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Wo rld Society

Southend Branch

News and Views

Newsletter Edition 20

14 December 2020

The High Street Old Leigh

Merry Christmas to all of our members and those who read these newsletters wherever you are . Thank you for your support and we wish you and your famiies a safe New Year .

Well we’ve reached edition 20 and thank you to all who who have contributed in any way. It wouldn’t have happened without you and our readers,

Once again this edition has exceeded expecataions.

Thanks to all of the contributors, Max. Krispen, Stuart, Tony W, Geoff

From all at Southend Branch of WSS

Branch News

Colin is home and continuing his physiotherapy and beginning to walk further

Ray Palmers sight is poor but he continues to be of good spirit and listen to electronic books

Branch Annual Photographic Competition

We propose to try and regain some normality by holding our usual photographic competition in January for those who attend Southend Branch This will be judged by Geoff Swales who will decide the first three places. Each person can submit up to 6 pictures on a maritime topic. This should be electronically direct to Geoff in the case of Colin I will as usual scan his pictures for him Depending upon the entries Geoff may decide to divide them into categories

Pictures previously submitted to a WSS photographic competition are not admissible .

The closing date for submissions to Geoff is 11 January . The results will be published in News and Views edition on 25 January .

All entrants agree to accept Geoff’s judgement

All entrants agree to their entries being published in News and Views and used in a presentation to a branch meeting

Branch Members Night Again, to try and retain this we propose that this be included in the News and Views edition on 22 February The idea is that members be asked to provide a short piece or selection of photos on any topic that interests them Contents

News

Visitors

Quiz

Krispens pictures

Stuarts Visit to Canvey

Astoria

Krispen -CVC departures

The White Sisters

Nostalgia 6

Grain

Marco Polo

One fact wonder

Yorkshire

Brief Overview of Fishing

Quiz 2

Shipbuilding – Harland & Wolff Belfast Part 3

Short History of a Line Clan Line

Quiz Answers

News

CSL-HARTMANN DELIVERY OF FIRST JOINT VENTURE NEWBUILD, MV STARNES Visited Tilbury and sailed 01 12 20

MV Starnes, the first of two CSL-Hartmann joint venture built at Chengxi Shipyard was successfully delivered on August 10, 2020.

At a speed of 14 knots, the 40,000 DWT self-unloading ship successfully completed all dockside and sea trials and is now being prepared to to Hamburg via the on August 14.

The vessel can self-discharge at a rate of 5,500 tph and is equipped with a 90.5 m boom, which is one of longest and largest ever built for a self-unloader.

The self-unloading system can handle lump sizes up to 300 mm and free flowing materials with a bulk density in the range of 1.2-3.5t/m3.

Starnes is fitted with energy saving Hub fins, an exhaust scrubber and a ballast water treatment system with IMO and USCG compliance.

The ship is the first of two for the CSL-Hartmann joint venture and joins a fleet of six other Hartmann self-unloading ships with 172,000 tonnes loading capacity that are transporting aggregates on routes throughout Europe.

There, the vessel’s operations will consist of carrying aggregates between Norway, Germany, and the .

These two extra vessels add 80,000 tonnes loading capacity to the fleet on these routes.

Captain Bi Fusheng and Chief Engineer Li Fuwang will take the vessel to Manilla where there will be a crew change. The new crew will take the vessel on to Hamburg, Germany.

Insurers brace for big bill as ONE loses 1,900 boxes at sea

The ship has now turned around and is headed to for inspection and then repairs. A sistership, ONE Aquila, suffered a similar accident on October 30 this year, also while en route to Long Beach. The ship diverted to Tacoma and had a few days of repairs before re- joining ONE’s network on November 11.

RCL Odyssey of the Sea

Odyssey of the Seas, the next ship from Royal Caribbean, has passed another milestone in its journey to market, floating out of the Meyer Werft shipyard in Germany.

The ship was on route to the transfer docks – a process that took more than seven hours.

Once the interior work on Odyssey of the Seas is completed, she will be conveyed down the river Ems to complete technical and nautical sea trials. Odyssey of the Seas will be Royal Caribbean’s second Quantum Ultra Class and the first of its kind to sail in Europe in spring 2021, when guests will be able to cruise from Rome to take in the marvels of the Greek Isles and the Mediterranean.

Israel Receives Its Most Advanced Warship as Iran

Tensions Rise

Israel received its most advanced warship on Wednesday, describing the German-made vessel dubbed “Shield” as a bulwark for vulnerable Mediterranean gas rigs as tensions with Tehran soar over the assassination of a top Iranian nuclear scientist. The Saar-6 corvette that docked in Haifa , and three of the same model to follow next year, will bring to 15 the number of missile deployed by an Israeli navy which, while small, carries out missions as far away as the and the Gulf.

Unlike earlier models of Israeli missile boats, the Saar-6 will be fitted with both electronic countermeasures for cruise missiles, which have a flat trajectory, and a maritime version of the Dome system for shooting down high-angle rockets.

Stena Line takes delivery of Stena Embla

STENA LINE Stena Embla is the third E-Flexer ferry to be built at CMI Jinling Weihai shipyard Stena Line has officially taken delivery of its third E-Flexer ferry Stena Embla at a ceremony at CMI Jinling Weihai shipyard in Weihai, China.

Neil Whittaker, Stena Embla’s senior master, took the delivery in China, with Stena Line’s CEO Niclas Mårtensson joining remotely from the company’s headquarters in Gothenburg, Sweden. The ferry is the last of three new vessels that Stena Line has built for operation in the Irish Sea in a 7-year, £400 million ($536 million) development programme.

The vessel will now embark on a six-week journey to the UK and , where it will begin service in January 2021.

Two more, larger E-Flexer ferries are currently under construction in China, with the destination of the currently unnamed ferries not yet reveal Tillberg Design of Sweden reveals Swan Hellenic interiors

Tillberg Design of Sweden and Swan Hellenic have revealed the interiors of the cruise line’s new Vega-class ships in a virtual video tour.

The video takes viewers through the ship in the same journey they would take when returning from an expedition on a Zodiac, emerging into the basecamp changing room. The video then passes through the ship’s reception, before visiting the Swan Restaurant and Observation Lounge. The tour continues with stops in the Club Lounge, outdoor Pool Bar and Grill and panoramic sauna, before concluding in one of the ship’s balcony staterooms.

Minerva, the first Vega-class ship, is currently being constructed at Shipyard in Finland and is scheduled to be delivered in November 2021. She will be followed by two sister ships in 2022. A Name soon to disappear

The Navy is Naming its Next New Frigate USS Congress

The Navy's next frigate will be named the USS Congress The first ship in its class will be the fifth Navy vessel to be named Constellation, which was one of the first ships authorized by Congress in the 1790s. Frigates aren't the only Navy vessels given traditional names under Braithwaite's leadership. Last month, he announced that a pair of Virginia attack submarines would be named for two World War II-era boats, the Tang and Wahoo. The original frigate Congress captured four small enemy ships during the War of 1812.

The expansion of the eastern part of the Kiel Canal is going forward.

In the first of three phases in the area between the sidings "Großkönigsförde" and "Levensauer Highbridge" in Kiel a six-kilometre-long part are under construction. The works are in progress between the Canal kilometre 79 to 85. Experts from Germany and the Netherlands working together. 2,5 Million cubic meter ground will be removed until next summer. The companies DEME, Depenbrock and Colcrete van Essen working as partners together.:. Works started in January 2020 and will run until the end of 2023. The eastern part of the Kiel Canal will be expanded from 44 m to a future minimum bottom width of 70 m, so that larger ships can cross safely in this area.

