MV Tynwald (1967)

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The "Antrim Princess" in Loch Ryan - geograph.org.uk - 1460031.jpg
Antrim Princess in Loch Ryan on 9 June 1984, two years before the ship was renamed Tynwald
History
Civil Ensign of the Isle of Man.svg Isle of Man
Name:
  • 1967–1986: Antrim Princess
  • 1986–1990: Tynwald
  • 1990–2003: Lauro Express
  • 2004–2007" Giuseppe D'Abundo
Owner:
Port of registry:

1967-1986 Stranraer

1986-1990 Douglas, Isle of Man
Builder: R. & W. Hawthorn Leslie and Company Limited, Hebburn-on-Tyne [1]
Yard number: 765
Launched: 26 Apr 1967
Completed: Dec 1967
In service: 1967
Out of service: circa 2006
Identification:
Fate: Sold in 2006 for breaking; scrapped in 2007
General characteristics
Type: Roll-on/Roll-off passenger ferry
Propulsion: Screw-propeller
Speed: Approximately 20 knots (23 mph)

MV Tynwald VI was a roll-on-roll-off car and cargo vessel operated by the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company between 1986 and 1990, the sixth ship in the history of the line to bear the name. Built as Antrim Princess for service on the Stranraer–Larne route, she was chartered under her original name until 1986.

Isle of Man Steam Packet Company

The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company Limited is the oldest continuously operating passenger shipping company in the world, celebrating its 180th anniversary in 2010.

Contents

Construction

Antrim Princess was built by Hawthorn Leslie & Co. at Hebburn-on-Tyne in 1967. The ship was notable as being British Rail's first seagoing ship to be fitted with a bow door and therefore, was the very first Sealink drive-through ferry. She also broke with the Company's long tradition of using steam turbine propulsion for its channel vessels, a move that introduced the funnel design that was to become synonymous with British Rail and later Sealink ferries.

R. & W. Hawthorn Leslie and Company, Limited, usually referred to as Hawthorn Leslie, was a shipbuilder and locomotive manufacturer. The company was founded on Tyneside in 1886 and ceased building ships in 1982.

Hebburn town on south bank of the River Tyne in North East England

Hebburn is a small town situated on the south bank of the River Tyne in North East England sandwiched between the towns of Jarrow and Gateshead and to the south of Walker. The population of Hebburn was 18,808 in 2001, reducing to 16,492 at the 2011 Census for the 2 Hebburn Wards.

British Rail rail transport operator of Great Britain

British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages between 1994 and 1997. Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Commission, it became an independent statutory corporation in 1962 designated as the British Railways Board.

Service life

Antrim Princess was designed for service on the Stranraer - Larne route. Apart from a serious engine room fire in December 1983 which caused all the passengers to be airlifted to safety prior to the fire being brought under control, she had a largely uneventful career on the North Channel.

Stranraer town in Wigtownshire, Scotland

Stranraer is a town in the parish of Inch, Dumfries and Galloway, in the historical county of Wigtownshire in southwest Scotland. It lies on the shores of Loch Ryan, on the northern side of the isthmus joining the Rhins of Galloway to the mainland. Stranraer is Dumfries and Galloway's second-largest town, with a population including the surrounding area of nearly 13,000.

Larne Civil parish in County Antrim, Northern Ireland

Larne is a seaport and industrial market town, as well as a civil parish, on the east coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland, with a population of 18,323 people in the 2008 Estimate. The Larne Local Government District had a population of 32,180 in 2011. It has been used as a seaport for over 1,000 years, and is today a major passenger and freight roll-on roll-off port. Larne is administered by Mid and East Antrim Borough Council. Together with parts of the neighbouring districts of Antrim and Newtownabbey and Causeway Coast and Glens, it forms the East Antrim constituency for elections to the Westminster Parliament and Northern Ireland Assembly. The civil parish is situated in the historic barony of Glenarm Upper.

North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland) strait in the United Kingdom

The North Channel is the strait between north-eastern Northern Ireland and south-western Scotland. It connects the Irish Sea with the Atlantic Ocean, and is part of the marine area officially classified as the "Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland" by the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO).

