St Helena was constructed in 1963 by Burrard Dry Dock in North Vancouver, Canada as the Northland Prince, and operated under that name between Vancouver and Alaska.[1]
The ship was purchased by the St. Helena Shipping Company, which had been formed as a joint venture between the Saint Helena Government and Falmouth-based shipping firm Curnow Shipping to operate an ocean mail service to the island after the Union-Castle Line ceased operations in 1977. She underwent a refit, was renamed St Helena, and entered service in September 1978 on a route from Avonmouth, England to Cape Town, South Africa, calling en route at Las Palmas, Canary Islands, and Jamestown, Saint Helena.[1] She continued on this route, interrupted by British government service during the Falklands War, until 1990 when she was replaced by a new ship, also named St Helena. St Helena was sold and subsequently renamed St Helena Island, Avalon and Indoceanique. She was laid up for several years, as a planned service in the Indian Ocean never materialized, before being scrapped in 1996.
St Helena measured 3,150 gross register tons, and was 321feet long, with a beam of 46feet.[1] She was propelled by a single diesel engine and propeller, which gave her a service speed of 16.5kn.[1] She had a passenger capacity of 88 in a single class configuration.