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CARNIVAL
MIRACLE

NOVEMBER 2016

FIRE ON BP TANKER
NOSTALGIA 1966 tragedy of British Crown remembered
MARITIME HERITAGE

PRESERVED IN
STOCKHOLM
What to see in
Swedens capital

MODERN WARSHIPS REVIEW OF NAVIES

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NOVEMBER 2016 Vol 51
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Tramping company King Line Ferries to Faroes Northern links GSNCs Three little liners
 SHIPS IN FOCUS PUBLICATIONS incorporating MAINMAST BOOKS
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 TM

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The dangers
EDITORIAL
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ofthe sea

D
Editor Nicholas Leach
sm.ed@kelsey.co.uk
Art Editor Mark Hyde uring the summer there has been
REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS
Andrew & Donna Cooke Roy Cressey Gary a series of incidents around the
Davies Jack Gaston Nick Hall William UK coast in which people have
Mayes Russell Plummer Jim Shaw
ADVERTISEMENT SALES tragically lost their lives. Many
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MANAGEMENT These deaths highlight the dangers of the too well how dangerous it can be, and fire is
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with many rescues being undertaken close to Crown in August 1966 is the focus of an in-
Charlotte Whittaker the shore to people who have fallen into the depth feature by Graham Wallace, who has
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The mangled remains of the fire-damaged British
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contents
Cruise news Record day on the Tyne SHIP OF
THE MONTH
Regulars 14 Naval
Germanys endurance frigate, new fleet tanker
4.25 www.shipsmonthly.com
CARNIVAL
MIRACLE
for New Zealand, Type 26 design row brewing,
Trident submarine renewal approved, and
NOVEMBER 2016
Diligence up for sale. Gary Davies

FIRE ON BP TANKER
NOSTALGIA 1966 tragedy of British Crown remembered
16 Cargo
First neo-Panamax comes to Tilbury, Maersk
MARITIME HERITAGE

PRESERVED IN to upgrade E class boxboats, dredging at

STOCKHOLM
What to see in
Swedens capital
Teignmouth, new berths in use at Hull, and
Bocimar to expand fleet.
6 Waterfront
Plans to rebuild United States dropped, Hapag-
Lloyd and UASC to merge, another new car
MODERN WARSHIPS REVIEW OF NAVIES
ROUND THE WORLD carrier, fire hits ro-pax in the Caribbean, and
paddler steamer White Swans 160th year.
NOVEMBER 2016 Vol 51

10 Ferry
4.25

Tramping company King Line Ferries to Faroes Northern links GSNCs Three little liners

Nov 2016 OFC_mh.indd 1 07/09/2016 20:24 Protest over Northlink fares, Islay services badly
COVER The 1964-built tanker British Beech was
disrupted, call for larger Dunoon vessels, and
similar to the 1952-built British Crown, which
buyers for Hurtigruten.Russell Plummer
was tragically destroyed by fire in 1966, as
described on pages 28-31. (FotoFlite)
53 Ships pictorial
12 Cruise A variety of ships pictured from around the
ALSO AVAILABLE world, including on the Thames, departing
Baltic port of Kiel booming with cruise calls,
DIGITALLY Antwerp, in Kirkwall, Orkney, and the Norwegian
Tyne cruise callers, another ship to Cuba, and a
WWW.POCKETMAGS.COM Fjords, and on the Manchester Ship Canal.
refit for Pacific Dawn. William Mayes

Subscribe today See page 18 for more info


Features
20 World Navies in 2016
A look at some of the new warship classes that
have recently been delivered. Conrad Waters
26 Maritime Mosaic
Ships visiting the port of Galway on the west
coast of Ireland. Brian McGrath
28 Fire on British Crown
Remembering the tragic accident that befell the
tanker British Crown in 1966. Graham Wallace
38 Jewel of the Baltic
Stockholm is a shiplovers delight, being home to
many historic vessels, a preserved 17th-century
warship, and steamers in action. Nick Hall
NOVEMBER 2016 Volume 51 No.11
The Port of Tyne had its busiest 24 hours ever on 16
August, handling five passenger ships. Making her
maiden call was Holland America Lines Koningsdam
(2016/99,836gt). The Pinnacle class cruise ship is the
largest ever cruise ship to visit the Port of Tyne. See
page 12 for more details. MARITIME PHOTOGRAPHIC
WWW.SHIPSMONTHLY.COM
44 Once were Kings
The notable ships and personalities associated
36 Ship of the Month
with King Line, a significant and successful CARNIVAL MIRACLE
tramping company. Roy Fenton
48 Ferries to the Faroes
A look at the passenger ships that have served
the Faroe Islands and Iceland, which have also
called at a variety of UK ports. Kalle Id
A look on board the Spirit class cruise ship
Carnival Miracle, her interior designs and the
56 Three little liners guest experience. Peter Knego
The careers of the Thames excursion ships
Queen of the Channel, Royal Daffodil and Royal
Sovereign, operated by the GSNC. David Toy Chartroom
60 Ships mail
A selection of letters from readers.
62 Mystery ship
Can you identify this months mystery ship?
62 Ports of call
Cruise ship calls around the UK in November.
66 View from the Bridge Andrew and Donna Cooke
Senior Master of Stena Germanica, Captain ke
Adolffson, has a unique viewpoint of the worlds 63 Ships library
only ship which uses methanol. John Pagni Reviews and details of new maritime books.
WATErFrONT
Low-emission
hybrid e-tug
NEW TUg
Offshore Ship Designers, based
in IJmuiden, The Netherlands,
has introduced its latest Azistern
tug, which incorporates a hybrid
propulsion system consisting of
two 970kW variable speed gensets
and two 400kWh lithium battery
packs, with the batteries allowing
transient sailingsto be made with
zero emissions while also boosting
bollard pull on demand. The 22m tug
combines a low-resistance stable hull
and all-round visibility with a podded
drive system to give a highly flexible
harbour tug that meets the latest
environmental requirements. JS
ABOEV The Azistern tug developed
by Offshore Ship Designers features a
hybrid propulsion system. OSD
Libertad visits Liverpool
TALL SHIPS
On 23 July the Argentinian steel-
hulled, full-rigged, class A sailing ship
Libertad and her crew were welcomed
to the Liverpool Cruise Terminal. She
was on a training voyage, and her
arrival at Liverpool her first visit there
since 1992 marked the halfway point
on her latest voyage, which involved
spending 133 days at sea and 63 days
at ports in ten different countries.
ABOVE The tall ship Libertad berthed in the Mersey in July.
6 November 2016 www.shipsmonthly.com
Plans for United States dropped
CLASSIC LINEr
Crystal Cruises have abandoned plans
to rebuild and reintroduce the former
transatlantic liner United States, which
has been laid up in Philadelphia for
the past 20 years. While the 1952-built
vessel is structurally sound, Crystal say
technical and commercial challenges
associated with a return to service
as a modern cruise ship have proved
insurmountable.
Crystal and the SS United States
The vessel carried a message of
peace, friendship and the will to build
bridges in the year of the Bicentenary
of the Argentine Declaration of
Independence. Crewed by 27
officers, 192 non-commissioned
officers and 132 training officers, she
set sail on 23 April, and has called at
Brazilian, US, Dutch and French ports.
After her call at Liverpool, Libertad
went to Dublin, and then headed for
southern Europe.
Conservancy had announced an
exclusive option agreement, with the
goal of converting the iconic vessel
for luxury cruising. A comprehensive
feasibility study and evaluation costing
more than US$1 million was convened
with a world-class team of engineers,
headed by retired US Coast Guard Rear
Admiral Tim Sullivan and other experts.
Susan Gibbs, executive director of
the SS United States Conservancy,
said: Americas Flagship continues
to hold enormous potential as a
The new Fleetwood lifeboat leads Lytham and Barrow lifeboats as
she arrives at her station for the first time in June. NICHOLAS LEACH
Fleetwood lifeboat upgrade
NEW LIFEBOAT
A large crowd gathered at Fleetwood
on 26 June to welcome the new 2.2
million state-of the-art Shannon class
lifeboat Kenneth James Pierpoint,
which arrived in the afternoon
following a five-day passage from the
RNLI Headquarters in Poole, Dorset,
during which the Fleetwood volunteer
crew had the chance to familiarise
themselves with the new vessel.
The Band and Drum Corps of the
Royal Regiment of Fusiliers (Lancashire)
United States in her
heyday and (inset) as
she is now.
stationary mixed-use development
and museum in New York or an urban
waterfront setting. The SS United
States Conservancy remains deeply
committed to saving this unique
and powerful symbol of the nations
strength, history, and innovation.
During her maiden voyage in July
1952, United States sailed from the
Ambrose Lightship off New York to
Bishops Rock Light in three days, ten
hours and 40 minutes at an average
speed of 35.59 knots . RP
were on hand to salute the new
lifeboat as she arrived in the river
Wyre, and she was escorted to her
new home by lifeboats from Blackpool,
Lytham and Barrow, as well as the 47ft
Tyne lifeboat she was replacing, William
Street. At the helm of the new boat
was proud Coxswain Gary Randles.
Following a period of intensive
training, Kenneth James Pierpoint
was declared operational. The new
lifeboat has been funded from the
legacy of Miss Kathleen Pierpoint from
Altrincham, in memory of her brother.

hapag-lloyd and UAsc to merge
iNDUsTrY NeWs
Hapag-Lloyd and United Arab Shipping
Company (UASC) have signed a Business
Combination Agreement (BCA) to
merge both companies in a move
that will result in a fleet of 237 ships,
including UASCs six new 18,800TEU
Another new car carrier Veteran on
the move
Vehicle cArriers
On 25 May the fourth vessel in Hegh
Autoliners New Horizon series of
vehicle carriers was named Hegh
Trapper at a naming ceremony at
Xiamen Shipbuilding Industries in
China, with Mrs Hanne Siri Dahl, wife of
Sebjrn Dahl, CHRO Hegh Autoliners,
christening the vessel.
Hegh Trapper is the fourth in a series
of six post-Panamax vessels Hegh
Autoliners will take delivery of this
year. With deck space of 71,400m2 and
carrying capacity of 8,500 car-equivalent
units, she is one of the worlds largest
Pure Car and Truck Carriers (PCTC).
She also has a higher door opening
The new vehicle carrier Hegh Trapper arriving at the Port of
Tyne from Rotterdam on 1 August. KEN SHORT
The 199,714dwt Barzan, completed last year by South
Koreas Hyundai Samho, is one of a number of UASC
ships that will be joining the Hapag-Lloyd fleet. UASC
vessels that have been built to be
convertible to LNG fuel usage.
In addition, the company is taking
delivery of a series of 11 15,000TEU
ships that will give the Hapag Lloyd
fleet an average age of 6.6 years. The
merger is expected to be completed
before Hapag-Lloyd joins a new alliance
than Heghs current vessels, enabling
cargo up to 6.5m high and 12m wide to
be loaded. Extra ramp strength allows
heavier cargoes to be loaded.
The New Horizon series are designed
to be energy efficient, with attention
paid to optimising hull form to
combine high cargo capacity with low
fuel consumption. Special focus has
been paid to hull resistance in heavy
seas and wind resistance, so that the
New Horizon vessels emit 50 per cent
less CO2 per car transported than
standard car carriers. Hegh Trappers
maiden voyage from East Asia to
Europe was undertaken in June, and
she will sail from Europe back to East
Asia via Africa and Oceania.
that will include Hanjin, K-Line, Mitsui
OSK Lines, NYK Lines and Yang Ming,
which is scheduled to begin operations
by April 2017. UASC is owned by six
Arab sovereign wealth funds, with
Qatar having a controlling 51 per cent
stake, Saudi Arabia 36 percent and the
remainder shared. JS
iNDONesiA
Star Fighter, one of two survivors of a
four-ship late-1970s ro-ro freighter series
built for Townsend Thoresens English
Channel routes by Schichau Unterweser
at Bremerhaven, has changed hands
on private terms between recent
Cypriot owners Kosilio Shipping of
Limassol and Indonesian interests.
Carrying up to 46 trailers, the
8,097gt vessel, originally European
Enterprise and later renamed
European Endeavour, worked for
Townsend Thoresen and then P&O
Ferries until her sale for TransEuropa
Ferries Ostend-Ramsgate route as
Gardenia from 2007 to 2013 before
moving to the Eastern Mediterranean.
Sistership European Clearway (1976)
ran for TEF as Begonia with Baltic
service and spent time in the Med. She
still sails as Via Mare between Cyprus
and Turkey for Akgunier Line. European
Gateway (1975) was rebuilt as a
passenger/car ferry for GT Link service
as Travemnde Link and later Rostock
Link before ending her days in Greek
waters sailing for Agoudimos Lines
as Penelope A. She was broken up at
Aliaga, Turkey during 2013. RP
www.shipsmonthly.com November 2016
news
BrieF NeWs
WATerFrONT www.shipsmonthly.com Cudham Tithe Barn, Berrys Hill, Cudham, Kent TN16 3AG t > 01959 541444 e > sm.ed@kelsey.co.uk
CONDORFERRIES The Channel
Islands ferry operator has
appointed Keith Gait to the
newly created role of Customer
Service Experience Director. He
will be responsible for managing
Condors Customer Services
and Customer Care teams,
overseeing 30 employees in
Poole, Portsmouth, St Helier
and St Peter Port. He plans to
travel aboard one of Condors
fleet of four ferries at least
once a week to meet customers
and garner feedback. RP
HIStORIClIFEbOatFORCHaRtER
The former Dun Laoghaire
lifeboat John F. Kennedy, built in
Lowestoft in 1966, has recently
moved from the Tyne, where
she has operated in private
hands since being sold out of
service in 1996, to Eastbourne,
continuing as a charter boat
under new owners. For details
see www.baycharters.co.uk.
NEwSHIpSbOOStCalaIS A
63 per cent increase in freight
volumes on the Dover-Dunkirk
and Dover-Calais routes in
the second quarter of 2016
helped DFDS register a positive
financial performance for the
first half of the year following
the introduction of new ships
Cte des Dunes and Cte des
Flandres. Up to 54 daily sailings
are offered on the two routes
to France, and they achieved
record freight volumes in
March, carrying more than
110,000 vehicles for the first
time. DFDS English Channel
freight director Wayne Bullen
said: Our new Dover-Calais
ships allow us to offer higher
frequency and more choice for
customers. DFDS celebrates
the 150th anniversary of its
formation in December; it will
be marked by a special two-part
feature in Ships Monthly. RP
pORtlaNDFIlMING During
July scenes for a new film
about Dunkirk starring Tom
Hardy were shot in Weymouth
Harbour, with the trip boat My
Girl chartered as a backdrop,
with ships brought from Holland
and all over the UK, Including
the Lowestoft sailing trawler
Excelsior, Dutch minesweeper
Sittard and the tug Kingston.
7
 WATERFRONT
Lakers to
the breakers
WATERFRONT www.shipsmonthly.com Cudham Tithe Barn, Berrys Hill, Cudham, Kent TN16 3AG t > 01959 541444 e > sm.ed@kelsey.co.uk
GREAT LAKES
A declining market for limestone,
coal and ore, a flood of new ships and
advancing age is sending a flurry of
Great Lakes bulk carriers to the breakers
this year, including Algoma Centrals
Peter R. Cresswell, built in 1982 as
Algowest and being demolished in
Turkey as Peter. Two other Algoma
Central units have also been sent to
Turkey for demolition: the 1968-built
Algomarine and the similarly aged
British-built Algoma Navigator. Prior
to the demolition of these vessels, the
54-year-old Algoma Montrealais had
arrived in Turkey for breaking. JS
ABOVE Built in 1982, the 30,735dwt
Peter R. Cresswell is one of many older
Great Lakes ships going to the breakers.
Historic Russian frigate
ABOVE The replica frigate Shtandart at Leith in August. IAIN MCGEACHy
TALL SHIPS
On 22 August Shtandart (pictured), a
replica frigate which was the first ship
of Russias Baltic fleet, visited Leith
accompanied by two modern frigates
from the Standing NATO Maritime
Group One (SNMG1). The original
Shtandarts keel was laid down on 24
April 1703 at the Olonetsky shipyard.
She was 100ft long, and had three
rigged masts and 620m2 of sails.
While the original complement
was between 120 and 150, the
8 November 2016 www.shipsmonthly.com
Fire hits ro-pax in the Caribbean
FERRY FIRE
The susceptibility of ro-ro ferries to fire
was again demonstrated in mid-August,
when the 27,362gt Caribbean Fantasy
suffered a blaze off the Caribbean
island of Puerto Rico that forced all 511
passengers and crew to abandon ship.
Picked up by other vessels, most were
transported to San Juan, Puerto Rico,
where several were treated for heat
stroke, shock and dehydration.
The ship herself began drifting and
modern crew consists of 30 trainees
and ten officers. The 1999 replica is
designed for speeds between eight
and nine knots under sail, and up to
15 knots under auxiliary engines.
SNMG1, consisting of the Spanish
frigate ESPS Mndez Nez and
Portuguese frigate NRP lvares
Cabral, arrived in Leith from
Reykjavik on 18 August, leaving on
the afternoon of 22nd, during a
deployment to the North and Baltic
Seas. Shtandart remained in Leith
between 20 and 23 August. IM
eventually ran aground just west of
San Juan harbour. The US Coast Guard,
which sent its cutters USCGC Joseph
Tezanos and USCGC Donald Horsley to
the scene, reported that the fire had
started in the ships engine room and
rapidly spread to other compartments.
Operated by America Cruise Ferries,
the 187m by 28m ferry was built by
Japans Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in
1989 as Higashi Nippon Ferrys Victory
and operated in the Mediterranean
under that name for a number of years.
White Swans 160th year
NORWEGIAN LAKES
History was made on Norways Lake
Mjosa in August when the paddle
steamer Skibladner sailed into a 161st
year since she was introduced after
completion at the Motala Shipyard
in Sweden in August 1856. She was
lengthened and fitted with a more
powerful triple diagonal engine in
1888. There was originally a daily round
trip from Eidsvoll at the southern end
of the lake to Lillehammer in the north.
Skibladners short season from
mid-June to mid-August has long
been tourist-oriented. Based on the
The fine sight of Skibladner in service
on Norways Lake Mjosa.
news
ABOVE The 27,362gt ferry Caribbean
Fantasy suffered a fire in the Caribbean
between the Dominican Republic and
Puerto Rico on 17 August. USCG
She was then sold to Mexican operator
Baja Ferries in 2007 for employment
on the Pacific Coast of Mexico as
Chihuahua Star. The ship became the
sole operating unit of Baja Ferries
subsidiary, America Cruise Ferries, in
2011, when renamed Caribbean Fantasy
for Caribbean employment. JS
lakes western shore at Gjovik, the
230-passenger vessel alternates from
Monday to Saturday between trips to
Hamar and Lillehammer or a southern
circuit via Hamar to Eidsvoll, with
special sailings or charters on Sundays
through September into early October.
Lake Mjosa freezes over in winter
and, while laid-up in 1937 and 1967,
Skibladner sank under the weight of
ice and snow. The ships restaurant was
magnificently restored in the winter
of 1993-94, and work has gone on to
make other areas as close as possible
to their 1856 or 1888 appearance. She
has been oil-fired since 1921. RP
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TIDE CLOCK
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FERRY
BRIEF NEWS
TALLSHIPSTRIP DFDS quickly
sold out a special day cruise
from North Shields to give
passengers a view of the Parade
of Sail as the 2016 Tall Ships
Race left the port of Blyth
on 29 August. The four-hour
programme was covered by
Princess Seaways (1986/31,356gt),
with fares including lunch and
onboard entertainment. The
ferry returned to the Tyne in
mid-afternoon to commence
loading at Royal Quays for
the scheduled departure to
IJmuiden, Holland.
SERVICESTOPS Starlight
Ferries trial cross-Solent link
ended on 12 August, due to
low passenger numbers. Early
morning and late evening
sailings between Yarmouth, Isle
of Wight and Lymington started
in May using former RNLI
lifeboat Mersey Rose, with the
service due to run to October.
Starlight Ferries was set up by a
group of island residents after
receiving more than 6,000 in
donations, some of which will
be returned.
SKYLARKIX A two-year
restoration has started at the
Scottish Maritime Museum
in Irvine of the 1934-built
passenger launch which took
part in the Dunkirk Evacuation
in 1940. First operated from
Bournemouth by J. Bolson &
Sons and licensed to carry 115
passengers, she saw service at
Brighton after World War II and
then moved to Loch Lomond.
More recently Skylark IX sank in
the river Leven at Balloch.
FERRIES IN THE NEWS . . . FERRIES IN THE NEWS . . . FERRIES IN THE NEWS . . . FERRIES IN THE NEWS . . . FERRIES IN T
MNPELICAN The 1999-built con-
ro ferry, chartered by Brittany
Ferries from Maritime Nantaise,
is seen turning off the berth at
Poole. Since February she has
made two trips a week between
Poole and Bilbao, with capacity
for over 100 trailers. KEVIN MITCHELL
10 November 2016 www.shipsmonthly.com
Russell Plummer
Protest over Northlink fares
NORTHERN ISLES
Ferry fares to and from Orkney and
Shetland for services operated on
behalf of the Scottish Government
by Serco Northlink Ferries are to be
frozen through 2017 for the second
year in succession, but there is
disappointment in the islands that
reductions in west coast Scottish fares
through the Road Equivalent Tariff are
not being matched.
The announcement came as
Call for larger Dunoon vessels
FIRTH OF CLYDE
The Scottish Government is insisting on
larger vessels for the Gourock-Dunoon
Clyde crossing when it awards a new
12-year contract for the subsidised
passenger route starting in June
2017. Tender documents specify that
40m ferries will have to be provided,
with the successful bidder also being
encouraged to offer an unsubsidised
service for vehicles.
Current operator Argyll Ferries uses
the 29.9m/244-passenger Argyll Flyer
CATRIONA Caledonian MacBraynes
latest hybrid diesel/electric car
ferry left the Ferguson Shipyard in
mid-July for sea trials on the Firth
of Clyde. The 10 million vessel
sailed the Skelmorlie measured
mile before ramp and loading
trials at Largs, during which she
took on board a 14.5m tri-axle bus
and a loaded a 44-ton lorry. The
sistership to Hallaig and Lochinvar
was due for further trials in August
before commencing service on
the Cal Mac route from Claonaig,
Kintyre, to Lochranza, Arran.
Transport Minister Humza Yousaf
began a three-day tour saying he was
committed to following through with
the Scottish National Partys election
pledge to reduce prices on the routes.
The Liberal Democrats have accused
the SNP of going back on their
pre-election promise, but Mr Yousaf
said: We want these vital services
to continue to be accessible and
affordable, so keeping ticket prices on
hold next year will help achieve that.
We have made a key commitment
(pictured) with support from the 20m
Ali Cat, which can carry 249 passengers,
although in recent winters car ferry
Coruisk (2003/1,599gt) has been
brought in to help. Scotlands Minister
LERIF The veteran ferry, originally THECAT Bay Ferries report
Sealinks Galloway Princess
(1980/12,711gt), long laid up after
the failure of Moroccan company
IMTC, has been towed to Malaga,
Spain for repairs after a reported
sale for the equivalent of 832,000
to a company named as World
Detroit Shipping.
to cut fares on ferry services to the
Northern Isles and we continue to work
towards that goal.
Services direct to Lerwick from
Aberdeen, with others via Kirkwall,
Orkney, are handled by 11,720gt 2002-
built sisters Hjaltland and Hrossey and
with space for 600 passengers and 150
cars, while Hamnavoe (2002/8,780gt),
carrying 600 passengers and 95 cars,
covers the Stromness-Scrabster route.
Northlink also have ro-ro freighters
Hildasay and Helliar on charter.
for Transport Humza Yousaf said: We
have specified that bidders will have to
provide vessels of 40m in length. This
will help address the current issue of
reliability on the service.
growing passenger and car
numbers on the revived Portland,
Maine to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia
ferry route, which was run in 2014
and 2015 by Nova Star Ferries
but failed despite receiving
CAN$40 million in subsidies. The
886-passenger/282-car Austal Auto
Express catamaran, previously
named Puerto Rico and chartered
from the US Navy, makes daily five-
hours-each-way sailings as The Cat.
She leaves Yarmouth each morning,
with an afternoon return crossing.

