World Ship Society Southend Branch

News and Views

Newsletter Edition 25

22nd February 2021

Chairman & Secretary Stuart Emery [email protected]

News & Views Coordinator Richard King [email protected]

Thanks go to everybody their contributions. For this edition we have shown the credits

February is usually the month of our members night where people give a short talk on a subject of their interest. Arguably News & Views is like this all of the time. But this edition is an attempt at a reader’s edition and coincided with a U3A Maritime meeting.

Contents

News

Visitors

Quiz

Readers Edition

Quiz Tony Weber

Roger Pics Roger Sentance

Heritage Harbours Stuart Emery

Port Waikto Eddie Long

SB Cymric Graham Dent

Colins Pics Colin Paynter Port of Whitstable Tony Weber

HMS Caroline Tony Weber

Eddie Hardiman Pics Eddie Hardiman

Canberra Phil Major

Maxima Peter Acton

The Story of the Flying Enterprise Eddie Long

MV Royal Sovereign John Waithe

Destroyer Depot ships Richard King

One fact wonders Great Eastern Tony Weber

Eddie Long

Richard King

Shipbuilding – Wallsend Part 2 1930’s Richard King

Short History of a Line -Caledonian Mc Brayne Richard King

News

Michelin Commits to Shipping Tyres on Sail-Powered Cargo Ships

Tire manufacturer Michelin has agreed to ship some of its tires using two sail-powered cargo ships being developed by French shipping line Neoline. Under the agreement, tires will be loaded in containers and shipped from Michelin’s facilities in Halifax, Nova Scotia to Saint-Nazaire, France as soon as the Neoline’s first ships enter service in 2023. Michelin’s interest in sailing cargo ships comes as the group seeks to decarbonize its logistics supply chains as part of its commitment to zero-carbon emissions by 2050. . France-based Neoline was established in 2015 with the intention of the becoming the world’s first shipowner specializing in modern cargo ships that use sails for its main propulsion. The company is in the process of constructing its first two ships that will operate between St- Nazaire, Halifax, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, and Baltimore on the U.S. east coast. The two pilot ships will be 136-meter long and have capacity of 500 cars and 280 containers. With 4,200 square meters of sail area and engine assist, Neoline believes it can achieve a speed of at least 11 knots to keep with its biweekly service schedule while also achieving verified bunker fuel savings. With the two ships in service, Michelin said it can commit to shipping 50% of its tires shipped from Halifax to St-Nazaire. Ports of Antwerp and Zeebrugge Agree to Merge The ports of Antwerp and Zeebrugge have reached an agreement to join forces through the merger of the two ports. The unification is expected to take about a year to finalize and, once completed, the ports will operate under the new name Port of Antwerp-Bruges. The combination is expected to strengthen their position within the global supply chain and facilitate the transition towards a “low-carbon economy.” It will also build on each port’s strengths. Antwerp specializes in the handling and storage of containers, break bulk and chemical products, while Zeebrugge is a major port for RoRo traffic, container handling and the transhipment of liquid natural gas. “The merged port will become the most important container port (157 million tonnes/year), one of the largest break bulk ports and the largest port for the throughput of vehicles in Europe,” the ports said in a press release. “Furthermore, the port will account for more than 15% of Europe’s liquid natural gas transited and it will of course remain Europe’s most important chemical hub. Finally, it will be the largest port for cruise ships in the Benelux. With a total throughput of 278 million tonnes per year, the unified port will be able to consolidate its leading position in the world.” Port of Antwerp-Bruges will also seek to develop interconnectivity between the two locations. .

Pacific Encounter refurbished with new P&O Cruises Australia livery

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P&O CRUISES AUSTRALIA Pacific Encounter now features the P&O Cruises Australia livery and logo Pacific Encounter, the new ship acquired by P&O Cruises Australia, has departed the in Singapore after completing the first part of her refurbishment.

The ship now features the P&O Cruises Australia livery and large funnel logo, which is 20 metres wide and eight metres high. She has also been fitted out with several of the cruise line’s signature features, including a multi-storey atrium with a modern Australian décor. Dining outlets including the Waterfront Restaurant, Dragon Lady and Angelo’s have been added, while new venues onboard the ship will include a traditional Neapolitan pizzeria from Melbourne chef Johnny Di Francesco and several outlets from chef and restauranteur Luke Mangan.

Pacific Encounter will complete her renovations over the next few months before joining Pacific Adventure and Pacific Explorer in the P&O fleet. Saga to build new ship for river cruise fleet

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SAGA Features onboard Spirit of the Danube will include a lounge, library, bar and two restaurants Saga Cruises is to add a new ship, Spirit of the Danube, to its river cruise fleet, with construction officially commencing as a keel laying ceremony was held in Vahali’s shipyard in Serbia.

“Spirit of the Danube joining the fleet marks an exciting milestone in this journey and we cannot wait until she joins her sister ship Spirit of the Rhine next year. Guests will be able to enjoy a range of first-class facilities and we cannot wait to show everything our latest ship has to offer.”

Spirit of the Danube will have capacity for 190 passengers. Features onboard will include a lounge, library, bar and two restaurants, one of which will serve a signature dish from celebrity chef Mark Sargeant. The ship will host a range of celebrities on future cruises, including Sergeant, TV presenter and natural historian Miranda Krestovnikoff, antiques expert Eric Knowles and horticulturalist Sir Roddy Llewellyn.

The ship is scheduled for delivery from Vahali in 2022, joining Saga’s first river cruise ship Spirit of the Rhine. Its inaugural cruise will depart from Amsterdam, Netherlands, with future destinations including Budapest, Hungary; Vienna, Austria; and Tulcea, Romania. Saga has also announced that all guests will be required to be vaccinated against Covid-19 before travelling with the company.

. Korean shipbuilders top January order book, taking up half of global orders.

South Korean shipbuilders topped order book ranking in January, with orders surging by 13 times versus barren month of a year ago. According to British shipbuilding and marine industry tracker Clarkson Research Services on Tuesday, Korean shipbuilders won orders of 910,000 compensated gross tonnage (CGT) or 20 vessels in January to account for 54 percent of the global total of 1.7 million CGTs or 66 vessels. The feat is a stark difference from a year ago when Korea drew a mere 70,000 CGTs (2 vessels). China followed with orders of 510,000 CGTs (32 vessels) and with 260,000 CGTs (12 vessels). Korean shipbuilders bagged new orders for eight container ships with a capacity of more than 12,000 TEUs, two liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers with a capacity of more than 140,000 cubic meters, and two very large crude carriers (VLCC), clinching 100 percent market share in their mainstay businesses. Global order backlog dropped 3 percent from a month ago to 69.78 million CGTs as of late January. Chinese have the largest backlog of 24.59 million CGTs, followed by Korean with 21.88 million CGTs and Japan with 8.39 million CGTs, Still Korea’s decline was modest compared with its Asian rivals – Japan (minus 34 percent) and China (minus 12 percent). Another good news is higher vessel prices. The Clarkson Newbuilding Price Index showed an uptick of 1 point from a month earlier to 127 points. Prices of VLCCs, Smax oil tankers, container ships and LNG carriers all increased. Clarkson Research forecast this year`s volume of marine transported goods at 11.9 billion tons, up from 11.3 billion tons from a year ago Stena Line to launch two battery-powered ships by 2030

FacebookTwitterPrintMore Stena Line is to begin operating two battery-powered vessels on the route between Gothenburg and Frederikshavn in Denmark before 2030.

Stena Elektra will be the world’s first fossil fuel-free ro-pax vessel, according to Stena Line. She will measure around 200 metres in length and will have capacity for 1,000 passengers. The vessel will be built from high tensile steel to lower the weight and increase efficiency, and it is estimated that she will be able to run on battery power for approximately 50 nautical miles, the distance between Gothenburg and Frederikshavn.

To achieve this distance, the battery capacity will need to be approximately 60-70 MWh and be charged while the ship is in port. Stena Line is also investigating the possibility of combining electrification with other alternative fossil free fuels such as fuel cells, hydrogen and bio methanol to give the vessels a greater reach.

Visitors MSC Florentina Built 2003 75590 GRT Owner Xinag L14

Current Position En route to Gio Tauro

YM Enlightenment Built 2015 47952 GRT Owner All Oceans Transportation

Current Position En route to Veracruz

MSC Amy ex Landstar Maersk Venice Built 2002 17189 GRT Owner Serpens Shipping

Current Position En route to Riga Matz Maersk Built 2014 194849 GRT Owner Maersk A/S

Current Position En route to Tanger

Afif Built 2017 151438GRT Owner UASC

Current Position En route to Jebel Ali

Polar Bright Built 2018 62392 GRT Owner Polaris Shipping

Current Position En route to New York

Brooklands Built 2017 72700 GRT Owner Uwajima Unyu/Arpege

Current Position En route to Barcelona Polar Chile Built 20118 43628 GRT Owner

Current Position En route to Caragena

Nikolay Zuyev Built 2012 66818 GRT Owner

Current Position En route to Trieste

Seago Istanbul Built 2007 48788 GRT Owner

Current Position En route to Bremerhaven Don Juan ex Eyul K Built 2007 14116 GRT Owner Calle de Lagasca

Current Position Bilbao

Energy Innovator Built 2019 121981 GRT Owner Tokyo LNG

Current Position en route to US Cove Point Global Lake Built 2020 5424 GRT Owner Kosovar Shipping and Trading

Current Position London

RHL Constantia Built 2013 48799 GRT

Current Position En route Dunkirk TBC Progress Built 2012 19999GRT Owner Orient Express Lines

Current Position En route to Heroya

Quiz

Answers to the “Ships in the News” quiz are set out below. The questions are at the back.

1. HMS . 2 Germinal 3. The World 4. Perle 5. Manxman 6. Horse and Freya 7. Maersk Essen 8. Pacific Princess 9. Magellan 10. Eastern Vanquish 11. Hankuk Chemi 12. MSC Virtuosa 13. USS Minneapolis St. Paul 14. Rowayton Eagle 15. Achilleas 16. HMS Victory READERS/MEMBERS NIGHT

Rogers Pictures taken 18th September 2015 at Terneusen

Grande Abidjan Built 2015 71543 GRT Owner Grimaldi Lines MSC Koroni Built 1998 38582 GRT Current Location En Route to Alang

Fast Julia Multratug 4 Built 2006 497 GRT Sten Baltic Built 2005 11935 GRT

MSC Matilde Built 1999 53208 GRT

Heritage Harbours

INTRODUCTION – A joint initiative by the Maritime Heritage Trust (MHT) and National Historic Ships (NHS) Shipshape Network; with strong support from the European Maritime Heritage (EMH), proposes that historic Ports and harbours in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland become officially recognised as ‘Heritage Harbours’. The developing Heritage Harbours recognise the great value in sensitively developing their, often superb, historic buildings; waste land; mooring; and maintenance facilities for both local and visiting historic vessels and are identified within the NHS Shipshape Network regions.

