MV ''Cambria'' was a twin screw motor vessel operated by the

British Transport Commission The British Transport Commission (BTC) was created by Clement Attlee's post-war Labour government as a part of its nationalisation programme, to oversee railways, canals and road freight transport in Great Britain (Northern Ireland had the s ...

from 1948 to 1962 and

British Rail British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Comm ...

from 1962 to 1976. Together with her sister ship the MV Hibernia she served the

Holyhead Holyhead (; , "Cybi's fort") is a historic port town, and is the list of Anglesey towns by population, largest town and a Community (Wales), community in the county of Isle of Anglesey, Wales. Holyhead is on Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island ...

Dún Laoghaire Dún Laoghaire ( , ) is a suburban coastal town in County Dublin in Ireland. It is the administrative centre of the county of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. The town was built up alongside a small existing settlement following 1816 legislation th ...

route across the

Irish Sea The Irish Sea is a body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel and to the Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland in the north by the North Ch ...

History

She was built by

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 ...

of Belfast, launched in 1948 for the

and started service in 1949. She replaced a smaller 1920 vessel of the same name, the twin screw steamer ''Cambria'', and despite a large size had a reduced maximum speed of compared to of the older ship. In 1951 she was fitted with Denny-Brown stabilisers. In 1964–65 they were refurbished with airline style seating. Some cabins and staterooms were removed and replaced with second-class lounges, and a cafeteria. The screened areas were extended to provide further covered seating, and the first and second class smokerooms were converted into a tea lounge. She was sold in 1976 to the Orri Navigation Company in Saudi Arabia and became the ''Al Taif''.Sea breezes: the ship lovers' digest: Volume 50. Pacific Steam Navigation Company. 1976

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cambria 1948 ships Passenger ships of the United Kingdom Ships built in Belfast Ships of British Rail Ships built by Harland and Wolff