Boxboats • Largest ever container ship named

£4.25 www.shipsmonthly.com
SHIP OF THE MONTH
WASA EXPRESS

SCANDINAVIAN
FEBRUARY 2015 WORKHORSE

FOLKESTONE FAVOURITES
Remembering
two classic
Channel ferries

FEB 2015 • Issue 2 • Vol 50

£4.25

AIRCRAFT CARRIERS
FROM WORLD WARS ONE AND TWO

Cargo classics Spanish owned Tall Ships On the south coast Elegant ferry Lobo Marinho
 TM

welcome

Big . . . bigger . . . biggest . . .

I
www.shipsmonthly.com
TM
Kelsey Media, Cudham Tithe Barn, Berrys Hill n this issue of Ships Monthly we have
Cudham, Kent TN16 3AG
EDITORIAL reports on various new ships that are
Editor Nicholas Leach making waves because of their size.
sm.ed@kelsey.co.uk
Art Editor Mark Hyde Shipowners and corporations are looking
ADVERTISING to build bigger and bigger vessels, the
Contact Julia Johnston on 01733 353359
Email Julia.johnston@kelsey.co.uk main benefit of which is a lower unit cost. Of
Group Sales Director
sally.barton@kelsey.co.uk
particular note was the recent naming of the
PRODUCTION new container ship CSCL Globe, which has a
Production Supervisor Hannah Shipman
01733 353352
capacity of approximately 19,000TEU and takes
hannah.shipman@kelseypb.co.uk the title of world’s biggest container ship from But these boxboat giants, and indeed the
Production Manager
karen.wayman@kelseypb.co.uk the Maersk Triple-E ships. But Maersk are not massive cruise ships, are almost dwarfed in
DIGITAL resting on their laurels, and are set to build comparison to Pieter Schelte, which measures
Digital Publisher Vicky Ophield
Digital Marketing Manager Rebecca Gibson even more ships in the Triple-E series. 382m by 124m and is basically two ships joined
MANAGEMENT As well as container ships getting ever bigger, together. With a lift capacity of 48,000 tons,
Publishing Director Gordon Wright
Chairman Steve Annetts with speculation that a 24,000TEU vessel is on she is intended to service oil rigs, and will be
Chief Executive Steve Wright
Managing Director Phil Weeden
the cards at some point, cruise ships are also examined in depth in a future issue of SM.
Finance Director Joyce Parker-Sarioglu increasing in size. Those ships such as Oasis of While the same goes for new ferries in terms
Head of Audience Development Andy Cotton
Subscriptions Marketing Manager Daniel Webb the Seas, featured last month, can carry upward of size, with CalMac about to introduce its new
Newstrade Circulation Eleanor Brown of 5,400 passengers, while newbuilds like 7,800gt flagship Loch Seaforth as a larger and
CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT
Subscriptions Quantum of the Seas take ‘only’ 4,100. more capacious craft on the Lewis route, this is
UK new subscriptions orderline 0845 872 7385 in stark contrast to the two Folkestone ferries
UK new subscriptions renewals 0845 450 1019
UK customer services 01858 438 857 featured in this issue. Hengist and Horsa were
UK Fax 01858 469 804
UK postal address Freepost RSXY-XXGK-EUYS
Channel favourites for many years, but the
Kelsey Media, Market Harborough LE16 9EF 5,596gt pair measured just 118m in length and,
Overseas order hotline +44 (0) 1858 438856
Overseas customer services +44 (0) 1858 438857
by modern standards, are tiny.
International Fax +44 (0) 1858 469 804
Overseas postal address Kelsey Media, Unit
4, Tower House, Sovereign Park, Market
Harborough LE16 9EF, UK
Subscriptions
UK £51.00 • Europe/USA/Canada £64.49
RoW £70.49 Nicholas Leach
Kelsey Shop www.kelseyshop.co.uk Editor
Back Issues 0845 873 9270 • Books 0845 450 4920
DISTRIBUTION Naming ceremony of the world’s largest container ship, sm.ed@kelsey.co.uk
Marketforce, Bluefin Building, London CSCL Globe, in Ulsan, South Korea.
Call 020 3148 3333 for your nearest stockist
PRINTING
William Gibbons & Sons Ltd
Kelsey Media 2014 © all rights reserved.
Subscribe to Ships Monthly • Find out how on page 20
Reproduction in whole or in part is forbidden Ships Monthly is also available digitally • Please visit www.pocketmags.com
except with permission in writing from the
publishers. Note to contributors: articles

Contributors this month

submitted for consideration by the editor must
be the original must be the original work of the
author and not previously published. Where
photographs are included, which are not the
property of the contributor, permission to
reproduce them must have been obtained from
the owner of the copyright. The editor cannot
guarantee a personal response to all letters
and emails received. The views expressed in the
magazine are not necessarily those of the Editor
or the Publisher. Kelsey Media accepts no liability
for products and services offered by third parties.
Kelsey Media uses a multi-layered privacy notice, John Martin Paul Brown Russell Plummer Kalle Id
giving you brief details about how we would like
John Martin enjoyed a varied Dr Paul Brown is a writer and Russell Plummer has had Kalle Id is a Finnish maritime
to use your personal information. For full details,
visit www.kelsey.co.uk , or call 01959 543524. If you career in the British Merchant photographer whose books articles in every issue of Ships historian, journalist and
have any questions, please ask as submitting your
Navy, culminating in several include Britain’s Historic Ships, Monthly since July 1976. He photographer. He is best
details indicates your consent, until you choose
otherwise, that we and our partners may contact years as master aboard Historic Ships: The Survivors, has travelled on over 300 known for his book Silja
you about products and services that will be of
relevance to you via direct mail, phone, email or ferries in Scottish Waters. and Maritime Portsmouth. different ferries, cruise ships Line from De Samseglande
SMS. You can opt out at ANY time via email: data. Now he writes articles for He is also a consultant to and excursion vessels, and is to Tallink, which was
controller@kelseypb.co.uk or 01959 543524
maritime publications. National Historic Ships. based in Peterborough. published in 2014.
Ship Monthly is available for licensing worldwide.
For more information, contact bruce@
bruceawfordlicensing.com Data protection Kelsey Media uses a multi-layered privacy notice, giving you brief details about how we would like to use your personal
information. For full details, visit www.kelsey.co.uk , or call 01959 543524. If you have any questions, please ask as submitting your details
www.kelsey.co.uk indicates your consent, until you choose otherwise, that we and our partners may contact you about products and services that will be of
relevance to you via direct mail, phone, email or SMS. You can opt out at ANY time via email: data.controller@kelseypb.co.uk or 01959 543524.
KELSEYmedia
www.shipsmonthly.com • January 2015 • 3
contents Boxboats • Largest ever container ship named
£4.25 www.shipsmonthly.com
SHIP OF THE MONTH
WASA EXPRESS
Regulars 14 Naval
OPV mission raises questions, Type 26 key
deadline missed, and second of the Zumwalt
SCANDINAVIAN class destroyers progresses. Gary Davies
FEBRUARY 2015 WORKHORSE

FOLKESTONE FAVOURITES 16 Cargo

Remembering New container ships built for CSAV, Maersk
two classic
Channel ferries order more Triple-Es, future reefer design
FEB 2015 • Issue 2 • Vol 50

announced, and Aberdeen hopes to expand.

£4.25

Cargo classics Spanish owned
6 Waterfront
The biggest container ship in the world
enters service, new LNG-powered ferry in
AIRCRAFT CARRIERS
FROM WORLD WARS ONE AND TWO South America, and Southampton gears up
Tall Ships On the south coast Elegant ferry Lobo Marinho for the biggest container ships.

10 Ferry
CalMac’s new Lewis route vessel Loch Seaforth
FEB 2015 OFC_mh.indd 1

COVER The former Channel ferry Hengist

09/12/2014 13:52

arrives, Dieppe Seaways goes to Stena, and

18 Tugs
leaving Folkestone in Sealink British Ferries ‘State of the art’ tugs go to Malta, Sanmar’s
Dieppe-Newhaven route continues with DFDS.
colours. A detailed feature on the ship, and her new Voith tractor design, and Prototype taken
Russell Plummer
sister Horsa, can be found on page 24. FOTOFLITE on charter. Jack Gaston
12 Cruise
Mishap for 50-year-old Marco Polo, Majesty of
39 Ships pictorial
ALSO AVAILABLE A selection of ships pictured around the
DIGITALLY the Seas goes to Pullmantur, and Oceania take
world, including Costa Crociere’s new flagship
WWW.POCKETMAGS.COM former Renaissance ships. William Mayes
Costa Diadema and the frigate HMS Somerset.

Subscribe today See page 20 for more info


Features
22 Queen Mary recalled
The famous liner Queen Mary was launched 80
years ago. Extracts from a new book by Janette
McCutcheon looks in detail at the ship.
24 Folkestone favourites
A look at the long careers of Hengist and Horsa,
two former Folkestone ferries now in Greek
waters. Russell Plummer
30 Maritime Mosaic
The 2014 season of Tall Ships events saw the
fleet visit the UK in August and September, and
this selection of photos shows the ships.
42 Basque shipowner
Profile of the shipowning activities of Ramón de
la Sota Aburto (jnr), with a look at some of the
cargo ships it operated. Malcolm Cranfield
FEBRUARY 2015 • Volume 50 • No.2
WWW.SHIPSMONTHLY.COM
47 The Centaur carriers
The three Centaur class aircraft carriers, Centaur,
Albion and Bulwark, found a role policing the
rundown of the British Empire. Paul Brown
52 First aircraft carriers
The history of the first seaplane carriers, from
La Foudre to HMS Argus, with the UK building a
seaplane carrier in 1914. Campbell McCutcheon
56 Lobo Marinho
On board the small inter-island ferry Lobo
Marinho, which operates between Madeira and
Porto Santo. John Martin
66 View from the Bridge
Giles Wade, Senior Master of Condor Vitesse, which
operates between England and the Channel Islands,
talks about his career. Richard Webber
The future of Stena Explorer, pictured arriving
at Holyhead on the final day of the 2014 summer
season, is in serious doubt after the cancellation
of her scheduled services between Dun Laoghaire
and Holyhead over the Christmas period. The sole
remaining HSS1500 craft has served the Irish Sea
route since 1996. MARITIME PHOTOGRAPHIC
33 Ship of the Month
WASA EXPRESS
Wasa Express operates between Finland and
Sweden. The 1981-built ship has a varied
history, having sailed on the Baltic, the
North Sea and the English Channel. Kalle Id
Chartroom
60 Ships mail
A selection of letters from readers.
62 Ships library
Reviews and details of new maritime books.
63 Ports of call
Cruise ship calls around the UK in February.
Edwin Wilmshurst
63 Mystery ship
Can you identify this month’s mystery ship?
WATERFRONT
German frigate
comes to Leith
REMEMBRANCE
Commanding Officer Ivo Schneider
of the German frigate Brandenburg
(pictured), fellow officers and men
made history when they attended
the service of Remembrance at
Edinburgh’s St Giles Cathedral on
Remembrance Sunday, 8 November
2014. This was the first time
representatives of the German military
had taken part in the ceremony.
Kevin Gray, chief executive officer
of Legion Scotland, said: ‘We are
delighted to welcome the German
contingent at this remembrance event
for the first time.’ FGS Brandenburg
has recently returned from the Gulf,
where she was part of Operation
Atalanta. She took over as the EU
Naval Force flagship on 6 April 2014 for
a four-month tour of duty. IM
The container ship Sajir is of a
ground-breaking design, with the
hull structure good for 25 years of
operation in the North Atlantic.
First to be ready for LNG
NEWBUILD
On 27 November 2014 United Arab
Shipping Company (UASC) named
the first ever LNG-ready ultra-large
container vessel. Sajir is the first
vessel in UASC’s current newbuilding
programme, which comprises 17 of
the world’s most eco-efficient vessels.
With a capacity of 15,000TEU (A15),
the DNV GL classed vessel is the largest
and most eco-efficient in this capacity
range. Sajir will start operating on
6 • February 2015 • www.shipsmonthly.com
World’s first methanol ship
GREEN TECHNOLOGY
Stena Line, becomes the first
operator in the world to run a large
1, 500 passenger ferry on methanol,
drastically reducing emissions
compared to today’s standard fuel,
after converting Stena Germanica,
which operates between Gothenburg
and Kiel, to methanol propulsion. The
240m ferry will be the first ship in the
world to run on methanol when she
begins operations in early 2015.
The project has been undertaken
in cooperation with leading engine
manufacturer Wärtsilä, the port of
Gothenburg, the port of Kiel and the
the Asia-North Europe route after
delivery. Ten further A15 vessels and six
18,800TEU (A18) container ships will be
delivered by Hyundai Heavy Industries
to UASC by mid-2016.
H.E. Salem Ali Al Zaabi, Chairman of
UASC, said: ‘At UASC we see efficiency
as a key competitive differentiator in an
increasingly competitive market. Sajir
embodies this ethos and, as the first of
17 vessels in our current newbuilding
program, represents an important
milestone in the evolution of UASC.’
world’s largest methanol producer
and supplier Methanex Corporation.
Stena Germanica will be converted
at Remontowa Shipyard in Gdansk,
Poland starting in January 2015.
The process is expected to take six
weeks, and is financially supported
by the EU ‘Motorways of the Seas’
initiative at a total project cost of
about €22 million. The vessel, built in
2001, served the Harwich-Hook route
as Stena Hollandica until moving to
Gothenburg-Kiel in 2010 after being
lengthened by Remontowa.
‘At Stena Line we are extremely
proud of contributing to the
development of our industry. Our
Ready for big boxboats
PORT NEWS
Southampton port is ready to
handle the biggest ships in the
world after the completion of a £40
million dredging project. Since 2013
dredgers from the Dutch company
Boskalis have been dredging and
widening the 25 nautical miles of the
main approach channel to ensure
that ships with a draught of up to
15.5m – currently the largest ships
in the world – can access the Port’s
container terminal.
ABOVE The 9,770gt Dutch trailing suction hopper dredger Cornelis Zanen at
work to deepen the approach channels to Southampton port. ANDREW MCALPINE
The 2001-built ferry Stena
Germanica at Gothenburg.
NICHOLAS LEACH
focus has always been on innovation
for the benefit of both customers
and society at large and this is a prime
example of this going hand in hand.
We are constantly evaluating different
fuels for the future, and to be first in
the world with a methanol conversion
is a big step towards sustainable
transportation,’ said Carl-Johan
Hagman, Stena Line CEO.
Wärtsilä has developed the new
engine conversion kit and ship
application in co-operation with Stena
Teknik. The engine will be dual-fuel,
using methanol as the vessel’s main
fuel grade, but with the ability to use
MGO (Marine Gas Oil) as backup.
The dredging programme is the
last piece of the project to improve
the container terminal and ensure
that it can handle ever larger ships
in the future. The terminal’s new
SCT 5 berth, opened in March 2014,
has a 500m deepwater quay and is
purpose-built to cater for the largest
ships in the world.
The dredging benefits a wide
range of commercial shipping that
use the port, including vessels
serving Marchwood Military Port and
using Fawley Refinery. AM