SOUTH EAST REGION:-

MEDWAY HH1 – The proposal to designate Medway as the first British heritage harbour was presented to a meeting, of the local maritime heritage community and associated stakeholders, at the Sun Pier House tea rooms, on 10 December 2018. The meeting, at Sun Pier House, Chatham, was well attended by some forty enthusiastic representatives from; the local historic vessels; the Medway Council; MHT Trustees; the Thames Sailing Barge community and; representatives from Faversham. Medway Council have appointed a senior officer to represent the council on the Medway HH forum group. We are in discussions with the directors of Sail Training International, with a view to Medway being a Tall Ships race port in 2025. This will be the main agenda item at the next Medway Heritage group meeting. The ‘Boat Shed’ and other historic buildings and wharfs, which form part of the historic Sheerness naval dockyard, have led to Sheerness becoming an integral part of Medway & Sheerness Heritage Harbour.

FAVERSHAM & OARE HH2 - Faversham & Oare Creeks Heritage Harbour Group (FOHHG), have met regularly since early 2019 at Faversham Guildhall. Aims and objectives have been developed and considerable work in optimising balanced development and improvement of the creeks has already been carried out by group members. An exciting feature is that Kent County Council has continued the design work for the replacement Faversham upper creek bridge through the lockdown. A major member of the FOHHG, the Faversham Creek Navigation Company, CIC., as well as carrying out important work, are rebuilding the Town Council Brents Mooring Jetty.

MALDON & HEYBRIDGE HH3 – Maldon and Heybridge HH is moving at even greater pace. A full public meeting was held, at the Maldon Little Ship Club (MLSC), mid-September 2019, during the Maldon Heritage Weekend. The enthusiasm from the Maldon riverside community and Maldon Town Council was palpable. The Maldon and Heybridge Heritage Harbour Group (MHHHG) was formed and literally sprang into action, designing a notice / flyer for the public open meeting, within hours. The open meeting was successfully held during the Maldon Heritage weekend in September last year.

Several subsequent meetings have taken place at the MLSC and the group are working with the Town Council and District Council to optimise the local plans to best secure Maldon and Heybridge Maritime Heritage for future generations. The MHHHG has decided to become a Charitable Incorporated Organisation and will henceforth be known as the Maldon and Heybridge Heritage Harbour Association (MHHHA).

The pandemic has done little to diminish the considerable efforts of Dr Andrea Raiker, chair of the Maldon and Heybridge Heritage Harbour Association and her stalwart committee. At the recent monthly meeting there were many exciting developments, including the proposed major contribution of MHHHA to the Maldon Maritime History Week in May 2021. WE LOOK FORWARD TO INVITING OUR EUROPEAN MARITIME HERITAGE FRIENDS.

SOUTH WEST REGION: -

PORT OF EXETER HH4 – A really exciting development is the nomination of Exeter Ship Canal and City Basin within the Port of Exeter as Heritage Harbour HH4. The ship canal, the oldest in the country, was built so vessels can navigate the Exe Estuary to the heart of Exeter from which developed boat building and maritime traditions throughout the Port with its estuary and city quays that are still active today. The Friends of Exeter Ship Canal have held discussions with the City Council and Harbour Master about a maritime revival at the basin in line with Heritage Harbour aspirations including ways to attract historic boat restorations and boat conversions. A joint announcement of the nomination has taken place and an inaugural meeting of all interested parties and stakeholders throughout the Port is being arranged. Please contact John Monks, Chair, Friends of Exeter Ship Canal, [email protected] for further details.

FUTURE HERITAGE HARBOURS ACROSS GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND SOUTH EAST REGION:-

SANDWICH – The Sandwich Port and Haven Commissioners, other Sandwich heritage organisations and Dover District Council have held the inaugural meeting to establish Sandwich as Heritage Harbour HH5. The vision document is being prepared.

**HOT OFF THE PRESS** QUEENBOROUGH AND MILTON CREEK – The historic Queenborough harbour is to be linked with Milton Creek. At Queenborough. the harbour trust is improving mooring facilities for Thames Sailing Barges. Lloyds Wharf, in Milton Creek, is home to the TSB Raybel Charters project; see more below in the HH Community paragraph. There is also the magnificent new building, which will house the reborn Dolphin Barge Museum. An inaugural meeting is to be held shortly.

LONDON RIVER THAMES:-

(ROYAL DOCKS DEVELOPMENT) – We are investigating the possibility of incorporating heritage harbour facilities within the Royal Docks development, as there is; surprisingly now few locations on the Thames for historic vessels. The London Borough of Newham is holding an Heritage month in May this year. This will be a good opportunity for the Heritage Harbour community to arrange a ‘TRADE UNDER SAIL, THE PAST AND THE FUTURE’ event to remind the local organisations that heritage vessels, especially Thames Sailing Barges, are an essential part of both the history, the present and the future of the London river maritime life.

(NORTFLEET HARBOUR AND DARTFORD & CRAYFORD CREEK) – Much effort has gone into these historic areas over the last few years. The hard work by their trusts should be rewarded by a major effort from the National and European Maritime Heritage organisations to bring our capital’s river somewhere close to the standards found in major port cities like Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Hamburg

BRENTFORD – See under the Inland Waterways Association below. SOUTH REGION

COWES – The harbour commissioners and the Cowes Classic Boat Museum have expressed interest and are looking at the potential of HH nomination.

BUCKLER’S HARD – Although over development is far less likely on the estate, the management team are interested in nominating Buckler’s Hard as an Heritage Harbour. Many beautiful classic yachts are making Bucklers Hard their home.

SOUTH WEST REGION

FALMOUTH - 2020 Marked the 150th anniversary of the Falmouth Harbour Commissioners and establishing the nomination of Falmouth as an Heritage Harbour is being considered as an objective in this anniversary year. An introductory meeting with the Harbour Master has taken place. The Tall Ships are at Falmouth 19 August 2021 and this provides an opportunity to examine the HH concept.

WALES REGION CARDIFF BAY – Trevor Godbold, a fellow Trustee of the MHT is also a Trustee of The Heritage and Cultural Exchange, who, with the Cardiff Bay harbour authority, are investigating the mutual benefits of HH nomination for Cardiff Bay, one of the best stretches of secure safe lock / barrage controlled waters in Europe.

EAST REGION

CLEY-NEXT-THE-SEA – We held a video conference and discussed the potential for grouping Cley-Next-The-Sea, Blakeney and Wells-Next-The-Sea, as an Heritage Harbour group.

BRIGHTLINGSEA and the River Colne TSB community have expressed interest.

WOODBRIDGE and the Deben river community are discussing nomination as an Heritage Harbour.

SCOTLAND REGION

LEITH – docks, although still a commercial port, has a considerable historic unused dock area and has the benefit of being the berth port for; the Royal Yacht, HMS Britannia; the Fingal (ex Windsor Castle) previously the Northern Lighthouse Board tender and now a luxury floating hotel, and; SS Explorer, a steam reciprocating powered trawler turned fisheries research ship.

CLASGOW & THE CLYDE – The Clyde Docks Preservation Initiative (CDPI); the Glenlee Tall Ship, and; the recent decision by the Glasgow City Council to refurbish the Govan graving docks, promote much interest in nomination as an Heritage Harbour. NORTHERN IRELAND REGION

BELFAST - ‘PERICLES’ is an EU-funded research and innovation project, about international maritime cultural heritage, running until 2021. There are eight case regions across Europe, one being Scotland-Ireland. One of the project's main heritage focus is Port and the city's maritime heritage, in particular any 'hidden' or overlooked maritime heritage. The academic team from Queen's University Belfast invited a representative from MHT to contribute to their research through a one-to-one interview on the subject of Belfast's maritime heritage. Although the actual interview has yet to take place, we have had ZOOM meetings and discussions about the possibility of Belfast being nominated as an Heritage Harbour, to provide a structure for the port’s maritime heritage. We are also looking at the possibility of EMH developing a stakeholder link with the PERICLES project to provide sustainability of the valuable maritime cultural heritage case studies that they are achieving.

HEART OF ENGLAND REGION

Hot off the press is the recent ZOOM meeting between MHT trustees and officers of the Inland Waterways Association (IWA), where we discussed the similarity of problems experienced by ports within the canal network to those of the coastal heritage harbours. The IWA have lost no time. We are already working on the development of BRENTFORD, CHESTER, STOURPORT and WARWICK BAR (Birmingham), as Inland Waterways Heritage (Ports) Harbours.

CHESTER – The inaugural meeting of the Chester Heritage Port group will take place in the next few weeks and Chester will become HP 6. INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT –Assistance was given to the Classic Yacht Association of New Zealand and the City of Auckland City Council with the resolution of some maritime heritage problems related to the preparations for next year’s Americas Cup. This was a joint effort by the Association of Yachting Historians (AYH), the MHT and the EMH and involved an extremely enjoyable ‘virtual’ weekend in Auckland.

We are, with a member of the PERICLES team, looking at the feasibility of being recognised as a group European Heritage Harbour.

THE HERITAGE HARBOUR COMMUNITY – After the successful HH Q&A conference on 10 August 2020, a significant HH Community across the UK and Europe is rapidly developing. We are keen to include the significant return to ‘Trade Under Sail’. Sea-Change Sailing Trust’s new Thames Sailing Barge (TSB), Blue Mermaid, in addition to providing valuable character-building training to all ages, will be providing trade under sail. After the current rebuild of the TSB Raybel, in Milton Creek, the ‘Raybel Charters’ Heritage and community will follow a similar model. Raybel Charters are closely associated with the French Schooner, De Gallant, which has traded under sail from Columbia and Portugal to the UK, carrying high-quality fair-trade goods. On voyages during August and September this year, the De Gallant has transferred cargo to both TSB Dawn and TSB Will to carry the goods into the creeks and up to London.

