MV ''Bloemfontein Castle'' was a

passenger liner A passenger ship is a merchant ship whose primary function is to carry passengers on the sea. The category does not include cargo vessels which have accommodations for limited numbers of passengers, such as the ubiquitous twelve-passenger freig ...

. She was launched at

Harland & Wolff Harland & Wolff Holdings plc is a British shipbuilding and Metal fabrication, fabrication company headquartered in London with sites in Belfast, Arnish yard, Arnish, Appledore, Torridge, Appledore and Methil. It specialises in ship repair, ship ...

's yard at

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

on 25 August 1949 by Mrs Leif Egeland, wife of the High Commissioner for the

Union of South Africa The Union of South Africa (; , ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day South Africa, Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the British Cape Colony, Cape, Colony of Natal, Natal, Tra ...

in London. She was completed on 25 March 1950. Built for

Union-Castle Line The Union-Castle Line was a British shipping line that operated a fleet of passenger liners and cargo ships between Europe and Africa from 1900 to 1977. It was formed from the merger of the Union Line and Castle Shipping Line. It merged with ...

's Intermediate service to South and

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, she was their first one-class ship. She took her name after the town of

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein ( ; ), also known as Bloem, is the capital and the largest city of the Free State (province), Free State province in South Africa. It is often, and has been traditionally, referred to as the country's "judicial capital", alongsi ...

, capital of the

Orange Free State The Orange Free State ( ; ) was an independent Boer-ruled sovereign republic under British suzerainty in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, which ceased to exist after it was defeated and surrendered to the British Em ...

Design and description

The ''Bloemfontein Castle'' was given the familiar Union-Castle profile of well-raked rounded stem, cruiser stern, a low streamlined funnel and a single mast abaft the bridge, giving a well-balanced appearance. There were two hatches forward and three aft, served by six 10-ton and four 5-ton capacity derricks. Cargo 'tweendeck spaces were insulated for the carriage of fruit, with certain compartments for chilled and frozen produce. RHMS Patris Chandris line

The ''Bloemfontein Castle'' was the first intermediate liner to be built since the war had ended, and the institution of a single class-tourist was an innovation for Union-Castle. She was built to cater for an expected emigrant boom and to alleviate the still considerable pressure at the time for accommodation at lower range fares. The main public rooms were on the promenade deck, a large lounge forward being extended the whole width of the ship so there were no passageways either side. Aft of this was a combined library and writing room, connected by a long gallery to a commodious smoking room. On the upper deck a dining room for 386 also extended the width of the ship. Accommodation for 739 passengers was spread through seven decks.

Service history

Some 250 of Union-Castle's staff were invited for the shakedown cruise made from London in March, 1950. She left London on her maiden voyage on 6 April 1950 – sailing the

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–

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Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

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– Beira route that she alone served. She sometimes called at

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

homewards during the busy fruit season. On 8 January 1953, ''Bloemfontein Castle'' rescued 234 passengers and crew from the Holland Afrika liner which was sinking after hitting a submerged object off

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

. Captain J. A. Fergurson and his senior officers later received commemorative gifts from the Holland Afrika Line. When the expected flow of European emigrants to South Africa did not materialize, ''Bloemfontein Castle'' was sold to the Greek

Chandris Lines Chandris Line was a Greece, Greek shipping company founded in 1960 by Antonios Chandris to operate ocean liners between Greece and Australia.#Plowman, Plowman (2006–1). pp. 5–6. Initially the company also traded under the names ''Greek Austral ...

in 1959, after a short life of only nine years with Union-Castle. Renamed ''Patris'' and refitted in just three weeks for Chandris' service between Europe and Australia, the ship was the first large liner in the Chandris fleet. After Darwin was almost destroyed by

Cyclone Tracy Severe Tropical Cyclone Tracy was a small but destructive tropical cyclone that devastated the city of Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin, in the Northern Territory of Australia, in December 1974. The small but developing easterly storm was or ...

on Christmas Day in 1974, the Patris anchored in Darwin Harbour for nine months to provide emergency accommodation for those left homeless. In December 1975 Patris was refitted as car ferry for the Adriatic service. She was operated under the Chandris brand from 1976 until 1979, connecting Venice and Ancona to Patras. In 1979 Chandris sold ''Patris'' to

Karageorgis Lines Karageorgis () was an international shipping line founded by Michail A. Karageorgis, in Greece in between 1930 and 1934. It operated under the names Michail A. Karageorgis S.A., Karageorgis Lines, and Karageorgis Cruises. History The company was ...

, who first renamed her ''Mediterranean Island'' then ''Mediterranean Star'' in 1981. She was used as a ferry until sold to Pakistani breakers in 1987.

References

External links

RMS Bloemfontein Castle / RHMS Patris
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bloemfontein Castle Ocean liners Ships built in Belfast Ships of the Union-Castle Line 1949 ships Ships built by Harland and Wolff Cyclone Tracy