Austal launches the first of two Cape-class Patrol Boats for Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard

Visitors

Kodiak Island Built 2017 23275 GRT

Current position En route to anchorage

Advantage Party ex Baltic Faith Built 2006 23337 GRT

Current position En route to Bordeaux

Henrike Schepers Built 2008 7852 GRT Owner HS Bereederungs Current position En route to Tilbury

HMM Stockholm Built 2020 2332311 GRT Owner Mertiz Taurua

Current position En route to Suez

Lambi ex Nord Aarhus Built 2012 21934 GRT Owner Collier Maritime Ltd

Current position En route to Pecem

MSC Iris ex Pelat / Lisboa Built 1982 21586 GRT Owner NSM UIris Shipping

Current position en route to Colombo

YM Evolution Built 2014 47952 GRT Owner All Oceans Transportation

Current position East coast USA en route Halifax

YM Fountain Built 2004 64254 GRT Owner All Ocean Transportation

Current position Suez Port

Containerships Arctic Built 2019 17982 GRT Owner Fortune Bec IV Shipping

Current position Baltic en route Klaipeda

Frederik Built 2005 14072 GRT Owner Schepers Leni

Current position en route Agadir

Beltnes ex Bulknes Built 2009 20,312 GRT Owner Hartmann

Current Location en route Jelsa

Pictures from Krispen

Starnes Built 2020 26576 GRT Owner Hartmann

Current position en route to Jelsa

Florida Bay Ex TMM Chihuahua /APL Panama/Contship Indigo/CP Indigo /Bavaria Express/Bavaria / Niledutch Giraffe / Bavaria Built 2003 39941 GRT Owner Pacific Leasing

Current Position en route to Tanger

Leonie Built2007 2528 GRT Owner Dam JHM

Current position Baltic

Ben Woollacott

Stuarts visit to Canvey

APL Savannah Built 2013 109712 GRT Owner CMA CGM Asia Pacific Liner

Current position in Red Sea

Cap san Antonio Built 2014 124458 GRT Owner Maersk A/S

Current position En route Algeciras

WSS quiz 1 questions – edition 20

1. What is the name of the warship which sank in on 19 July 1545?

2. What is the current name of the ship projected to be scrapped which was built in 1965 as the Aleksandr Pushkin?

3. Which ship am I describing? She was built by John Brown & Co at Clydebank for Cunard Lines. She was laid down on 17th August 1904 and launched on 7th June 1906. Her maiden voyage began on 26th September 1907. Briefly she was the world’s largest passenger ship and held the Blue Riband.

4. After RMS Titanic sailed from on its maiden voyage, which two did it call at?

5. What position is currently held by Admiral Tony Radakin?

6. Which port has the fishing registration SM?

7. Who wrote “The Hunt for Red October” about a Russian missile submarine?

8. Where will you find the steamboats named Simplon and Savoie operating?

9. What is the largest container port in the USA, measured in terms of overall TEUs handled?

10. Britain’s new polar ship, the Sir David Attenborough, recently left the builder’s yard to begin sea trials. Where was she built?

Astoria – A Lingering Good bye

CRUISE SHIP ASTORIA- Article by Tony Weber

The ship we know as the ASTORIA started life way back in 1948. She was built by Gotaverken in Gothenburg for the Swedish American Line as the STOCKHOLM. She was the largest passenger ship built in Sweden at that time, but she was also the smallest transatlantic liner in service.

In 1953, she was refitted as a cruise liner, with her passenger capacity increased from 395 to 548. She remained in service for Swedish American Lines until 1960.

STOCKHOLM AFTER COLLISION

On the night of 25th July 1956, in heavy fog, she collided with the ANDREA DORIA of the Italian Line. The STOCKHOLM’S ice-strengthened very nearly cut the ANDREA DORIA in two. The ANDREA DORIA capsized and sank the next morning. 5 crewmen from the STOCKHOLM and 46 people from the ANDREA DORIA were killed. The STOCKHOLM then sailed under her own power to New York, and the crushed bow was repaired at Bethlehem Shipyard in Brooklyn in a contract costing $1 million and taking 3 months. ANDREA DORIA IN HER PRIME

In 1960, the ship was sold to VEB Deutsche Seereederei and renamed VOLKERFREUNDSCHAFT, and home-ported at Rostock in East Germany. She was used to give cruises for Communist Party members in the Baltic and to Cuba. Many passengers fled from the ship and sought freedom with other nations. Between 1964 and 1985 she was chartered by the Stena Line for half of each year.

In 1985 she was transferred to a Panamanian company, Neptunas Rex Enterprises and her name was reduced to VOLKER. By the end of the year, she was laid up in Southampton. In 1985 she was renamed again as FRIDTJOF NANSEN, and subsequently used as a barracks in Oslo for asylum seekers in Norway.

In 1989, the ship was sold to the Italian Star Lauro Lines who intended to convert her into a luxury cruise ship, but she remained in Oslo until 1993. In 1994 she was towed to Genoa for major reconstruction. Genoa had been the home port of the ANDREA DORIA, and the local press called her the “Ship of Death”. However, she was completely gutted and rebuilt from Promenade deck upwards, and new diesels installed. Following the rebuilding, she was renamed ITALIA 1, then ITALIA PRIMA, and later VALTUR PRIMA, cruising mainly to Cuba, and she was laid up there in 2001.

In 2002, the ship was acquired by Festival Cruise Lines and renamed CARIBE, but she continued to sail to Cuba. In 2005, she was renamed ATHENA and registered in Portugal, operating for Classic International Cruises and Cyprus flagged.

In 2008 she was attacked by pirates in the Gulf of Aden, but the crew prevented boarding by using high pressure water cannons. There was no damage so the ship was able to continue her voyage to Australia. In 2009 she was chartered by Phoenix Reison, a German company and repainted in their livery. In 2012 she was detained in Marseille for unpaid fuel bills.

Early in 2013, she was bought by the Portuguese firm Portuscale Cruises and renamed AZORES, being chartered by the German company Ambiente Kreuzfahrten.

In 2015 she was chartered by CMV, but from May 2016 to March 2017 she was chartered by the French Rivages du Monde. In 2016 CMV renamed her ASTORIA, and she stayed on charter with them until Spring 2020, when because of the pandemic, she was laid up in Tilbury Docks with most of the other CMV ships. Unlike the rest of the CMV fleet, the ASTORIA was on long-term charter, not owned by them. ASTORIA

In June this year, she was arrested by the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency over crew welfare irregularities. Because of the restrictions in repatriating crew members, CMV had fallen foul of the Regulations.

It has been reported that the ship has been sold for scrap, and is to be towed to Lisbon for that purpose. It was proposed, in mid-November, that the ship which was then berthed at Tower Wharf in Northfleet, would be towed to Lisbon by a Portuguese tug, the MONTE DA LUZ. After several attempts, the Astoria finally left the Thames on the morning of 5th December under tow by the Dutch tug BRENT.

In view of the recent collapse in the cruising market, it is not surprising that a ship of this age is to be broken up, but what an innings she has had. She is only 2 years younger than me, and like myself, still looks quite modern, although she has had more face-lifts than I have.

On Wednesday 9th when on course for Brest she changed course to Falmouth with a storm brewing in the Bay of Biscay

VESSEL PARTICULARS

STOCKHOLM 12,165 grt, 2 x 8 cyl. Gotaverken diesels giving 12000 hp combined and a top speed of 17 knots. Passenger capacity 390.

ASTORIA

15,614 grt, 2 x Wartsila 16V32 diesels giving 14300 hp combined and a top speed of 19 knots. Passenger capacity 556.

ANDREA DORIA

29,083 grt, built by Ansando Shipyards in Genoa. Launched on 16th June 1951, and Maiden Voyage began on 14th January 1953. Steam turbines and twin shafts giving a top speed of 23 knots. Passenger capacity 1241.

BRENT

Azimuth Drive tug. 487 grt Built in 2009 by Scheepswerf Gebroeders Kooman at Zwijndrecht. Dutch flag. 83 tonnes bollard pull, 7200BHP 2 x ABC Type 12 DZC engines. 2 x Wartsila LPS 275 cp propellors. Owned and operated by Iskes Towage & Salvage of Ijmuiden. Pictures below by Krispen Atkinson

Picture below by Stuart Emery

Pictures below by Richard King

Guest Photographer Krispen Atkinson – CMV Departures

Astoria 05 November

Astoria 5th November

Astoria 05 11 20

Magellan 11 November

Columbus 18 November

Vacso da Gama 21 November

Astoria 23 11

Astoria 23 11

Astoria 23 November

The White Sisters The Vickers-Armstrong shipyard at Barrow-in-Furness built all five "Strath" class liners. Strathnaver was launched on 5 February 1931, completed in September 1931, and left Tilbury on her maiden voyage on 2 October 1931, with Strathaird following a few months later. Strathmore was launched on 4 April 1935, completed in September, and entered service in October, to remain afloat for more than thirty years. This was only the second time that P&O had given its ships three funnels - the first being Naldera and Narkunda in 1918 and 1920 RMS Strathnaver & Strathaird RMS Strathnaver,, was the first of fve sister ships in what came to be called the "Strath" class. All previous P&O had black-painted hulls and funnels but Strathnaver and her sisters were painted with white hulls and buff funnels, which earnt them the nickname "The Beautiful White Sisters"[2] or just "The White Sisters". Strathnaver and her sister ships RMS Strathaird and RMS Strathmore were Royal Mail Ships that worked P&O's regular liner route between Tilbury in Essex, England and Brisbane in Queensland, Australia

Strathnaver was launched on 5 February 1931 completed in September 1931 and left Tilbury on her maiden voyage on 2 October.

