ShipsMonthly062016 PDF

AEGEAN
CROSSROADS
PASSENGER
SHIPS IN
PIRAEUS
THE STRONGEST
SHIPS IN THE
WORLD
June 2016
www.shipsmonthly.com
4.25
BRITTANY FERRIES
MONT ST MICHEL - SHIP OF THE MONTH
CHANNEL WORKHORSE
PORTS
OF CALL
CRUISE
SHIPS
AROUND
THE UK
FERRY LATEST
CRUISE NEWS
Condor Liberation
still in the news
Aidaprima
delivered at last
JUNE 2016 Vol 51
Recollections Esso Scotia
Port profile Teignmouth
4.25
Tragedy HMS Vanguard
2VU62 UO Y8;02
3[;839 $)
(penultimate issue)
3(,B@* $) includes: Rea
Colliers, Brig Susannah
Thrift, Empire type heavy
lift ships, John York - Bristol
photographer, South West
scenes - Falmouth part 2,
Gulf Shipping part 2, Blue Star Line followup, Grace Lines passenger cargo ships
along with our usual regular features,
72 pp 8.50 plus postage 1.50 UK. 2.50
elsewhere. (due mid-April)
=G,^ !>>:(> + <B -- 4)HFF (G,#J -+ <B +"J +_ <B
)) 4)H&F (G,#J )& <B &F 4)H"& (G,# A]:> A\A
OPEN DAYS
will be held at 18, Franklands from

10.00 am to 3.30 pm on
"<# PGW +F-$
4th June 2016
This year we will not be present at any
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for reasons beyond our control
RMS QUEEN ELIZABETH
1#( 0C@:'K(* ;:CG@*(@
Ringo Varisco with forward
by Michael Gallagher, the
vital other half to the greatest
success story in transatlantic
passenger service by an
ocean liner h/b 192pp 23.50
(due 05/2016)
MERSEY TUGS Ian Collard
late 19th century to present
day 96pp s/b 14.99
DUN LAOGHAIRE
HOLYHEAD 1826-2015
Justin Merrigan The rise and
decline of irelands premier
route, from packets through
steam to ro-ro and high
speed. Many illustrations
both colour and black and
white 144pp 19.50
98/[3I ;?Q?U2 John
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many excellent photographs
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Hans Svenningsen (post-war
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Lange (container ships) and
Einar Nygaard (founded 1931
cargo ships, later dredgers
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THE NORWEGIAN LIBERTY FLEET Stein Erik
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SHIPS TO REMEMBER 1400

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THE SHIPS OF ELLIS ISLAND
William H Miller Ellis Island was
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TOR LINE AND THE BATTLE

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Bruce Peter and Oddbjorn
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TM
welcome
Getting out for the summer
EDITORIAL
TM
Editor Nicholas Leach

sm.ed@kelsey.co.uk
Art Editor Mark Hyde
REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS
Andrew & Donna Cooke Roy Cressey Gary
Davies Jack Gaston Nick Hall William
Mayes Russell Plummer Jim Shaw
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s spring is upon us and with

summer approaching, many
will be turning their attention
to getting out and about and
photographing ships around our
coasts and further afield. I am always grateful
to the many readers who send such a steady
stream of interesting photographs of ships,
and thus help to ensure that the magazine has
a fresh feel about it.
For anyone looking to get to Europe,
travelling with Brittany Ferries across the
Channel would be a rewarding experience.
Whenever I have been on one of their ferries,
I have always been impressed by the standard
of cabins, food and facilities. In this issue we
feature one of the companys best known and
largest vessels, Mont St Michel, which takes the
spotlight in Ship of the Month.
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KELSEYmedia
www.kelsey.co.uk
Closer to home, it is possible to go afloat

for the day all round the coast on one of
the numerous small craft that offer a variety
of trips, and in the next issue there will be a
detailed feature covering the excursion ships
of the UK. One notable vessel operating day
trips is the classic motor vessel Balmoral (see
Letter of the Month), which needs as much
support as possible. Her 2016 timetable sees
her offering a 50 per cent increase in actual
sailing days from last years season, and readers
are urged to support her continued operation.
Nicholas Leach
Editor
sm.ed@kelsey.co.uk
Follow Ships Monthly

on Facebook
The classic motor vessel Balmoral makes a fine sight as

she heads down the Menai Strait.
Subscribe to Ships Monthly Find out how on page 20
Ships Monthly is also available digitally Please visit www.pocketmags.com
Contributors this month
Stephen Spark
Colin Smith
James Hendrie
Richard Joliffe
Stephen Spark is a
A native of Clydebank, Colin
James Hendrie is an
Born on the Isle of Wight,
journalist with a lifelong
Smith has been a shipping
enthusiastic part-time
Richard Jolliffe worked
fascination for all forms
enthusiast from a young
freelance writer. He has a
at sea from 1970 to
of transport, with fond
age. He has been a maritime
range of diverse interests,
1987 after training at
memories of the stylish
photographer for many
from world and social
Southampton as a Radio
North Sea passenger ships
years, and has written many
history to transportation
Officer. He is now retired
of the 1960s and 70s.
books and magazine articles.
and trees.
and lives at Newbury.
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www.shipsmonthly.com June 2016
The last major paddle streamer to be built in Britain,

Maid of the Loch, sailed from 1953 until 1981 and
has been in the news recently. The first contract
to be signed in the 5.5 million project to rebuild
the Loch Lomond paddler has been awarded to
Dundee-based OSD-IMT Ltd for marine consultancy
services providing naval architecture, engineering,
structure, and outfitting to ensure the rebuild
meets regulatory requirements. NICHOLAS LEACH
contents
AEGEAN
PASSENGER
SHIPS IN
PIRAEUS
CROSSROADS
THE STRONGEST
SHIPS IN THE
WORLD
4.25
June 2016
BRITTANY FERRIES
MONT ST MICHEL - SHIP OF THE MONTH
CHANNEL WORKHORSE
Regulars
for new tanker, and Russian Navy takes

delivery of new frigate. Gary Davies
6 Waterfront
16 Cargo
Paddler Montreux out for 2016, new dredgers

for Russia, new livery for hovercraft, and large
shipment brought to the Tyne.
18 News feature
PORTS
OF CALL
CRUISE
SHIPS
AROUND
THE UK
A look at some of the worlds strongest and

largest ships for undersea construction and
dismantlement projects. Jim Shaw
FERRY LATEST
CRUISE NEWS
Condor Liberation
still in the news
Aidaprima
delivered at last
JUNE 2016 Vol 51
Recollections Esso Scotia
10 Ferry
New livery for DFDS ships, Condor Liberation
detained in Poole, and St Claire back on
Fishbourne run.Russell Plummer
4.25
Tragedy HMS Vanguard

June 2016 OFC_mh.indd 1
Mitsui OSK restructures its fleet, Capesize

bulker conundrum, Seatrades new boxboats
launched, and record breaker at Aberdeen.
Port profile Teignmouth
04/04/2016 10:55
COVER Brittany Ferries workhorse Channel

ferry Mont St Michel has the spotlight turned
on her on pages 33 to 37. FOTOFLITE
ALSO AVAILABLE
DIGITALLY
WWW.POCKETMAGS.COM
12 Cruise
Revised deployments for RCI ships, Aidaprima
delivered at last, and new CMV flagship
Columbus for 2017. William Mayes
14 Naval
NATO tackles migrant flow, Australia tenders
47 Ships pictorial
Ships pictured around the world, including in
Scotland, Malta, Japan and Brazil.
Subscribe today See page 20 for more info
WWW.SHIPSMONTHLY.COM
Features
Vanguard in July 1917 with the loss of hundreds

of sailors, and three survivors. James Hendire
22 Australian Bays
42 Home from home
Five passenger-cargo ships that were once the

despair of their operator but went on to be
useful and, in one case, immortal. Roy Fenton
50 A modern coastal port
56 Aegean crossroads
A day in Piraeus, at the crossroads of the
Aegean, looking at passenger shipping, seen
from onboard Queen Victoria. Colin J. Smith
Recalling the tragedy that overtook HMS
Chartroom
60 Ships mail
62 Ships library
Reviews and details of new maritime books.
28 All change at Victoria
38 HMS Vanguard
Spotlight on the ferry Mont St Michel, with

a look at the biggest carrier in the Brittany
Ferries fleet. Russell Plummer
A selection of letters from readers.
Pictorial showing some of the small cruise ships

which have called at the Dorset port of Poole in
recent years. Kevin Mitchell
The archipelago of the Seychelles and its main

port of Victoria hosts a variety of ships, including
cargo and cruise ships. Stephen Spark
MONT ST MICHEL
Recollections of a Radio Officer working on the

tanker Esso Scotia in the 1970s. Richard Jolliffe
The port of Teignmouth is an important part of

the South Devon economy, being visited by a
range of small coasters. David Walker
26 Maritime Mosaic
33 Ship of the Month
63 Mystery ship
Can you identify this months mystery ship?
58 View from the Bridge

Commanding officer Captain Vinay Kalia of the
Indian Navys frigate Trikand. Patrick Boniface
64 Ports of call
Cruise ship calls around the UK in June.
Andrew and Donna Cooke
JUNE 2016 Volume 51 No.6
WATERFRONT
Upgrade for
P&O North
Channel pair
Largest ever wood shipment
FERRY NEWS
P&O Ferries are investing 500,000
to upgrade European Causeway
(pictured) and European Highlander,
with work in passenger areas taking
place while the pair, delivered from
Japan by Mitsubishi in 2000 and 2002,
continue on the Scotland-Northern
Ireland North Channel route between
Cairnryan and Larne.
The decor in lounge areas will be
changed, with a further 60 seats
brought in on each ship, along with
the replacement of game zone tables
and chairs. Dedicated childrens play
areas will be redecorated and also have
additional seating added, while in the
Food Courts new menus will change
through the day, using more locally
sourced produce and recipes. RP
PORT NEWS
The Port of Tyne recently recorded the
largest ever cargo of wood pellets ever
handled in a single shipment at the
Port, when the bulker Agnes delivered
a record 57,845 tonnes of wood
pellets. The pellets are destined for one
of the UKs largest energy producers,
Drax Power, in North Yorkshire. Arriving
Hovertravels new livery

HOVERCRAFT
Hovertravel has revealed the new
look and announced the names for
its two new craft. The new design,
using a representation of the union
flag on the craft, is intended to
create a traditional look with a
contemporary feel.
We wanted to celebrate the
Britishness of our operation,
explained Neil Chapman, managing
director of Hovertravel. The
hovercraft is a British invention and,
from Virginia in the USA, the 1999-built

Agnes (39,996gt), at 225m in length, is
also the largest wood pellet vessel ever
handled at the Port of Tyne.
Steven Harrison, Chief Operating
Officer of Port of Tyne, said: The
significant investments in the Ports
infrastructure have enabled us to
accommodate some of the worlds
largest cargo ships, and Agnes represents
a milestone in terms of our ability to

handle large cargoes on the Tyne.
The Marshall Islands-flagged Agnes
was unloaded in six days, with the
wood pellets being stored at the Ports
purpose-built facility and supplied on
demand to Drax via the Ports direct
rail terminal. Agnes was built in Japan
and is owned and operated by Shelton
Navigation of Athens.
Aucklands Fijian visitor
here in the Solent, over 50 years later,

Hovertravel is the only scheduled
passenger hovercraft service in the
world. As both a local community
service and an international tourist
attraction, we are proud to fly the
flag for Britain. Hovertravel has also
announced the names for the new
fleet: Solent Flyer and Island Flyer.
The first of the craft, Solent Flyer,
undertook sea trials in the Solent
during March and, together with her
sister craft Island Flyer, is due to be in
service this summer.
Above The ferry Lomaiviti Princess arrives in Auckland. www.seapixonline.com
CLASSIC FERRY
The Fijian-owned and -operated
passenger ferry Lomaiviti Princess,
a new, albeit 50-year-old, visitor to
Auckland, arrived on 9 March at the
Babcock New Zealand dry dock at
Devonport. The 101m 5,864gt vessel
was completed in 1966 as Queen of
Prince Rupert by Victoria Machinery
Depot Ltd in British Columbia, Canada,
and, until bought by Goundar Shipping
of Fiji in 2011, sailed as part of the
BC Ferries fleet between the Queen
Charlotte Islands and British Columbia.
6 June 2016 www.shipsmonthly.com
Now providing a vehicle, passenger

and freight service from Suva to Savu
Savu and Taveuni, Lomaiviti Princess
joins Lomaiviti Princess II (1980) and
another former BC Ferries vessel, the
1978-built Lomaiviti Princess III (5,011gt,
ex-Basto 1, Queen of Chilliwak), which
was commissioned by Goundar Shipping
in January. Lomaiviti Princess will spend
a couple of weeks in dry dock with work
including the removal of her rudders
and propeller shafts for inspection,
water blasting and painting of the hull,
as well as a general survey and the
repair of underwater equipment. TC
news
Polaris is the new Finnish
icebreaker built at the Arctech
Helsinki Shipyard and will be
powered by both diesel and
liquefied natural gas (LNG).
GREAT LAKERS
On the North American Great Lakes,
the Interlake Steamship Company
has elected to have two of its older
bulk carriers, the 61,564dwt James R.
Barker and 30,067dwt Lee A. Tregurtha,
fitted with new exhaust gas scrubber
systems. James R. Barker, the first
1,000-footer to be built entirely on
the Great Lakes, is 40 years old, but the
smaller Lee A. Tregurtha is older and
has the more interesting history. She is
one of the most altered vessels on the
Great Lakes and also boasts two battle
stars for World War II service. The latter
were earned while the vessel served
as the US Navy oiler Chiwawa (AO-68)
following her delivery by Bethlehem
Steel Company in 1942. JS
ARCTECH HELSINKI SHIPYARD
NEWBUILD
The worlds first LNG-burning
icebreaker, the 360ft (110m) by 79ft
(24m) Polaris, has been floated out
at Helsinki, Finland and is due to be
delivered to state operator Arctia
Icebreaking Oy later this year. The
3,000dwt ship, being completed by
the Arctech Helsinki Shipyard, will

utilise a diesel/electric propulsion
system consisting of five dual-fuel
Wrtsil generating sets of over
22,400kW total output, driving three
ABB Azipod units, one fitted forward
and two aft, with the LNG to be
stored in two vertical tanks which
have a total volume of 800m3.
Problems in old age
was forced to return to Germany

for repairs, while Aurora Australis,
operating under Australian Antarctic
Division, suffered a hull breach and will
also have to be repaired.
Both ships are due for replacement,
with a new icebreaker for Australia
being designed by Denmarks Knud E.
Hansen, while Germanys Lbeck-based
Reederei F. Laeisz has been retained to
design a replacement for Polarstern. JS
ABOVE The Great Lakes bulk carrier Lee

A. Tregurtha, fashioned out of a warbuilt T-3 tanker, has been fitted with a
BELCO scrubber system. DAVID RUFF
Another independent goes

In order to extend its reach in the
Galapagos Islands, Celebrity Cruises
has acquired Ocean Adventures,
together with its two small ships.
The larger of the two, Eclipse
(1998/1,610gt), was built in Spain
in 1992 as a ferry, but remained
uncompleted until being taken on
by Ocean Adventures, who finished
her as a cruise ship in 1998. She
has apassenger capacity of 48
andcarries a crew of 31. The other
WEGENER INSTITUTE
Two of the worlds largest research

icebreakers got themselves into
trouble in February in Antarctica:
Germanys 34-year-old Polarstern
suffered hydraulic problems and
Australias 27-year-old Aurora Australis
broke free from her moorings and
ran aground. Polarstern, operated by
Germanys Alfred Wegener Institute,
The new vessel will be capable of

continuously breaking level ice with a
thickness of 6ft at four knots and at
a speed of 9.2 knots in 3ft unbroken
ice. Although specifically designed
for icebreaking operations in the
Baltic Sea, the new ship is also being
fitted for oil recovery work, as well as
emergency towing. JS
CELEBRITY CRUISES
A malfunction in
one of Polarsterns
variable-pitch
propellers has forced
the ships return
to Germany. ALFRED
ICEBREAKER
New systems
for old ships
ship is the 16-passenger catamaran

Athala II (2007/320gt).
Both ships will continue to
operate for Ocean Adventures until
January 2017, when they will be drydocked and refitted before joining
Celebritys existing ship, Xpedition
(2001/2,942gt), which has operated
in the Galapagos Islands since 2004.
The Galapagos Islands remain a
popular destination despite the
limits on the number of tourists and
cruise passengers imposed by the
Ecuadorian authorities. WM
ABOVE Eclipse will join the Celebrity fleet in 2017. OCEAN ADVENTURES
WATERFRONT www.shipsmonthly.com Cudham Tithe Barn, Berrys Hill, Cudham, Kent TN16 3AG t > 01959 541444 e > sm.ed@kelsey.co.uk
First LNG-powered icebreaker
news
WATERFRONT
Three new
dredgers
for Russia
Montreux out for 2016
Pelican of London passes

through the Thames barrier
for the Parade of Sail.
DREDGERS
The Krasnoye Sormovo Shipyard,
one of Russias oldest builders, has
launched the trailing suction hopper
dredger Sommers as the first of a
series of three Damen-designed
dredgers being built for Rosmorport.
The next two units in the series,
Kronshlot and Kadosh, are to be
launched over the next few months.
The 205ft vessels have a hopper
capacity of 1,000m3 and a deadweight
of 1,685 tonnes. When completed, they
will be positioned to the ports of UstLuga, St Petersburg and Tuapse. JS
ABOVE The recently launched Sommers

is the first of three Dutch-designed
trailing suction hopper dredgers being
built for Russias Rosmorport, for
delivery this year. Damen
Lake Geneva steamer Montreux, seen at Lausanne,

will not be sailing this year. RUSSELL PLUMMER
PADDLERS
With superheater damage sustained
last summer more serious than at
first thought, Swiss paddle steamer
Montreux (1905) will not sail in 2016.
Her place on the popular Lake Geneva
evening dinner cruises from Lausanne
to Yvoire and back will be taken by the
fleets largest steamer, La Suisse (1910).
Montreux served as a steamer until
1957, returning in 1962 with dieselelectric machinery, but was fitted with
a brand new Sulzer diagonal steam
engine, with direct control from the

bridge, in 2001. The CGN fleet will have
a five operational paddle vessel line-up
this year, consisting of La Suisse; Rhone
(1926), which stood-in for Montreux
to Yvoire in the closing weeks of the
2015 season; Savoie (1914); Simplon
(1920); and Vevey (1907), diesel-electricpowered since 1955.
Meanwhile, in other paddler news,
Elbe Princesse, a new quarter stern
wheel paddle vessel built in SaintNazaire, France for CroisiEurope, was
moved from Montoir to Hamburg by
heavylift vessel in late February and

was due to enter service in mid-April
on nine-day cruises from Berlin to
Prague, with calls at Magdeburg,
Lutherstadt Wittenberg, Meissen,
Dresden, Bad Schandau and Litomerice.
The 80-passenger vessel measures
95m by 10.5m and is designed to be
able to operate at low water levels.
CroisiEurope introduced sidewheel
paddler Loire Princess, the first cabin
vessel to offer river Loire itineraries,
in 2015 and has placed an order for a
third paddler for delivery in 2018. RP
Historic ferry Kestrel sinks RollDocks third from India

Historic Ferry
The 121-year-old former Auckland
City-Devonport passenger ferry Kestrel
sank at her berth overnight on 7/8
March. She has been owned since 2010
by the Kestrel Preservation Trust, but
efforts to restore her have made little
progress since her return to Auckland
in 2010 after she had been in Tauranga
for the previous eight years.
Built in 1905 by Charles Bailey Jnr
in Auckland, she was the second
Albatross class ferry constructed for
the cross-harbour Auckland City to
Devonport run. She measured 123ft
by 28.5ft and was involved in many an

historic events, including carrying the
all-conquering 1906 All Blacks team
from the liner Sonoma to a shoreside
civic reception. She also played a
prominent role in the 1913 welcome to
the battle cruiser HMS New Zealand.
Kestrel worked the City-Birkenhead
route from 1921 to 1959, then
returned to the Devonport run, before
being laid up in 1982, undergoing an
extensive refit. In 2002 she became
a floating restaurant in Tauranga, but
the restaurant business closed in 2010
and she was bought by the Kestrel
Preservation Trust. TC
ABOVE The semi-submersible heavylift vessel RollDock Sky is seen shortly after
completion by Larsen & Toubro, Indias largest engineering and construction
company. Larsen & Toubro
HEAVYLIFTER
The ferry Kestrel in her heyday in Auckland harbour. seapixonline.com
Hollands RollDock Shipping BV,

part of the Roll Group, has acquired
the 12,802gt semi-submersible
multipurpose heavylift vessel RollDock
Sky from Indias Larsen & Toubro. The
141m by 24m ship is the final one of
three built to the same design and
joins the earlier delivered RollDock Sun
and RollDock Sea in the RollDock fleet.
The Dutch company also operates
two similarly configured German-built

ships, the 15,382gt RollDock Star and
RollDock Storm, and its associated
BigRoll division is taking delivery of
four 173m by 42m Module Carriers
from China. These ships, BigRoll
Barentsz, BigRoll Bering, BigRoll Baffin
and BigRoll Beaufort, are expected
to enter into a multi-year contracts
transporting modules for Russias
Yamal LNG project in the Arctic
following delivery. JS
We are proud to present a selection of ships clocks which all made in the UK from the finest materials. The
clocks feature brass cases mounted on a mahogany plaque. All are wall hanging with a key slot, the design of
which ensures that the clock hangs vertically, ship shape and Bristol Fashion. All may be personalised.
Dimensions: 6.25 inches (15.5cm) overall diameter, 5 inch (12.5cm) dial diameter. 1.75 inches (4.3cm deep .)
Supplied mounted on mahogany wall mounting plaque measuring 7.8 inches (20cm) square.
See them at www.ships-clocks.co.uk
BRIDGE CLOCK
Those long watches relived with our

Bridge Clock. Remember those trackless
oceans with only you and the Autopilot
for company, unless you were lucky
enough to have a fellow watch keeper on
the bridge.
Price 55.00
Post & Packing 6.75 UK
May be personalised at no extra cost
SALOON CLOCKS
RADIO ROOM CLOCK (1)
REMEMBER QRT SP
This Radio Room Clock has all the
requirements. With 500 kHz CW Silence
Periods (Red) & 2182 kHz Radio Telephone
Silence Periods. (Green) On some vessels
the green was replaced by Blue. (Available
on request) Complete with 4 second AutoAlarm Settings, Second hand and 24 hour
markings.
Price 55.00
ENGINE ROOM CLOCK
Re-live those long noisy watches below

with this engine Room Clock.
Although I hope in a much quieter
environment.
Price 55.00
RADIO ROOM CLOCK (2)
TIDE CLOCK
These clocks are a pleasing reminder of

sea & ships for mariners or beached tar,
and are available with either Latin
Numerals (as shown) or with Arabic
Numerals.
This Clock shows the state of the tide.

