until 2004
P&A Campbell renamed her Devonia and she joined the Balmoral, offering coastal cruises around the South CoastSouthern England
Southern England, the South and the South of England are imprecise terms used to refer to the southern counties of England bordering the English Midlands. It has a number of different interpretations of its geographic extents. The South is considered by many to be a cultural region with a distinct...
. In her first season Devonia deputised for Balmoral on the Bristol Channel
Bristol Channel
The Bristol Channel is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England. It extends from the lower estuary of the River Severn to the North Atlantic Ocean...
, and ran on the Thames. P&A Campbell hoped to use her freight capacity to serve Lundy
Lundy
Lundy is the largest island in the Bristol Channel, lying off the coast of Devon, England, approximately one third of the distance across the channel between England and Wales. It measures about at its widest. Lundy gives its name to a British sea area and is one of the islands of England.As of...
, work eventually taken over by the Oldenburg
MS Oldenburg
MS Oldenburg is a British passenger ferry serving the island of Lundy in the Bristol Channel.The Oldenburg was named after the former grand duchy of Oldenburg, Germany, and launched on the 29 March 1958 in Bremen...
. Over the winter of 1977/1978, Devonia was chartered for oil rig
Oil platform
An oil platform, also referred to as an offshore platform or, somewhat incorrectly, oil rig, is a lаrge structure with facilities to drill wells, to extract and process oil and natural gas, and to temporarily store product until it can be brought to shore for refining and marketing...
ferry work at Loch Kishorn
Loch Kishorn
Loch Kishorn is a sea loch in the north-west Highlands of Scotland.-Topography:Loch Kishorn is a northern branch of Loch Carron about 1.5 km wide and 4 km long, and with a maximum depth of about 60 m. It is fed by the River Kishorn which flows from the north and enters through an...
, before returning to the Bristol Channel. P&A Campbell ceased operations in 1980, after which the ship was acquired by Torbay Seaways and renamed Devoniun in 1982. She operated trips to the Channel Islands and local excursions from Torquay. In 1984 she was sold to Norse Atlantic Ferries, and renamed Syllingar after arriving in the Orkney Islands
Orkney Islands
Orkney also known as the Orkney Islands , is an archipelago in northern Scotland, situated north of the coast of Caithness...
in November 1984. She made up to two return trips each week between Kirkwall
Kirkwall
Kirkwall is the biggest town and capital of Orkney, off the coast of northern mainland Scotland. The town is first mentioned in Orkneyinga saga in the year 1046 when it is recorded as the residence of Rögnvald Brusason the Earl of Orkney, who was killed by his uncle Thorfinn the Mighty...
, Westray
Westray
Westray is one of the Orkney Islands in Scotland, with a population of around 550 people. Its main village is Pierowall, with a heritage centre, the ruined Lady Kirk and ferries to Papa Westray.-Geography and geology:...
and Scalloway
Scalloway
Scalloway is the largest settlement on the North Atlantic coast of Mainland, Shetland with a population of approximately 812, at the 2001 census...
, plus additional cruises to Foula
Foula
Foula in the Shetland Islands of Scotland is one of Great Britain’s most remote permanently inhabited islands. Owned since the turn of the 20th century by the Holbourn family, the island was the location for the film The Edge of the World...
and Fair Isle
Fair Isle
Fair Isle is an island in northern Scotland, lying around halfway between mainland Shetland and the Orkney islands. It is famous for its bird observatory and a traditional style of knitting.-Geography:...
. Financial problems forced the service to cease in August 1985. Following her period as Syllingar the ship was renamed Remvi in 1986, and ran across the Adriatic for Hellenic Cruising Holidays until 1989. As Africa Queen she was operated by J.A.R. Atlantic Ocean Ltd of Belize
Belize
Belize is a constitutional monarchy and the northernmost country in Central America. Belize has a diverse society, comprising many cultures and languages. Even though Kriol and Spanish are spoken among the population, Belize is the only country in Central America where English is the official...
from 1989 to 1997 and sailed off West Africa. The latter company renamed her the Princess Eliana in 1997 before her final sale in 1998 as Olga J to the Cypriot Greek ship-owner, John Christodoulo, who was director of Asterias Maritime, a company registered in Belize. The ship and her crew were finally abandoned by her owner in Bourgas, Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
and she later sank there in 2004.