RMS Transvaal Castle
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RMS Transvaal Castle was a British ocean liner built by John Brown & Company at Clydebank for the Union-Castle Line for their mail service between Southampton and Durban. In 1966 she was sold to the South Africa-based Safmarine and renamed S.A. Vaal for further service on the same route. Following cessation of the service between the UK and South Africa in 1977 the ship was sold to Carnival Cruise Line and rebuilt in Japan as the cruise ship SS Festivale, re-entering service in 1978.[5] In 1996 she was chartered to Dolphin Cruise Line and renamed IslandBreeze.[6] In 1998 the ship was sold to Premier Cruise Line,[7] which renamed her The Big Red Boat III.[3] Following the bankruptcy of Premier Cruise Line in 2000,[8] The Big Red Boat III was laid up until 2003 when she was sold to scrappers in Alang, India.[9] She was renamed The Big Red Boat for her final voyage to the scrapyard.
This article may contain excessive or inappropriate references to self-published sources. (November 2019) |
SS Festivale docked in Barbados on 26 February 1987. | |
History | |
---|---|
Bahamas | |
Name |
|
Owner |
|
Route | Southampton, Las Palmas, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, East London, Durban |
Builder | John Brown & Co., Clydebank, Scotland, United Kingdom[4] |
Yard number | 720[4] |
Launched | 17 January 1961[4] |
Completed | December 1961 |
Maiden voyage | 18 January 1962[4] |
In service | 1962 |
Out of service | September 2000[4] |
Identification | IMO number: 5367623 |
Fate | Scrapped at Alang, India in 2003.[4] |
General characteristics as built, 1961[4] | |
Type | Ocean liner |
Tonnage | |
Length | 760 ft 2 in (231.70 m) |
Beam | 90 ft 2 in (27.48 m) |
Draught | 32 ft (9.8 m) |
Decks | 8 |
Installed power | 44,000 shp (33,000 kW) |
Propulsion | Geared turbines, twin screw |
Speed | 22.5 knots (41.7 km/h; 25.9 mph) |
Capacity | 728 passengers one class |
Crew | 426 |
General characteristics as rebuilt, 1978 | |
Type | cruise ship |
Tonnage | 26,632 GRT (Panamanian rules, c.38,000 by UK rules) |
Capacity | 1,432 passengers[4] |
Crew | 579 |
Notes | Otherwise the same as built |