MV Royal Iris

51°29′43.41″N 0°2′34.80″E / 51.4953917°N 0.0430000°E / 51.4953917; 0.0430000 (MV Royal Iris)

Royal Iris on the Thames in 2009[1]
History
Name1950 onwards: Royal Iris
OwnerJames Jegede
Operator
  • 1950-1969: Wallasey Corporation
  • 1969-1990: Merseytravel
  • 1990-1991: Mersey Ferries
  • 1991 onwards: laid up
Port of registry1950 onwards: Liverpool
BuilderWilliam Denny and Brothers, Dumbarton
Yard number1448
Launched8 December 1950
Maiden voyageMay 1951
Out of service12 January 1991
IdentificationIMO number5301332
StatusDerelict
General characteristics
Tonnage1,234 GT
Length48.46 m (159 ft 0 in)
Beam14.63 m (48 ft 0 in)
Draught2.74 m (9 ft 0 in)
Installed power4 x Ruston & Hornsby diesel engines
Propulsion
Speed12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)

The MV Royal Iris is a twin screw, diesel-electric, Mersey Ferry. The vessel was built by William Denny & Brothers of Dumbarton (Yard No. 1448) and launched in December 1950, costing £256,000.

The engines were produced by Ruston & Hornsby Metropolitan-Vickers. Propulsion: 4 oil 4SA, each six cylinders driving four generators, each 300 kW/300v DC-connected to two electric motors, each 730shp and 2 shafts. The maximum speed is 12 knots. The ship measured 1,234 GT. Length is 159 feet long and 48 feet wide, with a draught of 9 feet.[2] At least during the first decade of its life, the ship's diesel-electric propulsion made it more economical to run than the other vessels in the fleet.[3]

Since 2002, the vessel has been laid up in a berth on the River Thames, close to the Thames Barrier in Woolwich. As of 2022, the ship continues to sit derelict and half submerged at its moorings.[4]

  1. ^ Picture by permission of Keith Chesworth
  2. ^ Stuart Cameron; Bruce Biddulph, Royal Iris, Shipping Times, archived from the original on 29 August 2016, retrieved 8 February 2009{{citation}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  3. ^ Maund, T.B.; Jenkins, Martin (2003), Mersey Ferries: Volume 2 - The Wallasey Ferries, Black Dwarf Publications, ISBN 1-903599-08-3
  4. ^ Wiggins, Dan (2 May 2022). "Abandoned ferry rusting on the Thames that carried the Queen into Liverpool". MyLondon. Retrieved 20 June 2022.