SCARLET LADY DEBUTS AT PORTSMOUTH AUGUST 2021 www.shipsmonthly.com
BRITTANY FERRIES’
COTENTIN Ro-ro workhorse returns to the fleet £4.80
LINER HERITAGE
P&O’S FAR EAST SERVICE SHIPPING MECCA TERNEUZEN AND THE SCHELDE
PLUS
ALL THE LATEST SHIPPING NEWS aidemYESLEK
FERRY LATEST SUMMER START FOR NEW ROUTES MEMORIES Medway shipping
NAVALKirov battlecruisers
VOYAGEREPORT Italia Line
custom made scale models
Axel Huettemann Modellbau internet address: precise-scale-models.com email: ah@precise-scale-models.com phone: +4948549069100 postal address: Suederdeich 26 - 25718 Friedrichskoog - Germany
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www.shipsmonthly.com EDITORIAL Editor • Nicholas Leach sm.ed@kelsey.co.uk Art Editor • Mark Hyde ADVERTISEMENT SALES Hill View Media Ltd • 01366 728488 Ben Foster • ben@hillviewmedia.com or keith@hillviewmedia.com (for sales) Production • 01366 728488 jo@hillviewmedia.com MANAGEMENT Managing Director • Phil Weeden Chief Executive • Steve Wright Finance Director • Joyce Parker-Sarioglu Retail Distribution Manager • Eleanor Brown Audience Development Manager • Andy Cotton Print Production Manager • Georgina Harris Print Production Controller: • Kelly Orriss SUBSCRIPTIONS 12 issues of Ships Monthly are published a year UK annual subscription price • £55.20 Europe annual subscription price • £68 USA annual subscription price • £68 Rest of World annual subscription price • £74 CONTACT US UK subscriptions and back issue orderline 0333 043 9848 Overseas subscription orderline 00 44 (0) 1959 543 747 Toll free USA subscription orderline 1-888-777-0275 UK customer service team • 01959 543 747 Customer service email • subs@kelsey.co.uk Customer service and subscription address: Ships Monthly Customer Service Team Kelsey Publishing Ltd, The Granary, Downs Court, Yalding Hill, Yalding, Kent ME18 6AL, United Kingdom WEBSITE Find current subscription offers and buy back issues at shop.kelsey.co.uk/smo ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER? Manage your subscription online at shop.kelsey.co.uk/myaccount DISTRIBUTION Distribution in the UK • Marketforce (UK) Ltd, 3rd Floor, 161 Marsh Wall, London, E14 9AP Tel 020 3787 9001 Distribution in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland • Newspread Tel +353 23 886 3850 PRINTING Precision Colour Printing © Kelsey Media 2021. All rights reserved. Kelsey Media is a trading name of Kelsey Publishing Ltd. Reproduction in whole or in part is forbidden except with permission in writing from the publishers. Note to contributors: articles submitted for consideration by the editor must be the original work of the author and not previously published. Where photographs are included, which are not the property of the contributor, permission to reproduce them must have been obtained from the owner of the copyright. The editor cannot guarantee a personal response to all letters and emails received. The views expressed in the magazine are not necessarily those of the Editor or the Publisher. Kelsey Publishing Ltd accepts no liability for products and services offered by third parties. Ships Monthly is available for licensing worldwide. For more information, contact bruce@brucesawfordlicensing.com.
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WELCOME LOOKING BACK
T
AT TIMES PAST
he recent sad news of the passing of former Ships Monthly editor Robert Shopland reminded me of the magazine’s past, and indeed this year it is 55 years since the first edition was published. Robert passed away at a care home in Portishead on 24 May 2021. My time at Ships Monthly began just as Robert was retiring. He purchased the magazine in 1978 at a time of falling sales. With a profound interest in shipping, first kindled when he was 14 on a visit to Bristol docks, and later working as a clerk for the Port of Bristol Authority, he saw the opportunity as an exciting challenge. With the aim of widening the magazine’s appeal, and to assist in its revival, he enlisted top shipping writers.
Among the fr were Edward Paget-Tomlinson, who reviewed the short-sea passenger services, Roger Fry (naval ships), Ted Scull (cruise ships), Russell Plummer and Edwin Wilmshurst, whose Ports of Call listed passenger ship arrivals and sailings at UK ports. Those at Robert’s side included Ian Wakefield, accountant John Timperlake, Keith Goss as assistant editor and Caroline Kay. The success of Ships Monthly as a magazine is down to Robert’s hard work, as well as that of his various colleagues, and it is hoped that the current incarnation of the title is a worthy tribute to everything that has gone before.
Nicholas Leach Editor sm.ed@kelsey.co.uk
Contributors this month Malcolm Cranfield
Malcolm Cranfield is a maritime historian and shipping photographer. His interest in ships started in 1960, when he was living at Portishead, near Bristol.
Steve Tindale
Steven Tindale is a former shipwright and RAF photographer, who grew up on Tyneside, where he developed an interest in ships from an early age.
Stephen Payne
Stephen Payne is a naval architect, best known for designing Queen Mary 2. He is a past President of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects.
Kevin Mitchell
Kevin Mitchell lives and works in Poole, Dorset, where the busy port provides many good opportunities for photographing ships.
Ships Monthly on Facebook
REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS Krispen Atkinson • Gary Davies • William Mayes • Russell Plummer • Jim Shaw • Conrad Waters
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SHIPS MONTHLY See page 26 Kelsey Media takes your personal data very seriously. For more information of our privacy policy, please visit www.kelsey.co.uk/privacy-policy. If at any point you have any queries regarding Kelsey’s data policy you can email our Data Protection Officer at dpo@kelsey.co.uk www.shipsmonthly.com • August 2021 •
3
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CONTENTS LINER HERITAGE
REGULARS
14 NAVAL
P&O’S FAR EAST SERVICE SHIPPING MECCA
New era for Cook Strait ferries, end of the line for Olsen’s Boudicca, MSC acquires 60 ships in ten months, former ferry Patricia ends her days.
16 CARGO
SCARLET LADY DEBUTS AT PORTSMOUTH AUGUST 2021 www.shipsmonthly.com
BRITTANY FERRIES’
COTENTIN Ro-ro workhorse returns to the fleet £4.80
6 WATERFRONT
TERNEUZEN AND THE SCHELDE
aidemYESLEK
Edda Wind’s latest CSOV launched, Japanese LNG-fuelled icebreaker, and last of Grimaldi’s seven PCTCs completed. Jim Shaw
FERRY LATEST SUMMER START FOR NEW ROUTES NAVALKirov battlecruisers
VOYAGEREPORT Italia Line
COVER Brittany Ferries’ ro-ro vessel Cotentin departs Poole earlier this year. The vessel features as Ship of the Month (see page 21). KEVIN MITCHELL
ALSO AVAILABLE DIGITALLY WWW.POCKETMAGS.COM
Stolt Tankers partners with Tufton, Arriva buys cargo vessels from Arklow, and Global Ship Lease buys ‘old’ container ships
18 NEWBUILD
PLUS
ALL THE LATEST SHIPPING NEWS
MEMORIES Medway shipping
British-built tanker sinks in the Gulf, US Navy carries out Shock Trials on USS Gerald R. Ford, and South Korea wants F-35B jets. Gary Davies
10 FERRY
Ambitious plans for Isles of Scilly link, summer start for various new routes, and Stena Scandica enters service. Russell Plummer
12 CRUISE
Scarlet Lady becomes largest ship ever in Portsmouth, Carnival fleet changes continue, and SH Minerva floated out. William Mayes
45 SHIPS PICTORIAL
Photos of ships around the world, including at Southampton, Malta, and on the Thames.
SUBSCRIBE TODAY • See page 26 for more info
Saga Cruises’ 58,250gt cruise ship Spirit of Discovery in Gravesend Reach on 26 June, having successfully completed her sea trials and crew training prior to welcoming passengers aboard for a return to cruising. The ship, which was originally launched in July 2019, departed Tilbury Docks on her first roundBritain tour since the UK was locked down in March 2020 on 27 June. She called at Portsmouth, Portland, the Isles of Scilly and Falmouth. FRASER GRAY
WWW.SHIPSMONTHLY.COM 48 MEDWAY MEMORIES SHIP OF THE MONTH A look at the ships and shipping that have
FEATURES
visited the River Medway. Geoff Lunn
54 MARITIME MOSAIC
The shipping of Barrow in Furness, home to a thriving shipbuilding industry for many years.
28 P&O FAR EAST
The various ships operated by P&O on the ‘Far East Service’ between London and Australia via Cape Town from the 1930s. Stephen Payne
34 BIG PICTURE
Pictorial spread featuring Virgin Voyages’ Scarlet Lady, the company’s first ship, which became the largest ship ever to dock in Portsmouth.
36 TERNEUZEN SHIPS
56 KIROV BATTLECRUISERS
40 VOYAGE ON VERDI
CHARTROOM
The Dutch port of Terneuzen has been a mecca for ship enthusiasts, with opportunities to see ships close up. Phil Kempsey Recalling a voyage on Italia Line’s passenger/ cargo ship Verdi from Chile to the Canary Islands in 1970. Jim Shaw
The Soviet Navy Project 1144.1 Heavy Nuclear-Powered Missile Cruisers, which were Conceived during the Cold War. Steve Tindale
62 SHIPS MAIL
Letters and questions from readers.
21
COTENTIN BRITTANY FERRIES’
RO-RO WORKHORSE A look at the career of the 2007-built Cotentin, the largest ro-ro freighter linking the UK and France. Kevin Mitchell
63 MYSTERY SHIP Can you identify this month’s mystery? 64 SHIPS LIBRARY
Reviews of the latest ship and maritime books.
AUGUST 2021 • Volume 56 • No.8
WATERFRONT ‘SPARKY’ THE An impression of one of the new ferries recently ordered by Interislander for service in New Zealand.
TUGBOAT TECHNOLOGY
The Damen Shipyards Group’s Song Cam Shipyard in Vietnam is to deliver the fully-electric reverse stern-drive tug ‘Sparky’ to New Zealand’s Ports of Auckland by the end of this year. Ordered in August 2019, the new vessel has been fitted with 2,240 batteries totalling 2,784kWh, which will allow the tug to carry out two or more berthing/ unberthing operations with up to 70 tonnes bollard pull on a single charge. Recharging will take just two hours for the batteries to regain full capacity. JS
The world’s first fully-electric tugboat, ‘Sparky,’ will be delivered to New Zealand’s Ports of Auckland by the Damen Shipyards Group.
NEW ERA FOR COOK STRAIT FERRIES
ON TRIALS
On 1 July KiwiRail and Korean shipyard Hyundai Mipo Dockyard (HMD) signed a contract for the delivery of two new, state-of-theart Cook Strait ferries. The first will arrive in 2025 and the second in 2026. The contract price for the two ferries is USD$369 million (NZ$551 million). The two railenabled ferries, when running at full capacity, will be able to carry almost twice the number of passengers, and commercial and passenger vehicles, compared to the current fleet.
The only currently rail-enabled ferry, Aratere, can carry a maximum of 27 60ft-equivalent wagons per sailing. The two new rail-enabled ships will be able to carry 40 60ft equivalent wagons per vessel on up to three return sailings each per day. That is a 300 per cent increase in capacity. The contract was signed with HMD after years of research and planning, a lengthy procurement process, and productive technical and commercial negotiations with the shipyard. KiwiRail has been working on the ferry upgrade project for several years. The new
END OF LINE FOR BOUDICCA 2006 until 2019. Boudicca became CRUISE SHIPS
A ship of many talents, Russia’s new Project 03182 offshore vessel has been designed to undertake a wide variety of missions. ZDB
MULTI-TALENTED VESSELS of 3,500 tons, they had been configured to transport both liquid and dry cargoes as well Russia’s Volga Shipyard has as passengers, and can transfer completed the multi-purpose fuel and oil to other ships at sea. offshore vessel Vice-Admiral Paromov as the lead unit of four In addition, they can operate Project 03182 ships designed by in 0.6m- to 0.8m-thick ice the Zelenodolsk Design Bureau conditions, such as found along (ZDB) for a broad range of missions. the Northern Sea Route, and have been outfitted to participate in Measuring 78.8m by 15.4m, Arctic scientific expeditions. JS and with a full displacement
ferries will help to ensure a safe and resilient rail and passenger service between the North and South Islands, which is a vital part of the economy and a key part of New Zealand’s supply chain and transport infrastructure. Interislander operates around 3,800 ferry crossings a year, transporting about 850,000 passengers and 250,000 cars, as well as freight, with significant growth predicted. The new ferries will contribute to a 40 per cent reduction in Interislander’s carbon emissions, and offer more choice of onboard services for passengers.
Fred. Olsen Cruise Line’s Boudicca’s long career ended with a mid-May arrival for scrapping at Aliaga, Turkey after plans for her use as an accommodation vessels at Pendik, Turkey with sistership Black Watch, failed to materialise. Built in 1973 as Royal Viking Sky in Helsinki as one of a trio of vessels for Royal Viking Line, she had a long career with Fred. Olsen from
the 25th cruise vessel sold for scrap since the onset of Covid. Laid up at Rosyth as Covid-19 struck from March 2020, Boudicca and Black Watch were sold after Holland America twins Rotterdam and Amsterdam were purchased to make July debuts in Fred. Olsen colours as Bolette and Borealis. The new ships were initially running on round-UK cruises from Dover and Liverpool. RP
MULTI PURPOSE
6 • August 2021 • www.shipsmonthly.com
Borealis passing Duart Point in July. ANDREW WOOD
MSC TAKE 60 SHIPS IN TEN MONTHS
SAILINGS PADDLE STEAMER
The 1,678TEU container ship Bomar Valour, recently acquired by MSC, at Europoort in May 2018. KRISPEN ATKINSON
fully-controlled fleet. The vessels purchased recently have ranged from 925TEU to 9,162TEU. Mediterranean Shipping Co One of the smaller vessels the (MSC)’s spending spree has company has picked up is the continued, with the purchase of 1,678TEU Bomar Valour. She was the 5,018TEU capacity container purchased along with her sister ship Kowloon Bay. She became the 60th vessel which the Geneva- Bomar Vanquish from Londonbased company, founded in 1970, based Borealis Maritime for $11.4 has purchased on the second-hand million en bloc in February. With market in the past ten months as the recent purchases, MSC has added 257,000TEU slots to its it looks to increase the size of its
CONTAINER SHIPS
fleet, pushing the total slots to over 4 million TEU. MSC remains behind its 2M-Alliance vessel-sharing partner Maersk, which tops the capacity rankings. However, MSC have a significantly larger order book than the Danish operator, with, among others, a series of 24,000TEU vessels on order, which are due to enter service over the next two years. KA
The world’s last seagoing paddle steamer, Waverley, opened her 2021 season on 29 June with early sailings, including trips through the Kyles of Bute to Tarbert; cruising the west coast of Arran; and round Holy Isle. Most sailings to 22 August start from Glasgow and pick up at Greenock and Dunoon before continuing via Rothesay to sail round the Isle of Bute or go through the Kyles. The PSPS Scottish Branch have a public charter on Sunday 15 August departing Glasgow at 0900, Greenock 1040 and Largs 1215 to cruise outward to Tarbert via the Kyles of Bute. Sailings from 23 August are yet to be announced. Enquiries can be made to Waverley Excursions; tel 0141 0243 2224 or email info@ waverleyexcursions.co.uk. RP
TALLINK CHARTERS TO MOROCCO DESTROYER ON THE MOVE crew will be Estonian for their FERRY MOVES
Due to the pandemic impacting its scope of operations, the Estonian shipping company has put two members of its fleet on short-term charters to Tanger MED Port Authority, a stateowned Moroccan company between July and September. Sisterships Romantika and Viktoria 1 are normally employed on the Riga-Åland-Stockholm route, which was suspended shortly after the Covid-19 crisis began, and have been laid up in Tallinn since September last year and January this year respectively. The bridge
100-day sojourn in the sun. Their new service will see them trafficking between Morocco, France and Italy, specifically from the port of Tangier to Sete and Genoa as part of Morocco’s Operation Margaba that repatriates ex-pats for their annual summer holiday visit to meet friends and relatives. Normally this would involve Algeciras, but for the first time, no Spanish port has been included due to strained relations currently between the two countries, despite their proximity. Up to three million may make a visit home this year. JP
Viktoria 1 leaves for Stockholm. JOHN PAGNI
ORP Błyskawica (H34) being moved from PGZ Naval Shipyard to the Pomorskie Quay, her permanent berth since 1975, after three months being repainted and refurbished. LUCAS BLASZCZAK
PRESERVATION
The famous Polish Grom-class destroyer ORP Błyskawica (H34) recently returned from the PGZ Naval Shipyard to her permanent berth at Pomorskie Quay after three months being repaired and refurbished. She was given the camouflage livery which she wore from the beginning of 1942. ORP Błyskawica, the oldest preserved destroyer, was built in 1937 by J. Samuel White Shipyard in Cowes, together
ku.oc.yeslek@de.ms > e • 444145 95910 > t • LA6 81EM ,tneK ,gnidlaY ,lliH gnidlaY ,truoC snwoD ,yranarG ehT • moc.ylhtnomspihs.www • TNORFRETAW
news WAVERLEY
with her sistership ORP Grom. During World War II, Błyskawica fought alongside the Royal Navy, taking part in the Battle of the Atlantic, actions in Norway, the evacuation of troops from France, operations on the Mediterranean Sea, and in the invasion of France in 1944 and coastal patrols. She was twice modernised after the war, and since May 1976, when she was decommissioned, she has been a museum ship, being displayed at the Naval Museum in Gdynia. www.shipsmonthly.com • August 2021 •
7
WATERFRONT BRIEF NEWS
ROYAL NAVY JOIN BALTOPS HMS Albion returning to Leith on 25 June after participating in BALTOPS 50. IAIN MCGEACHY
FREIGHT CONNECTION • Designed to relieve freight pressure on Dover, the three times weekly DFDS Sheerness-Calais freight connection, originally advertised for a 1 June debut by ro-ro ferry Maxine (2000/21,005gt), started on 10 July with the vessel’s arrival at Sheerness. RP SHIPBUILDING REBOUND • According to Lloyd’s List Intelligence’s monthly publication ‘Shipbuilding Outlook’, a total of 2,059 ships were launched in 2020, representing a combined deadweight of 92.3 million tonnes, while over 114 million deadweight tonnes is expected to be launched this year as the world shipbuilding industry rebounds. JS HYDROGEN-POWERED SALT CARRIER • Concordia Damen has contracted Holland’s Lenten Scheepvaart to build a 135m inland bulk carrier which will be powered by a hydrogen fuel cell and used to transport salt between Delfzijl and the Port of Rotterdam. Upon delivery it will be Europe’s first ever inland hydrogen-powered vessel. JS OPE 2021 FORMAT • The Moroccan Government announced no participation will be allowed by vessels running from Spanish ports in this year’s ‘Passage of the Straits’, the annual season of heavy passenger traffic going south to Morocco and Algeria in June and July and returning in August and September. Only vessels sailing to and from Italian and French ports will be permitted after the bulk of the ferries previously travelled from Spain before Covid-19 reduced last year’s carryings. RP
NATO EXERCISE
The 50th Baltic Operations (BALTOPS 50), the premier NATO maritime exercise in the Baltic Region, saw the amphibious assault ship, HMS Albion, and the landing dock ship, RFA Mounts Bay, in the Baltic Sea as part of the Littoral Response Group (North)’s deployment both before and after the main exercise. Prior to taking part, the two ships linked up with the 1st Marine Regiment of the Swedish Amphibious Corps to ensure the two nations could work together. After the exercise, Albion visited Klaipeda, Lithuania and Riga, Latvia and returned to Leith on 25 June to offload the vehicles and men of Royal Marines 45
KINGSWEAR CASTLE • The 1924-built coal-fired Kingswear Castle began 2021 sailings on 18 May and predominantly operates one-hour river cruises from Dartmouth, sailing daily except Fridays and operated by the Dartmouth Steam Railway and River Boat Company in connection with services on the preserved railway. RP
8 • August 2021 • www.shipsmonthly.com
Commando. This was the first visit of a Royal Naval capital ship to the port for over 20 years. The exercises saw an unprecedented number of naval visits to the Forth, with Albion calling at both the naval jetty at Crombie and at Rosyth in May. RFA Mounts Bay visited Rosyth both before and after the exercises, with her deployment including visits to Tallinn, Estonia and Frederikshavn, Denmark. The third member of the Littoral Response Group (North), the Type 23 frigate HMS Lancaster, visited Crombie in early June. In May Crombie also hosted the frigates HMS Argyll, HMS Northumberland and HMS Westminster, while in June Leith saw the Archer Patrol vessels HMS Biter and HMS Express. IM
130 YEARS OF SERVICE LAKE TRIP BOAT
A special celebration was held in June to mark the 130th birthday of one of the Lake District’s most iconic vessels, Windermere Lake Cruises’ flagship MV Tern. She is one of the oldest largescale vessels still operating on England’s inland waterways and was launched on 27 June 1891. Over her career she has sailed more than a million miles and carried more than 17 million passengers. To mark the day, Tern’s crew celebrated with a special anniversary cake and handed out copies of a children’s book all about the historic vessel to young passengers who took a trip on her this Sunday.