An ideal gift for anyone who loves thesea,
and an invaluable gift for seafarers, fisher
folk, in fact anyone who has business in
great waters.
Price 55.00
Price 49.95
An older style Radio Room Clock with

only the 500 kHz silence periods
marked. From the days before Radio
Telephone was common on Merchant
Vessels. If you sailed with one of these
clocks then you are as old, as I am!
This Clock has been personalised with
the ships Radio Call sign (optional)
Price 55.00
All clocks feature a quality European movement using 1 AA battery which is included.
Post & Packing 6.75 UK Only. EU & Overseas buyers please email or telephone for charges.
Seldec Publishing, 27 Chichester Avenue, Kidderminster, Worcs. DY11 5JA

Telephone 01562 746620
email seldec@aol.com
FERRY
Russell Plummer
BRIEF NEWS
ICGBOOST An increase
in Irish Continental Group
profits last year has been
driven by increased freight
and passenger revenue and
lower fuel prices compared
with 2014. Growth in group
revenue was up 10.5 per cent to
320.6 million, while the ferry
divisions contribution was
10.6 per cent higher at 203.9
million. It is estimated that the
overall car market to and from
the Republic of Ireland grew by
1.2 per cent in 2015 to 789,000
cars, while the all-island market,
including routes into Northern
Ireland, remained flat.

DFDSGOWELL Celebrating
its 150th anniversary this
year, DFDS generated annual
revenues of 1.8 billion,
carrying more than six million
passengers in 2015 and having
6,600 employees spread across
20 countries. Last year DFDS also
handled 31 million lane metres
of freight, with the fleets
largest vessels taking as many
as 370 trailers per sailing.
SEATRUCKCHANGE Barely four
months after bringing in a third
vessel on the Liverpool-Dublin
freight route, Seatruck Ferries
replaced the 1988-built ro-ro
Clipper Ranger on 7 March with
larger and faster P-Series ferry
Seatruck Pace (2009/14,759gt).
Three daily sailings in each
direction are offered, with
Clipper Pace sailing opposite the
19,722gt Flensburg-built sisters
Seatruck Power and Seatruck
Progress. Clipper Ranger has
switched to sail Heysham-Dublin.
The 1999-built ro-ro vessel Pelican. Maritime Photographic
Traffic surge for Brittany Ferries

WESTERN CHANNEL
After reporting major growth in
passenger and freight traffic last year,
Brittany Ferries also announced during
its March annual meeting that there
is to be a change at the top. Strategy
and commercial director Christophe
Mathieu is to succeed long-serving
Martine Jourdren as chief executive
from the beginning of April.
Mme Jourdren has been CEO since
2009, but has worked with the company
since 1973, the year of the very first
crossings from Roscoff, in Brittany,

carrying French agricultural produce to
Plymouth. In the year to 30 September
2015, Brittany Ferries passenger numbers
grew by 5.5 per cent to 2,567,298; freight
volumes rose 21 per cent to 186,385
units in the same period, with turnover
up 12 per cent to 467.7 million.
Some 85 per cent of Brittany
Ferries passenger total comes from
Britain, but ships and crew are French,
and the company claims to be the
countrys largest employer of sailors,
with up to 2,800 staff serving each
year, depending on the season. Sailings

from Portsmouth, Poole and Plymouth
currently serve five destinations in
France and two in Spain, and there is
also a France-Ireland connection.
During February the company
started an additional freight service
between Poole and Bilbao. The
1999-built ro-ro vessel Pelican,
chartered from French company
Maritime Nantaise, makes two return
sailings a week, each taking up to 100
trailers and with accommodation for 12
drivers. The charter is for 12 months.
Primula Seaways to be stretched

NORTH SEA
DFDS are to stretch another of the six
Flower Series ro-ro vessels delivered
between 2004 and 2009 by FSG from
Flensburg, Germany for service on
North Sea routes from Gothenburg to
Immingham and Ghent. The 32,400gt
Primula Seaways, completed in 2004
and with accommodation for 12
freight drivers, currently serves the
Immingham-Gothenburg route and
heads for Bremerhaven in July.
Like sisters Ficaria Seaways, Begonia
Seaways and Freesia Seaways, handled
by MWB Motorwerke during 2009-10,

Primula Seaways will be cut in two
for insertion of a new 30m mid-body
section which will add 800 lane metres
of freight capacity.
DFDS continue to develop their
short sea operations out of Dover, with
the former SeaFrance and MyFerryLink
sisters Rodin (2001/33,796gt)
and Berlioz (2005/33,940gt) now
established back on the Calais route
as Cte des Dunes and Cte des
Flandres, running opposite Calais
Seaways (1992/28,833gt), with up to 15
crossings each way per day.
There has also been considerable

investment in Dunkirk, where the
port authority put in 14.88 million,
with contributions from DFDS and the
European Union for a new terminal
building and check-in areas, which were
officially opened on 17 March.
ABOVE DFDS ro-ro Primula Seaways is

to be lengthened by 30m. CEES DE BIJL
FERRIES IN THE NEWS . . . FERRIES IN THE NEWS . . . FERRIES IN THE NEWS . . . FERRIES IN THE NEWS . . . FERRIES IN THE NE
SNAVADRIATICO Ex-HarwichHook ferry Koningin Beatrix

(1986), now SNAV Adriatico, is
one of three vessels serving
Trasmediterranea from Barcelona
in 2016, running to Mahon,
Menorca. Tenacia and Zurbaran,
originally Northern Merchant, are
the other two vessels.
EXPRESS The former Irish Sea

North Channel fast craft Express,
which linked Larne with Troon
for P&O until September last year,
hoisted the Swedish flag on 10
February, when she became the
first ferry registered in Uppsala.
New owner Gotlandsbaten is
starting sailings with the craft
from Nynashamn to Visby on 28
April, and from Visby to Vastervik
the next day. The 91m Incat, which
was built in 1993, is scheduled to
operate a total of 354 departures
up to 4 September.
MIDNATSOL The Hurtigruten Group

vessel emerged from an 18-day stay
at the Bredo Shipyard in Bremen,
Germany, converted to serve
as an expedition ship for Polar
regions starting this winter. For
the coming summer, the 2003-built
vessel remains on the BergenKirkenes Coastal Express service.
PRINSJOACHIM The one-time

Great Belt train ferry, built in 1980
for the Nyborg-Korsor service and
used since 2001 by Scandlines as a
passenger/vehicle ferry between
Gedser and Rostock, has been
sold to Piraeus-based European
Seaways. A late May delivery is
expected after the new vessel
Berlin, much rebuilt over the past
year at Denmarks Fayard, joins
the route, with sister Copenhagen
expected to follow later in the year,
while Kronprins Frederik (1981)
remains as second ship.
news
route future
quandary
ENGLISH CHANNEL
Condor Liberation, seen arriving at St Peter Port, Guernsey, missed four days of
Channel Islands sailings in mid-March after failing an MCA inspection. TONY RIVE
CHANNEL ISLANDS
Mid-March brought another twist to
the troubled career of Condor Ferries
trimaran Condor Liberation, with the
102m craft, introduced on services
from Poole to the Channel Islands
last year, detained in Poole after the
Maritime and Coastguard Agency
found substantial deficiencies during
a routine inspection on 17 March.
Eleven faults, four of them deemed
to be serious, were identified in

the Austal-built crafts propulsion
and steering systems. Repairs were
completed and approved in time for
the 873-passenger/238 car vessel to
return to service on 19 March with a
Poole-Guernsey-Jersey-St Malo trip.
The situation was not helped by the
absence of 86m Incat Condor Rapide,
away for annual overhaul. Condor
brought in he 1988-built freight
ro-ro Arrow to sail from Portsmouth,
allowing ro-pax vessel Commodore

Clipper to handle passengers,
including a Jersey-St Malo return trip.
Condor confirmed that double daily
rotations tried with Condor Liberation
in peak summer 2015 will not be
repeated this year. On double rotation
days, Liberations first departure from
Poole was very early in the morning,
with a second return not reaching the
Dorset port until late evening, leaving
very little slack in the timetable.
Although DFDS Seaways started a new

two-year Delegation of Public Service
contract to operate the two-ship
Transmanche Ferries service between
Dieppe and Newhaven, route owner
SMPAT, which is controlled by the Seine
Maritime Departmental Board, has
been told by the French Administrative
Court in Douai that the deal must
be cancelled by July, with a new
arrangement seamlessly introduced
before the end of the summer.
The latest decision follows
a complaint back in 2013 from
Eurotunnel who wanted to stop the
ferry operation completely, claiming
it represented unfair competition,
due to the financial input linked to the
Delegation of Public Service. DFDS have
not commented on the decision or so
far given any indication as to whether
they will bid for a new contract. Last
summer the route returned to twoship operation, with Seven Sisters
rejoining sistership Cte dAlbtre.
Back on Fishbourne run

SOLENT
Wightlink flagship St Clare returned to
the Portsmouth Gunwharf-Fishbourne
route after a January dry-docking at
A&P in Falmouth was followed by a
800,000 interior upgrade in February,
when passenger areas received a new
and brighter look, with high street
chain Greggs putting to sea for the
first time and joining Costa on board.
New areas have been added to
keep young children and teenagers
occupied during the 45-minute
crossings, with St Clare, delivered by

Remontowa in 2001, carrying 750
passengers and more than 180 cars,
and having a service speed of 14 knots.
Work was also undertaken to prepare
the 5,359gt vessel for the double-deck
loading after the completion of new
facilities in Fishbourne.
St Clare shares sailings with St Cecilia
(1987) and St Faith (1999), sisterships built
at the Cochrane Yard in Yorkshire, and the
Croatia-built Wight Sun (2008), switched
last year from the Lymington-Yarmouth
route to replace St Helen (1983).
St Clare passing Wight Sun near Fishbourne on 28 February after

returning from refit. ANDREW COOKE
ES IN THE NEWS . . . FERRIES IN THE NEWS . . . FERRIES IN THE NEWS . . . FERRIES IN THE NEWS . . . FERRIES IN THE NEWS . . .
MAROCEXPRESS FRS have opened

a Motril to Tangier-Med route using
former Danish ferry Maren Mols,
which later traded as Kattegat. A
freight target of 15,000 units is set
for the first 12 months. FRS has also
acquired Clipper, who have services
between Seattle and Victoria, BC.
BASTONAMES A trio of new

vessels being built in Turkey by
Sefine, for service across Oslo
Fjord on the long-established
Basto Fosen service linking Horten
with Moss, will make their debuts
as Basto IV, Basto V and Basto VI.
The current ships that are named
Basto IV (1986) and Basto V (1990)
have been renamed Basto VII and
VIII. The new double-ended trio,
which can carry 145 cars, will play
their part in a six-vessel line-up,
with five normally in service and
one held in reserve.
MOBYTOMMY Moby Lines is

carrying out a major upgrade of
the 28,007gt ferry delivered in
2001 by Samsung as Minoan Lines
Ariadne Palace. During work at
Naples Palumbo shipyard, Moby
Tommy receives 209 cabins on two
extra decks before summer service
from Genoa to Olbia, Sardinia.
CRUISEOLBIA Grimaldi has paid

US$65 million for the ferry latterly
sailing as Bimini Superfast from
Miami to Caribbean resorts and
owned by the Genting Group. The
2000 Kiel-built vessel will be used
from Livorno, Italy to Olbia, Sardinia
as Cruise Olbia from April, replacing
Zeus Palace, which switches to
operate out of Civitavecchia.
Cruise Olbias sistership, Superfast
V (2001), has sailed PortsmouthBilbao as Brittany Ferries Cap
Finistere since acquisition for a
2011 summer debut.
11
Condor Liberation detained in Poole Dieppe
CRUISE
William Mayes
Another
quartet
Ponant Cruises
The desire for more expedition cruise

ships has seen Ponant Cruises sign a
letter of intent with VARD in Norway
for a quartet of small ships. They are
thought to be slightly smaller than the
four 11,000gt Le Boral class ships,
which were delivered by Fincantieri
between 2010 and 2015.
Those ships carry 264 passengers
and have a crew of 139, whereas the
latest quartet will have a passenger
capacity of 184 and a crew of 110.
The first of the new ships will be
delivered by the shipyard, a Norwegian
subsidiary of Fincantieri, in 2018.
Following her engine room fire
in November 2015 and subsequent
return on a heavylift ship to Europe
for repair, Le Boral will re-enter
service on 24 May, somewhat later
than originally estimated.
Another Princess ship moves to
Australia. William Mayes
Revised deployments
Royal Caribbean
Royal Caribbean International has
published its European Programme
for 2017, with a range of ships based in
Europe for the summer. Southampton
will have two ships, Independence of
the Seas and Navigator of the Seas,
operating to the Med and the Canaries.
BRIEF NEWS
Disney Disney Cruise Line has
placed an order with Meyer
Werft at Papenburg for a
further pair of ships, slightly
larger than the previous duo at
135,000gt. Passenger capacity
will be about the same, with
2,500 lower berths. Delivery is
scheduled for 2021 and 2023.

Seabourn The next new ship
for Seabourn was floated out
at Fincantieris Marghera yard
on 5 March. Seabourn Encore,
slightly larger than the previous
series of ships, will carry 604
passengers when she enters
service at the end of 2016.
Pullmantur Royal Caribbean
subsidiary Pullmantur is the
latest company to cut back its
South American operations,
with the closure of its Brazil
office. The company plans to
have just one ship in the region
during the next southern
summer, while Royal Caribbean
will have none. Both Costa and
MSC have also reduced their
presence in the region.
Harmony of the Seas, will be based in

Florida. The last of that trio has just
completed her sea trials.
A fifth ship in the Quantum of the
Seas class has been ordered from
Meyer Werft at Papenburg, just as
the third in the series was completed.
Ovation of the Seas will debut in
Southampton before heading to China.
Another pioneer bites the dust

P&O
impression of Ponants new ships.
Brilliance of the Seas and Freedom

of the Seas will cover the Western Med
from Barcelona, while Jewel of the
Seas will offer alternate Eastern and
Western itineraries from Civitavecchia.
Scandinavia and Northern Europe will
be served by Serenade of the Seas and
Vision of the Seas. The worlds three
largest cruise ships, Allure, Oasis and
Independence of the Seas will be back

in Southampton in 2017. William Mayes
The end seems to have come for the

pioneering cruise ship Spirit of London,
which capsized on 27 February 2016
off Laem Chabang, Thailand, having
apparently been abandoned by her
owner more than a year earlier. The
historic ship dates from the 1972,
when the P&O Steam Navigation Co
bought its first pure cruise ship, off
the stocks at Cantieri Navale del Tirreno
e Riunite, Riva Trigoso, Italy. The ship
was a cancelled order from Klosters
Norwegian Caribbean Cruise Line.
With little modification, she emerged

as Spirit of London and ran alongside the
1954-built Arcadia. With the acquisition
of Princess Cruises in 1974 the ship was
moved into that fleet as Sun Princess.
In 1989 she was sold to Premier Cruise

Line, becoming Starship Majestic. She
later operated as Southern Cross,
Flamenco, New Flamenco, Flamenco I
and finally Ocean Dream.
New Flamenco was one of many names borne by Spirit of London. W. Mayes
New flagship Columbus for 2017

CMV
When P&O Cruises Australias Pacific
Pearl (1989/63,786gt) finishes her
longest New Zealand season in spring
2017, she will leave the fleet to make
way for Pacific Explorer, currently
Princess Cruises Dawn Princess

(1997/77,441gt), adding about 400
lower berths to the Australian market.
Pacific Pearl will then return to the
UK market, where she was once familiar
as P&O Cruises Arcadia and later Ocean
Village. However, she will not be part of
Pacific Pearl will operate as

Columbus from 2017. CMV
Orion off the Australian coast. Theodore W Scull
the Carnival fleet, as she has been sold

to the owners of Cruise and Maritime
Voyages, for whom she will operate as
Columbus, based largely in Tilbury.
With the introduction of about 150
dedicated single cabins, her lower
berth passenger capacity will be
reduced from almost 1,600 to around
1,400, providing a good amount of
space per passenger. Columbus will
begin sailing for CMV in June 2017, and,
apart from two summer cruises, will be
an adults-only ship. The British cruise
market grew by 8.8 per cent in 2015
to a total of 1.79 million passengers
(but still behind the German market),
reversing the decline experienced in
2014. Columbus, together with her
CMV fleetmates, could help to keep
that momentum going.
news
More for
Crystal
Aidaprima delivered at last

AIDA CRUISES
A year late, Aidaprima has finally
been delivered by Mitsubishi Heavy
Industries to Aida Cruises. The ship
was handed over on 14 March and
soon afterwards sailed from Nagasaki
bound for Hamburg, where she will be
christened by Emma Schweiger on 7
May as part of the Port of Hamburgs
827th birthday celebrations. Prior to
the naming ceremony, Aidaprima will
undertake a short shakedown cruise

and her official maiden voyage to
English Channel ports.
Aidaprima is the first of two ships
being built for the company by MHI,
and on current predictions it seems
that the second ship will also be about
a year late being delivered, something
almost unheard-of in todays cruise
shipbuilding business, where ships are
often delivered a few days early, and
certainly on time.
With a gross tonnage of 125,572

and a lower berth capacity of 3,300
passengers, the new ship represents
a significant increase in size from the
71,000gt, 2,174-passenger series that
preceded her. Aidaprima will become
the first Aida Cruises ship to be based
in Hamburg year-round. Her sister, to
be named Aidaperla when delivered
in 2017, will initially be based in Palma,
Majorca, undertaking seven-night
circuits in the Western Mediterranean.
CRYSTAL CRUISES
Following the successful introduction
of the 62-passenger Crystal Esprit,
the company has announced the
construction of what will be the
worlds largest mega yacht, surpassing
Scenic Eclipse both in terms of size
and in passenger space. The 183m
Crystal Endeavor, of 25,000gt, will
carry 200 passengers, giving her the
largest passenger-to-space ratio of
any ship by some considerable margin.
Crystal will build the ship at the groupowned Lloyd Werft shipyards in Germany,
but following the recent takeover
of Nordic Yards it is not yet clear
precisely where Crystal Endeavor will
be built. She will comply with Ice Class
requirements and have a crew of 200.
Aidaprima is on her way to Europe at last. AIDA CRUISES

CRYSTAL CRUISES
Fleet expansion near? Cruising to Cuba starts

CELESTYAL CRUISES
Celestyal Cruises CEO Kyriakos
Anastassiadis has given the clearest
signal yet that the company is close
to ordering its first new ships. With
a maximum passenger capacity
of 1,800, these will be what is now
regarded as mid-size ships. Celestyal
Cruises currently operates seasonally
in the Greek Islands, with the
1,450-lower-berth Celestyal Olympia
(1982/37,773gt) and the 960-lowerberth Celestyal Crystal (1980/25,611gt).
The former is laid up in winter and the
latter provides cruises around Cuba.
The group also owns Thomson
Spirit and Thomson Majesty, whose
charters to Thomson are expected to

end when that company takes delivery
of Mein Schiff 1 and Mein Schiff 2
in 2018 and 2019. In the meantime,
Celestyal Olympia will move to a
year-round operation in the Eastern
Mediterranean, starting this winter.
From 2018 the Cuba cruise business
will become year-round, too. The
company has also taken a two-year
summer charter on Clipper Groups
Gemini, which will operate in 2016
as Celestyal Nefeli on itineraries
largely for Turkish passengers, with
turnaround ports of Izmir and Cesme.
The deployment of the oldest ship in
the fleet, the 1968-built Louis Aura, is
unknown at the time of writing.
Celestyal Crystal, seen at Maria la Gorda, Cuba, could become a

year-round visitor. WILLIAM MAYES
Adonia will start sailing to Cuba in May.
FATHOM
Just in time, as Adonia (ex-R Eight,
Minerva II, Royal Princess) completes
her final cruises for P&O before
transfer to fathom (note small f), the
company has been given permission
to berth in Cuba. Originally, Adonia
was scheduled to operate a peopleto-people programme to the
Dominican Republic, but later this
was changed so as to alternate that
destination with Cuba.
It remains to be seen if the
Dominican Republic will feature in
her programme for long, now that
the jewel that is Cuba is available.
WILLIAM MAYES
Adonias Miami departures will call

at Havana, Cienfuegos and Santiago
de Cuba within a seven-night cruise.
Pearl Seas Cruises are also hoping
to get permission to sail the little
Pearl Mist on similar itineraries, while
Haimark Cruises, which had also
advertised trips to Cuba, has recently
filed for bankruptcy.
Cuba has been on the regular
circuit of several companies in recent
years, but it is clear that it will be a
long time before the infrastructure is
sufficiently developed for any of the
Cuban ports to take anything larger
than what is currently regarded as a
small cruise ship.
13
NAVAL
Australias new outlook
Gary Davies
RAN
The Australian government has
published a Defence White Paper
that places significant emphasis on
improving the countrys long-range
maritime capabilities, citing Chinas
policies in the region as a factor
in adopting a stronger defensive
posture. The document outlined
an A$30 billion increase in defence
spending over the next ten years.
It also confirmed that Australia
will proceed with doubling the size
of its submarine fleet, acquiring 12

regionally superior submarines with a
high degree of interoperability with
the United States by the
2030s. Three diesel-electric submarine

designs are currently being assessed,
with the preferred one to be
announced later this year. There will
also be new investment in nine
anti-submarine warfare frigates
to replace the existing fleet of eight

Anzac class frigates, and a new class
of 12 large-hulled Ocean Protector
multi-purpose patrol vessels to
supplement border protection
and security-related tasks with the
Australian Border Force. A third
replenishment ship or additional
logistics support ship will also be
considered in the late 2020s.
The RAN is to get larger frigates

to replace the Anzac class.
MARITIME PHOTOGRAPHIC
Russias local difficulty

RUSSIAN NAVY
The Russian Navy has taken delivery
of Admiral Grigorovich, the first of
a series of at least three Project
11356 frigates. The ship was formally
handed over at the Yantar Shipyard
in Kaliningrad on 11 March. Admiral
Essen, the second of class, is currently
conducting sea trials, and is also due to
be commissioned in 2016.
Based on the design of the Talwar
class built for India, and derived
from the Soviet era Burevestnik class
(Krivak), the new ships are designed
for anti-ship and anti-submarine
warfare operations, for which they are

equipped with Shtil and Kalibr missile
systems. Six ships have been ordered
for the Black Sea Fleet. However,
production has been severely
disrupted since the seizure of Crimea,
after which Ukraine stopped supplying
Russia with marine gas turbines.
As Russia is unable to make its own
alternative powerplants until 2019, the
second batch of ships could be sold
to an export customer namely India
without Russian-sourced engines.
Although interested in more of the
class, the Indian governments policy is
to build new warships at home.
Russias Project 11356 frigates
are two years late due to
engine supply issues. YANTAR
Sub loss
suspected
NORTH KOREAN NAVY

