Victoria

[shipstamps]

The Victoria was built by Yarrow and Company, of Scotstoun, Glasgow. Her length is 260 ft., beam 40 ft., depth 13 ft, and she has accommodation for 40 first-class, 76 second-class and 204 third-class passengers, She is a twin-screw motorship with a speed of over 13 knots. Her operating range is 1,500 miles and she has space for 5,000 cub. ft. of refrigerated cargo and also space for 10 cars below decks. The cost of building the ship in Glasgow, dismantling, shipping the parts to Mombasa and re-erecting was estimated at £686,000. From Mombasa the crates had to be transported by rail to the lakeside port of Kisumu. Every piece had to be lettered and was coloured red or green for either erection in a port or starboard position. Three Yarrow employees, Mr. E. Davis, chargehand shipwright, Mr. A. Crombie, charge-band caulker, and Mr. G. S. Malyon, in charge of the engineering side, were engaged in re-erecting the ship at Kisumu. She was accepted by the East African Railways and Harbours after her successful trials. Her maiden voyage was from Kisumu to Entebbe on Saturday, July 22 1961. Among her notable passengers on this occasion were the Governors of Kenya, Uganda and Tanganyika and the Kabaka of Buganda, who were on board as guests. The builders were represented by Mr. Eric G. Yarrow, then managing director, who unveiled a portrait of Queen Victoria which the firm presented to the ship.
SG258 Sea Breezes 4/69

[D. v. Nieuwenhuijzen]

Kenya 1983, 3 sh 30, StG.282.

[aukepalmhof]

UPDATE.

She was built as a passenger- cargo vessel under yard No 2165 by Yarrow & Co. of Scotstown, Glasgow for the East African Railways and Harbours.
1959 launched as VICTORIA
Tonnage 1.570 gross, dim. 260 x 40 x 13ft., draught 9ft.
Powered by two 10-cyl Crossby diesel engines, 1900 bhp, speed 13 knots. Twin screws.
Accommodation for 500 passengers in three classes.
Cargo capacity 200 tons, and 4.400 cubic feet reefer space, and can carry 10 cars and 40 bicycles. Also fitted out with a mail room.

She was completed by the yard in 1959, and special built for the service on Lake VICTORIA.

She was the largest of this type of ship fully assembled in the U.K. in “Meccano” fashion and then unbolted, crated, and bundled in pieces for shipment to Africa, for re-assembly and completion by local labour in Kisumu, Kenya.
05 September 1960 launched in Kisumu
June 1961 completed under the name VICTORIA.
22 July 1961 commissioned. Homeport Kisumu

http://www.equasis.org gives for 2005, Owned and managed by Tanzania Government Railways in Zanzibar, Tanzania. IMO No 8977364, call sign 5ITK. Registered in Tanzania.

Source: Merchant Ships Vol VIII 1960. Some websites.


MV VICTORIA is a Lake VICTORIA ferry operated by the Marine Services Company Limited of Tanzania.
Until Kenyan independence from the United Kingdom in 1963, she was the Royal Mail Ship RMS VICTORIA. 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. She was then exported in 1,500 crates via Mombasa to Kisumu on Lake Victoria, where here reassembly was begun in December 1959 and she was launched on 5 September 1960
She was handed over to the East African Railways and Harbours Corporation (EAR&H) on 26 June 1961 and commissioned in 22 July. When the ship was commissioned Elizabeth II granted her the Royal Mail Ship (RMS) designation: the only EAR&H ship to receive this distinction.
Service
When commissioned in 1961, VICTORIA had a capacity for 230 passengers and 200 tons of freight and had refrigeration for perishable cargo. 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 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.
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.

London, Oct 25, 2003, A press report, dated today, states: Over 500 people were evacuated after passengers on board "VICTORIA" (1599 gt, built 1961) that operates on Lake Victoria, hit a rock yesterday morning after it took a wrong course. No one was injured in the accident. The ship, which plies between Mwanza and Kagera regions, was grounded near Kemondo Bay port in Kagera Region 0559 hrs and all 502 passengers on board the ship have been evacuated, said a statement issued late yesterday by the Tanzania Railways Corporation (TRC).
The ship was grounded at Lupembe Island about three kilometers from Kemondo
Bay port and according to a report from the master of the vessel, the accident occurred because the skipper in charge at the time of the accident took a wrong course. "We have learned from the report that the crew has successfully evacuated all passengers on board and arrangements are being made to find alternative means of transport to their respective destinations or to reach Kemondo Bay and Bukoba ports respectively," the statement issued by the Director-General of the TRC, Linford Mboma said.

Tug "UKEREWE", which is capable of hauling "VICTORIA", has left Mwanza en route to the accident site, the statement said. The ship left Mwanza Thursday evening to Bukoba via Kemondo Bay with 502 passengers, 145 tonnes of cargo on board together with two saloon cars, and two coffins. Also on board were 21 crew and eight staff from a private catering services company. The statement said in order to quicken the pace of salving the grounded vessel, members of the crew have emptied ballast tanks in order to make it lighter for "UKEREWE" to haul it. "The Tanzania Railways Corporation on behalf of MSC is apologizing to all passengers for the inconvenience caused by the accident," the statement said. I further said MSC at the appropriate time would announce when "VICTORIA" would resume its services. "VICTORIA" belongs to Marine Shipping Company (MSC).

VICTORIA was refurbished and due to return to service between Bukoba and Mwanza in June 2020.

2021 In service, same name.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MV_Victoria_(1959) Lloyds report.

Kenya Uganda Tanzania 1969 1s30 sg 258, Scott?
Kenya 1983 3s50 sg 282. Scott?