Last Voyage of the "Straits Maru" (1956) - Royal BC Museum - AAAA2659

This video clip tells the story of the barge "Straits Maru" and her 1956 voyage from Vancouver Island to the breaker's yard at Osaka, Japan, loaded with scrap iron. She was towed there by the Victoria-based deep-sea tug "Sudbury", a converted Royal Canadian Navy corvette. The clip is an excerpt from the promotional film "Saga of the Sudburys" (1960), produced for Island Tug & Barge by Parry Films Ltd. (The eventful sea voyage is documented in amateur footage shot by Captain W.H. Blagborne, skipper of the "Sudbury".) The "Straits Maru" had begun her career in 1870 as the iron-hulled ocean liner S.S. "Parthia", built in Scotland for Cunard's trans-Atlantic service. 86 years later, after serving on both the Atlantic and Pacific, and many years on the Pacific coast route to Alaska, she began her last voyage.

[@mithridateseupator3492]

Pretty cool film. Interesting to see that a private company like Island Tug and Barge paid money to have the film made. Unusual! Unfortunately, they are gone. Now Tidewater.

[@snowgorilla9789]

Scary watching the guy work above the tow line YIKES

[@chucklesrun]

So cool. My great GM came over on the Parthia - from Liverpool to Boston in1871 when she was 5 years old. Thanks for sharing!

[@Daniel_Huffman]

Thus ends the long and storied life of the _Parthia._ Eighty-six years of service, the longest career of any ocean liner, so long, in fact, that a second _Parthia_ had entered service with Cunard in 1948.

[@steve24550]

Impressive seamanship.

[@randomuser9883]

This is a cool piece of history

[@tgdomnemo5052]

Maritime history ❤🙏🏼 🇨🇦

[@seangelarden9543]

I can taste the salt, I've seen cables part so scared me to see those guys checking it

[@puppywing8693]

this is so cool to see

[@mithridateseupator3492]

Does anybody know if this Parthia is the one by which Parthia Shoal off Stanley Park is named after? I understand it is named after a vessel of the same name which went aground on it.

[@cauldron938]

A very painful sight to see.

[@TTTzzzz]

As a naval architect: Corvette to tug?!

[@graham2631]

Sea worthy and powerful and probably cheap surplus, about says it all.

[@TTTzzzz]

@@graham2631 Fast boats are bad slow boats. Probably changed transmission and prop.

[@calthorp]

bet it needed lots of rudder welded on & I can still imagine it was a pig to skipper.

[@redtobertshateshandles]

Nearly lost it.