Formerly, Saint Helena island was occasionally served by ships of the Union-Castle Line, which ran between the UK and South Africa.

As Saint Helena lacked an airfield, the British government had to purchase a ship to service the remote island and its dependencies from Cape Town.

The shipboard culture had been inherited from previous Union Castle lines although formality became relaxed in response to changes in the customer base.

[10] When she converted to a vessel-based armoury in May 2018, a rigid inflatable boat davit was fitted on the port side, and additional bunks installed, taking the capacity to 30 crew and 250 passengers.

[citation needed] In November 1999, St Helena broke down en route to the island and was forced into the French port of Brest to undergo repairs.

On 25 August 2000, St Helena suffered a minor engine room fire while sailing from Cardiff to Tenerife on the first leg of her journey to the island.

[12] In March and April 2017 a number of Cape Town – Saint Helena voyages were cancelled because of technical problems with the propellers, making the island isolated as the airport was still not operational.

RMS St Helena had been placed for disposal via London shipbrokers CW Kellock, but was subsequently restored to service.

[15] The voyage originally intended as her final one began on 14 June 2016 from the UK and ended on 15 July in Cape Town, calling at Tenerife, Ascension Island and St Helena.

[16][17] As part of its farewell voyage, Royal Mail organised a letter exchange with pupils from Cardiff and St Helena.

[18] However, due to the postponed opening of the airport, the schedule of RMS St Helena was extended as an interim measure.