World’s largest boxboat enters service
CONTAINER SHIP
On 18 November 2014 the naming
ceremony (above right) for China
Shipping Lines’ newest vessel CSCL
Globe (above left) was held at Hyundai
Heavy Industries Co shipyard in Ulsan,
South Korea. The new ship has taken the
title of the world’s largest container
ship from Maersk’s Triple-E series.
The naming ceremony was attended
by Xu Li Rong, chairman of China
Shipping Group; Zhao Hong Zhou,
First LNG ferry debuts
FERRY LATEST
On 7 November 2014 the Uruguayan-
flagged ferry Francisco, powered
by LNG, started commercial service,
making the 1600 departure from
Buenos Aires to Montevideo and
becoming the world’s first dual-
fuelled high-speed ro-ro ferry to
operate with liquefied natural gas
(LNG) as the primary fuel.
She had hitherto sailed on liquid
fuel only, while the LNG liquefaction
plant erected 40km south of Buenos
Aires by the ferry’s owner Buquebus
was commissioned and brought on
line. Francisco, built by Hobart-based
Incat, was launched in November
The LNG-powered catamaran Francisco at Buenos Aires. GUILLERMO C. BERGER
managing director of CSCL; Qiu Guo
Hong, Chinese ambassador to Korea;
Choi Kil-seon, chairman and CEO of HHI;
and 150 other guests. CSCL Globe was
officially named by Godmother He Li
Jun, wife of Xu Li Rong.
Measuring 400m by 58.6m with a
30.5m depth, Globe has a capacity of
19,000TEU, surpassing the Triple-E’s
capacity by approximately 730TEU.
CSCL Globe is the first vessel in a series
of five which were ordered by CSCL in
May 2013 at a total cost of $700 million.
2012, with sea trails in March 2013.
She was named in June 2013.
Francisco links Buenos Aires with
the Uruguayan capital Montevideo,
making the crossing in two hours 15
minutes, which is 45 minutes faster
than the route’s previous vessel,
another Incat-built catamaran, Juan
Patricio. She arrived in the River Plate
in August 2013, spending some time
at Montevideo while her interiors
were fitted out. She was laid up
making only occasional trips, but has
now entered full commercial service.
Francisco measures 99m by
26.94m, has a waterline length of
90.54m, a draught of 2.98m and a
deadweight of 450 tons. GCB
The series were originally ordered with
capacities of 18,400TEU, but were later
updated by 600TEU.
The ships feature a single 77,200bhp
electronically controlled main engine,
with fuel efficiency enhanced
by having the fuel consumption
automatically controlled according to
the ship’s speed and sea conditions.
According to the shipbuilder, this
translates into a 20 per cent reduction
in fuel consumed per TEU compared to
similar 10,000TEU containerships.
Major upgrade for Seawell
UPGRADE WORK
After having successfully docked
and repaired MSV Well Enhancer
earlier in the year, Damen Shiprepair
Vlissingen, part of Damen Shiprepair &
Conversion, undertook another major
upgrade during November 2014, this
time of the Aberdeen-registered light
well intervention/dive support vessel
MSV Seawell (1986/9,158gt).
As the upgrade took place during
the winter, Damen Shiprepair
www.shipsmonthly.com • February 2015 •
news
WATERFRONT www.shipsmonthly.com • Cudham Tithe Barn, Berry’s Hill, Cudham, Kent TN16 3AG • t > 01959 541444 • e > sm.ed@kelsey.co.uk
Globe will be deployed in China
Shipping’s participation in the CKYHE
Alliance, and will call at the following
ports: Qingdao, Shanghai, Ningbo,
Yantian, Port Kelang, Felixstowe,
Hamburg, Rotterdam and Zeebrugge.
CSCL Globe is due to call at Felixstowe
on 7 January 2015, while the second
vessel, CSCL Pacific Ocean, is due on 30
January. The remaining vessels are CSCL
Pacific Ocean, CSCL Atlantic Ocean (due
January), CSCL Indian Ocean (February),
and CSCL Arctic Ocean (March). AM
Vlissingen (DSV) will use their covered
drydock with a 300-ton capacity
overhead crane. The upgrade includes
an exchange of all six gensets,
overhaul of all thrusters and azimuths,
replacement of two cherry pickers
and the existing twin slewing cranes
by a new single-boom 50-ton crane
with active heave compensation. As
well as the installation of the derrick,
adjustments will be made to the
operation of the moon pool doors,
winches and other equipment.
7
WATERFRONT
Icebreaking
supply vessel
NEWBUILD
The production of the icebreaking
multipurpose supply vessel for
Sovcomflot was started with steel
cutting on 26 November 2014. The
ceremony took place at Vyborg
Shipyard, where the blocks of the
vessel are produced. The event was
attended by representatives from
Sovcomflot, United Shipbuilding
Corporation, Russian Maritime Register
of Shipping, Vyborg Shipyard and
Arctech Helsinki Shipyard.
The design, hull assembly, outfitting
and commissioning of the vessel
will be done by Arctech Helsinki
Shipyard. The new vessel is being
built to transport supplies and people
between land bases and production
platforms in the harsh climatic areas
of the Sea of Okhotsk. The new
icebreaking offshore vessel (pictured)
measures 100m by 21m and is due to
be delivered in June 2016.
TS Royalist bows out New lifeboat for Wirral
TALL SHIP
The Marine Society & Sea Cadets
brig TS Royalist (pictured) has been
decommissioned after 43 years of service.
She sailed into Portsmouth Harbour
for the last time on 20 November 2014
with a two-tug escort, flanked by other
vessels from the MSSC fleet.
Since entering service in 1971, the
Cowes-built TS Royalist has sailed
212,850 nautical miles – the equivalent
8 • February 2015 • www.shipsmonthly.com
Damen work on cruise ships
SHIPYARD NEWS
Damen Shiprepair Rotterdam had a
busy few months at the end of 2014.
A 17-day drydocking for the cruise
ship MSC Magnifica was completed on
schedule, and she left for Hamburg
to start her next cruise in November
2014. Built in 2010, MSC Magnifica
of nine times around the world –
providing 30,000 young cadets with a
taste of life at sea on offshore voyages
around the UK and Europe.
A new 32m brig of the same name
is currently under construction at the
Astilleros Gondan shipyard in Spain.
The £4.8 million vessel is scheduled
for delivery in March 2015. Like its
predecessor, the new tall ship will
accommodate 24 trainees, undertaking
voyages of from six to 14 days. GD
MSC Magnifica arrives at Damen Shiprepair Rotterdam.
arrived at the yard on 20 October 2014
and was berthed at the yard’s largest
dry dock, which is 307m in length.
The work involved the replacement
of 47 tonnes of steel, replacing the
rudders, and cleaning and painting the
vessel. Commenting on the project,
Marc Derks, Project Manager, said: ‘This
was an excellent operation, I am proud
LIFEBOAT
The latest 13m Shannon class lifeboat
arrived at her Hoylake station on the
Wirral on 1 December 2014. Named
Edmund Hawthorn Micklewood, the
new boat has been funded in part
through a legacy left by Paulette
Micklewood, from Oxford, and has
been named after her father. Local
fundraising also contributed towards
the £2 million cost of the vessel.
John Curry, Hoylake RN LI lifeboat
operations manager, said: ‘The new
ABOVE The new Hoylake lifeboat is recovered by the Supacat L&R vehicle.
news
of the team. The advance planning and
preparation paid off’.
On 2 December another cruise
ship, Saga Sapphire, arrived at the yard
for her own period of drydocking and
maintenance, while Damen Shiprepair
Vlissingen handled two 167m cruise
ships, Astor and Marco Polo from CMV,
during the same period.
lifeboat opens a new era of lifesaving
as the response times of the station
will be dramatically improved’. The
new lifeboat is powered by waterjets,
and has a top speed of 25 knots.
It is launched across the beach by
a specially-designed Supacat L&R
vehicle, often having to be taken
more than a mile to reach the water.
The Shannon replaces the station’s
Mersey class lifeboat, Lady of Hilbre,
which has been stationed at Hoylake
since 1990, carrying out 237 rescues
and saving 263 people.
 SHIPS IN FOCUS – RECORD 59 For service with a smile
Merchant ships at Coronel and
after, Southern Railway cargo
ships 1923-1947, Auxiliaries
SHIPS IN FOCUS PUBLICATIONS
in the Avon,, Chelwood to John and Marion Clarkson 18 Franklands, Longton,
Chelwood: 60 years of colliers, Preston PR4 5PD Phone 01772 612855
John Wigham Richardson, A selected range of maritime books from quality publishers economical postal charges secure
Fowey’s powered coasters, A packing prompt service. Payment must accompany all orders and from overseas must be
foy boat, Aberdeen’s scratcher in Sterling with cheques payable to Ships in Focus. Remittances can be made by Maestro,
trawlers, Shell T2s laid-up in Switch, Mastercard, Visa/Delta. We require card number, valid from and expiry dates, last
Lough Swilly. s/b 64pp £8.50 3 figures of security code, issue number on Maestro cards and customer’s name as on card.
plus postage £1.50 UK. £2.50 We also accept payment by PayPal. Orders accepted by phone if payment by credit card
elsewhere. or PayPal. Postage: UK orders up to £20 add £2.00, £20-£50 add £3.50, over £50.00 free.
Overseas orders by seamail: Europe/North America 10% of total cost of books, elsewhere 5%,
WHY NOT TAKE OUT A SUBSCRIPTION? both with a minimum of £4.50. Airmail at cost.
FOUR ISSUES £35.00 UK £38.00 ELSEWHERE All the titles listed below are now available on our website www.shipsinfocus.com

NEDERLANDSE Now available

From Holland:
KOOPVAARDIJSCHEPEN IN
BEELD (Ships in pictures)
BINNENVAART 2015 s/b £24.00 Rix Shipping
SLEEP & DUWBOTEN 2015 s/b Graham Atkinson and John Rix
SEATRADE 2 Dick Gorter
£24.00 A hardback book with 96 pages and
Latest in the series, excellent priced at £27.50 ‘Rix Shipping’ may
JAARBOEK BINNENVAART 2014
colour photos throughout be obtained direct from ourselves, the
h/b £24.00
which far outweigh text/ publishers, at £23.00 plus post and
captions being in Dutch h/b 360pp £24.00 packing £3.50 (UK) or £4.50 elsewhere.
TUGS IN CAMERA The closing date for this offer is 31st
D & B McCall A4 size portrait December 2014.
100 YEARS OF SHIPPING ON
THE RIVER CLYDE George C format, with one colour photo per
page each with detailed caption
O’Hara over 200 photographs
h/b 96pp £18.50
BLUE STAR LINE
including many not previously
100 YEARS OF
published, of ships, shipyards,
A Fleet History
SHIPPING ON
THE RIVER CLYDE CRUISE SHIPS Tony Atkinson
docxks and river and port Blue Star Line was one of the most
scenes, includes 18 photos of 5th Edition
prominent and
RN ships cracking book A4 s/b William Mayes h/b best loved of
by
George C. O’Hara
£9.99 Bent Mikkelsen £24.00 British liner
Danske Rederier companies. In
Danish Shipping Companies

DANSKE DERIER its heyday it

P&O – Orient Liners of the
Volume 15

Volume 15 Vendila, Bergmann and operated some

1950’s and 1960’s William
Aarhus Spg Co., h/b £29.50 of the world’s
H Miller s/b 128pp £19.50 finest cargo liners,
MARCO POLO whose majestic
appearance
Forlaget Betty Nordgas

HER HOME THE ANTARCTIC
The Royal Research Ship John
Biscoe Trevor Boult well illus.
b&w and colour s/b 160pp £17.99
THE SEALINKLEGACY
30 Years since Privatisation Iain
McCall illus in colour s/b 64pp
£9.95
A LUCKY SHIP
The Nine Lives of the Australian
Coaster Tambar 1912 to 1960
Craig Mair well illustrated with
index 226pp s/b £26.00
DANISH
LINERS
AROUND THE
WORLD Bruce Peter Danish
shipping companies involvement
Celebrating Fifty
was enhanced by highly distinctive
Golden Years of Ocean Travel funnel colours. Blue Star ships had a
Richard Clammer 96pp h/b distinguished record during the Second
£15.50 World War, involved in some of its most
hard fought campaigns. As publishers
Wm. H. Müller & Co.
1878 - 1971
From Stegro WM H MULLER & CO we are delighted to offer what we believe
/ BATAVIER LINE 1878 TO 1971 will come to be regarded as the definitive
M with VIANDA LINE h/b £21.00 also history of this iconic line.
DAMMERS & VAN DER HEIDE With 304 A4 pages,
Scheepvaart en Handelsbedrijf 1945- produced to the exacting standards of
1988 £21.00 Ships in Focus, this hardback will do full
justice to a unique and significant fleet.
FERRIES 2015 British ‘Blue Star Line – A Fleet
Isles and Northern History’ will be published in December
Europe Nick Widdows h/b £18.50 our at £37.00. The pre-publication price
price £18.00 for this book is £30.00 plus post
and packing, £3.50 UK and £4.50
elsewhere. The closing date for this
offer will be 31st December 2014.
THE ONCE UBIQUITOUS PADDLE
STEAM John Hannavy paddle
THE CALEDON SHIPYARD,
steamers through the years almost
all colour h/b 144pp £9.99 The Foundation,
The People,
From Maritime Books:
BRITISH WARSHIPS AND AUXILLIARIES
The Ships The Foundation, The People,
The Ships and its Demise.

in international liner shipping, 2015/2016 Steve Bush s/b 120pp £8.99 and
includes histories of some major UNITED STATES NAVY WARSHIPS AND It’s Demise.
Danish companies 304pp h/b AUXILLIARIES 3rd edition Stevwe Bush s/b £12.99
£39.50 COUNTY CLASS GUIDED MISSILE J.B.Reilly. Presented by

J.B. Reilly

DESTROYERS Neil McCart 224pp h/b £25.00 s/b £25.00

2012

A SHIPYARD AT WAR
Unseen photographs
from John Brown’s
Ships in Focus titles reduced: OPEN DAYS
Shaw Savill’s Magnificent
Clydebank 1914-1918 will be held at 18, Franklands from 10.00 am to 3.30 pm
Seven was £25.00 now £21.00
Ian Johnston. Superb William Roberton and the 3rd January 2015, 7th February 2015.
photos with captions mainly Gem Line None in March
naval but some merchant was £21.00 now £17.00 Latest titles, reduced items, some second hand books and
tonnage h/b 192pp £28.00 Records 35/40 £3.75 each photographs will be available. A chance to browse before buying
FERRY Russell Plummer

BRIEF NEWS
Late February start for Loch Seaforth
DISCOVER FERRIES • The
organisation covering 12 British
ferry operators and more than
75 domestic and international
routes reports a 2.6 per cent
increase in passenger numbers
during the first eight months
of 2014, with nearly 28 million
passengers carried, almost
15 million of them in the peak
summer months of June, July
and August. Of these, more than
seven million used Continental
routes, just under six million
travelled on domestic services
and two million went to Ireland.

NO HSS • Stena Line did not

bring out HSS Stena Explorer
for Christmas period sailings
between Holyhead and Dun
Laoghaire. The 1966-built craft
was expected to run from 20
December until early January,
but Stena said: ‘For commercial
and operational reasons the
company has decided not
to reactivate the vessel this
year for the short Christmas
holiday period.’ Stena also
added that it is ‘engaged in
ongoing discussions with Dun
Laoghaire Harbour in relation to
the provision of a seasonal fast
craft service in 2015.’
Loch Seaforth arriving in Stornoway for the first time, 6 December 2014, for crew familiarisation. She undertook
a series of manoeuvres from Goat Island to Arnish in preparation for her entry into service. MARK NICOLSON
linkspan designed and constructed to be a significant logistical challenge,
HEBRIDES by MacGregor (Cargotec). While especially matching the different
Caledonian MacBrayne’s £41.8 million the 8,478gt Loch Seaforth makes vessels to different tides and finding a
flagship Loch Seaforth reached Scottish two passenger return trips a day, way of continuing to provide a service
waters on 7 November 2014, but the previous route vessels Isle of Lewis from Stornoway, but we believe we
700-passenger/143-car vessel seems (1995/6,753gt) and chartered ro-ro have found a good solution.’
unlikely to enter service between ferry Clipper Ranger (1998/7,606gt) will Originally expected in service in
Ullapool and Stornoway until 22 February provide a car/passenger and freight time for summer 2014, Loch Seaforth
– and then only carrying passengers. service from Stornoway to Uig, Isle of was delayed, as Flensburg-based
The car ferry service will not Skye, with three-hour journey times. German builders FSG suffered financial
resume until 7 April after installation CalMac managing director Martin problems, the vessel also having to go
by R. J. MacLeod of a new Ullapool Dorchester explained: ‘It has proved to Odense, Denmark for modifications.

SANDBANKS FERRY • The
Sandbanks-Shell Bay link
across the mouth of Poole
Harbour was suspended from 3
November into December 2014
while the 48-car Bramblebush
Bay went for a bi-annual refit at
Southampton. While the ferry
was stopped, major resurfacing
works in Panorama Road,
Sandbanks were undertaken.
Condor increase options with new cat
CHANNEL ISLANDS
Passenger choice will increase to three
seat classes for travel to and from the
Channel Islands when Condor Ferries’
newly-acquired Austal trimaran Condor
102 enters service from Poole to
Guernsey and Jersey towards the end
of March. The 2010-built craft was
expected to arrive in British waters from
the Philippines at the turn of the year,
with berthing trials at the ports to be
served before going to Southampton
for internal fit-out by Trimline.
Ocean Traveller is to offer assigned
airline-style seats in an open lounge,
with access to onboard dining and
shopping; an Ocean Traveller Plus
lounge features a private bar and
either airline-style reclining seats or
chairs arranged around tables; plus a
top of the range Ocean Club Private
Lounge with at-seat service and leather
reclining seats with tables. An outside
deck will be available, along with a
children’s play area, Bureau de Change
and range of shopping outlets.

FERRIES IN THE NEWS . . . FERRIES IN THE NEWS . . . FERRIES IN THE NEWS . . . FERRIES IN THE NEWS . . . FERRIES IN THE NE
MISTRAL • P&O Ferries has
chartered the 10,471gt/1,625 lane
metre ro-ro vessel, built in 1998,
to expand its North Sea business
joining Bore Star (2011/23,325gt),
introducing daily sailings each
way on the Middlesbrough
Teesport-Zeebrugge route.
AMPERE • This was the name
given to a trend-setting battery-
powered car ferry ordered by
Norled in a ceremony at the
Fjellstrand shipyard at Omastrand
on Norway’s Hardangerfjord on 23
October. The 80m-long vessel will
carry 350 passengers and 120 cars
on the Lavik-Oppedal route linking
the E39 road across Sognefjorden,
Norway, which Norled were due
to take over from Fjord 1 on 1
January 2015. Previously Fjord 1
deployed the car ferry Lifjord on
the 20-minute crossing.
STENA FORETELLER • The 3,000 lane
metre vessel, built in China during
2001, has been chartered by Mann
Lines at the start of a co-operation
with Stena to run in the Baltic.
Mann Lines provide services from
Harwich to Cuxhaven, Tallinn,
Turku and Bremerhaven, plus
Amsterdam-Baltic container links.
FINNHANSA • Finnlines plc has
sold the 1994-built, 32,534gt ro-ro
vessel to the Grimaldi Group at a
price of €30 million for service as
Euroferry Egnazia, while another
agreement sees the 1996-built
Euroferry Brindisi (previously
Finnarrow) going to Polferries
for €32.5 million. Finnlines say
operation of the two vessels had
become unprofitable due to the
current over-capacity in the ro-ro
market. With 114 passenger berths,
Finnhansa saw previous service in
the Baltic and Mediterranean.

