We're excited to be shipping agents for the iconic ship MV
Windsor Castle, which has recently been bought by the Royal Yacht Britannia.
The beautiful ship came to Leith all the way from Falmouth
and the RYB has some exciting plans for the ship – the company has said that
they plan to invest almost £1 million to turn the classically designed ship
into a 25 bedroom floating luxury hotel which will sit alongside Britannia and
will be permanently berthed in Edinburgh's historic port of Leith.
The 239 feet long vessel is almost two-thirds of the size of
Britannia, which has been Scotland’s top visitor attraction for nine years, and
the UK’s No.1 attraction (according to TripAdvisor 2014.)
The MV Windsor Castle was previously berthed in the River
Fal.
Launched in August 1963, she was the last ship to have been
built by Glasgow’s Blythswood Shipbuilding Company and was previously the
Northern Lighthouse Board's (NLB) tender Fingal.
The ship spent 30 years working out of Oban for NLB, and was
then moved to Stromness, Orkney, where she stayed for six years. The vessel was then sold to Tamahine Shipping
and has been very well maintained at her berth on the River Fal ever since.
The ship arrived in Leith at the end of August where she will
now undergo an 18-month conversion, and the ‘boatique’ style hotel scheduled to
open in spring 2016.
Britannia's chief executive Bob Downie said,
"After many years of searching for the right
ship, we are delighted that we have been able to acquire this iconic vessel and
look forward to opening Scotland's first 'boatique' hotel. As a youngster
growing up in Oban I have very fond memories of seeing the Fingal and I am
delighted that the long-term future of another much-loved classic vessel has
been secured."
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