Until Kenyan independence from the United Kingdom in 1963 she was the Royal Mail Ship RMS Victoria.

[1] She was then exported in 1,500 crates via Mombasa[2] to Kisumu on Lake Victoria, where her reassembly was begun in December 1959 and she was launched on 5 September 1960.

[1] She was handed over to the East African Railways and Harbours Corporation (EAR&H) on 26 June 1961 and commissioned in 22 July.

[3] When commissioned in 1961, Victoria had capacity for 230 passengers and 200 tons of freight[2] and had refrigeration for perishable cargo.

[8] After a scheduled annual inspection in September 2021 the ship resumed operations one month later.