10 • February 2015 • www.shipsmonthly.com


Dieppe Seaways goes to Stena
DOVER STRAIT
After completing a two-year charter
with DFDS Seaways on 3 December
2014 on the Dover-Calais route,
Dieppe Seaways (2002/30,285gt)
was handed over to Stena RoRo and
set sail for Gdansk, Poland to be
converted from overnight ferry to
day vessel by Remontowa SA.
The work is expected to be along
the same lines as carried out in
2011 on sisterships now running
Dieppe-Newhaven route continues with DFDS
ENGLISH CHANNEL
Cross-channel sailings from Dieppe to
Newhaven will continue throughout
2015 with additional high season
departures as a result of an agreement
between operator DFDS Seaways
and Syndicat Mixte de Promotion de
L’Activité Transmanche (SMPAT) from
French regional authority Conseil
Generale Seine Maritime.
The agreement is understood to
include the use of both vessels owned
by SMPAT. These are Côte d’Albâtre,
ES IN THE NEWS . . . FERRIES IN THE NEWS . . . FERRIES IN THE NEWS . . . FERRIES IN THE NEWS . . . FERRIES IN THE NEWS . . .
PONT AVEN • The Brittany Ferries
flagship and fleet mates Bretagne
and catamaran Normandie Express
all carried passengers from St Malo
to view the start of the start of
the Route du Rhum yacht race to
Guadeloupe on 3 November 2014.
from Belfast to Cairnryan as Stena
Superfast VII and Stena Superfast VIII.
An Irish Sea debut as Stena Superfast
X is expected during January, almost
certainly on the Holyhead-Dublin
Central Corridor link, although Stena
have still to officially confirm this.
MacGregor have been contracted
to design and install new bow doors, a
bow ramp, a new watertight door and
a stern ramp. They are no strangers
to the ship, having also undertaken
work in preparation for her first
maintaining a single-ship Dieppe
service, and Seven Sisters from the
Portsmouth-Le Havre route, which is
expected to close soon, with Newhaven
departures rising to three return
sailings a day during peak periods.
There are also plans to convert the
18,564gt vessels, which were delivered
from Vigo, Spain, by J. Barreras in
2006, to meet the requirements of the
MARPOL IV directive by using cleaner
fuels. They carry up to 600 passengers,
with 190 cabin berths and vehicle deck
space for 224 cars.
TALLINNA SADAM • Estonia’s state-
owned ports corporation has
ordered four ferries for operation
between the Estonian mainland
and the islands of Saaremaa and
Hiiumaa. The 114m quartet will
each carry 600 passengers and up
to 150 cars and have been designed
by LMG Marin of Norway. All four
are due for delivery in 2016, with
two being built by Remontowa
SA at Gdansk in Poland, while the
other pair will come from the
Sefine Shipyard at Yalova in Turkey.
English Channel service as SeaFrance
Moliere in 2008. Superfast X was the
last of a four-ship series from HDW,
Kiel for Superfast’s Baltic and North
Sea operations until sale to Veolia
during 2007 brought limited SNCM
Mediterranean service as Jean Nicoli
with charters to ANEK and Cotunav
until the move to SeaFrance.
For December, DFDS advertised a
single-ship service by Calais Seaways
(1991/18,833gt) offering up to five
return trips a day.
Côte d’Albâtre arriving at Newhaven. MARITIME PHOTOGRAPHIC
DOVER SEAWAYS • DFDS Seaways
and Port Authorities investigated
after the 2006-built vessel hit a
Dover harbour wall while leaving
for Dunkirk on 9 November 2014. All
320 passengers and vehicles were
disembarked while bow damage
was assessed.
BRIAN MAXTED
www.shipsmonthly.com • February 2015 •
news
Warning over
subsidies
WATERFRONT www.shipsmonthly.com • Cudham Tithe Barn, Berry’s Hill, Cudham, Kent TN16 3AG • t > 01959 541444 • e > sm.ed@kelsey.co.uk
LOCH LINNHE
Highland Council has been told it could
breach European law if the loss-making
Corran Ferry, which links the remote
communities of Ardnamurchan,
Ardgour and Moidart via a narrow
stretch of Scotland’s Loch Linnhe,
continues to be subsidised. Fares are
likely to increase in 2015, as the authority
aims to make the ferry cover costs.
The crossing recorded a deficit of
£221,764 in 2013-14, which is predicted
to drop to £115,000 for the current
financial year. But community services
director William Gilfillan warned that the
ferry needs to cut costs further. Two
vessels are available, the 351gt/150-
passenger Corran (pictured), built
at Hull at a cost of £2.9 million and
introduced in 2001 when Maid of
Glencoul, built in 1976 with a passenger
capacity of 116, became reserve ferry.
RED JET 5 • The Red Funnel
catamaran, dating from 1999 and
seating 187 passengers, has been
offered for sale through Greek
brokers. With a service speed of
35 knots and powered by twin
MTU engines, the craft was built
at Pequot River Shipworks in
Connecticut, USA as Bo Hengy and
served Nassau-based Bahamas
Fast Ferries until bought for Red
Funnel’s Southampton-West
Cowes high-speed service and
introduced during July 2009.
11
CRUISE
BRIEF NEWS
SILVERSEA • Silversea Cruises
has signed a letter of intent
with Fincantieri for a trio of
ships, believed to be a little
larger than the 36,000gt,
540-passenger Silver Spirit.
PONANT CRUISES • The
company’s latest ship, Le Lyrial,
was launched at Fincantieri’s
Ancona shipyard on 23 October.
When completed, the 10,600gt
ship will carry 244 passengers.
TUI CRUISES • The first steel for
Mein Schiff 5 was cut at the
Meyer Turku shipyard on 19
November 2014, just a month
after the float-out of Mein
Schiff 4, which will enter service
in spring 2015, with Mein Schiff
5 following about a year later.
There is one more confirmed
order in this series, Mein Schiff
6, to be delivered in 2017.
SEABOURN • The order for a
second 40,350-ton, 604- passenger
ship has been confirmed.
No celebration after all
CELEBRATION CRUISES
With the closure of Costa’s Spanish
arm, Iberocruceros, and the charter
of Grand Holiday to CMV as Magellan,
it was expected that the final ship,
Grand Celebration, would transfer
to Costa as Costa Celebration. Costa
clearly believed this too, as the ship
had just completed her refit and had
been repainted in Costa’s colours.
However, as she emerged from dry
dock, her entire programme was
Grand Celebration was sold after just one week in
the Costa fleet. William Mayes
12 • February 2015 • www.shipsmonthly.com
William Mayes
Marco Polo in Dublin; 50 years old in 2015,
she is a real survivor. NICHOLAS LEACH
Mishap before her 50th birthday
CMV
As she approached her 50th birthday,
the former Russian liner Aleksandr
Pushkin, now sailing as Marco Polo
and under charter to UK-based Cruise
& Maritime Voyages, ran aground at
Leknes in Norway’s Lofoten Islands on
1 November 2014. The ship became
stuck in soft mud on a falling tide,
cancelled and it was announced that
she had been sold, although who to
was not stated.
With Celebration Cruise Line in the
market for another ship as a matter
of urgency, that could be where
she will be heading. The 47,000gt
Costa Celebration was built in 1987
in Sweden as Celebration, the third
newbuild for the still young Carnival
Cruise Lines. She stayed with Carnival
until 2008, when she was transferred
within the group to Iberocruceros.
and initial attempts to free her were
unsuccessful. However, at the evening
high tide she was freed, and, with no
damage to her hull, she continued
on her cruise with all 763 passengers,
many of whom had been tendered
ashore during the day for excursions.
With a gross tonnage of 22,080,
she is currently CMV’s largest ship,
but that honour will be taken by the
Small ships not in favour
PRINCESS CRUISES
When Renaissance Cruises built eight
30,000-gross-ton cruise ships at the
turn of the century, nobody could have
foreseen the events of 2001 in the
USA, which contributed considerably to
the company’s subsequent demise. Of
those eight ships, Carnival Corporation
has three (two with Princess and one
with P&O), NCL’s Oceania Cruises has
three, and Royal Caribbean’s Azamara
Club Cruises has two.
But the balance is about to change,
as Princess has indicated a move away
from smaller ships. In fact, it was
stated at a recent press conference
that Princess Cruises did not envisage
46,000gt Magellan (formerly Grand
Holiday) when she joins the fleet in
spring 2015. CMV also operates Astor
(20,704gt), whose owner, a Premicon
fund, has recently declared bankruptcy
in Germany, although it appears that
the charter of Astor will be unaffected.
Azores, on charter from Portuscale
Cruises, will move to Liverpool in 2015
following the arrival of Magellan.
building any new ships that were
smaller than the recently christened
Regal Princess (142,714 gt).
In an opening move, Princess has
sold Ocean Princess to Oceania Cruises,
with delivery scheduled for March
2016, following which the ship will be
renamed Sirena and have a $40 million
refit to bring her into line with her
recently refurbished sisters, Insignia,
Nautica and Regatta. Sirena was built
as R Four, Insignia as R One, Nautica as
R Five and Regatta as R Two. So now
there are just four more to collect to
complete the set.
• Meanwhile on 27 November 2014,
Princess Cruises’ founder, Stanley B.
McDonald, passed away, aged 94.

Explorer returns to her roots
CELESTYAL CRUISES
When Olympic Explorer was delivered
in 2002, it was to a company in which
Louis Cruise Lines had a significant stake
and in which that company had invested
heavily to try to save it. The company
was Royal Olympic Cruises, formed in
1995 by the amalgamation of Sun Lines
and the cruise business of Epirotiki. A
listing on the NASDAQ in 1998 raised
$90 million, with which the company
would buy two new fast ships.
Another one to Spain
Majesty joins Pullmantur in 2016. RICK FRENDT
PULLMANTUR
With the closure of Carnival
Corporation’s Iberocruceros in Spain
and the disposal of its fleet, Royal
Caribbean Cruise Line appears to be
taking a different view of the Spanish
market. While Carnival will continue
to sail from Spain, it will be with
Costa’s multi-lingual ships, but Royal
Caribbean will add another ship to its
Spanish operator, Pullmantur.
It is not strictly an extra ship, as
Zenith, which was due to return
from Croisières de France in 2015
Explorer will once again be used in the Eastern
They were Olympic Voyager and
Olympic Explorer, but political turmoil
in the Eastern Mediterranean caused
much of Royal Olympic’s business to
evaporate, and in 1999 the company
was in real trouble. Louis came along
and saved the day, and the two new
ships were eventually delivered, but a
further financial crisis struck in 2003.
At the end of that year the two ships
were seized, leaving Royal Olympic to
struggle on for a few more months
before going out of business.
will not now do so, and the new ship,
currently sailing for Royal Caribbean
International as Majesty of the Seas,
will move to Spain in spring 2016. In
keeping with Pullmantur’s recent
naming policy, it is likely that she
will become, simply, Majesty, sailing
alongside Sovereign, Empress and
the Caribbean-based Monarch.
The move will bring the trio of
Chantiers de l’Atlantique-built ships,
delivered between 1987 and 1992
(Majesty, Monarch and Sovereign),
back together in the same fleet for
the first time since 2008.
Mediterranean. RICK FRENDT
Olympic Explorer, by now named
Olympia Explorer, eventually became
Semester at Sea’s Explorer, sailing
around the world as a floating
university campus. Semester at Sea
will cease to use the ship in early
2015, and Louis Cruises, in its new
guise as Celestyal Cruises, has taken a
three-year charter on the 24,000gt,
850-passenger ship for use in the
Mediterranean as Celestyal Odyssey,
with her recently renamed fleet mates
Celestyal Cristal and Celestyal Olympia.
Is it the end for Deilmann?
DEILMANN CRUISE
After 40 years, Deilmann Cruise seems
to have come to an end. The owners
of Deilmann’s ship Deutschland,
investment group MS Deutschland
Beteiligungsgeschellshaft, and the
operator, Peter Deilmann Reederei,
filed for bankruptcy in early
November 2014, and a bondholders’
meeting of the former was called.
No decision was made on the
ship’s forthcoming major refit and
her world cruise that was due to start
on 18 December 2014. However, on
Where to now for Deutschland?
www.shipsmonthly.com • February 2015 •
news
Holed after
hitting object
WATERFRONT www.shipsmonthly.com • Cudham Tithe Barn, Berry’s Hill, Cudham, Kent TN16 3AG • t > 01959 541444 • e > sm.ed@kelsey.co.uk
CELEBRATION CRUISES
Celebration Cruise Line’s Bahamas
Celebration, which operates two-night
cruises between Florida’s Palm Beach
and Freeport in the Bahamas, struck
an unidentified object while sailing
from the latter port on the evening
of 31 October 2014 and returned to
harbour with a severe list.
Passengers were mustered, but there
were no casualties, and around 960
passengers and crew were repatriated
on the following day to Miami aboard
Bimini Superfast. They were then
bussed back to Palm Springs. Initially,
cruises in the first two weeks of
November were cancelled, but it
seems that the ship will be out of
service for rather longer than that.
ABOVE Will this be the end of Bahamas
Celebration? RICK FRENDT
27 November 2014 the provisional
liquidator took the decision to cancel
the world cruise, as no investors
had come forward, although there
had been expressions of interest in
acquiring the ship.
At the time of writing, Deilmann
Cruise is still advertising a 2015 cruise
programme from May, but by then
the ship could well be operating
for someone else. The 22,000-ton
Deutschland was built for Deilmann in
Kiel in 1998, but, following the death
of founder Peter Deilmann in 2004,
the company has struggled to survive.
WILLIAM MAYES
13
NAVAL
OPV mission raises questions
ROYAL NAVY
The Royal Navy’s standing Atlantic
Patrol Task (North) is to be carried out
by an Offshore Patrol Vessel for the
first time. HMS Severn, which is more
at home patrolling UK waters as part
of the Fishery Protection Squadron,
is to replace the Type 23 frigate
HMS Severn will spend eight
months on APT(N) duties.
MARITIME PHOTOGRAPHIC
Capital ship commissioned
RAN
The Royal Australian Navy
commissioned HMAS Canberra, the
first of two new helicopter carriers,
at Fleet Base East, Sydney on 28
November 2014. Configured to
operate up to six helicopters at any
one time, the 27,000-tonne ships will
provide a step-change in capability
for the Australian military, and are
able to transport and deliver more
than 1,000 troops ashore, along
with their equipment and stores
by landing craft, helicopters or a
combination of both.
Meanwhile, a study by the
Australian Strategic Policy Institute
HMAS Canberra is the largest warship to be
operated by the Royal Australian Navy. (RAN)
14 • February 2015 • www.shipsmonthly.com
Gary Davies
HMS Argyll policing British interests in
the Caribbean.
APT(N) is traditionally undertaken by
a frigate, although it has more recently
seen the drug interdiction and disaster
relief roles being carried out by Royal
Fleet Auxiliary tankers. However, given
that HMS Severn does not have a
helicopter or flight deck, has modest
into the feasibility of operating F-35B
jump jets from the new ships has
concluded that the extra capability
gained is not worth the very high
cost, which they calculate to be in
the region of A$12 billion for the
purchase and whole-life operating
costs for up to 24 aircraft. Whether
or not the government opts to
acquire F-35Bs will be announced in
the 2015 Defence White Paper.
Although built with a ‘ski-jump’
as a legacy from the Spanish-design,
the ships would also require major
modifications to fly the short take
off and vertical landing (STOVL)
version of the F-35 Lightning
alongside helicopters.
speed and armament, and also lacks
search radars, her overseas mission is
something of an oddity.
From a positive viewpoint, the
move could be a trial to ascertain the
performance of an OPV in the role
ahead of a decision being made on the
future shape of the fleet. Three larger
and more suitably equipped vessels
Lightning strikes twice
US NAVY
The carrier variant of the Lockheed
Martin F-35 Lightning II strike fighter
has successfully completed initial
sea-based development testing during
two weeks of trials aboard USS Nimitz.
Two F-35C test aircraft completed 124
catapult launches, 222 touch-and-go
landings, and 124 arrested landings,
with no missed attempts to catch an
arresting wire on the flight deck with
its redesigned tail hook.
The test pilots reported such
confidence in the aircraft’s automated
are due to enter service by 2019,
although it remains unclear if they are
to be additional ships or one-for-one
replacements. The employment of
permanent guard ships, such as that
of HMS Clyde in the South Atlantic, is
a cheaper option and would release
highly sophisticated fighting ships
from minor security tasking.
The F-35C Lightning II has
impressed during sea
trials aboard USS Nimitz.
US NAVY
control systems, which are designed
to help pilots capture and maintain a
safe approach and trap, that they were
able to test in less than ideal weather
conditions and even conduct night
operations ahead of schedule.
The F-35C, which is scheduled to
replace carrier-borne F/A-18A, B, C,
and D Hornets from 2018, has larger
wings and tail control surfaces than
the other two variants, making it
more stable at the lower airspeeds
which are required for landing on
a flight deck. It also has stronger
landing gear and a tail hook.