US Intelligence has revealed the loss
of a North Korean Peoples Navy
submarine after a number of vessels
were seen carrying out a search
over several days. The unidentified
submarine was being monitored by
the Americans during Ssang Yong
2016, a major joint naval exercise
with the South Korean Navy. The
speculation is that it sank, although
there was no request for assistance,
or even an admission from Pyongyang
that something was wrong.
The isolationist
DPRK operates
a large fleet of
unsophisticated
but effective
submarines.
The Democratic Peoples Republic

of Korea operates a fleet in excess of
80 submarines from the countrys
two submarine bases. These include
20 Chinese-built Project 033 (pictured)
patrol submarines dating from the
1960s, 38 domestically built Sang-O
class for coastal operations, and
dozens of midget submarines.
Anti-submarine warfare is a major
capability gap in the Souths Republic
of Korea Navy. In 2010 the ROK
Navy corvette Cheonan was sunk,
presumably by a torpedo fired from a
North Korean midget submarine.
news
The versatile RFA
Mounts Bay has been
sent to the Aegean
for a NATO mission.
MARITIMEPHOTOGRAPHIC
RFA
The UK government has responded
to the outcome of an EU summit on
the flow of migrants from Turkey
to Europe with the deployment of
Royal Fleet Auxiliary and Border Force
assets to the Aegean Sea.
The auxiliary landing ship RFA
Mounts Bay, with an embarked Wildcat
helicopter, was despatched, along
Argentina
fights back
ARGENTINA CG
The improving relations between
Buenos Aires and Beijing have been
tested after a Chinese squid jigger,
operating illegally in Argentine
waters, was sunk by machine gun
fire from the Coast Guard patrol
vessel Prefecto Derbes.
The Argentine Naval Prefecture
reported that the captain of Lu
Yan Yuan Yu ignored all standard
international warnings when
challenged, and in an attempt to
escape into international waters
carried out several manoeuvres
designed to cause a collision. He
and three others were arrested. The
remainder of the crew were picked
up by another Chinese fishing boat.
Illegal fishing, often involving
Chinese or Russian vessels, is rife
in the waters of the South Atlantic.
Law enforcement agencies have
been known to pursue violators
at sea for weeks on end, but it is
highly unusual for such incidents to
escalate to the sinking of offenders.
with two Border Force cutters, to

join a NATO mission to combat people
trafficking and illegal migration. They
will assist Standing NATO Maritime
Group 2 (SNMG2) warships monitoring
assigned areas, passing intelligence to
the Turkish Coast Guard so they can
intercept offenders.
The number of migrants arriving in
Greece is averaging 1,800 a day, with
more than 116,000 people having
arrived there from across the Aegean

already this year.
SNMG2 comprises the German
Navy flagship FGS Bonn, the Canadian
Navy frigate HMCS Fredericton, the
Turkish Navy frigate TCG Barbaros and
the Greek Navy frigate HS Salamis.
It is NATOs first intervention in
the migrant crisis, which has been
described as the greatest challenge
facing Europe today.
Tanker tender to Spain

RAN
Australia has again selected Navantia
as the preferred tenderer to provide
new ships for the Royal Australian Navy.
The latest naval programme, worth up
to A$2 billion, is for two Auxiliary Oiler
and Replenishment (AOR) vessels to
supersede HMAS Success and the fleet
tanker, HMAS Sirius, both of which need
to be replaced by the early 2020s.
The Spanish shipbuilder was
in direct competition with South
Koreas Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine
Engineering. DSME was proposing a

solution based upon the Aegir series,
already chosen by the UK and Norway.
The RAN has opted for a design based
on the Spanish Navys Cantabria
class, one of which was trialled on a
deployment in 2013 on a try before
you buy basis.
The choice is not surprising, given
that the ships are intended to operate
alongside the Navantia-designed
Helicopter Carriers and Air Warfare
Destroyers, which are common to
both the Spanish and Australian navies.
BRIEF NEWS
IRISHNAVALSERVICE Babcock
Marine floated out L William
Butler Yeats, the third and final
patrol vessel it is building for
the Irish Navy, at its Appledore
facility on 10 March. The 90m
Offshore Patrol Vessel is due
for delivery in July 2016. With
greater range and endurance,
the 2,256-tonne state-of-theart warships have already
enabled Ireland to participate
in wider area missions, with
the first-of-class taking part
in humanitarian patrols in the
Mediterranean Sea in 2015.
ROYALNAVY The reactivation
of HMS Albion has reached
a turning point with the
completion of extensive
external hull work, allowing the
amphibious command ship to
be refloated and ready to leave
dry dock at Devonport. There
is still much work to be done
before she returns to sea for
the first time in six years in 2017,
when her new look will include
the replacement of Goalkeeper
with Phalanx CIWS and the
latest Type 997 radar.
ALGERIANNAVY Chinas
Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilders
delivered El Fatih, the second
of three C28A corvettes to the
high-spending Algerian Navy
on 10 March. The 2,800-tonne
ships, which are constructed to
Lloyds Register specifications,
are equipped with a range of
Chinese missiles and guns,
allied to French Smart-S Mk.2
radar, command, control,
and communication systems.
Algeria is also due to receive
the first of two German MEKO
A-200 class frigates and two
more Russian Project 636
Varshavyanka submarines soon.
RUSSIANNAVY Russia has
begun test firings of a cruise
missile dubbed the 3M22 Zircon.
The ramjet weapon is claimed
by domestic sources to be
capable of reaching Mach 5-6
(3,8004,600mph), which would
make it difficult to defend
against. It is slated for fitting to
the Kirov class cruisers Admiral
Nakimov and Pyotr Veliky from
2020, and will also equip Russias
fifth-generation Husky class
nuclear submarine.
ABOVE The RAN is to replace its AORs with Spanish-built vessels. ARMADA ESPAOLA
15
NATO tackles migrant flow
CARGO
Burnt-out
car carrier
to breakers
Vehicle Carrier
The pure car-truck carrier Courage,
which caught fire off the Essex coast
in June 2015, has been sold to Turkish
ship breakers. The ARC-owned vessel,
built in 1991, was en route from
Bremerhaven to Southampton when
fire broke out. She was escorted
into Southampton with several cars
badly damaged, and was later taken
to Bremerhaven, where she was laid
up while her fate was determined.
The vessel was a regular visitor to
Southampton, but her next voyage will
be to the scrapyard at Aliaga. RC
Seatrades
new Color
class
Newbuild
ABOVE The car carrier Courage (1991)

at Southampton after catching fire in
June 2015. Simon Smith
Antwerp-based Seatrade Chartering

expects to take delivery of the first
of four new Color class 2,200TEU
refrigerated container vessels from
Chinas Zhejian Yangfan shipyard within
the next few weeks following float-out
Seatrades new container ship, Seatrade Orange,

is the lead vessel of a new series of refrigerated
vessels designed to serve shallower ports. Seatrade
of the 185m by 30m Seatrade Orange.

The new ships, with Seatrade Red,
Seatrade White and Seatrade Blue to
follow shortly, will feature a relatively
fast service speed of 20 knots, and
shallow operating draught of 30ft (9.2),
while their total pallet capacity within
the containers will be 14,000 units.
Several more ships of this size

are expected to be ordered. One
of the worlds largest operators of
refrigerated tonnage, Seatrade was
found in 1951 as Scheepvaartkantoor
Groningen, but was renamed Seatrade
Groningen in the 1970s and currently
operates a fleet about 85 vessels. JS
Tanker leaves Australia Mitsui OSK restructures

TANKERS
In a surprise move, oil giant BP
decided to take the last Australiancrewed fuel tanker, the 46,803dwt
British Fidelity (2004), off the
Australian coast in March. The vessel,
registered in Douglas, Isle of Man,
was used to move fuel from Kwinana
to Adelaide, and more recently from
Kwinana to Devonport/Hobart.
The crews contracts will be
terminated on 9 May. The crew then
raised objections, when asked to sail
to Singapore, fearing their jobs were
in jeopardy. Despite assurances that
the ship would return to trade on

the Australian coast, their fears were
realised when the vessel arrived in
Singapore on 12 March. The Maritime
Union of Australia expected them to
be replaced with foreign labour on
flag-of-convenience ships.
Fortunes have been brighter in
Europe and the Baltic, where another
of the BP Fleet, the 113,553dwt crude
oil tanker British Falcon (2005), also
registered in Douglas, has been in
continuous employment in 2016,
trading between St Petersburg,
Primorsk, Klaipeda and Rotterdam,
with calls at Flotta in Scapa Flow. RC
ABOVE The 2014-built 81,798dwt bulk carrier Brilliant Advance is one of a number
of ships caught up in MOLs latest reorganisation. MOL
INDUSTRY NEWS
ABOVE The oil tanker British Falcon has been kept busy in 2016 linking Russia
and Latvia with Rotterdam, while the BP Australian-crewed tanker British Fidelity
has been taken off the Australian coast. Roy Cressey
Following downturns in the bulk and

container sectors Japans Mitsui OSK
Lines is restructuring the management
of its fleet into a number of new
business divisions, including the Dry
Bulk Business Unit for bulk carriers and
the Energy Transport Business Unit
for tankers, LNG carriers and offshore
vessels. It is also adding new container
ships to its fleet by chartering rather
than buying them, with the latest
vessel, the 10,000TEU MOL Benefactor,

coming from Chinas Jiangsu Yangzi
Xinfu Shipbuilding Company and
taken under an eight-year, fixed-rate
time charter from Hong Kong-based
Seaspan Corporation.
The changeover is expected to
come into play over the next several
month following a plunge in company
profits, and further losses are
expected this year. MOL also plans to
sell off a number of its older ships not
connected to long-term charters. JS
news
Capesize
conundrum
PRODUCT TANKER
Built ten years ago during a

much stronger market for bulkers,
the 203,512dwt China Steel Team is one
of a number of capesize units suffering
because of a slacking-off in demand. CSBC
BULKERS
A building boom over the recession
years, when shipyard prices were
cheap, has doubled the worlds
fleet of capesize bulk carriers just
as Chinas economy is slipping into
the doldrums. Average time-charter
rates for the big ships have dipped
below $1,000 a day in recent months,
which nowhere near covers average
daily crew costs of above $3,000.
This compares to record high charter

rates of $223,000 a day in 2008 ,when
a large number of orders were placed
for the vessels and capacity doubled
over a seven-year period.
Now owners are having to scrap
their least profitable ships, with a
record 88 capesize bulkers broken up
last year and 14 scrapped in January
this year alone. Nevertheless, analysts
feel the purging of capacity will have
to be three times higher than last
years total if freight rates are to be

stabilised. Unfortunately, owners do
not relish breaking up relatively new
ships and are instead continuing to
trade them at a loss in the hope that
the market will strengthen, despite
the fact that Clarkson Research, part
of the worlds biggest shipbroker, is
predicting that almost every type of
commodity carrier will fail to make a
profit this year as Chinas economy
slows to its weakest in 25 years. JS
The recently renamed Philly Shipyard

in the US, formerly known as the Aker
Philadelphia Shipyard, has delivered
the 50,000dwt product tanker Texas
to Crowley Maritime as a sistership to
the earlier delivered Ohio. The twin
tankers are the first ever to receive
the American Bureau of Shippings
LNG-Ready Level 1 approval, meaning
Crowley has the option to convert
both ships to operate on LNG in the
future. Two additional tankers of the
same size and configuration are being
built by the Philly yard for delivery to
Crowley later this year. JS
ABOVE Americas Crowley Maritime has

taken delivery of its second LNG-Ready
product tanker, the 50,000dwt Texas,
from the Philly Shipyard. CROWLEY GROUP
Small ports, large ships Aberdeens long visitor

COASTAL TANKERS
Small ports in the United Kingdom had
their heyday in the 1950s and 1960s,
when small Dutch and German coasters
were regular callers. Now, more than
50 years later, coasters are increasing
in size and it is often impossible for
them to take full cargoes. But some
ports are expanding, such as Goole,
where the Kerfoot Group have installed
tanks for the blending of vegetable oils
which they import via coastal tankers.
However, as coastal tankers are unable

to bring full cargoes, they either have
to carry a part cargo or offload part
cargo at a larger port, such as Hull.
One vessel to make two calls with
part cargoes at the port in March
was the 4,580dwt Cyprus-flagged
chemical/product tanker Leeni (2006),
operated by Simonsen Chartering of
Svendborg. She brought two cargoes
of vegetable oil from Rotterdam, the
first time coming via Rouen and the
second time via Erith in Kent. RC
ABOVE HHL Rio de Janeiro became the longest vessel ever to enter the port of
Aberdeen when she arrived on 11 March to load buoyancy modules. She is pictured
leaving for Le Trait, France before heading to Ghana. DAVID DODDS
PORT NEWS
ABOVE The chemical/product tanker Leeni departs from her berth in Barge Dock,
Goole to approach Ocean Lock on her way to Wolgast, Germany. ROY CRESSEY
On 11 March the Scottish port of

Aberdeen welcomed the longest vessel
ever to enter the port. The 20,170dwt
Liberian-flagged HHL Rio de Janeiro
measures 168.65m by 25.2m, and
she arrived from Szczecin in Poland.
The heavy lift cargo vessel had called
to load buoyancy modules ahead of
departing on a two-day journey which
took her to Le Trait in France, from
where she would head to her ultimate

destination of Takoradi in Ghana.
Aberdeen Harbour reported that
the Chinese-built HHL Rio de Janeiro is
the latest in a number of large vessels
using the port, which shows the need
for the expansion of the harbour
into Nigg Bay in order for them to
remain competitive and in a position
to provide fit-for-purpose facilities. A
final decision on a proposed expansion
project is expected in late summer. RC
17
Crowley
takes Texas
NEWS FEATURE
Strong ships for heavy co
Jim Shaw
A look at some of the

worlds strongest and
largest ships that are being
built, for use on underseas
construction and
dismantlement projects.
he petroleum industry and the

emerging offshore wind energy
sector have generated a demand
for very large and strong construction
vessels. Added to this has been the
necessity to dismantle older offshore
oil and gas rigs that have reached the
limits of their productivity.
This has led to the worlds largest
ship, the 1,253ft by 407ft Pioneering
Spirit, being built in South Korea
to handle construction as well as
dismantlement projects, while
also being capable of serving as a
pipeline layer. Unfortunately, the
403,342gt twin-hulled vessels entry
into service has been delayed by
several months because of the late
delivery of components needed for
its sophisticated topsides lift system,
plus the fact that the installation and
commissioning of the system was
more complex than anticipated.
The system, which will have a
48,000-tonne lifting capacity when
fully installed, will be used to remove
decommissioned topsides and jackets
of large offshore oil and gas platforms
with a single lift, dramatically reducing
the cost of such operations. The ships
first scheduled project is to lift the
24,000-tonne Brent Delta topside in
the Brent field for Shell and transport
The worlds largest ship, the 1,253ft

by 407ft Pioneering Spirit, will clip off
oil rig topsides at the bow, and then
hoist the steel supporting jacket at the
stern, both for disposal. Allseas
it to a special yard in Hartlepool for

dismantling, something that no other
vessel could undertake with a single
lift. Although Pioneering Spirits owner,
Allseas, has indicated it would like to
order a second twin-hulled vessel with
a wider beam of 525ft, to give a lifting
capacity of 72,000 tonnes, this may wait
until the first unit has been proven.
In the field of heavy subsea

construction there are several large
crane ships in service, including
Saipems Saipem 7000 and Heeremas
Thialf, that have 14,000 tons of lifting
capacity available when two cranes
are used in unison. However, these
massive semi-submersible vessels will
lose their ranking as worlds strongest
Built for working in the deep

Rock installation
Undersea construction and
trenching often requires an overlay
of aggregates to protect pipes and
cables or stabilise piling structures.
This requires the services of a subsea
rock installation (SRI) vessel, a ship

type that has become increasingly
sophisticated because of the need
to work at lower depths and more
stringent accuracy requirements.
To give an idea of the scope of this
type of work, the Netherlands-based
ABOVE To be named Bravenes upon delivery to Hollands Van Oord group, the
E169 class rock installation vessel being built in China will meet requirements for
Clean Design Notation, Green Passport and Ice Class 1APC7. Ulstein
Van Oord Group deposited 300,000

tonnes of rock within the Aasta
Hansteen gas project off the coast
of Norway last year, often at depths
of over 1,200m. Although the Dutch
company has two large SRI ships in
service, it recently ordered a 154m by
28m DP-3-rated fall-pipe vessel (FPV)
for shallower work down to 600m.
Designed by Norways Ulstein
Group, the 16,000dwt ship will
feature Ulsteins X-Bow and is to be
delivered later this year by Chinas
Sinopacific Shipbuilding Group. It
will be equipped with a moveable
fall-pipe tower that will perform
rock installation operations through
a centrally located moon pool,
the rock arriving at the hopper
via conveyor belt from a storage
hold. To obtain a 3-level Dynamic
Positioning notation, it will make use
of two MAK main engines of 3,840kW
output powering Schottel thrusters.
when Heerema places its next semisubmersible crane vessel (SSCV) on the
market, a propelled unit that will also
be one of the worlds largest ships.
Under construction in Singapore,
the 702ft (214m) by 320ft (97.5m)
vessel will be fitted with two cranes
of 10,000 tonnes lifting capacity each,
giving it a maximum lift of 20,000
tons when both cranes are used
together. A transit speed of ten knots
will be provided by a bank of dual-fuel
engine/gensets capable of operating
on either marine gas oil (MGO) or LNG
that will power eight 5,500kW Wrtsil
thrusters, four of which will be
BELOW Norways Ulstein has developed
a 10,000dwt construction vessel with
a 400-tonne crane that could work in
water as shallow as 16.5ft. Ulstein
news
ABOVE One of the worlds newest pipe-laying vessels is McDermott Internationals

DLV 2000, which carries a 2,200-ton revolving crane on the stern and is to be fitted
with an S-lay stinger configured to install pipelines up to 60 inches in diameter
down to 10,000ft. McDermott International
retractable. The thrusters, developed
specifically for the vessel, will feature
an underwater demounting capability
so that drydocking will not be needed
to exchange any of the units. In
addition, the propeller shafts of the
thrusters have an eight-degree tilt that
significantly reduces the interaction
between thrusters and hull, which will
enhance the dynamic positioning.
Shallow water build

Beyond the petroleum industry, the
wind energy sector is also demanding
specialised vessels to build offshore
foundations for wind turbines,
transport and service the units,
and lay their high-voltage electrical
cables. While some of this work can
be accomplished by the same type of
ships used in the petroleum sector,
the shallow water nature of wind farm
installations is seeing more specialised
vessels designed and built.
This includes a dynamically positioned
construction vessel developed by
Norways Ulstein that could work in
water depths of as little as 16.5ft (5m).
With a 2,000m2 work deck, and a high
load capacity, the 378ft (115.4) by
ABOVE To rank as the worlds third

largest ship, and also the strongest
in crane capacity, Heeremas new
semi-submersible will be able to hoist
20,000tonnes. Heerema
101ft (30.8m) ship could support the

installation of a variety of equipment
which would allow it to support several
types of offshore operations, including
cable laying and wind turbine servicing.
Propulsion would be provided by two
2,880kW and two 1,920kW powerplants

delivering a service speed of nine knots,
with accommodation for between 140
and 240. The 10,000dwt ship could also
be fitted with an offshore crane of up
to 400-tonne capacity.
Installing pipelines along the sea bed

Deepsea pipe layer
Subsea oil and gas fields generally
include a number of wells, and these
are usually connected by pipelines
installed on the sea floor, with some
lines running on to loading and storage
installations, while others are used for
long distance transportation. One of
the longest is the 725-mile Langeled
line that transports Norwegian natural
gas to the UK. The laying of such lines
requires sophisticated shallow and

deep-sea construction and pipe-laying
vessels, the latter having the ability to
work to depths of over 10,000ft.
Some of the larger ships in this
field, such as Subsea 7s 182.2m (598ft)
by 46.2m (151ft) Seven Borealis, are
equipped for multiple tasks, the
ship having a 5,000-tonne capacity
mast crane at the stern for heavy
positioning work, along with a tower
at the side for J-laying and a stinger
at the stern for S-laying. The letters

J and S describe the shape the pipe
takes as it leaves the vessel and settles
on the seabed, with the J-lay system,
in which sections of pipe are upended
in the tower and welded together,
used for deep water and ridged pipe,
while S-laying is limited to a depth of
about 6,500ft (1,981m) . Highly flexible
pipe of small diameter can be prewelded ashore and laid directly from
large storage reels carried on board.
The pipeline layer Seven Borealis has been equipped

with a 5,000-tonne capacity mast crane for heavy work,
as well as a stinger at the stern for S-laying and a
tower at the side for J-laying. Subsea
19
vy construction
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The Australian Bays

Roy Fenton looks at five passenger-cargo ships
that were once the despair of their operator but
went on to be useful and, in one case, immortal.
orld War
I made
Australian
shippers both
anxious and
envious. Their anxiety arose
because the mainly British
ships on which Australian trade
depended were increasingly
diverted to war work. Wheat,
wool and other exports were
piling up on quays awaiting
shipment. But at the same time,
greedy eyes saw shipowners
making unprecedented profits.
Fortunately, the Australian
Government had 18 former
German ships at its disposal
that had been arrested in their
ports in August 1914. In 1916
Australian Prime Minister
William Hughes saw an
opportunity to set up a national
shipping line, a venture which
had been strongly resisted when
proposed ten years earlier.
The Commonwealth
Government Line of Steamers
duly took over the German
ships, bought a number of
tramp steamers from British
owners which were given
names beginning Austral, and
ordered more from Australian
and American yards. Wartime
conditions had vastly inflated
freight rates, and the ships
earnings were good. But the
Australian Government failed
to realise that, in more normal
times, shipping was a business
in which brief periods of fat
profits were almost invariably
followed by long, lean years.
Buoyed by its seeming
success, the Line ordered five
cargo passenger ships from
British yards soon after the
Armistice, with the aim of
capturing a large part of the
emigrant trade. With demand
for building berths high,
ABOVE One of the many steam tramps which Australia bought from British
owners in 1916 was Australplain, the former Ardanmhor of 1907. Authors collection
ABOVE First of the class, Moreton Bay, as built and probably still Australian-owned
when pictured, judging by her hull colours. J. & M. Clarkson
CLASSIC CARGO LINERS
ABOVE Hobsons Bay in as-built

condition. Authors collection
LEFT Jervis Bay making one of her
occasional stops at Burnie after sale
to Aberdeen and Commonwealth
Line. Compare this photograph with
that of Moreton Bay and note how
Jervis Bays accommodation had been
extended forward at main deck level.
Winters Studio, Burnie
A fine underway view of Largs

Bay post-war, looking immaculate
despite her having already seen
long and arduous service.
Authors collection
they had little choice but to

give Vickers and Beardmore
contracts on a cost plus basis.
And with both materials and
labour in limited supply, the
costs of the five Bays were high:
typically 1.4 million for each
ship. In addition, two large
freighters were ordered from
the Commonwealth Dockyard
in Sydney, becoming Fordsdale
and Ferndale.
Five Bays
Delivered between November

