History

This first pair of the “Strath” ships was the crowning glory of the P&O fleet expansion of the 1930s. They introduced yet higher standards to the Australian mail service and are remembered with great affection by former passengers and crew members alike. The Strathnaver and Strathaird were imposing ships and were the first major P&O passenger ships to adopt the all-white hulls and buff funnels livery that was later to become P&O's signature livery. Indeed this colour scheme is still carried today by the cruise ships of P&O Cruises. They also adopted the turbo-electric machinery first pioneered on the Viceroy of India in 1929.

Design and Construction (1930 – 1931):

The Strathnaver was the lead ship of the pair, and was ordered in January 1930 as both the culminating achievement and swansong of the Lord Inchcape era of regeneration. She was launched on the 5^th February 1931 at Vickers Armstrong Ltd, Barrow in Furness by Lady Janet Bailey, second daughter of P&O Chairman Lord Inchcape. The first of five “white sisters” designed for the UK/Suez/Bombay/Australia run, her name comes from full title of Lord Inchcape (“of Strathnaver”), and is taken from a valley to the north of Loch Naver, Sutherland. Her first and third funnels were dummies. On the 26^th August 1931 she undertook her sea trials and was handed over to P&O on the 2^nd September 1931.

Prewar Years (1931 – 1940):

She sailed on her maiden voyage from London on the 2^nd October 1931 on the Australian mail service to Sydney via Marseilles, Suez, Bombay and Colombo. She entered service just in time for the ageing Chairman, Lord Inchcape, to see his accomplishment before his death in 1932. The new Chairman, Lord Craigmyle, was equally forward looking and positive and sought to give P&O a position of acclaim on the Eastern and Australian routes like that associated with Cunard Line on the North Atlantic.

When both the White Sisters had entered service in 1932 they also followed the Viceroy of India into a regular cruise programme and also became popular cruise liners when engaged on this work in between their regular sailings on the Australian run.

On the 13^th May 1932 a dinner was given on board in Tilbury to mark the end of her maiden voyage, with the speeches being broadcast by the BBC. On the 11^th September 1937 the Strathnaver was delayed on her Australian service at Tilbury after colliding with the quayside. In 1938 she was fitted out to carry chilled beef with the same equipment now installed on her newer “Strath” sisters Stratheden and Strathallan.

War Service (1940 – 1948):

On the 7^th January 1940 with the outbreak of the Second World War, the Strathnaver was requisitioned by the Government for service as a troopship. She then sailed from Sydney with the first big “Down Under” convoy from Australia and New Zealand to Middle East. She sailed in consort with four large Orient Line ships and was engaged in the massive movement of troops and equipment from Australia and New Zealand to the Red Sea. On the 11^th November 1942 she landed troops at Algiers as part of Operation Torch. The next day on the 12^th November she helped ferry survivors from P&O’s Cathay and BI’s Karanja from Bougie to Algiers while under fire. On the 5^th June 1943 she was used in training for the Italian landings, in the Red Sea, and later followed the Allied forces up Italy as they advanced. During the Second World War she steamed 350,000 miles and carried 128,792 personnel.

On the 10^th October 1946 she had a slight mishap when she collided with a small cargo vessel Fluor which then sank in about 40 ft of water at berth 103 in Southampton Docks. In November 1948 she was released from war duties and on the 4^th November 1948 she arrived at Harland & Wolff Ltd, Belfast for refitting in preparation for a return to passenger service. On the 6^th December 1948 she was returned to her owners and commercial service.

The Final Years (1948 – 1962):

The Strathnaver was the last of the “Strath” sisters to return to commercial service. Like her sister, Strathaird, as part of the refit she lost her two dummy funnels, and as a result the “Straths” appeared as a more uniform fleet. She returned to service on the Australian route carrying 573 First Class and 496 Tourist Class passengers. On the 16^th June 1953 she was chartered by the Government to take Government guests to the Coronation Review at Spithead.

In June 1954 the Strathnaver and Strathaird were downgraded and converted to one-class ships, offering accommodation space for 1,250 Tourist Class passengers. Simultaneously they omitted the Bombay call, as India was now being well served by the faster vessels operating on the Far East service.

On the 25^th October 1960 the Strathnaver rescued the Second Officer, the only survivor, from the Egyptian steamer El Gamil which had sunk in the southern Red Sea.

In 1960 Orient Line and P&O Line merged and Strathnaver passed to the ownership of P&O-Orient Lines. However following the emigration boom of the late 1940s and early 1950s, the emigrant trade had declined although it briefly flourished again between 1956 and 1960. However demand had fallen off again by the early 1960s so P&O considered that the Strathnaver and Strathaird could be retired leaving just Strathmore and Strathallan to cover this emigrant trade. On the 11^th December 1961 P&O announced the withdrawal of the Strathnaver in light of the Australian Government cancelled forward bookings for supported-passage British emigrants for the first five months of 1962. As a result on the 12^th February 1962 P&O sold the Strathnaver for scrapping to Shun Fung Ironworks Co., Hong Kong. On the 1^st March 1962 she sailed from London on her final voyage bound for scrapping in Hong Kong where she arrived on the 3^rd April 1962.