EUROPE – The European Maritime Heritage (EMH) Cultural Council will work with the UK Heritage Harbour community to develop the concept across Europe.

Please don’t hesitate to contact Brian Corbett, the OGA MHT Trustee and OGA EMH Representative at Email; [email protected] if you would like to know more about the Heritage Harbour initiative.

MV Port Waikto I first saw this vessel whilst walking along the quayside in Wellington around 1957, it struck me as odd as to how what looked to be a typical British coaster had found its way to New Zealand, with the wonder of the Internet here is brief history of a vessel with what must be the longest build time ever!

Odd beginning, build started as speculative build by Dublin Shipbuilders in 1920, the yard closed with the ship only in the frame stage. Bought by Henry Robb of Leith the frame was taken apart and shipped to Leith where it was eventually completed in 1929. Sold to Captain A.F. Watchlin.

668 GRT 180ft long, 29ft on the beam & draft of 10ft 180hp Fairbanks Morse 4-cylinder diesel engine

Traded on NZ Coast for Watchlin Shipping up to 1940 when it was chartered to Holm shipping to replace their Holmwood which had been lost to the German Raider Komet, Holm had the contract to provide a supply service to the Chatham Islands which lie approximately 600 miles East of the South Island of NZ, she continued in this role until 1959, having been sold to the Union Steam Ship Co in 1947

Broken up in in 1961

Sc.B. CYMRIC

In 1903 E.J.& W. Goldsmith of Grays took delivery of six 250-ton steel barges, built in Holland. This was the first instalment of twelve, all to be given names ending in 'IC'. While the second batch of six was being completed one of first group, Cymric, was in bad trouble.

In December 1903 she was bound from Cherbourg to Sheerness in Kent with a cargo of stone, under Captain Henry Marshall. How she came to be ashore at Brightstone, then a remote spot on the Isle of Wight, is a bit of a mystery. The weather was not good, but not bad enough to prevent seven other barges crossing the Channel that day without trouble. It was believed that the barge had broken some vital item of gear, such as her sprit and had been run ashore for the crew's safety.

CYMRIC ended up bows on to the beach and it seemed that Captain Marshall had done this deliberately so that he and his crew could escape via the bowsprit. Lloyd's agent for Brightstone visited the wreck several times and reported her full of water with her starboard shell plates buckling. In his opinion, with the onset of winter weather she was not worth salvaging. The owners then declared her a constructive total loss and claimed the insurance money.

So there CYMRIC stayed for four months until the wreck was purchased by Clements – Knowling, a company well known for supplying towage above bridges on the Thames. Clements set about salvaging the barge which given the remoteness of Brightstone and the weather conditions must have been a difficult and dangerous job.

Eventually, however, on the 30th June 1904, she was reported under tow by a tug off St. Katherine's Point, the southernmost point of the Isle of Wight Clements had been successful with their salvage. They took her to Brentford where she was refitted and turned into a boomie barge or ketch but retaining her leeboards. She was, somewhat triumphally, renamed SUCCESS.

However, Clements did not trade her for long, as, in 1907, she was sold to the shipbroker Joseph Constant who quickly sold her on to her original owner, Goldsmith. This was not surprising since most of Goldsmith's bigger barges were mortgaged to Constant anyway.

Goldsmith's turned her. back to a spritsail barge but kept the large mizzen and the three jibs provided under the ketch rig, making her a very powerful barge. She was converted to a motor barge in 1932, with a 50 h.p. Bolinder engine. She was requisitioned by the Ministry of War Transport for the whole of World War II.

When Goldsmiths sold their remaining fleet in 1950 she went to the London & Rochester Trading Co. and continued to trade to the continent under their flag until sold for demolition at Sheerness in 1963.

As for Captain Marshall, he took command of a smaller Goldsmith steel barge, NAMARA. He was soon in trouble again when the barge was on passage from Conyer to Sandwich with a heavy cargo of brick rubble and went ashore near the Reculver Towers on the North Kent coast. Local labour volunteered to help discharge part of the cargo so that the barge could be refloated but before much could be done the weather changed with a strong northerly gale and NAMARA was badly damaged. She was eventually salved and taken to Goldsmith’s yard at Grays for refitting. It is doubtful that Goldsmith's were impressed by one of their skippers stranding two of their newly built barges in quick succession but Marshall's further career cannot be traced.

Colins Pics

Gaddyouho Chinese- Thorpe Bay Tarkash -F50 – Thorpe Bay

Nan Lin Wan Built 2007 64572 GRT Thorpe Bay North Star – Hong Kong

THE PORT OF WHITSTABLE The Harbour CAMBRIA

Whitstable is a small town on the north Kent coast 5 miles from Canterbury. In the early 1800s, the harbour comprised a single battered timber quay wall, but in 1830, with the opening by the Canterbury and Whitstable Railway Company’s passenger railway between Whitstable and Canterbury, things started to change. In 1832 the company built a harbour and extended the line to handle the import of coal and other bulk cargoes for the City of Canterbury. This made Whitstable the first harbour in the world to be served by a railway. PRE 1960s O.S.MAP

The railway route, which was known as “The Crab and Winkle Line”, because of the company’s initials, involved trains driven by a locomotive for part of the journey, but on two inclined planes, the carriages were pulled by steam driven stationary winding engines. It was not until 1845 that more powerful locomotives were introduced capable of operating for the full length of the line. In 1860, a direct line to London, but the Crab and Winkle Line soldiered on until 1953. Part of the route is now a cycle path. The Invicta, the original locomotive on the line is preserved in a museum in Canterbury.

The harbour remained prosperous for many years, mainly serving as the seaport for Canterbury. During the First War the port was busy with the supply of munitions and other goods for the Western Front. By the 1930s the harbour was well established for importing coal, grain and timber. After several years of decay, in 1958 the harbour was bought by the Whitstable Urban District Council, and a programme of repairs was started. With the local government re-organisation of 1974, the ownership was taken over by Canterbury City Council. The eastern wharf has been used for marine dredged aggregate importation since the 1960s. A tarmacadam plant was opened in 1936, and this remains in use by the Brett Group. The harbour was extended in 1967, with a rectangular suspended area, known as the West Quay, on the west side of the entrance channel. This area was mainly used for timber imports until about 2007. In 2006, a wind farm maintenance depot was constructed on the West Quay. Currently, the East Quay has 275 linear metres of quay wall and it serves Brett Aggregates’ asphalt plant. The West Quay has 173 linear metres within the harbour and 114 linear metres on its west side. The Inner Harbour and South Quay are used for storage and berthing for fishing vessels and pleasure craft. The approach channel and main berths are tidally restricted, with minimum dredged depths of 0.26 M. At high water there is a depth of 4.26 M. The harbour provides a “safe aground but not necessarily afloat” accommodation for vessels up to 95 M overall (around 5000 deadweight tonnes). COLLIERS IN WHITSTABLE HARBOUR IN 1902

Shipbuilding and Ship Owning

Although there had been small-scale shipbuilding and owning in the area for hundreds of years, sudden growth of both soon after the harbour was opened in 1832. Shipyards were established capable of constructing merchant ships of 200 to 300 tons. By the middle of the nineteenth century there were at least five shipyards, with slipways running down to the sea, mainly along Island Wall. ZEBRINA

A BARQUENTINE_RIGGED BARGE BUILT IN WHITSTABLE

H.H.Gann & Son was one of the main early shipbuilders and owners. They built in 1876 the Nellie S, the largest craft ever built at Whitstable. She was a wooden barge of 262 tons, rigged as a three-masted barquentine, and could carry 500 tons. She was lost in South America in 1905. Gann was also a shipowner, and he owned 22 ships in 1880. Some local shipowners, including G.H.Gann and J.R.Daniels, formed the Whitstable Shipping Company in the early 1870s, and the company managed at one time or another 400 small ships in the coal trade, and in 1906, still owned 17 ships. Ships built by the Whitstable Shipping Company included the barquentine rigged barges Zebrina of 169 tons and Belmont of 149 tons in 1873 and 1895 respectively.

The Whitstable Shipping Company was adept at buying up ships cheaply and running them on a shoestring, often uninsured. In this way they kept a number of brigs and barquentines in the coal trade long after everyone else had gone over to more modern and efficient

types of ships. Several of their ships originated in Prince Edward Isle, , where wooden ships were built for a single voyage to

Britain. Whitstable would buy them from Liverpool, refit them and put them in the North Sea coal trade. The Whitstable Shipping Company morphed into Daniels Brothers, and in 1958 Daniels was sold to Crescent Shipping, which continued to use the Daniels Brothers name for a few years afterwards. BRIGANTINE BRENDA BUILT ON PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND IN 1879 AND SOLD TO WHITSTABLE OWNERS IN 1882

Another small shipbuilder was Collar Brothers, who were famous for their oyster yawls, the last of which, the Gamecock, is being restored. She was built in 1907, after which the yard closed down.

Anderson, Rigden & Perkins began shipbuilding in 1917, taking over the former Goldfinch shipyard. The Northdown, the last sailing barge

built in Whitstable, was completed in 1924. The firm built a number of smacks and yawls, but activity peaked in WW2, during which the firm built 12 x 61ft Motor Fishing Vessels and 15 x 71 ft Harbour Defence Motor Launches as well as numerous lifeboats for the Admiralty. After the war, the yard built many grp launches and motor boats for the MoD, as well as private customers. The Anderson 22 was particularly successful with over 180 built, and the firm also specialised in beautiful Merlin Rockets and National 18 dinghies. Anderson’s lost the MoD contract in 1982, and the yard closed in 1985. BARGE SAVOY LEAVING IN 1955

HMS CAROLINE HMS Caroline was the name ship of a class of 6 light cruisers ordered under the 1913-14 Construction Programme. She was built by at Birkenhead, being laid down in January 1914, launched on 21st September 1914, and commissioned on 4th December 1914. Her displacement was 3750 tons, and her overall length was 446’, her beam 41’ 3” and her draft 14’ 6”. Her 8 Yarrow boilers supplied 4 Parsons geared turbines giving 40,000 HP onto 4 shafts and 29 knots. Her complement was 325. As built, her armament was 2 x 6” aft and 8 x 4” guns with 4 torpedo tubes. Later it was changed to 4 x 6”, 2 x 3” AA and 1 machine gun. As soon as she was commissioned, she became the leader of the 4th Flotilla, based at Scapa Flow and part of the . From February to November 1915, she was with the 1st Squadron. Early in 1916 she joined the Grand Fleet’s 4th Light Cruiser Squadron, and she remained with it until the end of the war.

