 She was purchased by St. Helena Shipping, which had been formed as a joint venture between the Saint Helena government and British shipping firm Curnow Shipping to operate ocean service to the island after the Union-Castle Line ceased operations in 1977.She underwent a refit and was renamed to "St Helena", and entered service in September 1978 on a route from Avonmouth, England to Cape Town, South Africa, calling en route at Las Palmas, Canary Islands, and Jamestown, Saint Helena.She continued in this service, interrupted by sailing for the British government during the Falklands War, until 1990 when she was replaced by a new ship, also named "St Helena".