Royal Mail Ship


Royal Mail Ship, usually seen in its abbreviated form RMS, is the ship prefix used for seagoing vessels that carry mail under contract to the British Royal Mail. The designation dates back to 1840. Any vessel designated as "RMS" has the right to fly both the pennant of the Royal Mail when sailing and to include the Royal Mail "crown" insignia with any identifying device and/or design for the ship.
It was used by many shipping lines, but is often associated in particular with the White Star Line, Cunard Line, Royal Mail Lines and Union-Castle Line, which held a number of high-profile mail contracts, and traditionally prefixed the names of many of their ships with the initials "RMS".
While some lines in the past, particularly the Royal Mail Lines, called all their ships "RMS", technically a ship would use the prefix only while contracted to carry mail, and would revert at other times to a standard designation such as "SS".

History

Originally the Admiralty operated these ships.
The designation "RMS" has been used since 1840. In 1850 contracts were awarded to private companies. Having the title "RMS" was seen as a mark of quality and a competitive advantage, because the mail had to be on time.
The most valuable route, with the highest volume, was between Kingstown, in Ireland, and Holyhead in Wales. The City of Dublin Steam Packet Company won the contract. They bought RMS St Columba and RMS Llewellyn from the Admiralty to supplement their Prince Arthur.
In the CDSPCo contract, in 1860, there was a penalty clause of £ 1 1s 4d for every minute's delay.
The Canadian Pacific Railway's trans-Pacific Royal Mail contract required the building of the first three of a fleet of steamships: the, and which regularly sailed between Vancouver and Asia beginning in 1891.
The RMS designation was also used on the ships of the White Star, P&O and Cunard lines of the 19th and 20th century.

Modern times

In recent years the shift to air transport for mail has left only three ships with the right to the prefix or its variations: , which serves as a passenger vessel in Gravenhurst, Ontario, Canada;, which serves the Isles of Scilly; and. QM2 was conferred "RMS" by Royal Mail when she entered service in 2004 on the Southampton to New York route as a gesture to Cunard's history.
The Royal Mail continues a form of this tradition on modern day airliners. The UK's flag carrier airline, British Airways, is contracted to carry mail on some of its scheduled long-distance routes. Aircraft operating these routes with the facilities to carry mail are allowed to display the Royal Mail's logo and crest on their fuselage, usually alongside their registration markings.

Other designations

The less-common designations RMMV for Royal Mail Motor Vessel and RMMS for Royal Mail Motor Ship, were used for a period when RMS was restricted to steam-ships. Motor Vessel and Motor Ship indicated that propulsion was provided by diesel rather than steam.
The carries the designation RMV for Royal Mail Vessel and is the only active RMV.