1921 and September 1922, the
five Bays were driven by steam
turbines supplied by oil-fired
boilers, giving a service speed
of about 15 knots. There was
accommodation for no fewer
than 720 third class travellers,

plus just 12 governmentsponsored first class passengers.
With an overall length of
almost 550ft, they had ample
space for Australian export
cargoes, 360,000ft3 of it being
refrigerated for frozen meat.
A nice touch was that each
of the ships was registered
in an Australian port in the
same state as the bay after
which it was named (see the
accompanying table).
Once all five were delivered,
sailings were scheduled monthly
from London through the Suez
Canal to Port Said, then on to
Aden, Colombo, Fremantle,
Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney
and Brisbane. At the UK end,
Hull was also used when wool

cargoes were destined for the
West Riding of Yorkshire.
The new service was seen as
a major threat by the Britishowned Aberdeen Line, whose
ships had previously enjoyed
much of the non-luxury
passenger trade between Britain
and Australia. This line was
committed by its conference
agreements to using the longer
route via Tenerife and the Cape
of Good Hope. Fares on the
Australian ships were at the
very low end of those charged
by British lines, including
Aberdeen and Blue Funnel.
The British lines also feared,
quite rightly as it turned out,
that the Australian line could
call on Government subsidies if

it ran into trouble. And trouble
there certainly was.
In 1923 the line changed
its title to the Australian
Commonwealth Line, but
this did nothing to transform
its dismal performance. This
was much criticised in the
Australian press, already
incensed that the orders for
the five Bays had gone to
the United Kingdom rather
than local yards. Finances and
reputation were not helped by
Moreton Bay, the lines flagship,
being involved in two collisions
within a few weeks during
1923, one in the Thames and
one off Southend. She was held
solely to blame for the former,
The Australian Bays

Built as
Builder
Register port
MORETON BAY
Vickers
Brisbane
Yard No
Launched
Completed
GT as built
573
23.4.1921
18.11.1921
14,193
Fate
Notes
1957: B/u Barrow
LARGS BAY
Beardmore
Adelaide
616
20.6.1921
22.12.1921
14,182
1957: B/u Barrow
HOBSONS BAY
Vickers
Melbourne
574
4.10.1921
16.2.1922
14,204
1955: B/u Faslane
R/n ESPERANCE BAY (2) 1936
ESPERANCE BAY (1)
Beardmore
Fremantle
617
15.12.1921
11.7.1922
14,462
1955: B/u Newport
R/n ARAWA 1936
JERVIS BAY
Vickers
Sydney
575
17.1.1922
9.1922
13,890
5.11.1940: Sunk
Builders were Vickers Ltd, Barrow-in-Furness and William Beardmore and Co. Ltd., Glasgow.
23
The first Esperance Bay, as built,

proudly flying the Australian flag at
her stern. Authors collection
when she ran into the German

steamer Margit Siemers.
Much has been written
about the poor labour relations
which plagued the Bay ships
under Australian ownership in
particular difficulties with the
stewards and which seriously
disrupted sailing schedules.
However, there are always two
sides to any industrial dispute,
and it would be very interesting
to hear the stevedores, seamens
and stewards stories. Australia
certainly lacked managers
with experience in running an
international shipping service,
especially one catering for large
numbers of passengers.
Sale to Britain
By 1928 Australian Commonwealth Lines accumulated

losses totalled 12 million, and
the Australian Government had
despaired of it ever breaking even.
In April it was announced by
the Prime Minister that the fleet
comprising the five Bays and two
big Australian-built freighters had
been sold for just 1,850,000
to White Star Line, then part of
Kylsants Royal Mail Group.
In his excellent North Star to
Southern Cross, John Maber
questions why White Star bought
the line at a time when trade was

contracting. He points out that
White Star and its subsidiary,
Aberdeen Line, had been forced
into a joint agreement with Blue
Funnel Line on the Australian
route, and several of their ships
had been sold. However, the
purchase of the Bays removed
the Aberdeen Lines major
competitor, and in the long
term the decision to purchase
proved to be a sound one.
A new company, Aberdeen
and Commonwealth Line,
was formed to operate the
Bays under the Red Ensign,
with George Thompson and
Co acting as manager. There
were changes to manning, with
British seamen and stewards
replacing Australians, and the
route saw calls being made at
Malta, probably because this was
also used by competitor P&O.
Within a few months, the UK
terminal became Southampton,
and on some voyages calls were
made at Burnie, in Tasmania.
The limited accommodation
for first class passengers was
removed, and sailings became
tourist class only. Outwardly,
the rather dull black hull was
replaced by the traditional
Aberdeen Line colours of green
with red boot topping and a

white ribbon. But the names
remained unchanged.
Of course, the Royal Mail
Group was not itself in good
financial health, and its collapse
in the early 1930s was to affect
the Bays. So complex were the
interlocking shareholdings
of the companies within the
Royal Mail Group that one of
those charged with sorting it
Esperance Bay (1) became Shaw

Savills Arawa in 1936, and is seen
here, probably at Southampton.
Authors collection
out described it as being like

unscrambling eggs. At this
time, the cash-strapped White
Star Line had still not completed
payment to the Australian
Government for the ships.
In April 1933 a new
company was formed to take
over the five Bays and the
lines sole remaining freighter,
Fordsdale, but continuity was
ensured by it being entitled the
CLASSIC CARGO LINERS

Although the Bays maintained
their original service throughout
these changes, the emigrant
trade did not stand still. The
introduction of better tourist
class accommodation in new
P&O mail steamers reduced
the appeal of the rather basic
Bay ships, in which passengers
dined at long tables. As a result
of diminishing trade, Esperance
Bay was transferred to the
parent Shaw, Savill and renamed
Arawa. After an extensive refit
on the Clyde, she was put on a
service to New Zealand by way
of the Panama Canal.
Bays at war
Aberdeen and Commonwealth

Line Ltd. Shares were now in
the hands of at least five other
companies, but Shaw, Savill and
Albion had the largest holding,
and became managers of the
ships. But again, and rather
confusingly, George Thompson
and Co was appointed in this
role, and the Bays continued
to sail under the old Aberdeen
Line house flag.
The Bays were considered

ideal for conversion to Armed
Merchant Cruisers, and Jervis
Bay and Moreton Bay were
hired for this purpose on 24 and
25 August 1939, respectively.
Jervis Bay first served in the
South Atlantic, but in May 1940
moved north to be based on
Bermuda and later Halifax.
On 5 November 1940 she
was the sole escort for the
37 ships of convoy HX 84
when the Admiraltys worst
nightmare came true and the
convoy was attacked by the
German Panzerschiff Admiral
Scheer. In what must have been
an incredibly painful decision,
Captain Fegen decided to
sacrifice his ship and men, and
whilst the convoy scattered
headed directly for his powerful
enemy. Her six-inch guns no
match for those of the heavy
cruiser, Jervis Bay sank with her
white ensign flying, taking with
her Fegen and 189 of his crew.
Remarkably, there were some
survivors, 69 in total, picked up
by the Swedish ship Stureholm.
As he had anticipated, Fegens
action allowed most of the ships
in HX 84 to escape into the
gathering gloom, and just five
were sunk: Beaverford, Fresno
City, Kenbane Head, Maidan
and Trewellard. One more was
seriously damaged, the tanker
San Demetrio, but after an epic
struggle she reached port.
Thankfully, the two other
Bays which became AMCs had
less adventurous wars. Moreton
Bay was converted at Sydney,
initially serving on the China
station, then moving, via brief
service in the South Atlantic,
to a base at Freetown. By 1941
the Admiralty felt it had less
need of AMCs, or realised just
ABOVE The second Esperance Bay at Valletta, where calls began after the ships
were sold to the Aberdeen and Commonwealth Line. Ships in Focus
how vulnerable they were, and

Moreton Bay and others were
released to become troop ships.
In September 1939 Esperance
Bay (2) was taken over at
Brisbane, and sent to Simonstown
for conversion to an AMC.
Serving in both the South and
North Atlantic, she survived
an aircraft attack in July 1940,
when a bomb with a delayedaction fuse penetrated one deck
before exploding, wrecking her
steering gear and blowing one
gun overboard. She too began
conversion to a troopship in 1941.
Largs Bay remained in
commercial service, although
under Government direction,
until called up as a troopship
in 1941. But she too suffered
damage through hostile action
when she hit a mine in the Bay
of Naples in January 1944.
The former Esperance Bay (1),
renamed Arawa, also served as
an AMC and later a troopship.
Last days
The three surviving Bays

continued doing Government
work for some time after the
conclusion of hostilities, and
this, plus protracted refits
necessitated by their extensive
conversions, meant it was 1949
before all three were back in
their owners service. This was
a time of the very popular 10
assisted passage scheme, and

many hundreds of hopeful
emigrants must have journeyed
east on the three ships.
My uncle sailed out to
Australia on Moreton Bay in the
early 1950s, writing back to my
parents during a short stay in
Malta, and noting that the ship
was fitted out very comfortably
and the food was good. He was
particularly impressed that on
board 50 cigarettes cost just
two shillings (10 new pence).
But the ships were showing
their age, and in 1955 began
making their way to breakers
yards. Last to go were
Moreton Bay and Largs Bay,
both demolished at Barrowin-Furness in 1957. It was
from here that Moreton Bay
had emerged 36 years earlier
to become the lead ship of
a class which, while a major
disappointment to those who
ordered them, went on to
occupy useful niches in the trade
for which they were designed,
and, in the case of Jervis Bay,
achieved a degree of immortality
through the sacrifices of her
captain and crew.
Acknowledgements John Mabers
North Star to Southern Cross and
Henry Spong and Richard Osbornes
Shaw, Savill and Albion: A Fleet
History were consulted.
ABOVE Australian Commonwealth Line also had two big freighters built in
Australia: Ferndale and, seen here, Fordsdale. World Ship Society Ltd
25
e
m
i
t
i
r
Ma Mosaic
A collection of readers
own photographs
Despite Poole having a large, picturesque harbour, not many cruise ships call there, as there are
restrictions on the size of vessel that can be handled. However, the Dorset port has developed
a niche market for smaller upmarket passenger ships, and Kevin Mitchells photographs show
some of the cruise ships which have called there in recent years.
ABOVE One of the smallest but arguably
most luxurious cruise ships is Hebridean
Princess (1964/2,112gt), seen at the
entrance to Poole Harbour on 9 August
2015 on her second call of the year. Built
as the MacBrayne car ferry Columba, she
underwent a major refit in 1989 for her
new career as a 50-passenger cruise ship.
During her previous visit to Poole, Captain
Bailey presented the RNLI with a cheque
for 683 raised by the recycling of
furniture from the onboard Tiree Lounge
following an extensive refit last winter.
LEFT Island Sky (1992/4,200gt), a
Renaissance class vessel, was delivered
as Renaissance VIII, and is seen alongside
Ballast Quay on 29 April 2013 in the
company of the local ferry Maid of
the Islands. Cruise ships tend to use
Ballast Quay when the ro-ro berths are
unavailable, although Poole Harbour
Commissioners plan to construct a new
deepwater cruise ship quay at the port in
the future.
READERS ARCHIVE
ABOVE Vistamar (1989/7,478gt) heads out of Poole Harbour on 6 September

2007, a visit made possible following channel deepening. Vistamar, operated
by Plantours for the German market, had arrived with 230 passengers. Since
2012 the Spanish-built vessel has sailed from Beirut for Abou Merhi Cruises as
Orient Queen II.
ABOVE Hebridean Spirit (1991/4,200gt)

coming alongside ro-ro berth 2
dressed overall on 3 September 2003.
She was once a regular caller at Poole
when sailing for Hebridean Island
Cruises. Builtas Renaissance VI, she
has also been known as Sun Viva 2
andMegaStarCapricorn.
LEFT An interesting visitor to Poole
on 10 May 2013 was Serenissima
(1960/2,598gt), which moored alongside
Ballast Quay for the day. This veteran
was built for Norwegian coastal water
service as Harald Jarl, but was renamed
Andrea for full-time expedition cruising
in 2002. Her owners, Elegant Cruises,
went bankrupt in 2009, but she was
eventually refurbished and emerged in
2013 as Serenissima.
With Brownsea Island in

the background, Corinthian
(1990/4,077gt) arrives on the
morning of 7 June 2015 after
an overnight passage from
the Isles of Scilly. Carrying
just 100 passengers in 50
suites, this ice-strengthened
expedition ship was acquired
by Grand Circle Cruise Line
in 2014, having been built as
Renaissance IV.
27
ALL CHANGE AT
VICTORIA
ABOVE Draco alongside the new commercial fishing quay.
servant of the Crown.

Seychelles lacks natural
resources, military forces and
political power, so it has often
had to adopt De Quincys
strategy. During the Cold
War, the non-aligned nation
(it became independent in
1976) welcomed Western and
Communist naval ships alike,
and today it is equally evenhanded in its treatment of the
new Indian Ocean rivals India
and China.
Port development began in
the 1870s with construction
he visitor to
Seychelles
diminutive capital,
Victoria, will
quickly spot the
Pirates Arms on Independence
Avenue. The pubs name recalls
the buccaneers who roamed
the Indian Ocean from the late
17th century, when they had
the 115 islands of the Seychelles
archipelago to themselves, and
picked off merchant ships laden
with goods from the East.
However, in 1778 the
French set up a small military
garrison, the tablissement du
ABOVE The small passenger vessel Cat Roses at Praslin old port.
Roi, from which evolved the

town of Victoria, on a shallow
bay on the north-east of Mah
island. During the Napoleonic
Wars, garrison commandant
Chevalier Jean-Baptiste Queau
de Quinssy took a pragmatic
approach when enemy men-ofwar were seen on the horizon:
he ran up the British flag,
supplied the ships and, once
they were out of sight, restored
the Tricolor to the flagpole.
When the British took over the
colony in 1814 he renamed
himself De Quincy and
continued in post as a respected
of the Long Pier, which was a

kilometre in length, enabling
schooners to land fish, copra
and human cargoes safely. But
ships of British India Line,
Brocklebank Line, Messageries
Maritime and Shipping
Corporation of India still had
to anchor under the lee of le
Ste Anne to tranship goods and
passengers to lighters before
they could be brought ashore.
The pier head accumulated
a ramshackle assemblage of
sheds, coal wharves, oil tanks,
a passenger and baggage
SEYCHELLES
The archipelago of Seychelles in the Indian
Ocean lies 932 miles east of East Africa. The
main port has been threatened by piracy and
has experienced dwindling cruise calls, but now
the challenge is to find more space within its
confines, as Stephen Spark explains.
The cruise ship Ocean Princess,

berthed at the Commercial
Port in Port Victoria on 25 April
2014. Ocean Princess arrived in
Seychelles with 619 passengers,
with visits by cruise ships
being an important part of the
ports economic activities. ALL
PHOTOS BY STEPHEN SPARK
building, a meteorological station

and a small slipway for repairing
the lighters. In the 1950s and
60s a US company operated a
twice-weekly flying boat service
from the pier to Mombasa.
Concerned by high lighterage
charges in 1939, governor
Sir Arthur Grimble proposed
extending the pier into deeper
water, but the parlous state
of the colonys post-war
finances stalled the scheme.
But by 1967 the situation had
become untenable. Consulting
engineers Sandford Fawcett,
Witton & Bell declared the port
to be fundamentally unsuited
for large ocean-going vessels
and proposed new facilities on
reclaimed land.
Construction of an
international airport proved
to be the game-changer, as
tankers were needed to bring
in aviation fuel. The airport
opened in 1971, and three
years later the new Commercial
Port, 2km south of the town
centre, received its first ships.
The Commercial Port has
a single 370m quay aligned
north-west to south-east,
with an alongside depth of
11.5m. Behind the quay are

the offices of the state-owned
landlord port owner, Seychelles
Ports Authority (SPA), plus
warehousing, a container
stacking ground, a power
station and a tank farm for
state oil company Seypec. Land
Marine carries out stevedoring
using mobile cranes and
reachstackers, as there is no
room for straddle carriers or
gantry cranes. Tucked away to
one side are SPAs launches and
tugs, the latest being Rosemary
and Ascension, of 30t bollard
pull, built by Yardimci in 2011.
The Fishing Port is centred
on the much enlarged Long
Pier, with commercial fishing
berths at the pier head adjacent
to Indian Ocean Tunas
processing facility. The artisan
fishing fleet berths along the
southern side, while branching
northwards is the 130m Inter
Island Quay. From here Inter
Island Boats Cat Cocos ferries
Isle of La Digue, Isle of Mah
and Isle of Praslin depart
for Praslin and La Digue. A
connecting service between
Praslin and La Digue is
operated by Inter Island Ferrys
ABOVE The French frigate FS Floral (F730) at anchor off the Commercial Port in
April 2014. Florals activities include the monitoring of the Exclusive Economic
Zone in the French Southern and Antarctic Lands.
Cat Roses and Cat Roses II.

Both companies Australianbuilt catamarans are new and
well-maintained, offering a slick
service that belies Seychelles
sleepy image.
Inter Island Quay is also
used by an eclectic variety of
small cargo craft, although
these operations will eventually
move to the Commercial Port.
A familiar sight at the IIQ was
Gerald Roses schooner Arc
en Ciel, but she sank en route
to Praslin in bad weather on
26 May 2015. The ten people
on board were rescued by
two other regular operators
between Mah and Praslin,
Luc Grandcourts La Belle
Praslinoise II, which has the
distinctive lines of a former
tuna fishing vessel, and Praslin
Hero, a squat but useful little
ro-ro with a 4TEU capacity.
To the north rise the wind
turbines of le du Port, where
a 120m-long fisheries logistics
quay was completed last year
and where another quay is
planned to serve fish processing

factories. Beyond it, on le
Perseverance (one of several
artificial islands off Victoria), lies
the new Seychelles Coast Guard
(SCG) base. Farther south,
at Providence, work will start
in October on extending the
artisanal fishing port with $12
million of Japanese funding.
Seychelles is outside the
cyclone belt, but the pillars of
the countrys economy, fishing
and tourism, were shaken by
the tsunami of Somali piracy.
Its 1,300,000km2 exclusive
economic zone (EEZ) contains
some of the worlds richest
fishing grounds, but has proved
to be too large for the SCG to
police effectively.
Underlining the countrys
vulnerability to Somali
gangsters, ten vessels were
pirated in Seychelles EEZ in
2009. Fishing activity had to be
restricted to the Inner Islands,
cutting tuna exports by 30 per
cent. In October 2009 Paul and
Rachel Chandler sailed their
ABOVE The fishing vessel Playa de Noja alongside the new commercial fishing
quay, at le du Port.
29
ABOVE The refrigerated cargo vessel Pelamis (2,709gt) outside Port Victoria. She can usually be found working around the islands of the Indian Ocean.
yacht, Lynn Rival, into pirate

hands and spent the nextyear
in captivity. The yachting
sector was devastated,and
cruise companies, fearful of
high insurance premiums,
dropped Port Victoria from
their itineraries. The country
faced its worst crisis since
independence.
Combatting piracy
The resourceful Seychellois

employed De Quincy-style
diplomacy to garner support
from the major powers,
swiftly updating piracy laws
and energetically prosecuting
pirates. A regional centre
to combat maritime crime,
Reflecs3, was set up in Victoria
alongside the anti-piracy cell of
the Indian Ocean Commission
(IOC). The port reinvented
itself as a harbour of refuge and

secured bunkering business
from EU NAVFOR, CTF 150
and other countries warships.
Business development officer
Steve Pointe said: Our strategy
is to find any opportunity for
business. We cant just wait for
vessels to come.
With the decline in attacks
since mid-2012, normality has
returned to the port, although
foreign minister Jean-Paul
Adam and port authority CEO
Lt Col Andr Ciseau have both
cautioned against complacency.
Adam warned: The minute
you pull out these warships,
its going to spring up again.
Security was boosted in March
by a new Indian-financed coastal
radar surveillance system.
Efforts by the SPA and tourism
minister Alain St Ange to revive
ABOVE The landing craft Zarkoh L67 at Anse Louis in November 2013.
cruising through the Indian

Oceans Vanilla Islands have
borne fruit. Multiple calls into
Victoria in 2016-17 are scheduled
for Costa neoRomantica, Silversea
Cloud and Silversea Discoverer,
and locally-based Pegasus of
Variety Cruises. Other visitors will

include Hapag-Lloyds Europa,
Phoenixs Artania and Amadea,
and Queen Elizabeth. Since
2013 the World Travel Awards
has honoured Victoria as the
regions Leading Cruise Port.
The refrigerated
cargo vessel Auxis
(5,084gt), berthed at
the Fishing Port.
SEYCHELLES
The 2003-built container ship
Delmas Keta (26,061gt) at the
Commercial Port in April 2014.
ABOVE The 1969-built cruise ship Costa Allegra ended her revenue-earning career in Seychelles in March 2012. Converted from
a container ship, she entered service with Costa Crociere on 23 November 1992 following an extensive conversion.
On 1 March 2012 a French

trawler towed Costa Allegra
into port after the converted
container ship suffered
electrical failure. Coming soon
after the Concordia sinking, the
drama grabbed the attention
of the worlds media, many
of whom were in Victoria to
report on the tourism boards
imaginative response to piracy,
a carnival, complete with makebelieve pirates. Allegra was

towed to Genoa and later sold
for demolition in Turkey.
Cargo vessels are the
countrys lifeline, bringing
in food, fuel and consumer
goods, but lack of space
has constrained the ports
development. Plans are in
hand to extend the quay
southwards by about 200m,

but the existing port, which
has been there since the 1970s
and is basically worn out, needs
extensive rebuilding. The SPAs
boardroom shakes whenever
ships use their cranes to offload
containers on to the quayside a
few metres away.
Development of the main
port in Mah is critical, the
African Development Bank

(ADB) stated in 2011. An
obvious solution would be to
build a new facility on one of
the reclaimed islands, but major
infrastructure funding is a
struggle for small island states.
One hope is regional
integration, which is strongly
supported by the ADB and
IOC. The latter worries that
major carriers will bypass Indian
Ocean ports or hike rates
to unacceptable levels, so is
proposing a regional shipping
line. Seychelles already has a
small fleet of tankers, owned
by Seypec, but apart from the
product/LPG tanker Seychelles
Paradise, which supplies Praslin,
the ships operate in the Arabian
Gulf and Europe or are timechartered to other operators.
Seypecs fleet may find work
nearer home in years to come,
as there are good geological
prospects for oil and gas in
Seychelles EEZ. Depressed
oil prices have dampened
enthusiasm, but Japans
JOGMEC is committed to
further exploration, so survey
ships will be seen in Victoria
for at least the next two years.
If viable deposits were to be
found, Port Victoria could
become a very busy place.
31
OF 01453 825381
E
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A
R
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ELSenquiries@anticsonline.co.uk
D
O
M
P
I
H
S
Albatros 1/1250th waterline
Admiral Heavyweights
Stroud Gloucester
Bristol Plymouth
Cardiff Coventry
Sheffield
207.00
Due in from Trumpeter is a tremendous 1/200 scale plastic kit of HMS Nelson that will
produce a model over one metre long! The Nelsons were reduced in length as a result
of the Washington Treaty but with 3 main turrets each of 3 x 16 guns they carried the
heaviest broadside in the British fleet.
100s of
Waterline
Ship Models
Our waterline model ship centre
re is n
now open at
Unit 1, Springfield Business Centre, Brunel Way,
Stonehouse, Glos GL10 3SX.
Normal business hours!
model shops and online stores
Eyes of the Fleet!
82.00
Mantuas wooden kit is of HMS

President, typical of the British early
18th century frigates that helped achieve
supremacy and were often employed
on roving or scouting for the fleet. Great
value!
The Mission to Seafarers is entirely funded

by voluntary donations and offers emergency
assistance, practical support and a friendly
welcome in 260 ports in 71 countries.
We provide the following quality welfare
support services for seafarers:
Seafarers centres
Ship-visiting
Post-trauma counselling
Transport
Advocacy
All-round support
Find out more at www.missiontoseafarers.org
themissiontoseafarers
The Mission to Seafarers