Strathaird was launched on 18 July 1931 completed in January 1932 and left Tilbury on her maiden voyage on 12 February 1932. In 1929 P&O had introduced its first large turbo-electric liner, RMS Viceroy of . The company chose the same propulsion system for Strathnaver and Strathaird, but the "Straths" were slightly larger ships, their turbo-electric equipment was much more powerful and they were about 3 knots (5.6 km/h) faster than Viceroy of India.

On 26th August 1931, Strathnaver successfully completed her sea trials and was handed over to P&O on 2nd September.

Strathnaver and Strathaird were very similar. The motors drove a pair of inward- rotating screw propellers Strathnaver and Strathaird had three funnels but only the middle one served as a smoke stack: the first and third funnels were dummies Strathnaver and Strathaird were each equipped with direction finding equipment, an echo sounding device and a gyrocompass As built, Strathnaver had accommodation for 498 first class and 668 tourist class passengers and 476 crew. In first class the ship had 262 single- berth rooms with the rest double-berthed, a special suite on "D" deck had 12 deluxe cabins each with a private bathroom. The tourist-class cabins were either two or four-berthed.[9] Strathnaver mostly worked the Tilbury — Brisbane route via the Suez Canal. They also undertook occasional cruises Strathaird joined Strathnaver on the Tilbury — Brisbane route via the Suez Canal. However, in December 1932 Strathaird became the first P&O ship to work a cruise, when she took a five-day excursion from to Norfolk Island P & O became the first major world shipping company to operate cruises out of Australia , with 1,100 passengers embarked, Strathaird became the very first large liner to operate a cruise as she slipped past Sydney Heads, and headed for Norfolk Island on a five day Christmas cruise

Strathaird arriving Sydney December 1932

Strathnaver and Strathaird followed the Viceroy of India on cruises, between their regular sailings to Bombay, and Australian ports.

Interior design of the ships displayed themes of art deco and period style, a look which had become a P&O house style since the Viceroy of India.

In October 1938 Strathnaver was chartered to move 1,200 British troops from India to Palestine.

Strathnaver in the Suez Canal, October 1931

In 1938, additional refrigeration was installed, enabling her to carry chilled beef from Australia to the UK.

War Service

In 1939 or 1940 the two sisters were requisitioned as troop ships. Strathnaver's war service included bringing Australian and New Zealand troops to Suez and Allied troops to the Anzio landings She remained a troop ship until November 1948, when she was returned to P&O. In her nine years of government service she carried 129,000 troops and travelled 352,000 miles

During the Second World War she steamed 350,000 miles and carried 128,792 personnel, including elements of the United States Army,

After the war, Strathnaver was used for the repatriation of troops, until November 1948,

Strathaird in the Med en route to Alexandria Sttrathaird made two convoy voyages taking troops from Australasia to the Middle East Theatre of the Second World War and then went to for a refit. This was interrupted in June 1940 when Strathaird was ordered to take part in Operation Aerial to evacuate British and Allied personnel from western . Strathaird evacuated 6,000 civilians and troops from the port of Brest In 1941 she supported the transfer of the first unit of Foresters from British Honduras (Belize) to Trinidad before transporting 114 Foresters to Greenock, Scotland. She remained a troop ship until the end of 1946 when she was returned to P&O

Post War P&O had Harland and Wolff in Belfast refit Strahnaver her for civilian service. First class was abolished and all accommodation was made tourist class, which increased total passenger capacity from 1,168 to 1,252. The dummy first and third funnels were removed which made Strathnaver look more like her later sisters. Strathaird had her dummy funnels removed in 1947. P&O had Vickers-Armstrong refit and overhaul Strathaird, starting in 1947 and completing work in January 1948. Her capacity for first class passengers was increased to 573 and her tourist class accommodation was reduced to 496 This reduced her total passenger capacity from 1,166 to 1,069. Her dummy first and third funnels were removed,[5] which made Strathaird look more like her later sisters Stratheden, Strathallan and Strathmore. In 1954 P&O had Strathaird refitted again. First class was abolished and all accommodation was made tourist class, which increased total passenger capacity from 1,069 to 1,252. Strathaird made her first departure from Tilbury in her new form on 8 April 1954. At the beginning of the 1960s Strathnaver and Strathaird were almost three decades old and no longer reliable enough for mail and passenger service, so P&O replaced both ships with SS Canberra.[ P&O sold Strathnaver and Strathaird for scrap to Shun Fung Ironworks of Strathaird left Tilbury on 17 June 1961 for Hong Kong, where she became the first of the "Strath" class liners to be scrapped Strathnaver followed her to the breakers in 1962

On the 16th June 1953 Strathnaver was chartered by the Government, to take official guests to the Coronation Review at Spithead.

Interior design of the ships displayed themes of art deco and period style, a look which had become a P&O house style since the Viceroy of India.

Strathaird was the first of the two White Sisters to resume the Australia service in January, 1948. When she left Sydney on 10th March 1948, With the arrival of Arcadia and Iberia in 1954, Strathnaver and Strathaird were converted to 'one class tourist ships', carrying 1,200 passengers. On 8th June, 1961, a dramatic meeting took place in the Mediterranean, near Port Said. The brand new 45,000grt Canberra was on her maiden voyage, outward bound for Australia and New Zealand, with 2,238 passengers embarked, while Strathaird was homeward bound for the very last time.

RMS Strathmore

The third of five sister ships built for P&O in the "Strath" class. Launched in 1935, she served on the company's route from to India until 1940, Stern view of RMS Strathaird, first of the class

Strathmore joined two sister ships of the "Strath" class, RMS Strathaird and RMS Strathnaver, as Royal Mail Ships, working P&O's regular liner route from Tilbury in England, via British India to Brisbane in Queensland, Australia, and in 1937 they were joined by the final ships of the class, Strathallan and Stratheden., Launched on 5 February 1931, completed in September 1931, and left Tilbury on her maiden voyage on 2 October 1931, with Strathaird following a few months later. Strathmore was launched on 4 April 1935, completed in September, and entered service in October, to remain afloat for more than thirty years. On 4 April 1935 the ship was launched by Elizabeth, Duchess of York, one of the daughters of the Earl of Strathmore, soon to become queen. With a weight of 23,428 tons and a maximum speed of twenty knots, Strathmore was the biggest and fastest vessel ever built for P & O. Two further sister ships launched in 1937, Strathallan and Stratheden, were slightly heavier, at 23,722 tons each, but also slightly shorter. She had four water-tube boilers and two auxiliary boilers with a combined heating 2 2 surface of 37,030 square feet (3,440 m ) supplying steam at 425 lbf/in to two conventional steam turbines with a combined rating of 4,912 NHP. Unlike Strathnaver and Strathaird, which had three funnels of which only the middle one served as a smoke stack, Strathmore gained extra deck space by the removal of the two dummy funnels. Another difference was that the two earlier ships were driven by turbo generators. On 4 April 1935 the ship was launched by Elizabeth, Duchess of York, one of the daughters of the Earl of Strathmore, soon to become queen.

War Service

Strathmore in 1955 the vessel was requisitioned on the orders of the Ministry of Shipping, which later became the Ministry of War Transport, and during the rest of the Second World War she served as a troop ship, with no major incidents in that role Post War On 15 May 1948 Strathmore was returned to P&O and in 1948–49 was refitted at Vickers- Armstrong. In October 1949 she again entered service between London and Australia, now with berths for 497 first class passengers and 487 in tourist class.[16] In 1954 the ship was again refitted, this time as a single-class ship with 1200 berths, for P&O's migrant and tourist business. In the late 1950s and early 1960s she was sometimes used for short holiday cruises out of London, in between sailings to Australia In 1963, the ship was sold to John Spyridon Latsis, a Greek shipowner and owner of Latsis Lines, and arrived at Piraeus in November 1963, to be renamed the Marianna Latsi, in honour of one of the new owner's daughters. In 1964 Latsis also bought her sister ship, Stratheden, which became the Henrietta Latsi. Both were used between March and May of each year for pilgrim voyages from West and North Africa to Jeddah,. In 1966 their new names were swapped over, so that the former Strathmore became the Henrietta Latsi and the former Stratheden took over the name of Marianna Latsi. In 1967 both ships were laid up at Eleusis in Greece, then in May 1969 they were scrapped almost side by side

Strathallan

Completed 1938 by Vickers Armstrong Sank 21 December 1942

At 02.23 hours on 21 Dec 1942, U-562 fired a spread of four torpedoes at convoy KMF- 5 about 40 miles north of and heard two detonations after 65 seconds and another after 5 minutes 50 seconds. However, only the ship of convoy commodore, the Strathallan was hit by one torpedo which struck on port side in the engine room.

