the ship 'Stirling Castle'

we could say this about all of our books!

This passenger liner, one of the Union Castle Line fleet, was built in Belfast by Harland and Wolff and was used mainly on the Southampton to Cape Town route. The maiden voyage was on 7 February 1936. She was used as troopship in WW2, and returned to civilian service in 1946. She was broken up in 1966.
Tonnage: 25,554 GRT
Length: 725 ft (221 metres)
Beam: 82 ft (25 metres)
Propulsion: 2 B&W two-stroke double-acting marine diesels, twin screws.
Speed: 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Capacity: 783 passengers