Delta
furnace
RUSSIAN NAVY
A submarine at the centre of
a near-catastrophe when it
caught fire during maintenance
at Murmansk in December 2011
is back at sea. The Northern
Fleet strategic missile submarine
K-84 Yekaterinburg made world
headlines after hot work set
fire to wooden scaffolding and
ignited insulation material in the
submarine’s bow. It later emerged
that the boat’s arsenal of nuclear
warheads was on board at the time.
Subsequent repairs to the badly
damaged forward compartments
were combined with a planned
service life extension refit at the
Zvezdochka shipyard in Severodvinsk,
during which the Delta IV class
vessel was equipped with Liner
missiles, an update of the Sineva
ballistic missile, with a greater
number of warheads. K-84 is now
expected to remain in service
beyond 2020. The submarine’s
return to service has alarmed
nuclear watchdogs, who question
the vessel’s structural integrity.
Type 26 off target
ROYAL NAVY
A key deadline for the award of a
construction contract for the Royal
Navy’s upcoming Type 26 frigate will
be missed, as the Ministry of Defence
and the UK’s sole warship builder have
failed to reach an agreement. The
Fighting top added
US NAVY
The second of the Zumwalt class
destroyers, Michael Monsoor (DDG
1001), achieved a major construction
milestone overnight on 13-14
November 2014 with the addition of
her prefabricated superstructure.
The installation of the composite
deckhouse, which will house the
bridge, radars, antennae and
intake/exhaust systems, one of the
more complicated evolutions in
the construction of the futuristic
warships, it was successfully carried
out during a snowstorm. With the
The future USS Michael
Monsoor takes shape.
GDBIW
so-called Main Gate approval, the main
investment decision committing to
the full cost of the programme, had
been expected by the end of 2014.
With a general election and the
next strategic defence review taking
place in 2015, the start of a planned
13-ship build project to replace the
900-tonne structure held in place by
four cranes, the hull of the ship was
rolled into position underneath. Once
the superstructure had been lowered
into place, the entire ship was moved
back out to the main construction
location in a delicate operation, which
took ten hours to complete.
The third and final Zumwalt ship,
Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG1002), also
under construction at Bath Iron works,
will differ from her sisterships in
having her deckhouse made from steel
rather than carbon-fibre to reduce
spiralling construction costs, currently
estimated at US$3.5 billion per ship.
RN’s Type 23 frigates could now be
delayed by up to a year.
BAE Systems had wanted to cut
the first metal at a new £200 million
facility it hopes to build in 2016, but
the Defence Equipment & Support
organisation has opted to further
review the cost of the project.
www.shipsmonthly.com • February 2015 •
news
BRIEF NEWS
WATERFRONT www.shipsmonthly.com • Cudham Tithe Barn, Berry’s Hill, Cudham, Kent TN16 3AG • t > 01959 541444 • e > sm.ed@kelsey.co.uk
ROYAL NAVY • The crew of HMS
Argyll has made a third drugs
bust in as many months during
her Caribbean deployment. Her
latest intercept was preceded
by a ‘go-fast’ chase covering
70 miles at night, proving the
effectiveness of the new Type
997 (Artisan) 3D radar and
thermal imaging cameras. In
addition to seizing 1,600kg of
cocaine, HMS Argyll has also
provided help to Bermuda in
the wake of Hurricane Gonzalo.
US NAVY • USS Fort Worth (LCS
3) has departed San Diego for a
16-month forward deployment
to Singapore. The second
Littoral Combat Ship to deploy
overseas will be manned via
a so-called 3-2-1 concept,
swapping entire crews every
four months. In another first,
Fort Worth has embarked an
aviation detachment from
the ‘Magicians’ of Helicopter
Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM-
35), the Navy’s first composite
expeditionary helicopter
squadron comprising one MH-
60R Seahawk helicopter and one
MQ-8B Fire Scout unmanned
autonomous helicopter.
MALAYSIAN NAVY • A naval
vessel has partially sunk while
docked at a naval shipyard for
maintenance. The hydrographic
vessel KD Perantau, which was
involved in the search for flight
MH370, began taking on water
during an operation to remove
a generator set as equipment
was being removed ahead of a
nine-month refit. The flooding
left the ship sitting on the
bottom and resting against the
quayside at the Boustead Naval
Shipyard in Lumut.
RAN • The massive fire last
August, in which a navy patrol
boat was destroyed, has
forced the shipyard involved
into voluntary administration
with the loss of 160 jobs. The
Armidale class vessel HMAS
Bundaberg was undergoing
routine maintenance at
Aluminium Boats Australia
facility in Brisbane when she
‘suffered extensive damage’.
The Royal Australian Navy has
yet to reveal what the future
holds for the OPV.
15
CARGO
Full cargoes
for Arklow
CARGO VESSEL
Arklow Shipping vessels have been
running at full capacity recently during
their visits to the Manchester Ship
Canal, where they are a common sight,
bringing grain to Cerestar Wharf and
picking up scrap metal for the return
journey to Spain. On 1 November
the 4,934dwt coaster Arklow Viking
delivered 4,000 tonnes of wheat to
Cerestar, and after discharge moved
the down the canal to Runcorn Salt
Works, where she took on another full
cargo of 4,000 tonnes of salt destined
for Figueira da Foz in Portugal. Owned
by Arklow Shipping Nederland of
Rotterdam, she was built by Bodewes
Shipyard in 1999 as Mrs Sonja,
becoming Arklow Viking in 2005. RC
ABOVE Arklow Viking loading 4,000
tonnes of salt for Portugal at Runcorn
Salt Works on 1 November. Roy Cressey
Off to the Russian Arctic Future reefer design
SEISMIC SURVEY
The Research Seismic Survey Vessel
Kommandor Stuart, owned by Hay
Ships Ltd of Aberdeen, recently
finished undertaking a seabed testing
and sampling campaign off northern
Norway. The 1976-built vessel has a
gross tonnage of 1,286 but is only
200dwt. She carries a considerable
amount of specialised equipment for
seabed testing and taking samples.
ABOVE Kommandor Stuart in Leith prior to her departure to the Russian Arctic
on a multi-year contract for a Barents sea survey. Iain McGeachy
16 • February 2015 • www.shipsmonthly.com
More Triple-Es ordered by Maersk
container ships
Maersk Line CEO has outlined plans
to invest $3 billion a year for up to
five years on new ships, many of
which could be of a similar size to the
18,270teu Triple-E vessels (pictured in
build). Maersk Line CEO Soren Skou said
that the line would need the equivalent
of 425,000teu of new capacity
between 2017 and 2019 in order to
grow with the market.
He said: ‘Over the next three years,
the bulk of the capacity we will be
The vessel has recently headed
north, with Calecore’s geophysical
vessel Kommandor Calum (1986)
and Geotechnical Borehole vessel
Highland Spirit (1998), to begin a
multi-year contract in the Russian
Arctic. It is anticipated that this
Barents sea survey could take up
to three years. Kommandor Stuart,
built as Herjolfur, was renamed Galo
in 2000, and she has had her current
name since 2006. RC
buying is going to be big ships that
may include Triple-E size. Five years
from now, it won’t be possible to be
competitive with a 9,000 to 10,000TEU
container ships operating in the Asia-
Europe trade loop.’
The 425,000TEU total capacity could
represent about 30 ships of 14,000TEU,
and the annual investment would
cover the ships, retrofits and include
containers. Industry consultants
Alphaliner forecast that Maersk Line
could lose its title as the world’s largest
container line in 2016 to Mediterranean
NEW DESIGN
A new design of ro-ro reefer ship has
recently been developed by Knud E.
Hansen in close co-operation with
Stena RoRo and Reefer Intel. The
RoRo Reefer Vessel is intended for
worldwide operation in the banana
trade, with particular emphasis on fast
and efficient cargo handling in port.
Green technology has also been
considered for the machinery plant, to
give up to 40 per cent lower unit costs
and 45 per cent more capacity than
traditional reefers. Load and discharge
is intended to take only 12 hours,
compared to an average 36-48 hours
Shipping Company (MSC). The lines
are to partner each other in the newly
formed 2M Alliance from early 2015, in
a deal which Maersk says will save the
company about $350 million a year.
Maersk has recently put out for
tender a US$550 million order for ten
new feeder vessels designed to run on
low sulphur fuel in emission control
areas (ECA), covering the Baltic, North
Sea and English Channel. The ships are
understood to be ice-strengthened
and have capacities of around
3,400TEU, with delivery due by 2017. AM
An impression
of the newly
developed
RoRo Reefer
Vessel.
currently, giving a very low box rate by
very fast and efficient cargo handling
in port, which enables slow steaming.
In order to optimise cargo handling
on the under-deck areas, the bridge
and engine have been positioned
forward of the ship in the second
version of the design. The new refined
design gives the ship a capacity of
about 12,500 HC pallets: 6,800 HC
pallets on cassettes inside the ship and
another 5,700 HC pallets in refrigerated
containers on the weather deck. On
the return trip, the ship has 4,400 lane
metres, equivalent to about 900-1,000
cars, and general and project cargo can
be transported as well.

New container ships built for CSAV
CSAV’s Copiapó was delivered on 26 November 2014 and will be deployed in Shanghai on the trade routes between Asia and the Middle East.
CONTAINER SHIPS
Compañía Sud Americana de Vapores
(CSAV) has recently started taking
delivery of a series of new container
vessels which will be the largest in the
company’s history. The series of seven
vessels was ordered in 2013 from South
Korean Shipbuilder Samsung Heavy
Industries, and will replace existing
chartered in tonnage. On 29 October
2014 the first two vessels, named
Aberdeen hopes to expand
PORT NEWS
Exciting news came for Scotland in
late November 2014 when it was
announced that Aberdeen Harbour
Board had received funding from the
European Commission’s TEN-T 2013
transport infrastructure initiative to
support ongoing studies into the
potential expansion of the Harbour
into Nigg Bay.
The funding will allow the
development of an Environmental
Impact Assessment (EIA) and the
modelling of wave climate in the
proposed port using a specially
ABOVE A typically busy scene at Aberdeen harbour, with supply vessels lining
the quays. Funding has now been received from the European Commission to
look into the possibility of expanding the port into Nigg Bay. NICHOLAS LEACH
Copiapó and Cautín, were christened
at a ceremony held at the Samsung
shipyard on Geoji island.
The christening was attended by
a number of CSAV representatives,
including the chairman of the CSAV
board, Francisco Pérez Mackenna,
and the chief executive officer, Oscar
Hasbún. Commenting on the delivery
of the new vessels, Hasbún said: ‘the
new vessels were part of a strategy to
increase the number of vessels it owns,
constructed scale model. A total of
€752,500 (£0.6 million), 50 per cent
of the total costs of the studies,
will be provided, the balance being
met by the Harbour Board, which is
committed to seeking public funding
in support of the Nigg Bay project.
Reports will be due for completion
in 2015, but the Harbour Board will
continue to consult customers, local
residents and the wider business
community before submitting any
potential planning application in the
future. It is felt that this is the first
hurdle cleared in an effort to expand
the extremely busy port. RC
as opposed to charters, and reduce
operating costs. These state-of-the-art
newbuilds will allow us to reduce fuel
consumption costs significantly. They
will also replace some of the chartered
vessels, so by the end of 2015 about
50 per cent of our fleet will be owned
by CSAV, and it will be one of the most
modern and efficient of the industry.’
The new vessels are designed for
super slow steaming at speeds of
between 10 and 22 knots and maximum
LPG shipping on the rise
ABOVE The UK-owned LPG tanker Navigator Glory arrives at Livorno, Italy on 18
September after a voyage from Arzew in Algeria. Her hull colours betray her origins
as the Maersk Glory. ROY CRESSEY
LPG TANKER
Towards the end of 2014 a sharp rise
in LPG shipping demand, particularly
out of the US, drove orders for new
very large gas carriers (VLGCs) . These
are expected to increase the size of
the LPG shipping fleet by over 50 per
cent during the next two years. Many
vessels are taken on long-term charter
after building, while others change
hands and are then chartered out.
www.shipsmonthly.com • February 2015 •
news
WATERFRONT www.shipsmonthly.com • Cudham Tithe Barn, Berry’s Hill, Cudham, Kent TN16 3AG • t > 01959 541444 • e > sm.ed@kelsey.co.uk
load. Fuel consumption of the main
engine will be approximately seven per
cent less than vessels the line received
in 2011, and around 25 percent lower
than the average of vessels of this size
currently in operation. Cargo capacity
has been increased by 4.5 per cent due
to the ships’ twin Island design.
Cautín will be delivered on 18
December 2014 and operate on the
service linking Northern Europe with
the east coast of South America. AM
The latter group includes the
Liberian-flagged liquefied gas carrier
Navigator Glory (16,819dwt), owned by
Navigator Gas of London and managed
by Northern Marine Management of
Clydebank, which runs from Arzew in
Algeria to Tarragona, Spain and Livorno.
Built in 2010 in South Korea as Maersk
Glory, she was named Navigator Glory
in 2013 without changing her hull
colours. The tanker averages 13.8 knots
on her regular voyages from Algeria. RC
17
TUGS Jack Gaston
Sister tug
completed
for Bugsier
Tractor Tug
The Fassmer shipyard at Berne-
Motzen in Germany has completed
the new tractor tug Bugsier 8. The 32m
tug is an identical sistership to Bugsier
7, which was delivered to Bugsier-,
Reederei- und Bergungs-Gesellschaft
mbH und Co KG of Hamburg in June
2014. The tugs are powered by ABC
12DZ engines generating 6,500bhp to
drive two Schottel propulsion units,
to achieve a bollard pull of 70 tonnes.
Bugsier 7 and 8 were built to replace
older vessels in the Bugsier fleet, and
this latest design embodies many of
the best features found in the earlier
tugs and others identified from
operational experience. Bugsier has 27
shiphandling tugs stationed in Hamburg,
Bremerhaven and Baltic ports.
New tugs for Singapore
Azimuth stern drive
Another October 2014 delivery was
that of the azimuth stern drive (ASD)
tugs KST Passion and KST Pride to their
owners, Keppel-Smit Towage Pte Ltd,
of Singapore. The tugs are the first of
the new Robert Allan Ltd RAmparts
3300AV series and were constructed
by the AVIC Zhenjiang Shipyard Marine
Pte Ltd, Singapore at its China facilities.
The sisterships are equipped for
ship handling, escort duties and fire-
fighting, and meet the class criteria for
the American Bureau of Shipping. Both
18 • February 2015 • www.shipsmonthly.com
Sanmar’s new Voith tractor design
Voith tractor
The Turkish shipyard Sanmar has added
a Voith tractor design to its growing
portfolio of tugs on offer. Identified
as the VectRA 3000, the design
was developed by Robert Allan Ltd
exclusively for Sanmar.
With the new tractor design
containing many innovative ideas from
the builder and designer, the new tug
is aimed at developing a cost-effective
Voith tractor for the world market. Key
features are: a tonnage of less than
500 GRT incorporating high-speed
diesel engines; electronic controls;
and all crew accommodation fully
MLC 2006 compliant.
Sanmar is starting construction of
the new VectRA 3000 series of tugs,
which will be offered as a standard
product. The tug will have an overall
length of 30.25m, a moulded beam of
13m and a maximum draft of 6m. The
propulsion system will comprise two
tugs are 33m in overall length, with a
beam of 12.2m, and have a loaded draft
of 5.4m. Each tug is powered by a pair
of Caterpillar 3516C diesel engines,
each rated 2,000kW at 1,600rpm,
driving Rolls-Royce, US255 fixed pitch
propulsion units. On trials, both vessels
met or exceeded all performance
expectations, with KST Pride producing
an average ahead bollard pull of 71.5
tonnes and achieving a maximum
speed of 14.03 knots.
The deck machinery includes an
electric hydraulic-powered escort-
rated ship assist hawser winch on the
Sanmar is building a
Voith tractor tug to
a new design.
Voith 32-R5 250 propulsion units driven
by a pair of Caterpillar 3516C diesels
each rated 2,525kW at 1,800rpm.
Power will be transmitted via
Reintjes model reduction gearbox/
clutches, a new feature reducing
ABOVE KST Passion and sister KST Pride
are now in service in Singapore.
bow, and a towing winch on the aft
deck. Open aft bulwarks and a heavy
duty aft staple with tow hook are
installed on the aft deck to facilitate
towing operations.
These vessels have been fitted
out to a high standard for a normal
operating crew of ten. The Master’s
cabin, Chief Engineer’s cabin and a
double crew cabin are located on the
main deck, and three double crew
cabins are on the lower deck.
transmission losses, increasing
overall propulsion efficiency and also
enabling the drives to be de-clutched
at idle, significantly reducing fuel
consumption. A bollard pull of 70 tonnes
and a speed of 12.5 knots is predicted.
Svitzer tug
off to Oman
Twin-screw tug
In November 2014 Svitzer purchased
the twin-screw tug Osprey Boxer
via the brokerage of Damen Trading
& Chartering. The tug is a Damen
Stan Tug 2208 completed in January
2010 by Damen Shipyards for Osprey
Shipping Ltd in the UK. In mid-
November 2014 the tug left the
Netherlands in Svitzer livery and was
renamed Svitzer Boxer, for Oman.
Just 22.64m in length overall, the
tug is powered by a pair of Caterpillar
3512B diesels generating a total of
2,720bhp at 1,600rpm to achieve a
bollard pull of 39.3 tonnes and a free
running speed of almost 12 knots. The
two four-bladed fixed pitch propellers
are linked to the engines via a Reintjes
WAF 664L gearbox with a 5.95:1
reduction ratio. The propellers turn in
Van der Giessen ‘Optima’ nozzles. Deck
equipment includes a hydraulically
powered DMT towing winch.
ABOVE Osprey Boxer has been
purchased by Svitzer for use in Oman.

State-of-the-art tugs go to KOTUG
RT Discovery was the first
of the new ART 80-32 to be
completed by the Cheoy
Lee shipyard in Hong Kong.
ROTOR TUGS
During October and November 2014 the
first three tugs of the new Rotor Tug
ART 80-32 design were handed over to
their owners, Elizabeth Ltd of Malta, for
use by Kotug and their associates.
The first two vessels of the new
ground-breaking design to be delivered
were RT Discovery and RT Endurance, part
of a six-tug order placed with the Cheoy
Lee Shipyard in Hong Kong. They are ‘diesel
only’ variants of ART 80-32, designed
exclusively by Robert Allan Ltd (RAL) of
Vancouver, in conjunction with Rotortug
BV, who own the patents for the triple unit
‘Rotor Tug’ propulsion configuration.
Prototype taken on charter
HYBRID TUG
EDDY-1, the prototype ‘Efficient
Double-Ended Dynamic’ Hybrid tug,
has been taken on charter by the
German towage company URAG.
Since being introduced to the
towage industry at the International
Tug, Salvage and OSV Convention
(ITS2014) in Hamburg, the 30m vessel
has been subjected to extensive
Each tug has three Caterpillar
3512C main engines each developing
2,365bhp coupled to Schottel
SRP3000FP fixed pitch azimuth
thrusters via Twin Disc MCD3000-3LD
slipping clutches. The 32m-long vessels
recorded a bollard pull of 86 tonnes,
both ahead and astern, with a free
running speed of 12.5 knots. Both tugs
will be chartered by BHP Billiton at
their ore terminals at Port Headland in
Western Australia.
The third Rotor Tug delivered in
November 2014 was the first of two
‘Hybrid’ versions of the ART 80-32 to
be constructed by Damen Shipyards in
Gdansk for use in Rotterdam. Named
The extremely agile EDDY-1 is
now on charter in Germany.
PHOTO COURTESY HANS HOFFMANN
trials in Rotterdam and IJmuiden. In
addition to the usual handling and
bollard pull trials, EDDY-1 has carried
out many shiphandling tasks for a
number of operators.
Feedback so far indicates that the
unique vessel, with its propulsion unit
at each end and a bollard pull of 65
tonnes, is extremely agile and, thanks
to its Hybrid propulsion system, very
economical to operate.
The ‘Hybrid’ Rotor Tug RT
Evolution is the first of
a new generation. PHOTO
COURTESY HANS HOFFMANN
RT Evolution, this vessel has a diesel-
electric-battery hybrid propulsion
system similar to that developed
for RT Adriaan, a vessel built in 2010
for Kotug’s Rotterdam fleet and
retrofitted in 2011 as an EKOTUG.
RT Evolution also has three diesel
Caterpillar 3512C main engines and
Schottel 3000FP propulsion units, like
the ‘all diesel’ sisters, but is also fitted
with a 500kW motor/generators in the
drive-line to each Schottel unit. Two
auxiliary generators are also installed,
along with two Lithium Polymer
battery banks. The AXA Xeropoint
hybrid power management system is
very similar to that in RT Adriaan.
Powerful Svitzer tug sold
ASD TUG
Svitzer Pembroke, originally based
with the Svitzer tug fleet in Milford
Haven, South Wales, has been sold to
Boa Taubåtkompaniet A/S (Boa Ltd)
of Trondheim, Norway and renamed
Boa Odin. Completed in 2010 by the
Spanish yard Astilleros Zamakona
SA, the vessel is a high-performance
Robert Allan Ltd RAstar 3600 class ASD
tug designed to perform a wide range
of tasks, including ship-handling,
Svitzer Pembroke
has started a new
career as Boa Odin.
PHOTO COURTESY JAN PLUG
www.shipsmonthly.com • February 2015 •
news
WATERFRONT www.shipsmonthly.com • Cudham Tithe Barn, Berry’s Hill, Cudham, Kent TN16 3AG • t > 01959 541444 • e > sm.ed@kelsey.co.uk
When the tug is under way, the
master can select one of four modes
of operation depending on the type of
operation: IDLE – TRANSIT 1 – TRANSIT
2 – ASSIST. The Xeropoint system
then allocates appropriate power to
the mode and the electrical power
available. In that way the diesel engines,
including the auxiliary generators, are
always operating in their most efficient
state, and only when ‘Assist’ is selected
are all three propulsion systems driven
by the main engines.
RT Evolution is expected to achieve
a reduction in fuel consumption of
at least 15 per cent and considerable
reductions in polluting emissions.
escorting, ocean towing, salvage and
anchor-handling duties.
She is 35.8m in length and has
two General Electric 16V228 diesels
developing a total of 8,186bhp, along
with a pair of Schottel SRP 3030
propulsion units with controllable
pitch propellers. She has a bollard
pull of 105 tonnes and a top speed of
13.5 knots. Prior to her sale, Svitzer
Pembroke spent time on the North
Sea spot market carrying out a variety
of towing and anchor-handling work.
19
 JANUARY SALE
SUBSCRIPTION OFFERS
Beat the January blues and take out a
magazine subscription from as little as £10