Tern was built by boat builders Forrest and Son in London, and could originally carry well over 600 passengers on Lake Windermere.
CONDOR NEWCOMER MAKES HER DEBUT FAST CRAFT
Condor Voyager, the newest member of the Condor Ferries, arrived in Poole for the first time in early June to begin mooring trials and training for crew and
port staff before starting sailings to the Channel Islands of Jersey and Guernsey, as well as St Malo. Previously Brittany Ferries’ Normandie Express, the 98m catamaran, built in Tasmania by InCat and delivered in 2000,
can carry up to 850 passengers and 235 cars. Before leaving the Channel Islands for Poole, Condor Voyager underwent engineering checks and sea trials together with re-painting in Condor colours. KEVIN MITCHELL
Five-decade career starting as Patricia in 1967 (left), becoming Stena Saga in 1979, Crown Princess Victoria in 1990 and Amusement World in 1998 (right).
renamed Stena Oceanic, having been extensively altered during One of the world longest-serving a four-month visit to Smith’s Dry Dock on the Tyne near Newcastle. ferries has gone to breakers in The hull was cut to provide India after a career spanning 54 more height on the car deck and years. Built in 1967 as Patricia, increase capacity by around 100 she spent a decade of Swedish Lloyd sailings from Southampton cars. Stability bulges were added to the hull, with the work also to Bilbao in Spain. Originally boosting passenger capacity 8,896gt when delivered from to 1,300, while gross tonnage the AB Lindholmen Shipyard increased to 14,139. She started in Gothenburg, Sweden, the Gothenburg-Frederikshavn stylish single-funnel vessel first carried up to 748 passengers and sailings in March 1979. Next she linked Oslo and was powered by four PielstickFrederikshavn as Stena Saga Lindholmen diesel engines for a speed of 18 knots. She was joined until becoming Lion Queen for by sisters Svea and Saga for North Stena associate Lion Ferry, sailing Sea services from Gothenburg to from the Danish port of Grenaa. After crossing the Atlantic and Tilbury and later the Tyne. going via the Panama Canal, she After being sold to Stena ran south from Victoria in British Line in autumn 1978, she was
FERRY SCRAPPING
Columbia, Canada, to the US port of Seattle as Crown Prince Victoria from 1990, but was quickly withdrawn after the loss of onboard gaming rights. Following a brief spell as Crown Princess, she next figured as the casino ship Pacific Star, running between San Diego and Ensenda, Mexico. Then came a charter as Sun Fiesta for another gambling ship role, this time running from Port Everglades to Freeport in the Bahamas, before a return to the Baltic and a second spell as Lion Queen which lasted until she was sold in 1997 to New Century Cruise Line for trips from Singapore. During a refit at the Bethlehem Yard in Singapore in 1997, part of the front car deck was converted to serve as an additional casino.
The vessel’s 30th year brought casino ship sailings out of Kukup, Malaysia, as Putri Bintang prior to new owners New Century Cruise Line coming on the scene in 1998 with yet another name change to Amusement World. From 2001 there was a daily call at the small Malaysian town of Pasir Gudang. Jackson Maritime of Singapore placed Amusement World under the flag of Tuvala, with a home port of Funafuti from 2005, with another change of flag and port to Palau. A final switch to Panamanian colours took place in December 2015, and Putri Bintang’s last sailings, under the Panama flag, continued until August 2020. The veteran vessel finally headed to Indian breakers on 26 April this year. RP
CREW DEATH ON BULKER TO SOUTH AFRICA COVID LATEST
The bulk carrier Eaubonne was in the news in early May after she arrived in Durban, South Africa from Kandla in India with a crew member who had died from Covid-19 during the passage; several crew members subsequently tested positive. It is not clear why the health authorities had cleared the ship to enter, but the chief harbour master of South Africa later issued a directive to all ports, agents and operators with a reminder of the requirements and their obligations, and of penalties if false information is provided (or neglected to be provided) by ships’ masters. After waiting in Durban anchorage for 23 hours pending clearance, Eaubonne entered port on the afternoon of 2 May to discharge a 6,000-tonne parcel of rice loaded at Kandla. She
Eaubonne departing Durban on 19 May. TREVOR JONES
remained in port for 17 days, discharge of the cargo having been disrupted by the ship being quarantined at Maydon Wharf. She sailed on the afternoon of 19 May for Abidjan to discharge the balance of the cargo. Eaubonne is a Dolphin 64 standard type of about 64,000dwt, of which many have been built at several yards across China. She was part of a Greek owner’s four-ship order from Sainty Marine’s yard at Yizheng.
Although she was completed in May 2014, the Greek owner defaulted, so she was delivered in December 2014 as Sainty Valiant to the in-house Sainty Marine Corporation of Nanjing. In March 2016 Sainty Valiant was involved in a collision with the Sinotrans bulk carrier Great Scenery in Chittagong, which caused a barge to capsize, with two fatalities. After a period under arrest over claims related to that incident, she was allowed
ku.oc.yeslek@de.ms > e • 444145 95910 > t • LA6 81EM ,tneK ,gnidlaY ,lliH gnidlaY ,truoC snwoD ,yranarG ehT • moc.ylhtnomspihs.www • TNORFRETAW
news FORMER PATRICIA ENDS HER DAYS AFTER 54 YEARS
to proceed in August 2016 to Singapore, where she was again placed under arrest. Sold in November 2016 to Celsius Shipping APS, she was immediately taken on longterm charter by Great Harvest Maeta Group of Hong Kong and renamed GH Storm Cat. In February 2021 she was sold to Mountain Invest K/S, an indirect subsidiary of the Navision Group of Copenhagen, which was formed in 2001, and renamed Eaubonne, being managed by Union Commercial Inc of Athens. Sistership Sainty Victory, which was launched in July 2014 as Ultra Beijing, was similarly acquired by Celsius in November 2016 and renamed GH Danzero. The other two sister ships were temporarily named Sainty Voyager and Sainty Virtue before being delivered to Clipper Bulk of Copenhagen as Clipper Kythira and Clipper Kalavryta. MC
www.shipsmonthly.com • August 2021 •
9
FERRY TRIP NEWS
DELIVERY DELAY • Completion of the world’s largest fast ferry, Express 5, for Bornholmslinjen will be six months late and not now take place until winter 2022 after building work involving Austal yards in the Philippines and Vietnam was affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. The 13,589gt 115m vessel will operate between Sweden and Denmark. EXTRA STENA VESSEL • Eased Covid restrictions for Danish passengers travelling to Sweden saw Stena Line bring in a third vessel for the FrederikshavnGothenburg service from the beginning of July, with Stena Vinga (2005/14,551gt) introduced to support longserving route regulars Stena Danica (1983/28,727gt) and Stena Jutlandica (1996/29,691gt). This is one of Stena’s most important routes for passengers, and 2021 high season bookings have surged far ahead of 2020 figures. ROUTE REOPENING • After a 16-month break due to the Covid pandemic, Tallink-Silja Line are to resume alternate day sailings between Nordic capitals Helsinki and Stockholm from 1 August, with Silja Serenade (1990/58,376gt) also calling each way at Mariehamn in the Åland Islands. Stena Saga (1981/33,750gt), another long laid-up Baltic ferry idle at Uddevalla, Sweden for 14 months since the closure of the Frederikshavn-Oslo route, left on 16 June for a summer charter in the Mediterranean.
Russell Plummer
AMBITIOUS PLANS FOR FERRIES
PRESENT Scillonian III, built in 1977 for the PenzanceSt Mary’s route, is the last conventional passenger/ cargo vessel built for service in Western Europe.
FUTURE An impression of the striking appearance of Scillonian IV, which is due to take over the main sea connections with the Isles of Scilly during 2024.
18 knots to reduce journey times between Penzance and St Mary’s by 20 per cent and will replace Designs have been announced the 485-passenger vessel for a trio of state-of-the-art Scillonian III (1977/1,346gt). There vessels to serve the Isles of will be seating arrangements Scilly, with building to begin over three lift-connected decks early next year before delivery and an onboard coffee shop and in 2024 of passenger carrier Scillonian IV, together with a 45m retail area, together with anti-roll fins to improve stability. A hybrid cargo vessel and a new launch propulsion system to reduce to run between the islands. emissions is planned, while cargo The Isles of Scilly Steamship capacity includes provision for Co is working with the Islands Council and UK Government, as handling chilled or frozen goods. All three vessels are designed well as going into partnership by BMT. The cargo ship will with international shipbroker take over from Gry Maritha Blair Reid, who are new ferry (1981/590gt), which has operated procurement specialists. The 600-passenger Scillonian year-round since purchased in 1990 and provides the Scillies’ IV will have a service speed of
ISLES OF SCILLY
only sea link with Penzance during the winter months, when Scillonian III is laid up. There will be a crane with an eight-ton lift and a lounge for 12 passengers The inter-island launch, to be named Lyonesse Lady II, will have 50 per cent greater cargo capacity and a service speed of 12 knots, compared to the nine knots of current vessel Lyonesse Lady (1991/40gt). Blair Reid is currently in touch with more than 30 shipyards from the UK, Europe and the Far East to acquire expressions of interest and identify potential yard slots and building costs to enable firm orders to be made for building work to begin in March 2022.
ZERO EMISSION thatSEAGLIDER CHANNEL PROJECT could begin operating across BRITTANY FERRIES
Leading French operator Brittany Ferries has signed a letter of intent with REGENT (Regional Electric Effect Nautical Transport), based in Boston, USA, for the development of a zero emission high-speed seaglider, combining hydrofoil and aircraft technology,
the English Channel between Britain and France during 2028. REGENT expects to bring its first seaglider to the market in 2025. Flying at speeds of 180mph, it will be seven times faster than conventional ferries and have a range of 180 nautical miles using battery technology.
An impression of the zeroemisson, highspeed seaglider which could be the shape of things to come for Brittany Ferries.
FERRIES IN THE NEWS . . . FERRIES IN THE NEWS . . . FERRIES IN THE NEWS . . . FERRIES IN THE NEWS . . ..
ARAN DEBUT • A flotilla of wooden Galway hookers provided an escort when Aran Islands Ferries’ new Hong Kong-built passenger craft Saoirse na Farraige set off on a maiden sailing from Galway City on 14 June. The 40m vessel has a speed of 20 knots and space for 394 passengers.
BEN-MY-CHREE • The 12,747gt Isle of Man Steam Packet ro-pax flagship finally returned to service between Douglas and Heysham on 13 June after a three-week May annual overhaul visit to Cammell Laird at Birkenhead had to be extended when the 1998-built vessel’s stern tube bearings were found to be more worn than expected. Fast craft Manannan, which had kept services going with freight ro-ro Arrow, then stood down until her sailings to both Liverpool and Dublin started at the beginning of July.
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AURORA BOTNIA • Claimed to be the world’s most environmentally friendly passenger/car ferry, Wasa Line’s 24,300gt newbuilding completed first sea trials from the Rauma Constructions yard in Finland over three days in early June and was due to begin sailings linking Finland and Sweden in July.
SUMMER CHARTER • Moby Corse (197819,321gt), now well into a fifth decade of service, is being used on charter this summer by SNAV to link Ancona, Italy with the Croatian port of Split. The vessel first served DFDS as Dana Anglia, linking Harwich with Esbjerg, Denmark, and in 2002 inaugurated a new Baltic route between Copenhagen, Trelleborg and Gdansk as Duke of Scandinavia, later switching to North ShieldsIJmuiden. She became Brittany Ferries’ Pont l’Abbé in 2006.
SUMMER START FOR NEW ROUTES IRISH FERRIES/STENA
Although the start of a new DFDS freight link between Calais and Sheerness has been delayed, Irish Ferries made their English Channel debut between Dover and Calais on 29 June. After being refitted in Brest, Isle of Inishmore (1997/34,032gt) covers an intensive schedule bringing five return trips a day and with only 50 or 55
minutes allowed for turn-rounds. Stena Line responded to high Irish Sea demand to and from Belfast by starting weekend links with Holyhead, crossings by Stena Estrid (2019) beginning on Fridays and Saturdays from 2 June. She departs the Northern Ireland port at 2230 for an 8.5-hour sailing time and a 6.5-hour return from Anglesey, leaving at 0930 on Saturday and Sunday.
RMT PENTALINA CONCERNS
and passenger safety could be threatened by chartering the Despite safety concerns expressed vessel and added: ‘Specifically, we understand from former crew by maritime trades union RMT, Caledonian MacBrayne are set to members that Pentalina has undergone substantial alterations charter the catamaran Pentalina (2008/2,382gt), which has been laid to its aluminium superstructure up at Kirkwall, Orkney since being which make it inappropriate for CalMac routes.’ replaced in the Pentland Ferries The 70m Pentalina was built in fleet by the larger Vietnam-built vessel Alfred in November 2020. the Philippines at the Cebu yard of FBM Marine and carried 438 In a letter to the Coastguard passengers and more than 40 cars and Maritime Agency, RMT on return trips between Gills Bay, general secretary Mike Lynch said there was concern that crew Caithness and St Margaret’s Hope.
The route, due to continue at least until 18 July, was in response to high early summer traffic on existing services to Belfast from Birkenhead and Cairnryan. It meant there were weekend sightings at the Victoria 4 Terminal of all three of Stena’s current 41,671gt China-built E-Flexers, with Stena Edda (2020), Stena Embla (2020) and Stena Estrid all using the Victoria 4 Terminal.
DOVER PLAN TO CUT EMISSIONS DFDS
The main focus of a DFDS climate action plan to reduce emissions by 45 per cent before 2030, through upgrading of existing vessels, took a step forward with the propulsion and control systems of Dover-Dunkirk route ferry Dover Seaways (2006/35,923gt, pictured) rebuilt and upgraded during an 18-day dry-docking at the French port. Fuel savings are another major objective, and confirmation of what Dover Seaways has achieved since the changes is expected during September. Approximately six kilometres of cabling links new equipment with existing machinery systems aboard Dover Seaways, where power comes from four MAN/B&W diesel engines delivering 34,800kW.
CALMAC
Pentalina seen in 2019, towards the end of her 12 years of service for Pentland Ferries.
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Irish Ferries’ Isle of Inishmore makes her maiden arrival at Dover on 19 June. GEORGE HOLLAND
news
Stena Scandica on sea trials shortly after the complex conversion of the one-time Stena Lagan.
LAGAN BECOMES SCANDICA section was installed to allow STENA LINE
Turkey’s Sedef Shipyard completed a complex conversion of the former Irish Sea vessel Stena Lagan from the Birkenhead-Belfast service in time for an early July debut in the Baltic as Stena Scandica on the Stockholm NorvikNynashamn-Venstpils service. Completed as a stern loader at Italy’s Visentini Yard in 2005, the vessel was lengthened by 38m to 222m, and a new bow
for drive-through double-deck loading. Capacity increased from 2,238 to 2,875 lane metres, with further space for 277 cars on two separate decks. Although the number of cabins has gone up from 120 to 200, and 104 reclining seats are available in different saloons, the total passenger figure of 970 is unchanged. Stena Scandica was handed back to Stena in Turkey on 18 June, by which time Stena Mersey had arrived at Sedef.
www.shipsmonthly.com • August 2021 •
11
CRUISE
NEW VENTURE HURTIGRUTEN
Hurtigruten has teamed up with Galapagos-based Metropolitan Touring to offer its own cruise programme in the Galapagos Islands. The ship that will feature in these cruises is Metropolitan’s Santa Cruz II (2002/2,664gt). In anticipation of the new venture, she will be upgraded in order to meet Hurtigruten’s standards. The first sailing is scheduled for January 2022. The ship has been operating for her current owner since 2015, when she was refurbished, having previously been sailing as Mare Australis for the Chilean Cruceros Australis.
William Mayes
Scarlet Lady approaching Portsmouth. She will undertake some threeand four-night sailings, beginning on 6 August WILLIAM MAYES
LARGEST SHIP EVER IN PORTSMOUTH VIRGIN VOYAGES
The former Mare Australis will be sailing for Hurtigruten in the Galapagos Islands. RICK FRENDT
On 21 June Virgin Voyages’ Scarlet Lady, the company’s first ship, made history when she became the largest ship ever to dock in Portsmouth. Scarlet Lady, named after an early Virgin Atlantic plane, is the first of three ships to be built by Fincantieri.
Carnival Horizon is one of the early returns to service for Carnival Cruise Line. WILLIAM MAYES
US CRUISING RESUMES INDUSTRY NEWS
Celebrity Edge became the first large cruise ship to sail from a US port in 15 months, when she departed from Fort Lauderdale on 26 June. There had been a minor scare when a crew member tested positive for Covid-19 in the run-up to sailing, but that was handled appropriately, and the infected person disembarked. The ship called at Cozumel, Costa Maya and Nassau during the voyage. Other cases were found on Celebrity Millennium sailing from St Maarten, and Adventure
of the Seas, which is currently based in Nassau. However, the problems on both ships were dealt with effectively and there was none of the paranoia shoreside which had previously been linked to this issue. Both ships continued their cruises. Princess Cruises will resume service in the Caribbean in November, with five ships sailing from Fort Lauderdale. Alaska operations begin in July using Majestic Princess. July will see Carnival’s Carnival Breeze and Carnival Vista resume service from Galveston, and Carnival Horizon from Miami.
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She was built at the Sestri Ponente yard near Genoa, being delivered in February 2020. However, due to the Coronavirus pandemic, she has been unable to sail on any revenue-generating voyages until now. The 108,192gt vessel has a passenger capacity of 2,770 and a crew numbering around 1,150.
Scarlet Lady will relocate to Miami in September, from where she will initially visit Key West, Cozumel, Playa del Carmen, Bimini and Puerto Plata. The second ship, Valiant Lady, was due to have operated in Europe in the summer, but will now debut in the Caribbean in November. The third ship, Resilient Lady, will enter service in 2022.
CARNIVAL CORP
(2004/102,784gt) will transfer to the Carnival Cruise Lines fleet in 2022, after undergoing an internal refit. The third ship in the series being built for Aida Cruises by Meyer at Papenburg will now become a Carnival ship instead. She is to be delivered in 2023 and shares a platform with Mardi Gras, built by Meyer at Turku. Aida Cruises will also lose the ship on which the company was founded, Aidacara, which was delivered as Aida (1996/38557gt).
FLEET CHANGES CONTINUE As the pandemic seems to be coming to an end, Carnival Corp is making some changes to its fleets, which, between them, have seen the departure of 15 ships in the past year. Four were from the Carnival fleet, with two being replaced by the newbuilds Mardi Gras and Carnival Celebration. Two more ships will be transferred from other fleets. Costa Crociere’s Costa Magica Aidacara, the ‘mothership’, has been sold. WILLIAM MAYES
Celebrity Apex, off Santorini on her maiden voyage. Rick Frendt
BRIEF NEWS
SAGA CRUISES • The new Spirit of Adventure was due to be named in Portsmouth on 19 July by Commodore Inga J. Kennedy, a former head of the Royal Navy’s Medical Services. Spirit of Adventure will sail on her muchdelayed maiden voyage on 26 July, just a month after her older sister, Spirit of Discovery, came back into service.