Islay services
badly disrupted
WESTERN ISLES
Summer problems continued for
Caledonian MacBrayne, who had to
send Islay ferry Hebridean Isles to
the Garvel Dock at Greenock after
the 550-passenger/84-car vessel
suffered bow visor and hull damage
when making contact with a quay at
the mainland terminal of Kennacraig.
After Hebridean Isles reached
the Clyde on 25 July, a one-
ship service to Port Ellen and
Port Askaig continued with the
Extra capacity for UN Ro-Ro
TURKEY
Leading Turkish operator UN Ro-Ro is
launching a 96 million programme to
lengthen eight of its 11 current vessels
to increase fleet capacity overall by
17 per cent. An agreement with the
Tuzla shipyard was announced by UN
chief executive Sedat Gumusoglu, who
said lengthening of the first two ships
would be completed in the opening
half of 2018, and the whole operation
THE NEWS . . . FERRIES IN THE NEWS . . . FERRIES IN THE NEWS . . . FERRIES IN THE NEWS . . . FERRIES IN THE NEWS . . .
REDJET5 Displaced from Red
Funnels fast Red Jet service
between Southampton and West
Cowes by the new Red Jet 6,
the 186-seat craft, built in 1999,
has been sold to Italian regional
operator Toremar and left
Southampton in July. R. PLUMMER
550-passenger/84-car Finlaggan
(2011/5,626gt). To ease congestion
during one of the routes busiest
periods, Cal Mac brought in Troon-
based timber carrier Red Princess,
which has no passenger certificate,
but was able to carry up to 20 cars.
Isle of Arran (1984/3,296gt) also
came off the Arran service to provide
additional capacity from Kennacraig
between 9 and 11 August, during the
Islay Show period. Hebridean Isles
also returned on 11 August, having
already been off the route from
would be accomplished in four years.
The UN fleet, which has developed
two intensive services between Anbarli,
Istanbul and Pendik to the Italian port
of Trieste, includes nine vessels built
in Germany by FSG at Flensburg, some
of which were acquired second-
hand from northern European
operators, while FSG built UN Istanbul
(2013/31,540gt) to UNs own order.
UN Ro Ro changed hands two years
ago, and the new owner, Main Holding
PINADELRIO Spanish operator
Balearia started services using Pina
Del Rio from Almeria and Motril to
Melilla on 5 August, which were
expected to run until at least the
mid-September. The 1992-built
74m Incat catamaran, carrying 520
passengers and 92 cars, first ran
as Patricia Olivia in South America,
with Baltic service in the late 1990s,
before taking her present name in
2011, when she was used between
Port Everglades and the Bahamas.
Four Caterpillar diesels power
water jets for a speed of 35 knots.
ABOVE Hebridean Isles
at Kennacraig after
suffering bow damage
when striking a quay.
MAINPIC Isle of Arran
heading for Islay.
late June into July standing in for
Isle of Lewis (1995/6,735gt) between
Ullapool and Stornoway.
The biggest vessel in the current
Cal Mac fleet suffered bow damage
while she was being moved by tugs
from the Cammell Laird yard at
Birkenhead following a refit that had
already been extended when major
engine problems occurred. Clansman
(1998/5,499gt) first deputised on the
Lewis link, but had to be replaced by
Hebridean Isles due to a pre-booked
dry-docking and refit at Aberdeen.
Actera, is also planning to order two
new ro-ro vessels, together with the
purchase of shore terminals.
ABOVE UN Istanbul, delivered in 2013,
is UN Ro-Ros most modern vessel.
ALMUDAINADOS The 1997-built TASMANIANACHIEVER Australian
Fincantieri monohull fast craft has
joined the fiercely competitive
Gibraltar Strait link from Almeria to
Melilla. Originally Superseacat One,
first of a Hoverspeed quartet from,
she ran Newhaven-Dieppe, Dover-
Ostend and Liverpool-Douglas and
joined Trasmediterranea in 2006.
www.shipsmonthly.com November 2016
news
Potential
buyers for
WATERFRONT www.shipsmonthly.com Cudham Tithe Barn, Berrys Hill, Cudham, Kent TN16 3AG t > 01959 541444 e > sm.ed@kelsey.co.uk
Hurtigruten
COASTAL EXPRESS
British private equity firm TDR Capital,
which acquired Norways Coastal
Express operation Hurtigruten during
the autumn of 2014, is reported to be
talking to three potential buyers after
receiving unsolicited offers.
Hurtigruten was valued at US$884
million when TDR took a 90 per
cent interest, while two existing
shareholders each retained a five
per cent stake. Since then TDR
has provided funds to acquire and
refit new vessel Spitsbergen, and
upgraded four existing ships from the
Norwegian coastal service.
TDR has also ordered two
newbuildings for delivery in 2018 and
2019, with options for two more, all
developed by Rolls-Royce with the
assistance of ship designer Espen Oino,
and to be built in Norway by the Kleven
yard at Ulstenvik.
Earlier, TDR partner Jon Roen said
Hurtigruten was profitable when
acquired and had been made more
so following changes to capacity
management and onboard spending
by passengers. A Coastal Express vessel
leaves Bergen every afternoon, with a
daily lunchtime return departure from
Kirkenes and with more than 30 calls
made in either direction.
operator Toll Shippings overnight
Bass Strait service between
Burnie and Melbourne is to
receive a pair of 12,000dwt ro-ro
vessels from Chinas Jinling Yard.
They will replace the 20,342gt
sisters Tasmanian Achiever and
Victoria Reliance, which came
from Samsung, Japan in 1999 and
were both lengthened by 32m in
2004 to double capacity before
further life-extension work in
2004. There was a management
buy-out of the Toll Group in 1986.
11
CRUISE William Mayes

Port of Tynes record day of cruising

CRUISE NEWS
The Port of Tyne had its busiest
day for cruise callers on Tuesday
16 August, with four cruise ships
visiting to enable their passengers to
sample the north-east of England.
An estimated 5,500 people passed
through the Passenger Terminal
during the day. The Port has seen an
increasing number of cruise ships
calling in recent years, with 43 calls
booked this year, and no fewer than
57 expected during 2017.
AIDAvita, making Aida Cruises
first call at the port, arrived around
midday on Monday and sailed at 0800 ABOVE Koningsdam with AidaVita BELOW CMVs Astor (1987/20,704gt)
on Tuesday morning, making space andSeven Seas Voyager, three of the arrives on the Tyne. She had made
for Transoceans Astor, which arrived four cruise ships which came to the the short hop from Harwich and was
at noon. The other two ships, both of Tyne on 16 August. DAVID FRASER bound for Rosyth. KEN SHORT
which arrived in the early morning,
were Holland Americas newest vessel,
Koningsdam, and Regent Seven Seas
Seven Seas Voyager (2003/46,363gt).
The 197.2m Koningsdam, at
99,836gt, became the largest cruise
ship to visit the port as she made
her maiden call. On departure she
headed for the anchorage at South
Queensferry, giving passengers
access to Edinburgh, while AIDAvita
was bound for Dover.

Magellan was described by the Clacton Gazette as a giant cruise ship

following an incident on the Thames. WILLIAM MAYES Another power failure
PRINCESS CRUISES
While sailing from Cobh to Dublin as
part of a 12-day British Isles cruise, the
112,894gt Caribbean Princess suffered
an engine failure on 3 August, off the
Wicklow coast. The ship had 3,306
passengers and 1,158 crew on board at
the time of the incident, which lasted
for about nine hours.
Unlike some other incidents
were carried out, and in the good
weather conditions there was never
any concern that the ship might go
aground, although the Holyhead
Coastguard despatched a tug to the
scene in case of any change.
As a result of the incident,
CaribbeanPrincess call at Dublin
was cancelled, and she proceeded
to Belfast,where she arrived early
on 4 August. The problem was later

Major collision? No!

CMV
A number of newspaper reports blew
what appears to have been a minor
incident out of all proportion with
headlines such as Giant cruise ship
nearly sinks Tilbury passenger ferry.
The giant cruise ship in question
was CMVs relatively small 46,052gt
Magellan (ex-Holiday, Grand Holiday)
although it might appear to be a
giant ship if you are on a small boat
and it is bearing down on you.
The circumstances of the incident
appear to be that Magellan was
in recent years, full power was diagnosed as stemming from a failure
maintained for all passenger services in the electrical switchboard which
while an assessment and repairs operates the diesel generators.
leaving her berth at the London
Cruise Terminal at Tilbury on 4 August
and a strong gust of wind caused
her to scrape along the side of the
Tilbury to Gravesend ferry, which
berths just outside the limits of the
cruise terminal, but on the same
landing stage. The ferry service was
suspended for safety checks, but was
soon back in operation with a largely
undamaged ship, and Magellan sailed
as scheduled on her cruise. She has
been operated on cruises out of
London Tilbury, Newcastle upon Tyne
and Dundee since 2015.
ABOVE Engine failures are now being reported more frequently. WILLIAM MAYES

12 November 2016 www.shipsmonthly.com

Refit for
Pacific Dawn
P&O AUSTRALIA
Pacific Dawn has been the Brisbane-
based ship of P&O Cruises Australia
since 2009. Her last big refit took place
in 2010 and now it is time for another
one. The ship will be dry-docked at
the Sembcorp Marine Admiralty Yard
in Singapore from about 18 February
2017 for a two-week makeover.
The additional features will include
a children-only waterpark, complete
with two waterslides. The self-service
Plantations will become The Pantry,
with a rather more diverse range of
options from nine outlets, including a
Mediterranean counter. On the main
public room deck all of the bars will
be given a dcor more in keeping with
that of the recently introduced Pacific
Aria and Pacific Eden. Pacific Dawn and
Pacific Aria, between them, will offer
108 cruises from Brisbane next year.
ABOVE Pacific Dawn will get a big
makeover in 2017. WILLIAM MAYES
Baltic port booming
with cruise calls
PORT OF KIEL
The Port of Kiel, located on Germanys
Baltic coast just inland from the
entrance to the Nord-Ostsee Kanal,
celebrated its 2,500th cruise call on
13 August, when Cunards Queen
Elizabeth arrived. It was a busy day
for the ports cruise berths, with
MSC Musica, AIDAluna and AIDAvita
preceding her into the harbour.
Another one to Cuba
LINDBLAD EXPEDITIONS
Lindblad Expeditions will have an
interesting year in 2017, with the
introduction of the first newbuild in the
companys history. The ship, which will
be named National Geographic Quest, is
currently under construction by Nichols
Brothers Boat Builders at Freeland, near
Seattle, and is one of a pair of ships,
the second of which will be delivered
in 2018. This duo will carry 100
passengers on a wide range of mainly
coastal and inland waterway cruises.
Quests inaugural cruise is scheduled
to be a 13-night voyage featuring the
Inside Passage, the route that links
ABOVE Panorama II
sailing from Havana.
WILLIAM MAYES
According to the ports records,
the first cruise ship visit was that by
Hapag-Lloyds Europa on 23 June
1974. She made a second call later that
year, and Norwegian America Lines
Vistafjord also made two calls in 1974.
Calls built up gradually, with most of
them in the early years made by ships
operating for German companies. In
the late 1980s Festival Cruises based
a ship in Kiel, as did Costa from 2002.
Washington State with Southwest
Alaska, largely through the islands
of British Columbia. The National
Geographic Endeavour II, formerly the
Chilean-operated Via Australis, will
take over from National Geographic
Endeavour in the Galapagos Islands.
The venture to Cuba will feature the
chartered Panorama II, a 44-passenger
sail-assisted vessel which is owned
by Variety Cruises of Greece and was
launched in 2004. She is currently
sailing Cuba itineraries for her owner,
but from December 2016 until March
2017 will undertake Lindblads people-
to-people programme, comprising
11-day cruises from Havana.
Costa Pacifica
and Mein Schiff
4 together in
Kiel. WILLIAM MAYES
By 2007 port calls had grown to 100
in that year alone, with MSC and Aida
ships regular visitors.
Today, Kiel is an important port for
both Aida and TUI Cruises, each of
which has named ships in the harbour,
but at present MSC holds the record
for the largest number of calls, with
327. In 2015 the ports four cruise
berths handled 133 cruise calls by 25
different ships.
www.shipsmonthly.com November 2016
BRIEF NEWS
CARNIVAL The sister to Carnival
Vista, due for delivery by
Fincantieri in March 2018, will
be named Carnival Horizon. She
will have a gross tonnage of
approximately 133,500.
CRUCEROSAUSTRALIS Late,
but for the record, in January
Cruceros Australis ordered a
replacement for Via Australis,
sold recently to Lindblad, from
ASENAV in Chile. The ship will
have a gross tonnage of about
4,500 and will carry around 200
passengers. She will be named
Ventus Australis.
CELEBRITY Celebrity Cruises
will sail year-round Caribbean
itineraries with Celebrity
Equinox from April 2017.
Previously the ship has spent
summers in Europe. She will be
based in Miami and will offer 24
Eastern and Western Caribbean
departures.
COSTA Costa Cruises will
base 1,300-lower berth Costa
neoClassica in Mumbai from
December 2016 to March 2017,
offering a range of cruises to
Goa, Cochin, the Maldives and
Colombo. Cuisine on board
will be a mix of Italian and
traditional Indian.
TUI Mein Schiff 5 was named
in Travemnde on 15 July
by the German singer Lena
Meyer-Landrut. TUI Cruises have
said that in 2015 the company
reduced fuel consumption on
its other ships by 14.1 per cent
per passenger day, largely as
a result of slower sailing and
more efficient itineraries.
HOLLANDAMERICA The first
steel for Holland Americas
Nieuw Statendam was cut at
Fincantieris Palermo shipyard
on 12 July. The ship is due for
delivery in November 2018.
MSC The second Seaside class
ship will be named MSC Seaview
when delivered in June 2018.
The lead ship, MSC Seaside, is
due for delivery in December
2017 and will be based in Miami.
MSC will move MSC Splendida
to China in 2018. It is not certain
if she will replace MSC Lirica,
which is already there.
13
NAVAL
Kiwis go large with
new fleet tanker
NEW ZEALAND
The New Zealand government has
approved the acquisition of a newbuild
fleet tanker for the Royal New Zealand
Navy (RNZN). The as yet unnamed
ship is to cost NZ$493 million and
will become the navys largest ever
Trident renewal approved
ROYAL NAVY
The Royal Navy is to continue
providing Britains Continuous At Sea
Deterrent (CASD) after the House of
Commons voted to renew the UKs
Trident programme. The approval
by 472 votes to 117 provides the
go-ahead for the construction
of four new submarines to carry
the Trident missile system and its
nuclear warheads. Only one of 59
MPs from Scotland, where all the
RNs submarines are based, voted in
favour of the renewal.
The so-called Successor class will
14 November 2016 www.shipsmonthly.com
Gary Davies
vessel when she enters service in
2020. Designed to refuel two ships at
a time while under way, produce and
store fresh water, and transport bulk
goods, the new platform will provide a
step change in capability over HMNZS
Endeavour, which will be 30 years old
when she is retired in 2018.
follow on from the four boats of the
Vanguard class that have maintained
the CASD since 1992. The cost of the
platforms is officially estimated at
31 billion, with a further 10 billion
set aside as a contingency. The
Trident missiles themselves, which
are built in the USA, do not require
replacement until the 2040s.
Work on the assessment
phase of the programme has been
underway for some time with
almost 4 billion being spent on
design work, long-lead items, and
investment in new construction and
maintenance facilities.
The Successor class
will enter service from
the 2030s. BAE SYSTEMS
Endeavours replacement will
also be able to operate helicopters,
including hangar facilities for any one
of the NZ Defence Forces helicopter
types, which include the NH90,
SH-2G Seasprite and A109. The hull
is to be ice-strengthened and the
vessel winterised for operations in
Services not required
Diligence is one of two
ships taken up from trade
(STUFT) retained by the
RFA after the Falklands
War. MARITIME PHOTOGRAPHIC
RFA
The Royal Fleet Auxiliarys forward
repair ship, RFA Diligence, is being
offered for sale by the Disposal
Services Authority. According to the
information provided for potential
buyers, the ship was withdrawn from
operational service in May 2015.
This was shortly after she received a
multi-million pound refit, after which
she was laid up at Birkenhead. As such,
the 35-year old ship remains in good
overall condition, albeit not in running
order. Despite a projected out-of-
The RNZNs new fleet
tanker is to be built by
Hyundai Heavy Industries
in the Republic of Korea.
NZ DEFENCE FORCE
Antarctica and the Southern Ocean.
This specific capability was selected
in order to allow it to deliver fuel
andstores in support of Scott Base
and McMurdo Station during the
Austral summer months, although
theroute would still need to be
cleared byan icebreaker.
service date officially listed as 2020, her
demise without a direct replacement
is likely due to the building of a new
permanent forward operating base for
the Royal Navy in Bahrain.
The former North Sea oil rig support
ship was chartered as Stena Inspector
by the British government to support
naval activities during the 1982
Falklands War, and was subsequently
purchased outright and converted into
a specialist fleet maintenance vessel
providing engineering support for
both ships and submarines that were
away from their home ports.