S A V E up
to

3 1%

6 ISSUES FOR £20

12 ISSUES FOR £35
SAVE MONEY ON THESE OTHER POPULAR TITLES THIS NEW YEAR...

up

SAVE
up up up up to up

SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE

to to to to to

32% 36% 37% 34% 39% 31%

6 ISSUES FOR £20 6 ISSUES FOR £20 6 ISSUES FOR £20 6 ISSUES FOR £20 6 ISSUES FOR £20 6 ISSUES FOR £20
13 ISSUES FOR £35 12 ISSUES FOR £30 12 ISSUES FOR £30 12 ISSUES FOR £30 13 ISSUES FOR £35 12 ISSUES FOR £35

VISIT: subscriptiongiftshop.co.uk/js14
 3 EASY WAYS TO ORDER
1 ONLINE kelseyshop.co.uk/sm/p147

2 POST
DIGITAL EDITION
Fill in the form and send to:
FREE SHIPS Subscriptions, Kelsey Publishing Ltd.,
Freepost RSXY-XXGK-EUYS,
MONTHLY APP Market Harborough, LE16 9EF

AND SAMPLE ISSUE

PAY JUST £28.99
3 CALL 0845 872 7385 & quote offer code P147
Hotline open: Mon–Fri 8am–9.30pm, Sat 9am–4pm.
Please note that calls are charged at your local rate,
for further information please check with your service provider.

FOR 12 ISSUES P YES! I WOULD LIKE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THESE

AND SAVE 39%* SPECIAL DISCOUNTED PRICES.

Magazine ...............................................No of issues .........£............

Magazine ...............................................No of issues .........£............
Magazine ...............................................No of issues .........£............
Magazine ...............................................No of issues .........£............
Magazine ...............................................No of issues .........£............

This subscription is for myself This subscription is a gift

YOUR DETAILS
Mrs/Ms/Miss/Mr ............... Forename ..............................................
Surname .........................................................................................
Address ...........................................................................................
.........................................................................................................
................................................................ Postcode .........................
Daytime phone ........................................ Mobile ...........................
Email ...............................................................................................

*39% saving based on digital cover price DELIVERY DETAILS (if different from above)
of £3.99 per issue.
Mrs/Ms/Miss/Mr ............... Forename ..............................................

AVAILABLE ON Surname .........................................................................................

Address ...........................................................................................
THE APP STORE AND .........................................................................................................
POCKETMAGS.COM ................................................................ Postcode .........................
Daytime phone ........................................ Mobile ...........................
Email ...............................................................................................

PAYMENT DETAILS
I enclose a cheque made payable to Kelsey Publishing Limited,
pktmags.com/shipsmonthly for the sum of £ .......................

Please debit £ .......................

from my: Visa Visa Debit MasterCard
Card number

27/09/2013 09:52

General_Subs_Gift_Card_CHOSE
N.indd 1
Security number
FREE GIFT SUBSCRIPTION CARD
Valid from ..................... / ..................... Expiry date ..................... / ....................
FOR ALL GIFT SUBSCRIPTION ORDERS RECEIVED WE WILL
SEND A FREE GIFT CARD SO THAT YOU CAN INFORM THE Signature ......................................................... Date .......................
RECIPIENT OF THEIR SPECIAL GIFT.
Offer closes 31st March 2015. Kelsey Publishing Group Ltd., uses a Multi Layered Privacy Notice
giving you brief details about how we would like to use your personal information. For full details
Offer code: P147

visit www.kelsey.co.uk or call 01959 543524. If you have any questions please ask as submitting your
data indicates your consent, until you choose otherwise, that we and our partners may contact you
about products and services that will be of relevance to you via direct mail, phone, email and SMS.
You can opt-out at ANY time via email data.controller@kelseypb.co.uk or 01959 543524.
 Queen Mary

The famous liner Queen Mary was launched 80 years ago. A new book by Janette McCutcheon,
from which these photographs are taken, goes behind the scenes to look in detail at the ship.

A
sked to name a Queen Mary moved down Queen Mary was built with numerous cruises and a final
famous ocean the slipway and into the river all the glamour of the Art Deco voyage around Cape Horn that
liner, many people Clyde. As she entered the river, period and went on to become saw her passengers travel round
would probably a wall of water from the ship a Blue Riband winner, classic the Cape in a London bus
recall a Cunard created a wave which soaked liner and served in World War strapped to her aft deck.
‘Queen’ – Queen Mary, Queen the spectators on the opposite II as a troopship. She made Today, Queen Mary has
Elizabeth, Queen Elizabeth 2, or bank of the river. 1,000 transatlantic crossings, spent longer in preservation
maybe one of the more recent
Queens. For over a century
and a half Cunard’s ships have Queen Mary in the river Clyde
been synonymous with ocean shortly after launching.
liner travel, but Queen Mary,
launched 80 years ago, was
perhaps the most famous.
The famous liner was built
on the Clyde at John Brown’s
shipyard as hull number 534.
Her construction helped to
revitalise a community during
the depression of the 1930s,
and provide employment
for thousands of people.
Her launch took place on
26 September 1934, when
Queen Mary named the liner,
christening her with a bottle
of Australian Chardonnay. In
two minutes the newly-named

22 • February 2015 • www.shipsmonthly.com

recalled
CLASSIC LINER

A majestic sight! Queen

Mary at sea on the
flying mile.

ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY

QUEEN MARY
BRITAIN’S FINEST
Large format, soft bound 113/4 inch x 9 inch
(297mm x230mm). 100 pages inc covers. Includes
225 rarely seen photos and beautiful interior
paintings, also features two large photo fold-outs
photos 171/4 inch x 113/4 inch, (297mm x 440mm).
From 1934 to present day
£7.95 +£3 UK carriage, £7 Europe/Eire, £13 RoW

I enclose my cheque for £_________ Cardf holder name

(made payable to Kelsey Publishing LTD) Address
or I wish to pay by
Card No_____________________
Expiry Date ___/___/___ Post Code
On occassions Kelsey Publishing Group, publishers of Ships Monthly may
Switch Issue No________________ contact you or permit other reputable companies to make offers to Ships
Monthly related products or services that we believe may be of interest.
Signature____________________ If you DO NOT wish to receeive such information please tick here

ABOVE The bow of Queen Mary at Long Beach. Just as in her heyday, passengers
OTHER BOOKS
Himalaya to Canberra: The Last Great Liners

can walk out through the machinery onto the open decks, but with the addition SHIPS ILLUSTRATED
AVAILABLE
of a walkway over her forward hold they can go further.
IN THE SHIPS P&O
Before the
Cruise Ships

than as a passenger liner and offer the chance to dine on ILLUSTRATED

is a vibrant part of the Long board an ocean liner and enjoy SERIES VISIT
Beach community in California. the famous Sunday Brunch. She OUR ONLINE
STORE
£7.95
No.4

Apart from being a museum, remains one of the last of the PUBLISHED BY

KELSEYSHOP.CO.UK
Including over 200 rarely seen photographs

conference centre and hotel, she great transatlantic liners and an

P&Ocover.indd 1 20/10/2014 11:40

has first-class restaurants which icon of her age. Please send completed forms to: Ships Monthly Books,
KELSEY Publishing Group, Cudham Tithe Barn, Berry’s Hill, Cudham, Kent, TN16 3AG

www.shipsmonthly.com • February 2015 • 23

Folkestone favourit
Russell Plummer follows the long careers of
Hengist and Horsa, two former Folkestone ferries
now in Greek waters, which have had sharply
contrasting fortunes in recent times.

Hengist displaying Sealink 1970s
colours of monastral blue hull and
black-topped red funnel in an aerial
shot in mid-Channel. With sister Horsa,
she was the first in the fleet to carry
the Sealink logo on the hull. FOTOFLITE
ABOVE A 1970s aerial shot of Hengist
bound for Boulogne with after bridge
and extensive deck seating on view.
O
ften described as
the best ferries
Dover never
had, Sealink
sisters Hengist
and Horsa brought car ferry
operations to Folkestone in
1972, and were considered by
many to be superior to ‘Saints
Class’ tonnage built in the
early 1980s for service between
Dover and Calais. They
continued to serve Boulogne
until Folkestone operations
ceased at the end of 1991, and
next quickly joined an exodus
of Northern European tonnage
to meet demands of the then
rapidly expanding Greek
domestic and international
ferry markets.
Two decades on, Hengist
continues to serve Ventouris
Sea Lines as Agios Georgios,
her sixth different name since
reaching Greece in 1992,
but Penelope A, the former
Horsa, appears to have been
abandoned in the port of
Rafina following the collapse of
long-time operator Agoudimos
Lines towards the end of 2013.
Sealink’s shortsea operations
were in something of a time
warp as the 1960s progressed,
with talk of construction of a
Channel Tunnel putting a big
cloud on the ferry operators’
horizon. Folkestone laboured
on with passenger-only services,
while Dover’s line-up was
predominantly steam-powered
and included passenger vessels
converted into stern-loading
car ferries with limited capacity
and little lorry space.
With Dover possibly in the
greatest need of investment,
there was surprise when plans
were announced by the British
Railways Board to provide
Folkestone with its first
linkspan and two new ships,
ordered from French builder

24 • February 2015 • www.shipsmonthly.com

urites
Horsa as she first appeared in the
1970s with monastral blue hull.
FERRY PROFILE

Arsenal de la Marine National sailings mainly dedicated to

Francaise in Brest.
Hengist entered service
in June 1972, with Horsa
following at the beginning
of August, the pair
becoming the first vessels
to carry the Sealink name
on their hulls. Although
primarily designed to upgrade
the Folkestone-Boulogne
service, they also ran from
Folkestone to Calais and, until
1985, provided overnight
Folkestone-Ostend return
freight. They came complete
with after bridges, but these
were removed in major mid-
1980s refits and the space given
over to passengers.
The ships also lost their
waiter service restaurants, with
Sealink putting the emphasis on
self-service ‘free flow’ options
although the former motorists’
lounges forward were upgraded
to become Orient Express
Lounges carrying train passengers
to and from Boulogne.

Historic origins of names date back centuries

H
engist took her name from the first King
of Kent, a German chieftain brought
over by Vortigern, the Roman Celtic ruler
of Britain in the middle of the fourth century.
A mural of Hengist by Czech sculptor Franka
Belsky provided an attractive background
on the vessel’s forward stairs and has been
retained throughout her service in Greek
waters. Vortigern was already commemorated
on the Channel through the name of a
multi-purpose ferry that served Dover and
Folkestone from 1969.
Hengist was later joined by his brother Horsa,
who was killed in battle at Aylesford on the river
Medway. There was also a historical connection
for the third vessel, Senlac taking the name of the
hill on which the Battle of Hastings was fought in
1066. Whether it was coincidence, or someone in
Piraeus had a sense of humour, but when Senlac
entered Aegean service as Express Apollon, she
was named after the Greek god of archery.

www.shipsmonthly.com • February 2015 • 25

Horsa’s engines go astern as the vessel
begins to swing before reversing
into Folkestone’s single ferry ramp in
a mid-1980s view after the arrival of
white hulls. Russell Plummer

Ownership passed to Sea from Boulogne, three members

Containers in 1984, with
Sealink British Ferries branding
and the original monastral blue
hulls replaced by white, before
further changes in 1990, when
Stena Sealink Line was formed
and the pair became Stena
Hengist and Stena Horsa.
Hengist’s time on the
Channel was not without
incident, and in 1984 she
sank a French trawler while
swinging, following a departure
of the fishing vessel’s crew
losing their lives. Six months
later, when the so-called ‘Great
Storm’ hit southern England,
Hengist was forced to put to
sea, but was almost capsized
by huge waves. After losing
RIGHT Horsa with Sealink British
Ferries markings heading astern into
Folkestone Harbour in the mid-1890s,
following the removal of the after
bridge. Brian Fisher

Hengist, Horsa and

Senlac (as built)
TYPE Passenger ferries
Built Arsenal de la Marine
National Francais,
Brest. Yard nos:
Hengist CF1, Horsa
CF2, Senlac CF3
DIMENSIONS 18.09m (length),
19.84m (width),
4.12m (draught)
Tonnage 5,596 gross, 2,008
net, 1,030dwt
Engines Two 16-cylinder,
SEMT/Pielstick
diesels (15,000kW)
SPEED 19.5 knots
PASSENGERS 1,400 (118 cabin
After the ‘Great Storm’ of beds)
1984, Hengist on the beach VEHICLES 256 cars (450 lane
near Folkestone. Fotoflite metres)

26 • February 2015 • www.shipsmonthly.com


electrical power, the ship drifted
helplessly onto the beach east
of Folkestone Harbour, where
she was badly holed, remaining
aground for almost a week,
with repairs after refloating not
completed until January 1985.
With all the emphasis on
the Dover-Calais route, the
Folkestone-Boulogne service
closed after 148 years, with a
final crossing by Stena Horsa
on 31 December 1991.
Hoverspeed moved in to run
high-speed sailings until 2000,
and although there were later
attempts at freight services,
Folkestone’s ferry era quietly
petered out.
Hengist leaving Folkestone with
Horsa alongside after Sealink
British Ferries colours came in
during 1984. FOTOFLITE
Stena Hengist arriving
at Ostend after the
creation of Sealink
Stena Line in 1990.
PHILIPPE HOLTHOF
British and French flags flown by Senlac
S
enlac was a third sister
delivered by the Brest
Naval Yard in 1973 for the
Newhaven-Dieppe service, then
a joint venture between British
Rail and French majority partner
SNCF. She was sold in 1985 to
SNCF, and continued on the
route until a move to Ventouris
in 1987 saw her enter service
on the Piraeus-Santorini run as
Apollo Express. She was renamed
Apollo Express 1 when the former
Hengist came in as Apollo Express
2 in 1993, before cash-strapped
Ventouris sold her to Agapitos
Express Lines in 1996.
As with the former Hengist
and Horsa, her ownership passed
to Minoan Flying Dolphins for
Hellas Ferries service as Express
Apollon until the company
www.shipsmonthly.com • February 2015 •
FERRY PROFILE
became Hellenic Seaways in 2005.
Withdrawn at the beginning
of 2006, she was laid up in
Piraeus for much of the year,
but saw service as Apollon on a
European Seaways service from
Igoumenitsa via Zakinthos to
Brindisi in 2007 and 2008.
A further spell providing an
Adriatic link between Bari and
Durres was ended by engine
problems in August 2010, and by
October that year the vessel was
being broken up at Aliaga, Turkey.
27
Penelope A at Mykonos.
PETER BOX

Greece beckons for Hengist and Horsa

A
fter the Boulogne Stena Horsa arrived in previous name restored. Sea Lines as Apollo Express 2
service closed, Piraeus on 21 February 1992 Although she ran summer took place during April 1993.
Stena Hengist and, as Penelope A, was placed sailings to Mykonos in 2013, Ventouris suffered a financial
had brief spells on an Agoudimos Lines service Agoudimos Lines subsequently collapse three years later and
of relief work on linking the mainland port of folded as one of the casualties Apollo Express 2 spent some
the Holyhead-Dun Laoghaire, Rafina with Andros, Tinos and of the Greek financial crisis, months laid up with other fleet
Fishguard-Rosslare and Mykonos. Agoudimos was one and the 42 year-old vessel members close to the harbour
Stranraer-Larne routes at the of the operators swallowed appears to have simply been left mouth in Piraeus.
beginning of 1992 until she up by Hellas Ferries in 1999 to rot at Rafina. After she was bought by
was sold in March that year and Horsa became Express Agapitos Lines, her service
to GA Ferries, a branch of the Penelope. She continued to sail Hengist to Ventouris as Panagia Ekatontapyliani
Agoudimos family that had to Mykonos before, at the start Stena Hengist’s spell as Romilda continued until the Minoan
already bought sister Stena of 2004, she was sold back with GA Ferries lasted less than Flying Dolphins’ creation
Horsa, which had been laid up to Agoudimos and had her a year, and a move to Ventouris Hellas Ferries took over many
at Milford Haven.
Both ferries had their
superstructures extended aft
at two levels, with passenger
capacity boosted and cabin
berths, latterly little used at
Folkestone, a bonus on the
former Hengist’s overnight
sailings from Piraeus.