NEW SHIPS DEBUT IN GREECE
CELEBRITY/SILVERSEA
As Greece opens up to foreign travellers, particularly those from the USA, cruising has resumed. Two ships have recently sailed on their maiden voyages from Piraeus. On 19 June the new Celebrity Apex departed Piraeus for a seven-night Greek Islands and Cyprus cruise, the first of
a number of Celebrity Cruises’ voyages running through to the end of September, after which she crosses to the Caribbean. Silversea’s new Silver Moon sailed from Piraeus on the same day on a similar, but slightly longer, itinerary. A week earlier Celestyal Cruises resumed service with Celestyal Crystal, and fleetmate Celestyal Olympia resumed
ANOTHER NEW BRAND Artist rendition of MSC’s new Explora ships. MSC
to have facilities and services based on the Yacht Club concept, first introduced with the Fantasia class The plans for MSC to introduce what it regards as a luxury brand and then rolled forward to the took a further step forward on 10 Meraviglia and Seaside classes. The fourth member of the MSC June with the first steel-cutting for the lead ship in a series of four. Seaside class will be named MSC Seascape when delivered in late The 64,000gt vessels are due for delivery from 2023 to 2026 and 2022. One of the features of this will carry around 900 passengers ship will be a roller coaster. The name was revealed at the coin under the Explora Journeys ceremony on 24 June. Both MSC banner. Construction of the Seascape and the third ship, MSC unimaginatively named Explora Seashore, are so-called Seaside I will take place at Fincantieri’s Evo class ships, larger than the first Monfalcone yard, near Trieste. When the order was placed in duo. MSC has not disposed of any 2018, the plan was for this quartet ships during the shutdown.
EXPLORA
operations on 28 June from Athens’ second port, Lavrion. The third ship, the recently acquired Celestyal Experience, remains at the Elefsis Anchorage. Other ships to resume service in the area include Seabourn Ovation on 3 July. Celebrity Infinity, currently anchored off Piraeus, will be operational again from Civitavecchia in August.
SH MINERVA FLOATED OUT SWAN HELLENIC
It was a historic day for Swan Hellenic on 23 June, when the Helsinki Shipyard performed the processes of floating out the first of the company’s three new expedition ships, SH Minerva, and floating the second ship, SH Vega, in her building dock. The first pair of ships will be 10,500gt and carry 152 passengers, in a Polar Class 6 ice-strengthened hull. The third ship, for which the steel-cutting process began a few days earlier, will be slightly larger at 12,000gt and will carry 192 passengers.
SH Minerva is floated out at the Helsinki Shipyard on 23 June.
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CRYSTAL CRUISES • Manuela Schwesig, Prime Minister of the Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania region, named the first of Crystal Cruises’ so-called expedition yachts at the MV Werften shipyard at Stralsund, Germany on 26 June. The 200-passenger ship has been built to Polar Class 6 standards and was scheduled to operate a maiden cruise around Iceland, commencing on 17 July. P&O CRUISES • The company has cancelled cruises on both Arcadia and Aurora until spring 2022, but has announced that two winter sunshine sailings will be undertaken by Aurora earlier in the new year. REGENT SEVEN SEAS • The third ship in the Seven Seas Explorer series will be named Seven Seas Grandeur when it is delivered in the autumn of 2023. She will carry 750 passengers and be approximately 56,000gt.
ROYAL CARIBBEAN • The first steel was cut for the first of the Icon class ships for Royal Caribbean at the Meyer Turku shipyard on 14 June. At the same time, it was revealed that the lead ship will be named Icon of the Seas when she is delivered in the autumn of 2023. The Icon class ships will be large, but perhaps a little smaller than the Oasis class, the first two of which were built in the same yard, at around 200,000gt and a passenger capacity of up to 5,600. These vessels will be the first in the Royal Caribbean International fleet to be fuelled by LNG. The second and third units will be delivered in 2025 and 2026.
www.shipsmonthly.com • August 2021 •
13
NAVAL
Gary Davies
BRITISH-BUILT TANKER SINKS IN THE GULF IRANIAN NAVY
An Iranian Navy ship has sunk after catching fire in the Gulf of Oman. The replenishment tanker IRIS Kharg went down in international waters off the coast of the southern port of Jask after firefighters failed to contain a blaze which burned for more than 20 hours. All the crew were safely evacuated. The cause of the fire is not thought to have been caused by anything sinister, although the vessel was operating in a region of simmering geopolitical tensions with occasional attacks against shipping. Named after the island that serves as the main oil terminal for Iran, Kharg was ordered from Swan Hunter, Wallsend-on-Tyne in 1974. The modified Ol class fleet replenishment oiler was intended
for the Imperial Iranian Navy. However, she was not completed until a year after the Islamic Revolution of 1979, which deposed HMCS Corner Brook is back in the water or the first time in ten years. RCN
TURNING THE CORNER CANADIAN NAVY
Canada’s submarine fleet is set for a welcome boost with the return to service of HMCS Corner Brook. The 29-year-old diesel-electric submarine is back in action for the first time in a decade after sustaining extensive damage in a seabed collision in 2011. Work to return the former HMS Ursula to service began at Esquimalt in 2014. In addition
to being repaired after her grounding, the submarine has received the Victoria Class Modernisation package. The upgrade includes the addition of a new communications mast, replacement of the 2040 sonar suite and systems to enable firing of the Mk48 7AT torpedo. Following undocking, Corner Brook will undergo harbour and sea trials ahead of her return to service with the Halifax-based East Coast fleet in 2022.
14 • August 2021 • www.shipsmonthly.com
the Shah of Iran. Delivery was delayed until 1984, with the British government initially refusing to grant an export licence.
Until earlier this year, the 41-yearold IRIS Kharg was the Iranian Navy’s largest vessel. She is pictured at Singapore in March 1987. PETER MELLIAR/TREVOR JONES COLLECTION
REPUBLIC’S NEWEngineering AMBITION (DSME) showcased SOUTH KOREAN NAVY
The South Korean Navy’s aspirations for a platform optimised to operate F-35B jets have grown to a new level, with two concept designs for a fullyfledged light aircraft carrier now on the table. The follow-on to the 19,500-tonne Dokdo amphibious assault ship, hitherto known as the LPX II, has evolved into the CVX project, with a significantly larger vessel than previously envisaged. At the Maritime Defense Industry Exhibition 2021 (MADEX) held at Busan in June, Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine
scale models of competing concepts. Each features the twin-island configuration of the RN’s Queen Elizabeth class. HHI’s concept is for a 45,000-tonne vessel that can accommodate 16 jets and six helicopters. The design includes an optional skijump and an auxiliary deck below the flight deck, for operating rotary-wing drones. DSME’s design, produced with technical assistance from Babcock and Fincantieri, aims for a similar displacement but retains a well deck and flight deck arrangement similar to the Italian LHD, Trieste.
DSMEs CVX design is being developed with British and Italian knowhow. DSME
BRIEF NEWS
This ‘experimental explosion’ registered as a 3.9 magnitude earthquake, according to the US Geological Survey. US NAVY
INDONESIAN NAVY • Fincantieri is to deliver eight frigates to Indonesia. The order comprises six newbuild FREMMs and a pair of Maestrale class frigates. The latter are to be acquired from the Italian Navy upon decommissioning and refurbished in Italy prior to transfer. Indonesia is the third foreign customer for the Bergamini class after Egypt and the USA. It was selected ahead of competition from Babcock (Arrowhead 140), Damen (SIGMA 10514) and Mitsui (30FFM).
A SHOCK TO THE SYSTEM US NAVY
The US Navy has carried out the first of a series of first-ofclass Full Ship Shock Trials on USS Gerald R. Ford. The aircraft carrier was subjected to shock waves from a huge explosion while she was under way 170km miles off Florida’s Atlantic coast. CVN 78 is the first nuclear-
CONTINGENCY MEASURES AUSTRALIAN NAVY
The Australian Defence Minister has confirmed that all six Collins class submarines are to undergo major life-of-type extensions (LOTE). The A$6 billion programme will involve rebuilding each submarine once it achieves 30 years of service. Each LOTE will take about two years, with the first due to start in 2026. The work will be carried out by ASC in Adelaide, with support from Saab Kockums. Previously, only three boats were shortlisted for the life extension. The upgrades will keep the current fleet going well into the 2030s, when the first of the new Attack class replacements start to become available. The A$88 billion contract with Naval Group for the design and build of 12 diesel-electric powered Shortfin Barracuda submarines is not progressing well. Ongoing wrangles over rising costs and domestic industry content are causing significant delays.
powered ship to undergo FSST since USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) in 1987. The mandatory test is required to measure structural integrity and prove that fighting vessels can withstand the stresses of battle conditions. The test is the final hurdle on Ford’s long and torturous progression towards a first operational deployment next year.
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The US Navy has conducted FSSTs for decades, most recently for the Littoral Combat Ships USS Jackson (LCS 6) and USS Milwaukee (LCS 5) in 2016, the San Antonio class amphibious transport dock USS Mesa Verde (LPD 19) in 2008, the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1) in 1990, and the cruiser USS Mobile Bay (CG 53) in 1987.
THE SHOP WINDOW
shipyard, for completion within ROYAL NAVY the next four years. Although due to be part of the RN fleet, the The Prime Minister has thus-far-unnamed ship is likely to announced plans to procure a be built to commercial standards ‘national flagship’ to promote and will not have any combat British interests around the role. It will have a service life world. The vessel is intended to expectancy of 30 years. replicate the role once served Against a gloomy post-Brexit by HMY Britannia, which was and pandemic backdrop, the decommissioned in 1997. As government has been cautious such, it will be crewed by the Royal Navy, with construction and to present the venture as an ideal operating costs being paid for out opportunity to showcase British design, engineering and green of the Defence budget. technology, and to boost trade After a competitive tendering process, construction is expected and investment, rather than as to begin next year at a domestic another royal yacht. An artist’s impression of the ‘national flagship’ which is expected to cost around £200 million.
ROYAL NAVY • A fixed-wing aircraft has landed on board HMS Prince of Wales for the first time. An F-35B from 207 Squadron, based at RAF Marham, achieved the landmark on 9 June as the ship conducted Sea Acceptance Trials off the south coast. The aircraft carrier has also hosted visits from Army Air Corps Apache and RAF Chinook helicopters. Further F-35 trials are scheduled later this year as the ship builds towards full operational capability. MOD POLICE • The Ministry of Defence has awarded a £36 million contract to Liverpoolbased Marine Specialised Technology for 18 new Police patrol craft. The 15m vessels will be powered by two Marine Jet Power waterjets giving a maximum speed of 30 knots. The wheelhouse will be reinforced with low-level ballistic protection and fitted with a CCTV surveillance system. They are to be deployed at UK naval bases, with two destined for Gibraltar. PACIFIC ISLANDS • Australia has handed over another Austal-built patrol boat as part of its Pacific Maritime Security Programme. RKS Teanoai II was gifted to the Republic of Kiribati, becoming the 11th Guardian class vessel to be given to neighbouring Pacific island nations, enabling them to conduct their own economic security patrols. In total, 21 of the unarmed 39m patrol boats will be delivered to 12 Pacific island nations and Timor-Leste.
www.shipsmonthly.com • August 2021 •
15
CARGO
With the phrase ‘shipping for a cleaner future’ adorning the breakwater across her forecastle, Hapag-Lloyd’s Brussels Express arrived at Southampton on 31 May, during her first visit to Europe since her conversion. KRISPEN ATKINSON
BRIEF NEWS
ROTOR SAILS FOR BULKER • London-based Tufton Investment Management Ltd plans to have three Anemoi Marine Technologies-supplied rotor sails installed on its 2017-built Kamsarmax bulk carrier TR Lady at a Chinese shipyard next year. The rotors, which harness the Magnus Effect to gain windpowered forward thrust when rotating, will be mounted on a rail system that will allow them to be moved so as not to impact cargo. EASTERN PACIFIC ORDERS • Singapore-based Eastern Pacific has ordered four 7,000TEU container ships at a cost of approximately $70 million each from China’s New Times Shipbuilding for delivery between late 2023 and mid-2024, with all four to be long-term chartered to Singapore’s X-Press Feeders. HARREN BUYS BULKERS • Bremen-based Harren Bulkers has acquired the 22,668gt bulk carrier Western Aida from Switzerland’s Westlake and has renamed the 2012-built vessel Pabari. The 186.96m by 28.6m ship, the company’s first Handysize bulker, brings the Harren Bulkers fleet up to 23 vessels. HYDROGEN-POWERED SALT CARRIER • Concordia Damen has contracted Holland’s Lenten Scheepvaart to build a 135m vessel to be named Antonie that will be powered by a hydrogen fuel cell and will be employed to transport salt between Delfzijl, in the north of the Netherlands, and Botlek at the Port of Rotterdam. The 3,700dwt ship is expected to be Europe’s first ever inland hydrogen-powered vessel and its construction is to be subsidised by the Netherlands Government. LNG-FUELLED PCTCS • Japan’s NYK has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with compatriot builders Shin Kurushima Dockyard and Nihon Shipyard Company for the construction of a dozen LNGfuelled pure car and truck carriers (PCTCs), all to be delivered between 2025 and 2028. JS
FOR A CLEANER FUTURE
INDUSTRY NEWS
Hapag-Lloyd has become the first operator to successfully complete the conversion of a large container ship to dualfuelled LNG propulsion. Built in 2014 as Sajir, the 15,000TEU container ship arrived at Huarun Dadong Dockyard near Shanghai in September 2020, where the retrofitting work was carried out.
Work included fitting of pipelines, a bunker point and, most importantly, the fabrication of a 1,300-ton LNG tank, which was placed into a hold. She becomes the first deepsea container ship to be so converted, after the project overcame several challenges, and loaded her first cargo in Busan in early April. LNG is becoming increasingly popular as shipping looks to
reduce carbon emissions, with the fuel seen as a promising pathway towards zero emissions. The name Brussels Express was chosen for the rebuilt ship in acknowledgement of the European Green Deal, with her first LNG-fuelled voyage undertaken on her next round voyage operating on Hapag-Lloyd’s Far East 4 service, with bunkering at Singapore and Rotterdam. KA
GREAT EASTERN BUYS AND SELLS BULKER
The four containr ships Bernadette, Blandine (pictured at Terneuzen), Barbara and Balbina will be handed over to their new owner in the autumn.
GSL BUY ‘OLD’ BOXBOATS CONTAINER SHIPS
British-based Global Ship Lease (GSL) has paid $148 million for a series of 11-year-old 5,470TEUcapacity container ships. The ships are four sisters, owned by German-owner Peter Dohle. Originally built for Hermann Buss, the CV Venus 5300type container ships were designed to give the largest container capacity, with the then-maximum dimensions of the Panama Canal. Their greater load factor was achieved through splitting the accommodation and engine
16 • August 2021 • www.shipsmonthly.com
room, somet ing common in today’s container ship design. Built by Zhejiang Ouhua Shipbuilding in Zhoushan, China, the quartet were completed between June 2009 and May 2010 and immediately entered service on charter to Chilean operator Compañía Sud Americana de Vapores (CSAV), who operated them between Europe and the Chilean coast, via the Panama Canal. Their charters ended in 2014, after which they were deployed by various operators, before being sold to thier current Hamburgbased owner in 2015. KA
Great Eastern Shipping Company has disposed of its 2006-built bulk carrier Jag Roopa and taken delivery of the 2013-built bulker Jag Rajiv as it continues to modernise and expand its fleet. The Mumbai-based company now controls 14 dry bulk carriers and 32 tankers, the latter including nine crude carriers, 18 product tankers and five LPG ships, giving a combined deadweight of 3.69 million tonnes after disposal of the 25-year-old gas carrier Jag Vayu earlier this year. JS
The 30,046gt bulk carrier Jag Roopa, completed by Japan’s Tsuneishu Shipbuilding in 2006, has been sold by India’s Great Eastern Shipping Company. GESC
CONTAINER SHIPS
China United Lines (CUL), established in 2005 as a Chinese state-controlled liner operator, has ordered four 1,900TEU container ships from the China State Shipbuilding Corporation’s Huangpu Wenchong Shipbuilding yard, with deliveries expected to begin in the final quarter of 2023. Designed by the Shanghai Merchant Ship Design & Research Institute, the new vessels will be employed in an intra-Asia feeder service linking Japan, Taiwan and Southeast Asia. JS
The 38,961dwt Stolt Pride, built in 2016, has been joined in the Stolt Tankers Joint Service pool by seven ships owned by London-based Tufton Investment Ltd. STOLT TANKERS
STOLT PARTNERS WITH TUFTON Under the accord, the two companies will jointly explore London-based Tufton Investment and pursue vessel efficiency and propulsion research, Limited has placed seven of its 19,000dwt to 21,999dwt chemical environmental projects and a biofuel testing programme, with tankers in the Stolt Tankers Joint Service (STJS) and has also agreed the goal of driving significant carbon emission reductions to enter into a carbon reduction across their combined businesses. and sustainability informationStolt Tankers, part of the larger sharing agreement with Stolt.
CHEMICAL TANKERS
Stolt Group, currently operates a fleet of 152 chemical tankers capable of carrying bulk liquid chemicals as well as edible oils, acids and clean petroleum products. Tufton, through its Tufton Oceanic Assets, owns a mixed fleet of 21 ships and earlier this year acquired an additional stainless steel chemical tanker. JS
The rapidly expanding China United Lines has ordered four more ships following its inauguration of service between China and northern Europe earlier this year. CUL
NEWBUILD FOR OCEAN 21 ARRIVA BUYS FROM ARKLOW
taken over along with a sister by Arklow during construction. The 116m ship will be renamed Arklow Shipping have sold Norheim following a mid-July their Dutch-flagged, 7,588dtw general cargo ship Arklow Brook handover. She will be rebuilt into a self-discharge bulk carrier, with a to Norwegian-based Arriva Shipping. Delivered to the Irish rail-mounted travelling excavator added, and is expected to reowner by Dutch shipbuilder enter service in September. She Royal Bodewes to the Trader will become the largest vessel in 7575-design, the ship’s hull the fleet of Arriva Shipping, who which was launched in Poland in 2010, was originally intended were founded in 1972 and are based at Olensvag. KA for a German owner. It was
CARGO VESSEL
Singapore’s Ocean 21 Holdings Ltd has taken delivery of the 87,670dwt Ocean Jade as the third of three bulk carriers ordered from Japan’s Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding. OCEAN 21
BULKERS
Japan’s Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding has delivered the 87,670dwt Ocean Jade to Ocean 21 Holdings Ltd as the last of three bulk carriers it has been building for the Singapore-based company. Each of the 229m by 37m ships is powered by a single MAN B&W
6S46ME-B8.5 low-speed engine delivering 9,900kW at 84rpm and fitted with a MAN Selective Catalytic Reduction unit to reduce NOx exhaust emissions. The previous two ships of the series, the 48,245gt Ocean Gold and Ocean Perkasa, were delivered in November 2020 and March of this year. JS
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Arklow Brook, pictured at Ipswich, was part of the Arklow fleet, which currently includes six self-discharging bulk carriers. KRISPEN ATKINSON www.shipsmonthly.com • August 2021 •
17
NEWBUILD BUNKERING IN THE CHANNEL LNG TANKER
Jim Shaw
EDDA WIND’S LATEST LAUNCHED
Launched in Spain, the new Commissioning Service Operation Vessel Edda Breeze is to be chartered by Germany’s Ocean Breeze Energy GmbH & Co. EDDA WIND AS
Germany’s HB Hunte Engineering has completed a design for a new 4,200m3 capacity LNG bunkering vessel for Holland’s Titan LNG that will be used to supply LNG and bio-LNG at the Port of Zeebrugge, as well as English Channel ports. The ship, to be named Krios, will be powered by twin azimuthing thrusters aft and will have a bow thruster forward to enhance manoeuvrability. Delivery of the vessel is expected by the end of 2023.
the new CSOV measures 88.3m by 19.7m and is to be equipped with a 3D motion-compensated Spain’s Gondan Shipyard has crane and gangway, the latter to launched Edda Breeze as have a maximum extension of the first in the series of four Commissioning Service Operation 28m for personnel transfer. Accommodation will be provided Vessels (CSOVs) it is building for for 93 technicians and 27 crew, along Norway’s Edda Wind AS, part of the Østensjø Group. Designed by with meeting, mess and recreational Salt Ship Design, also of Norway, spaces. Following delivery the vessel
CSO VESSEL
A new bunkering tanker will be used by Titan LNG to bunker vessels with LNG at Zeebrugge and in the English Channel. TITAN LNG
KOREAN RESEARCHER RESEARCH VESSEL
South Korea’s Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction Company has been contracted to build a new 92m by 21m oceanographic research vessel for the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources that will make use of an Ulstein SX134 design featuring an X-Bow.