Germanys
endurance
frigate
GERMAN NAVY
The first of a new type of innovative
frigate has been handed over to the
German Navy. The F125 class FGS
Baden-Wrttemberg (F222) arrived
at Wilhelmshaven naval base on 18
July, from where she will undergo
equipment trials and crew training
Ambush
collision
ROYAL NAVY
HMS Ambush has returned to the
UK for repairs after sustaining
external damage to her bow fin
from a glancing collision with a
merchant vessel as she surfaced
near Gibraltar. The Astute class
attack submarine was exercising in
Gibraltars territorial waters inside
the Mediterranean when she hit
the tanker. The ship reported no
damage and there were no injuries
on either vessel.
With the Royal Navys use of
Gibraltar, and in particular the
basing of nuclear vessels there,
a source of intense friction with
Spain, the British MOD was quick
to offer reassurance that there
was absolutely no damage to the
submarines nuclear plant. The
incident, which was almost certainly
due to human error, is nonetheless
a great embarrassment given
the claims about the vessels
advancedsensors.
ahead of commissioning in mid-2017.
The F125s are designed to remain
deployed for up to two years at a
time to maximise operational time
on task and to reduce port visits and
transit times. Two 120-strong crews,
Alpha and Bravo, are to be rotated on
a four-monthly basis. There is a high
degree of automation throughout that
Type 26 row brewing
ROYAL NAVY
The UK Ministry of Defence has
awarded a contract to BAE Systems for
three Maritime Indirect Fires System
(MIFS) Integrated Gunnery Systems
(IGS) for the Royal Navy to be fitted
to Type 26 frigates and one trainer
system. The MIFS IGS includes the
5-inch 62-calibre Mk.45 Mod 4 Naval
Gun System, along with an automated
ammunition handling system, gun
fire control system, and qualified
ammunition. The 183 million contract
includes an option for five additional
systems for other ships of the class.
ABOVE Construction of the Type 26 frigates is on course to begin at least two years
later than planned. BAE SYSTEMS
FGS Baden-Wrttemberg is the
largest frigate in the world.
BUNDESWEHR/CARSTEN VENNEMANN
extends to the ships weapon systems,
which can all be remotely controlled.
To lessen the requirement for
maintenance, they are the first German
warships equipped with a Combined
Diesel-eLectric And Gas (CODLAG)
propulsion system, with electric motors
powered by smaller diesel generators
rather than large diesel engines.
Meanwhile, the ongoing delay in
actually ordering the new frigates is
developing into a full-scale row between
the Westminster government and the
Scottish Parliament after the MODs
chief executive for equipment admitted
to a Defence Select Committee that
he did not know when the go-ahead to
build the ships would be given.
The explanation given is that the
detailed design is still only 60 per cent
complete, while it is claimed that a
shortage of money is the real reason
for the lack of progress, which could
have repercussions for thousands of
jobs on the Clyde.
www.shipsmonthly.com November 2016
news
BRIEF NEWS
WATERFRONT www.shipsmonthly.com Cudham Tithe Barn, Berrys Hill, Cudham, Kent TN16 3AG t > 01959 541444 e > sm.ed@kelsey.co.uk
USNAVY The lead vessel
of the US$100 billion Ohio
Replacement Program, formally
known as SSBN(X), is to be
named USS Columbia. It will
be the first time a naval vessel
has been named after the
US capital. The current USS
Columbia, a Los Angeles class
attack submarine, and eight
previous ships are named for
other cities in various states,
while previous vessels named
USS Washington have honoured
the first President or the State
of Washington.
SPANISHNAVY The Spanish
MOD has approved design
changes to the overweight
first-of-class S 80 submarine
Isaac Peral (S 81) after a Critical
Design Review. The diesel-
electric boats design length
has been extended from 71m to
80m to overcome weight and
buoyancy issues, without which
it was calculated that the vessel
would not have been able to
resurface again once dived. The
error has been an expensive
embarrassment for the state-
owned shipbuilder Navantia.
INDIANNAVY India is set
to acquire three Admiral
Grigorovich class (Project
11356M) frigates intended for
the Russian Navys Black Sea
Fleet. The ships are similar to
the Indian Talwar class. For the
deal to go ahead, India would
also need to reach agreement
with Ukraine for the supply of
engines, something that Russia
has been unable to do, hence
their sale. The hulls could be
moved from the Baltic to India
for completion.
BANGLADESHICG The Coast
Guard has taken delivery
of its first of pair of former
Italian Navy corvettes from
Fincantieri. The Minerva class
vessels were handed over
at the Muggiano shipyard in
Italy on 4 August. They have
been renamed Syed Nazrul
(ex-Minerva) and Tajuddin
(ex-Sibilla). The others, Urania
and Danaide, are scheduled to
be handed over next year. The
Bangladeshis plan to operate
the refitted ships as Offshore
Patrol Vessels for 20 years.
15
CaRGO
New berths
soon in use
PORT NEWS
At the end of July the newly-built
berths at the Green Port Hull
development on Alexandra Dock, Hull
welcomed their first vessels, with
Stema Shippings Bulknes and Beltnes
delivering 400,000 tonnes of crushed
stone from Norway. Three berths have
been built by Associated British Ports
to accommodate wind installation
vessels visiting the Siemens facility.
The new quayside measures 620m and
offers a continuous berthing face.
Bringing the stone by sea removed
20,000 truck deliveries from the
local road network. The stone was
discharged to the new berths at a rate
of 3,000 tonnes per hour. RC
aBOVE The self-discharging bulk carrier
Beltnes at the new Green Port Hull berth.
Ethane-burning carriers
NEWBUILD
Japans Mitsui engineering &
Shipbuilding has completed the
first of three ethane-burning
Mitsui-MAN B&W 7G50Me-C9.5-
GIe two-stroke diesel engines it is
building for installation in three
36,000m3 capacity liquified ethylene
gas carriers being built by Chinas
Sinopacific Offshore engineering for
Hartmann Schiffahrt of Germany and
Ocean Yield of Norway.
ethane was chosen as fuel for
the new ships, in preference to
aBOVE A series of eco Star gas carriers developed in Germany will be powered
by new ethane- and methane-burning MAN Diesel & Turbo engines. HB HuNTe
16 November 2016 www.shipsmonthly.com
The 110,039dwt MSC Sofia Celeste
arriving at Tilbury.
First neo-Panamax comes to Tilbury
CONTaINER ShIPS
London Container Terminal in Tilbury,
along with the Port of London
Authority (PLA), welcomed the
inaugural call of MSCs neo-Panamax
vessel to the Thames on 16 August
following her transit of the newly
enlarged Panama Canal.
The MSC-operated vessel, Sofia
Celeste (95,497gt), has a capacity of over
heavy fuel oil (HFO), due to its more
competitive pricing as well as the
significantly shorter bunkering time
it entails and its lower emissions
profile. MAN Diesel & Turbo has
verified that the engines can also be
run on methane and that the Mitsui-
built units will be set up so that they
can easily be converted to run on
methane as an alternative to ethane
if needed. The superstructure-
forward gas carriers will also feature
a Svelte bow design to improve
seakeeping at high transit speeds as
well as Star Trilobe cargo tanks. JS
8,800Teu and is the first in a new class
of vessels deployed on a reconfigured
service connecting the West Coast of
South America, east Coast of North
America and Northwest europe. The
vessel is the first to call into the uK after
having transited the new Panama Canal.
LCT is the uKs largest reefer
container terminal and one of the
most efficient uK ports for handling
containers. This new service from
aBOVE The container vessel Cap Harriett is seen in the Bosphorus in ballast on 8
July as she made her way to Constanta, where she was dry-docked and renamed
Harrier Hunter. SIMON SMITH
Bocimar to expand fleet
FLEET NEWS
Antwerp-based company Bocimar
is continuing to expand its fleet of
container ships. In the autumn of 2015
the company acquired three former
Hamburg Sd sister vessels, but they
were not renamed until June and July
this year. The 4,255Teu vessels were
three of a class of ten produced for
Claus Peter Offen by Hyundai Heavy
Industries at ulsan in 2009.
MSC into LCT comes as a direct result
of the opening of the Panama Canal
expansion in June; this allows larger
vessels to transit the waterway.
This new service, with the canal
accommodating larger vessels,
directly links the uS and South America
with europe. MSC Sofia Celeste was
completed in 2014 and has an on-
board capacity of 8,819Teu, of which
1,462 can be used with reefer units.
In June the 262m Cap Hamilton
(41,358gt/51,744dwt) was renamed
Hawk Hunter, while on 8 July the 262m
Cap Harriett (39,250gt/51,780dwt)
transited the Bosphorus in ballast
on her way to Constanta, where she
was dry docked and renamed Harrier
Hunter. The third vessel of the trio,
the 41,358gt Cap Harvey, is still sailing
under her original guise. All three
vessels fly the flag of Liberia. Bocimar
also operates dry-bulk carriers. RC

Maersk to upgrade eight E class
Eugen Maersk, first of the E class vessels to have her capacity increased by 1,300TEU, at Felixstowe
in late July following her enlargement. NICHOLAS LEACH
CONTAINER SHIPS
Maersk Line have decided to upgrade
its eight 15,550TEU E class vessels
so that they can carry a further
1,300TEU. The work, which will also
involve fitting a new bulbous bow
to cope with slower speeds and
a new propeller, includes raising
the accommodation block and
Banned from Europe Teignmouth
ABOVE The 1,394dwt River Pride, formerly the well-known Hoopride, has been
banned from visiting European ports for three months. SIMON SMITH
COASTER
A Yorkshire Dry Dock-built coaster
is unlikely to be returning to UK
waters anytime in the near future,
having been banned by Port State
Control authorities in Europe.
Following detention in the Bulgarian
port of Varna for 23 deficiencies,
River Pride has been banned from
visiting European ports for the next
three months. A sistership currently
registered in Moldova, Alize, was
also subjected to a 12-month ban in
January after multiple detentions.
wheelhouse and increasing the height
of lashing bridges to take an extra tier
of containers. This work is intended to
double the lifetime of the ten-year-
old ships, and is being carried out at
Chinas CSIC Qingdao Beihai Shipyard.
The first E class vessel to be
so converted was Eugen Maersk
(171,542gt), which is now back in
service. Maersk have already placed
River Pride operated as Hoopride
for Lapthorn from her delivery in
1984 until her sale in 2006 as Pipit.
She became River Pride in 2010. Since
leaving the UK-registered fleet, she
has flown the flags of Liberia, Panama
and Moldova, and is currently on the
Democratic Republic of Congo register.
In August the vessel was anchored off
the Turkish Black Sea port of Samsun.
Her sistership, Alize, traded as
Hoocrest until 2007, before taking her
current name in 2013, and she has also
traded as Curlew, River Carrier and
Noah. She is at Haydarpasa, Istanbul. RC
an order for 11 (plus six optional)
second generation Triple E ships with
a capacity of 19,630TEU for delivery in
2017-18, but there have been fewer
orders for such large vessels this year,
due to chronic overcapacity and large
trading losses. Maersks decision to
upgrade its E class fleet suggests
that the capacity limit may have been
reached in the current climate. RC
dredging
PORT NEWS
In June a major dredging programme
was undertaken at Teignmouth. The
approach channel is usually maintained
by the local bed leveller Teign C
(94/27gt) and periodically deepened by
the Cornish dredger Mannin (72/172gt).
Following the work, the port will be
able to accommodate ships of 5.5m
draught on a 4m tide, with operators
ABP hoping that this will increase
the cargo shipped through the port.
The work was undertaken by Danish
firm Rohde Nielsen, who employed
their suction hopper dredger Modi
R (94/1,201gt), which is designed to
operate in shallow waters and is ideally
suited to the task. DW
ABOVE The 1,201gt hopper dredger
Modi R at Teignmouth. DAVID WALKER
www.shipsmonthly.com November 2016
news
BRIEF NEWS
WATERFRONT www.shipsmonthly.com Cudham Tithe Barn, Berrys Hill, Cudham, Kent TN16 3AG t > 01959 541444 e > sm.ed@kelsey.co.uk
ABOVE The 15,3115gt MSC
Alexandra after the collision. MARITIME
AND PORT AUTHORITY OF SINGAPORE
COLLISION In early August the
Iranian supertanker Dream II
and the container ship MSC
Alexandra came to blows off
Singapore, with both ships
sustaining damage, the MSC
vessel extensively, but no
injuries or pollution were
reported in the incident. The
319,999dwt Dream II, owned
by Irans state-owned National
Iranian Tanker Company,
sustained damage to her bow,
while MSC Alexandra was hit on
her stern port quarter, causing
a large hole to be made in the
hull and a number of containers
to fall overboard. Singapores
Maritime and Port Authority said
that its Port Operations Control
Centre had alerted the Masters
of both vessels of the risk of
collision, but to no avail. JS
NEWORDER Taiwans Wisdom
Marine has ordered two
115,000dwt Aftramax tankers
from Japan Marine United
Corporations Hiroshima yard
for delivery in early 2019. JS
NEWBULKER South Koreas
Hyundai Mipo Dockyard has been
contracted to build a 50,000dwt
bulk carrier for compatriot
owner Ilshin Shipping that will
use LNG as a fuel. To be delivered
next year, the ship will be used to
transport limestone from South
Koreas Gangwon Province to
Gwangyang City for steel-making.
CHEMICALTANKERS Stream
Tankers AS of Norway has
ordered two 19,900dwt
chemical tankers from Japans
Fukuoka Shipbuilding, both to
be fitted with stainless steel
cargo tanks, for delivery in late
2018 and early 2019. JS
17
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Conrad Waters, Editor of Seaforth World Naval Review, summarises
recent global naval trends and describes some of the new warship
classes currently being delivered.
N
aval
developments
during 2016
have been driven
by growing
political tension on both sides
of the globe. In Asia, Chinas
assertive stance towards an
ambitious set of maritime
claims have put her at odds
with many of her neighbours.
This has particularly been the
case in the South China Sea.
Here, Chinese construction
companies have been drafted
in to expand a number of
reefs and shoals into fully-
fledged islands under a strategy
sometimes referred to as the
great wall of sand.
Inevitably, many countries
are looking to expand their
own naval capabilities while
turning to the United States
Navy for reassurance. The
tension is boosting local naval
construction. For example,
Australia released a new defence
white paper in February 2016
20 November 2016 www.shipsmonthly.com
ABOVE The US Navy aircraft carrier
John C Stennis (CVN-74) receiving
stores from the combat support ship
Rainier (T-AOE-7) while transiting the
South China Sea in June. Chinas island
building land reclamation strategy
in the area is leading to increased
US Navy deployments to reassure
regional allies of its support. US NAVY
The changing world
environment is inevitably
having an impact on warship
design. The post-Cold
War period saw significant
investment in warships
optimised to promote stability
from threats such as terrorism
and piracy in far-flung areas of
that confirms plans for 12 new This is the first time the Russian the world. This has particularly
submarines among a list that Navy has been involved in such been the case in Europe,
also includes nine frigates, operations, demonstrating where any direct threat was
12 patrol vessels and at least the United States Tomahawk perceived to be low after the
two replenishment ships. The missile no longer enjoys a Soviet Unions collapse. To
French Short Fin Barracuda monopoly in long-range some extent, war-fighting
design has been selected for precision attacks. capabilities were accorded a
the planned submarines, while
builders from Italy, Spain and
the UK are fighting it out for
the frigate contract. However,
all assembly and outfitting work
will be carried out in Australia.
Relations between Russia and
the West also remain strained.
Indeed, the Russian armed
forces have been flexing their
muscles, harassing NATO
warships operating in the
Baltic and Black Seas while
undertaking an actual military
intervention in Syrias civil war.
This saw Russian surface ships
in the Caspian Sea and the new
submarine Rostov-on-Don in the
Mediterranean fire Kalibr cruise
missiles at positions held both
by Islamic State terrorists and
more moderate rebel groups.
 MODERN WARSHIPS

lower priority. The renewal of of the US Navy surface fleet.

tension is obviously resulting in The ultimate design is much
a rethink of this approach and larger and more expensive than
priorities are changing. This is these ships and explains why
evident from recent orders for only three of a planned class of
submarines and other war- 32 will be completed.
fighting vessels. A major reason for the
growth in size and cost is the
United States Navy amount of new technology
USS Zumwalt which has been incorporated
The most innovative vessel to into the design. This includes
enter service during 2016 is an integrated electrical
undoubtedly the new US Navy propulsion system similar to ABOVE Japans new helicopter carrying destroyer Izumo is able to deploy a
destroyer Zumwalt (DDG- that found in Britains Queen wide range of rotary aircraft in support of anti-submarine, amphibious and
1000). Looking something of Elizabeth class aircraft carriers. humanitarian operations. Her standard air group is nine helicopters, which can be
a cross between a 19th-century It provides sufficient surplus operated from five spots on her flight deck. JMSDF
ironclad and a stealthy science power to allow the potential
fiction spacecraft, she was use of new weapons, such as
originally designed to support rail-guns and lasers in due
amphibious operations in the course. Another innovation is
littoral regions adjoining the the use of a peripheral launch
worlds coastlines. system by which missiles are
This role is reflected in her dispersed in quadruple vertical
principal armament of two launchers located around the
155mm (six inch) guns. Each side of the hull. These are
of these, which are known as designed to explode outwards
Advanced Gun Systems, can fire if hit, protecting the destroyer
precision-guided shells at a rate from significant damage.
of ten rounds per minute out
to ranges of around 150km. Peoples Liberation
The design also incorporates Army Navy (China)
an enclosed slipway under Type 052C Luyang II
the flight deck for Special Rather more conventional in
Forces boats, and a range of design than Zumwalt, but still
helicopters and unmanned showing modern influences
aerial vehicles can be operated. such as stealth and non-rotating
Incredibly, Zumwalt was electronically scanned radar
originally intended to be a panels, are Chinas Type 052C
relatively cheap supplement Luyang II or Lanzhou class
to the Arleigh Burke and destroyers. Two prototype
Ticonderoga class destroyers vessels were completed as long
and cruisers that form the bulk ago as 2005, but a considerable
BELOW Tensions in Asia are being replicated in Europe, where the relationship
between Russia and NATO is under strain. This is leading many navies to consider The new US Navy destroyer USS Zumwalt on sea trials in April. Two 155mm
placing more emphasis on territorial defence after a period when overseas guns are housed in the stealth mountings forward of the bridge, while
expeditionary deployments were fashionable. This image shows the Royal vertical launch cells for a wide range of missiles are housed in quadruple
Norwegian Navy frigate Roald Amundsen and the mine-countermeasures vessel cells positioned flush with the deck along each side of the hull. US NAVY
Rauma on an exercise in coastal waters. STINA NYMARK BREKKE/NORWEGIAN ARMED FORCES

ABOVE The Royal Navy of Oman is taking delivery of two new HSSV high-speed
support vessels built by Austal. This picture shows the lead ship, RNOV Al Mubshir,
on sea trials off the Australian Coast in March. AUSTAL

www.shipsmonthly.com November 2016 21

ABOVE/MAINPIC Six Chinese Type 052C destroyers have now been completed and they are being increasingly used as part of
the Peoples Liberation Army Navys international deployments. During 2015-16 the fifth ship in the class Jinan was part of
a group that undertook a 309-day circumnavigation of the globe. The ships visited 18 ports in 16 countries, exercising with a
range of navies en route. Royal austRalian navy and us navy

gap followed before four more of cover provided by Chinas The Lanzhou class are
were delivered between 2013 largely land-based air force. In becoming increasingly evident
and 2015. contrast with previous Chinese on international deployments,
In line with Chinese destroyer designs, the Type suggesting growing Chinese
ambitions to be able to conduct 052Cs use a significant amount confidence in the maturity of the
oceanic or blue water naval of indigenously-sourced design. However, production has
operations, the design places equipment. However, much been halted at six ships to allow
significant emphasis on anti- of this is still derived from transition to an improved Type
air warfare so as to permit modified Russian or Western 052D class. This incorporates a
deployment beyond the range technology. new gun, an improved missile
launching system and an
upgraded main multi-function
radar. Around 12 of these ships
will be built before there is a
further shift to the new Type 055
destroyer. These are much larger
ships that will reportedly rival the
US Navys Arleigh Burke class in
size and capability. They will be
used as escorts for Chinas new
indigenous aircraft carriers, the
first of which is now being built
at Dalian (formerly Port Arthur).
Japan Maritime Self
ABOVE The Republic of Singapore Navy has recently taken delivery of the new Defence Force
littoral mission ship Independence, a corvette-sized vessel designed to undertake JDS Izumo
a broad spectrum of missions in coastal waters. She will undertake an extensive Another example of the powerful
series of trials before entering operational service in 2017. There will eventually be new ships the tensions in Asia are
eight ships in the class. Republic of singapoRe navy spawning is Japans helicopter-
carrying destroyer Izumo. A
medium-sized command ship
and helicopter carrier in all
but name, she is representative
of the regional popularity of
aviation support ships that
lack the strike potential of true
aircraft carriers. Izumo herself
is a larger, modified version of
the previous Hyuga class, two
of which were commissioned in
2009 and 2011.
She lacks some of the
earlier ships specialised
anti-submarine equipmen-t,
but is able to carry more
helicopters and has greater
capacity to support amphibious
deployments. There have
been repeated reports that
consideration is being given to
operating the F-35B jump jet
variant of the Lightning II Joint
Strike Fighter from her deck.
However, this would require
greater modification than might
be immediately apparent. Izumo
was delivered in March 2015. A
sister, Kaga, will follow in the
course of 2017.