Her role in the Battle of Jutland was as part of the screening force intended to find the enemy fleet and report back on them, whilst protecting the Grand Fleet from attack. She almost missed the battle entirely as her steering gear failed as the fleet left Scapa Flow on 30th May. HMS Caroline opened fire at 7.30pm on 31st May at a range of 9,200 yards, firing 3 x 6” and 9 x 4” rounds. She later fired 2 torpedoes which went towards the German Nassau. She retreated under fire and returned to Scapa on 2nd June.

From 1917 to late 1918 she carried a flying-off platform for launching fighters such as the to intercept German airships over the North Sea. Although she never launched her aircraft in anger, a number of flights from her seem to have taken place. The ship would have to turn head to wind for a launch, and then wait for the aircraft’s return. With the Camel’s stall speed given as about 43

knots, and with the pitching and rolling of the ship at top speed of 29 knots, the pilots must have been very brave men. The aircraft were retrieved by a crane after the flight. The development of carriers like HMS Furious soon made such flight arrangements obsolete. After the war the Caroline remained with the 4th Light Cruiser Squadron, and in June 1919 went with the rest of the squadron to serve on the East Indies Station. In February 1922 she was paid off and placed in reserve.

In February 1924 she became the headquarters and for the RNVR’s Ulster Division at Belfast. Harland & Wolff removed her weaponry and some of her boilers and erected a large deckhouse midships. Her guns were pooled with those of other decommissioned cruisers and used to reinforce the coastal defence of the three “Treaty Ports” in Ireland.

In 1939 she was taken back by the , becoming a , still in Belfast Harbour, to the anti-submarine force of patrol vessels. In 1943 she became the strategic operations base for a force of and , controlling 6 groups of 6 . As Belfast became busier, the headquarters function outgrew her, and her personnel occupied various establishments in and around Belfast City.

After the war, she was returned to the RNVR as before. In 1951 she was refitted at Harland & Wolff. Her RNR unit decommissioned from the ship and moved ashore in December 2009. HMS Caroline was decommissioned on 31st March 2011 and placed in the care of the National Museum of the Royal Navy at Portsmouth, although remaining in Alexandra Dock.

Eddie Hardiman Pics

SS Canberra

The SS Canberra was built as an to serve the Southampton to Sydney route, and on to the West coast of USA, and back again, but later became a cruise ship. She was built at the shipyard in Belfast, at a cost of £17 million. She was laid down on 23rd September 1957, launched on 16th March 1960, and had her maiden voyage on 2nd June 1961. She was designed to carry 548 first class passengers and 1650 tourist class passengers. In 1973 she was converted to one class and carried 1737 passengers. She had unique good looks and was a beautiful ship, but interestingly the design was never copied, perhaps because the days of the liners were numbered.

By mid-1973 she had spent many months in in Southampton and also at Harland and Wolff for repairs to her electrical and mechanical systems. A product of our over unionised great British shipbuilding industry. Her engine set up was unusual, but had been used successfully on the RMS Strathnaver, and RMS Strathaird. She had 2 steam turbines that drove large electric alternators that provided current for electric motors that in turn drove the vessel’s twin propellers. They were the most powerful steam turbo-electric units ever installed in a passenger ship; at 42,500 hp per shaft they surpassed Normandie’s 40,000 hp. This gave her a speed of 27.25 knots. She also had a bow propeller, quite rare at the time.

Canberra had two sets of stabilisers, and two funnels side by side, she was a very advanced vessel for her day. Whilst researching this I came across the question of how she had a very deep draft for her size, and that this restricted the number of ports she could get into, which was true. But there was no explanation of this, however my Father worked for P&O at the time and he told me the reason. She was a revolutionary design, and the Naval architects made a big mistake, by putting all the engine equipment, and other heavy machinery at the rear, when the ship was launched, she was about 3 feet higher at the bow, than at the stern. The solution to this was to put 600 tons of concrete in the bulbous bow, which resulted in the deep draught.

Operationally she was a victim of the jumbo jet, for as air fares became cheaper and of course much quicker, the demand for slow more expensive sea voyages dwindled. At the end of 1972 she was withdrawn from service and refitted as a cruise ship. Unusually, this transformation from an early life as a purpose-built ocean liner to a long and successful career in cruising, occurred without any major external alternations, and with only minimal internal and mechanical changes.

Her most famous claim to fame was of course the . The Canberra transported No. 3 Commando, more than 9,000 nautical miles to the Falklands, and anchored in San Carlos water, in the thick of the fight. She was attacked several times but not hit. After the Falklands war she had a lengthy refit, and returned to service as a cruise ship. Her fame in the Falklands war made her very popular with the British public, with bookings high as a result. However, age caught up with her as her running costs were much higher than modern cruise ships.

P&O did not want her serve with another company, so she was withdrawn from service in September 1997, and sold to the Pakistani, Gadani ship-breaking yard on 31st October 1997. Again, her deep draft meant that she could not be beached as far as most ships. Due to her solid construction, the scrapping process that should have taken 3 months took nearly a year, and she was totally scrapped by the end of 1998

Maxima by Peter Acton The second EasyMax multipurpose cargo vessel has been delivered to Royal Wagenborg and affiliated owners and taken into service under her official name Máxima. With an installed power of less than 3,000 kilowatts, this ship has low fuel consumption and due to her design, she has an excellent sea keeping performance, according to Wagenborg. The ship is said to deliver more than 60% savings in CO2-emissions compared to her peer group. The EasyMax design features a limited amount of equipment in the hold. For example, there are no tweendecks, container fittings, securing eyes, or girders in the hatch package. For most of the cargoes that Wagenborg transports, these options are unnecessary. There are, however, separation bulkheads, dehumidifiers and hold lighting. It has a total cargo capacity of more than 14,000 tonnes and a hold capacity of 625,000 cubic feet.

Built at the Royal Niestern Sander shipyard, the vessel is 149.95 meters long, with 15.9- meter beam and 8.6-meter draft. The ship has two large rectangular holds – 13.5 meters wide, 12.1 meters high, and 47.36 meters and 64.38 meters long, respectively. The ship left for her maiden voyage to Antwerp from homeport Delfzijl, where the Delfsail 2021 event was planned to take place before being postponed due to COVID-19.

The story of the Flying Enterprise (FE)

December 1952 I was 13 and can recall this tale that held the Country in suspense for 14 days. My Uncle Walter had a short-wave radio and ear wigged on the radio traffic.

Flying Enterprise was a wartime built C1-B class small built in the US in 1944, 6711 Tons, single screw driven by two Westinghouse steam turbines through a double reduction gear box. Originally named Cape Kamukaki, after the war she was sold to the Ibransten Co and renamed Flying Enterprise, sailing for several years in the North Atlantic trade.

On the 21st of December she sailed from Hamburg for the US, the Master was Kurt Carlsen, a crew of 40, 10 passengers Four men five women and a ten-year-old boy, mixed cargo of pig iron, rags, VW cars, antique furniture, subsequent investigation determined that she was also carrying gold and zirconium bound for the US Atomic research programme and the development of the first nuclear powered submarine. This may have been why the US navy vessels stood by for so long, in later interviews Carlsen stated that the zirconium had been appropriated from the Nazi nuclear programme, this was unsubstantiated and of course denied by the CIA and everyone else.

Outward bound down the Channel along the South Coast and the Lizard the weather was worsening so much so that by Christmas Day it was impossible to serve a meal and the passengers were confined to their cabins to bounce around, bear in mind that in those days they would have been four berth cabins no en suite facilities.

Boxing Day brought a horrific bang, the had cracked Port to Starboard and down the sides for twelve feet, Captain Carlsen called his deck crowd and Engineers to see what could be done, wire ropes were lashed across the crack and tightened up, surprisingly this closed the gap any opening made good with marine cement (Ciment Fondu?)

As the weather deteriorated to form the worst storm in 37 yrs., the ship was hit by two massive waves causing the cargo to shift, both compasses were thrown out of their binnacles, the vessel took on a 30-degree list to port, all power was lost the Captain was unable to bring the vessel into the wind, Carlsen at this point made a May-Day signal.

All available rescue tugs were already busy with casualties; the signal was picked up by two freighters about three hours steaming from the FE.

29/12 Southland arrives late afternoon, too dark to effect a rescue, waits till dawn, USS General Greeley a troop transport arrives on scene. Passengers and crew very anxious as the ship was listing heavily to port, Carlsen orders a crew member to accompany each passenger, as the sea was too rough for the ship to moor alongside, passengers and crew had to jump into the sea to be picked up by a boat from Southland, one person was lost crewman Bunajowski, Carlsen remains on board.

Carlsen was an amateur short wave radio ham so was able to maintain contact with the world, over the next two weeks he would become the focus of worldwide news media, Britain waited for the daily reports in the papers and on the radio, it was the Chilean Miners story of the time.

2/01/52 USS John W Weeks arrives to relieve Greeley. Weather still bad, very rough seas

3/01/52 Tug Turmoil arrives. Turmoil was an ex-RN deep sea rescue tug. Attempts were made to get a line on board, having been on board alone for a week by now, surviving on water and Christmas cake, sandwiches and coffee sent by line from the US Ship, Carlsen was exhausted, to make things easier it was planned to double up the messenger line, slip the loop over a bollard so that Turmoil’s people could pull the line over. All attempts failed; it was decided to wait until daylight to try again. Captain Parker had told Carlsen that as the ship was down by the head, they would tow her stern first. 4/01/52. On the morning of the 4th Turmoil approached the FE, weather still rough Turmoil approaches the stern and “kisses” the FE, First Mate of the Turmoil seizes the chance and jumps aboard FE to be grabbed by Carlsen

“First mate Dancy come to give you a hand Captain”

“Am I pleased to see you Mr Dancy” They maintained the formality for the rest of their time on board. Dancy was himself a master and was on leave when Turmoil’s mate went sick and Dancy was asked to replace him

5/01/52 Tow was established and the homeward run began, FE at 60 degrees to port, 3.5 knots 600 miles to Falmouth. Waves were so huge that Turmoil had to lengthen the tow line to a kilometre to prevent losing the tow, towing the FE was a nightmare as the ship would veer off course

Daily reports were in every paper and the whole thing became a media circus as the story was picked up worldwide, vessels were chartered by the press, the airspace became so crowded that CAA issued restrictions

In Falmouth preparations were being made to welcome Carlsen by the Town Council, his parents were flown over from Denmark

ETA Falmouth 9-10/01/52

10/01/52 .01.30 hrs. Carlsen and Dancy awakened by Turmoil’s siren. 41miles from Falmouth the tow was lost, it was found that to re- establish the tow they would have to clear a shackle that had jammed between the bollards, the only remedy was to hacksaw the shackle in two, this took several hours and proved to be a perilous operation due to the list, as one man sawed the other held him, at one-point Carlsen slid down the deck and disappeared, he got caught on a projection and resurfaced. List was worsening Captain Parker on Turmoil advised them that it was now a hopeless case and that they should abandon, which they did at 15.22 they walked out along the funnel held hands and jumped into the sea to be picked up by a boat from Turmoil.