To accommodate a crew of 20 plus 30 researchers, the new ship will be equipped for operations involving seismic streamer cables, seismic bottom nodes, seismic high-resolution seafloor mapping, seafloor survey and sediment sampling. The use of the X-Bow is expected to reduce hull vibrations and speed loss, and will allow a better recording of underwater data. JS
To be delivered in 2024, South Korea’s new research ship will make use of an Ulstein-developed X-Bow to provide a more stable platform for underwater survey and sampling operations. ULSTEIN
A dual-fuel research vessel with ice-breaking capabilities is to be ordered by Japan’s JAMSTEC for delivery in 2026. JAMSTEC
JAPANESE LNG-FUELLED BREAKER on diesel but was originally ICEBREAKER
The Japan Agency for MarineEarth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) expects to place an order later this year for the construction of a new dual-fuel research vessel with ice-breaking capabilities for delivery in 2026. The 13,000gt ship, to be capable of running on both LNG and fuel oil, will replace the 8,706gt Mirai, which runs
18 • August 2021 • www.shipsmonthly.com
will go on charter to Ocean Breeze Energy GmbH & Co to support operations at the Bard Offshore 1 wind farm off Germany. This 400MW farm, which makes use of 80 BARD-supplied 5.0 turbines, was developed over a decade ago using the 2,623dwt Wind Lift 1, a jack-up vessel specifically built for the project. JS
completed in 1972 as Japan’s first nuclear-powered vessel, Mutsu. The latter vessel was converted from nuclear to diesel propulsion in the mid-1990s after conducting a number of research voyages. The yet-to-be-named new ship, to measure 128m in length, will be able to navigate through 1.2m thick ice at a speed of three knots and is expected to cost around $310 million to build.
RIVER TANKER
The Grimaldi Group’s latest PCTC, the 65,255gt Grande California, has been placed in service between Italy, Spain, Belgium, Canada and the USA following completion in China. GRIMALDI GROUP
LAST OF SEVEN FOR GRIMALDI largest and most eco-friendly PCTCs in the world, with a Italy’s Grimaldi Group has placed the capacity for 7,600 car equivalent 65,255gt Grande California in service units (CEUs), while a service as the last of seven similar Pure Car speed of 19 knots is provided by an electronically-controlled Truck Carriers (PCTCs) ordered Man Energy Solutions main from China’s Yangfan shipyard. Like her six sisters, the 199.9m engine fitted with an exhaust gas cleaning system. by 36.35m vessel is among the
PCTCs
The vessel has 12 decks, including four which are hoistable, and a 150-tonne capacity quarter stern ramp which allows the vessel to transport any type of rolling freight, including cars, vans, trucks, tractors, buses, coaches and excavators with heights of up to 5.3m.
Germany’s BASF Group has commissioned Stolt Tankers to design and operate a 135m by 17.5m shallow-draught chemical tanker for the Rhine River. To be delivered by Holland’s Mercurius Shipping Group in 2022, the new vessel will feature a hydrodynamically optimised hull incorporating ten stainless steel cargo tanks, while propulsion will be provided by diesel generator sets driving three electric propulsion motors. The relatively wide beam of the new tanker will allow it to carry up to 2,500 tonnes of cargo at average water depths on the Rhine and 650 tonnes when depths drop to 1.60m.
A new shallow-draught tanker to be built by Holland’s Mercurius Shipping Group for BASF will be operated on the Rhine River by Stolt Tankers. BASF
AMMONIA-POWERED HYBRID FOR KNUTSEN
Ordered last year, the twin ships will be capable of burning LNG as fuel, as well Haugesund, Norway-based Knutsen NYK Offshore Tankers as recovered volatile organic expects to take delivery of two compounds (VOC), and will also new 124,000-dwt shuttle tankers have battery banks installed to allow hybrid running during from South Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering dynamic positioning operations. in June and September of next Once they are delivered, the twin ships will be employed in year for long-term charter to the North Sea oil fields. Italian energy major ENI.
SHUTTLE TANKERS
Höegh Autoliners expects to have its first ammonia-ready 9,100CEU capacity car carrier in service by the end of 2023. DELTAMARIN
CAR CARRIERS
Norway’s Höegh Autoliners has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with China’s Xiamen Shipbuilding for the construction of a new series of ammonia-ready car carriers that will also be the world’s largest such vessels. The Aurora class ships will be powered by MAN B&W multi-fuel engines capable of running on various biofuel and conventional
fuels and, with minor modifications, ammonia. The hull of the ships is expected to be about 30m longer than Höegh’s earlier 199m by 36.5m Horizon class, which will increase the carrying capacity of the new vessels to 9,100 car equivalent units (CEUs), the largest in the world. Looking to the future, the Aurora class will also be equipped and configured to enable electricpowered vehicles to be carried on all decks.
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news RHINE MOVER
Two LNG-burning 124,000dwt hybrid shuttle tankers are being built in South Korea for delivery to Knutsen NYK Offshore Tankers. KNUTSEN www.shipsmonthly.com • August 2021 •
19
SPONSORED EDITORIAL
NAUTILUS INTERNATIONAL STANDING UP FOR MARITIME PROFESSIONALS Seafarers have kept essential trade moving during the pandemic. Nautilus International protects the interests of these maritime key workers in the UK, Netherlands and Switzerland. For more details of how to join, visit www.nautilusint.org.
SEAFARERS
Nautilus International is appealing to seafarers to join the Union’s growing ranks, as it fights for better pay and conditions during the pandemic. Maritime professionals have been key to keeping world trade moving during Covid-19, but the crew change crisis has shown that they are often left without support at the most critical moments. As the first cross-boundary union for seafarers, Nautilus fights for fair pay, fair treatment and fair workplaces through lobbying and campaigning at a national level, and through its leverage at international organisations. The Union represents more than 20,000 members in the UK,
Netherlands and Switzerland working deep sea, offshore, on windfarms, superyachts, inland waterways and workboats. The members are ship masters, engineers, officers, cadets, harbourmasters and shorebased staff, and the Union says: ‘wherever you are, so are we’.
WORKPLACE SUPPORT • The Union fights job losses and cuts to pay and conditions. It negotiates with employers on issues including pay, working conditions, working hours and pensions, securing agreements which recognise members’ skills and experience, and the need for safety in the maritime sector. Officials can provide expert
advice on work-related problems, such as contracts, redundancy, bullying or discrimination, nonpayment of wages and pensions. LEGAL PROTECTION • A 2019 survey revealed that almost 90 per cent of seafarers fear unfair criminalisation at work. Nautilus offers both in-house legal expertise and an international network of specialist lawyers to support members, plus an indispensable legal helpline. The Nautilus 24/7 app helps members to protect themselves and their crew whenever a crisis occurs. THE SERVICES YOU NEED • Members enjoy many additional benefits negotiated by the Union, including tax advice, insurance discounts, discounts on popular goods and services, and advice
proud history, we have always been much more than a traditional trade union,’ Nautilus International general secretary Mark Dickinson (pictured) says. ‘Our welfare work, our involvement in the provision of decent pensions, and our national and international involvement in setting high standards for health and safety, training and working conditions, are all evidence of an organisation that
the environment in which our members are employed. ‘We work hard to resist job losses and cuts to pay and conditions, to expand benefits, and to provide innovative services that meet the needs of today’s maritime professionals. Nautilus International has a remarkable 160-year history and has evolved to ensure that we deliver the very best support to our members.’
WHY JOIN NAUTILUS?
A‘Throughout MODERN UNION AT WORK consistently strives to enhance our long and
20 • August 2021 • www.shipsmonthly.com
on pension matters. Through a new agreement, members have access to health services and a 24/7 mental health support helpline. The Union also provides charitable support to seafarers via the Nautilus Welfare Fund, and runs the Mariners’ Park Care Home for retired seafarers and their dependants. FIGHTING FOR SEAFARERS • The Union is involved with key negotiations at an international level on pay and conditions for seafarers, giving maritime professionals a voice when decisions are being made that will affect their livelihood and their safety at work. Nautilus also lobbies national government for legislation that will ensure fair pay, safe and welcoming workplaces, up-to-date training and good maritime careers for seafarers from the UK, Netherlands and Switzerland, both now and in the decades to come. HAVE YOUR SAY • As a democratic union, Nautilus gives members many opportunities to get involved and have their say personally at a local, national and international level. All maritime professionals who would like to protect themselves in uncertain times, enhance their careers and improve the industry for their fellow seafarers have a place with Nautilus International.
F COTENTIN BRITTANY FERRIES’
SHIP OF THE MONTH
RO-RO WORKHORSE
In November 2020 the 2007-built Cotentin rejoined the Brittany Ferries fleet after seven years of charter work as Stena Baltica. Kevin Mitchell looks at the career of the largest ro-ro freighter linking the UK and France. The 2007-built Cotentin was not the first Poole-Cherbourg freighter to carry that name: Truckline introduced the former Saaletal (1970/3,598gt) in 1974 and named her Cotentin. The current Cotentin has had a varied career with Brittany Ferries and Stena Line.
or well over a decade the ro-ro ferry Cotentin has been working on a variety of routes, for both Brittany Ferries and on charter with Stena Line. She was originally built for the Poole-Cherbourg route, but has been employed on many other routes. Her construction was announced by Brittany Ferries in 2004 as their ninth newbuild, a much larger freight-only vessel to replace the former Truckline ferry Coutances (1978/6,507gt). As well as serving Cherbourg, a weekend rotation between Poole and Santander would avoid French driving restrictions for heavy goods vehicles and attract European Union Marco Polo funding to reduce road freight. On 2 August 2005 a £50 million contract was signed with Aker Yards (now STX) in Finland, along with an £85 million order for a ro-pax variant for the Plymouth-
Cotentin publicity photograph taken shortly after the vessel had been completed. BRITTANY FERRIES
Roscoff route. The two vessels, Cotentin and Armorique (2009/29,468gt), shared the same hull design and machinery, with the hull being based on Brittany Ferries’ Dutch-built ferry Mont St Michel (2002/25,592gt). Cutting of the first steel plate of hull 1357 began on 14 June 2006, followed by a keel-laying ceremony on 27 November 2006, and up to 700 people worked on the ship within a covered dock during the build cycle. Two MaK 12M43C 12-cylinder engines gave an output of 21,600kW, and a pair of Blohm+Voss stabilisers were fitted to enable the ferry to operate in the often challenging conditions of the Bay of Biscay. On 12 April 2007 the ship
SHIP OF THE MONTH
was moved out of the hall, and fitting out continued alongside a quay. Sea trials took place during late September 2007, when a speed of 27.6 knots was recorded. Cotentin was officially delivered to Brittany Ferries on 9 November 2007, later than her planned October entry into service. Final painting of the hull was not completed, but this was rectified during its dry-docking the following year. Senior Master Gilles Marré took the new ship on her 1,320-mile delivery voyage to the UK, firstly for berthing trials at Portsmouth on 14 November, then on to Poole, where a £6.5 million channeldeepening project had been completed to handle the ship,
COTENTIN Stern view of Cotentin, showing her external freight decks. KEVIN MITCHELL
BEHIND THE SCENES • COTENTIN The bridge.
The engine room.
Freight vehicles on Deck 3.
PASSENGER FACILITIES • The main facilities are located on deck 7 starboard side and comprise a 132-seat self-service restaurant, kiosk shop, video arcade, 62-seat bar lounge and 57-seat TV lounge. The kitchen, crew mess and officers’ lounge are on the port side. Interior decoration by AIA Nantes makes good use of bold colours. CABINS • The 120 two-berth air-conditioned passenger cabins,
prefabricated by Parmarine, are located on decks 8 and 9. Nine cabins have private en-suite facilities but most make use of a single shower/wc shared between two cabins. There is also a sick bay and private owner’s cabin. CREW FACILITIES • The bridge, crew accommodation and facilities are on deck 10. The two 38-person Umoe Schat-Harding lifeboats are supplemented by a fast rescue boat recessed in the starboard side
Reception area on deck 7.
and other life-saving equipment provided by Viking. FREIGHT • Three freight decks provide a total of 2,210 lane metres. The lower hold has a free height of 4.6m and can accommodate ten lorries via a fixed 46m long ramp. The drive-through main deck 3 and upper deck 5, both with a free height of 5.2m and connected by a hoistable 53m internal ramp, have capacity for 56 and 54 lorries respectively.
CARGO • Deck 5 features a weather deck aft with a shelter deck forwards. MacGregor provided all cargo access systems, including a 6m-wide bow ramp and clamshell doors plus an 18m wide stern ramp. ENGINE ROOM • The two MaK engines are nicknamed Zeus and Apollon by her French crew – not directly after the gods from Greek mythology but rather the dogs from the TV series Magnum PI.
The Lounge.
The Cafeteria.
the largest seen there to date. Crew familiarisation took place in Cherbourg, along with preparations for a traditional ship’s blessing and service debut on 26 November 2007. The new ship represented a huge improvement in capacity and onboard facilities, offering
120 air-conditioned cabins and three vehicle decks for around 120 articulated lorries. Up to two crossings a day were offered between Poole and Cherbourg, the fastest taking three hours 45 minutes. Sailings to Santander initially departed the UK on a Friday evening, but this later changed
Cotentin under construction. BRITTANY FERRIES
24 • August 2021 • www.shipsmonthly.com
to a Saturday morning. On 14 May 2008 Cotentin took part in Exercise Auger, an emergency exercise whereby she reported a fire on board while she was at sea between Cherbourg and Poole. The scenario for the multi-agency exercise was the deployment of the Maritime Incident Response Group to a seagoing vessel by Coastguard helicopter, and also involved the Maritime & Coastguard Agency and UK fire and rescue services. Cotentin soon grew the freight market to Northern Spain and, from March 2011, Brittany Ferries trialled a second weekly rotation to Santander aimed at unaccompanied freight. Cotentin was the preferred vessel for a 2012 charter to the DFDS/LD Lines joint Dover-Calais operation,
although that duty fell instead to fleetmate Barfleur (1992/20,133gt), which was renamed Deal Seaways. Barfleur’s return to PooleCherbourg service in March 2013 allowed Cotentin to resume her two weekly sailings to Spain, serving both Santander and Bilbao. Plans were also drawn up to fit mezzanine car decks to the upper freight deck and extend the accommodation to provide increased facilities for a future passenger service, but these modifications were put on hold. Instead, after six years of service, Cotentin was advertised for sale or bareboat charter and completed Brittany Ferries duties at the end of September 2013. On 13 November 2013 the ship began a charter to Stena North Sea Ltd as the British-flagged Stena Baltica,
SHIP OF THE MONTH Cotentin in her original Brittany Ferries livery, July 2012. KEVIN MITCHELL
carrying freight as well as up to 176 tourist passengers between Karlskrona (Sweden) and Gdynia (Poland). At first she operated with a plain while hull, with full Stena Line branding being applied in 2015. This charter concluded at the end of October 2020 and the ship was handed back to Brittany Ferries, her place having been taken by Stena Nordica (2001/24,206gt). Stena Line will introduce another Stena Baltica this year in the form of the rebuilt former Stena Mersey for the Nynäshamn-Ventspils route. The end of the transition period following Brexit in
COTENTIN
BUILDERS 2007 by Aker Yards, Helsinki (yard no. 1357) DIMENSIONS 167.88m x 26.8m x 6.3m TONNAGE 19,909gt / 6,200dwt MACHINERY 2 x MaK 12,000kW 12M43C 4 stroke, 12 cylinder engines giving an output of 21,600kW driving 2 x controllable pitch Wärtsilä Lips propellers of 5.4m diameter. Two Wärtsilä 1,440kW auxiliary engines. Two Wärtsilä 1,200kW bow thrusters. SPEED 23 knots CAPACITY 203 passengers, 240 cabin beds, 120 x 16.5m lorries FLAG French, registered in Cherbourg OPERATORS Brittany Ferries November 2007 – September 2013; Stena Line 2013 – November 2020; Brittany Ferries 2020 to date
December 2020 potentially meant a backlog of freight at UK ports due to increased customs checks. Prior to a last-minute UK-EU trade deal agreed on 24 December 2020, the UK Department for Transport (DfT) awarded contracts worth £77.6 million to various ferry operators to guarantee the import of essential goods, such as medical supplies. Brittany Ferries was awarded contracts for PooleCherbourg (three months) and Portsmouth-Le Havre (six months) to start on 1 January 2021, and the service was operated by the
2021 under the command of Captain Wallois, making one daily round trip between Cherbourg and Poole. An interesting cargo carried from Poole on 1 March was a memorial remembering 11 Royal Marines who were killed at Port-en-Bessin following the D-Day Landings. On 3 April Cotentin sailed from Poole to Le Havre to take over from Étretat, which has been the mainstay of the Le Havre operation since 2014, but which has now returned to Stena RoRo. At the end of DfT duties on 30 June, timetables show Cotentin remaining on the Le Havre route until the end of October, but from late 2022 chartered Visentini-built Étretat she looks set to be part of (2008/26,500gt) and Cotentin. a new multi-modal rail/sea So Stena Baltica was repainted project in partnership with in Brittany Ferries colours at the national rail operator SNCF. Remontowa shipyard in Gdansk, This will link the Bayonnethen delivered by a Stena crew Mougerre European Freight to Le Havre on 16 November, Centre in south-west France where she was re-registered as with Cherbourg and Poole, Cotentin under the French flag. with separate services between Cherbourg and Portsmouth BACK TO CHERBOURG and the Republic of Ireland. Having completed berthing If the original plan to expand trials at Le Havre, Cotentin passenger facilities is carried moved to her original out, Cotentin could become homeport of Cherbourg a very useful addition to the on 15 December 2020, Brittany Ferries fleet and a where her crew set to work potential replacement for the repainting the vehicle decks. 29-year-old Barfleur. • With thanks to Simon Wagstaff, Cotentin restarted Brittany Director, Brittany Ferries Freight. Ferries’ duties on 1 January
Cotentin, renamed Stena Baltica, in service with Stena Line. STENA LINE
www.shipsmonthly.com • August 2021 •
25
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Canton • Carthage • Chusan • Corfu
P&O’s FAR EAST SERVICE
Stephen Payne looks back at the various ships which were operated by P&O on the so-called ‘Far East Service’ between London and Australia via Cape Town from the 1930s.