22 November 2016 www.shipsmonthly.com

 MODERN WARSHIPS

The Lanzhou cLass are

becoming increasingLy evidenT
on inTernaTionaL depLoymenTs,
suggesTing growing chinese
confidence in The maTuriTy of
The design

Ship DetailS of Some of the lateSt warShip DeSignS

Ship USS ZUmwalt type 052C lUyang ii JDS iZUmo rSS inDepenDenCe
CoUntry USA China Japan Singapore
type Destroyer (DDG) Destroyer (DDG) Helicopter Carrier (DDH) Littoral Mission Ship (FS)
DiSplaCement 15,800 tons 7,000 tons 27,000 tons 1,200 tons
DimenSionS 186m x 25m x 8m 155m x 17m x 6m 248m x 38m x 7m 80m x 12m x 3m
propUlSion Integrated electric, 30+ knots CODOG, 28+ knots COGAG, 30 knots Diesel, 27 knots
Crew 147 + 28 aviation c.280 c. 500 23 + up to 30 mission specialists
armament 2 x 155mm, 2 x 30mm guns 1 x 100mm gun, 2 x 30mm CIWS 2 x 20mm Phalanx CIWS 1 x 76mm, 1 x 25mm, 2 x 12.7mm guns
20 x quad VLS modules 48 x VLS cells, 8 x SSM 2 x Sea RAM SAM 8 x VLS cells
2 x helicopters 6 x torpedo tubes 9 x helicopters 1 x helicopter (flight deck only)
1 x helicopter (standard air group)

Republic of
SingaporeNavy
RSS Independence
Although many warship designs
from the leading Asian navies
have tended to reflect their
desire to establish ocean-going
naval forces, operations in
the coastal zone still remain
important for larger fleets. This
is reflected in the Republic
of Singapore Navys latest
Independence class littoral
mission vessels, which share
many concepts with their lager
namesakes, the US Navys
littoral combat ships.
Designed to be able to
carry out a wide range of
missions with as small a crew
as possible, they can be quickly
reconfigured for various
different tasks through the
use of containerised mission
packages. The lead ship was
delivered by local builders ST
Marine in May 2016 prior to
a lengthy series of trials. Seven
more will follow by 2020.
Royal Navy of Oman
RNOV Al Mubshir
Another new warship class
designed principally for littoral
operation is the Royal Navy
of Omans HSSV high-speed
support vessel. Just as for
Singapores Independence
class, these new ships take their
inspiration from a US Navy
design, in this case the Spearhead
(EPF-1) class expeditionary fast
transports. Two of the vessels
were ordered from Australian
ferry builder Austal in 2014.
The first, Al Mubshir, was
delivered in May 2016. She is
capable of transporting over 250
troops, together with supporting
vehicles and equipment at
speeds of up to 38 knots, and
can operate a medium-sized
helicopter. In addition to her
troop-carrying role, she is well
equipped to support disaster-
relief and search-and-rescue
operations.
Royal Netherlands Navy
HNLMS Karel Doorman
A good example of the lightly-
armed but highly flexible
warships being designed by
European navies for lengthy
expeditionary operations to
promote stability overseas is the
Dutch joint support ship Karel
Doorman. She is intended to
be able to combine a number
of roles in just one hull. She
can replenish other ships at
sea, transport equipment over
considerable distances, and act
as a sea-base for amphibious
operations.
In another practice that is
becoming common in the

www.shipsmonthly.com November 2016 23

 THISPICANDBELOW The Dutch joint support ship Karel
Doorman is an innovative and flexible design that is
intended to allow one ship to carry out replenishment,
transportation and sea-basing roles. Displacing around
28,000 tons, she is the size of a light aircraft carrier but
does not incorporate a through deck. She is only lightly
armed, but her Thales I-Mast provides sophisticated sensors
and communications equipment. ROYAL NETHERLANDS NAVY

shipbuilding industry, Karel such as those posed by

Doormans hull was built at
the Dutch Damen groups
low-cost facility at Galati in
Romania before being shipped
to the Netherlands for final
assembly. Although not
formally commissioned until
April 2015, she has already
been used to deliver supplies to
combat the Ebola virus in West
Africa the previous autumn. In
addition to being able to carry
considerable quantities of fuel
and stores, she has a large deck
that can support operations by
the heaviest helicopters.
A berthing point at the stern
facilitates offloading of troops
and supplies. Armament is
limited to close-range weapons
for use against missiles and
so-called asymmetric threats,
speedboats and light aircraft.
However, the incorporation of
an integrated mast similar to
that found on the Holland class
offshore patrol vessels provides
her with strong surveillance and
communications abilities.
Royal Swedish Navy
A26 Class
An entirely different type of
vessel is represented by the
Royal Swedish Navys new
A26 class submarines, two of
which were ordered from local
defence company Saab in June

Computer-generated images of the new Swedish A26 class submarine

show her to have an unusual design aimed at reducing radar cross section.
Another interesting feature is a large multi-mission portal located between
the torpedo tubes that can be used to deploy divers. COPYRIGHT SAAB AB

24 November 2016 www.shipsmonthly.com

 MODERN WARSHIPS

WORLD NAVAL FLEET STRENGTHS MID 2016

COUNTRY USA FRANCE ITALY SPAIN UK RUSSIA CHINA INDIA JAPAN S KOREA
Aircraft Carrier CVN/CV 10 1 1 - - 1 1 1 - -
Support Carrier CVS/CVH - - 1 - - - - - 3 -
Strategic Missile Sub SSBN 14 4 - - 4 13 6 - - -
Attack Submarine SSGN/SSN 57 6 - - 7 20 8 1 - -
Patrol Submarine SSK - - 6 3 - 20 50 13 17 14
Fleet Escort CGN/CG/DDG/FFG 85 17 18 11 19 25 60 24 37 24
Patrol Escort DD/FFG/FSG/FS 7 15 4 - - 45 35 10 6 18
Missile Attack Craft PGG/PTG - - - - - 35 75 10 6 17
Mine Countermeasures MCMV 11 14 10 6 15 40 25 6 27 9
Major Amp LHD/LPD/LPH/LSD 31 3 3 3 6 - 4 1 3 1
Notes 1. Russia and China totals are approximate; 2. Support carrier numbers for Italy include one vessel converted to an amphibious role.

2015. These submarines are
specifically designed for high-
intensity warfighting missions
in the shallow and dangerous
waters of the Baltic, where
stealth is all important.
Sweden has previously
demonstrated an ability to
design stealthy surface warships
with designs such as the Visby
class corvettes. The A26
class will be an attempt to
transfer this approach to the
underwater domain.
Saabs efforts to ensure what
they term virtual invisibility
for the A26 design extend
across a wide range of potential
give-aways, including sound,
heat, magnetic signature and
radar cross-section. This is
apparent in the unique design
of the hull and fin, as well as
the enclosure of propulsion
systems to reduce noise.
The latter include Saabs
own Stirling air-independent
propulsion system, which allows
prolonged underwater operation
to prevent the need to surface
for air. An interesting design
feature is a multi-mission portal
located between the four sets
of torpedo tubes to allow divers
and unmanned vehicles to be
released into the sea.
Russian Navy
RFS Admiral Grigorovich
Some of the limitations
in Russias current naval
expansion are revealed in the
new Project 1135.6 frigates of
the Admiral Grigorovich class.
The first of these commissioned
in March and three will be
in service by year-end. They
have a distinct resemblance
to the Indian Navys Talwar
class, of which they are slightly
modifiedversions.
The Russian ships were ordered
when programmes for new
designs started to run behind
schedule. In effect, they represent
the use of a tried and tested
concept which originally dates
back to the Krivak type frigates
of the Cold War to bolster
fleet numbers, until problems
with the next generation of
ships can be resolved.
A further difficulty with
the Grigorovich class design
is its reliance on equipment
sourced from various republics
of the former Soviet Union.
This is a throwback to the
Cold War era, when military
production was dispersed to
provide greater resilience in
times of war. Among these
components are gas turbines
manufactured in Ukraine,
which not surprisingly in the
light of recent events they are
no longer willing to provide.
The result is that work on a
further three members of the
class will be suspended until an
alternative source of engines
can be developed.
BELOW The new Russian frigate Admiral
Grigorovich is an upgraded version of
the Talwar class that Russia recently
built for the Indian Navy. Three will
have been commissioned by the end
of 2016, but work on a further three is
suspended, as Ukraine will no longer
supply the gas turbines that form
their main propulsion plant. YANTAR

www.shipsmonthly.com November 2016 25

 ri t i
Ma Mosaicm e
A collection of readers
own photographs
The port of Galway on the west coast of Ireland is at the heart of Galway Citys economic and
social development. The port is expanding, and now operates under the auspices of the Galway
Harbour Company. The number of ships that visit is increasing, with a good variety of types to
be seen, from coasters to cruise ships, as Brian McGraths photos show.
ABOVE The Netherlands-
flagged 2,545gt cargo ship
Aerandir (2009) arrives in
Galway to collect a cargo of
scrap metal.

LEFT Phoenix Reisens

1984-built cruise ship
Artania (44,588gt) at
anchor off Galway Port on
a one-day visit. Irelands
west coast is visited by
a growing number of
cruise ships each year, and
Artanias capacity of 1,260
passengers makes her
one of the larger vessels.
Between 1927 and 1933 the
transatlantic liner trade was
re-established in Galway
and more than 100 such
ships called at the port.

26 November 2016 www.shipsmonthly.com

 READERS ARCHIVE

ABOVE The 2,820gt cargo ship Lehmann Bay, which was built in 1998, arrives in
Galway to collect a cargo of scrap metal.
ABOVE The fishery research vessel Corystes
usually operates around Northern Ireland,
but is not an uncommon sight in Galway.
The 284gt vessel was built for the Centre
for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture
Science (Cefas) and homeported in
Lowestoft until being transferred to the
Northern Ireland Department of Agriculture
and Rural Development in January 2005.

LEFT The 5,232gt Gibraltar-registered cargo

ship Andante (2005) arrived at Galway in
late July with the largest ever wind turbine
blades so far brought into the port.
The blades are assembled in Belfast and
shipped to Galway for use at a new wind
farm on the west coast of Ireland.

BELOW The 2,844gt cargo vessel Fehn

Heaven (1996, ex-Saar Amsterdam) arriving
at Galway. The Antigua & Barbuda-flagged
vessel trades round Europe, and is now
named Fehn Pollux.

www.shipsmonthly.com November 2016 27

Fire on board British
The tragic accident that befell the
tanker British Crown in August 1966
was, as Graham Wallace discovered,
little reported and little known,
with no memorials to those who
lost their lives in the fire.
O
n Saturday 20
August 1966,
at 0530, the
tanker British
Crown was
loading the last 1,000 tons of
her 25,000-ton cargo at Umm
Said for Kwinana, when there
was a major explosion and fire
in the centre cargo tank just
underneath and to the aft of
her amidships accommodation.
Those crew that could
immediately abandoned ship,
and the tanker then burned for
approximately three months,
eventually being declared a
total constructive loss.
She was emptied of 12,000
tons of unburned cargo, run
aground, sunk and abandoned,
a grisly sight for several years,
before she was eventually cut
28 November 2016 www.shipsmonthly.com
up in situ and fed into a local
steel mill. There is no known
memorial to her loss or to
the personnel, 12 officers, the
berthing/cargo master and six
crew, who died.
British Crown was one
of BP Tanker Cos original
supertankers, having been built
in 1952 at Cammell Lairds
yard on Birkenhead. By 1966
she was a well-worn vessel. In
August of that year, she was
returning to Umm Said to
load another cargo for Western
Australia. She bunkered at
Das Island before heading off,
under the command of Captain
Tuckett (Ships Master) and
Captain Harris, Iraq Petroleum
Companys Berthing Master,
to the Umm Said pilotage and
southern offshore berth.
On 19 August all loading was
proceeding as normal under the
supervision of her Chief Officer
Tom Carrick, Second Officer
Graham May and Third Officer
Paul Griffith. About 0500 the
next morning the Captain and
Chief Officer were discussing
finalising the cargo when the
explosion occurred. Both
managed to get to the bridge
wing and jump overboard,
being rescued much later.
The violent explosion and
ensuing fire immediately
engulfed the midships
accommodation. There were
no survivors from the Mates or
Engineers decks, and eventually
these decks collapsed. The
tide was flowing bow to stern,
burning oil was floating down
towards the aft engine room and
crew quarters, but only along
the starboard side. The deck
work party, led by the Second
Officer, disappeared, and the
aft cargo deck was devastated.
The Berthing Masters IPC crew
boat, moored on the starboard
side, drifted aft, a flaming wreck,
and her crew swam ashore.
In the engine room was the
4/8 watch consisting of Third
Engineer Kennedy, Junior
Engineer Jack Easton and a
fireman. The now off-duty 12/4
Senior Engineer Ray Bartley was
cooling off in the aft Officers
Saloon with his first trip Junior
Engineer Rodney Slack. Bartley
stayed aft and survived; Slack
eventually returned to his
midships cabin and perished.
Jack Easton went up to deck
level and soon realised the ship
Crown
EXCURSION SHIPS

Authors involvement in BP Tankers

I
was a BP Marine Engineering
Apprentice and Engineering Officer
from 1960 to 1962. In 1961 I was
Fourth Engineer on British Light
with Third Engineer Frederick Gerald
Wilson. I was working shoreside in
1966, when I learned that he had
been killed in an explosion aboard
British Crown.
Not until my retirement in 1996
did I start a BP website (www.
bpapprentices.com); this included
a section on the British Crown
disaster, and I started searching
for information about the disaster.
My first great success was finding
Fredericks widow and son, born
after his fathers death.
I have met two officers who sailed
on the British Crown, Captain Tony
Tuckett (died 2013) and Ray Bartley,
and had phone conversations with
Jack Easton and Tom Carrick. I have
been in touch with about six of the
victims families and been successful
in answering most of their questions.
I continually look to meet more, but
now it is grandchildren.
Umm Said was a godforsaken hole
when I was there a number of times
between 1960 and 1962; I have never
been able to obtain much information
about the shoreside facilities in the
1960s. One of my most interesting
local contacts was Gregory Warrick,
son of the Berthing Master, Captain
Michael Warrick. His family lived in the
Umm Said area for 20 years, and he
proved to be an excellent source.
Michael Warrick sailed a few BP
tankers; on his death in 2007, Gregory
wanted to find some photos of
BP tankers, found my website and
immediately got in touch. Michael
Warricks picture is in BPs 100th
Anniversary Book (2015) Riding the
waves. I have made many friends
in my search for information about
British Crown and my BP background
has helped open doors.

British Crown was one of several similar tankers

built in the 1950s for BP. She had 16 complete
transverse watertight bulkheads, was classed
with Lloyds Register of Shipping, and her safety
equipment was in order and all appropriate
certificates were in force at the time of the fire
that ended her career. FOTOFLITE ABOVE On board the tanker British Light in 1961 are Third Engineer F. J.
Wilson (left) and the author, who was Fourth Engineer.

had to be abandoned. The

British Crown on
engine room crew left, and the
builders trials.
fireman extinguished the boilers.
As the fire raged, of the
four ships lifeboats three were
soon put out of action. Fourth
Engineer Ray Bartley attempted
to lower the only remaining
one, the port aft boat, but it
would not move. The only way
to abandon ship was to take to
the sea and swim or slide down
the mooring line, to take refuge
on the port aft mooring buoy.
The two young engineers,
Bartley and Easton, began
to direct the Goanese crew
to abandon ship. Ray Bartley
threw a wooden galley table
overboard and used that to
help crew reach the buoy.
Jack Easton, being a certified
lifesaver, took to the water in an

www.shipsmonthly.com November 2016 29

 BRITISH CROWN
BUILT 1952, Cammel Laird
& Co, Birkenhead
DImeNSIONS 619.5ft x 81.3ft x
44.75ft
TONNAge 18,566gt, 28,000dwt
eNgINeS Two steam
turbines, double
reduction gearing
to one shaft; two
watertube boilers
450psi
SPeeD 15 knots
COmPLemeNT 63 in total: 18 British
Officers, 45 Goa
crew
ABOVE Captain Warrick striding up the beach as British Crown burns. This photo
was provided by Captain Tuckett, and is probably one taken by IPC employee Tom
Greenway, who was on the scene and took several photos of the ship on fire.
initial attempt to find personnel
from amidships. That failing, he
returned to help non-swimmers
to reach the buoy, including
fending off the blazing crew
boat reaching the buoy.
The sounds and sights must
have been horrific: the intensely
burning ship with oil floating
on the surface and no external
Awards for gallantry
For his gallantry Jack M. Easton
received the 1966 Mountbatten
Medal of the Royal Life Saving
Society; this is awarded to the
holder of one of the Societys life-
saving proficiency awards for the
rescue adjudged to be the best
of the year. He also received the
Stanhope Gold Medal of the Royal
Humane Society for the bravest
deed of the year.
Raymond Bartley received a
testimonial on vellum from the
Royal Humane Society for his
gallantry.
Abdul Karim Dawood (Fireman)
was presented with a Certificate
from the Society for Protection of
Life from Fire and the Marottam
Morarjee award for Gallantry.
30 November 2016 www.shipsmonthly.com
British Crown, emptied of her
cargo, abandoned and resting
on the bottom, with all her tanks
deliberately flooded with seawater.
ABOVE British Crowns foredeck showing the assembly of blue piping used to
empty the cargo tanks and the flexible rubber hose over the railing which was
connected to Btitish Loyalty to pump out the cargo.
help immediately available.
There were a few small boats
in the area, but they were of
limited use. The fire-fighting
Tug Arzanah was sent from
Das Island, but its equipment
was totally insufficient for
the task, and eventually she
returned to her port, which had
been left without its protection.
She did, however, return a
long while later to help finally
extinguish the remaining fire.
Eventually a number of
vessels arrived to help and
ABOVE A view from British Loyalty showing the cargo line from the wrecked
rescued crew from the water
British Crown to British Loyalty to enable the oil to be transferred.
and the buoy. A helicopter, in
the area on another task, was
sent, but proved to be of no
service. Captain Harris, the
IPC Berthing Master, had two
days previously requested a shift
change to allow him to bring
the tanker in. The Berthing
Master he replaced was Captain
Michael Warrick, who became
the major coordinator in the
attempts to control the fire, and
he eventually had the anchor
chains and mooring lines cut
and beached the vessel. She
drifted aground still burning.
In December 1966 BP Chief ABOVE The Arabic script on British Crowns hull warning to keep off the wreck.

Engineer Chris Smith was sent
to the wreck to transfer 12,000
tons of unburned cargo to the
old BP tanker British Loyalty.
He was helped by two members
of British Loyaltys crew, her
Third Engineer and Electrician;
unfortunately, neither of their
names were recorded. This was
accomplished by ingeniously
using plastic piping and salt
water to displace oil into the
stricken ships forward coffer
dam, and from there air-
operated pumps on the ship
were used to transfer the oil
ABOVE Looking from the foredeck to the amidships of the wrecked British Crown. via a sunken metal pipeline to
British Loyalty, an old 12,000-
ton BP tanker, which was
anchored 200 yards away on
24-hour standby, and was ready
to leave instantly at the first
sign of any ignition.
From British Loyalty, the
cargo was taken further out
to deep water and by 27
December 1966 had been
transferred to British Merchant
for delivery to BPs Aden
refinery. British Merchant was
of a similar size and style to
British Crown, and some of her
engineers visited the wreck with
ABOVE Looking forward, main deck, amidships accommodation to bow. the intention of collecting spare
parts, but found the engine
room to be a site of complete
devastation. The ships tanks
were flooded, the hull rested on
the bottom, and so the ship was
sealed up to prevent entry. A
keep-off sign was painted on
her stern in Arabic, and she was
left in that state for many years.
The official inquiry to the
tragedy took place between 2
and 14 October 1967, under
the Merchant Shipping Act of
1984. There were no survivors
from the epicentre of the fire,
and, as a result, it was never
absolutely certain what caused
the fire. Although the Umm
ABOVE The minimal shore facilities at Umm Said in 1966. All colour photos courtesy
Said cargo was particularly
of chris smith
volatile, it was vented to mast
height as normal. But a bridge-
mounted air-conditioning
motor assembly was deemed
to have probably caused the
spark which led to the ships
ultimatedestruction.
A funeral service was held
later in 1966 in the Umm
Said area for those who had
lost their lives. A memorial to
Those lost at Sea from the
Port of Looe can be found
in the small Cornish port,
and Electrician J. G. Uglow
is listed. British Crown had
ABOVE The tangled deck of British Crown, looking aft. a crew change in May 1966
www.shipsmonthly.com November 2016
EXCURSION SHIPS
IN MEMORY
The following Officers and crew
who lost their lives in British Crown
Paul Adrian Griffith, Third Officer, 24,
from Bristol
Alec Webster, Chief Engineer, 37,
from Cleethorpes
Frederick Gerald Wilson, Second
Engineer, 30, from Hull
Peter Masters, Extra Fourth
Engineer, 22, from Sunderland
Rodney Bruce Joseph Slacke, Junior
Engineer, 28, from Nottingham
Peter Edward Austin, Junior
Engineer, 22, from Bristol
Joseph Godfrey Uglow, Electrician,
43, from Looe
Frederick George Fifield, Chief
Steward, 44, from Barry
Frank Thomas Smith, Radio Officer,
22, from Lancashire
Keith Sydney Smith, Navigating
Cadet, 18, from Birmingham
George M Dower, Navigating Cadet,
19, from Aberdeen
Graham Edwin May, Second Officer,
25, from Bexhill-on-Sea
Captain Harris, the Berthing Master,
also perished
Six members of the Indian deck
crew also died, from the on-deck
loading crew and the remainder
when abandoning ship
Esack Ebrahmin, Deck Serang, 45
Indian from Ratnagiri
Deoram Sonoo, Seaman 1, 44 Indian
from Ratnagiri
Abdul Rahmin Yusuf, Seaman II, 25
Indian from Ratnagiri
Bhagwan U Tandal, Seaman II, 24
Indian from Ratnagiri
SK Ebrahim SK Esmail, Pumpman,
45 Indian from Ratnagiri
SK Ebramin SK Mohd, Assistant
Pumpman, 37, Indian from Ratnagiri
The five survivors were, at the time
of the explosion, were in the aft
accommodation and engine room
Third Engineer, Alexander Kennedy,
Senior Officer of engine room watch
Fourth Engineer, Ray Bartley Senior
officer of the previous watch
Jack Milne Easton, Junior Engineer
of the engine room watch
Captain Tony Tuckett
Chief Officer Tom Carrick
in Antwerp, and it is highly
probable that all who joined in
March were aboard in August.
There was a small cemetery in
the old Umm Said site area for
foreign seamen but, due to site
expansion, it has disappeared.
It is now 50 years since the
tragedy and, to date, there is
no known memorial to British
Crown and her crew.
31
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Bristol Coastal
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Ship-visiting
Post-trauma counselling
Transport
Advocacy
All-round support

Find out more at www.missiontoseafarers.org

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The Mission to Seafarers

Caring for seafarers around the world

themissiontoseafarers @FlyingAngelNews
Carnival
TM

SHIP

Miracle
TM

OF THE
MONTH

The successful Spirit class cruise ship

C
Peter Knego goes on arnival Miracle
is the fourth of
board Carnival Miracle Carnival Cruises
to look at her interior quartet of Spirit
class ships. Built
designs and assess the in 2004, she followed the nearly
guest experience. identical 2001-built Carnival
Spirit and Carnival Pride and
the 2002-built Carnival Legend.
The hull and machinery of this
class of ships forms the basis of
a number of Carnival platforms,
making it one of the most prolific
and successful blueprints in
passenger ship history.
Offshoots of the Spirit class
include Holland America Lines
four Vista class ships (Zuiderdam,
Oosterdam, Westerdam and
Noordam), Holland Americas
Signature class (Eurodam, Nieuw
Amsterdam), Cunards Queen
Victoria and Queen Elizabeth,
P&Os Arcadia and Costa
Cruises Costa Atlantica, Costa
Mediterranea, Costa Luminosa
and Costa Deliziosa.
By current standards,
Miracle and her three sisters
are moderately sized, nicely

Most of the Carnival

Miracles exterior deck
areas, including Sun
Deck, are lined in high
quality teak.

