The UK Passenger Ship Fleet of 1967
Page 9: Fleets S-T
This is the ninth in a series of ten pages devoted to postcards of the complete UK Passenger Fleet of 1967. It is based on the fleet lists of Colin Worker's book
The World's Passenger Ships
, published by Ian Allen in that year. 1967 was the the end of an era for British passenger ships, since it was the last year that the famous Cunard Queens sailed together across the Atlantic. In 1967, there was still a substantial fleet of British ocean liners and cross-channel packets, and the purpose-built cruise ships and multi-purpose car ferries that would change the shape of passenger shipping were largely still to come. The availability of such an excellent work of reference, plus the interest of the year, makes it a most suitable one to survey. I have relied on Colin Worker's book for selecting the ships to include, thereby omitting many vessels under 1000 gross tons.
1967 UK Passenger Fleet Pages:-
Letters:-
A-Bl
,
Br-Bu
,
Ca-Cu
,
D-G
,
Isle
,
M
,
N-O
,
P-R
,
S-T
,
U-W
Companies on this Page:-
Shaw Savill & Albion
Southampton Isle of Wight & South of England RMSP Co.Ltd
Townsend Car Ferries
Associated Pages:-
Shaw Savill & Albion
Southampton Isle of Wight & South of England RMSP Co.Ltd
Townsend Car Ferries
Ferry Postcards
Cruise Ship Postcards
Ocean Liner Postcards
Simplon Postcards Home Page
Search This Website:-
powered by
FreeFind
Shaw Savill & Albion
A complete history of Shaw Savill is available
on this link
.
Ceramic (1948)
Gothic (1948)
Shaw Savill Line official card of
Ceramic
.
Northern Star (1962)
J.Arthur Dixon postcard of
Northern Star.
Terence J.Mcnally, Capetown, card of
Northern Star
near Capetown (s/n: 239).
Southern Cross (1955)
The
Southern Cross
was built by Harland & Wolff, Belfast, in 1955 for a new round-the-world passenger service of Shaw Savill Line. She took no commercial freight, carried 1100 one-class passengers, and was one of the pioneers of the engines aft layout. The continuous circuit took 76 days to complete from Southampton, calling at Trinidad, Curacao, the Panama Canal, Tahiti, Fiji, Wellington, Auckland, Sydney, Melbourne, Fremantle, Durban, Capetown, Las Palmas and back to Southampton. From 1968, cruises were run between circumnavigations. Escalating costs and competition from the air caused her withdrawal in 1971. She remains in service in 2001 as the
Imperial Majesty
. Additional
Southern Cross
postcards, plus a complete subsequent career history, is shown
on this link
.
Shaw Savill Line official card of
Southern Cross
, at Tahiti, issued circa 1955 before the ship entered service (artist unknown).
Scan: Stephen Berry.
Shaw Savill Line official card of
Southern Cross
.
Shaw Savill Line official card of
Southern Cross
.
Shaw Savill Line official card of
Southern Cross
, passing Calshot Spit lightship in March 1955.
Scan: Stephen Berry.
Shaw Savill Line official card of
Southern Cross
, passing under Sydney Harbour Bridge, circa 1956.
Scan: Stephen Berry.
Shaw Savill Line official card of
Southern Cross
, outward bound from Wellington, NZ, circa 1956.
Scan: Stephen Berry.
Shaw Savill Line official card of
Southern Cross
, leaving her berth at Wellington, NZ, circa 1956.
Scan: Stephen Berry.
Shaw Savill Line official card of
Southern Cross
, berthing at Suva, Fiji, circa 1956.
Scan: Stephen Berry.
Southampton Isle of Wight & S.Coast RMSP Co. Ltd.
Red Funnel Steamers
A complete history of Red Funnel is available
on this link
.
Carrisbrooke Castle (1959-74)
672 grt - 58.27m long - 1324 kW=14 knots - 673 passengers - 25 cars
Carrisbrooke Castle
was built by Thornycroft & Co, Southampton, in 1959, for the Southampton, Isle of Wight & South of England Royal Mail Steam Packet Co. Ltd. She entered service between Southampton and East Cowes (Isle of Wight). From 1964, she also called at West Cowes.
Carrisbrooke Castle
was withdrawn in 1974, and sold to Societa Partenopea di Navigazione S.p.A., Naples, and renamed
Citta di Meta
. She served between Naples and Ischia. In 1989 she was sold to Maregiglio S.r.l., Naples, and renamed
Giglio Expresso II
, for services between Porto S. Stefano-Isola del Giglio. In 1980,
Giglio Expresso II
was sold to Transporti Regionali Marittimi (T.RE.MAR.), Naples, for services between Calasetta-Carloforte.
A complete history of this ship is available
on this link
.
J.Arthur Dixon postcard SS111 of
Carrisbrooke Castle.
Photo: Beken & Son, Cowes.
Salmon postcard 2304c of
Carrisbrooke Castle.
Frith postcard CS62 of
Carrisbrooke Castle
at East Cowes.
Osborne Castle (1962)
736 grt - 191 ft long - 14 knots - 673 passengers - 25 cars
Osborne Castle
was built by Thornycroft & Co, Southampton, in 1962, for the Southampton, Isle of Wight & South of England Royal Mail Steam Packet Co. Ltd. She entered service between Southampton and Cowes (Isle of Wight). She was held as reserve ship throughout 1976, but was reactivated during the summer of 1977 to provide extra weekend capacity.