List of Royal Mail Ships

Service dates are the years with the status of Royal Mail Ship. Those highlighted are still in service with the status of Royal Mail Ship.
NameLineIn serviceLeft serviceStatus
White Star19071934Scrapped
Cunard19131916Sunk by mine
AlauniaCunard19251957Scrapped
AlauniaCunard19601969Sold 1969 to Brocklebank Line and renamed as Malancha, sold again in 1971 to Panama as Humi Nastta and fate unknown
Cunard19111930Built in 1900 as Consuelo, bought by Cunard 1911 & renamed Albania, sold 1912 & renamed Poleric, scrapped 1930
Royal Mail SP Co19131916Sunk by enemy action
Royal Mail SP Co19261958Scrapped
Royal Mail SP Co19061948Scrapped
Pickford & Black———
Royal Mail SP Co19061916Sunk by enemy action
Cunard19131918Sunk by enemy action
Cunard19211940Sunk by enemy action
AndesRoyal Mail SP Co19131929Scrapped after finishing career as the cruise ship Atlantis
Royal Mail Lines19391959Scrapped in 1971 after finishing career as a cruise ship
Cunard19211948Scrapped
Cunard19141950Scrapped
Peninsular and Oriental18981916Sunk by enemy action
Royal Mail SP Co19051917Sunk by enemy action
Royal Mail SP Co19121938Scrapped
Union-Castle19211959Scrapped
Cunard19231957Scrapped
Royal Mail SP Co19251957Scrapped
AuraniaCunard18811905Scrapped
Cunard19161918Sunk by enemy action
Cunard19241961Scrapped
White Star18711873Sunk after collision with rocks
Cunard19211965Scrapped
Royal Mail SP Co1906 and 19191914 and 1929Converted as troopship in 1914, then as armed merchant cruiser 1915 and renamed HMS Avoca, return to owners and renamed Avon in 1919; scrapped 1930
White Star19041933Scrapped
IoM Steam Packet18451860Wrecked
IoM Steam Packet18751906Scrapped
IoM Steam Packet19081915Sunk by enemy action
IoM Steam Packet19271965Scrapped
IoM Steam Packet19661984Scrapped
Ben-my-ChreeIoM Steam Packet19982008Currently on active service as RO/PAX vessel
Cunard19131938Scrapped
Cunard18401880Sunk
White Star19151916Sunk by mine
White Star19291960Scrapped
British India Steam Navigation Company18861922Built 1881, sold to China in 1882, scrapped in 1933.
Capetown CastleUnion-Castle19371966Scrapped
Cunard18911918Sank after collision with
Cunard19251940Sunk by enemy action
Cunard19561968Sold 1968; renamed Fairland; scrapped 2006
Cunard19051932Scrapped
Union-Castle1926 and 19501939 and 1963Commissioned as HMS Carnarvon Castle from 1939 to 1947.
Cunard19031918Sunk by enemy action
Cunard19051933Scrapped
Cunard White Star19481974Scrapped
White Star19011933Scrapped
White Star19031932Scrapped
David MacBrayne18791936Scrapped
ColumbaDavid MacBrayne19641968Owned by the Secretary of State for Scotland, chartered to David MacBrayne. Renamed MV Columba in 1968. Currently in active service as.
White Star19231935Scrapped after collision with the
IoM Steam Packet18581862Sold to Cunard, Wilson and Co. Later scrapped
IoM Steam Packet18641888Scrapped
IoM Steam Packet19011923Sunk after collision with
Union-Castle18901915Sunk during bad weather
Union-Castle19041940Sunk by mine
Royal Mail SP Co19141954Scrapped after becoming NT Serpa Pinto
18541858Sold to the Government of Sardinia, renamed Archimedes
IoM Steam Packet18831909Sunk during bad weather in the River Mersey, December, 1909
Canadian Pacific19131942Sunk by enemy action
Canadian Pacific19221952Scrapped
Canadian Pacific19531956Scrapped
Canadian Pacific19061930Scrapped
Canadian Pacific19311940Sunk by enemy action
Canadian Pacific19561965Scrapped
Canadian Pacific19221943Sunk by enemy action
Canadian Pacific19291953Scrapped
Canadian Pacific19612003Scrapped
Canadian Pacific18911912Scrapped
Canadian Pacific19571970Scrapped
Canadian Pacific19141931Scrapped
Canadian Pacific18911919Scrapped
Canadian Pacific19081928Scrapped
Canadian Pacific19061914Sunk after collision with SS Storstad
Canadian Pacific19301966Scrapped after fire
Canadian Pacific19131945Scrapped after fire
Canadian Pacific19061930Scrapped
Canadian Pacific19301966Scrapped after fire
IoM Steam Packet18971916Foundered on the Ring Rocks off Bembridge, Isle of Wight, February, 1916
Cunard18851909Scrapped
IoM Steam Packet18811929Scrapped
IoM Steam Packet19371940Sunk by enemy action at the Dunkirk evacuation.
IoM Steam Packet19511973Sold 1973 and renamed Vasso M. Sank off Damietta, 2 February 1977