A
part from the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company’s (P&O) frontline express service to Australia, several other secondary but no less important routes were operated by the company, including the so-called slowsteaming ‘Branch Line Service’ between London and Australia via Cape Town, catering for Third and Steerage classes, as well as a dedicated service to India and the Far East Service. The latter operated out of London and ran to Port Said, Aden, Bombay, Colombo, Penang, Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Kobe and Yokohama. Up to the late 1920s, the Far East Service was operated by six 9,000gt
steamers, which had entered service in 1914-15 and were capable of 14 knots, carrying about 80 First and 68 Second class passengers. They were coalfired reciprocating steam-driven vessels which, by the late 1920s, were totally outmoded, and so in 1929 P&O elected to build two new 14,000gt replacements. The general arrangement of the new ships was based on the successful Cathay/ Comorin/Chitral vessels of 1925 but with singlereduction steam turbine machinery of 15,500shp, instead of the reciprocating machinery, which raised their speed from 17 to 18 knots. Originally to be named Cheefoo and Canton, the ships were ordered from Alexander Stephen & Sons on the Clyde. Before their launch, however,
28 • August 2021 • www.shipsmonthly.com
the ships’ names were changed to Corfu and Carthage; the former began her maiden voyage on 16 October 1931, and her sistership followed in early December 1931. In October 1938 Corfu and Carthage were joined by Canton, a somewhat larger and improved ship that was also built by Alexander Stephen & Sons in Linthouse, Glasgow at a cost of £820,000. This 15,748grt ship had an additional passenger cabin deck and was 44ft longer and 2ft wider. Facilities included a single lift in First class and a single open air swimming pool aft of the First class public rooms on B Deck. The First class Dance Space doubled as a cinema, and the ship is noted for being the first P&O vessel to employ
Chusan was completed in 1950 by Vickers at Barrow for P&O’s Far East Service. She was by far the largest and most luxurious ship on the run, and operated with Carthage, Corfu and Canton until the early 1960s, when Cathay and Chitral took over the route. In the early 1960s, after only four years of service, the Belgium liners Jadotville and Baudouinville were purchased and entered P&O’s Far East Service as Chitral and Cathay.
LINER HERITAGE
a ‘cinema operator’. Canton was a beautifully proportioned ship with a single funnel and was delivered in P&O’s black livery. She was particularly well appointed, with fine wood veneers throughout her public rooms giving a refined gracious ambiance. For a full history of Canton, see the April 2018 edition of Ships Monthly. Like many passenger liners, the Far East Service ships were kept busy throughout World War II. Canton was initially refitted as an armed merchant cruiser with eight six-inch and two three-inch guns. On 9 January 1940 she ran aground on rocks off Barra Head, in the Outer Hebrides, and was badly damaged. Fortunately, she was freed two days later, but required extensive repairs before returning to service. After numerous patrols in the Western Approaches and East Indies, she was converted into a troopship at Cape Town in May 1944. Meanwhile,
Carthage was similarly taken in hand and armed, serving in the Indian Ocean as a convoy escort vessel. In 1943 she was converted into a troopship and operated out of Calcutta. Corfu was still in government service after the war, when she was used to repatriate former Japanese held British prisoners of war to Southampton. In early April 1946 she was due to sail to India with 1,205 British troops, but 450 walked off, citing poor conditions on board. She later sailed with 100 of the deserters who had returned to the ship. In October 1947 Canton reopened the Far East Service and by January 1949 all three ships had been reconditioned and were back in service. Corfu and Carthage emerged without their dummy funnels reinstated and the original forward funnel raised in height. They also appeared in P&O’s white Strath livery of white hull and superstructure, with buff-coloured funnel. While Canton also adopted
Carthage and her fleetmates on the Far East route had extensive cargo holds, as indicated by the number of cargo derricks.
Carthage was a sistership to Corfu, and when introduced in the early 1930’s they provided greatly upgraded facilities on the Far East route. www.shipsmonthly.com • August 2021 •
29
ON BOARD • CORFU, CARTHAGE AND CHUSAN
Chusan’s First class Library was a fine room located at the forward end of the superstructure, with commanding views over the bow.
Dancing was a popular pastime and each class on each ship had its own dance space. This is Chusan’s First class Dance Space.
• The First class Dining Room, which seated 171 passengers, was on D Deck and had a ‘grand descent’ access from C Deck at its aft end, as well as access to the forward cabin accommodation on that deck. Tables were arranged for six (round), ten and 12 (rectangular) passengers, with one Captain’s table, which was oval and seated 12. • No passenger lifts were installed and, while the accommodation could not be classed as unduly luxurious, the public rooms were quite high and airy and looked very comfortable. • On A Deck, arranged aft, was a Children’s Playroom and adjacent outside play area. • First class cabin accommodation was arranged on C, D and E Decks and comprised single and two-berth cabins, many with interconnecting doors to adjacent cabins for families. The First class entrance was on C Deck and encompassed the staircase to the upper decks, the separate staircase down to the Dining Room, and the Bureau (Purser’s Office). • Second class public rooms were ranged on C Deck aft and comprised a combined Lounge/ Music Room and a Smoking Room, these rooms being sandwiched between the Second class staircase and covered open promenades to port and starboard, which also acted as the Second class embarkation entrance. Considering there were up to 214 Second class passengers on board, these rooms were very small, although they This First class sports deck on board Chusan beside the funnel were well appointed, with wood house. Note the lack of windscreens veneer panelling and tasteful inboard of the lifeboats. furniture and furnishings.
• The Dining Room was on D Deck aft of the galley and seated 200 on tables arranged for two to 22. • Aft on B Deck was Second class open deck space and a small deckhouse provided space for the Second-class Children’s Playroom. Curiously, within the Second class area, a permanent recessed swimming pool was positioned that presumably was open to both classes at separate times, as no similar facility was provided within the First class area.
C
orfu and Carthage catered for 177 First and 214 Second class passengers. Cabins for both classes were all outside, many based on the Bibby principle, with a group of nested cabins each with a narrow corridor leading to a porthole on the ship’s side. Only eight cabins were provided with private facilities: four deluxe cabins and four ‘Bathroom’ cabins; the occupants in all other cabins had segregated communal facilities. • First class public rooms on B Deck, forward to aft, consisted of a Lounge surrounded on three sides by an enclosed verandah with windows looking out to forward and port/ starboard, two Corridor Lounges providing access fore and aft past the engine casing, a Dance Space, a further small Corridor Lounge to starboard, a Smoking Room and beyond that a Verandah Café. • Open covered promenades provided sheltered deck space outboard of these public rooms and a large expanse of open deck was available on A Deck for games and recreation.
30 • August 2021 • www.shipsmonthly.com
Tourist Smoking Room on Carthage.
• Second class cabins were outside, similar to those in First class, many utilising the Bibby principle, and most were not significantly reduced in size compared to the more expensive premier cabins. At the aft end of D Deck on the starboard side was a small dormitory for Amahs (a
nursemaid or maid in East Asia or India) with an adjacent dedicated toilet and washroom. • Hull livery The ships were painted in P&O’s traditional black hull livery with white sheer band and white superstructure. They were fitted with two black funnels, the aft one being a dummy for aesthetic purposes. • Chusan was a larger ship than her service fleetmates, and therefore she offered enhanced facilities, including a large forward-facing
Tourist Smoking Room on Chusan.
Library and Writing Room in First class, as well as much more extensive Tourist class lounges. The First class Dining Room and the Deluxe cabins were airconditioned, and a significant number of cabins had private facilities, which even extended to six cabins in Tourist class.
The Tourist Dining Room on Corfu was very elegant.
LINER HERITAGE
Carthage in her pre-war black hull livery with a second dummy funnel aft.
the white livery, her passenger accommodation was extended by erecting a further 14 passenger cabins at the forward end of C Deck, which raised her gross tonnage to 16,033. Initially, the Far East Service from London extended only as far as Hong Kong, as Japan was seen as undesirable so soon after the war. In June 1950 P&O took delivery of their second post-war newbuilding, the 24,215grt Chusan, which was specially built by Vickers Armstrongs at Barrow to augment the Far East Service. She was by far the most luxurious and fastest of the ships on the route and was
very similar in concept to the latter pre-war Straths. Chusan was the first passenger liner to be built with Denny Brown stabilisers, which had proved reliable on cross-Channel ferries. The decision to install these was made just two months before Chusan’s launch. The stabilisers significantly reduced rolling and led to Arcadia and Iberia being contracted to receive them, while Himalaya had to wait until 1959 to retrofitted with hers. The Far vice ed for clientele, om civil vants and
to business executives, including rubber barons, plantation owners and merchants in First class. Local migrants and tourists tended to occupy Second class, and cargo space was frequently blockbooked for the import of Asian textiles and plastic products manufactured in Hong Kong. Woolworths often booked space to import products sourced from Asia, cheap novelties and toys being regular items on the manifest. Outbound, UK-manufactured products and crated cars were exported by the ships. In December 1953 Canton brought home to the United Kingdom three Royal Navy Rear Admirals from the Far East after they had relinquished their naval commands. The four ships maintained the service, sailing through the Mediterranean until November 1956, when the Suez Canal was closed and the routing had to be temporarily changed to sail around Africa via Cape Town. Berthed in the King George V Dock at Tilbury, Canton suffered a fire on 15 October 1957 when her cargo of toilet paper caught fire, requiring assistance from the local fire brigade to put it out. Luckily, the damage was not extensive and, after unloading her damaged cargo and being
repaired, she was able to start her delayed voyage. While Chusan was despatched to Harland & Wolff in Belfast in late 1959 for an extended refit and upgrade to receive full air-conditioning, the three pre-war ships were left unaltered. Carryings, both passengers and cargo, were beginning to drop off on the Far East route and it was clear that the existing service would not be sustainable for much longer. Costs were also rising, and this was hampered by the necessity for a two-week turnaround between voyages for unloading and loading cargoes. In January 1961 two relatively new partially air-conditioned passengercargo liners, Jadotville and Baudouinville of Compagnie Maritime Belge, came on the market when their route between Antwerp and Matadi was withdrawn. P&O seized the opportunity to acquire the two 14,000grt ships, which had been built less than five years previously. Following short refits, in which their passenger accommodation was modified to carry 235 First class passengers, the ships entered service as Chitral and Cathay in February and April 1961 respectively, hastily replacing Corfu and Carthage, which were sold to Japanese breakers. The ships were provided with a lounge, a writing
Before World War II, Corfu had a black hull and a second dummy funnel. However, after the war the ship was given the company’s new white livery. Inset left: An information booklet advertising the Far East Service.
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room, smoking room with bar, and a veranda café. The restaurants were large enough to offer single sitting dining, and other facilities included a cinema, children’s playroom, shop, hairdressing salon, and an open-air swimming pool. Many of the cabins had private facilities, and the restaurant, lounge, cinema, hair-dressing saloon, and some cabins were air-conditioned. With the introduction of these two ships, the Far East Service was reinstated to prewar status as far as Japan, with calls at Kobe and Yokohama. The ships would load cargo at the King George V in Tilbury and sail to Southampton, where passengers would embark before the ships would begin their round-trip voyage, which would last ten weeks. The Sultan of Selangor was a frequent passenger, sailing between Singapore and Hong Kong, together with his aides, on shopping trips. Sadly, after only 24 years of service, seven of which were spent on war service, the elegant Canton was withdrawn from service on 28 August 1962 and sold for scrap in Hong Kong. The following year further rationalisation occurred when Chusan was removed from the Far East Service and rerouted to join other members of the P&O passenger fleet on the Australian run. Thereafter, only Chitral and Cathay maintained the service until early 1970, when the service ended. Chitral was used as a cruise ship between
March and September that year, but her large cargo capacity and low passenger density was a handicap to profitable operation. P&O considered rebuilding both ships as cruise ships by adding further accommodation to their cargo holds, but in the event both were transferred to the P&O subsidiary Eastern and Australian Steam Ship Company and sailed between the Far East and Australia. In 1975 this service ended and Chitral was sold for breaking, while Cathay was sold for further service with Chinese owners, surviving until 1996. Meanwhile, Chusan, always referred to as the ‘Happy Ship’, was increasingly deployed as a cruise ship after leaving the Far East Service with only intermittent line voyages. She was extremely popular in this capacity, but the sharp rise in fuel prices in the early 1970s, coupled with her rather limited passenger numbers, led her to be finally sold for scrap in Taiwan in May 1973. For the record, the last sailing of the Far East Service was undertaken by Chitral in January 1970, which brought an end to P&O’s 134-year-old Far East Service. The author would like to thank Michael Brady for agreeing to release his graphic images of Canton and Chusan, which were specially updated for this article. See www.linerdesigns.com for an interesting article by Ken Beard, Fourth Engineer Officer on Carthage, detailing the struggles to maintain the ship in service.
The First class Lounge on board Canton was extremely elegant and comfortable.
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Canton’s First class Corridor Lounge connected the Main Lounge and the Dancing Space.
LINER HERITAGE The two largest liners to serve P&O’s Far East Service were Canton (1938) and Chusan (1950). The top graphic shows Canton as she appeared post-war, with P&O’s white livery displacing her original black hull livery. The bottom graphic depicts Chusan as she appeared while she was engaged in P&O’s Far East Service before full air-conditioning was installed. (By courtesy of Michael Brady-LinerDesigns)
Canton’s First class veranda had windows on three sides and was a fine refuge for refreshments in the tropical heat.
The First Class external promenade on board Canton could be partially enclosed using the overhead screens. www.shipsmonthly.com • August 2021 •
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O
n Monday 21 June Virgin Voyages’ Scarlet Lady, the company’s first ship, made history when she became the largest ship ever to dock in Portsmouth. She was delivered on 14 February 2020 by
Fincantieri of Italy, and was scheduled to have been christened in Miami on 19 March 2020 but this was postponed and she has been unable to enter service due to the global pandemic. Scarlet Lady began by hosting media and travel
industry representatives on stops in Dover and Liverpool before continuing her repositioning voyage to North America. Now that she is able to operate, Scarlet Lady will undertake a number of three- and four- night
SCARLET LADY
sailings from Portsmouth, from 6 August, before relocating to Miami in September. From there she will initially visit Key West, Cozumel, Playa del Carmen, Bimini, and occasionally Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic. Scarlet Lady
has 1,408 passenger cabins and 813 crew cabins for a capacity of 4,400 passengers and crew. Of the 1,408 passenger cabins, there are 78 suites, 1,030 balcony cabins, 95 window cabins and 105 inside cabins. ANDREW WOOD/DARREN HOLDAWAY
TM
WWW.SHIPSMONTHLY.COM
EVELYN MAERSK • (2007/171,542gt) will have picked up a pilot off Vlissingen, and be at Terneuzen at least an hour before this photo was taken as she heads for Antwerp. Built by Odense Shipyard in Denmark, she can carry 17,816TEU.
AQUADANCE The Malteseflagged Aquadance (1984/22,256gt) makes an impressive sight as she passes Terneuzen towards the North Sea. Aquadance was built by Hitachi Zosen in Japan as Sanko Amaryllis, and was broken up at Gadani as Mevlana in 2016.
SHIPPING MECCA TERNEUZEN AND THE SCHELDE The Dutch port of Terneuzen, in the province of Zeeland, has for many years been a mecca for ship enthusiasts, with opportunities to see a variety of ships of all sizes, both under way and close up, going through locks. Phil Kempsey provides an overview of the photographic opportunities.
QUEEN LILY • Deliveries of coal and ore to the steel works at Zelzate on the Ghent Canal have to be transhipped into barges at an anchorage on the Schelde, reducing the draught of bulk carriers so that they can transit the Ghent Canal. The new lock, due to be opened in 2023, will make it possible for post-Panamax bulkers to go directly to Zelzate. Queen Lily (2004/39,736gt) is seen at the anchorage with the floating cranes in attendance as she discharges.
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T
erneuzen, a strategically located port on the waterways to Ghent, has for many years been a mecca for ship enthusiasts, with opportunities to see a variety of ships of all sizes passing at speed as they head towards, or sail from, the large dock complex at Antwerp, or turn into the Ghent Canal entrance basin. The Covid-19 pandemic made it virtually impossible to visit Terneuzen during 2020, and it is possible that visiting places like Terneuzen and Rotterdam will remain difficult, if not impossible, through 2021. The modern town of Terneuzen is situated on the south bank of the river Schelde in the Netherlands, and has several hotels overlooking the river. With a population of just over 24,000, the town has two
PORT PANORAMA
GENCA • Transffenica’s Genca (2007/28,289gt) operates a regular ro-ro service linking Antwerp to Germany, Sweden and Finland. The Dutch-flagged Genca and sistership Timca were both built in Poland.
large shopping centres, and several fast food outlets close to the river for the hungry ship spotter. Terneuzen is almost halfway between Antwerp and the North Sea, and is an ideal location to spot incoming ships as they slow down to take a pilot off Vlissingen before getting under way again, and taking a further hour to pass Terneuzen. Ships departing Antwerp can also be seen heading in an easterly direction, and they too will take up to an hour to pass vantage points along the banks of the Schelde by Terneuzen. Terneuzen is also the gateway to the Ghent Canal. There are two locks for coasters and barges, and one for deepsea vessels, but as bulk carriers have ESPRIT • A great vantage point to photograph and see ships very close up is the entrance from the Schelde towards the Ghent Canal lock system. The Dutch coaster Esprit (2011/2,984gt) is seen making the turn from the Schelde into the canal entrance. www.shipsmonthly.com • August 2021 •
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LONDON STAR • As well as being a major hub port for containerships, Antwerp also has large oil refineries and chemical processing plants. The Liberian-flagged tanker London Star (2006/41,966gt) was built in China, and is seen passing Terneuzen for Antwerp to load oil products.
increased in size over the last two decades, a new lock is being built to take postPanamax bulkers of up to 366m in length, and up to 49m in beam, with a 15m draught. The new lock will be a third wider and over 100m longer than the current lock, and is due for completion in 2023. Until the completion of the new lock, bulkers will continue to anchor in the river, from where floating cranes discharge the cargoes, of coal or iron ore, into dumb barges that will in turn be towed along the Ghent Canal for discharge before the bulker,
with a reduced draught, can also be discharged at the steel works at Zelzate. The Schelde river and the locks themselves offer many vantage points from which to photograph the ships, with cycle paths and footpaths along all of the waterways. Generally, the Dutch are very proud of their achievements in reclaiming the land that Terneuzen and the locks stand on, so much so that every effort has been made to give the public access to enjoy views of the Schelde, and the passing ships. And the area is well worth a visit.
ODIN PACIFIC • There are a large number of docks along the Ghent Canal which handle bulk and liquid cargoes. The bulker Odin Pacific (1995/16,761gt) was built by Imabari in Japan, and is typical of the geared bulkers that visit the Canal on a regular basis. A well-built 25-year-old bulker, she was sold in 2019 to become the Panamanian-flagged Shong Le B.
STOLT KITTIWAKE • Stolt-Nielsen operate a large fleet of ocean and shortsea chemical tankers, and these are a common sight on the Schelde. Stolt Kittiwake (1993/3204gt) was built in Denmark as Astrid Terkol, and became Stolt Kittiwake in 1995. A further sale in 2018 to Turkish owners saw her renamed Enye.
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CAPRICORN TRADER • With a clearly reduced draught, a typicallysized bulker, the Panamanian-flagged Capricorn Trader (2015/43,088gt), makes her way towards the steel works at Zelzate.
PORT PANORAMA
BOTHNIABORG • The distinctive colour scheme of the long-established Dutch shipping company Wagenborg is evident in this photo of the ro-ro vessel Bothniaborg (2004/12,365gt) as she heads towards the Schelde. The lock entrance road bridge can be seen, raised, to the right in this photo.
FEYZA • The Turkish-flagged bulker Feyza (1984/27,798gt) makes a cautious turn towards the locks before transiting the canal to Ghent. At Ghent there is a large scrapyard which can dismantle ships alongside the quay and, once down to the waterline, they are lifted onto the quayside so the process can be completed.
GEORG ESSBERGER • Enthusiasts will always ask: ‘How close can I get?’, and ‘What lens do I need?’ The simple answer is: right up to the red and white barrier! My standard lens is 18-200mm, and to capture the Portuguese-flagged Georg Essberger (2004/3,790gt) in the large lock I had to stand well back from the barrier to get her bridge in shot. FINNWOOD • As shipping leaves the Ghent Canal, it must make a sharp turn into the busy Schelde River. The Swedish-flagged Finnwood (2002/18,286gt) shows the sharp turn as she starts her return voyage to Scandinavian ports to load timber products. Built in Poland, Finnwood was sold in 2016 to Turkish interests, and underwent an extensive rebuild at Tuzla to become a floating power station, aptly named Karadeniz Powership Mehmet Bey.
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A VOYAGE ON VERDI
Jim Shaw recalls a voyage taken on Italia Line’s passenger/ cargo ship Verdi from Chile to the Canary Islands in 1970 and observations of Latin American shipping seen along the way.
