RMS Pendennis Castle

RMS Pendennis Castle was a Royal Mail Ship, passenger and cargo liner operated by the Union-Castle Line. The vessel served the Union-Castle Line from 1959–1976 on a regular route between the UK and South Africa for the Southampton to Las Palmas, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, East London and Durban "Cape Mail" service. After her withdrawal from service and subsequent sale by the Union-Castle Line in 1976, she was re-named consecutively Ocean Queen, Sinbad, then Sinbad I, however she never returned to commercial service after her Union-Castle Line service and was sold for scrap in 1980.

Design and construction

In 1953 Sir George Christopher assumed leadership of Union-Castle. Early in 1955 the company ordered Pendennis Castle from Harland & Wolff to replace the ageing RMS Arundel Castle which then had over 30 years of service. The new ship's keel was laid on 8 November 1955. On 31 January 1956 the Union-Castle Mail Steam Ship Co.Ltd merged with Clan Line Steamers Ltd. to form British & Commonwealth Shipping Company. The merger resulted in Clan Line people taking the leading role in the new company's management and they immediately decided to improve and enlarge Pendennis Castle even though she was already under construction.[1]

Union-Castle service

RMS Pendennis Castle embarked on her maiden voyage on 1 January 1959. Commanded by Commodore George Mayhew of the Union-Castle fleet, she set out from Southampton bound for Durban. The shipping press voted Pendennis Castle as the "ship of the year"

In 1964 the vessel's air conditioning was extended into all first class cabins. Private showers were fitted into 21 additional cabins.[1] In July 1965 Union-Castle introduced a faster mail service by reducing the voyage time from 13 to 11 days, allowing service to be operated by seven liners instead of eight. Following the success of the introduction of "stewardettes" in the one class Transvaal Castle, these female waiting staff were added to the other ships in the fleet. Attempts at improving the voyage experience for younger passengers led to the introduction of improved recreational programmes, leading some to use the term "fun ship". This, however, did not catch on and is today associated with the vessels of Carnival Cruises.

In May 1968 an onboard fire broke out while Pendennis Castle was berthed in Southampton, resulting in limited damage to some forward accommodation. However the vessel managed to sail with Harland & Wolff workers on board performing the repairs. As a result of the fire, one of two first class passenger lifts remained out of service for the remainder of the ship's career. One year later, when diverted to Antwerp due to labor dispute in Southampton, the vessel struck the quayside and had to be taken out of service for a month. Later that year Pendennis Castle set a new Union-Castle record for the fastest passage time from Cape Town to Southampton.

Rising oil prices in 1973 forced Union-Castle to add one day to the service and increase fares. By 1976 however the move to containerization of cargo and the rise in air travel made the Union-Castle mail ships unprofitable. On 23 April 1976 Pendennis Castle sailed from Southampton for the final time, bound for South Africa. On her final voyage from South Africa to Southampton, the vessel wore a Paying-off pennant. On 14 June 1976, after arriving in Southampton for the final time, she was withdrawn from service.

country	United Kingdom
owner	1958–1976 Union-Castle Line house flag.svg Union-Castle Mail Steam Ship Company Ltd. 1976–77 Ocean Queen Navigation Corp. *1977–80 Kinvara Bay Shipping Ltd.
registry	1958–1976: London, 🇬🇧 United Kingdom 1976–1980: Panama, 🇵🇦 Panama
route	Southampton, Las Palmas, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, East London, Durban
builder	Harland & Wolff, Belfast
christened	10 December 1957
launched	24 December 1957
completed	November 1958
maiden voyage	1 January 1959
out of service	14 June 1976
fate	Scrapped 1980, in Kaohsiung, Taiwan

RMS Pendennis Castle

Design and construction

Union-Castle service

Post Union-Castle service

References