Wednesday, August 26, 2026

Sitmar Line ship 'Castel Felice'


"Built by Alexander Stephen in Glasgow, she entered service in 1931 as Kenya for British India on the India to Africa service based at Bombay. She was requisitioned as a troopship in 1940 and then converted to a Landing Ship Infantry in 1942 and renamed HMS Hydra and then HMS Keren. At the end of the war she was purchased by the Ministry Of Transport and used to repatriate soldiers until 1948. 

"In 1949 she was purchased by Alva Steam Ship Co. for Sitmar. Her name changed to Kenya then back to Keren then to Kenya again before changing to Fairstone in 1950. Later that year she reverted to Kenya and then in 1951 she was towed from lay-up in Holy Loch under the name Keren. She was rebuilt at Genoa and in 1952 sailed on her first voyage from Genoa to Australia as Castel Felice. She then entered the South America service and then in 1954 used for transatlantic service, first from Bremerhaven to Quebec then from Southampton to New York. This mixture of routes continued until 1957 when Sitmar won the British Government migrant contract to Australia, and from then she sailed Southampton to Australia. She was broken up at Kaohsiung in 1970."  (from ship-rex.com)

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