RMS St Helena (1989)

The St Helena in 2020 with Extreme E livery
History
United Kingdom
Name	St Helena
Owner	St Helena Line Ltd
Operator	1990–2001: Curnow Shipping Ltd, Porthleven 2001–2018: Andrew Weir Shipping Ltd, London
Port of registry	London,  United Kingdom
Builder	A&P-Appledore (Aberdeen) Ltd
Yard number	1000
Launched	31 October 1989
Maiden voyage	1990
In service	1990
Out of service	17 February 2018
Identification	IMO number: 8716306 Call sign: MMHE5 MMSI number: 232669000
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Name	April 2018 MNG Tahiti October 2018 St Helena
Owner	April 2018 Tahiti Shipping Ltd, Wimborne, Dorset October 2018 St Helena LLC, Jersey
Operator	April 2018 MNG Maritime, Wimborne, Dorset October 2018 Wilson Yacht Management Ltd, Hessle, Yorkshire
Port of registry	Basseterre,  Saint Kitts and Nevis
Identification	IMO number: 8716306 Call sign: V4UA3 MMSI number: 232669000
Status	Support ship for Extreme E motor racing series
General characteristics
Class and type	Lloyd's Register
Tonnage	6,767 GT
Length	105 m (344 ft)[1]
Beam	19.2 m (63 ft)
Draft	6 m (20 ft)
Installed power	6,532 kW
Speed	14.5 knots (26.9 km/h; 16.7 mph)
Capacity	155 passengers, 1,800 tonnes cargo
Crew	56 officers and crew
Notes	Operated on behalf of Royal Mail Group Ltd (UK)

RMS St Helena is a cargo liner (carrying cargo and passengers) that served the British overseas territory of Saint Helena. She sailed between Cape Town and Saint Helena with regular shuttles continuing to Ascension Island. Some voyages also served Walvis Bay en route to and from, or occasionally instead of, Cape Town. She visited Portland, Dorset twice a year with normal calls in the Spanish ports of Vigo (northbound) and Tenerife (southbound) until 14 October 2011, when she set sail on her final voyage from the English port.

On 10 February 2018 she departed for her last trip from St Helena to Cape Town.^[2] At the time of her retirement from St Helena service she was one of only four ships in the world still carrying the status of Royal Mail Ship. Locals including local press have usually called her the RMS rather than the St. Helena, in order not to confuse her with the island itself.

In April 2018 she was purchased by MNG Maritime and renamed MNG Tahiti to act as a vessel-based armoury (VBA) licensed by the UK Department for International Trade (DIT) in the Gulf of Oman. In October 2018 MNG sold the ship and she returned to the UK renamed St Helena once more.