Caring for seafarers around the world
themissiontoseafarers
@FlyingAngelNews
Support for the Fleet!
92.95
Atlantics WM 1/700 waterline model of

the RFA Wave Ruler is part of a growing
range of ready painted resin models of
the modern British Navy. Also available
in kit form.
TM
Mont St
Michel
SHIP
OF THE
MONTH
Brittany Ferries English Channel workhorse

Ship of the Month turns the spotlight on Mont St
Michel, with Russell Plummer taking a look at the
biggest passenger, car and freight carrier in the
Brittany Ferries fleet.
ont St
Michel, well
established
as the busiest
ship in the
Brittany Ferries fleet, sailed
into 2016 on the popular
Portsmouth-Caen/Ouistreham
crossing with a new look
following a visit to Northern
Spain for the installation of
in-line scrubbers to reduce
exhaust sulphur emissions in
compliance with new European
regulations. The equipment
has been housed aft on Deck
9 between the existing twin
funnels, which are now linked
at a higher level to stretch
across the full width of the hull
Mont St Michel crosses the
Channel three times a day,
except on Wednesdays, when
there is no morning departure
from Caen or afternoon
sailing from Portsmouth.
This brings a change of
roster with running mate

Normandie (1992/27,542gt)
from Thursday to Tuesday
each week, with morning and
afternoon sailings in either
direction taking six hours, while
night crossings are 90 minutes
longer at seven and a half hours.
Scrubber work on Mont St
Michel at the Astander Yard
in Santander marked the
start of the second half of a
320 million Brittany Ferries
improvement programme, with
Barfleur (1992/20,133gt),
Normandie and Cap Finistere
(2000/37,728gt) already fitted
with scrubbers. Originally
Mont St Michel, Armorique
(2009/29,468gt) and PontAven (2004/40,859gt)
were due for more extensive
treatment, including the
conversion to use liquid natural
gas, but this was dropped
after the operator failed to
gain exemption from revised
ABOVE Duc de Normandie opened the Caen-Ouistreham route in June 1986, serving there
until summer 2001, when she moved to Plymouth for two years on the Roscoff route.
ABOVE Quiberon spent the final six months of her 20-year Brittany Ferries career running
to Caen/Ouistreham from July 2002 before being sold for service in the Mediterranean.
33
Mont St Michel
Mont St Michel arriving at Portsmouth
in March. MARITIME PHOTOGRAPHIC
Mont St Michels Information Desk and Bureau de Change is

centrally located on Deck 7.
The Blue Note Bar (Deck 7) seats 350 with live entertainment and
childrens play area.
Ala carte dining is available in the Les Roman

(Deck8) seating 164.
able in the Les Romantiques Restaurant
TM
Mont St Michels main hall and atrium on Deck 7 showing the

curved stairway to the upper decks.
The attractively laid out La Galerie Self Service Restaurant is located

forward on Deck 8.
Two captains for intensive schedule

Because Mont St Michel and
Normandie operate more intensive
schedules than vessels on other
Brittany Ferries routes, with three
arrivals and three departures in
every 24-hour cycle, the Captain has
a deputy, or Commandant Adjoint,
who handles some of the departures
and arrivals and also holds all relevant
pilotage and exemption certificates.
They work seven-day shifts,
including equal spells of time on
MARPOL regulations.
Brittany Ferries decided it
was uneconomical, in addition
to conversion costs, for them to
pay for low sulphur fuel until
the work was complete. At the
same time the Pegasis Project
for a new LNG-powered
vesselfor routes to Spain was
put on hold.
Mont St Michel stood down
from service on 19 September
2015, with Armorique
deputising until her return on
19 December, the scrubbers
being fitted, at a cost of
approximately 10 million,
in collaboration with Saint
Nazaire-based STX France.
While she was in dry dock,
there was also work to improve
passenger areas, with new
flooring and seating, together
with the addition of plug and
USB access points. After Mont
St Michels return, Armorique
Mont St Michel arriving in Portsmouth
on Boxing Day 2015 after one of
the first crossings from Ouistreham
following a visit to Spain for installation
of in-line exhaust scrubbers, which
are clearly visible between the existing
twin funnels. KEVIN MITCHELL
36 April 2016 www.shipsmonthly.com
headed to Spain early in

January, with a return to her
regular Plymouth-Roscoff route
expected during May. The huge
investment will be completed
next winter, when work starts
in November on Pont-Aven,
due to last until March 2017.
Mont St Michel is powered
by four MAK 6M43 diesel
engines giving a total output
of 29,368kW and driving twin
KaMeWa propellers, achieving
21.8 knots during trials, with
a normal service speed of 21
knots. Auxiliary power comes
from three Wrtsil engines,
each developing 1,629kW.
Although Mont St Michel
missed three months of sailings
for the time in Santander last
year, 2016 is expected to see
her back as the biggest carrier
in the Brittany Ferries fleet, and
challenging the record figures
achieved in 2015, when on 932
duty. One of Mont St Michels pairings

consists of 39-year-old Captain Erwann
Gabriel (left), who started on cargo
ships before working on Normandie as
mate for two years, and then served
aboardboth Barfleur and Mont St
Michel as chief mate.
Commandant Adjoint Captain Gilles
Marre (right) enjoys the challenge of
different weather on the route, and
the mix of passengers he meets when
he is in charge of the ship.
ABOVE Mont St Michel profile.
Channel sailings a total of 51,727

freight units were transported,
with 132,739 tourist vehicles,
1,358 coaches and 471,383
passengers being carried.
Passenger potential
Brittany Ferries was formed by

Breton farmers who wanted
a direct route to send their
produce to British West
Country markets, and the
company Armement BretagneAngleterre-Ireland (BAI) took
shape under the auspices of
vegetable production combine
SICA. Freight-only sailings

were started on 2 January 1973
by Kerisnel (1972/3,395gt),
which had been taken over
while in build at Vigo, Spain.
A completely new harbour
financed by the French
Government was opened in
Roscoff at Port du Bloscon
while, at Plymouth, Associated
British Ports invested 400,000
in a new Millbay Docks berth
with a 180ft linkspan.
Despite its agricultural
origins, BAI saw the potential
for passenger services and
SHIP OF THE MONTH
On board Mont St Michel
ABOVE Mont St Michel arriving at Ouistreham before turning to berth bow-on.
acted as agents for Vedettes

Armoricaines, who started
sailings from Trinity Pier,
Plymouth to Roscoff using
the small day vessel Poseidon
(1964/1,118gt), chartered
from Stena Line. The name
Brittany Ferries was brought
in after growing demand
prompted an order for
250-passenger/50-car ro-ro
ferry Penn-Ar-Bed, which
appeared in January 1974.
During the following decade
Portsmouth-St Malo and
Plymouth-Santander services
were added, along with a
weekend circuit from Roscoff
to Cork, before the mid-1980s
saw attention focused on
another Channel link between
Portsmouth and Ouistreham.
Brittany Ferries opened the
route in 1986 after previewing
the operation in September of the
previous year when sending the
first Armorique (1972/5,731gt)
across overnight. After she had
berthed in the lock, travel trade
and media guests went ashore via a
small side door from the car deck,
although there was nothing to see
apart from an empty river bank.
Everything had changed with
a terminal, vehicle check-in,
waiting areas and a linkspan
ready for a 6 June 1986 start
of sailings by newly acquired
former Hook of HollandHarwich ferry Prinses Beatrix
(1978/9,356gt), which,
following an extensive internal
refit in Amsterdam, opened the
service as Duc de Normandie.
Traffic grew sufficiently
for Brittany Ferries to order
a purpose-built vessel, the
27,541gt Normandie coming
from the Kvaerner Masa yard
in Turku, Finland for a route
debut in May 1982. As growth
continued, the imbalance
in freight capacity with Duc

de Normandie offering only
528 lane metres compared to
Normandies 1,720, became a
problem that was solved by the
introduction of the 2,245-lanemetre Mont St Michel.
A contract worth 80
million in the name of BAI/
Brittany Ferries associate
Societe Maritime dArmament
du Calvados (SOMACAL)
went to Dutch builders Van
der Giessen de Noord. From
their huge covered hall at
Krimpen an den IJssel, near
Rotterdam, a string of major
ferries, including Koningin
Beatrix (1986/31,189gt), Irish
Ferries pair Isle of Innisfree
(1995/22,365gt) and Isle of
Inishmore (1997/34,031gt),
and sisters Blue Star 1 and Blue
Star 2 for Greek operator Blue
Star Ferries, had been delivered.
Delivery delay
Laid down in March 2001,

Mont St Michel was launched on
15 March 2002, but hopes of
her being completed in time for
summer service that year were
Mont St Michael berths stern-on in

Portsmouth and uses bow doors
in Ouistreham. Extra freight space
was achieved by making the vessel
12.5m longer than Normandie and
eliminating the passenger and crew
cabins outside of the older vessels
vehicle decks.
The main passenger
accommodation on Mont St Michel
is spread over three decks, with five
reserved lounges offering just over
400 seats forward on Deck 7. Then
come the cinemas, a shopping area
and one of the ships most attractive
features, a reception area with
dashed when the yards heavy

workload, which also included
37,460gt ro-pax ferry Pascal
Paoli for SNCM, resulted
in fitting-out delays. These
incurred substantial penalties,
which helped to put Van der
Giessen out of business.
Duc de Normandie moved to
Plymouth for summer 2001,
changing places with Quiberon
(1980/8,314gt), the former
Swedish ferry Nils Dacke that
had been chartered by Brittany
Ferries from 1982 for sailings
to Northern Spain. Quiberons
20-year Brittany Ferries career
ended with sale to the Italian
Lauro Group for use by
Medmar on a route between
Sete and Palma, Majorca, and
she remained in the Med until
scrapped at Alang in 2010.
Mont St Michel did not
begin sea trials until early
in November 2002, and
the completed vessel was
handed over at a ceremony in
Rotterdam on 11 December.
curving staircases leading to the

upper decks.
Cabins occupy the remainder
of the space moving aft, while
the whole of Deck 8 is given over
to public areas, with a self-service
restaurant forward and ala carte
restaurant and coffee shop aft.
Deck 9 features cabins forward
and a central area housing the
Blue Note Bar. Le Cafe du Festival,
further aft, serves pastries, cakes
and sandwiches and opens onto an
outside Sun Deck. Twin cinemas on
Deck 7 are a popular entertainment
feature and each has 60 seats.
She sailed via Portsmouth and

Ouistreham for berthing trials,
before reaching Cherbourg
for final preparations ahead
of a maiden crossing from
Ouistreham under gloomy
skieson 20 December.
MONT ST MICHEL
BUILT
2001-2, Van der

Giessen-de Noord,
Krimpen, yard no.885,
to order of Societe
Maritime dArmament
du Calvados; cost 80m
TONNAGE
35,932gt, 14,309 net,

5,579dwt
MACHINERY
4 x Krupp MAK
9L55GFCA diesel
engines, 21,600kW
SPEED
21.8 knots (trials); 21

knots (service)
CAPACITY
2,170 (796 beds in 224

cabins); 135 crew;
874 cars (2,245 lane
metres)
FLAG
French, registered in
Caen
Mont St Michel
heading for
Portsmouth in
2004. NICHOLAS
LEACH
37
No blame attributed
The loss of HMS Vanguard
James Hendrie looks at the tragedy that overtook
HMS Vanguard in July 1917, with the loss of
hundreds of her crew, leaving just three survivors.
HMS Vanguard only saw action at the

Battle of Jutland in 1916. The rest of her
Naval service was restricted to patrols and
exercises. COPYRIGHT AND PICTURE CREDIT MICHAEL
.W. POCOCK AND WWW.MARTITMEQUEST.COM
he conclusion
of the Board of
Enquiry into
the loss of HMS
Vanguard was that
the members of the Board were
unable to attribute blame to
any person. HMS Vanguard
sank on 9 July 1917 at around
2320 after a series of explosions
on the ship while she was at
anchor in Scapa Flow, Orkney.
Of the 845 men on board,
three survived, one of whom
later died of his wounds,
leaving only two survivors of
this terrible maritime disaster.
This tragic incident remains
one of the highest losses of life
for the Royal Navy in a noncombat incident. Yet trying
to fathom what happened is
not straightforward. HMS
Vanguard exercised during the
day, so there was no reason to

believe such an event was about
to occur, and was anchored at
1830, with the crew preparing
her for a night in the anchorage.
Such was the routine of the
day and night that 15 officers
left HMS Vanguard to attend
a concert on another ship, and
some crew were on leave or
seconded to other ships. Had
they all been on board the
losses would almost certainly
have been higher.
The Enquiry recorded that
the first visible flame came
from just abaft the foremast,
with more major explosions
sending a towering flame into
the night sky from the area of
P and Q turrets. A little while
later another major explosion
caused more flame, smoke and
debris to be shot up and away
from the ship. This showered

down on the surrounding ships,
sea and even on the island of
Flotta over a mile away, where
a 12in gun turret landed. Such
was the smoke surrounding

HMS Vanguard that the
Enquiry could not find anyone
who witnessed her sinking.
The fact that there were only
ABOVE HMS Vanguard, the eighth ship of that name, was ordered on 6 February
1908. She was laid down by Vickers Armstrong at their Barrow-in-Furness shipyard
on 2 April 1908, launched in February 1909 and completed on 1 March 1910.
COPYRIGHT AND PICTURE CREDIT MICHAEL .W. POCOCK AND WWW.MARTITMEQUEST.COM
NAVAL INCIDENT
HMS Vanguard
memorial and graves
at the Royal Navy
Cemetery at Lyness,
on Hoy, Orkney.
two survivors, and a number

of officers not on board when
she sank, made it harder for the
Enquiry to establish the cause
of these explosions. Because
HMS Natal had been sunk less
than two years earlier on the
Cromarty Firth (see SM, Jan
2012), there was a great deal of

suspicion in some quarters, and
sabotage was a consideration.
After the Board of Enquiry
into the loss of HMS Natal,
recommendations were made
to change Royal Navy policies,
procedures and practices when
BELOW As a result of the explosion

that tore HMS Vanguard apart, it was
reported that one of her 12in gun
turrets was blown off, landing on the
island of Flotta over a mile away from
where the warship was anchored.
COPYRIGHT AND PICTURE CREDIT MICHAEL .W.
POCOCK AND WWW.MARTITMEQUEST.COM
dealing with cordite, as it was

cordite exploding on board
Natal that was the cause of
her loss. The Enquiry looked
at this, magazine temperatures
and ventilation, as well as the
possibility of a fire caused by
coal ash or oil leaks.
The subject of actions by
enemy agents was given quite
a lot of attention by the Board
of Enquiry. They considered
the fact that two fitters had
left the ship shortly before the
explosions, one of whom had
done something similar by
leaving HMS Natal shortly
before she blew up. But they
decided that, if enemy agents
had been on board while she
was based at Scapa Flow for
several months, it is likely they
would have acted sooner.
The findings seem to be
more of a compromise than
anything else, with the loss
being attributed to either the
ignition of cordite due to
an avoidable cause, or to an
abnormal deterioration of a
charge of cordite. Those on
the Enquiry, though, could
not rule out the actions of an
enemy agent, or the ignition
of cordite because of it being
unstable. They referred not
only to HMS Natal but also to
HMS Bulwark, which was also
lost to explosion in 1914.
HMS Vanguard was a St
Vincent class Dreadnought
battleship, built at the Vickers,
Sons & Maxim Ltd yard in
Barrow-in-Furness. She was
laid down on 2 April 1908,
launched on 22 February
1909, and commissioned on
1 March that year. She joined
HMS VANGUARD
LAUNCHED
22.2.1909, commissioned 1.3.1910
BUILT
Vickers Sons
& Maxim Ltd,
Barrow-in-Furness
DIMENSIONS
536ft x 84ft x 28ft

draught
DISPLACEMENT
19,700 tons fully

loaded 22,000 tons
MAIN ENGINES
18 x Babcock &
Wilcox tube, coalfired boilers, two
sets of Parsons
direct driven
steam turbines,
each driving two
shafts
SPEED
Up to 21 knots
COMPLEMENT
753 men at launch
ARMAMENT
5 x twin 12in Mk.XI

guns; 20 x single
BL4 Mk.VII guns;
3 x 18in torpedo
tubes
ARMOUR
8-10in belt
5-8in bulkheads
0.75 3in deck
the Home Fleet initially before

transferring to the Grand Fleet
on 24 June 1910. She was the
eighth Royal Navy ship to take
the name Vanguard.
Powered by two sets of
Parson direct drive steam
turbines, which drove two
shafts using steam from 18
large tube coal fired Babcock &
Wilcox boilers. HMS Vanguard
was capable of a top cruising
speed of 21 knots. She had a
range of 6,900 nautical miles
at half the maximum cruising
speed. She carried a fuel load
comprising 2,800 tons of coal
and 940 tons of oil.
She had five twin 12in
Mk.XI gun turrets, with three
along the centreline and the
remaining two on wing turrets.
These main gun turrets were
supplemented by 20 single
BL 4 in Mk.VII guns and
three 18in torpedo tubes. Her
belt armour was eight to ten
inches, the bulkhead armour
up to eight inches and the deck
armour three inches. As with
all ships, refits took place on
many occasions, changing her
armaments and armour.
HMS Vanguards Royal
Navy career up to the Battle
of Jutland was unspectacular.
While serving with the 1st
Division of the Home Fleet
in July 1910, she was present
for King George Vs visit to
39
BELOW As with the loss of HMS Bulwark and HMS Natal,

there were suspicions that the explosion which wrecked
HMS Vanguard was the result of actions of enemy
agents. The Enquiry could not rule out this possibility
when it delivered its findings. Copyright and picture credit
Michael .W. Pocock and www.martitmequest.com
the fleet, and took part in

the Coronation Fleet Review
at Spithead in June 1911.
Exercises and refits followed,
before she moved to the Grand
Fleet, and by 1914 she was
making regular patrols from
Scapa Flow.
By May 1916 Vanguard was
under the command of Captain
James Dick and was part of
the 4th Division of the 4th
Battle Squadron at the Battle
of Jutland. It was here that she
fired her guns in anger, with
her shells helping to cripple
the German light cruiser SMS
Wiesbaden in the initial action.
She engaged other German
ships during the battle without
causing them damage, firing
almost 100 shells from her guns.
Following the Battle of
Jutland, the German High Seas
Fleet rarely if ever put out to
sea and therefore, like many
other Royal Navy ships, HMS
Vanguard was confined to
patrols and exercises. It is tragic
to think that she came through
such an epic and important
naval battle without a single life
being lost among her crew, yet
a year later the crew were wiped

out due to an accident.
The survivors
The two men who survived

were Stoker F. W. Cox
and Royal Marine Private
J. Williams. LieutenantCommander A. C. H. Duke
died of his wounds two
days after the explosion. His
grave is contained in the
HMS Vanguard section of
the Royal Navy Cemetery at
Lyness on the island of Hoy,
Orkney, along with 17 other
sailors whose bodies could
be identified and 23 of their
colleagues who could not.
Interestingly, one of the
little-known victims of the
loss was Captain Kyosuke Eto,
a member of the Imperial
Japanese Navy, working as a
military observer as part of
the alliance that existed at that
time between the Royal Navy
and the Japanese Navy. It
was only the previous month
that Captain Eto had been
presented, by Admiral Sturdee,
to King George V during the
Kings visit to Scapa Flow.
NAVAL INCIDENT
ABOVE Various parts of HMS Vanguard on the ocean floor seen in the 1970s when
diving on the wreck was allowed. STEVE CLARKSON
ABOVE At the south end of the three straight rows of immaculately maintained
graves stands a Celtic cross memorial to HMS Vanguard, which was erected by the
relatives and squadron mates of those killed.
HMS Vanguard was a St Vincent

Class Dreadnought battleship
commissioned by the Royal
Navy in 1910. Copyright and picture
credit Michael .W. Pocock and www.
martitmequest.com
With little rescue effort

on the night of the loss
of Vanguard due to the
suddenness of the events, the
Royal Navy mounted a fullscale effort with divers in the
following days to recover the
bodies that had gone down
with the ship. There was also
a need to find evidence as
to what might have caused
the explosions. Bodies were
recovered, but for many of the
crew their final resting place
became the wreck itself.
The wreck of HMS
Vanguard is now a controlled
site under the Protection of
Military Remains Act 1986,
and diving within 100m of it
is prohibited. Vanguard lies
in less than 34m of water two
miles north of Flotta, and
divers have reported wreckage
and ammunition littering the
seabed around the area. A buoy
was placed over it in the 1980s
to designate it a war grave.
The wreck is in three
sections, with the bow section
being the most intact part.
This is probably where many of
the bodies of those who died
remain. Those that have seen
this part of the wreck say that it
still resembles a ship. The rest
of the site is just as you would
expect the wreck of a ship torn
apart by explosions to be.
Pictures taken during the
1970s, when diving on the
wreck site was permitted, show
shells and other ordnance lying
around the seabed. The turbine
blades are some distance from
the wreck, showing the force of
the explosions were enough to
rip them from the engines.
Some recovery work has been
carried out and, as a result,
there are some fascinating
artefacts on display at the Scapa

Flow Visitor Centre at Lyness.
There is a damaged porthole,
which was recovered from the
wreck, as well as a brass range
finder, an ashtray and a pistol,
which is rather the worse for
wear. The Stromness Museum
also has various items about the
tragedy on display.
The loss of HMS Vanguard
has been the subject of poems,
reflecting the pain felt by many
for the great loss of so many
Royal Naval personnel. The
tragedy is widely remembered
across the UK by Naval
personnel and the descendants
of those who perished. And,
more poignantly, it is also
remembered simply in a small
corner of the Royal Navy
Cemetery at Lyness, close to
where the still unexplained
events took place.
ABOVE The Celtic cross memorial to

HMS Vanguard, which stands at the
Royal Navy Cemetery in Lyness.
41
Home from home

Six years working on a tanker
Richard Jolliffe recalls his time at sea in the 1970s
as a Radio Officer on board the tanker Esso Scotia.
went to sea in 1970 as a

Radio Officer with the
International Marine
Radio Company. When
I got married, I wanted
to travel with my wife, and
IMR found us Esso Scotia. We
both liked the ship, and the
crew made us most welcome.
I ended up staying on the ship
for six years, half of her life.
From a distance all Esso
VLCCs looked the same, but
there were differences in the
design, with different ships
under the French, German,
Liberian and UK flags. The
UK VLCC fleet consisted of
Esso Anglia, Esso Bernicia, Esso
Caledonia, Esso Cambria, Esso
Dalriada, Esso Demetia, Esso
Hibernia, Esso Mercia, Esso
Northumbria, Esso Scotia and
Esso Ulidia.
Each ship had a mix of
permanent and relieving staff.
Most stayed on the same ship
for a few years, being relieved
every three months. Some
just acted as reliefs, doing one
voyage and alternating between
a couple of ships. The ship had
a very dedicated crew. Normally
there were 40 working on
board, about six of whom had
their wives with then.
The level of radio traffic was
high. Once I spoke to a passing
RIGHT The VLCC Esso

