View source for MV Royal Iris of the Mersey

{{Short description|Cross-river ferry and ship canal cruise}}
{{Distinguish|MV Royal Iris}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2012}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
| Ship image               = Royal iris mersey ferry.jpg
| Ship caption             =
}}
{{Infobox ship career
| Hide header              = 
| Ship name                =*1959–2001: ''Mountwood''
*2001 onwards: ''Royal Iris of the Mersey''
| Ship flag                = [[File:Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg|60px]]
| Ship owner               = *1959-1968: Birkenhead Corporation  
*1968 onwards: [[Merseytravel]]
| Ship operator            =*1959–1968: Birkenhead Corporation
*1968–1990: [[Merseyside Passenger Transport Executive|Merseytravel]]
*1990 onwards: Mersey Ferries
| Ship registry            = 1959 onwards: [[Liverpool]], {{flag|United Kingdom|civil}}
| Ship route               = River Mersey Ferry
| Ship ordered             = November 1957
| Ship builder             = [[Philip and Son]], [[Dartmouth, Devon|Dartmouth]]
| Ship original cost       =
| Ship yard number         = 
| Ship way number          = 
| Ship laid down           = 20 October 1958
| Ship launched            = 6 July 1959
| Ship completed           =
| Ship christened          = 6 July 1959
| Ship acquired            = 
| Ship maiden voyage       = 1960, delivery voyage from Dartmouth to the River Mersey.
| Ship in service          = 1960 - present
| Ship out of service      = 
| Ship identification      =*[[Maritime call sign|Call sign]]: MHWA3
*{{IMO Number|8633712}}
*{{MMSI|235024007}}
| Ship fate                = 
| Ship status              = 
| Ship notes               = 
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
| Hide header              = 
| Header caption           =
| Ship class               = 
| Ship tonnage             ={{GT|611}}
| Ship displacement        = 
| Ship length              = {{convert|46.32|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
| Ship beam                ={{convert|12.2|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
| Ship draught             ={{convert|2.46|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
| Ship depth               = 
| Ship decks               = 4 lower saloon, main deck, promenade deck, bridge deck
| Ship deck clearance      = 
| Ship ramps               = 
| Ship ice class           = 
| Ship power               = 2 x [[Wärtsilä]] medium speed diesel engines.
| Ship propulsion      = 
| Ship speed               = max 12 – 14 knots
| Ship capacity            = 860 for general ferry operations, 360 for cruising.
| Ship crew                = 6 – Captain, Mate, Engineer, Deck Hands x 2, Catering Assistant
| Ship notes               = 
}}
|}

The '''MV ''Royal Iris of the Mersey''''' is a [[Mersey Ferry]] in operation on the [[River Mersey]], England. From launch in Devon in 1959 until a major refurbishment in 2001, she was named '''MV ''Mountwood'''''.<ref>{{citation|url=http://archive.wirralglobe.co.uk/2001/10/11/7646.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120708064843/http://archive.wirralglobe.co.uk/2001/10/11/7646.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=8 July 2012|title=Royal Iris name lives on|publisher=Wirral Globe|date=11 October 2001|access-date=14 January 2008}}</ref>

==MV ''Mountwood''==
The ''Mountwood'' was the slightly older sister ship of the [[MV Snowdrop|MV ''Woodchurch'']]. Both of the ferries were built for the Corporation of Birkenhead to replace the existing fleet of 1930s steamers. The designs of the two new vessels were loosely based on the ferries ''Leasowe'' and ''Egremont'' of the Wallasey Corporation; they were designed by the same company, Graham and Woolnough, and were built at the same shipyard, Messrs. Philip and Sons Ltd. of [[Dartmouth, Devon|Dartmouth]]. ''Mountwood'' was launched by Mrs Hugh Platt on 6 July<!-- Mersey Ferry article states 31 July --> 1959 into the [[River Dart]], and after being fitted out was delivered to the Mersey in 1960. She was named after an overspill post-[[World War II|war]] housing development of [[Birkenhead]].<ref name="Mersey Ferries - Volume 1">{{citation|title=Mersey Ferries - Volume 1|first=TB|last=Maund|publisher=Transport Publishing Co. Ltd|year=1991|isbn=0-86317-166-4}}</ref>

The ''Mountwood'' and her identical sister ''Woodchurch'' originally had bright orange funnels with a black base and black soot buffer. On the main deck, there was a forward, heated shelter and also a main saloon, aft of this was the toilets and machine space. Below was a saloon bar. On the top deck was a large open promenade and a forward shelter beneath the [[Bridge (ship)|bridge]], although this shelter was open beneath the bridge so it was often breezy and cold. They had a main central [[Bridge (nautical)|wheelhouse]] and two side cabs, and power came from two medium speed [[Crossley]] 8-cylinder [[diesel engines]]. Upon the bridge deck, in the wheelhouse, one would find the large brass [[Steering wheel (ship)|helm]] and steering pedestal, a [[binnacle]], and two conjoined Chadburn Synchrostep [[engine order telegraph]]s. These were linked to the other two identical telegraphs in the docking cabs so they moved in tandem. There was also whistle controls and lighting controls. In the docking cabs or navigation boxes was another binnacle, a whistle control and also various indicators for engine/speed etc. Originally all ferries had a simple ship to shore communicating radio, but did not have [[radar]] or [[sonar]]. The wheelhouses of the two ferries differed slightly due to different positioning of rudder angle indicators and engine RPM gauges in the bridge wings. The telegraphs were designed to give the captain direct control of the engines (although they could still be used in the traditional signal / response manner) and as such were marked with commands such as 'brake'and 'start'. They also had more speed settings ahead and astern. The original engines could reach full speed within 3 seconds once 'run' had been passed.

