My recent acquisition is " ISLE OF MAN FIRST DAY COVER COMMEMORATING THE STEAM PACKET COMPANY MAIL CONTRACT 1832-1982."
The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company Limited is the oldest continuously
operating passenger shipping company in the world, celebrating its 180th
anniversary in 2010.
The company provides freight, passenger and vehicle services
between the Isle of Man Sea Terminal, in Douglas, Isle of Man, and five ports
in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
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| ISSUED 05/10/1982 |
The ship on the FDC is Mona I and
Manx Maid II
Mona
I:
SS (RMS) Mona (I) - the first vessel in
the Company's history to be so named - was a wooden paddle steamer which
was operated by the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company. No Official
number is recorded for the vessel, as formal registration was not
introduced until the Merchant Shipping Act 1854..
Mona was the second vessel which
entered service with the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company. She was hurriedly
ordered for the winter service in place of the larger Mona's Isle, which was soon considered too valuable to risk in
storm conditions. Mona initially started on the Company's
service to Whitehaven, and then commenced winter
service to Liverpool in October 1832.
courtesy :Mona I
Manx
Maid II:
TSS (RMS) Manx
Maid (II) was built by Cammell
Laird at Birkenhead in 1962, and was the second ship in the
Company's history to bear the name.
Tonnage 2724; length 325'; beam
50'; depth 18'; speed 21 knots; bhp 9,500. Construction costs were
£1,087,000,the first vessel of the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company to cost
over one million pounds. Manx Maid was launched by Mrs. A. Alexander at Birkenhead,
on Tuesday 23 January 1962.
Manx Maid was a great success and was
of major importance in the history of the Isle of Man Steam Packet
Company, as she was the first vessel to be designed as a car ferry; she
had the capacity for up to 90 cars and light commercial vans.
courtesy :Manx Maid II