With the privatisation of Sealink UK in 1984 and the subsequent Sealink-Manxline/Isle of Man Steam Packet merger, a consolidation regarding the vessels operating to and from the Isle of Man, and the routes to be served was undertaken. Services would be concentrated on the Heysham–Douglas route with a strengthened two-ship service using the larger Mona's Isle (VI) and Antrim Princess.

After over 150 years of continuous service, the Steam Packet's year-round Liverpool–Douglas services were to be abandoned.

Following the collapse of the Sealink UK/Sealink RMT Dover–Ostend route partnership, the Isle of Man agreement provided for Sealink to charter Antrim Princess as their contribution to the new merged operation. However, the MV Manx Viking actually assumed the role, whilst trade union problems delayed the transfer of Antrim Princess from Stranraer. The Steam Packet's contribution to the year-round operations was the disastrous and expensive Mona's Isle (VI). Underpowered, dubiously rebuilt and unable to carry the expected loads, Mona's Isle lasted only one season - her operational Manx career actually lasted six months. However following a settlement with the seaman's union, Antrim Princess was finally released.

MV <i>Manx Viking</i>

The MV Manx Viking / Nindawayma was a passenger, truck and car ferry, whose last active service was on Lake Huron, operated by the Owen Sound Transportation Company Limited; under contract to the Ontario Ministry of Transportation. In Canadian service she served the Highway 6 route between Tobermory and South Baymouth, Manitoulin Island from 1989 to 1992 alongside the MS Chi-Cheemaun.

Renamed Tynwald in April 1986 and painted in the Steam Packet's traditional livery, she began service joined by Manx Viking, which remained for another season. Both vessels were then supplemented in the summer by the two side-loaders Mona's Queen (V) and Lady of Mann (II).

MV (RMS) Mona's Queen (V) Official No. 307621 was a car-ferry built in 1971–72 for the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company. From 1972 to 1990, she operated to and from Douglas, Isle of Man. After a lengthy lay-up, she was sold in 1995, renamed Mary the Queen and operated as a ferry in south-east Asia, mainly sailing between Manila and Boracay. She was sold to Indian shipbreakers and beached in 2008.

MS <i>Lady of Mann</i>

MS Lady of Mann (II) was a side-loading car ferry built in 1976 for the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company and operated on the Douglas–Liverpool crossing. She served the company for 29 years. In 2005, she was converted to a Roll-on/roll-off ferry and was operated by SAOS Ferries in Greece under the name MS Panagia Soumela until she was scrapped in August 2011.

Tynwald continued operating on the Heysham–Douglas route until February 1990 when she was returned to Sealink after the Steam Packet had found a suitable replacement in the form of King Orry (V). During her service with the Steam Packet, Tynwald always sailed with a pronounced list. According to several of the deck crew there were problems with the ballast tanks which made levelling the vessel when loaded impossible.

Subsequent life

Tynwald returned to Sealink in February 1990 and was laid up awaiting sale. She was sold to Linee Lauro who employed the ship on their lengthy routes between Italy, Sicily and Tunisia and renamed Lauro Express. Prior to entering service she received new cabin accommodation. For 2003, she received a black hull under the new Medmar brand, whilst in 2004 she was renamed Giuseppe D'Abundo.

Before the 2004 summer season could get into full swing however, Medmar closed their route from Sete to Palma de Mallorca, which had been operated by the Giulia d'Abundo. The displaced ship was moved round to Italy and took the place of the Giuseppe D'Abundo which was subsequently laid-up in Naples. For the 2005 summer, Medmar announced that the ship was to be re-activated for deployment on new Adriatic services based in Bari and operating to Dubrovnik and Corfu. These were however later cancelled, the ship being chartered out instead to Di Maio & Partners for their Bari-Durres run.

Disposal

In early 2006, it was reported that the ship had been sold for scrap, but she remained laid-up for a time in Naples awaiting her fate before, finally, arriving at Alang in India in February 2007.

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References

  1. ↑ "MV Antrim Princess (1967)". www.tynebuiltships.co.uk. Retrieved 29 Apr 2017.
  2. ↑ "IMO 6714562". Shipspotting. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
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