“She carries my name”: Gry Maritha reflects on the ship that became part of Scilly’s story

For more than three decades, Gry Maritha has been a familiar sight on the route between Penzance and the Isles of Scilly.

Built in Norway in 1981, she began life among the Norwegian fjords before going on to serve as the island’s freight lifeline.

Since joining the Isles of Scilly fleet in 1989, she has carried not only essential cargo, but also a connection linking one family with the island community.

Named after the daughter of its first captain, Tor Sevaldsen, the vessel has lived a parallel life to the woman whose name she carries.

As this chapter comes to a close, Gry Maritha Sevaldsen reflects on a ship that has become part of Scilly’s story as well as her own.

“My family owned cargo boats for several generations before I was born, and most of them were named after someone in the family. When I was born in 1980, my dad had already started planning to build a new boat and he wanted the boat to be named after me.

“Since this was decided from the moment I was born, my name had to be chosen based on what the boat could be called. They considered several names similar to the one they ended up with, but after multiple conversations with the Norwegian Maritime Authority, they settled on Gry Maritha. Not everyone gets their name approved by an official authority like that!”

Gry was only a baby when the vessel was named, but as she grew up, her childhood memories of the vessel became clearer.

This photo of Gry Maritha sits just outside of the Gry’s mess room. The caption below it reads: Gry Maritha, daughter of Captain Tor Sevaldsen after whom this ship was named at Kolvereid, Norway in June 1981. This ship spent the first 9 years of her life in Northern Norway and was purchased from Captain Sevaldsen by Isles of Scilly Steamship Company in September 1989 to work the Penzance – Isles of Scilly route.

Gry Maritha today

“What I remember most clearly is the enormous feeling of joy every time I saw the wheelhouse appear from behind the mountains as they came home. I remember thinking it took forever before I finally saw dad step out and wave to me from the bridge.

“When dad was home, Gry Maritha would be moored just below our house. We spent time on board when she was at the dock, but unfortunately, I never got to join her on a trip.

“I was about nine years old when I was told that Gry Maritha was going to be sold. There aren’t many things I remember as vividly from my childhood as that moment. We were sitting at the kitchen table – my mum, my dad, and me. I don’t really know what I was thinking, but I remember the scene so clearly, almost like a picture. As if something was being taken away from me, maybe.”

But what followed wasn’t an ending, it was a second chapter for the freight vessel which has served as a much-loved freight lifeline for the Isles of Scilly.

“It wasn’t until I became an adult that the importance of Gry Maritha truly dawned on me. In addition to the fact that she’s still out there living her own life, a model of the boat was also built. I remember dad receiving the model kit when the boat went into production. It’s quite special to see your own name on the side of a boat in another country, in videos, on a model ship, and in photos from people I don’t even know.

“I feel a sense of pride in my father and in our family’s history. And the fact that so many people have their own stories connected to my name makes it even more meaningful.”

Over the years, Gry has followed the vessel’s life from afar.

“I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve searched for the name, looked at photos, checked maps to see where she is at any given moment. This was especially after dad passed away in 2006. Partly because it’s a link to him, but also because I’ve grown older myself, and it means more to me now.”

For Gry, the vessel represents her family’s heritage but also the values her father lived by. Gry reflects on what the ship represents to her and her family.

“It really is the embodiment of what my family has worked with for generations. And the fact that my father chose this profession mainly because he wanted to create jobs for people in the local community. Not to become wealthy, but to contribute something positive for people he cared about. That legacy has very much lived on through the work Gry Maritha continues to do in the UK.

“Seeing people in the UK being so connected to Gry Maritha brings me so much fulfilment, and I honestly feel proud that Gry Maritha, built in a small place in Norway in 1981, would end up meaning so much to so many people – who would have thought!

Gry shares a message to islanders who have relied on the Gry.

“Thank you for taking such good care of Gry Maritha and for giving her a life far beyond what she would have had as a full‑time cargo vessel. I hope you have found great fulfilment in my namesake.

“I hope people remember Gry Maritha not just as a hardworking vessel, but as a ship that carried community, connection and care. If those values stay with people, then her story lives on.

“Thank you for honouring her story — and ours — as she retires.”

Gry Maritha today

“I’m now 45 years old and live in Brønnøysund, about two hours from Bindal where I grew up. I partly own an accounting firm and handle the accounts for what was once my dad’s ship brokerage business.

“Sadly, I don’t have many photos of me and my dad from my adult years as he passed away when I was 26. But I wanted to share with you a photograph of my dad with my oldest son, Remy.”

Gry Maritha will leave the Isles of Scilly Steamship Group freight fleet this summer and will be replaced by Menawethan, the Group’s newest freight vessel. Named by the island community after one of the Isles of Scilly’s 12 uninhabited Eastern Isles, Menawethan takes its name from the Cornish Men an Wedhen, meaning “the tree stone” to represent the area’s natural beauty and wildlife.