ABOVE Carnival Miracle boasts a forward observation platform on Lido Deck that offers an
excellent vantage point from atop the bridge wings.

The sleek, angular Carnival Miracle

is the fourth and final member of
Carnival Cruises popular Spirit class.

www.shipsmonthly.com November 2016 33

 Carnival
Miracle
Carnival Miracle will be based in Long Beach, California until the spring of
2017, when the ship will begin cruising from China.

At the Lewis Carroll-themed Mad Hatters Ball, a likeness of Guests enter Carnival Miracle at the Promenade Deck level The wine-themed, double-deck Bacchus Dining Room can
Carnival architect Joseph Farcus offers a tea cup. of the Metropolis Atrium. seat up to 1,250 guests.
 www.shipsmonthly.com

The vertiginous Metropolis Atrium with its glass lifts, as A skylight in the base of the ships funnel is the setting for Frankensteins Lab is a nightclub with an oversized version
seen from Lido Deck. the Manhattan-themed Nick and Noras steakhouse. of the Frankenstein monster as its main focal point.
proportioned, angular vessels,
with clean lines and a relatively
low superstructure topped with
Carnivals trademark winged
funnel. Like her sisterships, she
is the product of the Kvaerner
Masa Shipyard (hull no.503)
in Helsinki. Now called STX
Finland, the yard was founded
as Wrtsil and has operated in
recent years as Aker Finnyards.
The Spirit class ships are
distinguishable from the rest
of the Carnival fleet by the
glass skylights in the base
of their funnels. They sport
12 passenger decks and are
powered by six nine-cylinder
Wrtsil diesel engines that
drive twin Azipods to give a
service speed of 22 knots.
Following a major refit at
San Franciscos BAE Systems
drydock in 2014, the 88,500gt
Carnival Miracle boasts many
of Carnival Cruises new 2.0
dining and entertainment
enhancements, while retaining
the highest passenger space
ratio (attained by dividing
the gross tonnage by double
occupancy capacity) in the
Carnival fleet of 41.
In comparison, the lines
older Fantasy class ships are
smaller, at 70,000gt, but
carry almost as many guests
(2,052, resulting in a PSR
of 34), and the larger ships
likewise have PSRs ranging
from 37 (Carnival Liberty) to
34 (Carnival Breeze). Miracle
is currently homeporting in
36 November 2016 www.shipsmonthly.com
Long Beach, California on
year-round cruises to Mexico,
Hawaii and Alaska.
Miracle designs
Evident from the moment
one steps on board is former
Carnival architect Joseph
Farcus conceptual decorative
style, which, in the case of
Carnival Miracle, is inspired by
or representative of Fabulous
Fictional Icons. In all but the
recently modified Carnival 2.0
spaces, the ship is infused with
Farcus frenetic use of colours
patterns and materials.
The prolific marine architect
got his start working with the
legendary Morris Lapidus (best
known for his MidCentury ABOVE Among Carnival Miracles more spacious accommodations are the 44 340ft2 Suites.
style Miami Beach hotels,
including the Fontainebleau)
and has been working with
Carnival since 1975, when
the line had a two-ship fleet
of vintage British-built ocean
liners: the 1961-built Mardi
Gras (ex-Empress of Canada)
and the 1956-built Carnivale
(ex-Empress of Britain, Queen
Anna Maria). Initially, Farcus
supervised minor upgrades
and modernisations to the two
former Empresses, but his first
major Carnival commission
was the top-to-bottom
transformation of Safmarines
S.A. Vaal from a combination
passenger-cargo liner into the
modern Festivale in 1978.
His bold reinterpretation of
a once traditional liner into a ABOVE Carnival Miracles 1,167-seat Phantom Showroom spans three decks.

LEFT Carnival Miracle anchors
at Cabo San Lucas, Mexico on
her Mexican Riviera cruises.
glitzy, neon-bedecked party
ship not only changed the
face of Carnival Cruises, but
led to an overall industry trend
towards more flashy cruise ship
design. The Farcus interior
look was an integral part of
the Carnival experience before
his departure in 2011, and he
also designed ships operated by
Carnivals Costa subsidiary.
On board Miracle
Thanks to uncluttered open
decks, three stairtowers, 15
elevators and wide passageways,
Carnival Miracle is easy to
navigate. Public areas are
concentrated at the top and
bottom, with five decks of
cabins and suites in between.
Guests enter Carnival Miracle
on the Promenade Deck level of
the Metropolis Atrium, which
has a grand staircase descending
from a mezzanine on one side
facing a trio of panoramic glass
elevators on the other. In its
centre is a bar where guests can
look up into an expanse filled
with wave-patterned, iridescent
banisters and backlit orange
and purple glass panels that
culminate in a massive fresco of
reclining Roman ladies.
Some of the ships more
traditional features include
teak-lined decks and balconies
and even an open promenade
which, when combined with
the interior Gatsbys Garden,
allows passengers to make a
full circuit around the ship.
ABOVE Carnival Miracle berths within sight of the 1936-built former Cunard Line Queen Mary at Long Beach.
There are also forward-facing
CARNIVAL MIRACLE observation terraces, including
COMPANY Carnival Cruise Lines one directly above the bridge
LAUNCHED 5.6.2003
wings, offering panoramic
views, jutting out over the sea.
BUILT 2004, Kvaerner Masa
Up on Sun (10) and Lido
Shipyard, Helsinki,
(9) Decks, the spa and gym
Finland (hull no.503)
are situated forward and Nick
DIMENSIONS 963ft x 106ft x 26ft
and Noras steakhouse and
TONNAGE 88,500gt Horatios buffet are stacked
CAPACITY 2,124 passengers between the middle and aft
934
pools. The steakhouse is quite an
CREW
innovative space, with its domed
PROPULSION Six nine-cylinder red skylight that forms the base
Wrtsil diesels,
of the funnel. Its lofty ceiling
62,370kW (combined),
is cathedral-like, especially with
driving twin pods
the rooms positioning at the top
SPEED 22 knots
edge of the ships ten-deck-tall
atrium. And for vertiginous thrill
seekers, there is a glass staircase
that loops approximately 100ft
over the vast chasm.
Over the top
Among the more over-the-top
spaces, the Madhatters Ball
is a cabaret-style lounge and
comedy club that features 3-D
figures from Lewis Carrolls
Alice In Wonderland. In
Frankensteins Lab, the ships
double-deck nightclub, there is
a giant Frankensteins monster
bolted to the bulkhead behind
the dance floor amid gargoyles
and tubes of plasma lighting.
The Bacchus Dining Room is a
particularly striking space with
its massive purple chandeliers
representing clusters of grapes
ABOVE The glass skylight in the base of and silver-painted columns.
the funnel is one of Carnival Miracles Elsewhere, one will find
more unique architectural features. decorative tributes to Horatio
www.shipsmonthly.com November 2016
SHIP OF THE MONTH
Hornblower, the Phantom of
the Opera, Edgar Allan Poe,
the movie Casablanca and
more. Love it or hate it, no
one can accuse Farcus work of
being bland or uninteresting.
In contrast, Carnival Miracles
newly added or remodelled
spaces, such as the Alchemy
Bar, the SkyBox Sports Bar and
the RedFrog Pub, seem almost
generic in their tameness.
Carnival Miracles
accommodation ranges
from Interior Staterooms to
Penthouse Suites with separate
bedrooms and sitting areas.
Among the most sought-after
are the aft-situated Vista Suites,
with wraparound balconies that
overlook the ships wake. Typical
outside Balcony Cabins boast
teak verandas with tinted glass
rails and full length glass windows
to provide unobstructed sea views.
All staterooms feature twin beds,
a small desk area, cherry-toned
cabinetry with shelves, flat
screen TVs, mini-fridges with a
menu of snacks and drinks for
purchase, a sofa and table.
Carnival Miracle is
impeccably maintained by an
international crew of 934. Her
officers are especially proud
of the ships solid Finnish
construction and reliable
machinery. And while Carnival
Miracle might not have some of
the bells and whistles that can be
found on the latest generation
of mega-ships, she enjoys a
fiercely loyal following.
37
STOCKHOLM
Jewel of F
or many visitors to
Stockholm, the first
vessel to catch the
eye is the elegant full-
the Baltic
rigged sailing ship
af Chapman, which is moored
at Skeppsholmen almost
opposite the Royal Palace. For a
fortunate few it will also be their
temporary home, as the vessel is
maintained as a fully functioning
Swedens capital city is surrounded by water, so it youth hostel on which guests
is no surprise that ships play such a major part in can stay in comfortable cabins,
some of which have been
its everyday life. And with many historic vessels restored back to their original
moored along its quaysides, a museum displaying style. It is a far cry from her
original purpose as a cargo ship.
the worlds best preserved 17th-century warship,
She was built by Whitehaven
and steamers still in active service, Stockholm is a Shipbuilding Co in 1888 as
shiplovers delight, as Nick Hall discovers. Dunboyne for Dublin-based
Charles E. Martin & Co, and
On her maiden voyage
for the first 20 years of her
from Whitehaven, life was employed primarily
afChapman sailed round on voyages between the UK
Cape Horn to Oregon on and Australia. She passed
the US west coast. through the hands of several
Scandinavian owners, in the
process being renamed G. D.
Kennedy, but in 1923 was
acquired by the Swedish Navy
for use as a training ship and
renamed af Chapman. She
has been owned by the City of
Stockholm since 1949.
17th-century warship
The jewel in the citys maritime
crown is undoubtedly the
17th-century warship Vasa,
which is preserved ashore in
her own dedicated museum
38 November 2016 www.shipsmonthly.com
Lady Hutton today boasts 61 cabins
of varying size and category, but
when she was the yacht Vanadis
the same space was occupied by
just seven luxury suites.
in Djurgrden. In one way
it is strange that Vasa should
be preserved, as she was a
failure, sinking in Stockholm
harbour on 10 August 1628
just 1,300m into her maiden
voyage, with the loss of at least
30 of her crew. Many of her
cannons were subsequently
salved, but the ship herself
was to remain on the seabed,
almost perfectly preserved, for a
further 333 years.
A major and delicate salvage
operation eventually brought
Vasa to the surface in April
1961, and she was placed on
display the following year at
the temporary Wasavarvet
Museum. It was not until June
1990 that she became the
centrepiece of themed exhibits
about all aspects of naval life
in the early 17th century at
the new Vasa Museum, which
is the most visited museum in
Scandinavia.
Near the Vasa Museum is a
small collection of preserved
vessels, including an icebreaker,
a lightship, a lifeboat and
several small warships. The
icebreaker, Sankt Erik, was
Swedens first, and was built
for the City of Stockholm
at the Finnboda Shipyard in
1915. She was originally named
Isbrytaren II and powered by
two coal-fired triple-expansion
steam engines developing a
total of 4,000bhp.

ABOVE Despite concerns about Vasas stability, pressure from Gustav II Adolf led to
Vice Admiral Klas Fleming ordering the ship to sail. WIKIMEDIA-JAVIER KOHEN
Lightship Finngrundet
Finngrundet, or more correctly
Fyrskepp nr 25, dates from 1903
and served the Swedish navigation
authority for more than 60 years. She
was built in Gvle and, unlike British
light vessels, was self-propelled, her
steam engine enabling her to make
her own way to station rather than
requiring a tow.
Generally she remained on her
station at the Finngrund banks in the
southern Gulf of Bothnia during the
Although initially employed
ABOVE In autumn 1995 Sankt Erik made her longest ever voyage, a 52-day round in keeping channels in the
trip from Stockholm, during which she visited 13 harbours, including Lule in the archipelago ice-free, she was
far north of Sweden, and the Norwegian capital, Oslo. lent to the state in hard winters
and later spent much of her
time assisting shipping in the
Gulf of Bothnia, around the
coast of Skne and elsewhere.
A major refit in 1958 saw her
converted to burning oil and
the enclosure of her bridge, and
she was renamed Sankt Erik.
She was decommissioned in
1977 and has been a museum
ship since 1980.
The rescue vessel Bernhard
Ingelsson was one of the first
all-welded steel lifeboats in
Sjrddningssllskapet, the
ABOVE The former Trinity House flagship Patricia had the honour of conveying Swedish rescue service. She was
HM Queen Elizabeth II during three fleet reviews, including one at Spithead in May built by Hammarbyverken in
1969 celebrating the 20th anniversary of NATO. Stockholm in 1944, measures
12.3m by 4.2m, and is
powered by a 60hp Skandia
diesel engine. She served at
rescue stations at Torekov and
Slvesborg and was bought by
the Maritime Museum in 1996.
Although owned by the
Swedish Maritime Museum,
the coastal minesweeper M20
is operated by the veterans
charity Freningen M 20. She
is one of a total of 26 wooden
M class boats built for the
Swedish Navy between 1938
ABOVE Classrooms and workshops were created within Polfors 54.2m hull, when and 1942 and was built by
she was converted for her present role as a training ship. Neglingevarvet in Stockholm
www.shipsmonthly.com November 2016
PRESERVED VESSELS
ice-free part of the year, returning to
harbour in winter for maintenance. She
was manned by a crew of eight, and was
decommissioned in 1969 after being
replaced by a fixed, fully automatic,
unmanned lighthouse tower.
Finngrundet has been a museum
ship in Stockholm since 1970, while
another former light vessel, Fladen
(Fyrskepp Nr 10b dating from 1892),
is in private ownership just opposite
at the island of Skeppsholmen.
in1941. During World War
II she was engaged in patrol
duties defending Swedens
neutrality, and, together with
her sisters, helped to find and
destroy thousands of mines
after hostilities had ended.
She was later used for
training duties and was
eventually decommissioned in
2005. Many of her sisters were
sold and converted into private
yachts, and several can be seen
in and around Stockholm
today. M20 is maintained in
seagoing condition, as is the
torpedo boat Spica (T121),
which celebrates her 50th
birthday this year. Spica is
powered by three Bristol
Siddeley Proteus gas turbines
giving her a top speed in excess
of 40 knots, and is owned by
the Foundation T121 Spica.
She is based at the old torpedo
boat base on Gl during the
winter months, but in summer
is usually open to the public at
a berth near the Vasa Museum.
Gamla Stan is Stockholms old
centre and is dominated by the
royal palace, but the island is also
home to the Mlardrottningen
(Queen of Mlaren) floating
hotel, a vessel whose elegant
lines hint at her fascinating
history. She was built by Krupps
at Kiel in 1924 as the motor
39

Historic tugs around Stockholm
ABOVE Gesar, originally named Neptun.
BELOW Fritz worked in Gothenborg.
yacht Vanadis for New York
millionaire C. K. G. Billings
and, at 240ft in length, was
at the time the largest diesel-
powered yacht in the world.
Another American
entrepreneur, Harrison
Williams, bought her in 1926
and renamed her Warrior, but
three years later she was sold to
Frank Hutton, who gifted the
yacht to his daughter Barbara
Hutton, the Woolworth heiress,
on her 18th birthday. Warrior
was requisitioned by the
Royal Navy in June 1940 and
converted to the anti-submarine
yacht HMS Troubadour, later
serving as an accommodation
vessel before being sold to
Norwegian owners in 1948.
Later used as a training ship and
passenger ferry, she was rescued
from the breakers and refitted
in 1982 for her present role as
floating hotel, and is officially
named Lady Hutton.
Several historic tugs are to be found
around Stockholm, including the
106-year-old Vin, which helped
a number of Russian officers to
escape from their homeland during
the 1917 Revolution. Although built
as a steam tug, Vin had been
converted to and was in use as an
officers yacht when she made her
escape to Finland via Lake Saimaa.
She was subsequently converted
back to a tug and sailed to her
present home in Stockholm in 1975.
Others include the 1878-built Gesar,
Fritz and Titan both dating from
1908, and World War II-built former
US Army tugs Leo (ex-ST-748), Tampa
(ex-ST-742), and Tiger (ex-ST-749).
She acted as a Royal Yacht
during HRH Prince Philips
visit to Scandinavia in 1952,
and took part in both the
Coronation Review at Spithead
the following year and the
Silver Jubilee Review in 1977.
Patricia was sold in 1982 and
arrived in Stockholm in 1986
to take up her present role.
ABOVE Leo was involved with D-Day.
BELOW Vin worked in timber towing.
Nearby is Polfors, a 49-year-
old general cargo ship owned
by Sjmansskolan, a college
for training prospective
seafarers. She was built
in Aarhus as the 299grt
Mercandan for the Danish
company Mercandia Rederiet,
had a crew of five, and was
powered by a 510hp Alpha
diesel, giving her a speed
of 10.5 knots. During her
commercial career she was
employed carrying bulk and
general cargo from Europe
to the Caribbean and South
America. In 1978 she was
sold to the City of Stockholm,
who renamed her Polfors and
converted her for use as a
training ship. She was sold to
Sjmansskolan in 2000.
A 20-minute ferry ride from
the city waterfront to Gshaga
on the island of Liding is
rewarded by the sight of another
former commercial vessel,
Soya III. In the late 1990s the
family-run company Wallenius
Shipping was looking for a
suitable vessel to convert to a
floating conference centre and
came across a motor yacht which
looked to fit the bill. It was
discovered that she was the very
first ship designed and built for
the companys founder, Olof
Wallenius, in 1934.
Soya III was a 120dwt motor
tanker built by Lfholmsvarvet
at Stockholm, and was employed
carrying vegetable and mineral
oils in coastal and Baltic traffic.
Wallenius sold her in 1941, and
she became Tankman. Prior

Lake Mlaren vessels

Immediately to the west of
Gamla Stan, the banks of Lake
Mlaren are lined with many
interesting vessels, including
Patricia and Polfors, to name
but two. Now employed as a
floating restaurant, the former
Trinity House flagship Patricia
was built by Smiths Dock at
Middlesbrough in 1938 as a
buoy and lighthouse tender.
During World War II she took
part in the Dunkirk evacuation
and played an important role
in marking approach channels
for the D-Day landings.

