RMS ST HELENA MAKES FINAL CALL TO THE UK

 

By Rebecca Moore, Passenger Ship Technology, 9th June 2016{2}

RMS St Helena passes through Tower Bridge on its last UK call

The RMS St Helena has made its final call to the UK, amid news that entities in countries as diverse as Norway, Australia and Guernsey have expressed interest in taking on the vessel once it is decommissioned from its current service.

PST was lucky enough to be invited on board to mark its last UK call and to celebrate the vessel’s 26 years of service to St Helena Island in the South Atlantic Ocean.

The last working Royal Mail ship is retiring from service due to an airport opening on St Helena Island later this year.

PST understands that both Alderney’s Chamber of Commerce and shipping lines in countries including Norway, Sweden and Australia have expressed interest in buying the vessel.

St Helena Line Ltd chairman Matthew Young said to the gathering on board: It is truly the last working RM ship that actually transports mail and has served the island well for the last 26 years, it has been remarkable in maintaining its schedule over the last 26 years and has performed the service remarkably well… it is very much a living entity as far as the island is concerned and is described as a lifeline, which it really is as without it, the island would have a significant problem.

Looking ahead, he said: We don’t know what the future holds for it yet but clearly that will be determined in the not too distant future. But I am sure there will be life after the service to the island and it will continue for many years to come to serve some other province.

The 6,767gt ship has capacity for 156 passengers and 56 crew as well as cargo.

The last ship to be built in Aberdeen, it last underwent a major refit seven years ago, when passenger capacity was upgraded from 128 to 156 by adding extra cabins; it also underwent a technical overhaul as it was refitted with new, more fuel economical engines, the ship’s captain Andrew Greentree who started his career on RMS St Helena as a cadet told PST. The refit took place in Cape Town. The ship operates on low sulphur fuel.

Our Comment: There were many articles about the RMS’s visit to the UK; we chose one from a more unusual source.

See also: RMS St Helena • Fly here