FE sank at 16.10 all accompanying vessels sounded their horns

Civic reception went ahead although on a subdued note, (Carlsen`s parents had been flown from Demark) nothing like the ticker tape parade that awaited Carlsen on his return to New York

Turmoil was on a Lloyds register No cure No pay contract, if successful normally they would have had a bonus of perhaps £60 for the master and £30 for the mate the crew getting significantly less, all was not lost, Ibrandtsen gave the Turmoil £2500, £750 to Captain Parker £500 to Dancy and the rest to the crew

Carlsen was offered £250,000 for his story by the Daily Mirror which he declined similarly a Hollywood offer was also declined, not wishing for commercial gain for doing his duty!

Both men returned to sea. Ibrandtsen renamed a ship FE2and made Carlsen Master

Carlsen died age 88 and was buried at sea 41 miles from Falmouth. The lifejackets worn by the two men were on “Antiques Road show” this year and were displayed in a Falmouth Pub but now sold

The Flying Enterprise Turmoil built by Henry Robb 1945 for the Admiralty then chartered to the Overseas Towage and Salvage Co London 1948 -63 laid up in 1963 then sold to Greek owners scrapped 15/01/86

MV Royal Sovereign Royal Sovereign (I) 1937 - 1940 The MV Royal Sovereign (1) was built for the New Medway Steam Packet Company by William Denny & Brothers, Dumbarton. The ship was launched on May 28th 1937. By the time of delivery the New Medway Steam Packet Company had been acquired by the General Steam Navigation Co Ltd. The ship was utilised on well patronised sailings from London to Bolougne and Calais and for the tourist market on the 'no-passport' weekend service to Ostend with an all-in ticket of £2: 5s. The approach of World War Two saw this traffic vanish, shortly after the outbreak of war the Royal Sovereign was used for the evacuation of women and children from port towns in Essex and Kent to East Anglia. Further service in support of the war effort saw the Royal Sovereign in use as a troop transport between Southampton and Cherbourg. The vessel would be struck by a torpedo off the Isle of Wight, but this did not prevent her taking a significant part in the evacuation of troops from Dunkirk. The Admiralty later requisitioned the Royal Sovereign and renamed her the HMS Royal Scot. On December 9th 1940 the Royal Sovereign was sailing from the Gareloch to the South of England, whilst navigating the Bristol Channel the ship hit a mine and started to take on water. The Chief Officer was killed with others sustaining injuries from the explosion. The ship did not sink immediately which allowed a tug to come alongside and take on the survivors. Royal Sovereign (II) 1948 – 2008 General Details - Royal Sovereign (II) Builder: William Denny & Brothers, Dumbarton, Yard No. 1413. Launched: 1948 Length: 285ft 0in Beam: 48ft 0in Draught 8ft 9in Weight: 1,850 tons gross Engines: Two Sulzer 12cyl 2,250hp engines. Screws: Two Service Speed: 21 knots Crew: ? Passengers: 1,783 The post-war Royal Sovereign shortly after delivery in 1948. Following the end of World War Two General Steam Navigation Co Ltd placed an order with William Denny for a replacement vessel for the sunken Royal Sovereign. The ship was launched on May 7th 1948 and completed her maiden voyage on July 24th 1948, sailing from Tower Pier, London to Ramsgate. Stops were made at Tilbury, Southend & Margate. Excursions were also made to the Continent. In many ways the new ship was similar to her predecessor. However improvements included a covered observation lounge on the sun deck and a spacious lounge on the promenade deck. Fore and aft on the main deck were two dining rooms seating 96 & 140 persons respectively. In addition to the local coastal trade during 1966 the Royal Sovereign did some cross Channel work, being based at Great Yarmouth for trips to Calais. This did not last long, perhaps seriously challenged by the roll-on, roll-off vehicle in use on the cross-channel sailings. During 1967 the ship was sold to Townsend Brothers and converted to carry a minimum of twenty-four lorries between Dover & Zeebrugge, being renamed Autocarrier for this service. In 1973 the Autocarrier was sold to Naples operator Societa Patrenopea di Navigazione in 1973 for service between Naples & the island of Ischia. The ship was altered for this service and renamed Ischia. During 1975 she passed to Navigazione Toscana, Livorno, for services to Portoferraio on Elba. In the 1980s she returned to Naples-Ischia Servoce for Traghetti Pozzuoli SRL. The ship was sold in late 2007 and broken up at a shipbreakers in Aliaga, Turkey.

For further reference a series of photographs of a "Royal Sovereign" trip may be viewed on YouTube : London Photos 1954: The Royal Sovereign down the Thames to Southend-on-Sea. LT54 12/15

Please click on: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_PhCh6CPIg

Destroyer Depot ships Depot ships were used as a mobile or fixed base for submarines, destroyers, , fast attack craft, landing craft, or other small ships with similarly limited space for maintenance equipment and crew dining, berthing and relaxation. The Depot ships were specifically designed for their purpose or be converted from another purpose. Depot ships provide services unavailable from local naval base shore facilities. Depot ships operating within bases might provide little more than command offices while depot ships operating at remote bases might perform wide ranging support functions. Royal Navy mobile naval bases included specialized amenities ships to meet recreational needs of British Pacific Fleet personnel. Depot ships were similar to repair ships, but provided a wider range of services to a smaller portion of the fleet. Depot ships undertook repair work for a flotilla of small warships, while repair ships offered more comprehensive repair capability for a larger variety of fleet warships. Depot ships provided personnel and resupply services for their flotilla. Some depot ships transported their short-range landing or attack craft from home ports to launch near the scene of battle.

HMS Greenwich

(F10) purchased under construction and converted, served in Scapa Flow, Canada, Iceland, and with the Home Fleet. HMS Hecla (F20) HMS Hecla served the Royal Navy in World War II. In addition to ample space for stores to resupply shorter-ranged destroyers at sea, she had 20,000 sq ft of workshop space and three cranes, one rated at 10-tons and the other two at 4-tons apiece She sailed for the North Atlantic to support anti-submarine operations in the ongoing Battle of the Atlantic Based Hvalfjord, Iceland, it was there that she tended to the captured German submarine U-570 before the vessel was towed to the United Kingdom, where she was renamed HMS Graph and entered service with the Royal Navy. Hecla left Iceland bound for the Far East, but on 15 May 1942 she struck a mine laid a month prior by the auxiliary minelayer Doggerbank . Fortunately, none of these detonated. With her steering gear out of commission, HMS Gambia towed Hecla to Simonstown, for repairs. From the ship steamed north in support of Operation Torch, 1942, Hecla was torpedoed by U-515.

HMS Philoctetes (F134) A converted Runciman passenger/cargo vessel of approximately 11,000 tons, built in 1920 and taken over in 1940 for conversion to a as a depot .

Tied up to her starboard boom was a flower class and a sloop. One of Philoctetes' boiler rooms had been removed. The space created was now a large machine shop which serviced the frigates, sloops and corvettes in need of repairs which formed part of the F.E.F. Down the starboard side of Philoctetes was the usual Jacob’s Ladder, with a level landing stage at the bottom,

HMS Tyne F24 HMS Tyne a Hecla class was laid down on 15 July 1938 launched in 1940 as a Destroyer Depot Ship. Launched at the Greenock yard of Scots Shipbuilding Company on 28 February 1940, she was completed exactly a year later, four months later than the stipulated contract date.

Arriving at Scapa Flow in 1941, the Tyne became the flagship of Rear Admiral (Destroyers), Home Fleet. She remained as flagship until 1944, when she left Scapa for her first refit since commissioning; Previously, she had undergone short docking periods at Sheerness and then on the Clyde. The six-week refit on the Clyde included the installation of equipment required for service in the Far East and improvement to her armament.

After a work-up at Scapa, HMS Tyne sailed for Ceylon and arrived at Trincomalee on 11 December to join the Fleet Train, as the flagship of Rear Admiral (D), British Pacific Fleet. The BPF left Ceylon in late January 1945 and after a brief stop at Sydney, the Tyne proceeded to the Fleet's advanced base at Manus, Admiralty Islands. HMS Tyne arrived at San Pedro Bay at the beginning of April and remained until 24 May, supporting the 18 destroyers and seven sloops and frigates with the Fleet and Fleet Train.

Tyne returned to Sydney, to replenish her stocks of spares and to prepare for service at a new advanced base, closer to Japan itself, at Eniwetok, where the US Navy had agreed to facilitate establishment of a British anchorage for replenishment of Fleet oilier. HMS Tyne arrived at Eniwetok in July 1945 to act as a headquarters and repair ship for the oilier groups and their escorts. The Tyne left Eniwetok on 8 August, when the last of the tanker groups returned to the operational area off Japan, and preceded to Manus, where she was when the War ended. She remained with the British Pacific Fleet until 8 August 1946, when she left Sydney for the United Kingdom, arriving at Devonport on 16 September after which she was placed in reserve at Harwich.

HMS Tyne returned to Devonport to refit on 28 February 1949 and returned to service on 26 October 1950, joining the Mediterranean Fleet as the flagship of Flag Officer, Flotillas, serving as a Harbour Depot ship until February 1953.

