MV Victoria (1959)

MV Victoria is a Lake Victoria ferry operated by the Marine Services Company Limited of Tanzania.

Victoria anchored in Bukoba, Tanzania in 2012.
History
Kenya Colony
Name: RMS Victoria
Port of registry: Kisumu
Route: around Lake Victoria
Builder: Yarrow Shipbuilders Limited[1]
Yard number: 2165[1]
Launched:
  • 1959 (Paisley);
  • 5 September 1960 (Kisumu)[1]
Completed: June 1961[1]
Commissioned: 22 July 1961[1]
History
Kenya
Name: Victoria
Port of registry: Kisumu
Fate: Transferred to Tanzania
History
Tanzania
Name: Victoria
Operator: Marine Services Company Limited
Port of registry: Mwanza
Acquired: 1977
Status: In service
General characteristics
Type: Ferry
Tonnage: 1,353 GRT[1]
Length: 261.3 ft (79.6 m)[1]
Beam: 40.0 ft (12.2 m)[1]
Height: 13.0 ft (4.0 m)[1]
Draught: 8.3 ft (2.5 m)[1]
Propulsion:
Speed: 13.5 kn (25 km/h)[1]
Capacity:
  • originally:
  • 230 passengers;
  • 200 tons of cargo[2]

Until Kenyan independence from the United Kingdom in 1963 she was the Royal Mail Ship RMS Victoria.[3] She then operated under the Kenyan flag until 1977, when she was transferred to Tanzania.

Building

Victoria was built as a "knock-down" ship. Yarrow Shipbuilders Limited built her at Scotstoun, Glasgow, then dismantled her in June 1959.[1] She was then exported in 1,500 crates via Mombasa[2] to Kisumu on Lake Victoria, where here reassembly was begun in December 1959 and she was launched on 5 September 1960.[1]

She was handed over to the East African Railways and Harbours Corporation (EAR&H) on 26 June 1961 and commissioned in 22 July.[1] When the ship was commissioned Elizabeth II granted her the Royal Mail Ship (RMS) designation: the only EAR&H ship to receive this distinction.[3]

Service

When commissioned in 1961, Victoria had capacity for 230 passengers and 200 tons of freight[2] and had refrigeration for perishable cargo.[4] 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[2] 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.[4]

In 1977 EAR&H was divided between Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda and Victoria was transferred to the new Tanzania Railways. In 1997 TRC's inland shipping division became a separate company, the Marine Services Company Ltd.[5]

Victoria was refurbished and due to return to service between Bukoba and Mwanza in June 2020.[6][7]

References
  1. "Victoria". Scottish Built Ships. Caledonian Maritime Research Trust. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  2. "Kenya". Internet Archive. Internet Archive. 1961. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
  3. McCrow, Malcolm. "Marine Services". East African Railways and Harbours. Malcolm McCrow. Retrieved 17 May 2011.
  4. "Gazette Notice No 3467; East Africa Railways & Harbours; Amendments to Tariff Book No 3". Kenya Gazette. LXIII. 18 July 1961. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
  5. "Home". Marine Services Company Limited. Archived from the original on 10 September 2011. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
  6. Mulisa, Meddy; Sanga, Alex (29 June 2020). "It's all smile as MV Victoria bounces back to business". Daily News.
  7. Kamagi, Deogratius (10 August 2020). "PM demands swift licensing of MV Victoria". Habari Leo.
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