Osborne Castle
was sold in 1978, and sold to Canadian owners as
Le Gobelet D'Argent
, used between Trois-Pistoles and les Escoumins on the St Lawrence Seaway. Her new owners rebuilt her as a drive-through ferry.
A complete history of this ship is available
on this link
.
J.Arthur Dixon postcard SS2116 of
Osborne Castle.
Photo: Beken & Son, Cowes.
Cowes Castle (1965-94)
786 grt - 58.21m long - 1324 kW=14 knots - 700 passengers - 25 cars
After 1975:- 912 grt - 67.36m long - 1324 kW=14 knots - 900 passengers - 30 cars
Cowes Castle
was built by Thornycroft & Co, Southampton, in 1965, for the Southampton, Isle of Wight & South of England Royal Mail Steam Packet Co. Ltd. She entered service between Southampton and Cowes (Isle of Wight). In 1975,
Cowes Castle
was rebuilt in Belgium as a drive-through ferry. In 1994, she was sold to Jadrolinija, Rijeka,Croatia, and renamed
Nehaj
.
A complete history of this ship is available
on this link
.
J.Arthur Dixon postcard SS6401 of
Cowes Castle.
Photo: Beken & Son, Cowes.
Townsend Car Ferries
Townsend Brothers Ferries was formed after WW2 to carry cars from Dover to Calais. Their first purpose-built car ferry, the
Free Enterprise
, was built in 1962. In 1968 Townsend Brothers Ferries combined with
Thoresen Car Ferries
to form
Townsend-Thoresen
. A complete history of Townsend is available
on this link
.
Free Enterprise
(Townsend: 1962-65)
Free Enterprise I
(Townsend: 1965-68)
Free Enterprise
was built in 1962 by I.C.H. Holland, Werf Gusto Yard, Schiedam, Holland, for Townsend Brothers Ferries' Dover-Calais service. She was renamed
Free Enterprise I
on delivery of
Free Enterprise II
.
In 1968, ownership passed to
Townsend Thoresen
. During 1975 and 1976 she spent time on the Cainryan-Larne route. In 1980
Free Enterprise I
was sold to Ventouris as the
Kimolos
, subsequently receiving the names
Ergina, Ventouris
and
Methodia II.
In 1997 she was sold to Sinderella NE, Piraeus, and renamed
Kallisti.
She was used during the summer on cruises between Crete-Santorini, and in winter between Lavrio-Tinos-Mykonos.
J.Arthur Dixon art postcard (no serial number) of
Free Enterprise.
J.Arthur Dixon postcard (no serial number) of
Free Enterprise.
Skyfotos postcard (no serial number) of
Free Enterprise.
Free Enterprise II
(Townsend: 1965-68)
Free Enterprise II
was built in 1965 by I.C.H. Holland, Werf Gusto Yard, Schiedam, Holland, for Townsend Brothers Ferries' Dover-Calais service. From 1966 she also operated Dover-Zeebrugge. In 1968, ownership passed to
Townsend Thoresen
. Between 1970 and 1982
Free Enterprise II
served on the Southampton-Cherbourg route. She was then sold to become the first large ferry in the
NAVARMA/Moby
fleet as
Moby Blu
.
Moby Blu
introduced the distinctive livery and naming system to the Moby fleet.
NAVARMA
originally used her on routes to Corsica, but in recent years
Moby Blu
has served on the Piombino-Elba route.
J.Arthur Dixon postcard (no serial number) of
Free Enterprise II.
Free Enterprise III
(Townsend: 1966-68)
Free Enterprise III
was built in 1966 by I.C.H. Holland, Werf Gusto Yard, Schiedam, Holland, for Townsend Brothers Ferries' Dover-Calais service. From 1967
Free Enterprise III
also operated Dover-Zeebrugge. In 1968, ownership passed to
Townsend Thoresen
. During summer 1974, she spent time on the Cainryan-Larne route. In summer 1981,
Free Enterprise III
operated between Portsmouth-Cherbourg. She was sold in 1984 to Maltese owners as the
Tamira
, but returned to UK waters later the same year as the
Mona's Iale
of the Isle of Man Steam Packet Co. After rebuilding with additional accommodation, she entered service between Heysham-Douglas in April 1985, but was not a success. Laid up in October 1985, she was sold to Egyptian owners in 1986 as the
Al Fahad
.
J.Arthur Dixon postcard (serial SP.1135) of
Free Enterprise III
as built.
Photo Precision postcard (serial R1288) of
Free Enterprise III,
with additional lounge by the funnel.
D.V.Bennett postcard (serial 2223) of
Free Enterprise III,
with additional lounge by the funnel.
Other pages in this series:-
A-Bl
,
Br-Bu
,
Ca-Cu
,
D-G
,
Isle
,
M
,
N-O
,
P-R
,
S-T
,
U-W
Cruise Ship Postcards
-
Ferry Postcards
-
Ocean Liner Postcards
Top of Page
-
Simplon Postcards Home Page
©1999-2005 Copyright Ian Boyle/Simplon Postcards
All Rights Reserved