ABOVE Hengist as Agios Georgios, her

sixth name in Greek service.

ABOVE Crew members perch on the ABOVE A typical evening scene, with Hengist in her Hellas Ferries days as Express Artemis setting off from Piraeus Great
stern ramp as Penelope reaches Tinos. Harbour for an overnight run down the Cycladic island chain to Santorini. RUSSELL PLUMMER

28 • February 2015 • www.shipsmonthly.com

 FERRY PROFILE

Twice since reaching Greek waters

the ex-Hengist has sailed as Panagia
Ekatontapyalini, named after the island church
on Paros, here in Agapitos Lines colours and
later with Hellas Ferries. RUSSELL PLUMMER

of the family-owned Greek
ferries in 1999, and she was
renamed Express Artemis.
However, her former name of
Panagia Ekatontapyliani, after
the historic church of the 100
doors on the island of Paros,
was restored in 2001 following
pressure from church leaders.
As the Hellas operation
began to break up in late 2003,
the vessel went to Ventouris
BELOW Penelope A at Mykonos,
showing the extent to which
superstructure was extended
aft following her arrival in Greek
waters. RUSSELL PLUMMER
Sea Lines, newly revived by
Evangelos Ventouris, and
in 2004 she became Agios
Georgios and was placed on a
service from Rafina to Paros,
Naxos and Santorini. Piraeus
became the mainland departure
port in 2005, with services to
Kynthnos, Serifos, Kimolos and
Milos, which continued until
Agios Georgios completed her
2014 schedules last October.
Although alterations after
reaching Greece pushed gross
tonnage for Penelope A up to
11,375 and that of Express
Apollon to 7,849, some 43
years on Agios Georgios is still
listed at the original delivery
figure measurements of
5,596gt. Retaining a strong
customer following, she
remains in excellent internal
condition following a major
refit in 2009, when luxurious
cabins providing a total of 80
beds were provided along with
350 aircraft seats with three fare
levels: Deck, Tourist Class and
Aegean Class.
Agios Georgos retains
the original line-up of two
16 cylinder SEMT/Pielstick
diesel engines, developing
15,000kW with a service speed
of 19 knots, sharing sailings
with Adamantios Korais
(1987/6,307gt), which usually
runs to Santorini and provides
winter services.
Sailing aboard
Agios Georgios

ABOVE Aegean Class Lounge.

ABOVE Tourist Class seating.

www.shipsmonthly.com • February 2015 • 29

 a ri t
M Mosaici m e
A collection of readers’
own photographs
The 2014 season of Tall Ships events saw the fleet visit the UK in August and September, and this
selection of photos shows some of the ships that took part. The Regatta in late August, which started
in Falmouth, was the first ever such event to take place solely in English waters, and ended in the
Borough of Royal Greenwich on the Thames in early September.
ABOVE The 586gt barque Tenacious is a modern British
wooden sail training ship, specially designed in the
1990s to accommodate anyone over 16 with a disability.
Launched in 2000, she measures 54m by 10.6m and is
the largest wooden tall ship built in the UK in the last
100 years. Rigged as a three-masted barque with two
mizzen gaffs, she carries 1,217m2 of sails in total. Her
maiden voyage on 1 September 2000 was a round trip
from Southampton which took her to Sark, St Helier
and Weymouth. She is owned by UK-based charity the
Jubilee Sailing Trust.

LEFT The four-masted barque Kruzenstern was built

in 1926 at Geestemünde in Bremerhaven as Padua.
She was used to carry building material to Chile,
returning with saltpetre around Cape Horn. Later,
while still working as a trading vessel, she transported
wheat from Australia. She was surrendered to the
USSR in 1946 and is now a Russian Navy sail training
ship with, her home port at Kaliningrad. She is the
last of the P line ships, and can reach speeds under
sail approaching 17 knots. She measures 114m by
14.02m, and has a professional crew that numbers 70.

30 • February 2015 • www.shipsmonthly.com

 READERS’ ARCHIVE

ABOVE The Sail Training Association’s brig Stavros S. Niarchos

(493gt) was commissioned and built by the Association in 2000
as one of two new brigs to replace the schooners Sir Winston
Churchill and Malcolm Miller. Measuring 50.1m by 9.9m, she is
the maximum size to fall into the category of brig. She is named
after the Greek businessman and sailor who supported the STA for
many years, and she sets 1,162m2 of sail.

ABOVE RIGHT Santa Maria Manuela (493gt) was launched in

1937 at the CUF shipyards, Lisbon and was used for cod fishing
off Newfoundland and Greenland until the early 1990s, when
she was demolished apart from the hull, which survived and
was converted into a four-masted gaff schooner, being rebuilt
between 2007 and 2010 by the Portuguese company Pascoal &
Filhos. She measures 62m by 9.9m and has a crew of 22.

ABOVE Originally named Vrouwe Maria, Morgenster

was built at the Boot shipyard in Alphen in 1919 as a
herring lugger for fishing in the North Sea. A motor
was fitted in 1928, and in 1959 she was renamed
Morgenster. She continued as a motor fishing vessel
until 1970. She was purchased by Harry Muter in 1993
to be rebuilt as a sail training ship. She was towed
to Zijkanaal B near Spaarndam, where the work was
carried out, and in June 2008 she began her sailing
career. Measuring 48m by 6.64m, she can tackle all
kinds of weather and easy to handle.

LEFT The three-masted schooner Gulden Leeuw was

built in 1937 as the ocean-going ice class ship used
for marine biological research Dana for the Danish
Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. She was sold
and, in 2000, became a training ship for the Danish
Nautical College. She was sold again in 2007, being
purchased by P&T Charters, who converted her into
a three-masted topsail schooner. Her very adaptable
rigging combines the advantages of a square-sailed
ship and a fore-and aft-rigged vessel.

www.shipsmonthly.com • February 2015 • 31

 Wasa Express
Wasa Express at Umeå
in March 2014.
Around Europe and back to Finland
Today, Wasa Express sails for Wasaline between Vaasa
(Finland) and Umeå (Sweden). The 1981-built ship has a
long and varied history, having sailed on the Baltic, the
North Sea and the English Channel, as Kalle Id explains.
W
asa Express
begun life
in 1981 as
Travemünde,
built by the
Wärtsilä shipyard in Helsinki
for service with Gedser-
Travemünde Ruten between
Gedser (Denmark) and
Travemünde (West Germany).
Travemünde was a fine ship,
with two full-height trailer
decks, capable of transporting
over 1,100 lane metres of
freight, as well as offering
facilities for 1,800 passengers.
However, the ship had been
expensive to build and proved
oversized for the service. In
1986 Gedser-Travemünde
Ruten was renamed GT
Linien, but went bankrupt the
following year. Rebranded as
GT Link, its operations were
reorganised under Sweden’s
Rederi AB Sea-Link, and
Travemünde was renamed
Travemünde Link.
With the purchase of a new
(second-hand) Travemünde
Link in 1988, the original
Travemünde Link was sold to
Rederi AB Gotland (also known
as Gotlandsbolaget), who owned
the ship for the next 24 years,
although she spent most of the
time on charter to other shipping
lines. The first of these was Sally
TM
SHIP
OF THE
MONTH
On board Wasa Express.
Line, the UK-based subsidiary
of the Finnish-Swedish
EffJohn group, who operated
a service between Ramsgate
and Dunkirk. Sally Line took
Travemünde Link under charter
for a nine-year period until late
1997, renaming her Sally Star.
After her successful spell with
Sally Line, Sally Star became
superfluous in spring 1997
following the formation of the But the company ordered two on her bow was remodelled.
fast ferry operator Holyman fast ro-pax ferries for delivery In early 2004 Color Traveller
Sally Ferries. For the remainder in 2003 and, once they arrived, entered service with Color
of her charter, she was moved Thjelvar was chartered to Color Line. During the winters she
within the EffJohn group to Line as Color Traveller for sailed on the Larvik-Hirtshals
Silja Line, sailing on the Vaasa- three years. For Color Line, she route as a cargo-oriented ship,
Umeå route for the summer. was drydocked, at Fredericia transporting a maximum of 150
Although she was repainted in in Denmark, and the original passengers. During the summer
Silja colours and marketed as bow rudder was replaced by a she switched to the Larvik-
‘Wasa Express’, her registered bulbous bow; at the same time Frederikshavn service, on which
name remained Sally Star. the pronounced knuckle joint her passenger capacity was
At the end of the charter, the
ship was due to join the fleet of Wasa Express could be nearing
her owner, Rederi AB Gotland. the end of her career, as a
Sally Star sailed to the Lloyd replacement is being designed
Werft shipyard in Bremerhaven by Wärtsilä in Finland.
for a radical refit, with her aft
superstructure enlarged to
increase cabin capacity to 316
from the original 72. During the
refit she was renamed Thjelvar.
In early 1998 Thjelvar began
on the Visby-Oskarshamn
and Visby-Nynäshamn routes
with Destination Gotland, a
joint subsidiary of Rederi AB
Gotland and Neptun Maritime.
www.shipsmonthly.com • February 2015 • 33
 TM

WASA EXPRESS
Built 1981 by Wärtsilä, Finland, yard
no.432
Dimensions 140.8m x 24.5m x 4.95m
Tonnage 17,053gt, 7,729 net, 4,150dwt
Machinery 4 x Wärtsilä 12V32 4SA main
engines, combined 14,840kW,
1 x bow thruster
PASSENGERS 800
VEHICLES 450 cars or 1,150 lane metres
SPEED 16 knots service, 19.5
maximum
FLAG Finnish
Former Travemünde, Travemünde
names Link, Sally Star, Thjelvar, Color
Traveller, Rostock, Betancuria
Route Vaasa-Umeå The Vitfågelskär à la carte restaurant. The aft cafeteria, since converted into a buffet restaurant.
 Wasa Express
IMAGE BY ARI-JUKKA PERKIÖMÄKI

The forward cafeteria. The bar. The entrance/exit lobby on deck seven.
increased to 1,000 passengers.
In 2006, coinciding with
the end of Color Traveller’s
charter agreement, Color Line
reorganised their services from
ports near Oslo to Denmark.
This rendered Color Traveller
superfluous to their fleet, and
thus her charter agreement
was not renewed. Under the
terms of the charter agreement,
the ship reverted to the name
Thjelvar and was repainted in
Rederi AB Gotland colours
when redelivered to her owners.
After ten months of layup,
Thjelvar found a new charterer.
Scandlines took her on for three
years, renaming her Rostock. In
her new role the ship was placed
on the route from Gedser to
Rostock. During her time with
Scandlines, Rostock also made
one return trip from Rostock to
Hanko (Finland). In practice,
the charter of Rostock proved a
mistake for Scandlines, and after
just one year the ship was again
laid up. In 2009 Scandlines
sub-chartered her to Comarit
for service between Almeria
(Spain) and Nador (Morocco).
“THE FERRY
ROUTES ACROSS
NORTHERN GULF
OF BOTHNIA
HAD BEEN SOME
OF THE MOST
LUCRATIVE IN THE
BALTIC DURING
THE SECOND
HALF OF THE
20TH CENTURY”
36 • February 2015 • www.shipsmonthly.com
In Comarit service the name
Rostock was retained, as were
the Scandlines hull and funnel
markings.
In 2010 the charter of
Rostock ended and she returned
to Rederi AB Gotland. She
was again renamed Thjelvar
and, repainted in the colours
of her owners, was laid up
for a year until, in 2011, she
was chartered to Lineas Fred.
Olsen for a period of 13
months. Lineas Fred. Olsen had
specialised in fast ferries, but
were now keen to re-enter the
market for conventional ferries
with large cargo capacities.
Thjelvar was renamed
Betancuria and was placed on
a service between three ports
in the Canary Isles: Las Palmas
de Gran Canaria, Puerto del
Rosario and Arrecife.
Reportedly, Lineas Fred.
Olsen were interested in
continuing the charter of
Betancuria past the original means to continue it. At the Umeå, Örsnsköldsvik and
13 months. However, due to end of her charter to Lineas Sundsvall on the Swedish
economic difficulties resulting Fred. Olsen, Betancuria coast. During the peak years of
from the Eurozone crisis, the found a new owner in the early 1990s, over a million
company lacked the financial the form of NLC Ferry, passengers sailed on these
a company established by routes every year.
the municipalities of Vaasa During the 1990s services
and Umeå to secure a ferry
connection between the cities.
were consolidated and, in
1999, when tax-free sales
The ferry routes across ended in intra-European
northern Gulf of Bothnia Union ferry services, passenger
had been some of the most numbers on the sole remaining
lucrative in the Baltic during service – Vaasa-Umeå –
the second half of the 20th plummeted to a third of what
century. At one point, seven they had been in the tax-free
ships belonging to two
different companies plied
days. Even a public subsidy was
the routes connecting Vaasa,
Pietarsaari and Kokkola on
the Finnish side,to Luleå,

not enough to raise the route
to profit. Silja Line, who had
operated the routes since 1992,
withdrew from the service at
the end of 2000.
After Silja Line’s withdrawal,
a new round of tenders for a
subsidised service was quickly
arranged for restoration of
services in 2001, which was
won by RG Line, owned by the
Finnish restaurant entrepreneur
Rabbe Grönblom. RG Line
purchased the former Silja Line
ferry Fennia for the service,
renaming her Casino Express.
In 2005 Casino Express was
replaced by RG 1, a former
Wasa Express when she was in service
as Sally Star on the English Channel.
SUPPLIED BY NICHOLAS LEACH
East German cargo ship. RG
Line struggled on until late
2011, when Grönblom applied
for bankruptcy of RG Line
in an attempt to gather more
support. He was partially
successful: the municipalities
of Vaasa and Umeå vowed
to save the ferry service, but
when Grönblom attempted to
rescind the bankruptcy, the local
courts informed him this was
not possible, and RG Line was
declared bankrupt.
The towns of Vaasa and
Umeå found it would be best
if the municipalities established
their own service. So in 2012
ABOVE The kennel area.
ABOVE View of the upper cargo deck, facing forward.
NLC Ferry (named after the
Nordic Logistics Center in
Umeå) was established. The
new company chose Betancuria
and, in addition to acquiring the
ship, the company also acquired
the rights to the traditional
names Vaasanlaivat, Vasabåtarna
and Wasa Line from RG Line.
Betancuria was renamed Wasa
Express, becoming the fourth
ship to carry the name.
Wasa Express took over the
Vaasa-Umeå route from RG 1
in early 2013. In spring 2013
she was repainted in her current
livery, with the operator’s name
on the hull. Wasa Express has
proven satisfactory for the route,
although her public spaces are
not as extensive as is common
on ferry services from Finland.
She fulfils the needs of the
service with a cafeteria, buffet
and à la carte restaurants, a
www.shipsmonthly.com • February 2015 •
SHIP OF THE MONTH
shop, a bar and a small array of
conference rooms. The large
freight decks are usually full,
and the freight link provided by
Wasa Express is vital to the local
economies on both sides of the
Gulf of Bothnia. But despite the
well-maintained interiors, the
34-year old ship is starting to
show her age, with her engines
reported to be giving trouble.
However, plans are already
being made for a replacement
for Wasa Express, with Wasaline
making plans for a new ship,
optimised for the Vaasa-Umeå
route. Should this plan ever
become reality, the ship would
be the first ever purpose-built
ship on the Vaasa-Umeå route.
However, the municipalities
alone cannot finance such a large
undertaking and so Wasaline has
applied to the European Union
for funding.
37
The Mission to Seafarers is entirely funded
by voluntary donations and offers emergency
assistance, practical support and a friendly
welcome in 260 ports in 71 countries.

We provide the following quality welfare

support services for seafarers:

• Seafarers’ centres
• Ship-visiting
• Post-trauma counselling
• Transport
• Advocacy
• All-round support

Find out more at www.missiontoseafarers.org

themissiontoseafarers

The Mission to Seafarers

Caring for seafarers around the world

themissiontoseafarers @FlyingAngelNews

Dave’s Ships On Film

PART OF DAVE’S TRANSPORT FILMS
EIGHT NEW TITLES OUT NOW
STILL AVAILABLE:
•Ships along The Mersey Volume 1
•Ships along The Mersey Volume 2
•Ships along The Mersey Volume 3
•Ships along The Mersey Volume 4
•Ships along The Mersey Volume 5
•Ships along Southampton Water Volume 1
•Ships along Southampton Water Volume 2
•Ships along Southampton Water Volume 3
•Ships along Southampton Water Volume 4
•Ships along Southampton Water Volume 5
•Ships along Southampton Water Volume 6
•Ships Visiting The Port of Felixstowe Volume 1
•Ships Visiting The Port of Felixstowe Volume 2
•Ships Visiting The Port of Felixstowe Volume 3
•Ships Visiting The Port of Rotterdam Volume 1
•Ships Visiting The Port of Rotterdam Volume 2
•Ships Visiting The Port of Rotterdam Volume 3
•Ships Visiting The Port of Rotterdam Volume 4
•Ships Visiting The Port of Rotterdam Volume 5
•Ships Visiting The Port of Rotterdam Volume 6
•Ships Visiting The Port of Rotterdam Volume 7
•River Traffic Along The Middle Rhine
DVD PRICES:
1 DVD £10 2 DVDS £19 4 DVDS £32
6 DVDS £40 8 DVDS £48 any 10 DVDS £55.
Postage in The UK. Free Rest of The World £1.50 per Film.

TO ORDER PLEASE ring us on 01948 841811 up to 9pm or go to our website SHIPSONFILM.COM and use paypal, or send cheques or
postal orders to, Dave Long 38 Twemlows Avenue, Higher Heath, Whitchurch, Shropshire, SY13 2HE.
If you want more than 10 DVDS please ring us, the website is only set up for even numbers and up to 10.

W W W. S H I P S O N F I L M . C O M
38 • February 2015 • www.shipsmonthly.com
Ships Pictorial
Have you an outstanding photo that would grace our gallery? Send your image to Ships Monthly for
inclusion in these pages, which showcase the best in ship photography around the world.