The Strathallan had 440 crew members, 26 gunners, 248 Queen Alexandra nurses and 4408 British and American troops (among them 296 officers, some possibly of the Headquarter staff of the 1st US Army) on board. Of this number, only six crew members, five nurses and five troops were lost.

Stratheden

Stratheden was the fourth to be built of a set of five sister ships The "Strath" class varied very slightly in size. Stratheden had exactly the same dimensions as the fourth ship in the class, Strathallan: 639.5 ft (194.9 m) long, 82.2 ft (25.1 m) beam and 30 ft 2 in (9.19 m) draught. Stratheden's tonnages were 23,722 GRT, 14,127 NRT[5] and 11,000 DWT. Like Strathmore and Strathallan, Stratheden had mechanical reduction drive from her turbines to her screws and was built with only one funnel.[ This is unlike the earlier Strathnaver and Strathaird, which had turbo-electric transmission and were each built with three funnels. The "Strath" class ships thus form two sub-classes, with Stratheden being in the later sub-class. After building Strathmore, Vickers-Armstrongs made further changes to the Strath-series design. Stratheden was given a funnel 9 feet (3 metres) taller to keep her decks cleaner, and her promenade deck had fewer supports than Strathmore's to give a more open, less crowded appearance. There were also slight changes to the arrangement of the public saloons, and her tourist class saloons were bigger than Strathmore's. Strathallan was built to the same design as Stratheden The Duchess of Buccleuch and Queensberry launched Stratheden on 10 June 1937 and the ship was completed in December 1937 On sea trials on 10 December 1937 Stratheden achieved a top speed of 21.8 kn (40.4 km/h). On 16 December Vickers delivered her to P&O. Stratheden's pre-war service alternated seasonally between scheduled liner services and holiday cruises War Time On 19 March 1940 the Ministry of Shipping requisitioned Stratheden to be a troop ship Stratheden spent most of the next two years moving troops between Britain, India, Ceylon and : sometimes in convoys but other times unescorted. In 1941 her movements varied to include calls in Trinidad in the Lesser Antilles and Halifax in Nova Scotia Stratheden continued in Government service until 27 July 1946, when the Ministry of Transport released her to her owners P&O controlled Orient Line, which shared many of the same troop ship duties and suffered similarly heavy losses. The MoT released Orion in April 1946, just before Stratheden

Post War Orient and P&O had Vickers-Amrstrongs refit Orion and Stratheden at Barrow to return to liner service,[51] but now with more tourist class berths and fewer first class. The number of first-class single cabins and special suites was reduced, crew quarters were enlarged and there were now two-berth cabins for most crew. Post-war shortages of essential materials delayed her refit,[51] and Vickers-Armstrongs it was not until 29 May 1947 that Vickers- Armstrongs returned her to P&O

In June 1947 Stratheden began her first-post-war civilian voyage to Sydney. In 1950 Cunard chartered Stratheden for four return voyages between Southampton and New York. Cunard had planned to charter P&O's new Chusan for the but purpose, but Vickers-Armstrongs was late completing Chusan so P&O In 1961 Stratheden was re-fitted as a one-class ship with berths for 1,200 tourist class passengers. In December 1963 a holiday company chartered her for four cruises. On 18 February 1964 John S Latsis bought Stratheden, renamed her Henrietta Latsi and employed her as a Latsis Lines cruise ship. In 1966 he renamed her Marianna Latsi She was laid up at Eleusis in Greece from 20 April 1967. In 1969 she was sold for scrap to Terrestre Marittima SpA. Marianna Latsi reached La Spezia on 19 May 1969, where scrapping started that September.

Nostalgia Corner 6

HMS TIGER postcard unused

HMS TIGER was built by John Brown at Clydebank, and was originally to be named HMS BELLEROPHON. She was originally to be one of the Minotaur class, but became the name ship of the three Tiger class cruisers, her name being changed in 1945.

She was laid down on 1st October 1941, but was regarded a low priority in WW2 and was not launched until 25th October 1945. Work on her was suspended in 1946 and she was laid up in Dalmuir.

In 1951 the Government decided to complete the ship to a revised design, but construction did not resume until 1955. The new design incorporated automatic 6” guns, each gun being designed for a firing rate of 20 rounds per minute (rpm) and secondary automatic 3” guns firing at 90 to 120 rpm. However, the 6” guns usually jammed after 30 seconds, and the 3” were not much better. She had no light AA armament and no torpedo tubes, but she was designed to cope with nuclear attack. After trials, she was commissioned in March 1959.

Her displacement as built was 9,550 tons. She had 4 Admiralty type 3 drum boilers and 4 Parsons steam turbines giving a total of 80,000 shp and 31.5 knots. Her complement was 698 men. As built, she had 4 x 6” and 6 x 3” guns. By late 1960, she had overcome the trouble with the 3” guns, but still had difficulty with sustained fire from the 6”. The photo shows her in her prime, before the conversion.

In early December 1966 she hosted talks between Wison and Ian Smith over Rhodesia, but was put into reserve a fortnight later.

Between 1968 and 1972 she underwent conversion into a ‘Helicopter and Command Cruiser’. The conversion had been planned to take 18 months and cost £5 million. In practice it took 5 years and cost £13 million. Her displacement was increased to 9.975 tons, and her armament revised to 2 x 6” and 2 x 3” guns, 2 Sea Cat SAM launchers and 4 helicopters (initially Wessex then Sea Kings). Her complement increased to 885 men. She was recommissioned in 1972, but her large crew requirements was a constant problem, as was her high running cost. In 1978 she was placed in reserve, and in 1979 she was put on the disposal list. In 1986 she was sold for scrap and broken up in Spain. It would appear that the conversion was a huge waste of public funds, in giving only 6 years of active service.

HMS BROADSWORD postcard unused

HMS BROADSWORD was a Weapon class destroyer. She was built by Yarrows on the Clyde, being laid down on 20th July 1944, launched on 4th February 1944 and completed on 4th October 1948. She displaced 1980 tons, and had 2 Foster Wheeler boilers and Parsons double-reduction geared steam turbines giving 40,000shp and 31 knots. As built, she was armed with 6 x 4”, 6 x 40mm and 10 x 21” torpedo tubes plus 2 Squids.

In 1953 she was placed in reserve. In 1957 conversion started at Rosyth into a radar picket to supplement the new Salisbury class frigates. The work involved the removal of the torpedo tubes and the installation of a new lattice . She was recommissioned in October 1958. The photograph shows her after the conversion to radar picket. She paid off in 1963. She was towed to Rosyth in April 1968 for use in target trials. She was scrapped at Inverkeithing, arriving there on 8th October 1968. Once again with only 5 years of post- conversion service, doubtful value for money.

HMS DORSETSHIRE postcard unused

She was a County class cruiser, being one of the Norfolk sub-class of two. She was built by Portsmouth Dockyard, being laid down in September 1927, launched January 1929 and completed in September 1930. She displaced 10,035 tons standard. She had 8 boilers and 4 Parsons geared steam turbines and 4 screws developing 80,000 shp giving 32.3 knots. She was built to Washington Treaty requirements, her armament being 8 x 8”, 24 x 2 pdr, 8 x 21” torpedo tubes and 2 Walrus aircraft.

After a period in the Atlantic, she was assigned to the Eastern Fleet in 1942 with HMS Cornwall. They were spotted by Japanese planes when 200 miles SW of Ceylon, and attacked by 53 dive bombers. Dorsetshire was hit by 10 No. 250 lb and 550 lb bombs and sank stern first.

The County class cruisers were well balanced and, despite the Treaty limitations under which they were designed, they generally performed well. I have to say though that personally I have always thought their looks as being uninspired, especially when compared with the later Southampton, Colonies and Dido classes.

SS MAKARINA in the Royal Albert Dock 30th October 1913.

A passenger/ cargo steamer, she was built by Workman, Clark & Co at Belfast in 1912 for the G.D. Tyser Line. She was of 8491 grt, twin screw triple expansion giving 13 knots. She had accommodation for 1000 emigrants, and was employed on the Victorian Government emigrant service. She was transferred to the Commonwealth Dominion Line on 23rd February 1914 and renamed Port Nicholson. In April 1916 she was taken over for troopship duties.