In her early years ''Mountwood'' was an unreliable ship, breaking down several times whilst crossing the river and having to anchor. In May 1961, she suffered a main engine failure, with her passengers having to be rescued by ''Woodchurch''.<ref>{{citation|url=http://www.north-cheshire-marine.org.uk/smNov.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020323081254/http://www.north-cheshire-marine.org.uk/smNov.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=23 March 2002|title=Ship of the Month: Woodchurch|publisher=North Cheshire Marine|access-date=2 November 2007}}</ref>
She also collided with ''Bidston'' whilst berthing, due to a communications error. The new ''Mountwood'' had two options of engine control. The first was direct control, where the bridge telegraphs controlled the engines directly, without the assistance of an engineer at the control board. The second option was the traditional system of telegraph orders between the engineers and the engines. On this day, the ''Mountwood'' was operating in the traditional way. It seemed as though the duty engineer carried out the wrong order and started the engines in the wrong direction resulting in a collision. There should have been a 'wrong way' alarm which sounded however either the engineer failed to hear it or, for some reason, it was not working.

The ''Mountwood'' remained in operation up until she was withdrawn for refurbishment in 1989. She was rewired, internally refurbished and her bridge wheelhouse and cabs were plated over to form one large navigation bridge, although she retained all the original equipment. The original Crossley engines were retained but heavily overhauled and the central saloon saw modifications in the form of a cafe. The most noticeable change was the colour of the funnel, flame red and black, harking back to the 1920s Birkenhead steamships. The new 'Mersey Ferries' logo was painted on each side of the funnel. The ''Mountwood'' returned to service in July 1990 and remained in operation up until 2001 when she was withdrawn from service for a major refit. Her only major work during the period 1990–2001 was the addition of a shelter [[abaft]] the bridge, which also had a small bridge deck area. The black band on the funnel was reduced and the logo resized giving the ferry a small looking funnel.

==Major Refit==
In 2001, the ''Mountwood'' was withdrawn and taken to Birkenhead's former [[Cammell Laird]] shipyard (which became owned by A&P), and then to [[Clarence Dock (Liverpool)|Clarence]] [[Drydock|graving docks]], where she was stripped of her fittings and parts of her superstructure were removed and rebuilt. The ferry remained dormant for some time due to problems at the shipyard. She was then re-engined and rebuilt. Noticeable changes were the addition of a new, angle fronted, large wheelhouse and bridge deck, plus her funnel, which was reinstated after the refit, was moved further back to fit with the position of the new engines. Her central saloons were also extended to the full width of the ship. She looks quite similar the ''Woodchurch's'' refit to ''Snowdrop''. The vessels original helm and central binnacle were reinstated and some of the other bridge items are now in Mersey Ferries' collection. In May 2011 the ferry's nameplate was replaced and it now carried the words 'Royal Iris' in Birkenhead Corporation style script font.

==MV ''Royal Iris of the Mersey''==
[[File:MV Royal Iris of the Mersey.jpg|thumb|left|MV Royal Iris of the Mersey in February 2020]]
Today the ''Royal Iris of the Mersey'' is a regular vessel used on both cross-river ferry services and also Manchester ship canal cruises. The ferry has a top speed of 12 knots. The ferry can't be named just ''"Royal Iris"'' as the previous vessel of that name (the {{MV|Royal Iris}}) is still listed on [[Lloyd's Register of Shipping]] in the same class. The ferry still retains many features from her days as ''Mountwood'' including the original pair of Kockums Supertyfon fog horns, as does her sister ship.

Since her major refit in 2001, ongoing maintenance has been completed, including refurbishments to her saloons and the replacement of the timber decking on the top deck.

==Incidents==

The vessel has been involved in other incidents aside from the collision with ''Bidston''. She had a complete engine failure due to a faulty fuel pump and had to anchor in the river when she was brand new.

On 10 July 2016, she unfortunately struck an underwater obstruction and took on water whilst waiting for another vessel to leave the entrance to the [[Manchester Ship Canal]]. All 75 passengers and crew were safely evacuated from the ship on to the dredger {{MV|Deo Gloria||2}}.<ref name=Metro100716>{{cite web |url=http://metro.co.uk/2016/07/10/rescue-operation-after-ferry-starts-to-sink-on-river-mersey-5998614/ |title=Rescue operation after ferry 'starts to sink' on River Mersey |first=Ashitha |last=Nagesh |publisher=Metro |access-date=10 July 2016}}</ref><ref name=BBCnews100716>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-36758499 |title=River Mersey ferry: Passengers rescued as vessel runs aground |work=BBC News |access-date=11 July 2016}}</ref><ref name=RAIB>{{cite web  |url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/591ee154e5274a5e51000062/MAIBInvReport11_2017.pdf |title=Grounding of the passenger ferry ''Royal Iris of the Mersey'', River Mersey, UK 10 July 2016 |publisher=Marine Accidents Investigation Branch |access-date=25 May 2017}}</ref>

==In popular culture==
The ''Mountwood'' was used in the film ''[[Ferry Cross the Mersey (film)|Ferry Cross The Mersey]]'', a musical named after the [[Gerry & The Pacemakers]] song. It also appeared in the opening titles for the television series, ''[[The Liver Birds]]''.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|IMO 8633712}}
* [http://www.merseyferries.co.uk/ Official Mersey Ferries website]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071007221534/http://www.ferryphotos.co.uk/pages/mountwood.htm Photo: ''Mountwood'']
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071007221504/http://www.ferryphotos.co.uk/pages/royalirisotm.htm Photo: ''Royal Iris of the Mersey'']

{{Mersey ferries}}
{{2016 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Royal Iris of the Mersey}}
[[Category:Mersey Ferries]]
[[Category:1959 ships]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 2016]]
[[Category:Ships built in Dartmouth]]