Scillonian (1955)
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name: |
|
| Owner: |
|
| Port of registry: |
 United Kingdom
|
| Route: | Penzance to the Isles of Scilly |
| Ordered: | 18 March 1954 |
| Builder: | John I. Thornycroft & Company, Woolston, Southampton |
| Cost: | £250,000 |
| Laid down: | 25 March 1955 |
| Completed: | 15 November 1955 |
| Maiden voyage: | 23 March 1956 |
| In service: | April 1956 |
| Out of service: | 1998 |
| Fate: | Sank in 2004 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage: | 921 gross register tons (GRT) |
| Length: | 208 ft (63.4 m) |
| Beam: | 30 ft (9.1 m) |
| Draught: | 14 ft (4.3 m) |
| Propulsion: | two 6-cylinder four-stroke diesel engines |
| Speed: | 15.15 kn (28.1 km/h) |
| Capacity: | 500 passengers |
| Crew: | 14 |
Scillonian (also referred to as Scillonian II or TSVM Scillonian) was a passenger ferry built for the Isles of Scilly Steamship Company in 1955 by John I. Thornycroft & Company of Woolston, Southampton. She was designed to carry 500 passengers and cargo between Penzance, Cornwall, to the offshore Isles of Scilly.
The ship was ordered on 18 March 1954 at a contract price of £250,000 (equivalent to £9,730,000 as of 2015), planned as a replacement for the first Scillonian which had been in continuous service since 1926. The new ship was laid down on 25 March 1955, completed on 15 November 1955 and christened by HRH The Duchess of Gloucester. The second Scillonian was powered by two 6-cylinder four-stroke diesel engines (manufactured by Ruston & Hornsby) which propelled two three-blade screws, giving the ship a maximum speed of 15.5 knots.
The new passenger ferry made her first trip to the Isles of Scilly on 23 March 1956, sailing from Southampton to St Mary's. On her arrival, critics found the second Scillonian "too big, they will never hold her, not suitable or not as good a sea boat as the old boat" (the same had happened when the first Scillonian went into service in 1926 and would happen again with Scillonian III in 1977). Like her predecessor, the second Scillonian operated mainly between the Isles of Scilly and Penzance, although she sometimes diverted to Falmouth or St Ives in bad weather. A frequent traveller aboard the ship was Harold Wilson who had a holiday home in the Isles of Scilly. Between 1964 and 1966 she was joined on her route by the Queen of the Isles. Scillonian was eventually replaced by Scillonian III in May 1977, and was sold to P & A Campbell.
...
Wikipedia