''Cambridge Ferry'' was a train ferry that was built in 1963 for the British Railways Board. She was sold to Malta in 1992 and renamed ''Ita Uno''. She was renamed ''Sirio'' in 1993 and reflagged to Panama in 1998. The ship was scrapped in Turkey in 2003.
Design
The ship was long, with a beam of and a draught of . She was propelled by two Mirrlees 4-stroke single action diesel engines. The engines had seven cylinders of stroke by bore. They were rated at and drove twin screw propellers. She had a speed of . The ship was fitted with the Flume stabilisation system and had controllable pitch propellers; both of these were a first within the
British Rail
British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British rai ...
ways fleet.
History
''Cambridge Ferry'' was built by
Hawthorn Leslie & Company
R. & W. Hawthorn, Leslie and Company, Limited, usually referred to as Hawthorn Leslie, was a shipbuilder and locomotive manufacturer. The company was founded on Tyneside in 1886 and ceased building ships in 1982.
History
The company was forme ...
, Hebburn as yard number 754. She was allocated the United Kingdom Official Number 305493. Her call sign was GMOB. Built at a cost of £700,000, the ship was launched on 1 November 1963 and was completed in December 1963. Her port of registry was
Harwich
Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-on- ...
. She could carry 38 railway wagons or 200 motor cars, and 100 passengers.
''Cambridge Ferry'' made her maiden voyage from Harwich to Zeebrugge, Belgium on 2 January 1964.Train Ferry Ship for North Sea services ''Railway Gazette'' 21 February 1964 pages 159/160 With the introduction of IMO Numbers in the late 1960s, ''Cambridge Ferry'' was allocated the IMO Number 6400044. In 1972, ''Cambridge Ferry'' and made ten voyages between Harwich and Dublin, Ireland to deliver new rolling stock to CIÉ. In April and May 1975, ''Cambridge Ferry'' operated between
Stranraer
Stranraer ( , in Scotland also ; gd, An t-Sròn Reamhar ), also known as The Toon, is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It is located in the historical parish of Inch in the historic county of Wigtownshire. It lies on the shores of L ...
and Larne. In 1976, she was used to transport motor vehicles from Falmouth, Cornwall to Zeebrugge for use in the film '' A Bridge Too Far''.
In 1977, ''Cambridge Ferry'' was extended at a cost of £91,000. This was to enable her to carry an additional 50 motor cars, and use the docks at
Dunkerque
Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.Sealink on 1 January 1978. In May 1980, ''Cambridge Ferry'' entered service on the
Holyhead
Holyhead (,; cy, Caergybi , "Cybi's fort") is the largest town and a community in the county of Isle of Anglesey, Wales, with a population of 13,659 at the 2011 census. Holyhead is on Holy Island, bounded by the Irish Sea to the north, and is ...
- Dún Laoghaire route following the breakdown of and her replacement . She had been in
dry dock
A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...
at the time and was pressed into service whilst replacement ships were sourced and repairs effected. In April 1982, she was withdrawn from the Harwich – Zeebrugge route. From May - November 1982, ''Cambridge Ferry'' served on the Holyhead - Dún Laoghaire route. In December, she operated on the
Dover
Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...
- Dunkerque route, returning to the Harwich - Zeebrugge route in January 1983. In 1987, she was refitted at
Immingham
Immingham is a town, civil parish and ward in the North East Lincolnshire unitary authority of England. It is situated on the south-west bank of the Humber Estuary, and is north-west from Grimsby.
The region was relatively unpopulated and un ...
, including modifications to make her more suitable for use at Dover, from where she operated from February 1987. On 1 May 1987, she collided with off Dover. Both vessels were severely damaged. Repairs to ''Cambridge Ferry'' cost £78,000. She was withdrawn from the Dover - Dunkerque route on 31 December 1987, but was reinstated from September to mid-October 1988 before being laid up in the River Fal. In November 1988, she was put into service between Rosslare and Fishguard.
Ownership of ''Cambridge Ferry'' was transferred to
Stena Line
Stena Line is a Swedish shipping line company and one of the largest ferry operators in the world. It services Denmark, Germany, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Latvia, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland and Sweden. Stena Line is a major unit of Ste ...
in January 1990. She was laid up at
Milford Haven
Milford Haven ( cy, Aberdaugleddau, meaning "mouth of the two Rivers Cleddau") is both a town and a community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is situated on the north side of the Milford Haven Waterway, an estuary forming a natural harbour that has ...
in March 1990 and put into service the next month between
Stranraer
Stranraer ( , in Scotland also ; gd, An t-Sròn Reamhar ), also known as The Toon, is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It is located in the historical parish of Inch in the historic county of Wigtownshire. It lies on the shores of L ...
and Larne. She returned to the Rosslare - Fishguard route between June and September 1990 and also between December 1990 and January 1991. She operated the Holyhead - Dún Laoghaire route in February 1991 whilst '' Stena Cambria'' was under repair, before returning to the Stranraer - Larne route. She was laid up at Fal River in summer 1991. ''Cambridge Ferry'' was withdrawn from service on 15 March 1992 and was then laid up at Milford Haven.
On 21 April 1992, ''Cambridge Ferry'' was sold to Sincomar Malta and renamed ''Ito Uno''. She departed from Milford Haven on 21 April 1992 for Valletta, where she underwent a rebuild. She was renamed ''Sirio'' in 1993 and was laid up at
Bari
Bari ( , ; nap, label= Barese, Bare ; lat, Barium) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy a ...
, Italy. ''Sirio'' was reflagged to Panama in 1998. She was broken up at Aliağa, Turkey in May 2003.