I
n the immediate postwar years Italy’s Lloyd Triestino placed orders for seven similar-sized passenger-cargo liners for its services to Africa, Asia and Australia, with all the vessels completed during 1950 and 1951. The first to be delivered was the 12,839gt Australia for the company’s Australian route, followed later by sisters Oceania and Neptunia. These vessels were handsome motorships built by Italy’s Cantieri Reuniti dell’Adriatico and powered by twin 14,000bhp Sulzer diesels driving two screws to give a speed of 18 knots.
Passenger accommodation was provided for 280 in First class, 120 in Second and 392 in Third, the latter in large dormitories on the lower decks. Cargo was carried in five holds trunked through the passenger spaces, three forward and two aft, all served by traditional masts and booms. The white-hulled ships were well received in the antipodes trade and, during their early years, provided a regular service between the Italian ports of Genoa, Naples and Messina to Fremantle, Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney via the Suez Canal, with calls at Colombo and Djakarta
southbound and Singapore, Cochin and Aden northbound.
REPLACEMENT SHIPS
During the late 1950s, with an increase in demand for Tourist class accommodation, the three ships were refitted to carry 536 in Tourist class and 136 in First class, the original Third class being merged into Tourist, but with some dormitory accommodation still retained. In 1963, as trade to Australia continued to expand, the three combination ships were replaced by the larger and faster Galileo Galilei and Guglielmo Marconi, twin 24-knot liners that could accommodate
In late December 1969 major elements of the Chilean Navy were tied up along the harbour wall at Valparaiso, including right to left: submarines Simpson (ex-USS Spot) and Thompson (ex-USS Springer), cruisers Capitán Prat (ex-USS Nashville) and O’Higgins (ex-USS Brooklyn, oiler Almirante Jorge Montt and destroyers Almirante Riveros (DDG18) and Almirante Williams (DDG19) while the Peruvian cargo vessel Inca Pachachtee rested in the foreground. JIM SHAW
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VOYAGE REPORT
Verdi loaded both passengers and cargo at Callao, Peru on 1 January, 1970, the first day of a new decade, and one during which the 1950-built Italian ship would be retired and dismantled for scrap. JIM SHAW Captured from a sister vessel, Verdi has cargo gear up in anticipation of arrival at the port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife in the Canary Islands. R. SCHAFFER Italia Line’s Verdi had been built as Lloyd Triestino’s Oceania in 1950, this photo showing the 13,139gt ship in the late 1950s following the filling in of a well deck forward to support the addition of a new Tourist-class lounge. LR/NAA www.shipsmonthly.com • August 2021 •
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Seen at Tenerife, Compañía Trasatlántica’s war-built migrant liner Montserrat had originally been converted for passenger use by Italy’s Sitmar Line. TREVOR JONES
1,750 passengers each but only minimal freight. Australia, Neptunia and Oceania were then returned to Italy, where they were reconditioned, repainted and renamed Donizetti, Rossini
and Verdi for Italia Line’s service to the west coast of South America. On this route they replaced the older and slower Navigator class, a series of 15-knot motorships which had been completed in the
A view from the upper deck of Anncerville as the Compagnie de Navigation Paquet ship departs Las Palmas in early 1970, only a few months before the 14,225gt French liner would rescue all passengers and crew from Costa Line’s chartered Fulvia (ex-Oslofjord) after the vessel suffered an engine room fire and sank north of the Canaries on 20 July 1970. JIM SHAW
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late 1940s as combination emigrant and cargo carriers.
VERDI AT VALPARAISO
In December 1969 this author was fortunate, after crossing South America by rail from Buenos Aires, in obtaining accommodation on the 18-year-old Verdi for a voyage from Valparaiso to the Canary Islands. At that time the Italian ship was operating a regular run with its two sisters between Valparaiso and Genoa calling at ports in Peru, Ecuador, Panama, Colombia and Venezuela, as well as Curaçao in the Caribbean and the Canary Islands off Africa. Still in good condition, but remaining in service only on the strength of the Italian mariners’ union, the ship accommodated 622 passengers in two classes. My allotted bunk in a fourberth Tourist class cabin had been obtained from the Italia agency in Buenos Aires for $325. Verdi’s First class accommodation and public rooms were located midships on the Main and Upper decks, while Tourist class was spread out on the lower decks, including a lounge forward that had been added in an earlier refit, with additional cabins created on ‘B’ Deck.
Upon embarkation on 27 December I found my cabinmates to be three Chilean gentlemen, who were only travelling as far as Antofagasta, an overnight run to the north. I was later informed by the purser that many of Italia Line’s Chilean passengers only used the ships coastwise, to either Antofagasta or Arica,, as an alternative to the country’s very slow trains and congested buses. Chile was in political turmoil and Salvador Allende was about to become the first democratically elected Marxist socialist president in South America. Verdi departed Valparaiso that evening, four hours late, and moved through a harbour that contained very little shipping, other than units of the Chilean Navy and several refrigerator ships waiting at anchor. The following day the air was crisp and sky clear as we navigated northwards through the notoriously cold Humboldt current. Passengers on deck were bundled up in overcoats despite the the fact that it was summer in the southern latitudes.
PORT CALLS
The port of Antofagasta, Chile’s main copper port, was a brief call, as was Arica to
VOYAGE REPORT
1The 27,888gt Galileo Galilei was one of two 24-knot liners which replaced Australia, Oceania and Neptunia on the Italy-Australia run in 1963, allowing the smaller and slower ships to be moved to Italia Line’s South America West Coast service as Donizetti, Rossini and Verdi. TREVOR JONES
the north, both ports using the land-facing sides of their breakwaters for ship berthing. Verdi’s passenger load was decimated by nearly a half after departure from Arica, and stayed that way until La Guaira, Venezuela, where large numbers of Spanish workers boarded for passage back to Spain and the Canary Islands. On New Year’s Eve the ship anchored off Peru’s Port of Callao, and a large party was held that evening, one celebrating not only a new year, but also a new decade. Before dawn on the first
morning of the 1970s the ship was moved into Callao harbour and berthed under grey overcast conditions, which continually cling to this length of the South American coast. Again, our call was to be short, as there was little cargo to load and few passengers to handle. Upon departure that evening, however, there was a rumour that we would be making an unscheduled stop for an offering of cargo further north.
UNSCHEDULED STOP
Our unscheduled stop proved to be the small port of Paita,
A 1949 product of the Canadian Vickers yard at Montreal, Canada, the 3,952gt Ciudad de Ouito was one of a number of conventional cargo liners operated by Flota Mercante Grancolombiana SA until she was sold out of the fleet in 1979 and broken up at Mamonal, Colombia in 1985. JIM SHAW
which offered a consignment of baled cotton that other ships had rejected. As the port’s single pier was occupied by a Japanese freighter, we were forced to anchor off, the cotton coming out in lighters and going into the forward two cargo holds, handled by ship’s gear. There was also a large fleet of fishing vessels anchored nearby, taking advantage of the Humboldt Current, which brings thousands of tons of fish annually, mainly sardines, anchovies and mackerel, from the southern latitudes. As this current swings out into the Pacific near
northern Peru, we encountered a more tropical climate the following day as the ship was navigated up the Guayas River to the port of Guayaquil, where the daytime temperature was much hotter and more humid than the day before. Several cargo ships of the state-owned Flota Mercante Grancolombiana (FMG) were berthed on the river, all carrying the emblem of a ship’s wheel, encompassing the countries of Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela, on their funnels. Like several other state-owned lines in Latin America, Grancolombiana had been established just after the war years to challenge European and American lines, particularly for coffee cargoes. The company’s ships were seen again in our final port of call on the Pacific coast, Colombia’s port of Buenaventura, where we, like the nearby 3,952gt Ciudad de Ouito, loaded bagged coffee for Europe. Upon departure later that afternoon, we were passed just off the port by one of Verdi’s sister ships, the inbound Rossini, on her way south to Valparaiso.
PANAMA CANAL TRANSIT
On 6 January 1970 Verdi took on a pilot for the Panama Canal, an eight-hour transit during which time the ship was raised and lowered 85ft through three sets of locks.
The 13,920dwt Sabogal was completed by Finland’s Wärtsilä shipyard in 1969 for Compañía Peruana de Vapores and served that company until it went out of business in the early 1990s, the vessel then being broken up at Chittagong, Bangladesh in 1994. JIM SHAW www.shipsmonthly.com • August 2021 •
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Verdi making her daylight transit of the Panama Canal just after exiting the Pedro Miguel Locks and prior to entering Gaillard Cut in early 1970. G.B. FINCH
Still recognisable externally, the former French liner Ancerville lives on as a land-locked hotel and tourist attraction at Shekou, China. SEA WORLD
The year 1970 was to be the high point of shipping through the canal, with 15,523 vessels transiting, carrying 134.6 million tonnes of cargo. Although more cargo would be carried in later years, the continuing increase in vessel size meant that fewer ships were involved. 1970 was also the year a $22 million study by the AtlanticPacific Interocean Canal Commission recommended the building of a new sea level canal ten miles distant from the existing canal, at an estimated cost of $3 billion to $10 billion. Although a sea level route would have added an extra 10,000 transits to Panama’s annual capacity, and allowed larger vessels to pass, it received little support from shipping lines, largely because they felt it would lead to higher tolls. In addition, as the new canal would lie outside the 1904-established Canal Zone’s existing boundaries, it would require a new treaty with Panama. David S. Parker, Governor of the Canal Zone, and president of the Panama Canal Company at the time of our transit, also called a counter proposal to build a third set of locks at Panama ‘unfeasible economically, militarily and politically’.
number of cargo ships operated by the state-owned Compañía Anónima Venezolana de Navegación (CAVN). Like Grancolombiana, it was to flourish through the 1970s and into the 1980, but then abruptly go out of business in the 1990s. In addition to Italia Line, La Guaira was served on a regular basis by ships of Spain’s Compañía Trasatlántica, a line that competed in the Caribbean for both passengers and cargo. Several months after our departure, one of the Trasatlántica ships, the war-built Montserrat, would feature in one of the largest transfers of passengers at sea, when the 26-year-old vessel broke down in mid-ocean, her 650 passengers having to be transferred to sistership Begoña by lifeboat.
could tour the city’s ancient walls or visit Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas located on a hill above the harbour. An overnight sailing then brought us to Willemstad, Curaçao, where the floating Queen Emma Bridge was opened to allow our entrance into the inner harbour. Although welcomed for its shopping potential, the Dutch city had been damaged by rioting oil workers only a few months prior to our arrival and caution was advised on the streets. Verdi’s final port of call before the long Atlantic passage was La Guaira, Venezuela, where a large number of Spanish contract workers filled the ship to return to Spain and the Canary Islands. The harbour at La Guaira, which was protected by a long breakwater, also contained a
ATLANTIC CROSSING
Once clear of Gatun Locks on Panama’s Atlantic side, Verdi set her course for Cartagena, Colombia, an early Spanish port, where additional coffee was obtained and passengers
Pacific-bound in the Panama Canal, the 8,771gt Japanese cargo vessel Yamatoshi Maru was built in 1962 by Hitachi Shipbuilding for Yamashita-Shinnihon Kisen Kaisha and ended her days as the Greek-owned Sminarchos Frangistas. JIM SHAW
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CANARY ISLANDS
On 16 January, following a 3,251-nautical-mile passage from La Guaira, Verdi rounded the northeastern tip of Tenerife Island and entered the port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, where several diverted liners off the closed Suez route were also berthed. Here, because of the high winter tourist season, I was forced to use ferries operated by Spain’s Trasmediterránea between Tenerife and Las Palmas as ‘hotels’ for several nights while awaiting onward passage to West Africa. On 21 January Compagnie de Navigation Paquet’s 14,224gt Ancerville, arriving from Marseille and Casablanca, offered onward passage to Dakar, Senegal. Of similar size but a dozen years younger than Verdi, the French ship boasted six categories of passenger accommodation, my allotted six-berth cabin being in Standard class situated forward. The two-day trip south was uneventful and disembarkation at Dakar was somewhat welcome as the food on board, at least by the time it reached Standard class, was not up to usual French standards and the public spaces were limited. Nevertheless, while Verdi was broken up in 1977, Ancerville went on to operate as the Chinese cruise ship Minghua in Australian service, before becoming a land-locked hotel and tourist attraction at Shekou, China, where the former French vessel still exists.
Caroline Russ (10,488gt) arriving at Grand Harbour, Malta on 21 April. The 1999-built ro-ro vessel has recently been operating in the Mediterranean between Palermo and Valletta. MARIO BUHAGIAR
PICTORIAL
grace our gallery? Have you an outstanding photo that would in lusion these pages, which Send your image to Ships Monthly for inc showcase the best in ship photography around the world.
The 1998-built cruise ship Disney Magic (83,969gt) passes Calshot outbound from Southampton to Dover on 9 June. The 2,400-passenger vessel was refurbished in 2013. DAVID FLETCHER www.shipsmonthly.com • August 2021 •
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The 1983-built multipurpose offshore vessel Atlantic Tonjer (3,349gt (ex-Normand Tonjer) on the Thames passing Gravesend in May. Rebuilt in 2000, she is owned by Castle Ship Management Ltd. FRASER GRAY
The world’s largest commercial sailing ship Golden Horizon entering Portland harbour on 13 July during her inaugural cruise. The 8,440ft vessel has five masts and can take 272 guests. STEVE BELASCO
The 149,525gt container carrier Zeus Lumos heading for Southampton. Delivered in February, she has been chartered by Ocean Network Express and operates between China and the UK. MARITIME PHOTOGRAPHIC
The 2004-built bulk carrier White Bay (30,083gt) passing Dalmuir, Glasgow on her way to Shieldhall Quay, Glasgow on 11 May. After three days in port, she headed for Sillamäe, Estonia. JIM PRENTICE
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MEDWAY MEMORIES
Geoff Lunn, who has lived near the River Medway for most of his life, recalls times when the river was full of shipping. ISLE OF GRAIN ISLE OF SHEPPEY Strood Cuxton Halling
F
Chatham
rom its source in Sussex the River Medway, Kent’s principal waterway, flows for 70 miles in a north-easterly direction, before entering the Thames estuary. For centuries it has been regarded as a safe and secure haven for shipping. In fact, in the 16th century King Henry VIII, by ordering the
Sittingbourne
building of ships specifically for war, paved the way for the Medway’s long-standing connections with the Royal Navy, with its fighting ships sheltering in the Medway’s lower reaches during the winter. Around this time the rental of a storehouse and the construction of further dock buildings announced the birth of Chatham Dockyard, which
The 1914-built tug K-14, owned by J.P. Knight & Sons, pulls a sailing barge through Allington Lock near Maidstone.
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became an important naval base for the next four centuries. Of all the ships built at the dockyard, the most famous was Lord Nelson’s HMS Victory, launched in 1765. Shipbuilding and shiprepair work, not only at Chatham but also at the smaller Sheerness Dockyard, led to the transportation of English oak from the Kentish Weald downriver to the two yards. During the 19th century, as steam power took over, and many of the world’s largest iron warships were taking to its waters, there was also a notable increase in merchant shipping in the river as three local industries, the manufacturing of paper, cement and bricks, expanded. All used water transport for supplying raw materials and fuel and for distributing the finished products. In 1854 a large paper mill was opened at Snodland, on the banks of the Medway between Rochester and Maidstone, and paper
Frida Dan (1957/2,676gt) was one of J. Lauritzen’s Danishflagged ships which brought wood pulp to Rochester buoys.
manufacturing became the leading local industry. English china clay, esparto grass from Spain and coal would be shipped into the Medway and upriver to the mill, and in 1921 a second large mill, owned by Albert E. Reed, was opened near Aylesford. Small coasters conveyed cargoes to and from the cement factories and brought china clay for paper making. Scandinavian pulp, bound for Reed’s mill, however, was shipped to Rochester by larger cargo vessels.
Frozen in: the Swedish cargo ship Titan off Ship Pier, Rochester during the big freeze of 1963.
REMINISCENCES
The ice patrol vessel HMS Endurance on the Medway; earlier in her career, she sailed as the Danish cargo ship Anita Dan.
Immediately downstream from Rochester Bridge, the Medway sweeps into a large reverse ‘S’ bend which used to encompass working wharves, shiprepair slipways and piers at Strood, Rochester and Chatham. The stretch known as Limehouse Reach had, on either side, the working wharves of Rochester, where pulpcarrying vessels would moor midstream at Rochester buoys to discharge cargoes into lighters for towing upriver to Reed’s mill. In the late 1950s and 1960s I recall, as a young lad, diverting from my daily journey to school to catch sight of these vessels moored off Rochester. Frequent visitors
(Shipping) Ltd, nominated agents and stevedores. Both companies were shipowners in their own right, operating dry-cargo short-sea vessels and barges. Watson’s was based in Rochester for 120 years before closing in 2000, while London & Rochester, later Crescent Shipping, part of the Hayes Group, owned were freighters owned by the Swedish company Iris Reederei, two larger tugs, Enticette such as Atair (1947/1,586gt), (1953/108gt) and Dragette (1947/50gt), as well as a Indus (1945/2,806gt) and fleet of coasters, whose names Titan (1947/1,586gt), which contained the suffix ‘ence’. found herself iced up when the Medway froze during the The major part of the harsh winter of 1963. Medway’s towage business, Other regular callers were however, was undertaken by the local tug company J.P. cargo ships operated by LIGHTERAGE WORK Knight Ltd. Founded in 1892, Finnlines and vessels owned The Medway’s port services by the Danish company it still has offices in Chatham. for handling merchant ships and In 1950 the company secured J. Lauritzen, whose red hulls their cargoes were provided by a 30-year towage contact would brighten up many a dull winter day. An interesting the local businesses London & with a new oil refinery under Rochester Trading Company, construction on the Isle of visitor was Anita Dan which carried out the lighterage Grain. A much smaller refinery (1956/2,642gt) which, in 1967-68, was converted into work with the help of its opened on the site in 1923, imaginatively named small tugs while the newer £26 million the Antarctic ice patrol ship HMS Endurance, under which Coaxette, Luggette, Pullette and complex was the largest in guise she would subsequently Snatchette, and Thomas Watson Europe. Commissioned by the
A typical Medway scene from the mid-20th century shows the tug Kite (1952/118gt) moored ahead of a pulp ship in Limehouse Reach.
call at Chatham Dockyard. In contrast with the red Dan ships were the yellow-hulled larger fleet members of F.T. Everard & Sons, which would join their Scandinavian counterparts midstream. At the top end of Limehouse Reach was Cory’s Wharf, which dated back to pre-1914 and was used by Wm Cory’s colliers, serving the many gasworks that lined the Medway. As the gasworks gradually disappeared so did the coal carriers, and the wharf moved on to receiving cargoes of aggregates delivered by sand suction dredgers.
The tug Kent, owned by Knight’s, led in the first tanker to berth at the BP refinery and is now preserved and based at Chatham Maritime. www.shipsmonthly.com • August 2021 •
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BEST VIEWS FROM MEDWAY QUEEN T he best way of viewing the Medway’s shipping in those days was from the decks of an excursion steamer, and there was no more popular vessel on the river than the paddler Medway Queen. Much has been documented about this vessel which, on her completion by Ailsa Shipbuilding in Troon in 1924, continued a long tradition of paddlers on the Medway, and
which will always be remembered for her part in the Dunkirk evacuation in 1940, transporting 7,000 servicemen during the course of seven heroic voyages. In peacetime she spent summer seasons plying between Strood, Chatham, Sheerness and Southend, also calling at Herne Bay and Margate and, in later years, Clacton. On 8 September 1963 she made her final
commercial voyage from Strood Pier. Following an unsuccessful venture as a floating nightclub on the Isle of Wight, she was brought back to Chatham on Easter Day 1984 by the newly formed Medway Queen Preservation Society for renovation. Today she lies at Gillingham, extensively rebuilt but without engines, although there are hopes that she may one day set sail again.
Taking a well-earned winter break in a Rochester creek, the paddle steamer Medway Queen was one of the most popular vessels to have sailed on the River Medway.
