MV Princess Victoria

MV ''Princess Victoria'' was one of the earliest roll-on/roll-off (ro-ro) ferries. Completed in 1947, she operated from Stranraer, Scotland, to Larne, Northern Ireland. During a severe European windstorm on 31 January 1953, she sank in the North Channel with the loss of 135 lives. 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.Belfast Telegraph, August 30, 2017

History

''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.

Service

''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's successor British Railways.

Sinking

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 damaged and therefore not able to be lowered.

Shortly after clearing the mouth of Loch Ryan, getting there which took one hour instead of the usual 20 minutes, 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, almost 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.

Possibly, the first warship in the area was , 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 . ''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 to reach the listing ferry but, after sustaining damage from the seas, Lt Cdr Fleming was forced to reduce speed to .

''Princess Victoria'' was still reporting her position as north west of Corsewall Point but her engines were still turning and even at the speed of 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" east of the Copeland Islands.

Rescue attempt

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. 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''.

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. 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.

Loss of life

The sinking of ''Princess Victoria'' occurred during a severe European windstorm which also caused the North Sea Flood of 1953, claiming 531 fatalities in the UK alone, although this was the worst single incident in that storm. There were 135 deaths, including the Deputy Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, Maynard Sinclair and the MP for North Down, Sir Walter Smiles. There were no women or children among the survivors. Eyewitnesses reported seeing a lifeboat containing at least some of the women and children being smashed against the side of ''Princess Victoria'' by the huge waves. The disaster shocked many people because, although it took place in extreme weather conditions, it involved a routine journey, on a relatively short crossing () in what were believed to be safe waters.

In Larne and Stranraer, small towns that largely relied on their seaports, most families were affected in some way. A ceremony was held in Larne; wreaths were thrown on the water and the crowd sang " Lord, hear us when we cry to thee, for those in peril on the sea".

The bodies of 100 people who died in the disaster were eventually recovered, although some of them came ashore as far away as the Isle of Man.

Court of Enquiry

The Court of Enquiry into the sinking, held in March 1953 at Crumlin Road Courthouse in Belfast, found that ''Princess Victoria'' was lost due to a combination of factors. In a report of 30,000 pages, the enquiry found that: firstly, the stern doors were not sufficiently robust. Secondly, arrangements for clearing water from the car deck were inadequate. The report concluded "If the ''Princess Victoria'' had been as staunch as those who manned her, then all would have been well and the disaster averted." The court also noted that the duty destroyer from the 3rd Training Squadron, based at at Londonderry Port, was unable to put to sea, as too many men had been released on shore leave. As a consequence of the enquiry, the duty destroyer from the 3rd Squadron was subsequently based "on station" at the mouth of Lough Foyle on one hour readiness to put to sea.

Memorials

Memorials have been erected in Chaine Road, Larne, Co Antrim, in Portpatrick, Wigtownshire and in Stranraer, Wigtownshire (where 23 inhabitants lost their lives in the disaster). It has become the custom for a memorial service to be held on both sides of the North Channel on the anniversary of the sinking. Many of the survivors continue to attend these religious services.

In 2003, on the 50th anniversary, a new plaque with the names of those lost was unveiled at the Victoria Memorial in Agnew Park, Stranraer. A piper played the tune "Lament of the MV Princess Victoria". Two new plaques were also unveiled at the Victoria Memorial in Larne.

, from Donaghadee, one of the two lifeboats involved in the ''Princess Victoria'' rescue, has been preserved and is in a nearby car park. There is a memorial plaque and sculpture by Joseph Scherrer, on the cliff face over looking the Irish Sea, which was erected in 2003, 50 years after the disaster.

There were calls for a 60th anniversary memorial service to be held in 2013, at St Anne's Cathedral, Belfast.

The disaster was memorialised by Belfast poet Roy McFadden in "Elegy for the Dead of the Princess Victoria" (Lisnagarvey Press 1953).

British folk singer Gareth Davies-Jones wrote a song "Princess Victoria" dedicated to those who lost their lives in the disaster which he recorded on his 2008 album ''Water & Light''.

On 28 January 2018, a memorial service was held in Donaghadee for the 65th anniversary of the sinking. Donaghadee, Portpatrick and Larne RNLI lifeboats met at the wreck site to lay wreaths. A church service was attended by representatives from Donaghadee, Portpatrick, Larne, Portaferry, Bangor and Newcastle lifeboat crews; as well as local MPs and dignitaries from the area.

Wreck site

The wreck lay undiscovered until 1992 when a team from Cromarty Firth Diving, led by John MacKenzie and funded by the BBC
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