SS Ben-my-Chree (1965)
| History | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Name: | Ben-my-Chree |
| Owner: | 1966–1984: IOMSPCo. |
| Operator: | 1966–1984: IOMSPCo. |
| Port of registry: |
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| Route: | Douglas to Liverpool/Dublin/Belfast/Ardrossan/Fleetwood/Heysham. |
| Ordered: | 1964 |
| Builder: | Cammell Laird |
| Cost: | £1,400,000 (£24,446,089 in 2015). |
| Yard number: | 1320 |
| Launched: | Friday, 10 December 1965 |
| Maiden voyage: | 12 May 1966 |
| Out of service: | September 1984 (Re-chartered May 1985. Finally laid up June 1985) |
| Identification: |
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| Nickname(s): | "The Ben" |
| Fate: | Scrapped at Santander, Spain, 1989 |
| Status: | Scrapped |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Car Ferry |
| Tonnage: | 2,762 gross register tons (GRT) |
| Length: | 325 ft 0 in (99.1 m) |
| Beam: | 50 ft 0 in (15.2 m) |
| Draught: | 12 ft 6 in (3.8 m) |
| Depth: | 18 ft 0 in (5.5 m) |
| Decks: | 6 |
| Deck clearance: | 8 ft 0 in (2.4 m) with a clear height of 7 ft 2 in (2.2 m) on the car deck and ramps |
| Ramps: | Side loading spiral ramps over 5 levels |
| Installed power: | 9,500 shp (7,100 kW) |
| Propulsion: | Twin fixed 3 bladed screws Pametrada geared turbines developing 9,500 shp (7,100 kW) |
| Speed: | 21 knots (24 mph) |
| Capacity: | 1400 passengers 80 cars or light vans |
| Crew: | 60 |
TSS (RMS) Ben-my-Chree (V) was the second of four side-loading car ferries ordered by the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company. Built in 1965, she was the last of their vessels designed with two classes of passenger accommodation and the fifth company vessel to bear the name. She operated until 1984 and was broken up in 1989.
Ben-my-Chree (No.186355) was constructed by Cammell Laird at a cost of £1,400,000 (equivalent to £24,446,089 in 2015). She was the second of four car ferries ordered by the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company and was virtually identical to her sister Manx Maid, built four years earlier.
She was launched by Mrs Margaret Brownsdon on Friday, 10 December 1965, and entered service, having gone through her trials and been accepted, with Capt J.E. Quirk in command and J.S. Kennaugh as Chief Officer. Ben-my-Chree made her maiden voyage from Liverpool to Douglas on Thursday, 12 May 1966. This was a happy occasion for the Steam Packet, for as the "Ben" slipped away from the Prince's Landing Stage and proceeded downstream towards the sea, she received a rousing salute from her sister Manx Maid, lying alongside the Liverpool terminal.
The IOMSPCo Ltd's attitude and relationship with the Isle of Man Harbour Board bore significantly in the construction of the Manx Maid and Ben-My-Chree, as they were unable to agree to the building of, and who would pay the costs of linkspans required for a new RO-RO. However, it did result in a unique design that served the Isle of Man very successfully till the demise of the Lady of Mann in 2005. Ultimately what scrapped these beautiful stream lined, whilst archaic ships, was not their inability, more their lack of efficiency as the economy of operating turbine steamers was eclipsed by motor vessels.
Their nicknames by Steam Packet staff for both the "Maid" and the "Ben" in the 1960s and 1970s were the money boxes, as they gained the Steam Packet all its profits through the carriage of cars and vans.
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