MV Fredericia
.jpg) MV Caroline c. 1967
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name |
|
| Owner |
|
| Operator |
|
| Port of registry |
|
| Builder | Frederikshavns V & F A/S, Frederikshaven |
| Launched | 1930 |
| Commissioned | May 1930 |
| Decommissioned | August 1963 |
| Fate | Sold for scrap at a public auction on 29th May 1972 to Frank Rijsdijk-Holland of Hendrick Ido-Ambacht |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Passenger Ferry |
| Tonnage | 763 GRT |
| Length | 188 ft (57.30 m) |
MV Caroline was originally a passenger ferry operated by DFDS Seaways as MV Fredericia which later gained international recognition as an offshore radio station. She was built for and operated by DFDS Seaways serving various routes to and from Copenhagen. During the Second World War, she was laid up between 1941 and 1943.[1] [2]
History
[edit]In December 1963 Fredericia was sold to Cross Channel Container Services Limited, Greenore Harbour, Ireland. This was a cover company owned by the Irish entrepreneur Ronan O'Rahilly.
Her new owners claimed that she would be used in service between the UK and Ireland under the name Iseult.[3]
However in reality she had been bought for conversion to a floating radio station. The conversion was undertaken at Greenore, following which she was re-named Caroline in 1964 with her port of registry changed to Panama.[citation needed]
The MV Caroline departed Greenore on March 23, 1964, to a supposed destination in Spain. She passed Land's End on March 25, at which time she altered course and made passage through the English Channel and entered the North Sea where she anchored off Felixstowe, Suffolk.[2]
MV Caroline began test transmissions on Friday, 27 March 1964 at 6:00 pm GMT and 10:00 pm, and on 11:55 pm on 201 metres (1495 kHz). On Saturday, 28 March, Radio Caroline began regular broadcasting at noon on 1520 kHz (announced as 199 metres) with the opening conducted by Simon Dee.[citation needed]
On 2 July 1964, Radio Atlanta and Radio Caroline's companies, Project Atlanta and Planet Productions, announced the stations were to merge and operate an expanded service as Radio Caroline.
Consequently Radio Atlanta closed at 8 p.m. BST that same day. It was renamed Radio Caroline South with the MV Mi Amigo remaining off Frinton-on-Sea, while MV Caroline would relocate from her position and broadcast as Radio Caroline North.[2]
Following the consolidation between the two companies, MV Caroline weighed anchor and sailed from Felixstowe en-route to the Isle of Man, broadcasting as she went. The only broadcast staff on board were Tom Lodge and Jerry Leighton.
MV Caroline took up station at her new anchorage on the southern tip of the Bahama Bank, Ramsey Bay, on 6 July 1964, at a position formerly occupied by the Bahama Bank Lightship. The two Caroline stations were now able to cover most of the British Isles.[2]
MV Caroline served as a radio ship until 1968, until she was hijacked on the Bahama Bank and towed to Amsterdam where she was laid up until being sold for scrap at auction in May 1972.[citation needed]
Scrapping of the vessel took a number of years and was not fully completed until 1980.[2]
References
[edit]- ^ Harris, Paul (1977). Broadcasting From The High Seas. Paul Harris Publishing Edinburgh. ISBN 0-904505-07-3.
- ^ a b c d e Haworth, R.B. "Fredericia". Mirimar. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
693 tons, registered in Kolding, renamed Caroline in 1964
- ^ "Fredericia Caroline History". www.offshoreradiomuseum.co.uk.