SS ''Sybil'' was a cargo and passenger Lake Victoria ferry in

East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historical ...

. The Uganda Railway had begun shipping operations on the lake in 1901 with the launch of the 110 ton , built by

Bow, McLachlan and Company Bow, McLachlan and Company was a Scottish marine engineering and shipbuilding company that traded between 1872 and 1932. History 1872–1914 In 1872 William Bow and John McLachlan founded the company at Abbotsinch, Renfrewshire, where it made s ...

of Paisley in Renfrewshire, Scotland. She was a small general purpose vessel but the company wished to establish more substantial

ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...

operations. Accordingly, even before ''William Mackinnon'' was launched the company ordered the much larger ''Winifred'' and ''Sybil'' from the same builder. Bow, McLachlan built ''Sybil'' and her

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a ...

SS ''Winifred'' in 1901. They were "knock down" vessels; that is, each was bolted together in the shipyard at Paisley, all the parts marked with numbers, disassembled into many hundreds of parts and transported in kit form by sea to

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

for reassembly. ''Sybil'' was launched on the lake in 1903. In the First World War East African Campaign ''Winifred'' and ''Sybil'' were armed as

gunboats A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to shore bombardment, bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for troopship, ferrying troops or au ...

but in 1914 ''Sybil'' struck a rock and had to be beached. She was refloated in 1915 and refitted and returned to service in 1916. After the

Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the La ...

''Winifred'' and ''Sybil'' returned to civilian service. By now the company had three larger ferries: the 1,134 ton (1907) and 1,300 ton sister ships and (both 1913). These younger ships therefore worked the busiest routes. In 1924 ''Sybil'' was stripped of her engine and accommodation and converted into a lighter. In the 1950s ''Sybil'' sank at her moorings but she was raised, restored as a passenger and cargo vessel and in 1956 re-entered service. In 1967 the

East African Railways and Harbours Corporation The East African Railways and Harbours Corporation (EAR&H) is a defunct company that operated railways and harbours in East Africa from 1948 to 1977. It was formed in 1948 for the new East African High Commission by merging the Kenya and Ugand ...

scuttled her at Kisumu to form a breakwater.

References

1901 ships Ships built on the River Clyde Lake Victoria Ships sunk as breakwaters {{Kenya-stub