Scillonian (1955)

''Scillonian'' (also referred to as ''Scillonian II'' or TSMV ''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.Description on ''Hearts of Oak The Penzance/Isles of Scilly Mail Packets''.
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Serving the Isles of Scilly

The ship was ordered on 18 March 1954 at a contract price of £250,000 (equivalent to £ as of ), 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 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)."Scillonian III Back in Service after £1,700,000 Refit" i
''Scilly up to Date'', issue 120 (April 1999)
accessed 2011-08-16 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.The ''Scillonian (II)s history on www.simplonpc.co.uk.
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Later history

P & A Campbell renamed her ''Devonia'' and she joined the '' Balmoral'', offering coastal cruises around the South Coast. In her first season ''Devonia'' deputised for ''Balmoral'' on the Bristol Channel, and ran on the Thames. P&A Campbell hoped to use her freight capacity to serve Lundy, work eventually taken over by the '' Oldenburg''. Over the winter of 1977/1978, ''Devonia'' was chartered for oil rig ferry work at Loch Kishorn, before returning to the Bristol Channel. P & A Campbell ceased operations in 1980, after which the ship was acquired by Torbay Seaways and renamed ''Devoniun'' in 1982. She operated trips to the Channel Islands and local excursions from Torquay. In 1984 she was sold to Norse Atlantic Ferries, and renamed ''Syllingar'' after arriving in the Orkney Islands in November 1984. She made up to two return trips each week between Kirkwall, Westray and Scalloway, plus additional cruises to Foula and Fair Isle. Financial problems forced the service to cease in August 1985. Following her period as ''Syllingar'' the ship was renamed ''Remvi'' in 1986, and ran across the Adriatic for Hellenic Cruising Holidays until 1989. As ''Africa Queen'' she was operated by J.A.R. Atlantic Ocean Ltd of Belize from 1989 to 1997 and sailed off West Africa. The latter company renamed her the ''Princess Eliana'' in 1997 before her final sale in 1998 as ''Olga J'' to the Cypriot Greek ship-owner, John Christodoulo, who was director of Asterias Maritime, a company registered in Belize. The ship and her crew were finally abandoned by her owner in Bourgas, Bulgaria"ITF Rescues Sailors Abandoned in Bulgaria"
accessed 2015-06-04 and she later sank there in 2004.

See also

* Scillonian (1925)
* Scillonian III

References

External links

Detailed description of ''Scillonian (II)'' and her service history on Hearts of Oak.



{{Isles of Scilly

Ferries of the United Kingdom
Water transport in Cornwall
Transport in the Isles of Scilly
1955 ships
Ships built by John I. Thornycroft & Company