Royal Mail Ship (sometimes Steam-ship or Steamer), usually seen in its abbreviated form RMS, is the ship prefix used for seagoing vessels that carry mail under contract to the British Royal Mail. The designation dates back to 1840.The first citation in The Times is from 18 August 1840. Any vessel designated as "RMS" has the right both to fly the pennant of the Royal Mail when sailing and to include the Royal Mail "crown" insignia with any identifying device and/or design for the ship.Royal Mails employees Courier newspaper page 20 August 2007QM2
It was used by many shipping lines, but is often associated in particular with the White Star Line, Cunard,Maxtone-Graham, John et al. (2004). Queen Mary 2, p. 184. Royal Mail Lines, Union-Castle Line, Canadian Pacific Line, Orient Line and the P&O, which held a number of high-profile mail contracts, and traditionally prefixed the names of many of their ships with the initials "RMS".
While some lines in the past, particularly the Royal Mail Lines, called all their ships "RMS", technically a ship would use the prefix only while contracted to carry mail, and would revert at other times to a standard designation such as "SS".By Wireless from R.M.S. Empress of Australia. "Royal Gifts Gladden 172 On Lonely Atlantic Island" (Tristan da Cunya)," The New York Times. 24 March 1935; Robinson, Samuel. (1924).Official report of Capt. S. Robinson, R.N.R.,: Commander of the Canadian Pacific S.S. "Empress of Australia", on the Japanese earthquake, the fire and subsequent relief operations.
History
Originally, the British Admiralty operated these ships.The Admiralty took over the Packet Service from the General Post Office in 1823.
The designation "RMS" has been used since 1840.The first citation in The Times is from 18 August 1840. In 1850 contracts were awarded to private companies. Having the title "RMS" was seen as a mark of quality and a competitive advantage, because the mail had to be on time.
The most valuable route, with the highest volume, was between Kingstown (now Dún Laoghaire), in Ireland, and Holyhead in Wales. The City of Dublin Steam Packet Company (CDSPCo) won the contract. They bought RMS St Columba and RMS Llewellyn from the Admiralty to supplement their Prince Arthur. In the CDSPCo contract, in 1860, there was a penalty clause of £1 1s 4d for every minute's delay.
The Canadian Pacific's trans-Pacific Royal Mail contract required the building of the first three of a fleet of steamships: the , and which regularly sailed between Vancouver and Asia beginning in 1891.Kennedy, John. (1903). The History of Steam Navigation, pp. 147–151. The RMS designation was also used on the ships of the White Star, P&O and Cunard lines of the 19th and 20th centuries. The most famous liner with the RMS title was the .
Modern times
In recent years the shift to air transport for mail has left only three ships with the right to the prefix or its variations: , which serves as a passenger vessel in Gravenhurst, Ontario, Canada; , which serves the Isles of Scilly; and . The "RMS" prefix was granted to QM2 by Royal Mail when she entered service in 2004 on the Southampton to New York route as a gesture to Cunard's history.
The Royal Mail continues a form of this tradition on modern day airliners. The UK's flag carrier airline, British Airways, is contracted to carry mail on some of its scheduled long-distance routes. Aircraft operating these routes with the facilities to carry mail are allowed to display the Royal Mail's logo and crest on their fuselage, usually alongside their registration markings.
Other designations The less-common designations RMMV for Royal Mail Motor Vessel and RMMS for Royal Mail Motor Ship, were used for a period when RMS was restricted to steam-ships. Motor Vessel and Motor Ship indicated that propulsion was provided by diesel rather than steam.
The carries the designation RMV for Royal Mail Vessel and is the only active RMV.
List of current Royal Mail Ships NameLineIn serviceStatus Isles of Scilly Steamship Company 1977 Currently in active service. Officially designated Royal Mail Vessel but has the status of Royal Mail Ship. Currently the only ship still carrying mail for Royal Mail. Cunard 2004 Conferred the status of Royal Mail Ship as a gesture to Cunard's history but does not carry mail for the British postal service.However, a traditional red Royal Mail postbox is available to all passengers wishing to post letters aboard and the same is emptied by the crew at every call at Southampton, the ship's home port, and forwarded ashore. Queen Mary 2 is currently in active service as an ocean liner. Muskoka Lakes Navigation Co 1887 Built as SS Nipissing, then as Segwun 1925, out of service from 1958 to 1981; restored 1972–1981 and returned to service since 1981. The only remaining steam-powered Royal Mail Ship.
List of past Royal Mail Ships Service dates are the years with the status of Royal Mail Ship. Those highlighted are still in service with the status of Royal Mail Ship.