Scotia unloading at
Kashima, Japan.
liner which had no fewer than

three Radio Officers, whose
total telegram word count was
less than ours with just one
operator. We later had radio
telex fitted, which should have
made life easier, but it just
meant they could send more
radio traffic.
Ships normally posted letters
for stores at their ports of
call, but this was not so on
the Scotia. They sent all their
requests by telegram, every
item right down to individual
nuts and bolts. One stores telex
was so long it took an hour to
send. We also had a lot of radio
telephone traffic, as an Esso
perk was a free call home every
month this was a great bonus
for the crew and was well used.
Every telegram we received
usually needed an instant reply.
The radio room was three
decks down from my cabin.
This meant I was near my wife,
ABOVE Esso Singapore at Ras Tanura, 7 November 1976.
who kindly supplied me with

numerous cups of tea. She had
a great social life, as there were
many visitors to the ship, as
well as other wives on board.
The Radio Room was
excellent, being fitted with the
latest kit. The main transmitter
was the ITT ST 1400, running
one kilowatt. The main receiver
was a Redifon R408. The
emergency transmitter was the

IMR113. There were two long
transmitting wire aerials, and
our call sign was GZJG.
Our itinerary would be
radioed to us just before arrival
in the Gulf. One or two ports
would be down to load and
discharge and the ship would
spend about a week in the Gulf,
with about 36 hours alongside.
RECOLLECTIONS
The most common ports for
discharge were Milford Haven
and Fawley, although Scotia
could not go to the latter port
if she had a full load.
When off Cape Town, we
had a visit from the Court
Line helicopter, and off Dubai
a launch came alongside to
change any crew and deliver
post and stores. But most of
the time on board was spent at
sea. Sometimes an entire threemonth tour of duty would
involve just one voyage.
The ship usually loaded oil at

the impressive Ras Tanura sea
island terminal in Saudi Arabia,
built on a peninsula extending
into the Persian Gulf, or Kharg
Island, an island in the Persian
Gulf belonging to Iran. At
Kharg there was a seamans
mission, and at Ras Tanura we
would be docked with other
super tankers. Some of the
largest ships in the world were
there, and I managed to walk
along the quay to photograph
the VLCCs.
ABOVE Esso Scotia at Ras Tanura, photographed from another VLCC.
ABOVE Esso Scotia at Ras Tanura, taken from the jetty in November 1976.
ABOVE The stores are lowered aboard, with the ship off Cape Town.
ESSO SCOTIA
LAUNCHED
31.3.1969
BUILT
1969 by A G Weser
Bremen. Yard number
1370
TRIALS
Off Spain, arrived back

14.10.1969 at Milford
Haven at end of
maiden voyage
SIZE
1,141ft 9in x 170ft,

draught 65ft 5in max
TONNAGE
127,158 grt 98,471 net

253,962dwt
MAIN
ENGINES
Steam turbines,
speed up to 16 knots
HULL
All welded hull with

11 cargo tanks
NOTES
The largest ship to

be launched from a
slipway when built
43
Many tugs were needed

to assist the ship when she
was docking at Fawley,
and it seemed most of the
Southampton tug fleet was in
attendance. On 23 February
1970 Scotia became the second
250,000dwt tanker to call at
the port. Her bridge wing was a
great vantage point from which
to take photographs.
Life on board
ABOVE VLCC Moscliff and the smaller tanker Sanko Honour at Ras Tanura Sea
Island, 6 May .1977.
ABOVE The view from the bridge wing was great for photography, and provided
a good vantage point to watch as the 1975-built tanker Esso Severn (11,897gt)
arrived at Fawley.
1978 TIMELINE
A typical year for Esso Scotia saw
her undertake several voyages
8Jan Left Fawley

27Feb Arrived Ras Tanura
1Mar Left Ras Tanura bound
Europort and Fawley
10Apr
25Apr
Left Fawley for Bahrain
Left Sidi Kreir in Egypt

for Rotterdam Europoort
10May Left Rotterdam

Europoort for Ras Tanura
18Jun
21Jun
ABOVE Abqaiq 5 (1962/293gt) was one

of the Ras Tanura tugs.
Arrived at Ras Tanura

Left Ras Tanura for
Aruba
14Aug Sailed Aruba for Bahrain

26Oct Left Ras Tanura for
Fawley
1Dec
4Dec
Arrived Europort
9Dec
Passed Las Palmas
Left Europoort for
Bahrain
ABOVE Esso Scotia helping the yacht

Tai Pan in the South China Seas.
The ships social life revolved

around the swimming pool and
the bar, although there were
strict alcohol limits, and movies
were shown on some evenings.
The food was good, with a wide
choice on offer. To celebrate the
Queens Silver Jubilee in 1977,
our Purser and Chief Cook went
out of their way to produce an
excellent menu. We had three
lobsters each on a bed of rice,
followed by knickerbocker
glories. We put the flags up that
day and celebrated.
As the ship was so large, it was
easy to get plenty of exercise
just by walking round it. But it
was not completely against the
rules to smoke on deck. There
was a line drawn on the deck by
the accommodation. Forward
of that was no smoking, but
aft, when at sea, the crew were
allowed to smoke.
There was never any shortage
of work to do when on board.
At the start of each trip the
tanks had to be cleaned. Then
repairs to the cargo gear were
carried out. We had a number
of fires in the engine room, and
on occasion pipes would also
break free on deck. We once
had a blackout when near the
Nab Tower, and on another
voyage a large team sailed with
the ship to the Persian Gulf
to repair a tank. Once we had
different cargoes in two tanks,
and on arrival at Rotterdam
Europoort the cargoes were
mixed together, which proved
to be an expensive mess to sort
out. We also had leaks from the
bow and had to have repairs
done, and it was a constant
battle to keep the cargo where
it should have been.
Esso Scotia rolled when in
ballast, and the hull flexed
in heavy seas, which was a
strangely horrible motion. The
accommodation block moved
up and down and you could see
a slight flexing along the deck.
On one voyage we were caught
in a storm off the Cape and

suffered some damage. There
was a considerable difference
between the height above water
when the ship was empty and
when it was full.
Safety on board
Safety was a big issue with

Esso. If any ship in the fleet
had an accident, telegrams or
telexes were sent to every other
ship, and each had to have an
acknowledgment telegram from
the Captain. A meeting would
be arranged to discuss how to
prevent this happening again,
and the crews suggestions
were then forwarded to other
Esso ships, relayed via Esso.
This resulted in considerable
radio traffic, but we got
coupons if the ship and fleet
had been safe.
We had a number of
incidents involving other
vessels. Once, we came upon
the yacht Tai Pan in the
South China Seas, whose
crew claimed they were out of
drinking water. We manned the
fire hoses in case it was pirates,
but it was in fact just normal
yachtsmen delivering this yacht.
In 1979 we were involved
with the loss of the tanker
Aviles (15,409grt, ex Great
Loyalty, Stolt Albatross,
Barrancabermeia), which
had been in Singapore near
us, but which blew up a few
weeks later and split in two
on 28 June 1979, 280 miles
north-west of Cochin, India,
when on a voyage from Aden
to Jakarta. The Scotias officer
on watch had seen the radar
echo break into two. We spent
all day rescuing as many of the
My last view of
Esso Scotia.
RECOLLECTIONS
ABOVE The bad storm off the Cape, which did some damage.
ABOVE Esso Scotia was very low in the water when full.
ABOVE VLCC Texaco Europe at Ras Tanura in 1975.
ABOVE All cargo was loaded through the manifold.
ABOVE One of the last photographs of the unfortunate Aviles in port.
tankers crew as we could, but

12 people were never found.
The Indian Navy continued
the search while we went at
full speed to Dubai to land the
rescued crew. Amazingly, the
ships logs were never called for
during the inquiry.
Esso Scotia was a very happy
ship, in fact one of the best I
ever sailed on. Everyone and
the ship seemed very busy.
Looking back now it is very
surprising that she was sent to
the breakers after relatively few
years of service, but supply and
demand changes very fast in
the oil business. Sometimes we
were running at full speed, and

at other times at slow speed.
In 1979 Esso decided to
tender for the radio services,
and IMR lost the contract, so
I left the ship. I saw her once
again in Fawley later that year,
but then no more. Scotia kept
her name throughout, but after
only 12 years service she arrived at
Kaohsiung for breaking up by Hai
Kwang Steel Enterprise.
She left Ras Tanura on 9 April
1981, passing Singapore Roads
on 28 April, left Busan on 3 June
1981 and arrived at Kaohsiung
on 6 June, but had a collision
after her moorings broke. Now,
looking back at my time on Esso
Scotia, she really was a home from
home, and I thoroughly enjoyed
my time working on her.
ABOVE Almost the entire

Southampton tug fleet was used to
help dock Esso Scotia at Fawley.
45
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Grimaldi Lines 2010-built ro-ro vessel Eurocargo Malta

(32,647gt) arriving at Valletta, Malta on 7 March, as part of
her Mediterranean rotation. GAETANO SPITERI
Ships Pictorial
Have you an outstanding photo that would grace our gallery? Send your image to Ships Monthly for
inclusion in these pages, which showcase the best in ship photography around the world.
The Sietas-built heavylift cargo vessel Regine
(12,007dwt) departs Aberdeen on 10 February
for Batam in Indonesia after loading project
cargo. Built in 2009, she is strengthened for
heavy cargo and has a hold measuring 107m
by 17m by 13.1m. DAVID DODDS
47
The JMSDFs Hatsuyuki class

destroyer Shirayuki in the Uraga
Channel on the way to Sagami Bay
to take part in the fleet review on
18October 2015. Mitsuhiro Kadota
The 1992-built P&O ferry Pride of

Kent arriving at Calais from Dover.
She has been on the route since
2003, having operated from Dover to
Zeebrugge prior to that. Brian Maxted
48 Junea 2016 www.shipsmonthly.com
The cruise ship Magellan (46,052gt) at

Tilbury. Formerly Carnivals Holiday and
Ibero Cruises Grand Holiday, she has
been operated by Cruise & Maritime
Voyages since spring 2015. Fraser Gray
Ships Pictorial
The Hong Kong (China)-flagged

2012-built general cargo ship
Huanghai Glory (20,682gt) berths
at Rio De Janeiro on 24 December
2015, having spent three years of
continuous service on Rickmers
round-the-world service. Jan Plug
49
The 2012-built cargo vessel Virage

(2,281gt) departing with a part
cargo of ball clay. ALL PHOTOS BY DAVID
WALKER UNLESS STATED
Teignmouth
T
he picturesque
town of
Teignmouth in
South Devon is
also a thriving
coastal port, and has weathered
two world wars, as well as the
recent recession, to successfully
continue in business.
Following a century being
under the management of the
Teignmouth Quay Company,
the port was acquired by
Associated British Ports in
1987, and since then the port
has grown, so that now it
enjoys a stable trade in both
import and export cargoes.
A modern coastal port
The port consists of four

river berths. The eastern quay is
119m long, while the western
quay is 300m and is used as
three berths of 90m each.
Previously, the port had two
small docks. These, however,
were filled in, as the increasing
size of coastal ships using the
port had made them largely
redundant by the 1990s. The
most recent modification to
the port infrastructure came in
2005, when the remaining dock
was filled in and the western
quay straightened and extended
further into the river.

Ships entering the port have
to negotiate the mouth of
the Teign, and the entrance
to the port restricts the
size of vessel that can be
accommodated. The approach
channel is dredged to a depth
of approximately five metres,
and, having crossed the bar, an
arriving ship must negotiate a
sharp right-hand turn into the
river, rounding the sand spit
known locally as the Point.
Although ships over 100m
in length have used the port,
recent changes to the Point have

meant that vessels between 80
and 100m are the norm. In
addition to this, ships generally
swing prior to berthing, so
that they are facing downriver
for sailing, meaning the width
of the navigable channel off
the quays is another limit
to the size of ships that can
be handled. By deadweight
tonnage, the largest vessel to
have used the port is Celtic
Crusader (1992/5,861dwt),
which carried a cargo of ball
clay in November 2000.
PORT PROFILE
ABOVE Capella was typical of the coasters that called at Teignmouth during the
1950s and 1960s to export clay. GORDON C. WALKER
ABOVE A view of the port in the 1960s from the smaller of two clay ramps. In the
background can be seen the ports then extensive railway system. The dock on
the right hand side of the photograph was in-filled in 1992. TOM WALKER
The port of Teignmouth is an important part

of the South Devon economy, importing and
exporting cargoes for local companies to
and from the near continent and beyond, as
David Walker explains.
The longest ship, at 124m,
was Professor Viktor Vologdin
(1986/5,585dwt), which called
in February 2001.
Pilotage is provided by two
pilots, who operate from the
pilot vessel Syd Hook under the
jurisdiction of the local harbour
master. Additional support is
provided by a Damen-built
Stan tug, Teign C, and both
of these vessels are owned
by Teignmouth Harbour
Commission. TeignC is
regularly used as a bed leveller
to maintain the approach
channel, and stands in as the

reserve pilot boat. Over time,
the channel fills in due to the
natural cycle of the wind and
tide, and the Cornish dredger
Mannin (1972/172gt) is
periodically chartered for a few
days to undertake a dredging
programme.
Teignmouth is probably best
known as an export port for
ball clay. The clay, mined locally
at Kingsteignton and Newton
Abbot, has been exported for
many years. Having initially
been loaded from barges mid-
ABOVE Paper Moon rounding the Point inward bound.
ABOVE The ports pilot boat Syd Hook leaving a ship, having boarded a pilot.
51
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PORT PROFILE
Clare Christine (2009/2,545gt)
arriving from Rotterdam to
discharge animal feed.
ABOVE The view from the river beach, late afternoon, with the 2010-built
Amadeus Gold (1,767gt) on a lay-by berth prior to commencing work.
ABOVE The 1992-built coaster Lass Mars (1,512gt) discharging slag from the steel
mills at Port Talbot on the Big Ramp. DAVID WALKER
river, ships were subsequently

loaded via clay ramp (to this
day, two of the berths at
the port are known as the
Big Ramp and Small Ramp,
although the ramps themselves
are long gone), and a ship
would be moved up and down
the berth at high water so that
lorries could back up on the
ramp and offload their cargo
into the appropriate hold.
Nowadays, ships are loaded by
Until the mid-1960s tankers

were a regular sight, bringing
shipments of French cider to be
blended by local cider makers
near Exeter, from where it was
distributed by road tanker.
This trade eventually moved to
nearby Exmouth, before being
phased out altogether. Coal was
also regularly imported, mainly
being used at Newton Abbot
power station, situated upriver
from the port.
crane. The clay itself is exported

to a range of countries, going
to Mediterranean ports as well
as destinations in the Baltic,
and is used in the production
of paper and cosmetics, among
many other things.
As well as exporting clay,
Teignmouth handles a variety
of import cargoes, although
the range of cargoes transiting
the port has diminished since
the immediate post-war years.
TEIGNMOUTH FACTS
OPERATOR
Associated
British Ports
LARGEST SHIP (BY

DEADWEIGHT)
Celtic Crusader
(5,861dwt)
LONGEST SHIP
Professor Viktor
Vologdin (124m)
IMPORT TONNAGE
235,000 tonnes
(2014)
EXPORT
TONNAGE
154,000 tonnes
(2014)
53
Faversham Shippings coaster Nordstrand

departing for Fowey to load the balance of
a cargo of clay. David Walker
ABOVE Paper Moon (1990/2,292gt) approaching the point inward bound. She is a
regular caller, bringing animal feed from Amsterdam and Rotterdam.
ABOVE The 2005-built cargo ship RMS Goole (2,069gt) arriving at Teignmouth, with
the Ness headland at Shaldon in the background.
Currently, the ports imports

are mainly connected with
local agricultural needs, with
various types of animal feed
and fertiliser being imported.
A local agricultural firm, Mole
Valley Farmers, operates a
bagging facility, from where the
trans-shipped bulk cargoes from
the continent are distributed
across the south west.
In 2005 a facility was built on
former Lapthorn vessels of the

Gillie Blair fleet. Now, with the
downturn in steel production
due to the recent recession,
shipments are less frequent.
Teignmouth is also equipped
to handle project cargoes, such
as the four furnaces delivered
in 2011 for a new incinerator
on the outskirts of Exeter.
The furnaces arrived on the
general cargo vessel Filia
the eastern quay for importing

basic slag from the steel mills
in Port Talbot, and for several
years two or three shipments
were received per month. This
trade was originally operated
by the five Lass vessels,
with shipments arriving every
two weeks; soon after the
acquisition of the Lass vessels by
Faversham Shipping, the service
was undertaken by the three
Nettie (2008/2,950dwt) and

were discharged using a large
crane hired for the occasion.
Teignmouth has also been
used as a base for the repairs
of the sea wall at Dawlish,
which collapsed during the
storms of the winter of 2014,
and recently welcomed its first
cruise ship, Hebridean Princess,
which called in July 2015.
With the recent recession,
PORT PROFILE
The Netherlands-flagged coaster Calypso (2011/2,545gt) arriving from Boston in ballast, to load clay for Ravenna.
the amount of cargo handled

has declined, although in 2014
approximately 400,000 tons of
cargo went through the port.
The amount of clay exported
is significantly less than at its
peak of around 400,000 tons

a year around 2000. However,
it continues to be exported at
a steady rate. In contrast, the
ports total import cargoes have
increased, thanks in part to the slag
cement cargoes from Port Talbot,

as well as agricultural cargoes for
Mole Valley Farmers.
Thanks to Tom Walker and
Mike Swallow for their assistance
in preparing this article.
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ABOVE Built by Mitsubishi in 1992 as Hercules, Blue Star Ferries ro-ro ferry Blue
Galaxy departs for Chania in Crete.
Aegean
crossroads
In July 2015 Colin J. Smith spent a day in Piraeus,
at the crossroads of the Aegean, enjoying a
grandstand view of passenger shipping from the
decks of the Cunard cruise ship Queen Victoria.
stablished in
493 AD by
Themistocles,
politician, general
and father of the
Athenian navy, the Greek port of
Piraeus lies at the crossroads of
the Aegean Sea. Construction of
the fortifications of Piraeus was
completed in 479BC following
the Battle of Salamis, won by
the Greeks under the leadership
of Themistocles, and the
ancient port was completed by
Pericles around 431BC, during
the Golden Age of Athens.
Piraeus flourished for a
time, but, following the
Peloponnesian War, Roman
invasion and occupation and
invasion by the Goths in 395
BC, it then suffered decline
for 15 centuries. The modern
port of Piraeus developed
following the creation of the
modern Greek state in 1832,
and it quickly became the
countrys leading port. The
Port Committee, set up in
1911, was the forerunner of the
present Piraeus Port Authority,
which was established in
1930. During World War

II significant damage was
inflicted upon Piraeus, but
following the liberation of
Greece, the port played an
increasingly important role in
the rebuilding of the country
as a whole. Since1945 it has
been significantly upgraded
and extended, and this process
continues to the present day.
Piraeus today
Today, the Port of Piraeus is the

largest and busiest ferry port
in Greece, playing a key role
in the transport infrastructure
and economy of the country.
Handling around 20 million
domestic and international
passengers annually, Piraeus
is the busiest passenger port
in Europe, and is the central
hub of services between the
mainland, Aegean islands and
Crete, in addition to being the
main south-eastern sea gateway
of the European Union.
Ferry services to the Greek
islands are provided by a range
of ferry operators of varying
sizes. Regular ferries range
ABOVE Blue Star Ferries 6,939gt ferry Diagoras arrives at the end of her long
journey from Kastelorizo, Rhodes and the Dodecanese islands.
ABOVE A local passenger ferry service is provided from Piraeus to Salamis by

Salamina Lines, which operates a fleet of six small passenger vessels, including
Elena F, pictured here.
greek shipping
ABOVE Formerly operated on the Rosyth-Zeebrugge route, Blue Star 1 (2000) of

Blue Star Ferries arrives at Piraeus from Heraklion.
ABOVE Built by Mitsubishi in 1987 as Kiso, Hellenic Seaways ferry Nissos Rodos
makes an early departure on her sailing to Syros, Patmos and Mykonos.
ABOVE Anek Lines ferry Kydon (1990), formerly Sophocles V, is a sistership of Blue
Galaxy and is seen arriving at Piraeus from Chania.
Cruise business is booming at Piraeus: here, Princess Cruises

2003-built Island Princess (91,627gt) turns in the confines of
the harbour prior to an early-evening departure.
57
Formerly an Ionian Islands ferry, Zante

Ferries 1985-built Andreas Kalvos
departs on her regular sailing from
Piraeus to Kythnos, Serifos, Sifnos,
Milos and Kimolos.
ABOVE Dating from 2007, 2Way Ferries double-ended vessel Achaeos (2,255gt)
operates for Saronic Ferries between Piraeus, Aegina and Agistri.
ABOVE Hellenic Seaways ferry Nissos
Mykonos (2005) makes an early-morning
departure for the Central Cyclades,
Ikaria and Samos.
in size from Minoan Lines

Knossos Palace and Festos
Palace and Blue Star Lines
Blue Star1, operating on long
distance routes to Crete, to the
small passenger ferries which
carry passengers to the nearby
island of Salamis.
Piraeus welcomes around
700 cruise ships every year,
making it one of the most
popular destinations in the
Mediterranean. It has 11 cruise
ship berths, five of which
can handle the larger new
generation cruise vessels, and
has a total length of 2,800m
of quayside. Further seaward
The 2006-built cruise ship MSC Musica departs

from Piraeus bound for Mykonos.
greek shipping
Ferry operators and services from Piraeus
Ferry routes and operators in Greece change fairly regularly, but the table
below summarises the services operated from Piraeus in 2015.
ABOVE Outward bound for Paros, Naxos, Ios and Santorini, the powerful Koreanbuilt Blue Star Delos of 2011 heels to starboard as she rounds the breakwater.
expansion is planned to provide

three new cruise berths, each
of 400m in length. Piraeus
offers an endless procession of
vessels arriving and departing,

and really is a must visit port
for the ferry and cruise ship
enthusiast.
ABOVE The 1,890-passenger Blue Star 2 departs on her outward run to Syros,
Patmos, Leros, Kos and Rhodes.
Ferry Operator
Destinations Served
Aegean Flying Dolphins
Saronic Islands
Aegean Speed Lines
Cyclades Islands
ANEK
Crete
ANES
Aegina
Blue Star Ferries
Crete, Cyclades Islands, Dodecanese, NE Aegean
Hellenic Seaways
Saronic Islands, Cyclades Islands
Ionis Ferries
Saronic Islands
Lane Lines
Western Aegean, Crete, Cyclades Islands
Minoan Lines
Crete
Nova Ferries
Saronic Islands
Salamina Lines
Salamis
Saronic Ferries
Saronic Islands
Seajet
Cyclades Islands
Zante Ferries
Cyclades Islands
ABOVE Built in 1977, Ionis operates for Ionis Ferries and is employed on services
linking Piraeus with Aegina, Methana and Poros.
Built in 1980, Nova Ferries Phivos sails twice daily

from Piraeus to the islands of Aegina, Methana and
Poros, being operated by Saronic Ferries.
59
ships mail
Write to Ships Mail, Ships Monthly, Kelsey Publishing, Cudham Tithe Barn, Berrys Hill, Cudham,
Kent TN16 3AG, or email sm.ed@kelsey.co.uk. Please note that letters via email must enclose
senders 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. Kelsey Publishing reserves the
right to reuse any submission sent in any format.
Help Balmoral
The 1949-built motor vessel Balmoral,

a classic excursion ship, will return to
service in May for a second season
under new ownership and will be
operating on the South Coast, the
Thames and the Clyde, as well as
the Bristol Channel and Irish Sea.
In preparation for the season, we
are looking for volunteers to help
distribute literature and posters
before sailings start in each area and
then, on sailing days, to act as Pier
Hosts, welcoming passengers before
the vessel arrives and acting as liaison
between ship and shore.
There are also opportunities for
supporters who are sailing to sell
Sailing Route Guides and the Balmoral
Gazette around the decks once the
ship sails, as well as raffle tickets,
chatting to fellow passengers about
the ship during the sailing. We would
also welcome new blood to join our
Regal Princess
I enjoyed the piece on Regal Princess
(SM, Dec 2015), on which I had the
pleasure of cruising the Mediterranean
last June. My cabin was two decks
down and just in front of the Seawalk.
She was a wonderful ship, with lots of
space, and it was hard to believe there
were over 3,500 guests on board.
On leaving port, she plays the Love
Boat theme on her musical horns,
bringing a wonderful response from
passengers on other cruise ships.
Denis Robinson
Northfield, South Australia
Lemos and Ellerman

The history of Lemos shipping (SM,
Mar) brought my attention to the
three former Ellerman & Papayanni/
Westcott Laurence steamers Anatolian,
Lancastrian and Almerian, which
passed to Lemos in the late 1960s.
Originally built for Ellermans (E&P/
WL) Mediterranean/Black Sea service,
these somewhat smaller examples
were among the last of the classical
British cargo ships. They were three
from a batch of four new steamers
and disrupting sailing schedules.