40 November 2016 www.shipsmonthly.com


to her eventual conversion to a
yacht, she served Shell, firstly as
Shell 8 and later as Shell S 8.
Restoration work included
repairs to the vessels steelwork,
installation of a new 390shp
Volvo Penta diesel engine,
and the fitting of modern
navigation equipment, air
Just five years after taking
delivery of Soya III, Olof Wallenius
returned her to her builders to
be lengthened by 5m to increase
her cargo capacity.
PRESERVED VESSELS
A contrast in styles as the
87-year-old former buoy
tender Orion lies alongside
the former sailing galiot
Svanevik, which was built in
Groningen in 1914 as Anna
Marie for German owners.
conditioning, and a new galley. every day by a large number of have been converted to diesel
Wall and deck coverings and ferries and excursion vessels, propulsion, are maintained in
furniture were carefully selected but it is the straight stems and first-class order. Blidsund is
in consultation with Mrs funnels and counter sterns one of two particularly special
Margareta Wallenius-Kleberg to of the vintage White Swans passenger ships, each operated
fit the vessel for her new role. which mostly catch the eye. by single ship companies,
It is now 82 years since Soya These elderly ships, some of which not only remain in daily
III was launched as the first which retain their original service but also retain their
new ship for Olof Wallenius. steam machinery while others coal-fired boilers. She was
Who says theres no room for
sentiment in shipping?
At Skeppsholmen in the
heart of Stockholm lies Orion,
a former hydrographic and
inspection vessel and buoy
tender dating from 1929. She
was built in Helsingborg and
has a single a coal-fired boiler,
together with seven steam
engines, all of which are still in
mint condition. Apart from the
compound main engine, steam
engines operate generators,
pumps, and the anchor capstan.
Orion served the Swedish
pilotage service until 1956, ABOVE Still powered by her original steam engine, Mariefred has been in service
when she was placed in reserve, since 1903 without interruption on the Stockholm-Enhrna-Mariefred route.
but five years later she was
lengthened and rebuilt for use
as a lighthouse construction
vessel for the new Swedish
National Administration of
Shipping and Navigation.
She was eventually paid off
in 1979 and sold, and, after a
failed attempt to operate her
as a coastal cruise ship, she
was rescued and underwent a
lengthy restoration programme
to become a museum ship.
Excursion vessels
The waters in and around ABOVE Blidsund was built to operate a regular passenger service between
Stockholm are criss-crossed Stockholm and Blid, a service she maintained for half a century.
www.shipsmonthly.com November 2016 41
ABOVE At 658gt, Stockholm is the largest passenger ship employed within the
archipelago and can use either two diesels or her original steam machinery.
built by Eriksbergs Mekaniska
Verkstad in Gteborg in
1911 and operates both day
excursions and evening music
cruises eastwards from the city
around parts of the archipelago.
Meanwhile, Mariefred, a 1903
product of William Lindbergs
Verkstads- och Varfs AB in
Stockholm, runs a service across
Lake Mlaren to her namesake
town from a terminal near
Stockholm city hall.
Waxholms Angfartygs
operates the triple-expansion
steamers Norrskr (1909) and
Storskr, which was originally named
Strngns Express, took her present
name in 1939, when she was purchased
by Waxholms Nya ngfartygs AB.
42 November 2016 www.shipsmonthly.com
near sister Storskr (1908),
which, at 13 knots, held the
record of being the fastest
steamer in the archipelago
for most of her life, together
with the 1900-built Vstan,
which was converted to diesel
propulsion in 1953.
A white anchor on a red
band adorns the black funnels
of Angfartygs AB Stromma
Kanals large fleet. Their
1909-built Drottningholm and
flagship Stockholm dating from
1931 remain steam-powered,
ABOVE Prins Carl Philip was built as a passenger steamer by Hillersj ngbts AB
in 1901, but was converted to diesel propulsion in 1978.
but Prins Carl Philip (1901),
Waxholm III (1903), stan-I
(1906), Angantyr (1909),
Enkping (1868), Gustaf III
and Gustafsberg VII (both
1912) are diesel conversions.
So also are their two elderly
double-enders, Djurgrden 4
and Djurgrden 7, dating from
1897 and 1893 respectively.
A further three vintage
double-enders are operated by
Rederi AB Stockholms Strm:
Stockholms Strm 1 (1902),
Stockholms Strm 2 (1894), and
Stockholms Strm 3 (1907).
The condition of all the
ships is remarkably good,
and to step aboard one is like
stepping back in time. Their
polished wood interiors and
old-fashioned layouts are in
pleasant contrast to the plastic
and metal of todays ships. The
feeling of being in a different
world is amplified by the
fact that several of the ships
masters appear themselves to be
a throwback to an earlier era
their uniforms are not dissimilar
to those worn in the early part
of the century, and some sport
side-whiskers of which their
seagoing forebears would have
been proud.
There are so many historic
and interesting vessels in and
around Stockholm that those
mentioned above represent just
a small proportion of the total.
Even a short visit is worthwhile,
however, but if you have time
to spend longer you will be
amply rewarded.
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Once were Kings
Roy Fenton looks back at the notable ships
and personalities associated with King Line, a
significant and successful tramping company.
K
ing Line could be
considered one of
the aristocrats of
the tramp trade.
It was founded
by one of the most influential,
if controversial, men in 20th
century shipping, and it ended its
days as an adjunct to some of the
most successful British cargo lines.
Tramp shipping was the
obvious entry point for any
aspiring ship owner, as there
was nearly always demand for
carrying coal outwards from
Cardiff or Newcastle and
bringing home grain from the
Black Sea or South America.
Financing the first ship
would always be tricky, but if
successful in obtaining charters,
the entrepreneurs growing
reputation would quickly
ensure that further flotations
were well-subscribed.
This was the route taken by
Owen Cosby Philipps (1863-
1937), who began work for
shipbrokers in Newcastle and,
after moving to Glasgow,
registered the King Alfred
Steamship Co Ltd in 1889
when aged just 26. There were
just 50 shares of 250 each,
taken up by family, friends and
business associates in Glasgow
and London. Philipps had
already ordered a ship from the
Blyth Shipbuilding Co Ltd,
which was duly named King
Alfred. Alan Mallett, who has
researched Philipps career,
speculates that the name was
chosen in honour of younger
44 November 2016 www.shipsmonthly.com
brother Alfred Philipps, who
was due to join Philipps in
managing the new ship, but
who drowned in August 1889.
The steamer entered service
in September, with a master
who had taken a minor
shareholding in the King Alfred
Steamship Co. King Alfred
was nothing special: a 1,189gt
tramp with a three-island layout
of forecastle, bridge deck and
poop, and propelled by a triple
expansion engine which would ABOVE The ungainly stern of King Bleddyn (3) identifies her as one of the wartime
give her ten knots on a good N type prefabricated ships. AUTHORS COLLECTION
day. If anything she was slightly
anachronistic, with iron frames
and decks upon which lay steel
plating. Most builders had
by then gone over to all-steel
construction, which, although
more expensive than iron, was
lighter strength-for-strength.
King Alfred tramped
successfully enough for Philipps
to begin to expand, renaming
the company King Line Ltd.
Management of King Line
was shared with brother John
Wynford Philipps, a financier
who invested heavily in South ABOVE Part of the expansion plans of the 1900s, King Lud (1) of 1906 loading coal
America. His interests included at Penarth. AUTHORS COLLECTION
the Buenos Aires and Pacific
Railway Co Ltd, which just
happened to import much of its
locomotive coal in King Line
ships. Access to investment
trusts largely controlled by
brother John was instrumental
in Owens expansion, including
the flotation of King Line.
However, no sooner had
expansion of King Line begun
with the delivery of King

Bleddyn in 1894 than King
Alfred was wrecked on South
Uist, homeward bound to
eastern Scotland with phosphates
from the USA. In finding a
replacement, John Philipps
business connections helped:
the owners of the relatively new
steamer Auriga had defaulted on
payment to an investment trust,
and, using his influence, John
secured the ship for King Line,
renaming her King Cadwallon.
King Alfred apart, names
of Welsh kings were initially
favoured, reflecting the Philipps
family origins in Wales. However,
the Cambrian connection did
not deter Philipps from floating
a further single-ship company,
entitled the Scottish Steamship
Co Ltd, to woo Scottish
investors. It financed King
Edgar, completed at Sunderland
in 1896. Somewhat ironically,
Owen Philipps had, about a
year previously, moved King
Lines head office to London.
CLASSIC CARGO SHIPS
King Gruffyd (2) of 1919 was one of
five ships built by the Hong Kong and
Whampoa Dock Co Ltd acquired by
King Line in 1923. AUTHORS COLLECTION
Trading successfully through that was as anachronistic as its Alan Mallett recording that no
the remaining 1890s, King then fleet. However, Philipps fewer than 30 shipbuilders were
Lines dividends were excellent, was up to the task not only asked to tender for ten ships.
enabling further ships to be built. of modernising the fleet but These were financed by raising
also vastly expanding Royal 100,000 with a new share issue.
Philipps rise Mails holding in other major These ships, which comprised
The word ambitious is much shipping lines, including Elder, the nucleus of the King Line
too modest to describe Owen Dempster, Glen and Shire fleet in 1914, suffered heavily
Philipps. During his first full Lines, Pacific Steam, Lamport in World War I. King Lud
decade of managing King Line, and Holt and Union-Castle. was captured and sunk by
he set up a shipping investment But King Line was not the German cruiser Emden in
company, became involved neglected, and a major building September 1914. King Malcolm,
in a Thameside oil storage programme was begun in 1905, King Bleddyn, King Frederick
operation, and took over an
existing shipping company,
the Northern Transport Co.
In 1903, just 14 years after
first becoming a ship owner,
he was awarded the major
prize of chairmanship of one
of the oldest British shipping
companies, the Royal Mail
Steam Packet Company.
The chairmanship could have
been a poisoned chalice, as
the company was run in a way
ABOVE King David (3) had been built at Bremen in 1912 as Gundomar and seized as
reparations after World War I. AUTHORS COLLECTION
LEFT An early King Line
acquisition, King Cadwallon (2)
of 1900, wrecked on the Scilly
Isles on 22 July 1906. GIBSON
ABOVE The Monitor type King Malcolm (2) of 1925 helped prove the practicality of
the motor tramp. SHIPS IN FOCUS
www.shipsmonthly.com November 2016 45
ABOVE King Edgar (2) was one of the first conventional King Line motor ships.
ABOVE The first post-war delivery was King Malcolm (3), completed at Belfast in
1952. FOTOFLITE INCORPORATING SKYFOTOS
and King David all fell victim
to German or Austrian U-boats
in a period of just nine months
in late 1916 and 1917.
New managers
With his record in revitalising
Royal Mail Steam Packet
and various services to the
British Government in peace
and wartime, Owen Philipps
rise seemed unstoppable. In
1923 he was given a peerage,
choosing as his title Lord
Kylsant of Carmarthen, harking
back almost 1,000 years to when
an ancestor had awarded himself
the title Lord of Kylsant.
Although Philipps remained
Chairman, King Line was
placed under other managers,
Dodd, Thomson and Co
succeeding Philipps, Philipps
and Co in 1923. Of the new
principals, George Dodd had
met Owen Philipps early in his
career, and worked closely with
him in managing the steamers
of the Buenos Aires and Pacific
Railway Co. Vernon Thomson,
the other partner in the new
management, was also a trusted
associate, beginning as an
office boy but rapidly rising to
become a director of King Line.
Although King Line had
46 November 2016 www.shipsmonthly.com
emerged from World War I
with handsome profits, its
immediate fleet replacement
programme was relatively
conservative. Two standard
ships were bought from the
Shipping Controller, becoming
King Alfred and King Bleddyn,
plus one former German ship
taken over as war reparations,
which was renamed King
David. But in 1923 five
ships ordered by the British
Government in Hong Kong
were acquired, undoubtedly at
bargain prices, all having been
initially acquired by Greek
owner N. E. Ambatielos, who
had defaulted on payment.
King Line motor ships
Kylsant was a keen proponent
of the motor ship. It promised
benefits not only in terms of
reduced fuel and manning
costs, but also improved a
ships cargo carrying capacity,
as oil fuel could be stored in
otherwise dead spaces. But the
marine diesel engine was not
yet as reliable as the well-proven
triple-expansion steam engine, a
problem compounded by a lack
of competent diesel engineers
in the British merchant fleet.
Kylsants enthusiasm saw
ABOVE Last conventional tramp
delivered to King Line was King
Henry, seen in Clan Line colours. REAL
PHOTOGRAPHS
King Line investing in its first
motor ships in 1925, King
James and King Malcolm.
Not only was their machinery
relatively novel, but they
also featured an innovative
corrugated hull form,
supposed to improve economy
by channelling water to the
propellor. These ships, dubbed
the Monitor type, were
ordered not by King Line, but
by a William Petersen, who
had been a proponent of the
novel but highly successful
Turret design from Doxfords.
Petersen died before the ships
were completed by D. and W.
Henderson and Co, and King
Line got them for a bargain
25,000 each quite possibly
because Kylsant was now a
director of the shipbuilders
parent, Harland Wolff.
In practice, the corrugated
hull form did not deliver the
economies expected for a ship
that could do barely ten knots.
Still, once problems with the
Harland & Wolff diesels were
sorted out, they both gave good
service, King James remaining
with King Line for 25 years
and ten years with her Greek
owner. She certainly more than
justified Kylsants faith in diesel
power, and from 1927 King
Line were to order nothing
but motor ships, albeit with
conventional hulls, beginning
with King Edgar, delivered from
Belfast in November 1927.
Their economy in operation
is credited with helping King
Line survive the lean trading
conditions of the late 1920s and
1930s, when a number of tramp
companies went to the wall.
Lord Kylsants career came
to an ignominious end in
1931. The great combine that
comprised the Royal Mail
Group struggled once the post-
war shipping boom had blown
itself out. Its financial position
was not helped by Kylsants
continuing urge to extend his
empire even further, for instance
by acquiring the once-prestigious
White Star Line. Various
accountancy devices were used
to obscure the very real financial
problems of the Group, but
it all unravelled, with Kylsant
himself being convicted on
a charge of issuing a false
 CLASSIC CARGO SHIPS

shots. Indeed, King Line found they were ever going to be

prospectus, and subsequently
serving a prison sentence.
Before this he had resigned
all his many chairmanships,
including that of King Line,
which continued under the very
capable leadership of Sir Vernon
Thomson. Indeed, Thomsons
abilities were recognised when,
in the wake of the Royal
Mail Group collapse, he was
offered a directorship of a
reconstructed Union-Castle
Line, becoming its Chairman.
World War II and after
The King Line fleet and its
crews suffered as grievously in
World War II as in the earlier
conflict. Of its motor ships,
King Egbert was mined in
November 1939, King John
sunk by the German raider
Widder in July 1940, and
King Edwin gutted by fire
at Malta in April 1943. Four
more were victims of torpedo
attacks by German or Japanese
submarines, King Malcolm in
1941, King Lud in June 1942,
King Arthur in November
1942, and King Edgar in
March 1945.
With Vernon Thomsons
foot in two camps, it was
hardly surprising that an offer
for King Line was made by
Union-Castle Mail Steamship
Co Ltd in 1948, which was
duly accepted. King Line under
Dodd, Thomson management
continued as a separate entity,
using rather conservatively
coloured yellow funnels with
black tops on its ships. New
motor ships continued to be
delivered from Harland &
Wolff, supplemented by the
odd second-hand steamer,
including Union-Castles war-
built Braemar Castle, which
became King James in 1950.
Although something of an
icon amongst liner companies,
Union-Castle itself was not
immune from take-overs.
The formation of the British
and Commonwealth Group
was presented as a merger of
Union-Castle with Clan Line,
but the latter was the stronger
partner, and tended to call the
One result of the takeover of
King Line by Union-Castle in
1948 was the transfer of the
former of Braemar Castle,
which became King James (2),
one of the few steamers in the
post-war fleet. J.Y. FREEMAN
itself increasingly becoming
an adjunct to Clan Line, and
several of its general cargo ships
appeared in Clan colours.
No conventional tramps
were added to the King Line
fleet after King Henry of 1958,
but ten years later British
and Commonwealth became
interested in bulk carriers, and
six were built for ownership by
King Line Ltd. For reasons of
tax efficiency, King Line tramps
were transferred to Clan Line,
and some of the latters cargo
liners to King Line.
One quirk was the ordering
by King Line early in 1961 of
three ships described as cargo/
tramp types. To be built by
Greenock Dockyard, these were
named King Canute, King
Harold and King Edward, only
the last of the three having
been used before. However,
it was soon decided that what
was needed were developments
of the Clan Fergusson class,
and the trio emerged as 16-
knot cargo liners named Clan
Macgillivray, Clan Macgregor
and Clan Macgowan. Whether
ABOVE When British and Commonwealth invested in bulk carriers, they were
placed in the King Line fleet. This is the first, King Alfred (4), in the Thames.
LAURENCE DUNN
tramps must be in doubt: the
Greenock yard had a limited
building capacity, which was
usually completely taken up
with orders for cargo liners.
Dating the end of King Line
is slightly problematic, but it
can be tentatively put at 1977,
when the bulker King Alfred
was transferred to another
British and Commonwealth
subsidiary, only leaving the
Group in 1983. Over its 88
years of existence King Line had
prospered, survived both the
inter-war depression and the
imprisonment of its chairman,
and gone on to become a useful
part of a major British shipping
group. Its ships certainly were
once kings, and its two chairmen
ranked amongst the aristocracy
of British shipping.
Acknowledgements This article
draws on two important works: Idyll
of the Kings by Alan S. Mallett, and
A Business of National Importance
by Edwin Green and Michael
Moss. Alan Malletts book is highly
recommended: a masterly blend of
research drawing on minute books,
journals and personal reminiscences.

ABOVE What might have been one of the last Kings. When ordered, the ship
which became Clan Macgillivray was intended to be named King Canute.

www.shipsmonthly.com November 2016 47

Ferries to the
Faroes and Iceland
Passenger shipping connections from the Faroe Islands, a self-governing part of Denmark
located in the North Atlantic, and Iceland have primarily existed to link the islands to Denmark.
However, linking to the United Kingdom has often been of equal importance. Kalle Id looks at the
ships that connected the Faroes and Iceland, with emphasis on services to UK ports.

U
ntil 1856,
shipping
connections
to the Faroe
Islands and
Iceland (both belonging
to Denmark at the time)
were a crown monopoly.
The first privately-owned
operator on these routes was
Det Almindelige Danske
Dampskibsselskab (The
General Danish Steamship
Company, DADD for short).
Their Arcturus, sailing on
the Copenhagen-Trshavn-
Reykjavik line from 1857, was
the first steamer to serve the
Faroes and Iceland.
DADD soon faced financial
difficulties and in 1866 merged
with three other Danish
shipping companies to form
Det Forenede Dampskibs-
Selskab (the United Steamship
Company), better known
as DFDS. By this time, the
Faroes/Iceland service included
an intermediate call at Granton.
Between 1870 and 1876 the
service was again operated by
the Danish state, and then
reverted to DFDS again.
In 1882 DFDS took delivery
of their first purpose-built
liner for the Faroes service, the
1,068gt 120-passenger Laura.
When the company won a new
state concession to operate
the services to the Faroes and
Iceland in 1897, additional
tonnage was required, and so
Skalholt and Holar, two former
Norwegian steamers, were
acquired in 1898. In addition
to the Denmark-UK-Faroes-
Iceland service, they sailed on
Icelandic coastal routes.
In the same year, DFDS
faced competition on the
Faroes/Iceland services from
the Sweden-based Sknska
ngfartygs AB, which started
their own service with the
1879-built Vesta (1,122gt,
92 passengers). This was
short-lived, as DFDS bought
Sknska ngfartyg in 1899.
Vesta was kept on services to
Iceland, and was joined by
another former Sknska ship,
Ceres (1883/1,166gt, 117
passengers). The number of
ships on the service rose to six
in 1904 with the acquisition of
Tjaldur (ex-Vega, 1898/795gt,
353 passengers). Not only
was the ship named after the
Faroese national bird (the
Eurasian oystercatcher), but the
name is in the Faroese language.
In Danish the same bird is
known as the strandskade.
The long-serving Laura
was wrecked off the Icelandic
coast in 1910, fortunately

48 November 2016 www.shipsmonthly.com


without loss of life. She had
made 204 return voyages to
Iceland during her 28 years in
service. As a replacement, the
1891-built Botnia was rebuilt
for the Faroes/Iceland services;
this 1,206gt ship could carry
171 passengers.
Around the same time,
competitors again emerged for
DFDS services. Det Bergenske
Dampskibsselskab (Bergen
Line) had initiated a Norway-
Faroes-Iceland service in 1908,
followed by AS Thores services
from Denmark in 1910.
Neither competed with DFDS
on the services via the UK,
however. Iceland, meanwhile,
got its own shipping company
in the form of Eimskipaflag
slands (Eimskip) in 1914, but
the extent of the companys
passenger services at that time
is not known.
DFDS withdrew the elderly
Skalholt in 1914, but two
additional vessels were brought
onto the services to Faroes
and Iceland the next year: the
1912-built Christianssund
(1,017gt, 76 passengers) and
the brand new Island (1,774gt,
155 passengers).
Although Denmark did not
participate in World War I, there
FERRY SERVICES
The 2003-built Norrna (2) is the only ferry currently
serving the Faroe Islands and Iceland. She is seen at
Trshavn, Faroe Islands. KALLE ID
were severe losses among the
ships serving the Faroes and
Iceland: Christianssund sank
in 1916, Holar was withdrawn
in 1917, while both Vesta and
Ceres were also lost. Thus DFDS
post-war Faroes/Iceland fleet
consisted of Botnia, Tjaldur (1)
and Island.
Between 1918 and 1920
Botnia sailed to the islands
via Bergen, while the other
two ships retained the stop at
Granton. From 1921 some
departures sailed further north
to Greenland, another Danish ABOVE DFDS Trondhjem briefly operated a passenger service from the Faroe
dominion. In 1922 Tjaldur (1) Islands to the UK, from 1952 to 1955, but she carried only 24 passengers.
was moved to other services, BRUCEPETER COLLECTION
being replaced by the 1915-built
Sleipner (1,076gt, 59 passengers),
which sailed only on the
Trshavn-Granton-Copenhagen
route, omitting the extension
to Iceland. The name Tjaldur
soon returned to Faroes services,
when Faroes-based Skipafelagi
Froyar gave the name to their
new passenger ship on a direct
Trshavn-Copenhagen service.
To add to the confusion, DFDS
Tjaldur (1) briefly returned to
the Faroes in 1926.
DFDS took delivery of their
last new ship for the Faroes/ ABOVE The paddle steamer Vesta originally sailed from Denmark to the Faroes
Iceland services in 1927, and Iceland under the ownership of Sknska ngfartygs AB. She is seen later in
her career in DFDS colours. BRUCE PETER COLLECTION
Dronning Alexandrine, a
www.shipsmonthly.com November 2016 49
ABOVE Smyril Lines first Norrna, a former Sweden-West Germany ferry, laid 1,854gt and 153-passenger
up at Esbjerg after being renamed Norrna I, following the delivery of the new vessel. Following her arrival,
purpose-built Norrna. MARKO STAMPEHL the services to the Faroes were
reorganised: she and Sleipner
served the long Copenhagen-
Granton-Trshavn-Vestmanna-
Reykjavik route, while Island
and Botnia were used on a
new service with the southern
terminus at Granton.
Botnia was scrapped at the
end of the 1934 season and
was replaced by the elderly
Primula (1896/1,524gt, 257
passengers). However, by this
point there was no need for
four passenger liners on the
routes, and from 1936 only
Dronning Alexandrine and
Island served the Faroe Islands
ABOVE Island was purpose-built for the Faroes and Iceland trade at Helsingr
(Elsinore). BRUCE PETER COLLECTION
The new Norrna was designed with
ABOVE Smyril was acquired for internal services within the Faroe Islands, but also a relatively short and beamy hull to
initiated car passenger ferry services from the islands to the UK and Norway. She meet the restrictions of Trshavn
is seen here at Aberdeen in 1993. IAN BOYLE harbour. KALLE ID
50 November 2016 www.shipsmonthly.com
and Iceland. After Island sank
on the Scottish coast in 1937,
without loss of life, Dronning
Alexandrine remained the
sole ship on the route until
the outbreak of World War II
brought disruption to services.
While both DFDS and
Skipafelagi Froyar reinstated
passenger services after 1945,
neither included calls at any UK
ports. A UK-Iceland service
was restored in 1950, when
Eimskip took delivery of the
new passenger liner Gullfoss
(3,858gt, 209 passengers),
which was placed on a
Copenhagen-Leith-Reykjavik
service. In 1944 Iceland
had become independent

