Welcome to our City of Port Elizabeth website celebrating this remarkable and stylish combi liner. The City of Port Elizabeth was the lead ship of the postwar Ellerman Quartet which were the largest passenger cargo liners in the Ellerman fleet. They were able to make the voyage from London to Cape Town in 15 days. They were all first class ships and accommodated just 107 passengers. 

She sailed on her maiden voyage from London to Beira on the 10th January 1953. She gave sterling service for Ellerman Lines until 1970 when she was retired from service and sold to Karageorgis Lines in Greece in 1971. She was renamed Mediterranean Island and was intended to be converted into a car ferry. But this idea was abandoned and consideration was given to converting her into a luxury cruise ship instead. Due to indecision she remained laid up until 1975. She was then renamed Mediterranean Sun but remained laid up until 1980. She was then sold for scrap and was scrapped at Kaoshiung, Taiwan in June 1980.

This website aims to record the history of this fine British ocean liner and act as a virtual home to honour and commemorate this fine ship. We hope you enjoy this website and when you leave we hope you will visit again soon.

 

Her Regular Service Route: Great Britain to Southern Africa

London - Las Palmas - Cape Town - Port Elizabeth - East London - Durban - Lourenco Marques - Beira

"THE SOUTH AFRICAN SERVICE"

ELLERMAN LINES, LONDON