HMS Somerset (F82), which commissoned on 20 September 1996, outbound from Avonmouth passing Battery Point, Portishead on 10 November 2014 after a
weekend courtesy visit. She was believed to be sailing to Icelandic waters for sea trials. Paul Green

The ferry Kattegat (ex-Maren Mols) served Mols-Linien until 2011 and operated for Kattegat Ruten of Denmark until 2013. She now operates for FRS Iberia as
Maroc Express on the Algeciras-Tanger Med route. Although known as Maroc Express ((which is the name on the funnel), she still has the name Kattegat on her hull.
She is seen departing from Algeciras for Tanger Med on 10 October 2014. Chris Brooks

www.shipsmonthly.com • February 2015 • 39

 The container ship Thalassa
Patris (2013/148,667gt) inbound
at Hamburg, assisted by the tug
ZP Condon. LUCAS BLASZCZAK

The Dream class cruise ship Costa Diadema is the latest addition to the Costa fleet. Pictured
making her maiden call at Valetta, Malta on 5 November 2014, she is the largest ship flying
an Italian flag and currently Costa Crociere’s flagship. The 132,500gt ship was delivered from
Fincantieri on 25 October 2014 and has capacity for 4,947 passengers. GAETANO SPITERO

40 • February 2015 • www.shipsmonthly.com

 Ships Pictorial

JThe ro-ro passenger ferry Blue Star Naxos (10,438gt) departing

Piraeus in May 2014. The 2002-built ferry is operated by Blue Star
Ferries on services to Syros, Tinos and Mykonos. KRISPEN ATKINSON

Jacobite Cruises’ elegant passenger vessel Jacobite Queen (122gt) approaching Urquart Castle on
Loch Ness. Built in 1949 by R. W. Hawthorn Leslie at Hebburn on Tyne, she was originally Tyne Queen.
She was a passenger ferry on the Tyne and came to Loch Ness in 1987 to be renamed, rebuilt and
refurbished along the traditional lines of a small steamer. EDWARD FORD

www.shipsmonthly.com • February 2015 • 41


A post-war
Basque shipowner
Malcolm Cranfield profiles the shipowning of Ramón de la Sota Aburto (Jnr) who, in 1955, from
exile in Biarritz, had resumed the pre-war Sota family business. Following the passing in November
1975 of the dictator General Franco, his son Patrick returned to Bilbao to manage the business.
T
he Sota family were
long-established
shipowners in
Bizkaia (Biscay
in English, in
Spanish Vizcaya), a province of
Spain with capital city Bilbao.
The Spanish Civil War, which
started in 1936, caused their
exile and the loss of all of their
ships to their former partners
Aznar, supporters of the
Nationalists.
Ramón de la Sota was a well-
known shipowner, and in 1921
was knighted in recognition
of the services rendered to the
British Empire during World
War I, during which 20 of his
ships were lost. He married
Catherine Aburto, daughter
of Bilbainos traders, and their
son, Ramón de la Sota Aburto
(1887-1978), became the
first president of the Basque
Nationalist Party or Partido
Nacionalista Vasco (PNV).
42 • February 2015 • www.shipsmonthly.com
Monte Teide was one of many ships owned by Cia Naviera Sota y Aznar
which, towards the end of the Spanish Civil War, were seized by the
Nationalist military and became solely owned by Naviera Aznar. Built in 1922
at South Shields as Altuna-Mendi, she was renamed Monte Teide in 1939
and, following three months idle at Bilbao at the end of 1966, arrived at
Santander on 16 January 1967 to be broken up. Monte Teide is seen in the
Delaware River, near Philadelphia, on 17 June 1961. MARKUS BERGER COLLECTION
For 13 years from 1889 National Accountability Court ‘Monte’ prefix and the letter
Ramón de la Sota y Llano had to pay a fine of 100 million S was taken off the funnel.
steadily built up a significant pesetas for ‘conspiracy to military For example, the 1917-built
shipping fleet, before starting rebellion’ and their joint company Artagan-Mendi became Monte
a joint venture with his cousin became Naviera Aznar SA. Nuria. Commencing liner
Eduardo Aznar. In 1906 they The ships were renamed routes to South America,
created Compania Naviera with the well-known Castilian the Caribbean and the USA,
Sota y Aznar, and their ships
were given names containing
the Basque suffix ‘Mendi’; the
funnel colour was yellow with a
red conjoined S and A.
The two families split in
1936 as the Spanish Civil War
started, when the Sota family
supported the Republican
cause, while the Aznar family
supported the Nationalists. Sota
had placed the company’s ships
at the disposal of the Euskadi
(Basque) and Republican side
and, much to the displeasure ABOVE The 1944-built Bordabere had been purchased by Sota in 1961 from
of the Nationalists, they were Hamburg-Amerika Linie, who had operated her as Flensburg since 1955. Bordabere
used to evacuate Bilbao in 1937. was photographed in June 1965 while on charter to the Great Lakes Transcaribbean
The ships were then seized by Line. Sold in 1968, she initially took the name Santa Anthousa, Fast Dolphin in 1969,
the military; the Sota family (by Swift Skipper in 1974, Panagia Chryssopigi in 1976, and finally, in 1978, Karras, as
then in exile) was ordered by the which she was broken up at Eleusis in February 1979. AUTHOR’S COLLECTION
 SHIPOWNER

Naviera Aznar SA proceeded

to become the largest shipping
company in Spain, but
experienced financial difficulties
in the 1970s and entered
liquidation in 1983.
Ramón de la Sota Aburto had
married an Irish woman, Sofia
Mac Mahon, and they had six
children, including first-born
Ramón de la Sota Mac Mahon
(born 1915) and Patrick (born
1930). Following the passing in
November 1975 of the Spanish
dictator Generalísimo Francisco
Franco, it became possible for
the Sota family to return to
Bilbao. Whereas Ramón de la
Sota Aburto (Jnr) is reported to
have made only a single short visit
shortly before his death in 1978,
his family resumed residence in
ABOVE The 1964-built Bordatxoa (ex-Scotstoun), was purchased by Ramón de La Sota Jnr in 1972. Photographed departing Bilbao. His son, Patrick de la Sota
Cape Town on 20 June 1974, she was sold at Rotterdam late in 1981 to Globalbridge Limited and renamed Sea King. The same Mac Mahon, however, returned
owners had purchased Bordabekoa, renamed Sea Reliance, but sold both ships in 1984, the latter in May to breakers at Alang, to Spain to become President
while Sea King briefly traded as Jay Baba before her sale to Bangladesh breakers in 1985. PHOTO IAN SHIFFMAN - AUTHOR’S COLLECTION of the Chamber of Commerce,
Industry and Navigation of Bilbao
LEFT Bordazuri, built by Doxford in 1949 as
and President of the Foundation
Eastbank for Bank Line and purchased by
Maritime Museum in Bilbao.
Sota in 1965, passing Hook of Holland on 27
June 1970. Initially operated by Bordagain
Shipping, Bordazuri was transferred in 1969
Socoa Shipping Company
to a single-ship company, Bordazuri Trading
The company’s first four ships
and Shipping Co Ltd. Sold to Greek owners
were all registered in Liberia
in 1972, she took the names of Pella until under the name of Socoa
1974, Sierra until 1977 and Makedonia II. Shipping Company Limited,
She suffered engine failure in the south the name presumably having
Adriatic on 14 November 1977. Towed to been taken from the name of a
Patras, she went to Itea in April 1978 to lay beach near Biarritz. These were
up. In January 1980 she was towed to La three small ships purchased
Spezia for breaking. AUTHOR’S PHOTOGRAPH from Constants in 1955-56
and, in 1957, the larger ‘boilers
RIGHT Bordaenea, arriving at
above deck’ type Teresa, which
Rotterdam on 26 May 1972, had an
had been built by Wm Gray
interesting history. Launched at Odense
in 1943 and completed in July 1945
at West Hartlepool in 1940
as Chastine Maersk, she undertook
as Industria for Metcalfe
Maersk Line’s first commercial voyage Shipping Co Ltd and which
after World War II, departing from New lasted until 1968.
York on 16 March 1946 and calling at The funnel colours adopted
Manila and Shanghai. Sold in 1952 and were, again, yellow, but with
renamed Bruges, she was purchased by a large blue square containing
Sota in 1970 from Karavias (London) Ltd, three stars in a diagonal line.
who had traded her as St Emmanuel. It is understood that Ramon
In 1973 Sota sold her and she went for de la Sota’s instructions to his
breaking in 1975. AUTHOR’S PHOTOGRAPH ships were for the Ikurrina, the
Basque flag, to be flown as a
stem jack when in port, except
in Spanish ports where, until
1977, the flag was illegal.
These ships were soon
followed by the purchase of a
brand new larger ship, Albia,
completed in March 1959
by De Schelde at Flushing in
Holland and launched as Argo
Sounion, which was operated by
Sota until 1974. One of a series
of ships built in Holland in the
ABOVE Teresa, built by Wm Gray at West Hartlepool in 1940 as Industria, was purchased by Ramón de La Sota jnr in 1957 from late 1950s for the Greek owner
Metcalfe Shipping Co. Seen passing Portishead on 13 August 1964, Teresa was successfully traded by his Liberian subsidiary J. C. Carras, Albia was placed
Socoa Shipping until sold to Japanese breakers in 1968. AUTHOR’S PHOTOGRAPH in the nominal ownership

www.shipsmonthly.com • February 2015 • 43

 The 1958-built Bordagain, the former Baron Garioch purchased by Ramón de La Sota Jnr in 1968, arriving at Swansea on
28 June 1969 on a voyage from Valparaiso to Avonmouth. Sold in 1976 to Costas V. Pateras and renamed Erini Patera, she
was broken up at Bombay in July 1982 following six months idle at that port. John Wiltshire/Author’s collection

of a new Panama-registered
company flying the Liberian flag.
Socoa Shipping’s last ship,
purchased in 1962 from West
Hartlepool SN Co Ltd, was the
1950 Doxford-built Polamhall,
which traded successfully for
Sota until 1971 as Sokorri,
the name later used for a new ABOVE It is understood that Ramon De
Spanish subsidiary created in La Sota’s standing instructions to his
1978 and also for new ships ships were for the Ikurrina, the Basque
built in 1979 and 1982. flag, to be flown as a stem jack when
in port, except in Spanish ports where,
Bordagain Shipping Co until 1977, the flag was illegal.
A further Liberian-registered
company, Bordagain Shipping Doxford at Sunderland in 1949
Co Ltd, was meantime created to as Eastbank for Bank Line (later
ABOVE Socoa Shipping’s last ship, Sokorri, purchased in 1962, was the 1950-built operate another small ship. Named transferred to a single ship
Polamhall, and was photographed at Victoria BC in 1966. The Sota family crest Bordagain, she had been built by company), sold 1972.
can be seen on the ship’s bow. Sold in 1971, she traded until 1975 as Panaghia Wm Gray at West Hartlepool in 1968 • Bordagain, built by
Grigoroussa and then as Buena Ventura II until being broken up. Marc Piché collection 1943 as Empire Buttress and, in Readhead at South Shields
1946, was purchased by Burnett in 1958 as Baron Garioch for
SS Co Ltd, who had traded her as Hogarth, sold 1976.
Wallsend. She was sold by Sota
in 1967 and survived until 1976.
In 1961 Bordagain took
nominal ownership of
Bordabere on her purchase from
Hamburg-Amerika Linie, who
had operated her as Flensburg
since 1955. Bordagain, the
name of a district of Saint-
Jean-de-Luz, a town just across
the border in France, was
subsequently used to nominally
ABOVE Ramón de La Sota jnr’s last ship, Trinidad, operated by Unitramp of Italy own a number of further ship
and seen outbound from Rotterdam on 9 April 1983, was nominally owned by purchases as follows:
International Trampunion Limited. Sold in 1989 to the Paris-based Compagnie
1963 • Bordapian, built by
Nationale de Navigation, she was resold in 1991 to be managed by Denholm as
Lithgows at Port Glasgow
Almerinda. Taking the name Elixir on sale to Greece in 1994, she became Hamburg
in 1945 as Kvernaas for
Pearl in 2007 and arrived at Jiangyin in China in August 2011 to be broken up.
Norwegian owners, sold 1968.
Photograph by the late George Garwood/Dave Salisbury collection
1965 • Bordazuri, built by

44 • February 2015 • www.shipsmonthly.com

 SHIPOWNER

1969 • Bordabarri, built by
A&P at Sunderland in 1960
as Baron Wemyss for Hogarth,
sold 1978.
1971 • Bordabekoa, built by
Fairfield at Glasgow in 1960 as
Yorkshire for Bibby, sold 1981.
1972 • Bordatxoa, built by C.
Connell at Glasgow as Scotstoun
for Falkland Shipowners Ltd
(Denholm), sold 1981.
1976 • Bordagain, built by
Doxford at Sunderland in
1965 as Worcestershire for
Bibby, sold 1982.
The last four ships were from
time to time chartered out
to cargo liner operators and
painted in their colours. For
example, Bordabarri went to
Consorcio Naviera Peruano SA
(‘CNP’), Bordabekoa to Hansa
Linie and both Bordatxoa and
the later Bordagain to Svenska
Ostafrika Lijnen & Delmas.
Bordaenea, purchased in
1970 from Karavias (London)
Ltd, who had traded her
since 1966 as St Emmanuel,
ABOVE Seen arriving at Rotterdam in May 1973, Albia was purchased new by Sota in 1959 following her completion in March
of that year by De Schelde at Flushing as Argo Sounion for the Greek owner J. C. Carras. Sold in 1974 to Comninos Brothers of
Greece, she traded as Antonios C. until resold in 1981. In 1982 she was sold to Pakistan breakers and broken up. Dave Salisbury
was placed by Sota in the
nominal ownership of a
single-ship company. A ship
with an interesting history,
she had been built at Odense
in Denmark between 1943
and 1945 as Chastine Maersk.
In 1973 Sota resold the ship
which, as Prabs, was eventually
broken up at Santander, arriving
there on 20 December 1975.
It seems that both Bordaenea
and Bordazuri were nominally
owned by single-ship companies
for the purpose of a specific
charter and were distinguished
from the other ships by being
given a diagonal red stripe
across the middle of the blue
square, albeit still containing
three stars, on their funnels.
The final chapter
Following Patrick de la Sota
Mac Mahon’s return to Bilbao,
a new ship, a standard design
bulk carrier, was purchased in
March 1979 from the Astilleros
Españoles shipyard at Seville
while under construction,
having been ordered by Altos
Hornos de Vizcaya and it is
believed intended to be named
Hornos Vizcaya. Launched
on 17 July 1978, she was
delivered on 11 October 1979
as Sokorri to Sota’s new Spanish
subsidiary, Naviera Sokorri SA.
The ship was replaced in 1981
by sistership Macaye from the
same yard. Three further bulk
carriers then joined the fleet:
1981 • Anboto, built by
Kaldnes at Tonsberg, Norway
in 1971 as Penerf for French
owners, sold 1978.
1982 • Trinidad, newly built
by Astilleros Españoles at
Sestao, sold 1989.
1982 • Sokorri, newly built
by Astilleros Españoles at
Olaveaga for Naviera Sokorri
SA, renamed Baigura in 1988
and sold in 1989.
Finally, three more second-
hand, 1977 Japanese-built bulk
carriers were briefly owned
until 1988, as follows:
1986 • Muskiz, built by
Nippon Kokan at Tsurumi as
Amandine for French owners.
1987 • Bidasoa, built by Osaka
Zosensho as Ocean Lily for
Hong Kong owners.
1987 • Maya, built by Imabari
Zosen at Marugame as Oriental
Forest for Japanese owners.
The gearless Trinidad and
the second-hand bulk carriers
seem to have been purchased
specifically for charter to
Unitramp, a company founded
at Naples in 1975 by the
Frulio family following their
acquisition of ‘Cimasud’, a
shipbroking company founded
in 1967. Vincenzo Frulio Snr
had started shipowning in 1953
with the purchase of the 1914
Swedish-built Fraito, which
lasted until 1968. Vincenzo
Frulio Jnr is now managing
director of Unitramp.
Sokorri and Macaye were
financed by the Industrial
Credit Bank (BCI), who
repossessed the ships in 1987
and placed them under the
management of Sociedad de
Gestion de Buques of Madrid.
However, after an intended
sale in June 1988 to Lexmar
International, and renaming
respectively as Lux Endeavour
and Lux Independence, Sota
regained ownership of the
vessels, renaming them Baigura
and Bermio under the nominal
ownership of the Brightwell
Shipping Corp of Liberia.
It may be noted that only
Baigura, Bermio and Trinidad
remained in the Sota fleet after
1988, all being sold towards
the end of 1989, at which point
shipowning ceased.
• With thanks to Amaya
Echavarren and Louis Loughran
for their assistance.