On 19 February she left Malta and proceeded to Japan, arriving on 7 April to relieve HMS Ladybird as the flagship of the Flag Officer, Second in Command, Far East Fleet, The Tyne proceeded to the operational area as soon as the signature of an armistice appeared to be imminent and remained off the island of Pengyong The armistice was finally signed on 27 July, and the Tyne was already on passage to Pengyong Do HMS Tyne remained at Sasebo until 3 December 1953, when she withdrew to Hong Kong. In March 1954, she underwent maintenance at Singapore and sailed for UK Arriving at Devonport in May, she was refitted and converted for use as the flagship of the Commander- in-Chief, Home Fleet, until August 1956, when she was attached to the Mediterranean Fleet as the flagship of the Flag Officer,. She returned to Portsmouth in January 1957, was refitted and re-commissioned as the Home Fleet flagship in mid-April 1958, serving also as the depot ship for the Second Submarine Squadron. In January 1960, CinC Home Fleet moved his flag; Flag Officer, Flotillas, Home Fleet raised his flag in the Tyne in July 1960, when she completed her final refit.

The Tyne finally paid off on 27 March 1961, at Portsmouth, where she was placed in "Operational Reserve" and employed as a harbour accommodation ship. In July 1964, she was placed on the Disposal List and was eventually sold for scrapping on 11 August 1972. HMS Vindictive

was originally laid down as a Hawkins Class in 1915 and subsequently converted into an .

At the beginning of the Second World War she was converted into a fleet destroyer repair ship. Her first role after the conversion was completed in early 1940, however, was to transport troops during the Norwegian Campaign. She was then sent to the South Atlantic to support British ships serving there and, in late 1942, to the Mediterranean to support the ships there. Vindictive returned home in 1944 and was damaged by a German torpedo off the coast of Normandy after the Allies invaded France. She was reduced to reserve after the war and sold for scrap in 1946.

HMS Woolwich

Was a depot ship and destroyer tender built for the Royal Navy during the 1930s. The ship was initially deployed to support destroyers of the Mediterranean Fleet. During World War II, she was assigned to the Home, Mediterranean and Eastern Fleets. She briefly returned home in 1946, but re-joined the Mediterranean Fleet the following year. Woolwich permanently returned to the United Kingdom in 1948 where she became a maintenance and accommodation ship. The ship was sold for scrap in 1962.

One Fact Wonder-Great Eastern THE LAUNCH OF THE SS GREAT EASTERN Brunel’s and Scott Russell’s masterpiece, the steam ship Great Eastern was built on a piled timber deck on the south west side of the Isle of Dogs. The ship had to be sideways launched because of its great size and the comparative narrowness of the river. Scott Russell, the builder, owned the Millwall Ironworks site, and was able to lease the adjacent vacant Napier Yard site.

The deck consisted of 12” to 15” square Oak piles 20’ to 38’ long at 5’ centres, and left standing 4’ proud of ground level. The piles were topped with a wooden platform some 680’ long. The ship was built on two 120’ wide timber cradles, each with its bottom clad in wrought iron plates, bearing onto iron rails laid perpendicular to the river. Work started on the construction of the hull in May 1854 without any final decisions agreed on how the sideways launch of the huge vessel would be achieved. It was anticipated that the construction of the hull and engines would be completed by October 1855. Funding for the works quickly became a major problem as Scott Russell’s banks refused ongoing credit. This caused progress to advance it fits and starts.

The construction of the two launch ways (or slipways) took place in 1857. They were each 120’ wide and extended 240’ from the building deck to the river with a gradient of 1 in 12. The launch ways consisted of triple lattices of timber baulks upon a piled foundation, with the lowest level of the baulks bolted to the pile heads, and the space between infilled with concrete 2’ thick. The uppermost baulks carried iron rails running perpendicular to the river on which the two cradles would slide. I have marked on the attached plan showing the extent of the Scheduled Monument the approximate positions of the building deck and the two launch ways. The dimensions of the ship were 692’ x 82’, with a draft when fully laden of 29’ 11” on a displacement of 32,000 tons. The hull is reported to have weighed 12,000 tons, which would correspond to a draft of about 11’ at her launch. It would appear that the lower end of the launch ways roughly corresponds to the present Chart Datum line. On a good Spring this would give a depth of about 21’, and allowing for 3’ for the construction thickness of the timber baulks etc., 18’ above the rails at the outer end. With the gradient of the slipways, the depth of water at the landward side of the cradle would only be around 9’ 6”, so floating the ship off the ways was always going to be tricky, even if the famous problems in forcing the ship towards the river had not taken place.

Eventually the launch date of 3rd November 1857 was agreed. Brunel had hoped that the launch could take place with the minimum of publicity, but many thousand of people turned up for the occasion. On the 3rd November, the ship only moved a few feet and then stopped. Over the next couple of months, with ever-more powerful winches, cables and hydraulic jacks, the ship was inched down the launch ways. Finally, on 31st January 1858 she floated off the cradles and was towed across the river to Deptford, where she was fitted out. In the 1980s, the remains of part of the southern launch ways were discovered during redevelopment of the site for housing. The timbers underwent a preservative treatment and left exposed. In 1995, the Museum of London carried out a archaeological and borehole survey at the site then known as Masthouse Terrace. Evidence was found of timber similar to the above, probably relating to the former building deck. During the redevelopment, piled foundations were used to minimise damage to the underlying archaeology. The whole site is now a Scheduled Ancient Monument, and metal detecting and/or digging on the foreshore is not permitted. Beyond the river wall, some timbers and infill concrete are visible for both launch ways at low tide. In one area, the concrete infill between partially exposed timbers is badly disturbed, and it has been established as having been caused by a V1 ‘doodlebug’ that exploded on it in June 1944.

Recently, a survey of the Mersey foreshore by the Merseyside Maritime Museum located very substantial metal plates and rivets on the Henry Bath & Sons site where the ship was broken up in 1889-90, and it is hoped that they may be from the ship itself. A topmast salvaged from the ship still serves as a flagpole at the Anfield football ground.

OFW Great Eastern by Eddie Long

Today, we talk about two ships. One sank, the other didn't. The University of Houston's College of Engineering presents this series about the machines that make our civilization run, and the people whose ingenuity created them.

Both the Titanic and the Great Eastern, in their day, qualified as the largest ships ever made, and they're two of the best known as well. The Great Eastern, launched in 1858, was almost 700 feet long. The Titanic, launched 53 years later, was almost 900 feet long. And each suffered the same kind of accident soon after it was put to sea.

Isambard Kingdom Brunel, who designed the Great Eastern, was the greatest artist ever to work in iron. He was remarkably thorough, and the Great Eastern reflected that care. It was to be a passenger liner, and no cost was spared in making it safe. It had a double hull. It was honeycombed with bulkheads that created almost 50 water-tight compartments.

The Great Eastern was actually overdesigned and inefficient, but it still provided transatlantic service for two years. Then, in 1862, it struck an uncharted rock in Long Island Sound that tore an 83-foot-long, 9-foot-wide, gash in its hull. The inner hull held, and it safely steamed on into New York Harbour.

The above would have us believe that I K Brunel was the builder of the Great Eastern, Brunel certainly conceived the idea for “the great ship” but john Scott Russell actually built it and was responsible for the detailed design of the hull and paddle engines, the screw engines would be designed by James Watt & Co.

Brunel had the idea for a vessel that could steam from the UK to India with just one bunkering stop at Cape Town, he had had a long acquaintance with John Scott-Russell who was an experienced naval architect and engineer who also owned a ship yard. Brunel wanted to build “The Great Ship” but lacked the funds to do so, the India idea soon went away when it was found the ship would need too much water depth which was not available in Calcutta. Enter the newly formed Eastern Steam Navigation Cathey were looking for two ships to start their business, Scott-Russell suggested that IK contact them, the ESNCo set up a committee to look into IK`s proposal but when the interview was about to happen IK was ill and Scott- Russell deputized, the proposal was favourably received and put to the full board, a number of which promptly resigned when it was revealed that IK would be the “Company” Engineer, a creative engineer but no creator of profits!

Scott- Russell tendered for the job: £275, 000, this was accepted by the ESNCo on IK`s recommendation! The Contract was odd as there were no “milestone stage payments” IK announced that Scott- Russell would be paid railway fashion, payment against work done £6 per ton erected.

Scott Russell was responsible for the design, with all drawings being submitted to IK for review and approval, this led to delay and cost implication in the meantime IKB gathered glory.

Scott –Russell was highly experienced in ship launching and advocated the conventional free fall method IKB was obsessed with a controlled launch which Scott –Russell was contractually obliged to comply with. Relations between the two deteriorated Brunel becoming increasingly paranoid that Scott-Russell was becoming more prominent in the public eye, when Prince Albert asked to visit the yard Scott-Russell advised IK who as it happened was unable to attend but Scott-Russell was informed that he should make Albert aware of IKB`s “supreme role in the affair”

Ill health was creeping up on IKB and his efforts to oust Scott-Russell which had resulted in near bankruptcy had caused work to stop, Brunel got his wish of being in sole command of the yard, the atmosphere was not the most pleasant as the Naval Architects still loyal to Scott –Russell resented being given orders by a Civil Engineer.

Scott-Russell’s bankers had taken ownership of the yard and were charging the Ensco £2500 a month to occupy the yard. Launching of the vessel ultimately cost £120,000 half the original build cost.

Scott-Russell was reinstated and a price of £125,000 agreed to complete the job this was achieved and on September 2nd 1859 Brunel made his last visit to inspect the ship for handover to the new owners The Great Ship Company, the ESNCo having sold their interest for £160,000, IKB posing on the deck for a photograph had a heart attack and was carried home. That was the last that IKB saw of the ship

Her maiden voyage from London to Weymouth began on the 7th of September 1859, moored off Purfleet for the night and resumed passage the next day at about six o`clock pm the forward boiler feed water heater exploded blowing back through the forward boiler killing several stokers and damaging the main saloon. Scott –Russell had advised against installing these heaters but was overruled by IKB who took the advice of his friend Napier.

- THE LATER YEARS

Daniel Gooch had had talks with Cyrus Field to raise capital for another Atlantic cable approached Thomas Brassey and John Pender to see if they would put up the money to purchase Great Eastern. They set the limit at £80000 and the opening bid was £20,000. Eventually Yates acting for Gooch put in a bid of £25,000 which secured the ship worth £100000 alone in materials. The new company chartered the ship to the newly formed Telegraph and Construction and Maintenance Company for £50000 of its shares.

