RMS St Helena (1989)

MNG Tahiti in the Mozambique Channel
History
United Kingdom
Name:	St Helena
Owner:	St Helena Line Ltd
Operator:	Andrew Weir Shipping Ltd
Port of registry:	London,  United Kingdom
Builder:	A P Appledore (Aberdeen) Ltd
Maiden voyage:	1990
In service:	1990
Out of service:	17 February 2018
Identification:	IMO number: 8716306 Call sign: MMHE5 MMSI number: 232669000
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Name:	MNG Tahiti
Owner:	Tahiti Shipping Ltd,
Operator:	MNG Maritime Ltd
Port of registry:	Basseterre,  Saint Kitts and Nevis
Identification:	IMO number: 8716306 Call sign: V4UA3 MMSI number: 232669000
Status:	Operational with MNG Maritime Ltd
General characteristics
Class and type:	Lloyds Register
Tonnage:	6,767 GT
Length:	105 m (344 ft)
Beam:	19.2 m (63 ft)
Draft:	6 m (20 ft)
Installed power:	6,532 kW
Speed:	14.5 knots (26.9 km/h; 16.7 mph)
Capacity:	155 passengers, 1,800 tonnes cargo
Crew:	56 officers and crew
Notes:	Operated on behalf of Royal Mail Group Ltd (UK)

RMS St Helena, was a cargo liner (carrying cargo and passengers) that served the British overseas territory of Saint Helena. She sailed between Cape Town and Saint Helena with regular shuttles continuing to Ascension Island. Some voyages also served Walvis Bay en route to/from, or occasionally instead of, Cape Town. She visited Portland, Dorset twice a year with normal calls in the Spanish ports of Vigo (northbound) and Tenerife (southbound) until 14 October 2011, when she set sail on her final voyage from the English port. On 10 February 2018 she departed for her last trip from St Helena to Cape Town. At the time of her retirement from St Helena service she was one of only four ships in the world still carrying the status of Royal Mail Ship. Locals including local press have usually called her the RMS, in order not to confuse her with the island itself. In April 2018 she was purchased by MNG Maritime and renamed MNG Tahiti to act as a vessel based armoury (VBA) licensed by the UK Department for International Trade (DIT) in the Gulf of Oman.

Formerly, Saint Helena island was occasionally served by ships of the Union-Castle Line, which ran between the UK and South Africa. By the 1970s the number of ships taking this route had declined significantly and Union-Castle withdrew from the route completely at the end of 1977. As Saint Helena lacked an airfield, the British government had to purchase a ship to service the remote island and its dependencies from Cape Town.

The British government purchased the part passenger, part cargo ship Northland Prince to fulfil the role of servicing Saint Helena, and after being refitted and renamed this became the first RMS St Helena. Originally built in 1963, this converted 3,150 ton ship had room to carry 76 passengers and supplies. The ship was used by the Royal Navy during the Falklands War as a minesweeper support ship. By the 1980s it was becoming apparent that the ship was too small for the island's needs, resulting in the new St Helena, built in 1989.