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Norway
According to U.P.U. regulations, mail franked with the stamps of the home ports of ships can be posted by the appropriate officer of that ship at a foreign port of call with those stamps being accepted as valid for postage. For example, a passenger on the Royal Viking Star cruise ship bought the post card displayed above in Charlotte Amalie on Saint Thomas in the American Virgin Islands. The post card was mailed on the ship and received the ship's cancellation. When the ship docked at Mazatlan, Mexico, the ship's mail was delivered to the post office where it received the "Paquebot Vapor Mazatlan, Stn., Mexico" (Steamship Station, Mazatlan, Mexico) box cancellation before being forwarded to its ultimate destination in Brossard, Quebec, Canada. Built by Wärtsilä Helsinki New Shipyard in Finland for the newly established Royal Viking Line, the Royal Viking Star was a luxury cruise ship launched on May 12, 1971. On May 1, 1976 (shortly before the post card pictured above was mailed) the Royal Viking Star, sailing from the east, became the first of two sister ships to have transit the Panama Canal simultaneously in different directions. In 1981 the ship was extended 93 feet to increase its capacity by approximately 200 passengers. In 1990 the ship was moved to Norwegian Cruise Lines where it sailed as the Westward. Later it was transfered to Royal Cruise Line as the Star Odyssey. Subsequently it was sold to Fred Olsen Lines where it sails as the Black Watch. The post card is franked with a Theodor Kjerfulf commemorative, the second highest value in a set of four honouring Norwegian geologists issued on September 4, 1974. Kjerulf, born in Oslo on March 30, 1825 was a professor at the University of Oslo who contributed significantly to the systematic mapping of Norway's bedrock. He also served as director of the Norwegian Geological Survey which he helped to establish. He died on October 25, 1888. Bibliography "Norway." Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue. 2015.
"Royal Viking Line." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 30 Sept. 2018. Web.
"Theodor Kjerulf." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 29 Sept. 2019. Web.
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