SS Robert Coryndon
 Robert Coryndon's wreck in 2009
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | Robert Coryndon |
| Namesake | Sir Governor of Uganda 1918–22 |
| Operator | Kenya and Uganda Railways and Harbours (1930–48); East African Railways and Harbours Corporation (1948–67) |
| Port of registry |  |
| Route | fortnightly between Butiaba on Lake Albert and Kasenyi on Lake George[1] |
| Builder | Woolston , England |
| Yard number | 1086 |
| Launched | September 1929 |
| In service | 1930 |
| Fate | Sank 1962 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Passenger & cargo ferry |
| Tonnage | 860 tons[2] |
| Propulsion | Steam engine; twin screws |
SS Robert Coryndon was a British twin-screw passenger and cargo ferry on Lake Albert in central Africa.
She was built in England in 1929 and reassembled in kit form at Lake Albert in 1930. She ran aground in 1962 and lay derelict until she was broken up for scrap between 2009 and 2012.
Building
She was a "knock-down" ship. She was assembled in 1929 at Woolston.[4][5] All her parts were marked with numbers, she was disassembled into many hundreds of parts, and transported in kit form to Africa, where she was reassembled on the shore of Lake Albert in 1930. Part of the overland journey to Lake Albert was by lorry, which severely limited the maximum size and weight of her parts.[4]
Robert Coryndon was part of a plan for a network of railway, river steamer and lake steamer services linking British interests in Egypt, East Africa and southern Africa.[3] Sir Winston Churchill described her as "the best library afloat".[6]
Fate
Robert Coryndon sank in 1962,
In 1967 the East African Railways and Harbours Corporation (EAR&H) offered her wreck for sale,[2] but she remained largely intact in 2009 (see photo).
By the beginning of 2012 her wreck had been taken away "in bits and pieces by cutting all the metal remains for scrap" and only her
References
- ^ "General Notice No 197; Kenya and Uganda Railways and Harbours; Steamer Services, Lake Albert". Kenya Gazette. Vol. XXXVII, no. 8. 12 February 1935. p. 120.
- ^ a b "Gazette Notice No 265; East Africa Railways & Harbours". Kenya Gazette. Vol. LXVIX, no. 4. 24 January 1967. p. 67.
- ^ a b Couperus, Jitze (6 April 2009). "Jitze Couperus". Biog: The World Biography Project. Archived from the original on 10 September 2011. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
- ^ Hutchinson. p. 93.
- ^ "Robert Coryndon". Shipping and Shipbuilding. North East Maratime Forum. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
- ^ ISBN 9781841623092.
- ^ Menya, Paul (2012). "Mourning the Coryndon". Retrieved 30 June 2012.
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