To store the cable prior to its shipment on Great Eastern a new facility was built at Sheerness. The Great Eastern was fitted with three tanks. Great Eastern left Sheerness on 24 June and took on board 1500 tons of coal at the Nore. Thus, began the attempt to lay the 1865 Atlantic cable

Great Eastern leaving Sheerness 1866

Great Eastern loading cable at Sheerness

The Atlantic Telegraph Company now set about raising money for a new cable. The cable was again stored at Sheerness using naval hulks Following the repairs to the 1865 cable the link was made

Following her return to Britain with no cable work in prospect Great Eastern was laid up at Milford Haven. The ship was refitted at Liverpool to planned carry 4000 wealthy Americans to the 1867 Paris Exhibition. In fact, there were only 191,

1869 following the success of the two Atlantic cables of 1866 there was a proposal to lay a cable between France and America and a company was formed. The cable fleet comprised Great Eastern. Scanderia, Chiltern, Hawk and William Cory. Great Eastern left Portland on 19 June 1869.

1870 the British India Telegraph Company Great Eastern. Chiltern, Hibernia and Hawk were chartered and William Cory added Great Eastern laid almost 2000 nm of cable completing the first leg to Aden from which she laid 325 miles in the Red Sea,

She returned to the Mersey where she laid until 1873 when she took part in laying a cable from Hearts Content to Valentia.

1881 the company out the ship up for sale with a reserve £75000. The best offer received was £30000. In 1883 the chairman reported that they had failed to sell the ship.

Following dubious negotiations, the High Court ordered the ship be auctioned. The MD of Lewis’s Department store made a private offer of £20,000 which was rejected. The auction took place and the first offer was £10,000 rising to £26,200 who intended to sail it to as a coal hulk.

The unsuccessful MD of Lewis agreed a charter for the Liverpool Exhibition of Navigation Travelling Commerce and Manufacture in 1886 200 people travelled on her voyage from Milford Haven to Liverpool while painters were busy painting signs on her sides,

While all this was going on painters were at work within the ship and a number of sign writers were busy painting advertisements on the ship’s sides. By the time the Great Eastern reached Liverpool the port side facing Birkenhead carried the slogan ‘LADIES SHOULD VISIT LEWIS’S BON MARCHE CHURCH STREET’, while on the starboard side facing Liverpool:

Towards the stern:

LEWIS’S ARE THE FRIENDS OF THE PEOPLE

Lewis’s name was painted in 30 feet high letters.

Towards the bows:

RANELAGH STREET LEWIS’S BON MARCHE

LIVERPOOL BASNETT STREET

MANCHESTER, SHEFFIELD, BIRMINGHAM

On the paddle box:

THE BON MARCHE LIVERPOOL

The ship arrived on 1 May. The main and aft cable tanks were converted into ‘Music Halls’, the Grand Saloon into a bar, and the Ladies saloon became a dining room. As well as all the stalls and sideshows spread around the ship, a group of trapeze artists performed their act between the Tuesday and Wednesday masts. In the first month some 50,000 people paid their shilling to go aboard and during the four days of the Whitsun Bank Holiday 20,000 visited the ship. In all around 500,000 people visited the ship during its stay. A very successful charter for Louis Cohen certainly one of very few to have made money with the Great Eastern.

One of the most popular attractions was a lithographic press where on payment of one penny, pictures would be printed on the visitor’s own handkerchief of the Great Eastern; the late David Lewis, founder of the firm; and the five stores owned by the company, along with a detailed listing of the Great Eastern’s specifications

She was used as a tourist attraction in Dublin but this failed and she was towed to the Clyde.

Where she was painted and redecorated and sold for £26000 made by a representative of the owners to sop it being sold too cheaply A month later, they accepted an offer of £16500 from a firm of ship breakers. They changed their minds and looked at proposals as a cattle transporter. The ship was taken back to Liverpool

Henry Bath and Sons broke with tradition and auctioned the various metals from the Great Eastern, the plates fetching £25,000, the copper and brass £7,000 and gunmetal £4,000. Souvenir hunters from all over the world came and helped push the total up to £58,000. The company estimated it would take 200 men one year to break up the ship at a cost of £20,000, ensuring a tidy profit. The Great Eastern had other ideas. In all it took the 200 men, working round the clock, two years to break up the ship. Henry Bath and Sons like so many owners lost money.

At the time Everton Football Club were looking for a flagpole for their Anfield ground, and consequently purchased her top mast. It still stands there today at the ground—now owned by Liverpool Football Club, at the Kop end The ship's artefacts were auctioned and a number of these were bought and fitted into the Great Eastern Hotel on New Ferry Road. The bar and beautiful stained-glass window depicting the old ship could l be seen inside the pub. The pub - New Ferry's last iconic building on the eastern side of the bypass - was demolished in 2010.

Just as the construction of the ship brought about the development of new machinery, so did the break up. Unable to separate the plates by normal means they used a demolition ball, designed to spring the rivets and so enable the plates to be separated.

Swan Hunter Wallsend PART 2 1930’s

Between the wars the company continued to operate by competitive prices and sponsoring the latest technical developments

1930 Nore 7619 GRT Tanker for Rasmussen 1939 Limousin

1959 Broken up

1930 HMS Scarborough Hastings class

1949 Broken up Thornaby

1930 Bello for Oiltank 1942 Torpedoed

1930 Norbris 7691 GRT tanker for Rasmussen

1947 Solheim

1955 Broken up Emden

1931 HMS Brilliant destroyer Cost £221,000 to build

1948 Broken up

1930 Filefjell 7616 GRT tanker for Olsen & Iglestad 1940 Scuttled

1931 Cardita for Anglo – Saxon Petroleum 8237 GRT tanker

1944 Torpedoed off the Faroes 1931 Cardium tanker for Anglo Saxon Petroleum 826 GRT

1948 Hawthorne Hill Counties Ship 1948 Hawthorn Hill 1951 Don Manuel 1955 Converted to a bulk carrier 1961 Broken up Vigo

1931 Pan Aruba, Pan Norway. Pan Scandia, Pan Bolivar for Leif Hoegh 9231 GRT

1931 Singu for Burmah Oil 4827 GRT 1953 Broken up Sunderland

1932 Capulet 8190 GRT tanker for C T Bowring

1941 Torpedoed and sunk

1932 Belle Isle for Newfoundland Steamship 1960 GRT

1948 China Leader 1949 San Antonio 1950 Sank 1933 Port Chalmers for Commonwealth and Dominion 8535 GRT

1965 Broken up Kaohsiung

1934 HMS Esk Destroyer E class

1939 Converted to minelayer 1940 mined

1934 HMS Express Destroyer E class 1939 converted to minelayer 1940 Mined 1941 repaired 1955 hulk used for breakwater BC

1935 HMAS Sydney laid down as HMS Phaeton

1941 sunk by German raider Kormoran

1935 Ancylus for Anglo Saxon Petroleum 1943-45 converted to MAC 1952 Imbricaria 1954 Broken up La Spezia

1935 San Alvaro for Eagle Oil 7385 GRT

1944 Torpedoed

1935 Port Townsville for Commonwealth & Dominion 8661GRT 1941 Bombed 1935 Explorer for T & J Harrison 6235 GRT

1957 Eleanor 1959 Broken up Hong Komg

1935 Moira for Sigurd Owren 1560 GRT 1942 torpedoed

1936 HMS Hunter H class destroyer

1940 sunk during battle of when torpedoed and collided with HMS Hotspur

1936 HMS Hyperion H class destroyer 1940 sunk

1935 Joseph Medill for Quebec & Ontario Transportation 2087 GRT

Sank 1935

1936 Fiona for Anglo Saxon Petroleum 6192 GRT x 1953 Broken up Osaka

1936 Mactra for Anglo Saxon Petroleum 6193 GRT

1959 Broken up Hong Kong

1936 Hopestar 5267 GRT for Arthur Stott

1948 Sank 1936 Port Jackson Commonwealth & Dominion 9687GRT 1967 Legation 1967 Broken up Etajima

1936 Frankquelin 2097 GRT for Quebec & Ontario Transportation

1964 Prince Ungava 1967 Jean-Talon 1976 Falcon III 1979 Broken up

1936 Sepia for Anglo Saxon Petroleum 6214 GRT

1960 Broken up Ornskoldsvik 1937 Regent Lion for Bowring SS 9551 GRT

1945 Torpedoed and sank while under tow

1937 Regent Panther for Bowring SS 9556 GRT

1959 Broken up Briton Ferry 1937 Inkosi for T J Harrison

1940 Bombed and sunk Royal Docks Refloated and taken over by MOWT 1941 Empire Chivalry 1958 Broken up Ghent

1937 Yenangfgyaung for Burmah Oil Co 5447 GRT

1960 Broken up Hong Kong

1937 Hopecastle for A Stott & Co 5178 GRT 1942 Sank 1937 Hopecrown for A Stott & Co

1950 Radley 1956 Alstern 1963 Apostolos Andreas 1967 Wrecked

1937 Port Halifax for Dominion & Commonwealth 5820 GRT 1962 Ilena 1973 Broken up Istanbul

1938 Hopepeak for A Stott 5179 GRT

1952 Eilenau 1960 Weissesee 1962 Kaptanpantelli 1963 Stranded

1938 HMS Somali Tribal Class destroyer

1942 Torpedoed Under tow broke her back and sank

1938 Regent Tiger for CT Bowring 10176 GRT tanker 1939 Torpedoed by U29 and sank

1939 Dominion Monarch for Shaw Savill 26463 GRT

1940 Used as a troop ship 1947 Post war refurbishment 1962 Broken up Osaka

1939 HMS Edinburgh Town Class Light Cruiser 1942 torpedoed twice including when carrying gold from Russia scuttled 1981 Gold salvaged

1939 HMS Janus J class destroyer

1944 Torpedoed and sunk

1939 HMS Tartar Tribal class destroyer 1948 Broken up Newport 1939 HMS Khartoum K class destroyer

1940 Wrecked 1939 Hav for Havtank 5062 GRT 1940 Mined

1939 Thiara for Anglo Saxon Petroleum 10364 GRT

1940 Torpedoed and sunk 1939 Torinia for Anglo Saxon Petroleum 10364 GRT 1940 Torpedoed and sunk by U100 Short History of a line -Caledonian -McBrayne Caledonian MacBrayne has a history stretching back more than 160 years. Its name is synonymous with the west coast of Scotland, providing vital lifeline ferry services and carrying millions of people each year to and from the islands and remote peninsular communities. It has been, and remains a major local employer, both on shore and at sea. This short history summarises the key milestones from its inception in the 1850s to the modern, award-winning operator it is today:

Inverarary Castle Built 1839

Caledonian MacBrayne started life in 1851 as a steamer company under the name of David Hutcheson & Co.