NORRNA (1)
BUILT 1973, Nobiskrug,
Rendsburg, as
Gustav Vasa,
delivered to Lion
Ferry AB, Halmstad
DIMENSIONS 128.82m x 20.82m x
4.93m
TONNAGE 12,159gt, 4,211dwt
MAIN ENGINES Four Stork
Werkspoor 6TM410
diesels
CAPACITY 1,040 passengers,
250 cars
CAREER Later renamed
Logos Hope;
2011transferred
to Malta flag,
homeport Valletta
from Denmark. A service
from the UK to the Faroes
was reinstated in 1952 with
DFDS Trondhjem, but she
carried only24 passengers and
the service was discontinued
afterjust three years.
Eimskip withdrew Gullfoss
in 1973 without a replacement
passenger vessel. In 1974 the
Faroe Islands entered the car-
ferry era, when DFDS moved
their 1964-built England to
the Esbjerg-Trshavn route
(which was primarily operated
by second-hand passenger
liners from DFDS Denmark-
UK services). In 1975
Strandfaraskip Landsins, the
Faroese company responsible
for local traffic on the islands,
acquired their first car-
passenger ferry, Smyril (ex-
Morten Mols; 2,430gt, 800
passengers, 135 cars). While
she was primarily used on intra-
Faroes services, she maintained
summer services from the
islands to Denmark, Norway,
Iceland and Aberdeen.
Two new services appeared
in 1983: the short-lived
Iceland-based Farskip ran the
1972-built Edda (ex-Aallotar,
Rogalin; 7,801gt, 1,000
passengers, 170 cars) from
Bremerhaven to Reykjavik via
Newcastle. And the Faroes-
based Smyril Line ran the
1973-built Norrna (ex-
Gustaf Vasa; 7,457gt, 1,040
passengers, 250 cars) from
Trshavn to Seyisfjrur 1,870 lane metres, or 634 cars.
(Iceland), Bergen, and
Hanstholm (Denmark), the
latter via Lerwick. From
Lerwick, passengers could reach
Scotland using P&O Ferries.
Icelands UK connection
was broken in 1993, when
Smyril Line removed Lerwick
from the Norrnas route. But
Strandfaraskip Landsins Smyril
continued providing Trshavn-
Aberdeen services until 1996,
at which point the Faroes too
lost their UK link. However,
both Icelands and the Faroes
UK link was restored in 1998,
when Smyril Line reinstated the
call at Lerwick.
In 2003 Norrna (1) was
replaced by a larger new vessel,
also named Norrna (2). The
new vessel was built in Lbeck
to designs produced by Knud
E. Hansen A/S of Denmark,
and the interiors were by
ABOVE The Copenhagen-built Gullfoss was the flagship of recently-independent
Iceland, providing a lifeline service to the rest of the world. IAN BOYLE COLLECTION
Swedens Figura. She carries
1,482 passengers, and has
Acquiring the new Norrna
put the company into financial
difficulties. High harbour fees
at Lerwick, combined with the
new Aberdeen-Lerwick operator
Northlinks reluctance to sell
combined Aberdeen-Lerwick-
Trshavn/Seyisfjrur tickets,
led to Smyril Line again
abandoning the call at Lerwick
in 2006, despite protests from
the Shetlands Development
Trust, who had helped to
finance Norrna.
In place of the Lerwick calls,
Norrna (2) made dedicated
Trshavn-Scrabster sailings,
interspersed with the pre-
existing sailings to Denmark,
Norway and Iceland. While
the Scrabster sailings proved
relatively popular, they were
difficult to satisfactorily include
in the existing schedules. Thus,
at the end of the 2008 summer
www.shipsmonthly.com November 2016
FERRY SERVICES
season Smyril Line ceased both
the service to Scrabster and that
to Bergen, concentrating solely
on the Hirtshals-Trshavn-
Seyisfjrur route.
In Spring 2014 the Shetland
Islands Council and Smyril Line
looked at reestablishing the
calls at Lerwick, but nothing
came of the discussions. Thus
the only place from which a
passenger ship connection to
the Faroe Islands and Iceland is
available today is Denmark, as
the links of the past prove to be
no longer viable.
NORRNA (2)
ROUTE Hirtshals, Denmark to
Trshavn, Faroe Is and
Seyisfjrur, Iceland
BUILT 2003, Lbeck, Germany
DIMENSIONS 165m x 30m
TONNAGE 35,966gt
MAIN Four 6-cylinder MaK 43
ENGINES engines, total 30,000hp
SPEED 21 knots
CAPACITY 1,482 passengers,
118 crew, 1,870 lane
metres, 800 cars
51
Supporting
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SC038191
Ships Pictorial
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image to Ships Monthly for inclusion in these pages, which showcase the best
in ship photography around the world.

The Greek-flagged 1995-built bulker Union Ranger (26,071gt), on her way to Montral to load grain, and the Portuguese-flagged 2011-built products tanker
Harbour Feature (11,880gt), going to Qubec City. MARC PICH

The US-flagged training ship State of Maine departs Antwerp on 15 July for the USA after a port visit. The vessel is owned by the US Government but
operated by the Maine Maritime Academy and is home-ported at Castine, Maine. The 12,517gt vessel was built by Bethlehem Steel Corp in 1990. PETER HOLLANDS

www.shipsmonthly.com November 2016 53

 A busy scene in the Geirangerfjord
on 14 June. Hurtigrutens Nordkapp
leads the way, with Horizonof
Croisires de France not far astern
as Fjord1s Veoy nips through to
her ro-to berth in Geiranger on
her regular shuttle from Hellesylt.
Horizon was on her Soleil de Minuit
cruise from Calais. JoHN LiGGAt
54 November 2016 www.shipsmonthly.com
the 2015-built cargo vessel Arklow
Vale (2,999gt) passing irlam along the
Manchester Ship Canal on 5 August,
heading for Ellesmere Port. the
Netherlands-flagged vessel, built by
Royal Bodewes at Hoogezand, has
a distinctive energy-saving straight-
stem bow designed to cut through
the waves. ALAN FAuLkNER
the well-known excursion paddler
Waverley storming down the thames
on 13 June, with some of Londons
famous landmarks forming the
backdrop. Built in 1946 by A. & J.
inglis, Glasgow, Waverley has been
listed by National Historic Ships uk
as a vessel of pre-eminent national
importance since 2003. PEtER ZABEk
 Ships Pictorial

Costa Crocieres cruise ship Costa neoRomantica arriving in Kirkwall, Orkney on 25 July. Built in 1993 as Costa Romantica, she was refitted in 2003 and in
November 2011 underwent a 90 million refurbishment. Two new half-decks were added as part of the work, and gross tonnage went up from 53,000 to
56,769. After the refurbishing, the ship was renamed Costa neoRomantica. Magnus Budge

www.shipsmonthly.com November 2016 55

General Steam Navigations
Three Little Liners
David Toy recalls the post-war careers of the Thames excursion ships Queen
of the Channel, Royal Daffodil and Royal Sovereign, operated by the General
Steam Navigation Company.
A
t the end of World
War II, when travel
restrictions were
lifted, there was
a demand for the
return of the day excursions
from London to the south
coast. Before the war General
Steam Navigation had operated
such excursions using their three
diesel-engined pleasure ships,
which worked from the Thames,
Kent and Essex coasts in
conjunction with the companys
paddle steamers. Some day
excursions went as far as Calais,
Boulogne and Ostend.
The three ships were built by
William Denny of Dumbarton:
Queen of the Channel in 1935
(originally ordered by the New
56 November 2016 www.shipsmonthly.com
ABOVE In the early days of World War
II, Queen of the Channel (1,162grt)
was used to evacuate children from
London to the Essex coast. Built in
1935, she was the first diesel-engined
excursion ship on the Thames. During
the Dunkirk evacuation, she made one
trip, returning with 950 troops on 28
May 1940; a string of bombs hit her;
she broke her back and was lost.
Medway Co), of 1,162 tons;
Royal Sovereign (1937), of 1,527
tons; and Royal Daffodil (1939),
of 2,060 tons. They were of a
sleek design, painted in white
with yellow funnels, and their
twin screws were driven by
Sulzer two-stroke engines.
The war took its toll on
the three ships. Queen of the
Channel was lost at Dunkirk
in June 1940, Royal Daffodil
was damaged by a bomb, also
during the evacuation, and later
in 1940 Royal Sovereign was
lost in the Bristol Channel after ABOVE The second of the diesel-engined excursion ships, Royal Sovereign
striking a mine. Royal Daffodil (1,527grt), entered service in 1937 and was slightly larger than her sistership.
made several trips to Dunkirk She was lost in December 1940 after striking a mine in the Bristol Channel. Royal
under Captain G. Johnson, Sovereign made six voyages to Dunkirk and brought back a total of 11,500 troops.
and brought more than 8,500 She was photographed at Tower Pier early in her career, not carrying any house
troops back from France. flag on her funnel, as was the case during the pre-1939 era.

ABOVE Royal Sovereign (1937) arriving at Tower Pier with her decks busy.
The third and largest of the three
ships was Royal Daffodil (2,061grt),
which entered service in 1939. She
had a very short first season before
the war. She was refitted after
her war service and returned to
excursion duties in 1947. This post-
war photo shows her with the GSNC
house flag on her funnels.
On her last trip, she was
damaged below the waterline
by a delayed-action bomb,
which went though the deck
and out through the hull. Water
started to enter into the engine
room, and beds were used to
plug the hole, while fuel oil was
transferred from the portside
tank to the starboard tank. The
port lifeboats were also swung
out to help reduce her list. With
excellent seamanship shown by
her crew, Royal Daffodil reached
Ramsgate safely and was later
berthed for temporary repairs.
From 1941 to 1944 Royal
Daffodil operated the Stranraer
to Larne military crossing,
carrying over two million
services personnel between the
two ports during that time. In
1945 she operated from Dover
to France as a troop transport.
The new ships
At the end of the war it was
left to the paddle steamers to
start General Steams summer
service on the Thames. Royal
Daffodil, having been released
from military service, was
reconverted for peacetime
work, but, as the Kent coast
was popular with large
numbers of people, coached
from London to Margate and
Ramsgate, General Steam
ordered two ships to replace the
war losses and take advantage
of the burgeoning London
market. These entered service
shortly after Royal Daffodil
returned to service in 1947,
operating from Gravesend to
Margate andRamsgate, with a
cruise offthe French coast.
The new ships were built by
William Denny. The first, Royal
ABOVE Royal Sovereign at the Medway Barge Race in 1960 during a charter.
Sovereign, was launched on 7
May 1948 and completed her
maiden voyage on 24 July. She
was powered by two Sulzer
two-stroke 12-cylinder diesels,
each producing 2,250hp to give
a top speed of 20.48 knots, and
ABOVE The authors late father
(onright) when he was Second
Engineer ofQueen of the Channel.
www.shipsmonthly.com November 2016
EXCURSION SHIPS
three generating sets produced
electrical power. Larger than her
predecessor at 1,851 tons, the
new ship had improvements and
could carry 1,910 passengers.
The two dining rooms had
accommodation for 96 forward
and 140 aft, and offered a high
class of cuisine. At the bow
was an enclosed observation
lounge. The funnel, shorter
than that on her predecessor,
carried the GSNC house flag.
The ship was based in the
Pool of London and operated
from Tower Pier to Margate,
Southend and a Channel cruise.
The second new ship, Queen
of the Channel, was launched
on 2 February 1949 and
delivered on 25 May. She was
smaller than Royal Sovereign
at 1,471 tons and had two
eight-cylinder 1,500hp Sulzer
two-stroke engines, which gave
a top speed of 18.75 knots.
Queen of the Channel had an
open observation lounge and
two restaurants, with capacity
for 1,536 passengers. The ship
carried the New Medway house
flag on her funnel until 1954.
Recollections
David Toy has a personal connection
to the three Little Liners. He recalls:
In 1953 my late father joined Royal
Sovereign as its Third Engineer on
the Tower Pier services. The ships had
four engineering and one electrical
officer as, unlike on modern ships,
the engine controls were within the
engine room. In 1960 he moved to
Queen of the Channel as Second
Engineer and spent his time on the
cross-Channel services from the Kent
and Essex coasts.
57

For a short time during
the 1950 season Queen of
the Channel operated from
Ramsgate, calling at Dover on
a five-hour channel cruise. She
was later moved back to Tower
Pier to operate the Kent Coast
services with Royal Daffodil
and Royal Sovereign.
In the early 1950s the Kent
coast services from London
carried large numbers of
passengers, who enjoyed the
facilities, which included a
high standard of dining, as
wellas fine views of the Thames
and its shipping, especially at
Tilbury where, in the 1950s,
the landing stage was visited
bymany large liners. These
were General Steams finest
days on the Thames.
In the late 1940s General
Steam still had two paddle
steamers in service: Royal Eagle
(1,538 tons) built in 1932, and
the 1909-built Golden Eagle
(793 tons), both working the
The new post-war Royal Sovereign
(1,851grt) entered service in 1948 and
soon became popular on the London
to the south coast excursions. She
had an enclosed observation lounge,
and is seen arriving at Southend in
July 1950.
58 November 2016 www.shipsmonthly.com
Tower Pier-Kent coast services.
In 1947 the small motor ship
Crested Eagle (247 tons), a
second-hand purchase, entered
service operating cruises in
the Port of London Authority.
There were two more ships
operated by the New Medway
subsidiary company: the paddle
steamer Medway Queen (315
tons) and the converted landing
craft Rochester Queen (345
tons). Both worked from Strood
to the Kent coast resorts.
The summer season, during
which the ships earned their
keep, was short, and usually
ran from May to the second
week in September. By the
early 1950s there was an
over-capacity of ships, and the
paddle steamers Royal and
Golden Eagle were withdrawn
and laid up at Upnor Reach,
eventually being scrapped.
Queen of the Channel, pictured
in her early years with the Invicta
emblem, entered service in 1949
and carried the New Medway
house flag on her funnel until
1954; she started her career on
the London River and later moved
to the cross-Channel services.
During the winter Queen
of the Channel was berthed at
Rochester and Royal Sovereign
and Royal Daffodil were either
at Deptford or in the West
India Docks. Maintenance
was carried out on the ships
when they were laid-up, and
they were repainted ready for
the next season. The Chief
Engineer stayed with the ships
throughout the winter period.
Charters
As well as their usual work, the
ships were often chartered for
corporate and special sailing
events. Royal Daffodil and
Royal Sovereign were both at
the Spithead Fleet Review on
15 June 1953, and General
Steam offered a memorable day
for 12 12s, which included
a train from London to
Southampton and back, lunch
and evening meals on board,
and viewing the fleet and the
firework display. For passenger
comfort, the ships were booked
Queen oF the channel
launched 25.2.1949
Built William Denny,
Dumbarton
SiZe 271ft 10in x 44ft
tonnage 1,471grt
Main engineS Two eight-cylinder
1,500bhp Sulzer
two-stroke diesels
PaSSengeRS Up to 1,536
to half of their normal capacity.
Royal Sovereign each year
attended the prize-giving
at the Officers Training
Ship Worcester. Berthed at
Greenhithe, she brought the
families from Tower Pier to
the ship. She would return
to Tower Pier after the prize-
giving with the families and
cadets. She also attended the
annual Medway and Thames
barge races. Another notable
event came in May 1954, when
Royal Sovereign was anchored
near Tower Bridge with GSNC
senior staff and families to
watch the Queen return from a
world tour on Britannia.
Royal Daffodil was also
hired in 1954 by the Municipal
Passenger Transport Association
as part of their Southend
conference. She took delegates,
including General Managers,
Councillors, Trade Press and
representatives from the bus
manufacturers and their wives,
on a trip from Southend to the
new Isle of Grain oil refinery.
The ladies were entertained by
an on-board fashion show.
In September 1957 Royal
Sovereign hosted ITVs
second anniversary party,
at which personalities from
both television and film were
present. This reflected the high
standards of General Steams
chartered sailings.
End of the Little Liners
During the late 1950s and
early 1960s the three ships kept
Royal SoveReign
launched 7.5.1948
Built William Denny,
Dumbarton
SiZe 288ft x 53ft 3in
tonnage 1,851grt
Main engineS Two 12-cylinder
2,250bhp Sulzer
two-stroke diesels
PaSSengeRS Up to 1,910
Fate Sold 1967 to
Townsend Thoresen
 EXCURSION SHIPS

Popular excursion routes

In 1954 the Government allowed
day excursions to the continent
for passengers holding passports,
allowing GSNC to restart the
continental services that had ceased
during the war. At weekends Royal
Daffodil operated a new service
from Gravesend and Southend to
Boulogne; the cost from Southend
was 50 shillings (2.50).
In 1955 the requirement for day
trips to the continent was relaxed,
and only an identity card with a
ABOVE The three ships were fitted with Sulzer diesel engines: Royal Daffodil and photo was needed. These trips
the post-war Royal Sovereign had two 12-cylinder units and Queen of the Channel were marketed as No-Passport Day
two eight-cylinder engines. This is the lower level of Royal Sovereigns engine room. Excursions, and an extra trip was
operated on Wednesdays.
In 1956 the number of such trips
was increased to ten a week, operated
by Royal Daffodil and Queen of the
Channel. The latter operated from
Ramsgate on Sundays, Tuesdays,
Wednesdays and Thursdays to Calais
or Boulogne, and from Clacton-on-
Sea on Fridays and Saturdays.
From Gravesend Royal Daffodil went
to Southend and then to Boulogne on
Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays,
and to Calais on Wednesdays. On
Mondays and Tuesdays an extra call at
Margate was included during a non-
landing service with a French coast
cruise. Royal Sovereign operated
from Tower Pier to the Kent and
Essex coast, with stops at Margate
and Southend with a sea cruise.
The three ships only operated six
days a week and had one off-service
day: Queen of the Channel did not
operated on Mondays, while neither
Royal Daffodil nor Royal Sovereign
were used on Fridays.

ABOVE The GSNC excursion services ceased trading in 1966 and the ships were put
up for sale. Royal Daffodil went for scrap; Royal Sovereign was sold to Townsend-
Thoresen and converted into the vehicle ferry Autocarrier. Queen of the
ABOVE An official GSNC photo of Queen of the Channel after 1954, when she
Channel, sold to a Greek company, is seen in the Medway with her new owners
was based at Ramsgate and operated the south coast services, cross-Channel
house flag on the funnel, ready to depart for Greece, with various parts of her
services to Calais and Boulogne, and on coastal cruises.
superstructure boarded up for protection around the Bay of Biscay.

to their normal routes, with Royal DaffoDil

Royal Daffodil operating from
Gravesend on cross-Channel
services and Kent coastal
services. Ramsgate and Clacton
services to Calais, Boulogne
and Dunkirk were provided
by Queen of the Channel, and
the two ships saw an increase
in passengers as a result of day
trips to France. When the new
Deal pier was opened, both
Royal Daffodil and Queen of the
Channel included Deal in their
cross-Channel services.
In the 1960s an attempt
was made to bring younger
members of the public aboard,
and Royal Sovereign and Royal
Daffodil undertook jazz cruises,
with bands on board including
Acker Bilk, Alex Welsh, Kenny
Ball and Terry Lightfoot. But
the company received adverse
publicity on some of the cruises
due to some passengers taking
too much of the cheap alcohol
sold on board.
But with car ownership
launcheD 24.1.1939
Built William Denny,
Dumbarton
SiZe 313ft x 54ft
tonnage 2,061grt
Main engineS Two 12-cylinder
2,250bhp Sulzer
two-stroke diesels
PaSSengeRS Up to 2,385
fate Scraped 02.1967
steadily rising, and the new
electric train services from
London to Margate and ABOVE The dining facilities on the ships were of a high standard, offering choice
Ramsgate proving popular, there in elegant surroundings. This is the forward dining room on Royal Sovereign.
was a steady decline in numbers
using General Steams Kent Clacton and Great Yarmouth. companys last. In December
services. This was not helped Meanwhile, at weekends it was announced that General
when, in 1965, Stena started Queen of the Channel operated Steams summer service
a car and passenger cross- from Tower Pier to Southend would not operate again.
Channel service from Tilbury. and Margate, and the rest of Royal Daffodil went for scrap,
The 1966 seamans strike led the week ran cross-Channel Royal Sovereign was sold and
to the late starting of General servicesin conjunction with converted to a vehicle ferry
Steams services that year. A Royal Daffodil. for Townsend Thoresen, and
revision of the ships operations The problems of 1966 Queen of the Channel was sold
saw Royal Sovereign make her were never fully overcome, to become OIA for service in
cross-Channel service from and the year proved to be the the Greek Islands.

