RMS Transvaal Castle

	SS Festivale docked in Barbados on 26 February 1987.
History
Bahamas
Name	1961–1966: RMS Transvaal Castle; 1966–1969: RMS S.A. Vaal; 1969–1977: TSS S.A. Vaal; 1977–1996: TSS Festivale; 1996–2000: TSS IslandBreeze; 2000–2003: SS The Big Red Boat III; 2003: SS The Big Boat;
Owner	1961–1966: Union-Castle Line; 1966–1977: Safmarine; 1977–1996: Carnival Cruise Line; 1996–1998: Dolphin Cruise Line; 1998–2000: Premier Cruise Line;
Route	Southampton, Las Palmas, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, East London, Durban
Builder	John Brown & Co., Clydebank, Scotland, United Kingdom
Yard number	720
Launched	17 January 1961
Completed	December 1961
Maiden voyage	18 January 1962
In service	1962
Out of service	September 2000
Identification	IMO number: 5367623
Fate	Scrapped at Alang, India in 2003.
General characteristics as built, 1961
Type	Ocean liner
Tonnage	32,697 GRT; 16,604 DWT;
Length	760 ft 2 in (231.70 m)
Beam	90 ft 2 in (27.48 m)
Draught	32 ft (9.8 m)
Decks	8
Installed power	44,000 shp (33,000 kW)
Propulsion	Geared turbines, twin screw
Speed	22.5 knots (41.7 km/h; 25.9 mph)
Capacity	728 passengers one class
Crew	426
General characteristics as rebuilt, 1978
Type	cruise ship
Tonnage	26,632 GRT (Panamanian rules, c.38,000 by UK rules)
Capacity	1,432 passengers
Crew	579
Notes	Otherwise the same as built

RMS Transvaal Castle was a British ocean liner built by John Brown & Company at Clydebank for the Union-Castle Line for their mail service between Southampton and Durban. In 1966 she was sold to the South Africa-based Safmarine and renamed S.A. Vaal for further service on the same route. Following cessation of the service between the UK and South Africa in 1977 the ship was sold to Carnival Cruise Line and rebuilt in Japan as the cruise ship SS Festivale, re-entering service in 1978. In 1996 she was chartered to Dolphin Cruise Line and renamed IslandBreeze. In 1998 the ship was sold to Premier Cruise Line, which renamed her The Big Red Boat III. Following the bankruptcy of Premier Cruise Line in 2000, The Big Red Boat III was laid up until 2003 when she was sold to scrappers in Alang, India. She was renamed The Big Red Boat for her final voyage to the scrapyard.

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