She was sunk by a mine on 15th January 1917, some 15 miles from Dunkirk.

SS ARCADIA She was built by John Brown at Clydebank for P & O, being launched on 14th May 1953. She was of 29,871 grt, and had 3 Foster-Wheeler boilers and 2 sets of Parsons double reduction geared steam turbines giving a total of 42,500 shp, giving a max. speed of 25 knots. She was one of the first P & O ship to have Denny-Brown stabilizers. Her capacity was 735 Tourist 675 First class. Her Maiden Voyage from Tilbury Landing Stage to Sydney began on 22nd February 1954.

. In 1970 she was refitted and converted to a single class of 1372 passengers. From 1975 onwards she was based permanently at Sydney. In 1979 she was scrapped in .

SS ADEN

She was built by Alexander Stephen & Sons in as the Somerset for the Federal Steam Navigation Co, being launched on 21st March 1946. She was of 10,530 dwt. Her 3 steam turbines, which were by Alexander Stephen, drove a single screw.

In 1954 she was transferred to P & O management and renamed Aden. She was scrapped in Taiwan in 1967.

SS DONGOLA

She was a Victory type cargo ship built in as the ORFORDNESS in 1946. Originally, she was to be an RFA maintenance ship. She was of 8580 grt, with a 3-cylinder triple expansion steam engine in 1947 she was bought by W.Carpenter of Sydney and renamed RABOUL. Again in 1947 she was bought by P & O and renamed DONGOLA. The photo is from her time with P & O.

In 1961 she was sold to an Indian firm and renamed APJ ASHWINI.

She was broken up in India in 1965.

SS STRATHNAVER

She was built by Vickers Armstrong at Barrow for P & O, being launched on 5th February 1931, and handed over on 2nd September 1931. She was of 22,544 grt, with steam turbo- electric motors driving twin screws giving a service speed of 20 knots. Her capacity was for 498 First and 670 Tourist class passengers for the Tilbury to Australia service. As built, she had three funnels, but the 1st and 3rd were dummies.

In 1940 she was requisitioned for service as a troop transport, and her return to P & O did not happen until 1948. In 1950, now with just the one funnel, she re-entered service on the Australian route with accommodation for 573 First and 496 Tourist class. In 1954 she was refitted as one class 1252 Tourists. In 1962 she was sold for breaking up in Hong Kong. The Central Granary, Millwall Dock

There were several granaries within the London Docks system, in the 1950's, but only one, at Millwall Dock, was operated by the Port of London Authority. The others were operated by private concerns and the PLA could also supply floating grain elevators, whose scope was somewhat limited. The Millwall Granary was just across the way from my office and we had the benefit of its noise and dust.

However, it was of interest to the ship enthusiast as the carriers of grain included some ships not often seen in the Dock. The Hain Line whose ships' names began with 'Tre' spring to mind and Hogarth's Barons. A grain ship would attract large numbers of lighters and a fair springling of sailing barges all vying to load cargoes of grain for further afield. Destinations for the sailormen included Ipswich, Maldon and Yarmouth, Whitstable and Dover. Many of them were already powered and I was able to observe the decline of others from sailing vessels to fully powered ones.

Now, where you get grain you inevitably get pigeons. At that time it was possible to stand on Tower Bridge and watch a tug towing lighters come round the bend into the Lower Pool followed by a great cloud of these birds. The barges would be loaded with grain and the pigeons grain on the decks of the lighters after the odd bits of spilled grain.

One day we received a letter from a well – known producer of breakfast cereals who received supply of grain by rail. It said that whereas they expected to find the odd dead pigeon in their consignments, they felt that, having received a railway wagon completely full of dead pigeons, nests, eggs and droppings, they had to complain.

There was an immediate purge on pigeons at the granary. All sorts of remedies were tried – loud noises, sprays of various sorts and a jelly that was supposed to make the birds feel insecure

when they perched. None of these methods worked. Shooting them did work but was a very slow process and dangerous. The most effective solution was a hawk which would catch a few and frighten the rest away. But not for long they were soon back. To keep a hawk and its handler permanently on station would have been an expensive business, so the idea was dropped. The granary closed in the 1960's and was demolished

Grain cargoes were then handled by the new grain terminal at Tilbury, which does seem to have the same trouble.

THE MARCO POLO

In the 1960s the Soviet Union had built five very handsome liners, known as the “Ivan Franco” or “Poet” class. They were built in East Germany by V.E.B. Mathias-Thesen-Werft at Wismar, the Ivan Franco being completed in 1964, the Alekandr Pushkin in 1965, the Taras Shevchenko in 1967, the Shota Rustaveli in 1968 and the Mikhail Lermontov in1972. The Alekandr Pushkin and the Mikhail Lermontov were allocated to the Soviet Baltic Company, whilst the others were allocated to the Soviet Black Sea Shipping Company.

The five ships were almost identical when built, with a Gross Tonnage of about 19,800. They were powered by two 7 Cyl Sulzer-Cegielski diesels giving 21,000 BHP onto 2 screws and a 20 knots service speed. The passenger capacity was 750, single class. They were built to be able to serve for military purposes, the hulls being ice strengthened, and they had an unusually large provision and storage area enabling a cruising range of well over 10,000 nautical miles. They had two holds with some 1500 cu. Ft. of cargo space, and a large garage forward under the bridge. Whilst on a Trans-Atlantic voyage you could take your car with you.

The ships operated on Trans-Atlantic voyages from Russia and England, as well as cruises to , the Baltic, the Mediterranean and the Canary Islands. A little later they would cruise as far as Australia and New Zealand.

In the 1970s, all five ships were extensively modified, converting them fully into cruise liners. Their cargo facilities were eliminated and the forward superstructure extended, providing additional public spaces and cabins, Stabilisers were installed and the cabins were re- configured. Their tonnage increased to around 20,500 grt. Reconstructing the ships was done to spread Soviet propaganda to the Western world of the ideal life in the USSR.

The Mikael Lermontov, whilst still Soviet owned hit rocks in Marlborough Sound in New Zealand on 16th February 1986 and sank. The Ivan Franco, the Taras Shevchenko and the Shota Rustaveli were all broken up in Alang between 1997 and 2005, after many years in Soviet and then Ukrainian ownership.

The Alekandr Pushkin was transferred in 1985 to the Far East Shipping Company, and registered in Vladivostok. In February 1990, she was laid up for sale in Singapore. Around February 1991 she was sold to the Orient Line (Shipping & General), and was sailed to the Neorion Shipyard in Greece, where she arrived in June 1991 for her engines to be reconditioned by Sulzer Diesels. She was then moved to Perama Shipyard, also in Greece, where a comprehensive rebuilding programme was started. Externally this meant extending the fore and aft superstructure and heightening her funnel. The interior was fully redesigned under the naval architect Knud Hansen, and she was also fitted with Denny Brown stabilisers. The refit took two and a half years and cost US$20-60 million.

In November 1993, having been completely transformed, the ship was renamed Marco Polo. She was now 22,080 grt, and could accommodate 848 passengers.

In November 1998, Orient Line was sold to Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), which was itself soon taken over by the Malaysian firm Star Cruises. In 2007, the Marco Polo was sold to the Greek company Global Maritime. She was chartered by the German firm Transocean Tours, and in 2008, she began sailing in the German and British cruise market.

From 2010 she was chartered from Global Maritime by Cruise and Maritime (CMV). This arrangement continued until the start of the pandemic in March 2020, when all the 6 CMV ships were laid up, Marco Polo at Avonmouth and the rest of the fleet at Tilbury. In July 2020, CMV went into administration. On 22nd October, the Marco Polo was sold at auction for US$2.77 million, reportedly for scrapping. At the time of writing, she was in the Mediterranean, under her own power, heading for Dubai. If she is indeed to be scrapped, it would be a sad end to a fine ship.

Maggie and I had four cruises on board the Marco Polo, the first to the Baltic in 2011, a Christmas cruise also in 2011, a Titanic Centenary cruise in April 2012, and a second Baltic trip in 2013. I have some very happy memories of our introduction to ocean cruising on the ship. Here are a few shots taken during those trips.

. IN CHERBOURG HARBOUR

AFTER SUNDECK AND POOL

MARCO POLO WITH SAGA RUBY IN TALLIN

ONE FACT WONDER – FISHING Yorkshire Coble .