Cunard19221956Scrapped
FranconiaCunard19631971See Ivernia.
White Star19331954Scrapped
White Star19221935Scrapped
Cunard19551971Renamed RMS Franconia 1963, sold 1973 and renamed Feodor Shalyapin; scrapped 2004
Kenya CastleUnion-Castle19511967Sold to Chandris of Greece and renamed Amerikanis; used until 1996 and sold after 2000 and scrapped 2001
IoM Steam Packet18421858Sold 1858
IoM Steam Packet18711912Scrapped
IoM Steam Packet19131940Sunk by enemy action at the Dunkirk evacuation
IoM Steam Packet19461975Scrapped
IoM Steam Packet19901998Sold 1998
Cassar Co. Ltd.19291941Wrecked
Cunard19121917Sunk by enemy action
Cunard19221942Sunk by enemy action
:de:RMS Lady Drake|Lady DrakeCanadian National19281942Sunk by enemy action
Canadian National19281942Sunk by enemy action
Canadian National19281939Acquired as hospital ship and later as troop ship by Royal Canadian Navy; returned to CN 1946; retired by CN 1952 and sold to Egypt as Gumhuryat Misr for Khedivial Mail Line, renamed Alwadi in 1960; broken up in Egypt 1968
Lady RodneyCanadian National19291953Sold to Khedivial Mail Line and renamed Mecca, then to United Arab Maritime Company in 1961; scuttled in Egypt 1967
Lady SomersCanadian National19291940Acquired by RN 1940 and sunk in Atlantic Ocean about east of Ponta Delgada, Azores 1941
IoM Steam Packet19301971Scrapped
Lady of MannIoM Steam Packet19762005Sold 2005
Cunard19201940Sunk by enemy action
City of Dublin SP18961918Sunk by enemy action
Union-Castle19141918Sunk by enemy action
Cunard18931909Scrapped after fire
Cunard19071915Sunk by U Boat
White Star19221940Scrapped
Peninsular and Oriental19231954Scrapped
ManxmanIoM Steam Packet19201940Scrapped
ManxmanIoM Steam Packet19551982Scrapped
Manx MaidIoM Steam Packet19231950Scrapped
Manx MaidIoM Steam Packet19621984Scrapped
Manx VikingIoM Steam Packet19781987Sold 1987
Cunard White Star19061935Scrapped
Cunard White Star19391965Scrapped
Peninsular and Oriental19111917Sunk by enemy action
MonaIoM Steam Packet18321841Sold 1841
MonaIoM Steam Packet18781883Sunk in the Formby Channel, after being struck by the SS Rita
MonaIoM Steam Packet19031909Scrapped
MonaIoM Steam Packet19191938Scrapped
Mona's IsleIoM Steam Packet18301851Scrapped
Mona's IsleIoM Steam Packet18601883Converted to screw propulsion and renamed Ellan Vannin, sank 1909 in River Mersey
Mona's IsleIoM Steam Packet18821915Scrapped
Mona's IsleIoM Steam Packet19051948Scrapped
Mona's IsleIoM Steam Packet19501980Scrapped
Mona's IsleIoM Steam Packet19841986Sold 1986 and renamed Al Fahad; wrecked off Jeddah, June 2004
Mona's QueenIoM Steam Packet18531880Scrapped
Mona's QueenIoM Steam Packet18851929Recommissioned in 1915; returned to service in 1919; Scrapped by Smith & Company in Port Glasgow, 1929
Mona's QueenIoM Steam Packet19341940Sunk by enemy action
Mona's QueenIoM Steam Packet19461962Scrapped in 1981
Mona's QueenIoM Steam Packet19721995Scrapped in 2008
Peninsular and Oriental19231953Scrapped
Johnston Warren Lines19251943Burnt out by enemy action
Union Steamship Co of NZ19121940Sunk by enemy action
Johnston Warren Lines19261942Sunk by enemy action
White Star18711896Scrapped
White Star18991914Scrapped
White Star19111935Scrapped
Orient Line19111917Torpedoed by the German submarine U-62 south of Western Approaches
Orient Line19241940Sunk by the German cruiser Admiral Hipper off Norway
Orient Line18861905Wrecked off Garden Island, Fremantle
Orient Line18861912Sold to Cie de Nav. Sud-Atlantique, renamed SS Divona; last owned by Union Industrielle Et Maritime and scuttled in 1942 off Bizerta, Tunisia, raised and scrapped in 1946
Orient Line19201927Ex-Zeppelin, 1920 renamed Ormuz, 1927 sold to North German Lloyd, renamed Dresden.
Orient Line19021916Lost RMS status in 1916–1917 while serving as a troopship. Laid up in 1921. Sold in 1922 and became the exhibition ship SS British Trade. Repossessed by Orient Line later the same year and reverted to Orontes. Scrapped in 1926.
Orient Line18891906Served as a troop ship between 1899 and 1903 as a troopship during the Second Boer War. Scrapped.
Orient Line18891906Scrapped.
