INCRES LINE
M/S VICTORIA

MS Dunnottar Castle
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Career
Name: Dunnottar Castle (1936 - 1958), Victoria (1958 - 1975), The Victoria (1976 - 1993), Princesa Victoria (1993 - 2004)
Operator: Union - Castle (1936 - 1958), Incres SS Co. (1958 - 1964), Clipper Line (1964 - 1975), Chandris Lines (1975 - 1993), Louis Cruise Lines (1993 - 2004)
Builder: Harland and Wolff
Yard number: 959
Laid down: 1935
Launched: 25 January 1936
Completed: 27 June 1936
Maiden voyage: July 1936
Out of service: 2004
Fate: Scrapped at Kumar Steel Breakers Yard in India, 2004

General characteristics
Tonnage: 15,007 GRT as built
Length: 560 feet (174 m.) as built
Beam: 72 feet (22 m.) as built
Draft: 22.2 feet (8.1 m.)
Propulsion: Burmeister & Wain Diesels as built, in 1959 refitted with Fiat diesel engines
Speed: 18 knots
Capacity: 285 first class, 250 tourist class as built, 696 single class at the time of scrapping
Crew: 250 as built

The MS Dunnottar Castle was the original name of a twin screw passenger ship built in 1936 and more widely known under her later name Victoria or The Victoria. Victoria was a cruise liner first operated by the Incres Steamship Co and later by Chandris Lines in the Caribbean Sea. Victoria was sold to Louis Cruise Lines in 1993 which operated the ship as Princesa Victoria until it was scrapped in India in 2004. Victoria retained a classic liner look with several features unchanged since her pre war construction for her entire operational life.

Construction and war service
The ship was originally built by Harland & Wolff of Belfast in 1936 as the Union Castle liner Dunnottar Castle. She had a gross tonnage of 15,054 tons. She departed on her maiden voyage from Southampton to Cape Town in July 1936. Upon her return, she commenced her regular service, Tilbury (London) - Africa, serving as supply ship for St. Helena.

Career as cruise liner
Dunnottar Castle was bought by Incres Steamship Co in 1958 and substantially refitted as a cruise liner at the Wilton Fijenoord shipyard near Rotterdam. The ship received a new engine, new superstructure and a new raked bow, changing her overall appearance significantly. The first and tourist class cabins were reconstructed into 600 single class cabins with private facilities and air conditioning. Incres renamed her Victoria and ran her out of New York on West Indies cruises.

Final years
The ship's final incarnation was as the Princesa Victoria making 2 and 3 day cruises from Cyprus under the ownership of Louis Cruise Lines. During the winter seasons, Princesa Victoria was laid up in Perama. She was used as a shore side hotel ship for Expo '98 and for the G8 summit in Genoa in 2001. Finally, the ship was laid up in 2002 and broken up in 2004 at the Kumar Steel Breakers Yard in India. At the time, she was the oldest large liner still operating anywhere in the world.