The ferry Scillonian III made her final sailing on Sunday 8 November 2026, bringing to an end almost five decades carrying passengers between Penzance in Cornwall and St Mary's in the Isles of Scilly.

The vessel entered service in 1977 and has carried more than five million passengers on the route since then, becoming one of Britain's best-known ships and a lifeline for islanders as well as the start of the holiday for generations of visitors. Hello Rayo reported that the final sailing took place today, with the ship's owners marking the end of what their chief executive, Stuart Reid, called an extraordinary chapter.

There were emotional scenes as the ship departed, with The Guardian reporting tears, sea shanties and stories of stormy crossings shared by passengers and crew. The ship, nicknamed the "vomit comet" for the way she rolled in heavy Atlantic swells, was known as much for her character as for her reliability.

Scillonian III is the third ship to carry the name on the route. Her replacement, the new Scillonian IV, left her builders in Vietnam on 31 October and is due to enter service in March 2027, opening a new chapter for travel between the Cornish mainland and the islands.