MV 

Princess Victoria (1946)
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This article is about the roll-on/roll-off ferry built in`1947. For for the 1939 ferry, see MV
Princess Victoria (1939). For steamship built in 1902, see SS Princess Victoria.

History

Name: MV Princess Victoria

Owner: British Transport Commission[1]

1947–1948 London, Midland and Scottish Railway

Operator:
1948–1953 British Railways

Port of registry: Stranraer[1]

Route: Stranraer – Larne

Builder: William Denny and Brothers, Dumbarton

Yard number: 1399[2]

Launched: 27 August 1946[3]

In service: 1947

Fate: Sank 31 January 1953[2]

General characteristics

Class and type: roll-on/roll-off ferry

Tonnage: 2,694 GRT[3]

Length: 309.75 ft (94 m)[3]

Beam: 48 ft (15 m)

Depth: 16.67 ft (5 m)

Installed power: 2x 2-stroke, single acting Sulzer diesel engines

Speed: 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph)

Capacity: 1,500 passengers, 70 tons cargo, 40 cars

MV Princess Victoria was one of the earliest roll-on/roll-off (ro-ro) ferries. Completed in

1947, she operated from Stranraer to Larne. During a severe European windstorm on
31 January 1953, she sank in the North Channel with the loss of 135 lives.[disputed  –  discuss] This
was then the deadliest maritime disaster in United Kingdom waters since World War II.
For many years it was believed that 133 people had lost their lives in the disaster, but
research by local historian Liam Kelly JP, DL, identified two other victims - Gordon
Wright and Thomas Saunders - whose names had not been identified as there had
been no ship's passenger list at the time.[4]

Contents

 1History
 2Service
 3Sinking
 4Rescue attempt
 5Loss of life
 6Court of Enquiry
 7Memorials
 8Wreck site
 9Similar incidents
 10See also
 11References
 12Further reading
 13External links

History[edit]
Princess Victoria was launched on 27 August 1946 and completed in 1947 by William
Denny and Brothers, Dumbarton for the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS).
She was the first purpose-built ferry of her kind to operate in British coastal waters and
the fourth ship to bear the name, her 1939 predecessor having been sunk during World
War II in the Humber Estuary by a German mine. Although innovative in her loading
methods, the vessel looked externally similar to her predecessor. She could hold 1,500
passengers plus cargo and had sleeping accommodation for 54. [5]

Service[edit]
Princess Victoria was employed on the crossing
between Stranraer in Scotland and Larne in Northern Ireland. She was operated by the
LMS until 1 January 1948, and thereafter by the LMS' successor British Railways.