I served as third and fourth
engineer on Anatolian, and as third
engineer on Castilian, the fourth ship
of the group. By then these vessels
were becoming obsolete, having had a
trading life of little more than 20 years.
It is a great pity that no examples
of this historic type remain. They
were developed from the early days
of steam power and helped Britains
world trade through two world wars,
the Cold War and well into the 1960s.
There is a need to remember this
era of our maritime history and the
sacrifices made by the crews.
Stephen B. Kinrade
Essex
RMS St Helena crest
small team of commentators and

local knowledge is particularly useful.
Most SM readers already have
knowledge of and enthusiasm for
shipping matters, so if any live near
the sailing areas, we hope that
some might be willing to help us.
So that prospective volunteers may
learn more about what is involved,
we have established a Balmoral
Support website: tinyurl.com/
balmoralsupport. This gives details of
all the volunteer opportunities, as

well as details of how to contact us.
Being a volunteer with Balmoral
is a challenging but rewarding
experience particularly when you
see passengers enjoying sailing
round our coasts again. With a full
operating season this year, we need
a lot more help, so please sign up
and join us on a unique ship.
Dick Clague, Northwich
dick.balmoral@gmail.com
delivered to the company in the mid1950s to a design by Wm Gray & Sons,

West Hartlepool, although two were
constructed in other shipyards.
The propulsion plant was designed
and manufactured for all four vessels
by Central Marine Engine Works.
Sometimes known as the first and
last ships, they were the first ships in
the E&P fleet to feature steel folding/
retractable deck hatch covers, and
the last steamers to enter service with
E&P. The last steamship delivered to

the Ellerman group was Almerian.
These ships were capable of
withstanding all kinds of weather and
dealing with rudimentary port facilities
in and around the Mediterranean and
Black Seas. The trade placed a heavy
demand upon the deck machinery and
cargo gear, as at many ports the cargo
was hauled over the ships side into
lighters. Weather played a part in these
operations, affecting safe cargo handling
Regarding the crest on the funnel

of RMS St Helena (SM, April), this has
nothing to do with the carriage of
Royal Mail. When Curnow Shipping
won a 15-year contract to operate
the island lifeline to St Helena Island
in 1977, Governor Geoffrey Guy was
asked what his government wanted
to display on the funnel, as Curnow
Shippings funnel colours (two shades
of blue) would not be appropriate.
He suggested the use of the sea lion
from the English East India Companys
coat of arms. Taking this theme,
Mrs Tony Gable, wife of one of the
companys chief officers, submitted
the most favoured design. It was
originally on a green background, but
was changed to blue when St Helena
(2) of 1990 came out with the blue
hullcolour scheme.
Andrew Bell
Porthleven, Cornwall
Not the most westerly

Your excellent piece on Penzance and
Newlyn (SM, April) describes them as
the most westerly ports in the UK and
The worlds largest car carriers come to Bristol

With regard to the news item about
the largest car carriers (SM, Apr,
p.17), my understanding is that the
new K Line ships, at 199m x 38m and
76,500gt, are larger than the Hoegh
ships. Hamburg Highway recently
called at Royal Portbury Dock, Bristol,
where I photographed her. She arrived
from the Far East via various ports in
the Med. I am not sure if this was her
first time in Europe, but it was her first
call at Bristol. We cant let the Tyne get
too many over on us down here!
Arthur Terry, Portishead
Readers Pages
Information about Irrawaddy steamers in Burma

Regarding the request for information
about Irrawaddy steamers (SM, Feb),
Myat Yadana was built as Minthamee,
one of eight sisters which were
ordered by the Irrawaddy Flotilla
Co as part of a very large order of
replacements for their war losses in
Burma. Known as the M class, four
came from Yarrow & Co of Scotstoun,
and four from Dennys of Dumbarton.
The design was a development
of the pre-war M and S classes for
passenger, cargo and cargo carrying.
The steamers were delivered to
Rangoon in kit form and reassembled
at the Dalla Dockyard. The ships were
delivered in late 1947-48 and were
completed about a year later. They
were of medium size compared with
the pre-war ships of the Siam class.
The original design featured a twothe British Isles, but this is not correct.
Apart from all the ports in Northern
Ireland (UK) or the Republic (British
Isles), as far as the British mainland is
concerned, Mallaig lies farther west. As
well as its daily Cal Mac ferries to Skye
and the Small Isles, Mallaig still has a
busy commercial fishing trade, albeit
no longer the famous herring fishery,
Walter McCormick
Basingstoke, Hampshire
Your interesting article on Britains
most westerly ports (SM, Apr) places
Cruising memories
I read with interest the article on
the start of cruising (SM, Feb), as
I was at sea from the late 1950s
until 1990, and it reminded me
of my days with Cunard. I was
on Mauretania, cruising the
Mediterranean, and also on Queen
Elizabeth on a Mediterranean
cruise before we crossed the
Atlantic to start Nassau cruises
from New York in 1964. I have dug
out an advert for these cruises and
I wondered if any other reader had
any memories of these days?
Phil Hughes
Broadstairs, Kent
thirds-length upper deck, with limited

passenger accommodation. This was
later changed to a full-length upper
deck and extensive accommodation.
In 1962 General Ne Win seized
power and took over Minthamee for
his use, as in the presidential York. She
Penzance and Newlyn too far west. As
far as I am aware, Stornoway is further
west than Penzance and Newlyn, and
there are a number of other smaller
ports in the Outer Hebrides which are
also west of the Cornish pair.
Hugh Morton
Newport-on-Tay, Fife
Serving on Bermuda
The article about HMS Bermuda
(SM, Mar) was of much interest. As a
young Engine Room Artificer, I served
on Bermuda from 8 January 1960
to 21 June 1962. This included the
memorable visit to Bermuda itself in
February 1962, which coincided with
the ships 21st birthday. Bermuda was
the Islands adopted ship.
These old Colony class cruisers were
great ships to train on and obtain your
various engine room tickets from.
Bermuda went for reserve and then
scrap just after I left her, and after our
last foreign visit to Copenhagen and
Sweden. During my time we were the
naval presence for the Independence
celebrations of Nigeria, Sierra Leone
and the British Cameroons.
Alan Petrie
Lee-on-the-Solent
operated as such until 1995, when she

was sold, and renamed and refitted in
2000. She then operated short cruises
until 2004, when she was laid up at
Pagan. In 2010 she was still there,
being slowly refitted. All main and
upper deck housing, plus the bridge
I also remember sailing with Bob
Baxter, skipper of Largo and Red Nab,
two of the hoppers which dumped
spoil off Lune Deeps, and having a
bacon buttie grilled on a coal shovel
in the coal-fired boiler on the grab
dredger Hessian. If I was really lucky,
I got to look round one of the three
Dukes operating the mail boat service
to Belfast. I was later to be a member
of Duke of Lancasters deck crew
sailing on the Heysham-Belfast run and
summer Scottish Isles cruises.
After service on Duke of Lancaster
I worked ashore, prior to becoming
a sea fishery officer. I later assisted
in the running of a boating centre
area, were painted white. Her paddle

boxes are recent modifications as the
original design had concealed paddle
boxes as on some Clyde steamers.
The M class was in operation until
1981, but I understand that survivors
were converted to diesel power
shortly afterwards, with the exception
of Myat Yadana. They measured 204ft
7in by 34ft, original gross tonnage
340-427, and were powered by a single
three-cylinder triple expansion engine
with one oil-fired boiler of 185psi.
Mark Bedford
London
on Coniston Water, prior to being
appointed skipper of the National
Trusts restored steam yacht Gondola
on Coniston Water. From there I went
to Waverley for a full season of south
coast, Thames, Bristol Channel and
Clyde excursions, with David Neil and
Peter Tambling, among others.
Peter Gaukroger
Kendal, Cumbria
Correct flags
Regarding the flags and ensigns flown
by ships pictured at Cowes (SM, Apr),
THV Galatea is flying the Trinity House
Jack, not the Royal Standard.
Mike Hood, via email
Egyptian gods model ship mystery

I work as a security guard at Valetta, and
for these last seven years I have been
based at a small shipyard. In one of the
offices is a beautiful ship model, but
unfortunately nobody knows anything
about it. When I looked up the name
Amur-Ra online, all I found was

information about Egyptian gods, but
nothing about the ship. Can any reader
help me with more information?
Gaetano Spiteri
Malta
Out of Heysham
It was very interesting to read Peter
Tamblings letter (SM, March). I was
shipmates with Peter on Waverley, and
as a young boy went off for the day on
my bike to Heysham, my local port, to
go aboard vessels such as the coastal
tanker San Castro, which was berthed
on the inner oil pontoon, and to enjoy
a slap-up dinner with the crew.
61
ships library
bookof
themonth
SHIPS FOR ALL
NATIONS: John
Brown & Company,

Clydebank 18471971
Campbell McCutcheon
Published by Seaforth Publishing,
an imprint of Pen & Sword Books, 47
Church Street, Barnsley, South Yorks
S70 2AS; seaforthpublishing.com;
hardback; 384 pages; price 40.
This is an extremely impressive

volume, which covers the history of the
famous Clydebank shipyard that built
some of the most famous vessels in
Super Drawings in
3D: The Heavy Cruiser
Ltzow
Stefan Dramiski
Although described as a heavy cruiser,

the subject of this book, Ltzow, is
perhaps better known as a pocket
battleship. The author explains that the
vessel, named Deutschland, was classed
as a Panzerschiff when she entered
service in 1933, but, in January 1940,
was reclassified as a heavy cruiser at
Hitlers request and renamed Ltzow.
Ten pages are devoted to the
history of the vessel in some detail,
from her service in the Spanish Civil
War to the invasion of Norway in 1940
to operations in the Arctic, her time in
the Baltic in 1944-45, and her eventual
scuttling at the hands of the Soviet
Navy off Kolobrzeg in 1947.
However, to paraphrase a wellknown television advert, this book
does exactly what it says on the cover.
The remaining 76 pages in full colour
show a model or computer-generated
graphics of the vessel, including
maritime history, including the liners

Lusitania, Queen Mary and Queen
Elizabeth 2. Although it is essentially
a second edition of the authors
previous book, Ships for a Nation, it
has expanded appendices and more
photographs, making it the definitive
history of the world-renowned John
Brown shipyard. Its author, a maritime
history researcher par excellence,
has published a number of works
on the shipyards history and is the
undisputed authority in his subject.
Whilst Clydebank is associated
with John Browns shipyard, the book
also examines the establishment
of shipbuilding on the Clyde, with a
detailed close-ups, from many angles,

and it comes with a separate pull-out
sheet providing general arrangement,
and equipment drawings.
As with all other books in the Super
Drawings in 3D series, it is aimed
squarely at, and will be welcomed by,
model makers, but it is disappointing
that no contemporary photographs of
the vessel itself are included. NH
Published by Oficyna Wydawnicza
KAGERO, Akacjowa 100, os Borek,
Turka, 20-258 Lublin 62, Poland; tel
+4881 501 21 05; marketing@kagero.pl;
www.kagero.pl; softback.
RMS Olympic
Titanics sister
Mark Chirnside
RMS Olympic has been overshadowed
by her ill-fated sisters, Titanic and
Britannic, for over 90 years, but she
was in her own right a spectacular ship.
Launched in October 2010, she was the
detailed account of Clydebanks

founders, the Finnieston Engine
Works, and its 1899 takeover by the
Sheffield steel producer and cutter
John Brown & Co.
This beautifully produced volume
constitutes the largest and most
comprehensive maritime history
work published in 2015, and is a
worthy investment for anyone with
an interest in maritime history,
notably shipbuilding. AB
pride of British shipbuilding and the

largest vessel in the world at the time,
and was the first of a new breed of
superliner for the Atlantic crossing.
This is an update of what was
a detailed history of Olympic first
published in 2004, and tells the story
of the ship in service at war and in
peace. It is extremely thorough in its
coverage and comprehensive in its
approach, covering the entire history
of this famous ship, with hundreds of
photos, diagrams and illustrations to
accompany the very detailed text. NL
Published by The History Press,
TheMill, Brimscombe Port, Stroud,
Gloucs GL5 2QG, tel 01453 883300,
www.thehistorypress.co.uk, softback,
350 pages, price 25.
Polar Voyages
Gordon Gray
Polar Voyages is an account of the
authors experiences at sea. A love of
ships from a very early age saw him
embark on a series of voyages as a
schoolboy, including going on a voyage

on a Hull trawler to the Icelandic Fishing
Grounds, participating in a Tall Ships
Race, and travelling on MacBraynes
Loch Fyne. He later attended Britannia
Naval College at Dartmouth, after
which he obtained a five-year RN short
service commission and subsequent
employment with Hull trawler owners.
During adulthood his passenger
voyages included ones on a traditional
Hurtigruten vessel on the Norwegian
fjords, one of their larger cruise ships
to the Antarctic, exploration ships in
the Arctic Circle and transiting the
Northwest passage. These experiences
are recounted in this book, and
make for enthralling reading, with
accounts of life aboard steam trawlers,
icebreakers and research vessels
involved in Polar cruising. AB
Published by Amberley Publishing,
The Hill, Merrywalks, Stroud, Gloucs
GL5 4EP, tel 01453 847800, amberleybooks.com, softback, 234 x 156mm,
288 pages, price 17.99.
Maritime Portsmouth
Paul Brown
Portsmouth Dockyard was once the
largest industrial complex in the world.
The Historic Dockyard, complete with
Mary Rose, Victory and Warrior, is now
one of the countrys most popular
tourist attractions. This new revised
edition of Maritime Portsmouth is in
full colour and provides a guide to, and
history of, all the preserved ships and
maritime attractions in Portsmouth
and Gosport. Newly-researched data
on the history of the dockyard in the
two world wars is included, as well as
a new chapter on the Gunwharf. With
a superb range of illustrations, the
book will appeal to anyone interested
in Portsmouth, the Royal Navy and
preserved historic ships. AN
Published by The History Press, The
Mill, Brimscombe Port, Stroud, Gloucs
GL5 2QG, www.thehistorypress.co.uk,
192 pages softback, price 16.99.
Readers Pages
Mystery ship
This months mystery ship appears
to be some kind of old warship
by the shape of her bow. But she
has been converted into what
appears to be a static role, with
scaffolding on her funnel. So
when was she originally built, and
what was her original name? What
was her role in her heyday, and is
she still in existence? If so, where
is she based? If not, what was her
ultimate fate?
Send your answers,
including a postal
address, by email to sm.ed@
kelsey.co.uk, or by post to
MysteryShip, Ships Monthly,
Kelsey Publishing, Cudham Tithe
Barn, Berrys Hill, Cudham, Kent
TN16 3AG. Emails preferred.
Aprils mystery ship

The Mystery Ship is USS Compass Island
(AG-153), which was an Experimental
Navigation Ship acquired by the US
Navy while she was under construction
as the Mariner class (C4S-1A) merchant
ship Garden Mariner. She was built
by New York Shipbuilding Corp of
Camden, New Jersey, launched on 24
October 1953 and commissioned on
3December 1956.
Compass Island was employed as a
test ship for the navigation systems
used on the Polaris missiles used by
the US Navys first fleet ballistic missile
submarines (SSBN). She was laid up
in 1980 and stricken from the Naval
Register on 1 October 1981, after
which she was scrapped.
Based on the ships material
condition, rust and removal of gear
such as radar installations, lifeboats

and other equipment, I presume the
photo was taken when she was under
tow either to a mothball location or,
more likely, in the course of disposal.
Richard Kaye
White Plains, New York
I believe that the ship is USS Compass
Island AG 153 (ex YAG 26). She was
built as a Mariner class merchant ship
by the New York Shipbuilding Corp,
and was acquired by the US Navy for
the development and support of
the testing of nuclear submarines
and then Polaris missiles and their
associated navigation systems. She
was commissioned into the US Navy in
December 1956. She had a sistership
named USS Observation Island.
She was placed in reserve in 1980

and scrapped in Hartlepool after a
very long dispute about whether
such ships should be scrapped in
the UK. Opponents demanded that
these dirty ships be scrapped in
the USA and claimed the ships had
substantial asbestos and radioactive
material in their hulls. The dispute

rumbled on for a couple of years,
until a company called Able stepped
in and the ship was scrapped by them.
The photograph was taken as she was
being towed into Hartlepool in 2002.
Tony Slatter
Reigate, Surrey
DIGITAL MARINE NEWS NOW IN FULL COLOUR

The World Ship Societys monthly journal Marine News has been the enthusiasts best source of shipping news for 65 years. Now available in full colour to members
as a PDF delivered by e-mail, it is cheaper, delivered earlier and more up to date. Digital membership of World Ship Society costs just 20 per year and for that
annual subscription, you get all the other benefits of membership: branch activities, significant price reductions on other Society publications, photographic
offers as well as access to unrivalled information facilities. Get a trial digital copy of Marine News by emailing 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) and see how for just
20, membership of the World Ship Society can greatly enhance your knowledge of world shipping.
NEW DIGITAL FULL COLOUR SUPPLEMENT TO MARINE NEWS DELIVERED AS A PDF BY E-MAIL EVERY MONTH WITH YOUR DIGITAL COPY OF MARINE NEWS
The new digital supplement to Marine News has been introduced to allow publication of supplementary photographs, fleet Lists & long feature articles covering modern
and historical subjects. The monthly Digital Supplement takes nothing from the main journal and is a bonus. The July
2014 digital supplement consists of 42 pages and contains: (a) an illustrated Fleet List and History of AMBROSE, DAVIES &
MATTHEWS Ltd of Swansea and (b) 45 supplementary photographs grouped under the title of the news section in which
they occur in Marine News (28 Sales transfers & renamings, 1 casualty, 2 demolitions, 6 new ships and 8 warships).
WORLD SHIP SOCIETY MEMBERSHIP HAS NEVER BEEN BETTER VALUE
63
June ports of call

Date Arr/dep
Ship
Operator
GT
ABERDEEN
12 0700/tbc
14 0700/tbc
18 0700/tbc
19 0700/tbc
Corinthian
Corinthian
Silver Explorer
Hanseatic
Grand Circle Cruises

Grand Circle Cruises
Silversea
Hapag-Lloyd
4,077
4,077
6,130
8,378
Hanseatic
Hapag-Lloyd
8,378
Hebridean Sky
Caribbean Princess
Celestyal Nefeli
Louis Aura
Nautica
Magellan
Astoria
Seven Seas Voyager
Artania
Caribbean Princess
National Geog. Orion
Azura
Seven Seas Voyager
Zuiderdam
Caribbean Princess
Noble Caledonia
4,200
Princess Cruises
112,894
Celestyal Cruises
19,093
Louis Cruises
15,781
Prestige Cruises
30,277
CMV
46,052
CMV
16,144
Regent Seven Seas 42,363
Phoenix Reisen
44,656
Princess Cruises
112,894
National Geographic 3,984
P&O Cruises
115,055
Holland America Line 82,820
Princess Cruises
112,894
Boudicca
Caribbean Princess
Queen Victoria
Bremen
Magellan
Seven Seas Voyager
Caribbean Princess
Artania
Seven Seas Voyager
Caribbean Princess
Fred. Olsen
Princess Cruises
Cunard
Hapag-Lloyd
CMV
National Geographic
Regent Seven Seas
Princess Cruises
Phoenix Reisen
National Geographic
Regent Seven Seas
Princess Cruises
AVONMOUTH (Bristol)
13
tbc/tbc
BELFAST
1
5
6
6
7
7
10
11
16
17
18
21
25
27
28
30
0600/1900
0800/1800
0700/1800
0700/1800
0800/2000
0800/1900
0700/1800
0800/2300
0800/1800
0800/1800
1700/2130
0800/1800
1700/2130
0800/2300
0700/1800
0800/1800
COBH/CORK
3
3
7
8
8
13
14
15
19
20
24
27
0700/1800
0700/1800
0800/1900
0700/1500
1200/2000
1300/1900
0700/1600
0700/1800
0800/2000
1300/1900
0700/1800
0700/1800
28,551
112,894
90,049
6,752
46,052
3,984
42,363
112,894
44,656
3,984
42,363
112,894
DARTMOUTH
8
23
30
0900/1600 National Geog. Orion National Geographic 3,984

0700/1800 Aegean Odyssey
Voyages of Antiquity 12,094
0700/1900 National Geog. Orion National Geographic 3,984
DOVER
1
4
5
5
6
8
8
12
13
13
14
15
17
18
19
20
22
23
25
25
30
0915/2000
tbc/tbc
0500/1700
0700/1700
0700/1630
0700/1700
0700/1800
0700/1700
tbc/1630
0800/1330
0800/2000
0500/1700
0500/1700
tbc/tbc
tbc/tbc
0800/1700
0800/1800
tbc/tbc
0700/1700
0700/2000
tbc/tbc
AIDAsol
Saga Pearl II
Disney Magic
Black Watch
Celebrity Silhouette
Sea Cloud II
Artania
Black Watch
Saga Sapphire
Sea Cloud II
Monarch
Pacific Princess
Disney Magic
Saga Sapphire
Saga Pearl II
Balmoral
Artania
Saga Sapphire
Black Watch
Aegean Odyssey
Saga Sapphire
AIDA
71,304
Saga Cruises
18,627
Disney Cruises
83,969
Fred. Olsen
28,613
Celebrity
122,210
Sea Cloud Cruises
3,849
Phoenix Reisen
44,656
Fred. Olsen
28,613
Saga Cruises
37,049
Sea Cloud Cruises
3,849
Pullmantur
73,937
Princess
30,277
Disney Cruises
83,969
Saga Cruises
37,049
Saga Cruises
18,627
Fred. Olsen
43,537
Phoenix Reisen
44,656
Saga Cruises
37,049
Fred. Olsen
28,613
Saga Cruises
37,049
DUBLIN
03
4
4
4
6
8
9
12
12
13
14
16
18
19
23
26
26
Date Arr/dep
Ship
Operator
GT
Noble Caledonia
Windstar Cruises
4,200
9,961
Princess Cruises
30,277
DUN LAOGHAIRE
ABERDEEN
0300/1900 Hebridean Sky