www.shipsmonthly.com November 2016 59

 ships mail
Write to Ships Mail, Ships Monthly, Kelsey Publishing, Cudham Tithe Barn, Berrys Hill, Cudham,
Library on board
Kent TN16 3AG, or email sm.ed@kelsey.co.uk. Please note that letters via email must enclose
Regarding the recent refit of Queen
senders full postal address. Contributions to Ships Monthly must be exclusive and must not
Mary 2, Cunards flagship liner (SM,
be sent to other publications. The editor reserves the right to edit material. Kelsey Publishing reserves the
Sept), the mentioned bookshop
right to reuse any submission sent in any format.
adjacent to the ships abundant library
is not lost it has merely changed
management to Harding Brothers
Retail of Bristol.
The shop now stocks and sells books
and Cunard paper ephemera, but no
toys, gadgets or other items. It has
St Helena museum? considerably more elbow room now
With the retirement of the RMS St than it did before the refit, making it
Helena, is there an opportunity for easier to peruse the offerings along
a Merchant Navy museum? After the many shelves. From the point of
26 years servicing the Island of St view of this frequent QM2 traveller, the
Helena, the ship that bears the refit has been a big success.
islands name is to be put up for sale. Alan Yorker
She must be one of the last British- Decatur, Georgia, USA
RMS St Helena on her way up the Thames recently. CHRIS BROOKS
built and -owned vessels of her type,
and one of only a few ocean-going Confused identity
ships that still flies the Red Ensign of and landings that took place during However, no museum is dedicated In the article on Oslo Maritime
the British Merchant Navy. the war. In the three weeks after to the service, and most of what the history (SM, July) there is a question
At the time of World War II the Dunkirk they, with other Allied merchant seamen achieved has been over the identity of Lady Mack, the
merchant fleet was the largest in merchant ships, rescued about forgotten. Few veterans remain and former Royal Netherlands Navy
the world and played a vital part in 180,000 service personnel, three no British ocean-going cargo ships Minesweeper Texel. The article states:
ensuring Britains survival. At the quarters of whom were British. A great from that period exist. Other nations Her precise original identity has still
lowest point, merchant ships still number of civilians were also saved. still keep units from their wartime to be confirmed but is either MMS73
brought in more than a third of The Merchant Navy supplied fleets. RMS St Helena would be most or MMS173. I can confirm that she is
Britains food requirements, all fuel almost 1,000 ships for the Normandy suitable for conversion to a sea-going MMS73. The confusion may stem from
oil and the majority of raw materials, Landings, ranging from half of all the museum ship. She could call at ports her code names, which were FY73,
as well as transporting millions of Infantry Landing Ships on the first day, around Britain, spending, say, six FY173 and MV11, and she was also
troops. In doing so, the service to little coasters which were beached weeks in each. In this way the ports NATO vessel M867. She was built by
sustained enormous losses: 4,786 of to discharge their vital cargoes in the would be visited at two-year intervals, Herd & MacKenzie at Buckie in 1942.
its ships were sunk and more than weeks that followed. Among many giving schools, youth groups and Dirk Van Geertruy
32,000 seamen perished. other operations in which they played others an opportunity to see her. France
The merchant fleet played a a significant part were the evacuation Roy Martin
significant part in the evacuations of Singapore and the relief of Malta. Southampton Return of Queen Mary
With reference to the article on the
return of the former Clyde excursion
Wappen von Hamburg pontoon from which all Hamburg austere by todays standards. vessel Queen Mary to the Clyde (SM,
I was amazed to read the article on ferries ran to their local destinations. Entertainment was provided by a trio Aug), I would point out that the vessel
the Wappen von Hamburg, as I knew She left at 0730 for her 12-hour of accordionists clad in lederhosen, was in fact moved to the James Watt
her when she was in Hamburg. When round trip via Cuxhaven to Heligoland. and among their repertoire was, Dock in Greenock, where she is currently
I was in charge of Thomas Cook we She was frequently late. I was offered surprisingly, Roll Out the Barrel. berthed, to avoid anyone making an
sold Hadag tickets, including excursion a Saturday trip on her, but declined, I also knew some of her pick-up abortive visit to Govan in Glasgow.
tickets on the ship, and I was invited to with the excuse that Cooks worked points, such as Stade and Willkomm- Arthur W. Sales
visit her. She berthed at the western Saturday mornings. She was a Hft, where Hamburgs citizens would Bishopton, Renfrewshire
end of Landungsbrcken, the floating charming ship, although surprisingly frequently board her. As Germanys
foremost post-war ship, she deserves Portsmouth cruise ship
her place in maritime history. I enjoyed reading the excellent news
Duncan Haws article about Portsmouth port (SM,
Gosport, Hants Sept), as well as the view from the
bridge featuring Boudiccas captain.
AIDAprima spotted Regarding the cruise ship Albatros of
I recently saw the new cruise ship Phoenix Reisen, the ship is now 206m
AIDAprima in Zeebrugge and think she long after her lengthening in the early
must be the ugliest block of flats 1980s and not the length as stated.
afloat today. She has a vertical stem, Her then sisterships, Royal Viking
like a World War I battleship, and no Star and Sea (now Black Watch and
flare to her bow to deflect waves. In Boudicca), were also lengthened at the
rough seas she will plough straight same time. I was lucky to photograph
Warship identification While sorting through some old documents through the waves and, I would think, Royal Viking Sea in 1973, when she was
recently I came across this photograph of a warship passing under a suspension take a lot of water over her bow, new, as she sailed into the Tyne. She
bridge. Can any reader identify the warship and the location of the photo? making her rather a wet ship. looked as good then as she does now.
Ibelieve the time period is the mid-1930s. Richard Abrahams, Gillingham Alan S. Howe, Caterham Hilton Davis, South Shields

60 November 2016 www.shipsmonthly.com


Duchesse Annes days at Poole
It is good to see the veteran ferries
Dubrovnik and Marko Polo still in
service and clearly well cared for
(Classics in Croatia, SM, Sept). One
route Duchesse Anne (Dubrovnik)
sailed on was a seasonal service
between Poole and St Malo from
1994 to 1996. She left the Dorset
port at 08.00 Friday to Monday,
returning overnight from St Malo,
and also made return trips from St
Malo to Cork during the week.
I enjoyed several sailings from
Poole on her, when she was always
heavily loaded. She called at two very
picturesque ports, and I remember
her as a comfortable ship with
pleasant on board areas, but there
was hardly a straight line to be found.
Interest in Hain Line
I found the history of Hain Line (SM,
Sept) of particular interest. I have
a fine builders model of Trelawny,
one of the companys ships. In order
to learn more about the vessel, I
contacted Lloyds Register of Shipping.
Trelawny was built in 1927, and
was one of five vessels sunk on 22
February 1941, when the westbound
convoy of which she was a part was
attacked by German raiders, including
the battleships Gneisenau and
Scharnhorst. The crew survived and
were taken as prisoners of war by the
Germans, and were lucky to survive.
Arthur J. Ferguson
Sarasota, USA
New Texel ferry enters service
I can supply some further information
about the new Dutch ferry
Texelstroom (SM, Sept). She can carry
a maximum of 340, not 350, cars and
her passengers capacity is 1,750. She
measures 135.4m by 27.9m and uses
CNG (compressed natural gas) as her
main fuel, supplemented by solar
panels providing electrical energy.
She has already been serving the
Den Helder-t Horntje (Texel) route, and
Her career with Brittany Ferries
ended on 30 September 1996. I
was on duty at the Port of Poole
that morning as she arrived from
St Malo for the last time. After she
had discharged traffic, preparations
were made for her decommissioning
before she sailed empty back to
France ready to be handed over to
Jadrolinija the following month.
Just before she sailed, the
ships purser handed me the RNLI
collection jar, to be passed on to the
Poole-based lifeboat charity. I then
headed to Sandbanks to get the
above photograph of her leaving UK
shores for the final time.
Kevin Mitchell
Poole
Model ship answer
In answer to Gaetano Spiteris request
for help with the model of Amur-Ra
(SM, June, p.61), it seems to be very
similar to the German vintage steamer
Schaarhrn, apart from the marking
and the top of the funnel. Schaarhrn
(featured in SM, Nov 2008) was built as a
government vessel more than a century
ago and is now a working museum ship
based in Hamburg. Enthusiasts bought
her in the 1990s when she was a derelict
hull in Scotland, brought her back to
the Elbe and restored her. There were
no sisterships or other similar vessels
built, as far as I know.
Gerd Schrder
Heikendorf, Germany
she is homeported at Oudeschild, a
small port on Texel with a small Damen
Shipyard. She was built in 2015 by the
La Naval yard at Sestao near Bilbao,
but in 2016 was brought to the Damen
shipyard at Amsterdam for completion.
I was pleased to see this fantastic
vessel (pictured) during my visit to the
island of Texel in July.
Frans Truyens
Antwerp
Caesarea in Hong Kong
With reference to the article about
Weymouths last mail steamers (SM,
Aug). the attached images of one of
them, Caesarea-Aesarea, may be of
interest. I took them in 1982 when I
was a resident in Hong Kong.
During the 1980s, Hong Kongs
western outer harbour was home
to many older ships waiting for new
owners or on their way for scrapping.
Among these vessels in 1982 was the
ferry Aesarea, looking quite derelict.
However, on a plate on the stern could
just be made out Weymouth as an
earlier port of registration. The former
British Rail ferry was one of a number
that have ended up in Hong Kongs
waters over the years.
Ian D. Johnson
Felbridge
Pompey Power
The collier Pompey Power (SM, July),
now in Oslo, and her identical sister
Pompey Light had the characteristic
appearance of the Wear-built colliers
of their day. They were built by S. P.
Austin in 1949, and were ordered by
the City of Portsmouth, which had
its own coal-fired power station.
They originally carried the citys coat
of arms on their funnels, but this
was changed to British Electricity
Authority (BEA) on nationalisation.
They were managed for the owners by
www.shipsmonthly.com November 2016
READERS PAGES
ABOVE/BELOW Former Weymouth mail
steamer Caesarea, renamed Aesarea, in
Hong Kong in 1982, with the name of
her original home port just visible.
Stephenson Clarke of Newcastle.
As an apprentice at the works of
the North Eastern Marine Co, I helped
build the main steam engine pistons
and was involved in other work on the
construction of the triple expansion
reheat poppet valve engines fitted
in these ships. In 1952 I served as 3rd
Engineer on the Light for 14 coastal
trips, ten to Portsmouth power station
and four to Southampton gas works.
At Portsmouth the power station
coal stockyard included the tidal
Camber dock. Apart from the two
Belliss and Morcom steam engines,
and of course the main engines,
pumps, lighting, heating, cooking
and all deck machinery were electric.
Remarkable ships for their day.
David Aris
Kendal, Cumbria
61
 November ports of call Compiled by Donna and Andrew Cooke
Date Arr/dep Ship Operator GT Date Arr/dep Ship Operator GT Date Arr/dep Ship Operator GT
7 0630/16300 Braemar Fred. Olsen 24,344 22 0700/1630 Queen Elizabeth Cunard Lines 90,901
GREENOCK (Glasgow)
7 0630/1630 Queen Elizabeth Cunard Lines 90,901 23 0630/1630 Ventura P&O Cruises 116,017
1-2 0600/1230 Hebridean Princess Hebridean Cruises 2,112
7 0800/2200 AIDAprima AIDA Cruises 125,572 25 0630/1700 Arcadia P&O Cruises 84,342
8 0800/1930 Hebridean Princess Hebridean Cruises 2,112
7-8 0800/1600 Saga Pearll II Saga Cruises 18,627 25 0630/1630 Oceana P&O Cruises 77,499
12 0800/1930 Hebridean Princess Hebridean Cruises 2,112
9 0630/1630 Arcadia P&O Cruises 84,342 25 0630/1630 Oriana P&O Cruises 69,840
16 0800/1930 Hebridean Princess Hebridean Cruises 2,112
10 0530/1630 Navigator of The Seas Royal Caribbean 139,570 28 0800/2200 AIDAprima AIDA Cruises 125,572
HARWICH 11 0630/1630 Ventura P&O Cruises 116,017
TILBURY
11 0530/0900 Black Watch Fred. Olsen Cruises 28,613 12 0630/1630 Oceana P&O Cruises 77,499
11 0600/1800 Black Watch Fred. Olsen Cruises 28,613
LIVERPOOL 12 0730/1730 Balmoral Fred. Olsen 43,537
12 tbc/tbc Magellan CMV 46,052
7 tbc/tbc Boudicca Fred. Olsen Cruises 28,551 13 0630/1630 Arcadia P&O Cruises 84,342
18 0600/1800 Black Watch Fred. Olsen Cruises 28,613
20 tbc/tbc Boudicca Fred. Olsen Cruises 28,551 14 0700/1630 Oceana P&O Cruises 77,499
14 0800/2200 AIDAprima AIDA Cruises 125,572 NOTES This information is given in good faith, and neither the authors nor Ships
SOUTHAMPTON 15 0600/1700 Queen Victoria Cunard Lines 90,049 Monthly can be held responsible for any changes to ship arrivals or departures;
1 0600/1630 Aurora P&O Cruises 76,152 19 0630/1630 Queen Elizabeth Cunard Lines 90,901 readers are advised to check port shipping movements nearer the time if
1 0630/1630 Queen Mary 2 Cunard Lines 149,215 19 0630/1630 Queen Mary 2 Cunard Lines 149,215 intending to view any of the ships, as schedules can change; tbc = to be confirmed
5 0630/1630 Queen Mary 2 Cunard Lines 149,215 20 0630/1630 Aurora P&O Cruises 76,152
7 0530/1600 Saga Sapphire Saga Cruises 37,049 21 0800/2200 AIDAprima AIDA Cruises 125,572

Mystery ship
This months mystery ship is
an old passenger liner with
the name Sonoma. But was
that her original name? She is
alongside at some port, but
which one? Is she about to
leave or has she just arrived?
Where might she be heading?
What is her history? When
was she originally built,
and what was her role in
her heyday? 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.

Septembers mystery ship

Septembers mystery ship is instantly
recognisable as one of two identical sisters,
namely American Export Lines Independence
and Constitution, both of which were
completed in 1951 by Bethlehem Steel, Quincy,
but which one? I have studied numerous
photographs, but find it impossible to
differentiate they were truly identical (original
gross tonnage was 23,719 for both) except
for some aspects of their interior dcor.
What I can say is that the photograph
shows the ship in her original configuration,
and probably not later than about 1955.
The ships hulls were repainted white in
1960, and both ceased sailing for AEL in
1969-70. After being laid up for several
years, they were sold in 1974 to C. Y. Tung
of Hong Kong and allocated to one of the
numerous operating companies within his
Orient Overseas Group. Thereafter they had
somewhat chequered careers, with refits,
periods of lay-up and renamings.
Constitution was the first to go,
foundering in 1997 700 miles north of
Hawaii while being towed to the scrapyard
at Alang, India. Independence lasted much
longer, thanks to her sister having been
cannibalised for spare parts. She made her
last commercial voyage in October 2001,
but it was not until 2010 that she was finally
broken up at Alang.
Robert H. Langlois, of Vale, Guernsey
The photo was taken in Genoa (in front
of Cotton Warehouses at Old Wharf), an
usual call for Constitution in the 1950s, as
her sister, Independence, usually called at
Naples. Another ship can be seen on the left,
possibly a Japanese cargo ship.
Pier Vincenzo De Marzo, Genoa, Italy

62 November 2016 www.shipsmonthly.com


ships library
bookof
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Warship 2016
Edited by John Jordan
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The usual range of diverse
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55-minute DVD costs 9.99 plus p&p.
The second DVD, QE2 The Last
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before being retired. This DVD has
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her final voyage. It lasts for 55 minutes
and costs 9.99p plus p&p. EF-L
To order either or both of these
DVDs telephone 01394 470112 or go
to www.amcs12sales.co.uk.
By Steamer to the
South Coast
Andrew Gladwell
Another volume in a series covering
Britains paddle steamers, this latest
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series of photos and old postcards
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the south coast of England looks at
the paddle and pleasure steamers
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Southampton and Bournemouth were
littoral surface combatants and
tactics at the Battle of Jutland.
The impressive volume is scholarly
in its approach, and the articles have
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It is a must for any reader with an
interest in naval history. NL
the homes of the Red Funnel fleet,
and Weymouth housed the ships of
Cosens. The White Funnel ships of P&A
Campbell also operated in the area,
as did independents in Brighton and
Hastings, and all are covered in this
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Published by Amberley Publishing,
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Floating Palaces: The
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William H. Miller
Part of the authors series of snapshot
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remaining North Atlantic liner is
Cunards Queen Mary II.
A full and diverse range of images is
included, in the form of old company
posters, other publicity material,
artworks, colour and black and white
www.shipsmonthly.com November 2016
READERS PAGES
photographs. These are supported
by the text, which covers both the
best and brightest days of peacetime
services to the dark days of war, and
on occasion the tragedies which befell
the British, French, German, Italian and
US-owned ships.
Covering the transatlantic liners that
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they historic, contemporary, iconic or
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the shiplovers bookshelves. AB
Published by The Amberley
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amberley-books.com; ISBN 978-1-
4456-5047-0, paperback, 128 pages,
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MV Isle of Lewis
Mark Nicolson
Isle of Lewis was Caledonian MacBraynes
first vessel purposely built for the route
serving the island whose name she
carries. She operated the Stornoway
to Ullapool route across the North
Minch, serving the largest of the Outer
Hebridean islands, for almost 20 years.
Built by Ferguson Shipbuilders of
Port Glasgow on the Clyde in 1995,
she was the largest and fastest motor
vessel ever built for Cal Mac up to
that time. She was noted for her
spacious passenger accommodation,
which included an open cafeteria and
observation saloon offering sea views.
She reduced the crossing time by
almost an hour over her predecessor.
Now displaced by a new, larger Loch
Seaforth, she is on the Oban to Barra
service. Mark Nicolsons book looks
at the history and development of
the ship, goes on board to meet her
captains and crew and looks at the
services she has offered through her
two decades of service. NL
Published by the Islands Book Trust,
Laxey Hall, Laxey, Isle of Lewis HS2 9PJ,
78 pages, 80 colour illustrations, price
9.99, email sales@islandbooktrust.org
or tel 01851 830316 for details.
63
on sale
21 October 2016
To subscribe turn
to page 18
next issue In December the famous Danish shipping company DFDS
marks its 150th annivesary, and, in the first of a two-part
history, ferry correspondent Russell Plummer looks at the
companys development, its ships and the milestones of
150 years of operations.

DFDS 150 YEARS OF SERVICE

Norwegian
CruiseLine
Allan E. Jordan looks
back at the remarkable
50-year history of
NCL, its little white
ships that started the
Miamicruise market
andthe innovations
thatfollowed.

Invincible class aircraft carriers

Conrad Waters outlines the history of PLUS MSC Divina Andy Hernandez goes aboard the
the carriers that maintained British naval Miami-based MSC Divina, one of MSC Cruises newest ships,
airpower through rapidly changing times. and reports on what she has to offer.

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64 November 2016 www.shipsmonthly.com

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THE LAST WORD

As Senior Master of Stena

Germanica, Captain ke Adolfsson
has a unique viewpoint of the
worlds only ship which uses
methanol in its fuel mix, as John
Pagni finds out.

Are there any notable incidents vessel. Even in gale-force winds

ABOVE Captain ke Adolffson on the
bridge of Stena Germanica.
What is your background?
I was born in the city of Malm in
southern Sweden in 1970. I went
to sea aged 17 on the dry cargo
vessel Minna, which was 46m long.
I was a deckhand apprentice and
we were away for three to four
weeks tramping around the Baltic.
We called at ports in Sweden and
Denmark, carrying mainly grain
andsand.
And how did your career
develop?
After Minna I worked on the Malm-
Travemnde ferries and then got
some ro-ro expertise with Gorthon
Lines, travelling to America.
When did your studying begin?
I went to the Merchant Marine
Academy in Kalmar between 1991
and 1995 and worked on tankers in
the North Sea for Target Shipping
around the Norwegian coast. Then
my daughter was born, which
meant I wanted to be closer to
home. So I started with TT Line
ferries, running between Denmark
and Sweden. After that I went to
Scandlines in 2005. When Stena
Line took the company over, I was
transferred. I became Senior Master
four years ago aboard Trelleborg.
What is your favourite port?
I am quite fond of Kiel it is a nice
port, mainly because of its location.
We go right to the city centre, so its
position is very good for the ship,
and it is then easy to go ashore.
you recall?
Once, when working on a TT Line
ship, a male passenger threw himself
overboard. We searched for about
three hours, but he was never found,
and with the water temperature
only 2C it is unlikely he survived.
I have faced the big seas in the
Atlantic, but they became normal to
me after a while. I had an incident
on board a tanker off the Norwegian
coast when we encountered 10-15m
waves. The ship could not hold
against the wind and was making
one knot astern towards rocky
shoals. We had to fill the tanks with
seawater, as she was in ballast at the
time, and it was a worrying situation
until we started making headway. I
was Second Officer and the ship had
a crew of 14.
What is your favourite ship?
I have to say Stena Germanica she
is fantastic! I was on hand in early
2015 during her rebuilding, which
was my first on-the-spot shipyard
experience, when the engines were
modified for dual fuel with methanol.
Other experiences were just routine
maintenance drydockings. During the
refit, I even managed to go ashore
once for a beer! But I will visit Poland
again as a tourist some time there
was not time during this project.
What have you noticed about
her since the refit?
She is virtually vibration-free and
was always a very good seagoing
you can sleep like a baby on board.
She has good manoeuvrability, very
strong bow thrusters, and she is
good to ride on, but she is a big
ship, so it takes time to get her
moving. Both Kiel and Gothenburg
are good ports, because they offer
shelter from most strong winds.
Have you noticed any changes
after the conversion?
She is exactly the same as before
using methanol, but now there are
virtually no exhaust gases, although
I cannot really see the funnels, as
they are behind the raised deck
(aft of the bridge). When we run
completely on methanol, there is no
smoke at all.
How do you occupy your
sparetime?
I am fond of Alpine skiing and
Ischglin Austria is a favourite
holiday destination. I like being
outdoors anywhere in the summer,
but as my daughter is now 19 and
my son 16 is they do not need me
so much. I now work two weeks
on and three off. When I met my
wife to be, I was already working
on ships going to the USA. In fact,
soon after we met I left on a six-
month contract. So I started with
180 days away, which has reduced
continuously since, so I am at
homemore.
BELOW Stena Germanica in
Gothenburg in her new livery.

66 November 2016 www.shipsmonthly.com

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