Ever Glowing was the first Evergreen Line container ship to berth at the newly completed Thamesport in January 1991. COURTESY OF KENT MESSENGER GROUP
Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (later the British Petroleum Company), it was completed in March 1953, and Knight’s tug Kent (1948/121gt) had the honour of leading in the first tanker to berth there, the 18,291gt British Skill. As
tankers grew in size so did the tugs, and Knight took delivery of the 206gt Kestrel in 1955 and Kenley, 245gt, in 1958. In 1960 Sheerness Dockyard was affected by cuts to the Royal Navy, but soon reopened as a commercial
port, increasing the amount of merchant shipping using the Medway. However, a decade later, the wood pulp trade was undergoing major changes, with an increase in imported manufactured newsprint and the implementation of Aided by the tug Lashette, Jeremiah O’Brien, the world’s last operational Liberty ship, arrives at Chatham.
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new safety measures for the carriage of pulp by sea, and by 1980 the pulp trade into Rochester had virtually ceased. The early 1980s was a difficult time for the Medway area, as BP closed its Isle of Grain refinery on 27 August 1982 after almost 30 years of operations, while the British Government announced the closure of Chatham Dockyard. The dockyard gates were
REMINISCENCES
The T class submarine HMS Trenchant, pictured off Strood Pier, was one of 57 submarines built at Chatham Dockyard. Launched in March 1943, she had a displacement of 1,290 tons and was broken up in 1963.
closed for the final time on 31 March 1984, bringing to an end centuries of Royal Naval connections, during which more than 500 ships, including 57 submarines, had been built at the yard.
REDEVELOPMENT
Fortunately, the dark cloud over the Medway during that time proved to have a silver lining, as both sites were redeveloped, with, on the Isle of Grain, the third largest container port in Britain being built. The first phase of the work began in December 1988 and, on 14 September
1990, Thamesport, as the new terminal was somewhat surprisingly named, was officially opened. During the course of the following years several lucrative links were made between the port and some of the world’s largest container ship operators, including the giant Taiwan-based Evergreen, whose 46,551gt Ever Glowing made the Corporation’s first scheduled arrival in January 1991. Meanwhile, across the Medway estuary, Sheerness was growing as a premier port for handling vehicles, fresh produce and forest products. The bulk carrier Sommen discharging a cargo of forest products at the Transit Terminal, Crown Wharf.
Awaiting her fate, the Anchusa class sloop HMS Chrysanthemum, launched on 10 November 1917, moored off Rochester
The Dutch-flagged coaster Steel Shuttle passes Chatham on her way from Stanley’s Wharf to IJmuiden.
The coastal cargo vessel Buxtehude (1985/2,565gt) unloads at Chatham Docks, which were originally part of the Chatham naval base. www.shipsmonthly.com • August 2021 •
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TIMELINE
1567 Chatham Dockyard
established 1765 HMS Victory launched at Chatham Dockyard 1854 Large paper mill opened at Snodland 1921 Second large paper mill opened near Aylesford 1953 Isle of Grain oil refinery completed 1960 Sheerness Dockyard closed 1975 Olau Line opened ferry service from Sheerness 1982 Isle of Grain refinery closed 1984 Chatham Dockyard closed 1990 Thamesport opened 2013 Paddle steamer excursions ended
Back upriver, Chatham Dockyard was divided into three projects: a working museum telling the story of the dockyard, shipbuilding methods and naval life at sea; a retail and entertainment complex that with the former No.1 Basin is known as Chatham Maritime; and a commercial port, called Chatham Docks, which handles various cargoes, including forest products and scrap metal. The working museum, Chatham Historic Dockyard, gained its own passenger pier as paddle
The 1973-built cruise ship Vistafjord, which was built by Swan Hunter, being manoeuvred towards her berth at Sheerness Docks in the early 1990s. She later became Caronia and, from 2004, Saga Ruby for Saga Cruises.
steamer excursions returned to the Medway after a break of more than 30 years. The little 94gt steamer Kingswear Castle had been built in 1924 for service on the River Dart, where she operated until 1965. After retirement she was neglected but, unlike Medway Queen, she was fully restored to working order by the Paddle Steamer Preservation Society, and moved to her new base at Chatham in 1985, running trips up and down the Medway, with the occasional sojourn into the Thames.
Kingswear Castle resurrected paddle steamer trips on the River Medway from 1985. However, she returned to her original home on the River Dart in 2013.
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During the 1990s commercial shipping at Rochester was restricted to a few wharves. The shortsea sister vessels Steel Shuttle and Steel Sprinter ran a regular service between Stanley’s Wharf and the Dutch port of IJmuiden carrying steel, while, almost opposite, the Transit Terminal at Crown Wharf handled forest products brought in by Swedish ships of Ahlmark Lines AB, the largest of which was Sommen (1983/4,436gt). Immediately upriver from Crown Wharf, Scotline opened a dedicated
terminal in 1994 for imported timber and woodpulp, shipped in by its own fleet of vessels.
UNUSUAL VISITORS
Although the River Medway has seen many changes over recent decades, with fewer working wharves, a number of interesting, if not unusual, ships have entered its waters. In the early 1990s the Cunard cruise ship Vistafjord (1973/24,492gt) undertook a short programme of cruises out of Sheerness, but as there was no cruise terminal at the port, the liner moved her UK
Scotline has expanded its Medway operations in recent years. One of the company’s ships, Scot Ranger (2,260gt), is berthed at Rochester. The vessel was sold in 2019.
REMINISCENCES Olau Finn, under charter to Olau Line from Finnlines, was deployed on the Sheerness-Vlissingen route between 1976 and 1980.
THE SHEERNESS TO VLISSINGEN FERRY
I
n the mid-1970s Olau Line saw a niche in the cross-Channel ferry market and in 1975 established a passenger-car ferry service from Sheerness to Vlissingen in Holland with a pair of small sisterships, Olau East and Olau West. The service proved successful from the outset, and Olau chartered a larger ferry, the 7,889gt Finnpartner. The vessel, which started life in 1966 as Saga for Swedish Lloyd,
ran on the route with another acquisition, Olau Kent. By 1980 Olau had been taken over by the German TT Line, who ordered a new pair of ferries for the route, the 14,990gt Olau Hollandia and Olau Britannia, which entered service in 1981, but by the end of the decade were themselves replaced by two even larger ships carrying the same names. The new 33,336gt vessels set
high standards for comfort and proved very popular with their clientele, but in 1994 action by the German Seamen’s Union against the reflagging of the ships outside Germany forced the service to close. Now the fort at Garrison Point, built where the Medway joins the Thames and which was later converted into a ferry terminal for the Olau service, is no longer in use.
The 33,336gt Olau Britannia approaching Sheerness. She and her sister Olau Hollandia were by far the largest ferries on the Vlissingen service, which ended in 1994. Olau Britannia went on to serve as Pride of Portsmouth (1994–2005), becoming SNAV Lazio in 2005 after sale to Italy-based SNAV for service between from Civitavecchia, Palermo and Olbia. In 2017 she was renamed GNV Atlas. A thriving commercial port has evolved at Sheerness, on the site of the former naval base. Pictured (from left to right) are a bulk carrier, a reefer and a ro-ro vessel, all representative of the types of shipping handled there.
base to Southampton. In June 1994 the world’s last operational Liberty ship, Jeremiah O’Brien, called at Chatham, having steamed from San Francisco to participate in the 50th Anniversary D-Day celebrations. Meanwhile, a veteran ship, HMS Chrysanthemum, was lying off Rochester awaiting sale. Built in 1918 as an Anchusatype ‘Q’ sloop, the 1,290-ton vessel had become a familiar sight berthed alongside London’s Embankment for many years, before moving to the Medway. Sadly, she caught fire in June 1995 and was dismantled at Strood. The River Medway is now a far cry from the days when its tidal waters were bustling with pulp ships, barges, tugs and lighters. In 2013 the paddle steamer Kingswear Castle returned to the River Dart, leaving a void in excursions on the river, and since the advent in 2013 of the huge London Gateway container port in the lower Thames, the Thamesport terminal has lost all of its ocean container services and been redeveloped as a shortsea port. Meanwhile, within the former Chatham Dockyard, part of Chatham Docks is being regenerated as a housing and business development scheme promoted by Peel Ports, and the docks are likely to cease working by 2025. On a more positive note, though, Chatham Historic Dockyard now features the historic destroyer HMS Cavalier, the submarine HMS Ocelot and the 19th century sloop HMS Gannet in a permanent ‘Battle Ships’ exhibition, which attracts 190,000 visitors a year. Furthermore, Scotline added Crown Wharf to its Rochester operations in 2011. So the River Medway is still very much alive, but those days when I would venture along the creaking piers of Chatham to view the Scandinavian pulp ships unloading their cargoes have become a distant memory. www.shipsmonthly.com • August 2021 •
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Maritime
MOSAIC Barrow shipping
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Barrow in Furness has been home to a thriving shipbuilding industry for many years, with Barrow Shipbuilding Company, Vickers-Armstrongs, Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering, and BAE Systems all having yards there. This small selection of images shows various vessels either built there or visiting the port. The cargo ship Eugene Lykes at Barrow in August 1953. Built in 1945 by North Carolina Shipyard, Wilmington, NC, she was launched as Ocean Express (8,190gt). She was broken up in May 1970 at Kaohsiung.
READERS’ ARCHIVE The passenger liner 17 de Octubre (12,634gt), built for the Argentine government, was laid down by VickersArmstrongs as yard no.971 in December 1948 and launched in April 1950. She is pictured in October 1950 during her trials.
The steamer Kaprino (ex-Libertad) in Ramsden Dock, ahead of another steamer, Thetis, at No.3 Berth. Built by Sunderland SB Co at South Dock in 1907, she had a career of almost half a century, being broken up in January 1954 at Middlesbrough. The Majestic class light fleet carrier HMS Majestic. Laid down in April 1943, she was launched in February 1945 but laid up incomplete after the war’s end, subsequently being acquired by Australia and commissioned as Melbourne in October 1955. She subsequently served with the Australians until 1982 and was due to be replaced by Invincible until the deal fell through after the Falkland Islands war. The picture was taken very close to the vessel;s completion in 1955, and the tugs Ramsden and Throstlegarth are in attendance. The Trident ballistic missile-armed submarine HMS Vanguard leaving Barrow, July 1999. The lead boat of her class, she was ordered on 30 May 1986, launched on 4 March 1992, and commissioned on 14 August 1993.
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T COLD WAR SURVIVOR Conceived during the latter stages of the Cold War, the Soviet Navy Project 1144.1 Heavy Nuclear-Powered Missile Cruisers are still seen as a potent symbol of Russian power projection. Steven Tindale examines the history and service of the Kirov class battlecruisers.
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he 1960s witnessed a distinct change in Soviet naval doctrine. Initiated by Admiral of the Fleet Sergey Gorshkov, the emphasis shifted from what was arguably a defensive, littoral stance to one of acquiring a long-range capability to engage NATO navies in their home waters. In order to meet the Soviet Union’s global ambitions, future vessels would require a more balanced armament, command and control capabilities, and have a much enhanced range and endurance. These requirements resulted initially in the development of the Kresta and Karla classes of guided-missile cruisers, but
RUSSIAN NAVY
Pyotr Velikiy (ex-Yuri Andropov) being shadowed by the Royal Navy Type 45 destroyer HMS Dragon as the Russian ship transits the English Channel in 2014. MOD Kirov pictured in 1983. Note the twin launcher for the SS-N-14 anti-submarine missile system mounted just aft of the forecastle. Kirov was the only one of the class fitted with this weapon. USNA
around 1970 reports began to emerge of a new class of vessel being built on the Baltic. Nuclear-powered and designated Project 1144.1 Orlan (Sea Eagle), they became known as the Kirov class. While the official Soviet classification was Heavy Nuclear-Powered Missile Cruiser, western naval sources classified them as battlecruisers, a designation reflecting reports of their size, firepower and speed. Baltic Yard no.189 in Leningrad (St Petersburg) was chosen to build the new class. One of a limited number of yards with a berth capable of accommodating the new warship, it also had extensive experience of providing nuclear propulsion, having previously built three nuclear-
powered icebreakers. The lead ship, Kirov, was laid down in June 1973, launched in December 1977 and completed in September 1980. The seven-year build time reflected the scale and complexity of the new vessel. With an overall length of 248m, a beam of 28m and a fully loaded displacement of 24,300 tons, she was the largest surface combatant built since World War II, with the
exception of aircraft carriers. Two pressurised water reactors formed the primary propulsion, complemented with two oil-fired boilers, to be engaged when higher speeds were required. This unique combined nuclear and steam arrangement (CONAS) gave Kirov an estimated top speed of over 30 knots. The vessel’s armament reflected Admiral Gorshkov’s ambition of a more balanced,
flexible Soviet Fleet. Kirov was fitted with 20 45-degree angled launch tubes for the SS-N-19 Shipwreck anti-ship or land attack cruise missile, which were located just forward of the Frunze being overflown by an Orion P3 aircraft of the United States Navy in October 1985. Note the single 130mm gun turret aft, which on Frunze replaced the two single 100mm weapons mounted on Kirov. USNA
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Kalinin photographed in 1991. The 20 hatches for the SS-N-19 are visible just forward of the superstructure. Just forward of those are the tubes for the SA-N6 system and at the edge of the forecastle are the two spaces allocated for the SA-N-9 system, which was never installed. USNA
RENAMED IN 1992 Kirov – Admiral Ushakov Frunze – Admiral Lazarev Kalinin – Admiral Nakhimov Yuri Andropov – Pyotr Velikiy (Peter the Great)
superstructure. Conventional or nuclear armed, they had a range of over 600km. The primary air defence system, the SAN-6 Grumble, comprised 12 Vertical Launch System (VLS) tubes, with each tube being fed by an eight-round rotary magazine giving a full payload of 96 missiles. The SA-N-4 Gecko short-range air defence system was housed in two retractable mountings located port and starboard of the main bridge. Each mounting held 20 missiles. The main anti-submarine
warfare (ASW) capability was the SS-N-14 Silex. This system utilised a missile to deliver a torpedo or depth charge to its target. In addition, one RBU 6000 ASW multi-barrelled rocket launcher was mounted forward, with two RBU 1000 mountings located on the after superstructure. Two sets of quintuple 533mm torpedo tubes were located behind armoured shutters, port and starboard on the after hull. The primary ASW sensors comprised a bow-mounted sonar and a variable depth
sonar deployed from a large hatch in the stern. Two dual-purpose (DP) 100mm guns in single turrets were mounted on the after superstructure. Short-range defence against missiles and small surface craft was provided by eight 30mm AK630 muti-barrelled guns. Three helicopters were embarked, usually a combination of the Ka-25 Hormone A and B variants and the Ka-27 Helix. In addition to ASW tasking, the Hormone B provided overthe-horizon targeting data for the SS-N-19 missiles. In order to fulfil her role as a flagship, Kirov also carried an array of command, control and communications equipment.
SECOND OF CLASS
Frunze, the second of the class, was laid down in December 1977 and joined the Pacific Fleet in 1984. Designated Project 1144.2, the vessel incorporated various changes, with two single 100mm DP Kirov, photographed by the US Navy while on her sea trials in 1980. US NAVY
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RUSSIAN NAVY
THE KIROV BATTLECRUISERS KIROV • The first of the Kirov battlecruisers was laid down on 27 March 1974, commissioned on 30 December 1980. FRUNZE • The second was laid down on 27 July 1978 and commissioned on 31 October 1984. KALININ • The third, commissioned on 30 December 1988, joined the Northern Fleet in December 1988. The most significant improvements were that, unlike Frunze, Kalinin actually had the SA-N-9 system installed and her AK630 mountings were replaced by the CADS –N-1 Kashtan combined 30mm gun and missile system.
YURIY ANDROPOV • The fourth of the class, Yuriy Andropov, was launched in April 1989 and commissioned on 9 April 1998. The Cold War was effectively over and, with the Soviet Union in economic turmoil, the reductions in the defence budget led to construction being suspended, and then eventually halted. Building was resumed in 1992, but it was not until April 1998 that she joined the Northern Fleet as its new flagship, being renamed Pyotr Velikiy. DZERZHINSKIY • A fifth Kirov class, to be named Dzerzhinskiy was cancelled in October 1990.
gun turrets replaced by one dual 130 mm DP turret. The four aft AK630 mountings were relocated to the aft superstructure to accommodate two VLS for the short-range SA-N-9 Gauntlet AA missile. However, these, along with a further two mountings forward which replaced the SS-N-14 ASW launcher, were never fitted. The loss of the SS-N-14 was offset by the addition of the SS-N-15 Starfish ASW missile, deployed from the 533mm torpedo tubes. The electronic warfare
sensors and fire control systems were also upgraded.
A Ka-25 Hormone helicopter on the flight deck. The Kirov class carried up to three aircraft. USNA
DEMISE OF THE USSR
The first three Kirov class vessels entered service during the last decade that the Soviet Union was in existence. Their early service consisted primarily of exercises and power projection visits to allied ports. The notable exception saw Kirov sailing at high speed for Bermuda in 1986 to assist in the unsuccessful rescue of the ballistic missile submarine
A starboard quarter view of Frunze, showing a helicopter being brought up from the hangar. This image also illustrates the differences between her and Kirov: the single 130mm DP gun turret, and the after AK630 CISW mountings moved to the extended after superstructure.
A detailed 1991 image of Kalinin (now Admiral Nakhimov), showing the SA-N-6 VLS and SS-N-19 launcher hatches. During the refit now in progress, these systems, plus other redundant space, will all be removed and replaced by a reported 174 tube VLS installation. USNA
K-219, which had sustained serious fire damage in her missile room. The submarine sank under tow and, sadly, four of her crew lost their lives. The dramatic reduction of defence expenditure which followed the economic reforms resulting from the dissolution of the USSR, and the subsequent transition to the Russian Federation, had severe consequences for the nascent Russian Federation Navy. An early change came in 1992, when the four battlecruisers were renamed, and the names of Bolshevik and Communist leaders were replaced by those of historic Russian naval figures. However, the newly formed Russian Federation Ships (RFS) spent little time at sea. The cuts in defence spending drastically curtailed their refit and modernisation programmes. As a result, by 1994, following reactor failures in both ships and with funding constraints precluding any repair work, Admiral Ushakov (ex-Kirov) and Admiral Lazarev (exFrunze) were effectively laid up www.shipsmonthly.com • August 2021 •
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A starboard bow image of Frunze taken in 1986 showing the installations for the three separate missile systems. The RBU 6000 multibarrelled rocket launcher can also be seen just aft of the forecastle breakwater. SOVIET NAVY
after just 14 and ten years of service respectively. Although still officially in service, Admiral Nakhimov was laid up at the Sevmash Shipyard in Severodvinsk in 1999 to await a decision about her future. Pyotr Velikiy (ex-Yuri Andropov) finally joined the Northern Fleet as flagship in April 1998, and two years later took part in Summer-X, the largest naval exercise conducted by the Russian Navy
since the collapse of the Soviet Union. During the exercise she was to act as a target for the Oscar II class submarine Kursk. Tragically, the simulated attack never took place as Kursk and her crew were lost after a catastrophic explosion in her torpedo room. Five years after Admiral Nakhimov (ex-Kalinin) was laid up, reports started to emerge in 2004 regarding her return to service. The reports
gained some credence when a refit commenced at the Sevmash Shipyard. However, this was only the beginning of a protracted series of attempts to return the ship to service which would eventually last over 18 years. While there have also been numerous attempts to return Admiral Ushakov and Admiral Lazarev to service, both vessels have now been officially decommissioned, with a
five-billion-rouble contract to dispose of Admiral Lazerev signed this year. Pyotr Velikiy continued as the only Kirov class left in service. After an 18-month refit in 2016, she joined the Admiral Kuznetsov carrier battlegroup, sailing to the Mediterranean for operations in support of Syrian Government Forces engaged in fighting rebel forces in the town of Aleppo. Since her
In August 2020 Admiral Nakhimov (ex Kalinin) is moved from the dock at the Sevmash shipyard to a fitting-out quay in order to begin the second stage of her refit. The shipyard reported at the time she would be ready for sea trials in 2022.
