When I was working for Union-Castle in Cape Town, before I went to sea as an R/O, the Southampton Castle was the first ship I berthed for passengers on the South African coast. She carried 12 pax (so no doctor) and it was far more difficult to arrange the pax berths than on the bigger ships, as there was no room for mistakes.
Passengers often wanted to travel from Cape Town to Durban on one ship and return on the next one. If the next one was the Southampton or Good Hope Castle, not only could they mostly not be accommodated, they didn't like it as there was no entertainment. Between Cape Town and Southampton, the berthing was in the hands of the St Helena Government, and between St Helena and Ascension, deck passengers were carried on what was normally a sundeck/sports area.
More letters
New addition to Hull historic trail celebrates maritime education
On 27 March 2025 at 12 noon, the Old Boys of the Hull Trinity House School Association and the Hull Trinity House Brethren held a ceremony to celebrate the work of Hull Trinity House School over more than two centuries.
Same old story on seafarer safety
I was watching a recent programme on BBC1, Why Bridges Collapse, about the MV Dali container vessel hitting the bridge at Baltimore. The part where they were taking the bridge's trusses off the bow of the vessel I found quite illuminating.
DP training was fine until the goal posts were moved
I very much agree with the letter written by member number 179359 regarding the high costs of attaining and revalidating dynamic positioning (DP) certification.