Three at North Landing, Flamborough Head

Coble on Filey Coble Landing The coble is a type of open traditional fishing boat which developed on the North East coast of England.[1] The southernmost examples occur around (although Cooke drew examples at Yarmouth, see his Shipping and Craft[2] series of drawings of 1829); the type extends to Burnmouth just across the Scottish border. The distinctive shape of the boat — flat-bottomed and high-bowed — arose to cope with the particular conditions prevalent in this area. Flat bottoms allowed launching from and landing upon shallow, sandy beaches; an advantage in this part of the coast where the wide bays and inlets provided little shelter from stormy weather. However, fishermen required high bows to sail in the dangerous North Sea and in particular to launch into the surf and to land on the beaches. The design contains relics of Norse influence, though in the main it shows Dutch origin. A Scottish version of the coble, much shallower and beamier than the English type, serves for -fishing off beaches near Arbroath and Montrose in Angus. These cobles have a less refined construction than their southern counterparts. Ghillies employ a smaller, better-built version for on Scottish rivers. Local boat-builders constructed the -built cobles locally as required, without the use of plans. The craftsmanship on many boats gave them a long working life. They had a reputation as dangerous to sail for an inexperienced crew, but in the hands of experts could move both safely and speedily. Today, surviving cobles generally use diesel engines, removing the need for the distinctively shaped lug sail. In a further concession to comfort, a tarpaulin shelter often covers the bow. The Northumberland coastal village of Newbiggin-by-the-Sea has a pub called "The Coble" named in tribute to these boats. A park, Coble Dene, in nearby North Shields is likewise named after the vessel] FISHING

Fish catches in UK waters have declined by over 94% in the past 130 years, and the decline long predates Britain’s joining the Common Policy (CFP). This decline is primarily due to , as the fleet changed from sail to steam, and since then, boats have become larger and more powerful. The UK as a whole has been making big profits (gross margins over 30%). The trouble is that only a few large-scale fishers have been making most of that.

Inshore fishing (i.e. Boats under 10m length) employs 3000 fishermen across 2599 boats. Of these, 1746 boats are under 8m length. There are 570 fishing vessels over 10m length.

According to the MMO, UK vessels landed 724,000 tonnes of sea fish in 2017 with a total value of £980 million. Scottish vessels accounted for 64% of the quantity of landings by the UK fleet, whilst English vessels accounted for 28%.

The CFP sets totals of each species that can be caught in a particular area each year, on the basis of science. Unfortunately, this advice is often ignored if it ignores the interests of Europe’s industry. The Total Allowable Catch (TAC) is heavily criticised for creating an adversarial system where all member states will fight each other for the highest possible level of catches for their fishermen when the TACs are decided each December.

The EU fishing industry receives a significant amount of government subsidies, which have promoted the massive overcapacity of the European . The fleet is estimated to be 2 to 3 times greater than what sustainable limits would allow. Many European fleets only continue to operate with the support of government subsidies. A recent economic analysis by the European Commission revealed that despite subsidies, 30-40% of the fishing segment it assessed suffered losses each year from 2002 to 2008.

Most of the fishing in Europe is controlled, with quotas allocated to each relevant country for each type of fish on an annual basis. Many parts of the UK quota were sold in the 1990s, when fishing rights were cut dramatically. fishing, for instance, was almost entirely stopped for several years. Foreign companies bought up the quotas as a long-term investment, and experts say that the quota market has been allowed to develop in an unregulated way ever since.

On 2019 figures, the value of Scotland’s quotas totalled £523 million, of which £23.9 million was foreign owned. For England, the total value of quotas was £293.2 million, of which £160.1 million was foreign owned. For Northern Island, the total was £72.6 million, of which £1.2 million was foreign owned, whilst for the total was£1.7 million, of which £1.4 was foreign owned.

England and Wales, where a majority voted for Brexit, both allowed foreign ownership of more than half of their fishing quota. In Wales, which is allocated a tiny slice of the UK quota, the figure is 85% of the annual value, most of it held by one big industrial trawler. But in Scotland, which is responsible for about 60% of the UK quota, only 4% of the annual value in 2019 was in foreign hands. In Northern Ireland the figure was 2%. The Scottish fishing industry is largely made up of family-owned businesses. Five families on the Sunday Times Rich List, apparently own or control 33% of the quota. In England, 29% of the quota is owned or controlled by five families on the same Rich List.

Current rules say that even if vessels are 100% foreign-owned, they must have an ‘economic link’ to the UK. They must meet one of 5 conditions, which include landing more than half their catch at UK ports, or having majority British crews.

In March this year, George Eustice, the Environment Secretary, said that planned changes to the Fisheries Bill will ensure that foreign-owned boats “are required to land more of their catch in UK ports, and return more benefit to the UK. In future any foreign company that wants to buy vessels in the UK might well be able to, but it would be subject to that new condition”.

“I’m alarmed at how bad the level of foreign ownership really is – it far exceeds my worst expectations”, said Paul Lines, from Fishing for Leave, a pro-Brexit group within the British fishing industry. Fishing for Leave wants to change the rules so all British fishing vessels must be 60% British-owned, 60% British crewed, and must land, process and sell 60% of their catch in Britain. However, such a move would be legally ‘tricky’ for any government. Any foreign fishing company that had bought UK quota in good faith would be very likely to sue if this was taken away from them.

According to MMO statistics for 2019, there were 5911 UK registered fishing vessels, and 12000 fishers working on these vessels. This figure has been roughly stable for the last decade. 80% of the UK fleet is made up of vessels of 10 metres or less. Vessels over 24 metres account for just over 4%, but for 60% of the total capacity and 33% of total power.

In 2019, UK registered vessels landed 622,000 tonnes of sea fish valued at £987 million. This was a reduction of 11% in quantity and 2% in value compared with the previous year. 34% of all UK landings into UK ports were into Peterhead.

In 2019, the UK imported 721,000 tonnes of sea fish valued at £345.7 million. It exported 452,000 tonnes with a value of £200.4 million. The UK fishing and industries employ 24000 people, and contribute £1.4 billion to the UK economy, or 0.12% of GDP.

The majority of fish eaten in the UK is imported. 83% of cod consumed in the UK comes from abroad, alongside 58% of its haddock. The UK catch is 5% cod and 7% haddock, whilst the UK fleet catches a lot of , 93% of which is exported, mostly to Norway and the Netherlands. Overall, the UK imports 70% of the fish it eats and exports 80% of what it catches.

LEIGH ON SEA

The UK fishing industry depends to a large extent on shellfish, , crabs and langoustines, which are quota-free and overwhelmingly allocated to the UK. Over 80% is sold to Europe, mainly Spain and France, and the trade has prospered due to the border- free EU single market. British shellfish sales to the EU are worth £430million a year, more than a quarter of all the UK fish exports by value.

An interesting aspect is the super trawler FV MARGIRIS. She is a Lithuanian flagged 9500 tonne factory trawler which can catch and process up to 250 tonnes of fish per day. The ship, which was originally named ABEL TASMAN, is the world’s second largest . After being banned from Australian waters, she was operating off the south coast of England in 2019. Britain could not ban the Margiris fishing for mackerel and herring in the as such a ban needs to be decided by all member states.

FV MARGIRIS

Britain has also been trying to ban pair- for bass. While being a highly effective method of fishing, it is destructive and has been responsible for a large number of dolphins and porpoises being killed by the huge nets. Britain banned pair-trawling in 2004, but this can only be enforced within 12 miles of the coast. Other EU vessels can still pair-trawl 12.5 miles from the UK shore. If we leave with no deal, the resources needed to police the UK waters would be enormous.

