13,345 grt; 11,350 dwt, 107 passengers.
Operator: Ellerman Lines Ltd/Ellerman & Bucknall SS Co Ltd, London
Built: 1953 by Vickers Armstrongs Ltd, Newcastle. Yard no. 123
Propulsion: twin-screw with 2 x six-cylinder, two-stroke, opposed piston type Hawthorn Leslie-Doxford 67LBD6 oil engines of 12,850 bhp (total). Speed: 16.5 knots.
1971-sold with three sister-ships to Greece’s Michael A Karageorgis for conversion into cruise ships. Only two, CITY OF EXETER and CITY OF YORK underwent conversion, the others, CITY OF DURBAN and CITY OF PORT ELIZABETH, were scrapped. CITY OF DURBAN was renamed MEDITERRANEAN DOLPHIN but remained in lay-up in the Piraeus area until 1974, when she went to breakers in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, arriving there 20/3.
Photo: Passing Tilbury Landing Stage 11/2/1968 headed for London’s Royal Docks.