Registry - London (1948 - 1973), Livorno, Naples (at 2004)

Official Number - 181955

IMO Number - 5301409

Length on deck - 87.99m (288.3 ft)

Breadth of hull - 16.16m (48.8 ft)

Depth - m (12.5ft)

Draught - 2.93m (8.5 ft)

Tonnage - 1,851 gross (1948), 1,528 (1974), 996 (1976)

826 net (1948), 555 (1974), 454 (1976)

856 deadweight, 512 (1974)

Engines - Two 12-cylinder Sulzer two-stroke single acting diesels

Power - 3357kW

Speed - 19 knots

Capacity - 1783 passengers (1948), 36 passengers, 24 trailers and lorries (1976)

Call Sign - INVO (as at 2004)

May 7^th 1948: Launched

July 14^th 1948: Left Dumbarton as the ROYAL SOVEREIGN.

July 15^th 1948: Delivered to General Steam Nav. Co. Ltd. London, England and introduced into coastal cruises around the Thames (between London, Southend and Margate) and across the Channel to France. Also did some cross Channel work and in 1966: Based at Great Yarmouth for trips to Calais

1966: Withdrawn from service.

1967: Laid-up in Deptford Creek.

1967: Purchased by Stanhope Shipping Company (Townsend Ferries) , associates of the George Nott Group, ( for £100,000.

1967: Rebuilt as a RoRo ship at Verschure & Co, Amsterdam, Holland.

1967: Renamed AUTOCARRIER.

August 29^th 1967: Arrived at Dover for operations between Dover, Eastern Docks and Zeebrugge. There had been a plan to raise her passenger capacity between 400-600 to allow the ship to carry pier-hopping excursions under the Townsend subsidiary P & A Campbell Ltd., As late as April it was advertised that she was due to commence these sailings on June 2nd. This came to nothing, as there was now so much freight on offer on the Zeebrugge link that she could not be spared.

August 30^th 1967: First sailing to Zeebrugge, but on the return sailing she developed engine troubles and was only firing on 9 of her 24 cylinders and took nine and a half hours for the crossing.

October 28th 1967: Extensively damaged when, going astern into the canal at Zeebrugge, she bent both screws and propeller shafts, lost her rudder and flooded her steering compartment. She was sent to Antwerp for repairs.

May 5^th 1968: Resumed in service

November 19^th 1972: Struck the South Pier at Dover damaging her bow. She was not ideally suited for year round operation and proved to be a particularly wet little ship earning her the nickname of “Townsend Submarine”.

October 15^th 1973: Sold to Societa Patrenopea di Navigazione, Naples, Italy. Renamed ISCHIA. Left Dover for Italy.

1973: Rebuilt.

1973: Commenced service between Naples - Ischia.

1975: Sold to Navigazione Toscana, Livorno, Italy. Commenced service between Piombino - Elba.

November 1980: Sold to Umberto Patalano, Casamicciola Terme, Italy.

198?: Registered under Traghetti Pozzuoli S.r.l., Naples, Italy. Operated between Naples - Ischia.

July 22^nd 1995: Suffered an engine-room fire which caused minor damage. Repaired.

2003: Received significant upgrading to enable her to comply with current safety regulations.

2004: Registered owner Medmar Navi SPA, Italy.

December 2007: Completed service on Pozzuoli-Casamicciola route and left for breaking.