Sinking[edit]
Captained by the 55-year-old James Ferguson, the vessel left Stranraer's railway
loading pier at 07:45 hrs with 44 tons of cargo, 128 passengers and 51 crew. Captain
Ferguson had served as master on various ferries on the same route for 17 years. A
gale warning was in force but he made the decision to put to sea. Loch Ryan is a
sheltered inlet and the immediate force of the wind and sea was not apparent, but it was
noted that spray was breaking over the stern doors. A "guillotine door" had been fitted,
because of a previously identified problem with spray and waves hitting the stern doors,
but it was rarely used, because it took too long to raise and lower. This would have
provided extra protection for the sliding stern doors. On this occasion it was not
lowered.[6]
Shortly after clearing the mouth of Loch Ryan, the ship turned west towards Larne and
exposed her stern to the worst of the high seas. Huge waves damaged the low stern
doors, allowing water to enter the car deck. The crew struggled to close the doors again
but they proved to be too badly damaged and water continued to flood in from the
waves. The scuppers did not seem to be allowing the water to drain away. This was
because the ship had been built with a level deck and the inquiry revealed that the
scuppers were not large enough anyway. The ship took a list to starboard and at this
point Captain Ferguson decided to retreat to the safety of Loch Ryan by going astern
and using the bow rudder. This proved to be impossible, because the extreme
conditions prevented the deckhands from releasing the securing pin on the bow rudder,
and the Captain then made a decision to try to reach Northern Ireland by adopting a
course which would keep the stern of the craft sheltered from the worst of the elements.
At 09:46 hrs, two hours after leaving Stranraer, a message was transmitted in Morse
code (Princess Victoria did not have a radio telephone) by radio operator David
Broadfoot to the Portpatrick Radio Station: "Hove-to off mouth of Loch Ryan. Vessel not
under command. Urgent assistance of tugs required". With a list
to starboard exacerbated by shifting cargo, water continued to enter the ship. At 10:32
hrs, an SOS message was finally transmitted, and the order to abandon ship was given
at 14:00.[7]
Possibly, the first warship in the area was HMS Launceston Castle, commanded by Lt
Cdr J. M. Cowling, a frigate that was en route to Derry. Searches were carried out
but Launceston Castle was forced to leave when her condensers were contaminated by
salt. Upon the upgrade of the assistance message to an SOS, the Portpatrick
Lifeboat Jeannie Spiers was dispatched, as was the destroyer HMS Contest. Contest,
commanded by Lt Cdr H. P. Fleming, left Rothesay at 11:09 hrs but, although she came
close to her position at 13:30 hrs, poor visibility prevented the crew from seeing the
sinking ship. The destroyer had been trying to maintain a speed of 31 knots (57 km/h;
36 mph) to reach the listing ferry but, after sustaining damage from the seas, Lt Cdr
Fleming was forced to reduce speed to 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph).
Princess Victoria was still reporting her position as 5 miles (8.0 km) north west
of Corsewall Point but her engines were still turning and even at the speed of 5 knots
(9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph) were gradually drawing the vessel closer to Northern Ireland and
away from her reported position. At 13:08 hrs, the ship broadcast that her engines had
stopped. The final Morse code message at 13:58 hrs reported the ship "on her beam
end" 5 miles (8.0 km) east of the Copeland Islands.[8]

Rescue attempt[edit]
RAF Handley Page Hastings

The Lifeboat Sir Samuel Kelly preserved in Northern Ireland.

The court of inquiry found that assistance to Princess Victoria had been hampered by
other distress operations already under way elsewhere in the extreme weather
conditions of the day. An RAF Hastings aircraft had been assisting rescues
off Lewis and Barra and as a result did not reach the position of the ferry until 15:31 hrs,
dropping supplies and guiding HMS Contest to the scene.
The inquiry noted how different the outcome might have been had the aircraft been
available earlier.[5] Confusion over the position of Princess Victoria had contributed to the
rescue vessel's difficulty in finding her and it was not until the crew had sighted the
coast of Northern Ireland at 13:35 hrs and transmitted a new position fix, that the rescue
attempt was able to home in.
In addition to the naval, RAF and lifeboats then searching, four small merchant vessels
that had been sheltering in Belfast Lough put to sea immediately, to assist, after hearing
the transmission that gave Princess Victoria's position to be near their anchorage: the
cattle ship Lairdsmoor, trawler Eastcotes, coastal oil tanker Pass of Drumochter and
coastal cargo ship Orchy.[6]
Despite arriving before the lifeboats, the merchant ships were unable to rescue the
survivors in lifeboats, as the fierce waves were in danger of dashing the smaller boats
against the sides of the larger ships. All they could do was to provide shelter from the
worst of the seas until the Donaghadee lifeboat, Sir Samuel Kelly, arrived and was able
to bring survivors on board. This lifeboat has been preserved and is now part of the
collection of the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum.
The captains of the merchant ships: James Alexander Bell of Lairdsmoor, David
Brewster of Eastcotes, James Kelly of Pass of Drumochter and Hugh Angus
of Orchy were each appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire.[9] Lieutenant
Commander Stanley Lawrence McArdle and Chief Petty Officer Wilfred Warren of
HMS Contest were both awarded the George Medal for diving into the water to help
survivors.
The ship's radio officer, David Broadfoot, was posthumously awarded the George
Cross for staying at his post to the very end, allowing passengers and crew to escape,
even though by doing so he was preventing his own escape. His medal is on permanent
display in Stranraer Museum.
There were 44 survivors, all men, and none of the ship's officers were among them. [10]