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RUSSIAN NAVY In addition, she will also carry the latest version of the Helix ASW helicopter, the Ka-27M. When Admiral Nakhimov returns to service, Pyotr Velikiy is scheduled to undergo the same programme, and the modernisation of the remaining two Kirov class vessels appears impressive. However, bearing in mind the apparent shift in naval procurement, which gives priority to smaller heavily armed vessels, such as the Admiral Gorshkov class frigate, it is open to conjecture as to just how much of Project 11442M will be completed. Admiral Nakhimov might sail again but financial constraints may well preclude Pyotr Velikiy from joining her. Western naval sources have also expressed Admiral Ushakov (ex-Kirov) lies alongside the missile cruiser Marshall Ustinov at Severomorsk in 1992. Note doubts as to the feasibility of the gangway still carries her original name. The photograph was taken from the US Navy cruiser USS Yorktown, installing modern technology which was visiting the Russian port on a goodwill visit following the collapse of the Soviet Union. US NAVY in a 30-year-old hull. return in 2017, Pyotr Velikiy missiles will be replaced by a from a reported 174 VLS tube Nevertheless, if both has operated primarily in combination of the SS-N-30A installation located forward. Admiral Nakhimov and Pyotr home waters, participating and SS-N-26 Strobile anti-ship The six CADS-N-1 Kashtan Velikiy are completed, they are in numerous exercises in and and land attack cruise missiles. mountings will replaced by the expected to remain in service around the Barents and North The new primary air defence SA-22 Greyhound combined for the next 30 years and, with Seas, including a live fire drill system will be a maritime short range missile and 30 the recent deterioration in undertaken in July 2020. version of the SA-21 Growler mm Gatling gun CIWS. East-West relationships, the long-range missile. This new The Paket-NK anti-torpedo presence and influence of the INTO THE 21ST CENTURY ordnance, and potentially the system and the SS-N-29 two battlecruisers could be of Despite President Putin’s new Zircon hypersonic anti-ship missile-delivered torpedo will concern to Western navies for pledge in 2011 that work cruise missile, will be launched replace the RBU launchers. some time to come. on Admiral Nakhimov (exKalinin) would begin then, the Admiral Nakhimov pictured alongside the Sevmash Shipyard in refit did not actually commence January 2021. She is expected to begin sea trials next year. until 2014. Completion dates for what has been designated Project 1142M have been continually revised, but in August 2020 the shipyard reported that the ship had been moved from the dry dock to a fitting-out basin, and stated she would return to service no later than 2022, having completed ‘one of the most extensive refits in naval history’. Although the original CONAS propulsion has been retained, it has undergone extensive renovation and appears to be the only major onboard system retained, as all of the Soviet era combat management, radar, fire control equipment and armament have been removed and replaced. The SS-N-19 Shipwreck www.shipsmonthly.com • August 2021 •
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CHARTROOM SHIPS MAIL
HMS GANNET AS TS MERCURY I read with interest the excellent article about HMS Gannet (SM, Dec 2020), which is now preserved in Chatham Historic Dockyard. The ship, of course, spent the longest part of her career, 55 years, as a floating dormitory for the Training Ship Mercury based in Hamblele-Rice in Hampshire. In fact, rather than 100 boys mentioned, she accommodated 160 of us, sleeping in hammocks in either the former engine compartment or on the added upper deck, which was effectively a corrugated iron shed. Conditions aboard the ship were extremely basic. The entire ship’s company had to be ferried, by boat, to and from the ship daily. But the Ministry of Education soon decreed that this did not meet modern standards. The alternative would have been to build shorebased dormitories, but the school had insufficient funds. Its closure
Force 12 sailing
I was struck by Stephen Payne’s letter (SM, May) explaining the difference between a liner and a cruise ship. We came back from New York on Queen Mary 2 in May 2019 and were vaguely conscious of a rough sea overnight. Our wakefulness did not last long and we fell asleep again. Only in the morning, when we were having our breakfast, were we informed that we had sailed through a force 12 gale. Geoff White, Kalkara, Malta
The Training Ship Mercury moored on the Hamble.
was forced in 1968 and the hulk of HMS Gannet was towed to Fareham Creek in February 1970. It is correct to say that, in the early days, most Mercury boys entered the Royal Navy but, even before World War II, many joined the Merchant Navy as apprentices. By the 1950s and 1960s this was commonplace, however, and they were welcomed by shipping
companies. Mercury’s reputation was, by then, secure, alongside other training establishments, primarily HMS Conway, HMS Worcester and Pangbourne Nautical College. That Gannet was saved is largely thanks to two of our former boys, David Muffett and Barry West, who found the ship lying in Fareham Creek in a poor and rapidly deteriorating condition. With other
HMS Unicorn future
from the work to provide a structural analysis of Unicorn to understand the current condition of the ship, which will help determine how to safely berth the ship in Dundee’s East Graving Dock. The news is mixed. Mr Mills, of T Nielsen & Co, said: ‘Some of the original planking is quite good, but as you work your way down the original planking starts to become quite decayed. Even the ‘newer’ planking, some of which could date as far back as the 1850s, has extensive rotted sections. I would say that it needs to
May I update your readers on HMS Unicorn, described in a recent article (SM, May). NIRAS, an international consultancy company offering specialist engineering services, have carried out a 3D laser scan and topographical survey of the ship. T. Nielsen & Co completed an internal and external timber survey to assess the condition of the ship. Fenton Holloway, a structural engineering and design company, are drawing on
A BUSY DAY AT MIAMI CRUISE PORT
62 • August 2021 • www.shipsmonthly.com
Terry Toohey provided this interesting photos of a line-up of cruise vessels in Miami. This is a famous Miami postcard, which until recently could still be found on the souvenir stalls in the port. The photo dates from one Sunday in November 1993 and features Seabreeze, Majesty of the Seas, Costa Marina, Costa Romantica, Britanis, Seaward, Song of America and Sensation, as identified by Rich Turnwald. At Seatrade Miami about eight years ago a carrier bag from the Miami Harbour stand had this picture screened on it. Can any reader provide more information about the photo, and also supply an image showing as many – or more – ships together?
old boys, they lobbied the authorities to have her preserved in Gosport. They also assisted in beginning the task of preventing further deterioration. Ultimately, of course, it was decided that she should be preserved in Chatham, where she was built and there was a suitable dry dock. The Mercury remains proud of its part in saving this fine ship as part of the nation’s maritime heritage. That initiative also led to the formation of the Mercury Old Boys Association, which was disbanded only in 2018, due to falling numbers. We do, however, continue to keep in touch with old boys and others via our website, tsmercury.com, and we also have a Facebook page. Captain David Parsons MNM Former Chairman, Mercury Old Boys Association be in the dry dock or repaired sooner rather than later. In all honesty, it’s not helping the structure as a whole, to have all that amount of decay in it.’ This is part of the charity’s Operation Safe Haven project to safeguard HMS Unicorn for the future. The intention is that Unicorn will form the centrepiece of the new Dundee Maritime Heritage Centre, as Dundee celebrates its maritime past with the next stage of development of the city’s waterfront. Over the next few years, Trustees of the Unicorn Preservation Society anticipate a transformation of the ship and quayside, which will ensure the ship’s long-term survival. Lady Catherine Erskine, who chairs the Unicorn Preservation Society, has made an unusual non-financial appeal: ‘I am just asking the conservators for specifications of what we need, but ideally we will be getting people to gift us their enormous oak trees. Then we could get those milled and planked ready for the restoration work. We probably need to be cutting them down this year in preparation.’ Lady Erskine said moving Unicorn to dry dock in time for the ship’s 200th anniversary (2024) would be ‘the best birthday present.’ You can help support this work and the future of the ship by becoming a Friend of
READERS’ PAGES Write to Ships Mail, Ships Monthly, Kelsey Media, The Granary, Downs Court, Yalding Hill, Yalding, Kent ME18 6AL, or email sm.ed@kelsey.co.uk. Letters via email must include sender’s full postal address. Contributions to Ships Monthly must be exclusive and must not be sent to other publications. The editor reserves the right to edit material. HMS Unicorn. Call 01382 200900 or visit www.hmsunicorn.org.uk/ supporting-hms-unicorn to find out more. HMS Unicorn is once again open to the public, and the summer opening hours are Tuesday to Sunday, from 1000 to 1600. Tickets can be purchased online at the website www.hmsunicorn.org.uk. Iain McGeachy Edinburgh
Remote Loch Long
Your item about HMS Queen Elizabeth landing stores at the jetty at Glen Mallon (SM, May, p.14) stated that the remote facility was ideally placed to safely load and unload munitions. I presume by ‘remote’ you mean remote from the south of England. However, according to Google maps, it is a mere 39 miles by road from Glasgow and within the 30mile blast radius of Glen Douglas. So it being remote depends, I suppose, on your point of view. John L. McCall Lochgilphead, Argyll & Bute
Attractive Blue Star 1
How striking and attractive Blue Star 1 looks on the front cover (SM, Jun). The Irish Ferries markings and funnel colours go well with the blue hull, and blue is entirely appropriate, being associated with St Brigid. Irish Ferries could do worse than adopt St Brigid’s blue as part of its new colours. Guy Halford-MacLeod Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Marco Polo memories
Reading the article about Marco Polo (SM, April) brought back many happy memories. At the start of my retirement, I decided it would be nice to return to see the Caribbean, having not been there for 40 years. By chance I came across a new cruise company, CMV, taking Marco Polo on an inaugural cruise to the Caribbean in January 2010 for 30-days. So I booked to go, and still have a luggage ticket with the old company logo on it, which read ‘Transocean tours (TT)’. A few years later I met my present
JUNE’S MYSTERY SHIP
David Clarke, from Bay of Plenty in New Zealand, sent a photograph of the refrigerated cargo ship Southampton Star, and recollected how he first got interested in ships. He said: ‘My interest in cargo ships began in 1952, when I was five years old. At weekends, my father took me to the Manchester Ship Canal, where we would watch a variety of cargo ships passing through the Eastham Locks.’
partner and, as we had similar ideas, we decided to go cruising. We have had a wonderful decade, cruising to various places we thought we would never see, with either CMV or P&O, two or three times a year. We
have returned to the Caribbean, the Mediterranean and the Baltic several times, as well as Svalbard in the Arctic, all thanks to Marco Polo, a real cruise ship and only foul-anchored by Covid. Roger Hosking, Hayle, Cornwall
She was the second in a series of three paddlers built by Bertram Engine Works Co of Toronto. The three were: Toronto (1899), Kingston (1901) and Montreal (1903). Kingston had twin cylindrical and two side paddle wheels. She was 288ft long, had a beam of 30.15ft and was of 2,925gt. She was
owned by the Canada Steamship Lines from 1914 to 1948 and operated a service, with Toronto, on the TorontoRochester-Kingston-Thousand IslandsPrescott run. She was 48 years old when she was retired. John Jordan Cloyne, Co Cork
THIS MONTH’S MYSTERY SHIP This month’s mystery photo shows Send your answers,
The mystery ship is Kingston, which ran for Canada Steamship Lines between Toronto and Prescott, Ontario, at the head of the St Lawrence River, where passengers transferred to smaller steamers which ran the rapids down to Montreal. The 2,925grt vessel was built for the Richelieu & Ontario Nav Co, and measured 300ft by 43ft. Canada Steamship Lines was formed by several companies, including Richelieu, joining forces. Kingston was retired in 1949, and was broken up at the Steel Co of Canada at Hamilton. Peter Dawes Edmonton, Canada
The mystery ship, as the name on the paddle box proclaims, is Kingston. Built in 1900 at the Bertram Engine Works at Toronto, the sidewheeler was operated on the Toronto-Prescott overnight service up to 1950, when the Canadian government brought in stricter fire regulations, and the cost of implementing them made it impractical for her to remain in service. John Adamson Laguna Beach, USA
a classic cargo liner, and was taken from a company postcard, so may show a generic representative of a certain class of ship. But which vessel is it? When was she built and which company operated her? And what was her fate?
including your postal address, by email to: sm.ed@ kelsey.co.uk; or by post to Mystery Ship, Ships Monthly, Kelsey Media, The Granary, Downs Court, Yalding Hill, Kent ME18 6AL. Emails preferred.
This large paddler was built in 1901 as Kingston for the Richelieu River and Ontario Navigation Co of Montreal. www.shipsmonthly.com • August 2021 •
63
CHARTROOM SHIPS LIBRARY
of book themonth
and into the 21st century. Stalin’s Super battleships: the Sovietskii Soiuz Class, by Stephen McLaughlin, Edited by John Jordan takes advantage of recent Russian publications to describe and Illustrate 224-page hardback, published by the design of these giant but neverOsprey Publishing, Kemp House, Chawley Park, Cumnor Hill, Oxford, completed battleships. The Japanese Submarines of the OX2 9PH www.ospreypublishing. I 15 Class looks at the origins of the com UK £40, US $60, Can $81.50 design of these impressive fleet Warship 2021, the latest in the series, submarines, describing the boats is not, as you would first think, a and their equipment, and outlines book on current warships, but in fact their subsequent war service. The a series of feature articles looking Small Cruisers of the Imperial German at warships over the 20th century Navy contains a design history of
the German Kleiner Kreuzer of the Magdeburg class to the projects drawn up during the great war. Another article looks at the Italian aircraft carrier Aquila, which resulted from the rebuilding of the former liner Roma during World War II. The Stealth frigates of the La Fayette Class examines the design and construction techniques of the world’s first ‘stealth’ frigates. From Greyhounds to Sheepdogs studies the antisubmarine operations of the ‘O’ and ’P’ class Fleet Destroyers in support of the transatlantic convoys in 1943. HMY Victoria and Albert (III) tells the story of the design and construction of the 1897 Royal Yacht. Postwar Sonar Systems of the Navy follows a previous article on RN weapons and command systems with a study of post-war RN development of sonar. An article on Chitose and
coal across Europe’s lakes and rivers. The Victorian schemes for Channel train ferries, which were never built, are also part of the story. The publication has a wide range of images, deck plans and drawings and is very well designed and produced, as is expected of all books from the stable of Ferry Publications. NL
and details of the manufacturers are included. It also covers the difficulty of identification of china that is only marked with a monogram, initials or a house flag. A total of 59 companies are included on an individual basis, and in total some 254 companies which traded around the world are mentioned in the comprehensive index. NL
Warship 2021
Train Ferries of Europe
• Published by Ferry Publications, PO Box 33, Ramsey, Isle of Man IM99 4LP; tel 01624 898445, info@ lilypublications.co.uk, 288-page hardback, price £35 plus postage.
Steve Barron
This long-awaited publication follows the rise and later decline of the train ferry in Europe from 1850 to 2020. The book covers the English Channel and North Sea operations, the extensive Danish services and also those across the Baltic operated by German, Swedish, Finnish and Russian train operators. It also includes train ferries which served routes on rivers, canals and alpine lakes. The services operated in the Mediterranean, Black Sea and Caspian Sea are also featured. Train ferries have been operated on more than 100 routes around Europe since the 1850s, from the Firth of Forth to the Caspian Sea, Denmark to Sicily. This book tells the story of more than 300 ferries over the past 170 years. Some of these vessels carried international sleeper trains, while others shipped wagon loads of
Mariners’ Memorabilia Volume 4 Peter Laister
This fourth volume of Peter Laister’s work illustrates further examples of china and crockery used on board British merchant ships. It gives brief historical details of the companies themselves, and the trades in which they were involved. Information about identifying patterns of china
64 • August 2021 • www.shipsmonthly.com
• Published by Coastal Shipping Publications, 400 Nore Road, Portishead, Bristol BS20 8EZ, orders@coastalshipping.co.uk, www. coastalshipping.co.uk, tel 01275 846178, 112 pages, £12.
Yamato
Flagship of the Japanese Imperial Navy Daniel Knowles
Yamato represented the ultimate in battleship design and development, being one of the heaviest and most powerfully armed battleships ever constructed. She was named after the Yamato Province, and was designed
Chiyoda provides an account of the complex design process and technical problems encountered in the construction of these novel multi-role ships. These articles are followed by Warship Notes, Naval Books of the Year, and Warship Gallery. PS to counter the numerically superior fleet of the US Navy. Built under a shroud of secrecy, and commissioned shortly after the outbreak of the war in the Pacific, she was present at a number of crucial engagements, including the Battle of Midway and the Battle of the Philippine Sea. Despite having been designed to engage and sink enemy surface vessels, Yamato only fired her unrivalled 18.1inch guns at an enemy surface target on one occasion, in October 1944, during the Battle of Leyte Gulf. In the final months of the war, as kamikaze aircraft targeted the American landing fleet off Okinawa, Yamato herself embarked on a one-way mission of sacrifice, in a last desperate attempt to wreak havoc on the landing forces around Okinawa, the last stepping stone prior to an invasion of the Japanese islands. Her loss in this operation in April 1945 has become a symbol of the downfall of the Imperial Japanese Empire and provided a final confirmation of the eclipse of the big-gun battleship. This 192-page hardback by Daniel Knowles, who has previously written books on Tirpitz and Hood, documents the career of the iconic Yamato, with detailed analysis of the successes and mistakes that led to the tragic loss of over 3,000 lives in what was seen as her symbolic end. PS
• Published by Fonthill Media Ltd, www. fonthillmedia.com, office@fonthillmedia. com, priced £35 and USA $49.
OCEAN LINER SOCIETY Visit our website to see what we offer ‘ship enthusiasts’ - information on cruise ships, ferries and liners, past and present. • Sea Lines magazine four times a year • Monthly Zoom talks by speakers worldwide When the pandemic subsides: • Occasional social events • Group cruises • Ship Shows • Ship visits
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WORLD SHIP SOCIETY
Founded in 1947, the World Ship Society has some 2,000 members worldwide who are interested in ships, past and present. Its monthly journal “Marine News” is a byword for accurate information. DELIVERED AS A PDF BY E-MAIL EVERY MONTH: SHIPPING NEWS AT THE SPEED OF LIGHT MARINE NEWS amd its monthly digital Supplement provide the most comprehensive and convenient listings of merchant ship activity for enthusiasts, some 10,000 entries a year covering launches, name and ownership changes, details of casualties and demolitions, all available as a 64-page digital magazine. PUBLICATIONS Fifty excellent WSS fleet lists and specialist history books are available to members at greatly discounted prices with up to three new titles each year. BRANCHES The World Ship Society has over 50 local branches worldwide which hold monthly meetings. MEMBERSHIP annual membership of the World Ship Society (includes 12 digital copies of “Marine News” and digital Supplements per annum) costs £26 (£22 outside UK and EU) Get a trial digital copy of ‘Marine News’ by e-mailing your name and address to: membershipsecretary@ worldshipsociety.org or write to the Membership Secretary, World Ship Society, 17 Birchdale Road, Appleton, Warrington, Cheshire WA4 5AR (UK)
WORLD SHIP SOCIETY MEMBERSHIP HAS NEVER BEEN BETTER VALUE www.worldshipsociety.org
NEXT ISSUE CLAN LINE’S CLASSIC SHIPS Clan Line was one of the foremost shipping companies of the 20th century, having a number of subsidiary companies and relationships with other lines. Malcolm Cranfield looks at the company, its subsidiaries and some of the classic cargo ships that were operated.
ORIENT LINE TRIO Stephen Payne recounts the careers of PLUS
the three post-war liners built for Orient Line, Orcades, Oronsay and Orsova, and examines their design and building.
BLACK SWANS • Conrad Waters describes the Black Swan class sloops, specialised convoy-defence vessels, which were seen as the ‘Rolls-Royce’ of Royal Navy escort vessels. FERRYTALE OF NEW YORK • Thomas Rinaldi looks at the myriad of ferry services that criss-cross New York harbour, linking boroughs and states, held over from last issue. SHIPSPOTTING AT GRAVESEND • The best places to see ships and shipping passing Gravesend in Kent, heading to and from London, on the mighty River Thames.
ON SALE 24 SEPTEMBER 2021 NEVER MISS AN ISSUE! GET YOUR COPY DELIVERED SUBSCRIBE TODAY SEE PAGE 26
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