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Original Text (Annotation: EAW043677 / 1431131)
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Suffolk Ferry.
Built. 1947
Builder. John Brown
Owner. L.N.E.R/BR/Sealink
Route. Harwich-Zeebrugge
Grt. 3134
Length. 404.6 ft.
Beam. 61.6 ft.
Capacity. 35 railway wagons
Speed. 13 knots
Status. Scrapped 1981
Built in 1947 by John Brown & Co. Ltd., Clydebank and Launched on the 7th May 1947,(See image SAR008774 ) the new ferry had diesel engines instead of steam boilers, and could get 14 knots instead of the 10 knots of Essex Ferry and had facilities to carry 12 passengers in six cabins.
Suffolk Ferry was the first diesel powered ship built for the London and North Eastern Railway. Registered at Harwich, she usually operated on the Harwich – Zeebrugge route, the crossing taking nine hours. Suffolk Ferry entered service in August 1947. With the nationalisation of the railways in the United Kingdom in 1948, ownership of Suffolk Ferry passed to the British Transport Commission. On 2 January 1956, the Liberian tanker Melody ran aground off Vlissingen, Zeeland, Netherlands. Suffolk Ferry was one of three vessels which went to the assistance of Melody. On 6 May 1961, Suffolk Ferry rescued all four people from the British yacht Sugar Creek in the North Sea off the Cork Lightship.
In 1963, ownership passed to the British Railways Board. On 8 October 1965, Suffolk Ferry rescued nine of the thirteen crew of the German coastal tanker Unkas, which had collided with the Swedish cargo ship Marieholm in the North Sea 35 nautical miles (65 km) off the coast of the Netherlands. Unkas was later towed in to Rotterdam. Ownership passed to the British Rail subsidiary Sealink in 1979. She was withdrawn from service in September 1980.
Suffolk Ferry left Harwich Harbour for the last time on Tuesday November 25 1980 on her way to be broken up in Belgium, as she passed Parkeston under tow, other Sealink ships blew their whistles to say goodbye to the “Grand Old Lady” of the Harwich Fleet. '