The main sphere of operation was from Glasgow through the Crinan Canal to and Fort William and then on through the Caledonian Canal to Inverness. In the late 1870's the Hutcheson brothers retired leaving the firm in the hands of David MacBrayne to which the firm was renamed. Throughout the late 1870's and 80's the MacBrayne empire continued to expand with a mail run to Islay, Harris and North Uist from Skye and an Outer Isles run from Oban to Barra and South Uist.

In fairly quick succession new railways began to reach the West Coast - at Fort William, Kyle of Lochalsh and and the fleet rosters were altered to meet the new situation. There followed a period of new ship building, largely for the mail routes to the islands and remote mainland communities.

1907 Chieftain (2) 1088 GRT Built Ailsa Shipbuilding

1912 PS Queen-Empress 411 GRT Built Murdoch & Murray

Following the Great War of 1914 - 1918 David MacBrayne was operating a much- reduced fleet and this eventually resulted in the company's withdrawal from the tender for the mail contract. 1925 Glen Sannox (1) 664 GRT Builder William Denny

Thanks to a rescue operation jointly with LMS Railway and Coast Lines Ltd a new company was formed - David MacBrayne (1928).

1930 Duchess of Montrose 794 GRT Built William Denny

1931 Loch Fyne 754 GRT Builder William Denny 1931 Jeannie Deanes 864 GRT Builder Fairfield Engineering

1947 Waverley 693 GRT Bult by A & J Inglis

1948 saw the nationalisation of the LMS shares in the company and the acquisition of the ships. Five years later the state-owned Scottish Transport Group (STG) was formed to operate not only MacBrayne's services but also those of the Caledonian Steam Packet Company (CSP) on the Clyde together with the dominant Scottish Bus Company.

Soon after, the shipping companies were amalgamated and renamed Caledonian MacBrayne Ltd; lorry services were operated by MacBrayne Haulage while David MacBrayne was retained for certain minor services. The CalMac vessels soon sported the red CSP lion in the yellow disc in the centre of the red funnel.

In 1957 a reorganization restored the CSP name, and in 1965 a red lion was added to each side of the black-topped yellow funnels. The headquarters remained at pierhead. 1961 Caledonian Princess 3650 GRT Builder William Dennny

1964 Clansman (iV) 1967 1637 GRT in 1972 Built by Hall Russell Aberdeen

1967 Antrim Princess 3761 GRT Hawthorn Leslie At the end of December 1968 management of the CSP passed to the Scottish Transport Group, which gained control of MacBrayne's the following June. The MacBrayne service from Gourock to Ardrishaig ended on 30 September 1969, leaving the Clyde entirely to the CSP. On 1 January 1973 the Caledonian Steam Packet Co. acquired most of the ships and routes of MacBrayne's and commenced joint Clyde and West Highland operations under the new name of Caledonian MacBrayne, with a combined headquarters at Gourock. Funnels were now painted red with a black top, and a yellow circle at the side of the funnel featuring the red Caledonian lion. In 1974 a new car ferry service from Gourock to was introduced with the ferries MV Jupiter and MV Juno

Lochaish Built 1970 Newport Engineering Now in Cork across River Lee

Saturn Built 1977 by Ailsa Shipbuilding . Operated on Clyde until 2011 on Crossing Isle of Arran Built 1984 Ferguson 3296 GRT

1989 Lord of the Isles 3504GRT Built Appledore Ferguson

In 1990 the ferry business was spun off as a separate company, keeping the Caledonian MacBrayne brand, and shares were issued in the company. All shares were owned by the state, first in the person of the Secretary of State for Scotland, and (after devolution) by the Scottish Government.

Loch Dunvegan Built 1991 Ferguson 549 GRT Loch Alainin Built 1997 Buckie Shipyard 336 GRT

Clansman Built 1998 Appledore 5499 GRT A joint venture between Caledonian MacBrayne and the Royal Bank of Scotland named NorthLink Orkney and Shetland Ferries won the tender for the subsidised Northern Isles services, previously run by P&O Scottish Ferries, commencing in 2002. The ambitious programme ran into financial difficulties, and the service was again put out to tender. Caledonian MacBrayne won this tender, and formed a separate company called NorthLink Ferries Limited which began operating the Northern Isles ferry service on 6 July 2006.[4] On 29 May 2012, NorthLink Ferries Ltd lost the contract for provision of the Northern Isles ferry services to Serco.[5] To meet the requirements of European Union guidelines on state aid to maritime transport, the company's routes were put out to open tender. To enable competitive bidding on an equal basis, Caledonian MacBrayne was split into two separate companies on 1 October 2006. Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (CMAL) retained ownership of CalMac vessels and infrastructure, including harbours, while CalMac Ferries Ltd submitted tenders to be the ferry operator. Their bid for the main bundle, Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services, succeeded and on 1 October 2007 CalMac Ferries Ltd began operating these services on a six-year contract. The Gourock to Dunoon service was the subject of a separate tender, but no formal bids were made. In an interim arrangement CalMac Ferries Ltd continued to provide a subsidised service on this route,[4][6] until 29 June 2011, when Argyll Ferries took over the service. The company enjoys a de facto monopoly on the shipment of freight and vehicles to the islands, and competes for passenger traffic with a number of aircraft services of varying quality and reliability. Nonetheless, few if any of the routes currently operated by CalMac are profitable, and the company receives significant government subsidies due to its vital role in supplying the islands: these routes are classified as "lifeline" services. In 1996 CalMac opened its first route outside Scotland, winning a ten-year contract to provide a lifeline service to Rathlin Island in Northern Ireland. This service continued until 2008 when CalMac lost the tender Various versions of a local poem (based loosely on Psalm 24) refer to MacBrayne's long dominance of Hebridean sailings: The Earth belongs unto the Lord And all that it contains Except the Kyles and the Western Isles And they are all MacBrayne's Several groups have proposed privatising the service, and there has been a long commercial and political struggle with a privately owned company, Western Ferries, which has run a rival unsubsidised service from Gourock to Hunters Quay (near Dunoon) since 1973. In 2005, the Scottish Executive put the collective Hebrides routes out to competitive tender, with the Dunoon route being a separate tender.[8] Some island and union groups opposed the tendering process, fearing it would lead to cuts in services and could be a prelude to full privatisation. During the tendering period, the company of David MacBrayne Ltd, which had been legally dormant for many years, was re-activated on 4 July 2006. David MacBrayne Group Ltd acquired the full share capital of NorthLink Ferries Ltd, and took over operations of the NorthLink routes on 6 July 2006. Three operators submitted bids for the block of routes but CalMac retained all its existing routes. During September 2006, David MacBrayne Group Ltd acquired the entire share capital of CalMac Ferries Ltd. Thus, from leaving the hands of David MacBrayne 78 years earlier in 1928, the west coast ferry service returned to the fold in 2006, vastly enlarged. At the time, no bids were made for the separate Gourock–Dunoon route and the service continued as before. In August 2006, David MacBrayne Group Ltd directed two of its subsidiary companies, Cowal Ferries Ltd and Rathlin Ferries Ltd, to take over operation of the Gourock to Dunoon, and Rathlin to Ballycastle services. Following a European Commission decision not to subsidise a passenger and vehicle service, the route was again put out to tender. In May 2011, Argyll Ferries Ltd, a newly formed subsidiary of David MacBrayne, was named as the preferred bidder for a passenger-only Dunoon-Gourock service. The timetable was extended into the early hours at weekends, with additional sailings integrated with rail services. Two passenger-only ferries, MV Ali Cat and MV Argyll Flyer (formerly MV Banrion Chonomara), were arranged for the run When the service began on 30 June 2011, preparation of the Argyll Flyer was incomplete, and as an interim measure the cruise boat MV Clyde Clipper was leased from Clyde Cruises Argyll Ferries was incorporated into Caledonian MacBrayne on 21 January 2019 On 14 July 2009, it was announced that CalMac would begin Sunday sailings to Stornoway on Lewis from Sunday 19 July. These had historically faced strong opposition from Sabbatarian elements in the Lewis community, particularly the Lord's Day Observance Society and the Free Church of Scotland. However, CalMac stated that EU equality legislation made it unlawful to refuse a service to the whole community because of the religious beliefs of a part of it.[

MV Bute

Carvoria Built 2017 11 GRT Built Malakoff Lerwick

MARITIME QUIZ

1 HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH Has officially become Flagship of the fleet. 2 GERMINAL French Floreal class frigate intercepted 4.2 tonnes of cocaine in the Caribbean. 2 THE WORLD She is in Falmouth with crew only on board, and is being targeted by Extinction Rebellion for causing pollution. (she runs on High Sulphur Fuel Oil) 3 PERLE French nuclear submarine transferred to Cherbourg after a fire in her forward section. A new forward section is to be cannibalised from her decommissioned sistership SAPHIR. 4 MANXMAN It was confirmed by the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company that the name for their new vessel due for 2023 will be MANXMAN. 5 HORSE and FREYA Two oil tankers arrested by Indonesia on suspicion of illegally transferring oil in contravention of US sanctions. 6 MAERSK ESSEN Container ship lost 750 boxes in a storm in the Pacific. 7 PACIFIC PRINCESS Cruise ship sold by Princess Cruises to Azamara, becoming their 4th ship. 8 MAGELLAN Sadly, it is reported that the MAGELLAN will follow her former CMV sisters MARCO POLO and ASTOR to the scrapyard. 9 EASTERN VANQUISH 3577dwt bulker started new service importing grain to Trafford Park in Manchester. 10 HANKUK CHEMI South Korean tanker seized by Iran 19 crew may be released in a deal over $7 billion frozen Iranian funds. 11 MSC VIRTUOSA MSC took delivery of new 181,541 grt cruise ship from Chantieres de l’Atlantique. Passenger capacity is 6334. 12 USS MINNEAPOLIS St. PAUL Freedom class Littoral Combat Ship. Commissioning delayed indefinitely because of transmission failure. The ship uses waterjet technology and can do 50mph in shallow water. Some other sister ships under construction also affected. 13 ROWAYTON EAGLE 63,301 dwt Bulker, Marshall Isles flag, boarded by pirates off the coast of Accra, Ghana. 14 ACHILLEAS 297,950 dwt crude under Liberian flag. The US has filed a forfeiture claim for the cargo for the violation of sanctions against Iran. 15 HMS VICTORY 1815 wooden figurehead rediscovered in a scientific and historical investigation.