QUIZ 2

QUIZ ANSWERS

1. VIKING GRACE 2. MENTARI CRYSTAL 3. HMS VENGEANCE 4. ONE APUS 5. TINA 1 6. USS JOHN S McCAIN 7. AGARI 8. USS BONHOMME RICHARD 9. ASTORIA 10. GALACIA 11. SAFER 12. ANGELES 13. SEVMORPUT 14. HMS BRISTOL 15. HMS SPEY

Shipbuilding Harland & Wolff Belfast Merchant Ships Part 3 1950-54

1950 Ternoy tanker for Skibs A/S 8216 GRT

1955 Elise for Bechs Rederei 1969 Broken up Shanghai

1950 Ringerd for Olav Ringdal 8218 GRT

1961 Stolt Victory 1965 Broken up Valenia

1950 British Explorer tanker 8044 GRT for British Tanker 1958 Clyde Explorer for Clyde Tanker 1964 Broken up Santander

1950 British Prospector tanker 8666 GRT for British Tanker

1958 Clyde Prospector for Clyde Tanker 1964 Broken up Willebroek

1950 British Surveyor tanker 8665 GRT for British Tanker

1958 Clyde Surveyor for Clyde Tanker 1964 Broken up Ystad

1950 Verena tanker 18925 GRT for Anglo Saxon/ Shell

1971 Broken up at Castellon

1950 Kurdistan tanker for Common Bros 8322 GRT

1961 Arda for Navig Maritime Bulgare 1977 Broken up Sveti

1950 Runic Refrif/ cargo for Shaw Savill 13587 GRT

Wrecked 1961

1950 Suevic refrig/cargo cargo for Shaw Savill 13350 GRT#

1974 Broken up

1950 Ascanius rergi/cargo 7431 GRT for Blue Funnel

1972 Akosombo for Elder Dempster 1973 Ascanius 1978 Mastura 1978 Broken up Blythe

1950 Laganfield tanker for SS 8196 GRT

1961 Anna Maria Martini 1974 Netin 1978 Broken up La spezia

1950 Bloemfontein Castle pass/cargo for Union Castle 18400 GRT Pass/ cargo

1959 Patris 1979 Mediterranean Island 1981 Mediterranean Star 1987 Terra 1987 Broken up Gadani Beach

1951 Bolette tanker for Fred Olsen 16934 GRT 1964 Marianna III for Latsis 1975 Petrola XXXIII 1984 Broken up Kaohsiung

1951 Dalfonn tanker 18440 GRT for Sigval Bergesen

1965 Margarita II for Latsis 1975 Petrola XXXIV 1976 Petrola 34 1984 Broken up Kaohsiung

1951 Tank King tanker for Herbjorn 16477 GRT

1964 Maurice 1975 Broken up

1951 France Stove 16468 GRT for Lauritzen

1974 Renamed Moonlight 1975 Broken up Kaohsiung

1951 Orkdal Tanker 8221 GRT Tanker for Moltzau

1959 Granvik 1965 Broken up Castellion

1951 Ixion Refig/cargo for Blue Funnel 10125 GRT

1972 Broken up

1951 Rhodesia Castle pass/cargo for Union Castle 17941 GRT

1967 Broken up Kaohsiung

1951 Port Nelson refig/cargo 8950 GRT for Port Line

1972 Broken up

1951 Eastern Star refrig/ cargo for Indo China Shipping 6523 GRT

1969 Broken up after fire

1951 Juan Peron whale factory 24570 GRT

1955 Cruz del Sur 1968 converted to tanker 1970 converted to a drilling barge

1952 British Skill 18521 GRT for British Tanker

1972 Broken up Kaohsiung

1952 Kenya Castle for Union Castle for Union Castle 17042 GRT

1967 Amerikanis for National Hellenic American 1972 Chandris 2001 Broken up Alang

1952 Roonagh Head for Ulster SS 6153 GRT cargo

1971 Broken up Castellon

1952 Raeburn for Lamport & Holt 8292 GRT Refri/cargo

1958 Colorado Star 1972 Mashuri of Austasia Line 1977 Roland of Lamport & Holt 1978 Broken up Faslane

1952 Janita oil tanker 12696 GRT for Spermacet Whaling – A Jahre

1955 A Jahre 1964 Atlantic Endeavour of Atlantic Petroluem 1976 Broken up Kaohsiung

1952 Cedric for Shaw Savill 11232 GRT refrig/cargo

1969 Cairn Line 1973 Shaw savill 1976 Fife Shipping Panama as Sea Condor 1976 broken up Kaohsiung

1952 Onitsha for Elder Dempster 5892 GRT

1972 Amvourgon for Cisne Cia Panama 1975 broken up Santander after catching fire on St Lawrence

1952 Obuasi for Elder Dempster 5895 GRT

1972 Amoy for Anglo-Pacific 1972 Wrecked on passage for Calcutta to Rangoon

1952 King Malcom for King Line 8285 GRT

1959 Clan Line 1972 Kanaris of Soloi Cia 1980 Dimtrak of Dimitra 1983 Broken up Chittagong

1952 King Alexander for King Line 8285 GRT

1959 Clan Line 1972 Ellis 2 iIysssia Cia 1980 Bangkok 2 for Banggkok Maritime 982 Broken up Gadani Beach

1952 Janova oil tanker 12696 GRT for Spermacet Whaling – A Jahre

1955 A Jahre 1965 Hydrophane of Bulet State 1971 Lom of Bulgarski Tanker 1972 Sank after collision

1952 Braemar Castle for Union Castle 17029 GRT Pass/cargo

1966 Broken up Faslane

1952 Irish Coast for Coast Lines 3813 GRT Irish Ferry later cruise liner

1969 Semiramis II for Epirotiki 1969 for Achilleus 1979 Apollon II 1981 Regency 1989 Wrecked at Batangas whle laid up and broken up Manila

1952 Clydefield for Hunting 11163 GRT tanker

Broken up Hiraoe 1965 after a firre

1953 for Shaw Savill11182 GRT refrig/cargo

1973 Durango 1975 Broken up Kaohsiung

1953 Beaverbank for Bank Line 5690 GRT

1970 Eratini for Crystal Blue 1972Provimi Star for Acro 1982 Broken up Gadani Beach

1953 Nessbank for Bank Line 5690 GRT

1973 Paris for Paris SS 1978 Tithis for Tithis 1981 Broken up Gadani Beach

1953 Fleetbank for Bank Line 5690 GRT

1970 Lady Ute for Daritenral Shipping 1976 0sia Irini Chrysovalandou II for Aegean Wave 1978 Camelia 1983 Broken up Bizerta

1953 Irex for Skibs A/S Fjeld 8286 GRT

1955 Stolt Bjorn 1965 Stolt Atlantic 1975 Broken up Gadani Beach

1953 King Arthur for King Line 5883 GRT

1972 Toulla 1979 Despo 1980 Pearl Rainbow for Basco ` 1981 Green Leaf 1983 Broken up Chittagong

1953 Harpa 12202 GRT tanker for Anglo Saxon/ Shell

1955 Kella for Shell 1973 Fabiana for Cimba Buenos Aires 1975 Broken up River Plate

1953 Jarena for Anders Jahre 12540 GRT tanker

1965 World Goodwill of Liberian Grace 1971 Dolphin of Dolphin Navig 1972 Albacara of Daka Trading 1976 Broken up Gadani

1953 Rathlin Head 7439 GRT for Ulster SS

1970 George of Kimon Shipping 1972 Broken up Spain

1954 British Engineer for 21060 GRT for British Tanker

1972 Petrolav for Lykavittos 1976 Broken up Castellon

1954 British Corporal for British Tanker 10071 GRT

1960 Clyde Corporal of BP Clyde Tanker 1964 British Corporal 1972 Broken up Kaohsiung

1954 Cerinthus for Hadley Shipping 12714 GRT

1976 Broken up Faslane

1954 Iberia for P & O 29614 GRT Liner

1972 Broken up Kaohsiung

1954 Elepenor for China Mutual Steam Nav 7754 GRT

1977 United Concord for Cremone Bay Shipping 1979 Broken up Kaohsiung

1954 Jaranda for A Jahre 12808 GRT tanker

1965 Spyridon for Marfama Cia Piraeus 1976 Broken up Gadani Beach

1954 Loch Gowan for Royal Mail Lines 9718 GRT refrig/cargo

1970 Broken up Kaohsiung

Short History of a Line -Clan Line

The company that would become the Clan Line was first founded as C. W. Cayzer & Company in Liverpool in 1877 by Charles Cayzer to operate passenger routes between Britain and Bombay, India via the Suez Canal. The next year, Captain William Irvine joined the company and it was renamed Cayzer, Irvine & Company. In 1881 the company was joined by an influential Glasgow businessman and his firm Thomas Dunlop & Sons, The Clan Line Association of Steamers was established. The company opened a new head office at 109 Hope Street, Glasgow. Cayzer, Irvine built and managed ships for the association and Cayzer himself retained ownership of the original six Clan ships. They expanded their operations to . In 1890 the company became The Clan Line of Steamers Limited with Cayzer holding the majority interest. The company expanded its operations with the purchase of the Steam Ship Company in 1894, bringing four more ships into the company. They used these new assets to expand their routes into the Persian Gulf and to , and to begin to carry cargo. The company was incorporated in 1907 as Cayzer, Irvine & Company, Limited, with the Cayzer family retaining control. Charles Cayzer died in 1916, with his sons continuing to run the company. In 1918 they acquired and incorporated the assets of the Scottish Shire Line. Despite suffering losses in the First World War, the company had recovered by the 1930s to become the largest cargo carrying concern in the world. A large number of its ships either requisitioned by the British government, or otherwise used to ship vital supplies to Britain during the First and Second World Wars. This led to them being called the 'Scots Navy (due to their officers' sleeve rings being identical to those of the ) During WW2 three of the Line's Cameron class steamers were requisitioned by the Royal Navy while under construction at Greenock Dockyard and commissioned as HMS Athene (aircraft transporter), HMS Engadine (aircraft transporter) and HMS Bonaventure (submarine depot ship for X-craft). The Clan Line lost a total of 30 ships in the 1939-45 war. During WW2 the line lost 30 ships, Wartime standard ships were of three types-Empires, Oceans and Liberties, they kept services going between UK, India Pakistan and south Africa. They were smartly painted in their familiar black funnel with two broad red bands A total of 12 “Empire” vessels carried the “Clan “names. Most were the B & D type. The B type were based upon the Dorrington Court of 1938 with a split mid ships structure and cargo hatch between bridge, the funnel and a cruiser shaped stern. Both types were partially pre-fabricated with a service speed of 11 knots. The B type were 7050 GRT while the D type were 7370 GRT Clan Angus, Clan Alpine and Clan Allan were transferred to Bullard & King in the late 50’s with the names Umkuzi, Umvoti, and Umtali