0500/2000 Celestyal Nefeli
0700/1930 Boudicca
0900/2100 Caribbean Princess
0930/2030 Magellan
0530/1830 Astoria
0700/2200 Nautica
0600/2100 National Geog. Orion
0700/2000 Seven Seas Voyager
0700/1730 Disney Magic
tbc/1800 (Dep 15) Bremen
0730/1930 Caribbean Cruises
0700/1900 Artania
1230/2300 Balmoral
0700/2100 Seven Seas Voyager
Noble Caledonia
Celestyal Cruises
Fred. Olsen
Princess
CMV
Rivages du Monde
Oceania Cruises
National Geographic
Regent Seven Seas
Disney Cruises
Hapag-Lloyd
Princess
Phoenix Reisen
National Geographic
Fred. Olsen
National Geographic
Regent Seven Seas
4,200
19,093
28,551
112,894
46,052
16,144
30,277
3,984
42,363
83,969
6,752
112,894
44,646
3,984
43,537
3,984
42,363
10
20
0500/1800 Hebridean Sky

0600/1600 Star Legend
DUNDEE
13
0900/1800 Pacific Princess
EDINBURGH (Leith/Newhaven/Rosyth/South Queensferry)

4 L 0700/1700
5 R
9 L 0700/1700
10 Q 0700/1700
12 L 0700/1700
13 L 0700/1900
13 R tbc/tbc
17 N 0700/1700
20 L tbc/tbc
21 N 0700/1700
22 Q 0700/1700
25 N tbc/tbc
27 tbc/tbc
Nautica
Berlin
Seven Seas Voyager
Caribbean Princess
Europa
Artania
Corinthian
Viking Sea
Hanseatic
Viking Sea
Caribbean Princess
Queen Elizabeth
Balmoral
Oceania Cruises
30,277
FTI Cruises
9,570
Princess Cruises
112,894
Hapag-Lloyd
28,890
Phoenix Reisen
44,646
Grand Circle Cr Line 4,077
Viking Ocean Cruises 48,000
Hapag-Lloyd
8,378
Princess Cruises
112,894
Cunard Line
90,901
Fred. Olsen Cruises 43,537
FALMOUTH
22
22
0700/1800 Aegean Odyssey

0730/2230 Balmoral

Fred. Olsen Cruises 43,537
FISHGUARD
1
5
11
21
25
28
tbc/tbc
tbc/tbc
tbc/tbc
tbc/tbc
tbc/tbc
tbc/tbc
Corinthian
Corinthian
Corinthian
Corinthian
Grand Circle Cr Line

National Geographic
National Geographic
4,077
4,077
3,984
4,077
4,077
3,984
Celebrity Cruises
Princess
Oceania Cruises
Ponant
Rivages du Monde
Disney Cruises
Hapag-Lloyd
Princess
Regent Seven Seas
Cunard
122,210
112,894
30,277
10,944
16,144
83,969
8,378
112,894
42,363
90,901
GREENOCK (Glasgow)
2
6
6
9
9
11
15
19
28
30
0800/1800
0700/1800
0900/2200
0630/1800
0900/2300
0700/1700
1100/2300
0700/1800
0800/2330
0900/1700
Caribbean Princess
Nautica
Le Boreal
Astoria
Disney Magic
Hanseatic
Caribbean Princess
Seven Seas Voyager
Queen Elizabeth
HARWICH
9
19
20
0730/1600 Voyager
0400/1700 Viking Sea
0730/1600 Voyager
Voyages of Discovery 15,396

HOLYHEAD
2
5
6
10
14
20
24
25
26
0700/2200
0700/1900
0700/2200
0800/1800
1400/1900
0900/2200
0800/1730
0800/2300
0700/2200
Hebridean Sky
Le Boreal
Corinthian
Nautica
Hanseatic
Corinthian
Balmoral
Seven Seas Voyager
Corinthian
Noble Caledonia
Ponant
Oceania Cruises
Hapag-Lloyd
Fred. Olsen
Regent Seven Seas
4,200
10,944
4,077
30,277
8,378
4,077
43,537
42,363
4,077
Marco Polo
Marco Polo
CMV
CMV
22,080
22,080
Magellan
Berlin
Disney Magic
Caribbean Princess
Europa
Astoria
Artania
Rotterdam
Caribbean Princess
Marco Polo
Queen Elizabeth
Balmoral
AIDAvita
Zuiderdam
CMV
46,052
FTI Cruises
9,570
Disney Cruises
83,969
Princess
112,894
Hapag-Lloyd
28,890
Rivages du Monde 16,144
Phoenix Reisen
44,656
Princess
112,894
CMV
22,080
Cunard
90,901
Fred. Olsen
43,537
AIDA
42,289
HULL
4
16
tbc/tbc
tbc/tbc
INVERGORDON
2
6
8
9
11
13
14
20
21
21
26
26
29
30
0800/2000
1300/2000
0800/1700
0700/1800
0800/1800
0830/1900
0900/1800
0800/1700
0700/1800
0700/1400
0900/2200
0730/1700
0700/1700
0800/1700
ISLE OF MAN
23 1930/tbc
24 1430/tbc
25 0900/tbc
Heb. Princess (Peel) Hebridean Is Cruises 2,112

Heb. Princess (Pt Erin) Hebridean Is Cruises 2,112
Heb. Princess (Dlas) Hebridean Is Cruises 2,112
ISLE OF SCILLY
2
3
4
tbc/tbc
tbc/tbc
tbc/tbc
Corinthian (Tresco)
Hanseatic
Corinthian (Tresco)

Hapag Lloyd
8,378
Date Arr/dep
5
tbc/tbc
7
tbc/tbc
8
tbc/tbc
9
tbc/tbc
9
tbc/tbc
12 tbc/tbc
15 tbc/tbc
20 0800/1700
22 tbc/tbc
24 tbc/tbc
29 tbc/tbc
Ship
Hebridean Sky
Bremen
Hebridean Sky
Magellan
Hanseatic
Voyager
Artania (Tresco)
Corinthian (Tresco)
Corinthian
Operator
GT
Noble Caledonia
4,200
Hapag Lloyd
6,752
Noble Caledonia
4,200
CMV
46,052
Hapag-Lloyd
8,378
Phoenix Reisen
44,646
Magellan
Silver Explorer
Berlin
Caribbean Princess
Disney Magic
AIDAluna
Le Boreal
Pacific Princess
Voyager
Marco Polo
Viking Sea
Hebridean Sky
Disney Magic
Marco Polo
Rotterdam
Star Legend
Viking Sea
Magellan
Queen Elizabeth
AIDAluna
AIDAvita
LAustral
CMV
46,052
Silversea Cruises
6,130
FTI Cruises
9,570
Princess
112,894
Disney Cruises
83,969
AIDA
69,203
Ponant
10,944
Princess
30,277
CMV
22,080
Noble Caledonia
4,200
Disney Cruises
83,969
CMV
22,080
Windstar Cruises
9,961
CMV
46,052
Cunard
90,901
AIDA
69,203
AIDA
42,289
Ponant
10,944
KIRKWALL
3
4
7
8
9
11
12
12
12
14
15
19
20
20
21
22
23
26
27
28
28
29
30
0800/1800
0630/1830
0700/2230
0700/1700
0700/1700
0900/1600
1230/1800
1000/1900
0700/1800
0800/1700
0800/1600
1200/1900
0700/1700
0900/2200
0800/1700
0900/1900
0730/2300
0900/1700
0800/2000
0900/1600
0900/1930
1700/2359
1400/1930
LERWICK
1
5
7
8
10
11
12
13
13
14
18
20
20
24
26
29
30
30
0800/1700
0630/1130
1330/1900
0800/1400
1400/1900
0600/1700
1000/1900
0700/1400
1300/2200
0900/1800
0800/1700
tbc/tbc
1000/1600
0800/1400
0800/1700
1700/2000
0800/1800
1900/1300
Expedition
6,334
Silver Explorer
Silversea
6,130
Minerva
Swan Hellenic
12,892
Berlin
FTI Cruises
9,570
Europa
Hapag Lloyd
28,890
Voyager
Astoria
Rivages du Monde 16,144
Le Boreal
Ponant
10,944
Marco Polo
CMV
22,080
Viking Sea
Marco Polo
CMV
22,080
Hebridean Sky
Noble Caledonia
4,200
AIDAvita
AIDA
42,289
Viking Sea
Zuiderdam
Deutschland
Phoenix Reisen
15,187
Azura
P&O Cruises
115,055
National Geog. Orion National Geographic 3,984
LIVERPOOL
1
6
8
12
13
17
18
29
tbc/tbc
tbc/tbc
tbc/tbc
tbc/tbc
tbc/tbc
0800/2000
tbc/tbc
tbc/tbc
Boudicca
Nautica
Disney Magic
Seven Seas Voyager
Artania
Caribbean Princess
Caribbean Princess
Celebrity Cruises
Fred. Olsen
Oceania Cruises
Disney Cruises
Regent Seven Seas
Phoenix Reisen
Princess
Princess
122,210
28,551
30,277
83,969
42,363
44,656
112,894
112,894
LONDON (TOWER BRIDGE UPPER)

1
5
7
11
18
26
(Dep 2)
(Dep 6)
(Dep 10)
(Dep 13)
(Dep 20)
(Dep 27)
Berlin
Berlin
RMS St Helena
Silver Wind
Viking Sea
Silver Wind
FTI Cruises
9,570
FTI Cruises
9,570
St Helena Line
6,797
Silversea
17,235
Silversea
17,235
LONDON (GREENWICH SHIP TIER)

5
tbc/tbc
National Geog. Orion National Geographic 3,984
OBAN
1
7
14
17
21
28
tbc/tbc
tbc/tbc
tbc/tbc
tbc/tbc
tbc/tbc
tbc/tbc
Serenissima
Hebridean Princess
Hebridean Princess
Hebridean Sky
Hebridean Princess
Hebridean Princess
Noble Caledonia
Hebridean Is Cruises
Noble Caledonia
Hebridean IslCruises
2,598
2,112
2,112
4,200
2,112
2,112
PLYMOUTH
12
15
tbc/tbc
tbc/tbc
Nautica
Oceania Cruises
Seven Seas Voyager Regent Seven Seas
30,277
42,363
Readers Pages
Compiled by Donna and Andrew Cooke
Date Arr/dep
Ship
Operator
GT
Corinthian
POOLE
3
tbc/tbc
PORTLAND
15
21
0800/1800 Saga Sapphire

1300/1900 Artania
Saga Cruises
Phoenix Reisen
37,049
44,656
Nautica
Berlin
Disney Magic
Seven Seas Voyager
Balmoral
Artania
Balmoral
Disney Magic
Marco Polo
Balmoral
Oceania Cruises
FTI Cruises
Disney Cruises
Regent Seven Seas
Fred. Olsen
Phoenix Reisen
Fred. Olsen
Disney Cruises
CMV
Fred. Olsen
30,277
9,570
83,969
42,363
43,537
44,656
43,537
83,969
22,080
43,537
Louis Aura
Voyager
Hebridean Sky
Sea Cloud II
Minerva
Sea Cloud II
Louis Cruises
15,781
Noble Caledonia
4,200
Sea Cloud
3,849
Swan Hellenic
12,892
Sea Cloud
3,849
PORT OF TYNE (Newcastle)

3
4
7
8
11
12
18
19
22
28
0800/2100
0700/1800
0630/1700
0800/2100
0630/1730
0800/1800
0630/1730
0630/1700
0800/1600
0630/1630
PORTSMOUTH
2
6
6
6
9
10
12
0600/2359
0800/1700
0600/2359
1200/1800
0730/1600
0700/1700
0800/1800
SOUTHAMPTON
1
1
4
4
4
5
5
5
5
6
6
6
6
6
8
0500/1700
0700/1800
0500/1630
0530/1630
0730/1730
0530/1630
0600/1800
0700/1630
0830/1630
0530/1630
0600/1700
0630/1630
0800/2200
0600/1700
0630/1630
Caribbean Princess Princess

Nautica
Oceania Cruises
Emerald Princess
Princess
Independence of Seas RCI
Braemar
Fred. Olsen
Celebrity Eclipse
Celebrity
Britannia
P&O Cruises
Azura
P&O Cruises
Queen Victoria
Cunard
Navigator of the Seas RCI
Aurora
P&O Cruises
AIDAprima
AIDA
Astoria
Rivages du Monde
Ventura
P&O Cruises
112,894
30,277
113,561
154,407
24,344
121,878
143,730
115,055
90,049
139,570
42,363
76,152
125,000
16,144
116,017
Date Arr/dep
9
0830/1630
10 0700/1630
11 0600/1800
13 0500/1700
13 0600/1700
13 0800/2200
14 0630/1630
14 0630/1630
14 0800/1800
16 0530/1630
16 0600/1700
17 0700/1630
18 0500/1630
18 0530/1630
18 0600/1800
18 0700/1630
18 0730/1630
19 0530/1630
19 0630/1630
19 0630/1630
20 0800/2200
22 0630/1630
23 0630/1630
23 0700/1630
23 0700/1630
24 0630/1630
25 0500/1700
25 0600/1800
26 0630/1630
26 0730/1630
27 0600/1800
27 0800/2200
28 0530/1630
29 0630/1630
Ship
Operator
Queen Victoria
Cunard
Oriana
P&O Cruises
Azamara Quest
Azamara
Nautica
Oceania Cruises
AIDAprima
AIDA
Arcadia
P&O Cruises
Queen Elizabeth
Cunard
Marina
Oceania Cruises
Oriana
P&O Cruises
Emerald Princess
Princess
Independence of Seas RCI
Britannia
P&O Cruises
Arcadia
P&O Cruises
Braemar
Fred. Olsen
Celebrity Eclipse
Celebrity
Arcadia
P&O Cruises
Azura
P&O Cruises
AIDAprima
AIDA
Ventura
P&O Cruises
Queen Mary 2
Cunard
Queen Elizabeth
Cunard
Queen Victoria
Cunard
Aurora
P&O Cruises
Britannia
P&O Cruises
Ventura
P&O Cruises
Braemar
Fred. Olsen
Britannia
P&O Cruises
AIDAprima
AIDA
Oriana
P&O Cruises
GT
90,049
69,840
30,277
112,894
30,277
125,000
83,342
90,901
66,084
139,570
42,363
69,840
113,561
154,407
143,730
83,342
24,344
121,878
83,342
115,055
125,000
116,017
148,528
90,901
90,049
76,152
112,894
143,730
116,017
24,344
143,730
125,000
139,570
69,840
ST HELIER
4
7
21
0700/1300 Hanseatic
0600/1800 Voyager
0800/1900 Saga Sapphire
Hapag-Lloyd
8,378
Saga Cruises
37,049
ST PETER PORT (Incl Alderney/Herm/Sark A/H/S)

1
2
0800/1800 Crystal Symphony

0700/1500 Caribbean Princess
Crystal Cruises
Princess
Date Arr/dep
Ship
3
0800/1300 Sea Cloud II
4
0800/1800 Queen Victoria
4 AHS 1500/2000 Hanseatic
6
1100/1800 Artania
6
0800/1800 Queen Victoria
7 AS 0700/2359 National Geog. Orion
7 H 0700/1800 Hebridean Sky
8
1200/2300 Silver Wind
10 0800/1800 Azamara Quest
11 0800/1800 Oriana
14 0700/1500 Caribbean Princess
16 tbc/tbc
Disney Magic
18 0700/1800 Voyager
21 0830/2000 Balmoral
25 0800/1800 Ventura
26 0800/1800 Britannia
26 0700/1500 Caribbean Princess
30 0800/1800 Balmoral
Operator
GT
Sea Cloud Cruises
3,849
Cunard
90,049
Hapag-Lloyd
8,378
Phoenix Reisen
44,656
Cunard
90,049

3,984
Noble Caledonia
4,200
Silversea
17,235
Azamara
30,277
P&O Cruises
69,840
Princess
112,894
Disney Cruises
83,969
Fred. Olsen
43,537
P&O Cruises
116,017
P&O Cruises
143,730
Princess
112,894
Fred. Olsen
43,537
STORNOWAY
4
15
18
tbc/tbc
Hebridean Princess
0800/1900 Artania
tbc/tbc
Hebridean Princess
Hebridean Is Cruises 2,112

Phoenix Reisen
44,646
Hebridean Is Cruises 2,112
STROMNESS
4
11
15
18
tbc/tbc
0700/2000
0700/2000
0700/1700
Silver Explorer
Corinthian
Corinthian
Hanseatic
Silversea
Hapag-Lloyd
6,130
4,077
4,077
8,378
TILBURY
5
0800/1800 Crystal Symphony
Crystal Cruises
51,044
5
tbc/tbc
RMS St Helena
St. Helena Line
6,797
10 tbc/tbc
RMS St Helena
St. Helena Line
6,797
21 1500/2000 Artania
Phoenix Reisen
44,656
24 tbc/tbc
Magellan
CMV
46,052
NB This information is given in good faith, and neither the authors nor
Ships Monthly can be held responsible for any changes to ship arrivals
or departures; readers are advised to check port shipping movements
nearer the time if intending to view any of the ships, as schedules can
change. NOTES tbc to be confirmed
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Canadian Sunset
The sun has set on a number of last-generation passenger

liners and first-generation cruise ships that once called at
Canadas Port of Vancouver, as recalled by Jim Shaw and
photographed by local naval architect Mark Mulligan.
21st century carrier

Profile of USS Gerald R. Ford, the US Navys
new nuclear-powered aircraft carrer, which is
revolutionary in every way, and one of the most
significant warships of the 21st century.
PLUS SHIPYARD A history of the John Readhead

shipyard on the Tyne, with a look at its rise and fall, and
some of the ships built there. EXCURSION There is
considerable scope for sea trips around the coasts of
Britain and we turn the spotlight on a selection of the
larger vessels due in service through summer 2016, as
well as contemporaries on English and Scottish lakes.
65
m
o
fr
w
e
i
A v idge
the Br
THE LAST WORD
When the Indian Navys

frigate INS Trikand visited
Londons Excel Centre in the heart
of the Docklands as part of a
military exhibition in September
2015, Patrick Boniface met
her commanding officer, Captain
Vinay Kalia, who talked about
his career and his ship.
When you were young, what

made you want a career in the
Indian Navy?
place in 2004, and it is the second time

that it has happened in UK waters.
I am from Indias capital city, New Delhi,

and read about the Navy in books which
I found in school libraries. Nobody
from my family inspired me, so joining
the navy was an impulsive probably
immature decision at the time for
a child who was just about finishing
school and had many other career
options to choose from. But I chose to
join the Navy.
What did the exercise involve?
The exercises began on 5 September

2015 at Plymouth and were conducted in
two phases: a three-day harbour phase,
which involved professional interactions,
sporting events and social gatherings,
and then four days at sea. We went
out with HMS Iron Duke and RFA Wave
Ruler, from the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, and
exercised at sea, covering all the different
aspects of maritime warfare.
Can you tell me about your ship

and the current mission?
This ship is the sixth of the Talwar class.
She was commissioned in June 2013 and
is a part of the Indian Navys Western
Fleet based at Mumbai. Our primary
reason for coming to the United
Kingdom was to participate in Exercise
Konkan 2015. Konkan is a series of
bilateral institutionalised exercises that
the Indian Navy conducts with the Royal
Navy. This happened to be the tenth of
these exercises, the first of which took
What happened after the

exercises?
The exercises ended at Portsmouth on 12
September and we then came to London
to participate in DSEi 2015. It is a matter
of great pride for all of us, including me
and my 300 shipmates, that we are on the
first Indian naval warship to visit London
and enter the Docklands and the historic
Royal Victoria Dock. The ships visit
is the first time ever in independent
Indian history that an Indian warship
has been up the Thames. Participating

in such a prestigious event as DSEi
makes us even more proud.
What is your average day like on

board INS Trikand?
There are two types of day in the Navy:
at sea and in harbour, and both are
very different. When I am in command
at sea, I am engaged every minute,
even when I am sleeping, as my mind
is unconsciously around the bridge,

around the ops room, thinking about
problems the ship is having and
working out how to overcome them.
This includes planning for the next
exercises and how we conduct them,
and planning any port calls as well as
looking after the men, their morale
and their welfare. So it is a good mix of
challenges that keep me busy, both at
sea and in harbour.
PHOTO BY DAVID WALTERS
66
June 2016 www.shipsmonthly.com
We enjoy what
we do and it shows
in our work!
Alan Cross Ltd
Quality hardwood display cabinets supplied in four sizes or

made to your specications. Made with care to last generations.
All cabinets delivered personally by the proprietor

High quality hardwood display cases made completely to your specications,
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Please check out our special offers page on our website or ring for details
Snowbow Productions (2000) Ltd
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DVDs in the world.
Royal Mail Lines Lock Loyal
British India Dwarka
Furness Withys Queen of Bermuda
Shaw Savill sSouthern Cross
This award winning series brings to you very rare lm of just about every shipping company that existed during the heyday of the worlds merchant
eets during the 20th Century. Ships of every kind ranging from the great trans-Atlantic liners right down to the hundreds of handsome little vessels
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Cunard White Stars Franconia
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This amazing series not only shows you all these wonderful ships, it also takes you aboard them from top to bottom both in ports and at sea as you
sail with them on their voyages across the world via Panama and Suez. Watch as your ship handles cargoes in ports; stand on the bridge as you
battle through some of the greatest storms ever lmed at sea!
C P Empress of England
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Thanking you for all your greatly appreciated help and support. Des Cox. (Producer)

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AEGEAN

MONT ST MICHEL - SHIP OF THE MONTH

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Port profile Teignmouth

Tragedy HMS Vanguard

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Contributors this month

A native of Clydebank, Colin

Born on the Isle of Wight,

journalist with a lifelong

Smith has been a shipping

Richard Jolliffe worked

fascination for all forms

enthusiast from a young

freelance writer. He has a

at sea from 1970 to

of transport, with fond

age. He has been a maritime

range of diverse interests,

1987 after training at

memories of the stylish

photographer for many

from world and social

North Sea passenger ships

years, and has written many

Officer. He is now retired

of the 1960s and 70s.

books and magazine articles.

and lives at Newbury.

www.shipsmonthly.com June 2016

The last major paddle streamer to be built in Britain,

MONT ST MICHEL - SHIP OF THE MONTH

for new tanker, and Russian Navy takes

Paddler Montreux out for 2016, new dredgers

A look at some of the worlds strongest and

Recollections Esso Scotia

Tragedy HMS Vanguard

Mitsui OSK restructures its fleet, Capesize