Orient Line1926 and 19481939 and 1957Served as troop ship HMTS Otranto during World War II. Sold to the British Iron & Steel Corporation as scrap and broken up at Faslane.
IoM Steam Packet19121939Scrapped
Union-Castle19591980Scrapped
Cunard18551872Scrapped
IoM Steam Packet18841899Sank off Douglas after a collision with SS Monarch 16 September 1899
IoM Steam Packet19291964Scrapped
Port KingstonImperial Direct West Mail Co19041911Sold to Union Steamship Co of NZ; renamed ; sank 1930
IoM Steam Packet18881915Scrapped
Cunard White Star19471968Launched in 1940 and served as a troop ship until 1946. Scrapped after arson fire.
Queen Elizabeth 2Cunard White Star19692008Currently a floating hotel in Dubai.
Cunard White Star1936 and 19471940 and 1967Served as a troop shop from 1940 to 1946. Decommissioned in 1967; currently restaurant/hotel/museum in Long Beach, California
Cunard2004Conferred the status of Royal Mail Ship as a gesture to Cunard's history but does not carry mail. Currently in active service as an ocean liner.
IoM Steam Packet18341845Sold 1845; eventually reported lost off the Falkland Islands
IoM Steam Packet18881915Scrapped
British-India SN Co18811890Wrecked
IoM Steam Packet19041936Scrapped
New Zealand Shipping Co19111940Sunk by enemy action
Oceanic Steam Navigation d/b/a White Star Line19031909Sunk after collision with another ship
New Zealand Shipping Co19101917Sunk by enemy action
Royal Mail SP Co18651867Wrecked
City of Dublin SP18381849Sank
IoM Steam Packet18981947Scrapped
Cunard19201956Wrecked
Cunard19001925Scrapped
Cunard19541999In 1962 renamed Carmania; in 1973 sold & renamed Leonid Sobinov, scrapped 1999
HM Government19771990Ex-Northland Prince. Lost RMS status in 1990 and renamed St Helena Island. Renamed Avalon in 1990 and Indooceanique in 1993. Scrapped in 1996.
HM Government19902018Sold to Oman as MNG Tahiti.
Isles of Scilly SC19261955Scrapped
Isles of Scilly SC19551977Sold and eventually sank after owner abandoned her in 2004
Isles of Scilly SC1977Currently in active service. Officially designated Royal Mail Vessel but has the status of Royal Mail Ship. Currently the only ship still carrying mail for Royal Mail.
Cunard18611904Wrecked
Cunard18741899Scrapped
Cunard19211958Scrapped
Muskoka Lakes Navigation Co1887Built as SS Nipissing, then as Segwun 1925, out of service from 1958 to 1981; restored 1972–1981 and returned to service since 1981. The only remaining steam-powered Royal Mail Ship.
Cunard18811901Scrapped
British-India SN Co19021909Wrecked
SnaefellIoM Steam Packet18631875Sold 1875
SnaefellIoM Steam Packet18761904Scrapped
IoM Steam Packet19101918Sunk by enemy action
SnaefellIoM Steam Packet19201945Scrapped 1948
SnaefellIoM Steam Packet19481978Scrapped 1978
SnaefellIoM Steam Packet20062011Built 1991, acquired 2006, sold 2011.
Union-Castle19651978Sold to Cost Armatori of Italy with Good Hope Castle and renamed Paola C; scrapped in China 1984
Peninsular and Oriental19311961RMS status removed in 1954 and renamed SS Strathaird. Scrapped.
Peninsular and Oriental19311962RMS status removed in 1954 and renamed SS Strathnaver. Scrapped.
Cunard19572004Sold 1968 & renamed Fairwind; scrapped 2004
Union Steamship Co of NZ19111930Hull holed by broken propeller; sank
White Star 18531853Ran aground
The RamseyIoM Steam Packet18951915Sunk by enemy action
White Star19121912Sunk after collision with iceberg
Union-Castle19612000Sold 1966 to Safmarine and renamed "SA Vaal"; left Royal Mail service 1969; scrapped 2003
Royal Mail SP18411865Scrapped
TynwaldIoM Steam Packet18461886Sold 1866
TynwaldIoM Steam Packet18861888Sold 1888
TynwaldIoM Steam Packet18911934Sold 1934
IoM Steam Packet19361939Sunk by enemy action
TynwaldIoM Steam Packet19471974Scrapped 1975
TynwaldIoM Steam Packet19861990Sold and left Royal Mail service 1990; scrapped 2007
TyrconnelIoM Steam Packet19111932Scrapped
Cunard18841910Scrapped
Peninsular and Oriental19271942Sunk by enemy action
VictoriaIoM Steam Packet19071957Scrapped
East African Railways & Harbours19611977Lost status when EAR&H was dissolved; still in service as "MV Victoria"
Allan Line19041929World's first steam turbine ocean liner; scrapped 1929
VikingIoM Steam Packet19051954Scrapped in 1954
Union-Castle19221943Sunk by enemy action
Union-Castle19601998Scrapped