clan Macrae Clan Macrae represented the third type of Empire ships and served Clan between 1946 and 1959. Built as Empire Might at Greenock Dockyard in 1942 and managed by Blue Star until 1946 when she was bought by Clan Line, A fast cargo liner her GRT was 9209 with a speed of 16 knots. Similar to the pre-war clan Cameron In 1959 she was transferred to Bullard & King and renamed Umgeni and 1960 to Springbok Shipping as Gemsbok . 1961 to as South African Financier. Scrapped 1962 Gradually new types of ships entered service replacing the standards from 1953 onwards After the end of the war, the Clan Line commissioned six vessels of the Clan MacLaren class to replace war losses and resume a level of pre-war services. Construction started in 1946 and all six had entered service by 1949. Meanwhile, the immediate shortage was alleviated by the acquisition of a number of wartime standard construction ships, such as the American Liberty ships. Most of these would continue to serve with the Clan Line fleet until 1962, by which time the first vessels of the Clan MacIver class were entering service. Meanwhile, management attempted to further alleviate the shortfall with the purchase of the Thompson Steam Shipping Co. in 1952 and the conversion to motor ships throughout the 1950s.

Clan Macbeth (ex-Ocean Glory) is an example of Clan Lines oceans. Part of 60 vessels ordered in USA similar to Dorrington Court of 1938

There commenced the largest ever standard programme of ship building. This realization occurred about the same time as the British order for the 60 'Ocean' Class ships and it was eventually agreed after much doubt and deliberation to follow the well tried and tested British hull design. To counter this initial poor image, the U.S. Maritime Commission called the ships the 'Liberty Fleet' and after that they quickly became known as 'Liberty Ships, of which a total of 2,710 were built between 1941 and 1945.

The major difference to the 'Ocean' design was that the superstructure was arranged to accommodate the whole crew in single midship composite block. Standard gross tonnage was 7,176 tons and the service speed was 11 knots.

. Clan Line purchased two of these vessels, which they had previously managed in 1947.

The Clan Macfarlane below, did not last long after leaving Clan Line service in 1961. Clan MacFayden was much luckier and sailed on until 1971

The 'Liberty' (EC2) type Clan Macfarlane (ex-Sambrian)

The Clan McIlwraith was built in the Greenock Dockyard Co. and had a Wallsend-Doxford diesel with a service speed of 14 knots. Virtually an 'engines-aft' ship, she had four of her five holds forward of the machinery. This basic layout was common to the Clan Line's final series, one which comprised 16 ships built over the years 1958/67. The last of these was the Clan Alpine the company's final ship thus bearing the name of its first. Just as the speed of later ships was stepped up, so other features varied in detail, the Clan McIlwraith and her John Brown-built sister ship Clan McIndoe being the only ones to be given three bipod masts. Clan McIlwraith became the Golden City

Clan Macintosh was a 15-knot motor ship built in 1951 by John Brown of Clydebank. Broken up in Bombay in 1981, she spent 27 years with Clan

Clan MacFayden sailed on until 1971

Post war restructuring Clan Macintosh was a 15-knot vessel built by John Brown. Broken up in Bombay 1981

Clan Sutherland

Clan MacNair

Clan Matheson Built 1957 7885 GRT

In the 1970s, British and Commonwealth began to diversify into financial services as passenger shipping declined and cargo shipping evolved into container shipping. By the mid- 1980s, the business had evolved into one of the country’s largest financial services companies. The Clan Line, now a subsidiary of British & Commonwealth, ceased trading in 1981 with the final voyage made by MV Clan Macgregor. By 1986 British & Commonwealth had disposed of their last ship. With the move from the third to the fourth generation of the Cayzer family, the family shareholders were becoming increasingly uncomfortable with the reduction in control over British and Commonwealth, caused by its expansion using shares as currency. In 1987 they decided to sell their stake in British and Commonwealth and to concentrate their collective investment in Caledonia Investments, whose function until that time had primarily been as a holding company. This was a timely decision: the sale took place just prior to the Black Monday stock market crash and, two years later, British and Commonwealth went into receivership.

WSS quiz 1 answers – edition 20

1. What is the name of the warship which sank in the Solent on 19 July 1545?

Mary Rose

2. What is the current name of the ship projected to be scrapped which was built in 1965 as the Aleksandr Pushkin?

Marco Polo

3. Which ship am I describing? She was built by John Brown & Co at Clydebank for Cunard Lines. She was laid down on 17th August 1904 and launched on 7th June 1906. Her maiden voyage began on 26th September 1907. Briefly she was the world’s largest passenger ship and held the Blue Riband. Lusitania

4. After RMS Titanic sailed from Southampton on its maiden voyage, which two ports did it call at? Cherbourg and Queenstown (now Cobh)

5. What position is currently held by Admiral Tony Radakin?

First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff

6. Which port has the fishing boat registration SM? Shoreham

7. Who wrote “The Hunt for Red October” about a Russian missile submarine? Tom Clancy

8. Where will you find the steamboats named Simplon and Savoie operating?

Lake Geneva – they are part of a fleet of Belle Epoque steamboats operating on the lake. The others are Monteux, La Suisse and Rhone

9. What is the largest container port in the USA, measured in terms of overall TEUs handled? The port of

10. Britain’s new polar ship, the Sir David Attenborough, recently left the builder’s yard to begin sea trials. Where was she built?

Cammell Laird, Birkenhead

QUIZ QUESTIONS 2 DEC. 2020

1. VIKING GRACE Passenger ferry stranded near Mariehamn in the Aland Islands with over 400 people on board. Early Nov. Later refloated.

2. MENTARI CRYSTAL Container ship capsized and partially sank in the port of Surabaya, East Java on 15 Nov. No injuries.

3. HMS VENGEANCE “Top secret” mission delayed because of an outbreak of Covid at Faslane.

4. ONE APUS Container ship lost estimated 1900 containers overboard or damaged during a storm in mid-Pacific. Early Dec.

5. TINA 1 Container ship collided with the grounded ship SHAHRAZ en-route from Singapore to Jakarta on 20th Nov.

6. USS JOHN S McCAIN Arleigh Burke class destroyer had an argument with a Russian destroyer in the Sea of Japan on 24th Nov.

7. AGARI Oil tanker damaged by a mine off Saudi Arabia on 28th Nov.

8. USS BONHOMME RICHARD Amphibious Landing Dock. Following a fire, the US Navy has decided to scrap her. Late Nov.

9. ASTORIA On/off towage saga for starting the tow from Northfleet to Portugal. Mid Nov. to early Dec. It finally passed Leigh on the morning of 5th Dec, towed by the Brent with 3 other tugs on station.

10. GALACIA New Brittany Ferries ship carried out berthing trials at Portsmouth.

11. SAFER Houthi rebels have agreed to allow a UN Mission to inspect the potentially explosive abandoned oil tanker off the Yemen.

12. ANGELES Container ship pulled a yachtsman from his overturned boat some 86 miles from Cape Canaveral, Florida on 29th Nov.

13. SEVMORPUT Russian nuclear-powered icebreaker zigzagging off Angola after losing a propellor blade. Early Dec.

14. HMS BRISTOL Destroyer. Paid off for disposal. Late Oct.

15. HMS SPEY Final River class OPV arrived at Portsmouth from builders. Early Dec.