The 1960 Austin & Pickersgill-built Bordabarri, the former Baron Wemyss purchased by Ramón de La Sota jnr in 1969, passing Maassluis inbound
for Rotterdam. Sold in 1978 to Greek owners Krisco Maritime and renamed Sea Glory, she was laid up at Lefkas early in 1982, and transferred to
Eleusis a year later, but was reactivated only to sail to Chittagong for breaking, being beached on 25 June 1984. Dave Salisbury/Paul Boot collection

www.shipsmonthly.com • February 2015 • 45

 The Honourable Company
of Master Mariners
Formed in 1926, we are a City of London Livery
Company and professional body for Sea Captains,
with membership open to British and Commonwealth
Master Mariners, from both Royal and
Merchant Navies, and to others with a strong
association with the maritime industry in general.
For further information, please contact The Clerk:
HQS Wellington, Temple Stairs,
Victoria Embankment London WC2R 2PN
www.hcmm.org.uk Tel: 020 7836 8179
Email: clerk@hcmm.org.uk

46 • February 2015 • www.shipsmonthly.com


Steaming into the
Imperial sunset
AIRCRAFT
CARRIER
SPECIAL
The three Centaur class aircraft carriers found a role policing the rundown of the British Empire, as Paul Brown explains.
T
he Royal Navy’s
aircraft carrier fleet
in the post-war
years between
1950 and 1980
contained an assortment of
ships which fell into two broad
groups: the large heavily-
armoured fleet carriers of the
Illustrious and Eagle classes,
and the light fleet carriers of the
Colossus and Centaur classes,
which had little or no armour.
While the big carriers such as
Victorious, Eagle and Ark Royal
attracted the most attention
and were well-known to the
public, the light fleet carriers
were an important part of the
Royal Navy’s front line. They
saw action in the Korean War,
the Suez campaign and the
continuous operations East
of Suez, which included the
Indonesian confrontation, other
end-of-empire small wars and
interventions in the Middle East.
The light fleet carrier had
been conceived during the
Centaur alongside at
Devonport in 1959 while
serving in the Home Fleet.
In May 1959, after a visit to
Copenhagen, she deployed
to join the Far East Fleet.
war as a cheaper and quicker-
to-build alternative to the
large fleet carriers. It did not
require armour plating or
4.5-inch guns, both of which
were production bottlenecks,
and the hull could be built
to mercantile standards. In
the Colossus class speed was
sacrificed for economy, the
maximum being 25 knots at
standard displacement.
However, for the eight
Hermes class ships that were
ordered in 1943, the power
was doubled to produce a
speed of 30 knots, and some
light armour was introduced
in key areas, such as the flight
deck and over the machinery
and avgas spaces. Larger
aircraft, each of 30,000lbs
maximum weight (compared
with 20,000lbs in Colossus),
could be embarked and, with a
larger hull, the ship’s standard
displacement increased from
13,190 tons to 18,310 tons.
Thus the light fleet carrier
AIRCRAFT CARRIERS
concept evolved into a much
more capable ship, able to
embark the first generation of
jet fighters, and with the speed
to keep up with task groups.
Cancellations
Four of the eight Hermes class
were cancelled at the end of the
war before construction had
ABOVE Centaur at full speed after her
even commenced. Of the four 1963 refit, when the prominent Type
that were laid down in 1944, 965 radar scanner was fitted on a new
three were completed as the lattice mast stepped at the forward
Centaur class in 1953-54, and end of the island.
one (Hermes) was completed
to an updated design in 1959.
This article focuses on the
Centaur class ships: Centaur,
Albion and Bulwark.
The first ship, Centaur, was
completed with an axial flight
deck, but after trials she entered
Portsmouth Dockyard to have
it modified to a 5.5-degree
angled deck to allow safer ABOVE Centaur is seen exercising with
aircraft landing. Albion and Eagle in the Mediterranean in May
Bulwark were both completed 1965. Four months later she paid off
with an angled flight deck. for the last time, after only 12 years
In 1957 Centaur had her of service.
www.shipsmonthly.com • February 2015 • 47
 CENTAUR CLASS
DISPLACEMENT 27,800 tons full load
DIMENSIONS Length 737 ft 9in
Beam 123ft
Draught 28ft 3in
ARMAMENT 10 x 40mm Bofors
guns; up to 42
aircraft
MACHINERY 2 shaft Parsons
geared turbines,
78,000shp, 28 knots
(29.5 knots max)
COMPLEMENT 1,390
hydraulic catapults replaced
by steam catapults so that
she could operate the second
generation Scimitar and Sea
Vixen jet aircraft.
In the 1957 Defence Review
the number of aircraft carriers
was reduced, and it was decided
to convert Albion and Bulwark
to commando carriers. In this
role they would carry up to 30
helicopters, four assault landing
craft in davits, and a single
Royal Marines commando unit
of about 1,000 men.
Centaur joins the fleet
Centaur commissioned in
September 1953 but was in
dockyard hands from October
1953 to May 1954 having her
48 • February 2015 • www.shipsmonthly.com
deck angled. She deployed
to the Mediterranean in
September 1954 with Sea
Hawk, Sea Fury and Avenger
squadrons embarked. In
January 1956 Gannet and
more Sea Hawk aircraft were
embarked, replacing the
Avengers and Sea Furies, and
the ship sailed for the Far East.
On her return in May
1956, she entered Devonport
Dockyard for steam catapults to
be fitted. In September 1958
she embarked Sea Hawk, Sea
Venom and Gannet aircraft and
in May 1959 deployed East of
Suez. Her aircraft went into
action for the first time in April
1960, against arms smugglers
and pirates in Aden.
After a refit at Portsmouth,
Centaur recommissioned in
March 1961 and embarked
Scimitar, Sea Vixen, Gannet
and Whirlwind aircraft. She
deployed to the Persian Gulf
as part of an operation to deter
a threatened Iraqi invasion of
Kuwait. In January 1962 she
joined the Far East Fleet for
four months and then spent
some time in the Mediterranean
Fleet, before returning to the
UK. Centaur suffered a serious
steam leak in a boiler room in
November 1962, while carrying
out flying operations in the
Irish Sea, and the four men on
watch and the engineer officer
of the watch were, sadly, killed.
In February 1963 she sailed
again for the Far East, with Sea
Vixens, Gannets and Whirlwinds
embarked. On her return to
the UK she was fitted with a
new lattice foremast and Type
965 radar. In January 1964 she
was once again off Aden and
embarked marine commandos
to carry out a helicopter-borne
assault on the barracks near
Dar-es-Salaam and obtain the
surrender of the 1st Tanganyika
Rifles, who had mutinied
against their British officers.
In April her Sea Vixens
carried out strikes against
rebel tribesmen north of
Aden. Later that year she was
engaged in anti-infiltration
patrols off Malaysia during
the Indonesian confrontation.

Centaur photographed in the
Mediterranean in 1955. She has
various aircraft and a helicopter
on her flight deck. The carrier
astern of her appears to be one
of her sisterships.
An early picture of Albion as
completed with an angled flight
deck. Her two hydraulic catapults
are set into the forward end of
the flight deck.
In 1965 she spent time in
the Mediterranean Fleet and
on 27 September entered
Portsmouth harbour to pay
off for the last time. Although
only 12 years old, she was the
victim of defence cuts and was
relegated to use as a harbour
accommodation ship.
The Grey Ghost
Albion was commissioned in
May 1954 and embarked Sea
Venom, Sea Hawk, Wyvern,
Avenger and Skyraider
aircraft before joining the
Mediterranean Fleet in
September. In January 1956
she sailed for the Far East and
returned to Portsmouth in May.
A refit was curtailed due
to the Suez crisis, and in
November 1956 the ship
launched air strikes against
Egyptian airfields and provided
cover for parachute assaults.
Her helicopters flew in
supplies to British troops and
evacuated the wounded. The
Suez operation was aborted for
political reasons, but Albion
remained in the Mediterranean
until March 1957, when she
returned to the UK.
November 1957 found
Albion entering Portsmouth
dockyard for a refit, after which
she was hastily deployed to
Malta, in July 1958, carrying
commandos and troops plus
ABOVE Albion sailing from Portsmouth on 22 July 1958 for the Mediterranean
with 42 Royal Marines Commando and vehicles embarked. More than 1,000 extra
eyebolts were welded to the flight deck to allow the vehicles to be securely lashed.
500 vehicles, to increase the
British presence in the eastern
Mediterranean following a
revolution in Iraq. After this,
her air group of Sea Hawk,
Sea Venom, Skyraider and
Whirlwind were re-embarked
and she joined the Far East
Fleet, returning to Portsmouth
in August 1959 for a short refit.
Her last commission as a
fixed-wing aircraft carrier began
in December 1959 and took
her to the Far East again. In
January 1961 Albion entered
Portsmouth Dockyard for con-
version to a commando carrier.
She recommissioned in
www.shipsmonthly.com • February 2015 •
AIRCRAFT CARRIERS
August 1962 and rejoined the
Far East Fleet. In November
she landed forces in Borneo
to engage rebel forces during
the Brunei revolt. This was
a prelude to the Indonesian
confrontation, sparked by the
impending formation of the
Federation of Malaysia.
In April 1963 Albion landed
troops in Sarawak, where rebels
and infiltrators were at large.
With her Wessex helicopters
fully committed ashore, Albion
raced 12,000 miles to Tobruk
to collect RAF Belvedere and
Whirlwind helicopters, which
would be landed to allow the
two Wessex squadrons to return
to their commando ship role.
They were in further action
landing troops in Borneo in
early 1964. However, the ship
was then called to Mombasa
following troop mutinies
in Tanganyika, Kenya and
Uganda. There she embarked
helicopters from Victorious
because her own squadrons had
remained in Borneo.
Albion returned to the
UK in April 1964 for a refit,
her helicopters having flown
10,000 operational sorties in
this commission, while the ship
had sailed 85,000 miles. Her
frequent appearances off the
coast of Borneo at first light,
when she assumed a phantom-
like quality, led her to be
known as the ‘old grey ghost
of Borneo’.
After her refit, Albion
returned to the Far East for
further operations in the
Indonesian confrontation until
August 1966. In April 1967
she was part of the task force
49
 Albion, still in aircraft
carrier configuration,
exercising with Ark Royal.
which covered the withdrawal
of British forces from Aden,
and then she returned to the
Far East. In October 1971
Albion left Singapore with
Eagle when the Far East Fleet
was disbanded.
Her last commission was
in home, Mediterranean and
North Atlantic waters, and
she arrived in Portsmouth on
24 November 1972 to pay off
for disposal, a casualty of yet
another defence review.
Long-serving Bulwark
Bulwark was to last longer,
being in service from
November 1954 until March
1981. Her early years as an
aircraft carrier were spent in
Home and Mediterranean
waters, and she took part in
the Suez campaign, flying
50 • February 2015 • www.shipsmonthly.com
580 sorties against Egyptian
airfields and military targets. Bulwark after her conversion to a commando carrier, with a Whirlwind
In May 1958 she sailed for the helicopter on her flight deck, during her third commission.
Far East, and en route ferried
troops in the Middle East
following the Iraqi Revolution.
Between November 1958
and January 1960 Bulwark
was converted to a commando
carrier at Portsmouth, a role
in which she was to serve for
over 20 years. In July 1961 the
ship was sent to Kuwait, with
Centaur, to counter an invasion
threat from Iraq, and Bulwark’s
commandos were deployed.
In 1963 her Whirlwinds were
replaced by Wessexes and in
April 1964 she rejoined the Far
East Fleet to become involved
in the operations in Borneo
until September 1965. In May
1966 she returned to the Far
East for the final months of the
Albion, after her conversion to a commando AIRCRAFT CARRIERS
carrier, undergoing replenishment at
sea from RFA Tideflow. Albion could be
distinguished from her sister commando
carrier Bulwark by the Type 965 ‘bedstead’
radar on her main mast.

Bulwark alongside at Mayport,

Virginia. The photo was probably
taken in early 1980 and she has Sea
King helicopters on her flight deck.

ABOVE Bulwark refuelling at sea from RFA Pearleaf. Bulwark has Wessex
helicopters and Royal Marines vehicles on the flight deck.

confrontation, and was back

in the UK in March 1968. In
1970 she had her final spell in ABOVE An early shot of Bulwark at speed, in aircraft carrier configuration. When
the Far East Fleet. defence economies made it necessary to reduce the number of aircraft carriers,
Thereafter Bulwark’s service the decision was made to convert her and Albion to commando carriers.
was mainly confined to home
and Mediterranean waters, to February 1979, when she concerns about the condition
though exercises also took her recommissioned as a stop-gap of her electrical wiring. The
to the Arctic, Baltic, Caribbean between Ark Royal paying decision to withdraw her from
and USA. In early 1972 she off and Invincible being service six months earlier than
spent two and a half months completed. In 1980 a major planned was made, and on
moored in Grand Harbour, fire damaged the hangar and 27 March 1981 she entered
Malta as the headquarters ship several mess decks while she Portsmouth for the last time
for the planned withdrawal was alongside, and caused and paid off.
of British forces from the
island when relations were Centaur Class
strained between the British
Name Pennant Builder Launched Completed Scrapped
and Maltese governments.
Centaur RO6 Harland & 22.4.47 1.9.53 Cairnryan
However, negotiations between
Wolff 1972
the two governments reached
agreement and British forces Albion RO7 Swan 6.5.47 26.5.54 Faslane 1973
remained for seven more years. Hunter
Bulwark was in reserve at BULWARK RO8 Harland & 22.6.48 4.11.54 Cairnryan
Portsmouth from April 1976 Wolff 1984

www.shipsmonthly.com • February 2015 • 51

The first
aircraft
carriers AIRCR A
CARRIEFT
SPECIA R
L

Within ten years of the first flight, ships were beginning

to be converted to carry aircraft. The French were
first, followed by the UK, who built a bespoke seaplane
carrier in 1914, while the Japanese made the first
attack using seaborne aircraft the same year. Campbell
McCutcheon tells the story of those first seaplane
carriers, from La Foudre to HMS Argus.
ABOVE The Great Eastern Railway’s Harwich-Hook of Holland ferry Stockholm was
purchased by the Navy on the stocks at John Brown’s on the Clyde, and converted
into the seaplane carrier HMS Pegasus. She survived action in the Mediterranean
during the war and was used to take British aircraft in support of the White
Russians in 1919. She was laid up in 1924 and sold for scrap the following year. She is
shown here at Malta, complete with her short flying-off deck.

O
n 17 December
1903 the age of
the aeroplane
began. Orville
and Wilbur
Wright made the very first
heavier-than-air flight. It made
possible the developments
that saw the pioneer aviators
quickly advance the technology.
In 1910 the Fabre Hydravion
made its first flight, the first
to take off and land on water.
Within the week, Fabre
was flying his aircraft over
two miles. Not only had he
invented the floatplane, but he
also showed the potential of
seaplanes to the world’s navies.
The French converted the
ship La Foudre in 1911. La
Foudre had been built in 1896
as a torpedo boat tender and,
in 1907, was turned into a
repair ship, being converted to
a minelayer in 1910. In 1911
the French had grasped the
potential of the seaplane and
converted the ship one final
time, into a seaplane carrier.
Hangars were built on the main
deck and cranes used to lower
the floatplanes into the water
and recover them. A small flight
deck was also fitted at her bow.
In 1913 La Foudre was
converted again with a 10m
deck to launch a seaplane.
Her use was successful, and
in July 1912, in exercises, her
floatplanes foiled a ‘surprise’
attack by warships. In 1913
the floatplanes again foiled an
attack, proving the usefulness of
the seaplane for reconnaissance.
Meanwhile, the Royal Navy
had also seen the potential of
naval aviation. In 1913 HMS
Hermes, a Highflyer class
cruiser completed in 1899, was
converted to carry seaplanes.
She had been paid off early in
1913, but was recommissioned
on 7 May with the intention of
converting her to carry aircraft.
The forward six-inch gun
was removed and a launching
platform built over her fo’c’sle.
By 14 July nine flights had been
made from Hermes. The aircraft

Pegasus without her flying-off deck,

but the forward hangar entrance door
is clearly shown.

52 • February 2015 • www.shipsmonthly.com


were located in a canvas hangar,
with a derrick rigged from the
foremast to lift the seaplane
from the water.
The aircraft were fitted with
radio and could report back to
the fleet. The test flights proved
the potential of seaplanes and
their ability to spot for the fleet,
providing advance warnings
of danger. Hermes was used,
as war started, to ferry aircraft
to France. She was torpedoed
on 31 October 1914 by U-27,
with the loss of 44 of her crew.
As a result of the success
of Hermes, the navy ordered
a new seaplane carrier,
effectively the first purpose-
built aircraft carrier. Laid down
at Blyth Shipbuilding Co on
7 November 1913, HMS Ark
Royal was bought on the stocks
soon after her keel had been
laid. Since only her frames were
in position, the Admiralty could
change the design and internal
layout of the new vessel easily.
Ark Royal had been laid
down as a cargo vessel, so the
navy made many changes to
her design, the first of which
was to move the engines and
propulsion machinery as far
aft as practical. The forward
deck was designed for working
on seaplanes. They could be
started here, their engines
warmed up and then craned
AIRCRAFT CARRIERS
ABOVE HMS Ark Royal was the first purpose-built seaplane carrier in the world. Bought off the stocks, she was built as an
aircraft carrier to become the first such craft. She was renamed Pegasus, and her crew rescued 400 of the Royal Oak’s crew
after that ship’s sinking in October 1939.
carried, as well as five land-based
wheeled aircraft, which meant
that the 366ft-long Ark Royal
could be used to ship aircraft from
one theatre of war to another.
Ark Royal had a maximum
speed of around 11 knots,
and a range of 3,000 nautical
miles. She was armed with four
12-pounder guns and had a
crew of 180. When in use, she
used a sail on her mizzen mast
to keep her head into the wind
and was the only aircraft carrier
so equipped. A mat was towed
ABOVE HMS Campania, the final incarnation of the Blue RIband-winning passenger behind her so that the seaplanes
liner RMS Campania. She was used in support of the Grand Fleet and spent most could taxi onto it and then be
of her war based at Scapa Flow in Orkney. taken aboard, even when Ark
Royal was travelling at speed.
into the water. The cranes The two cranes could lift around Despite the lack of a flight
could also recover aircraft. three tons, hauling the seaplanes deck, she was the first purpose-
Below this was an aircraft through the hatches onto the designed aircraft carrier and
hold, 150ft long, 45ft wide deck or into the water. Fuel was saw service in various theatres
and 15ft high, containing stored in two-gallon cans and during World War I. She was
workshops for the maintenance around 4,800 gallons were carried far too slow to serve with
of the aircraft and their engines. aboard. Five floatplanes could be the Grand Fleet and was
ABOVE Two fast cross-Channel ferries, Engadine and Empress, were taken up from the South Eastern & Chatham Railway.
Empress is shown here in the Mediterranean as HMS Riviera, her aft hangar and cranes for lifting the floatplanes visible.
www.shipsmonthly.com • February 2015 • 53
 HMS Ben-my-Chree
T
he Isle of Man steamer Ben-
my-Chree was built in 1907
by Vickers for the Isle of Man
Steam Packet Company and was
intended for use on the Liverpool
to Douglas route. The third vessel to
bear her name, she was chartered
by the Royal Navy at the beginning
of 1915 and participated in several
abortive attacks on Germany in May.
She was converted into an
aircraft carrier and operated in the
moved in early 1915 to the
Mediterranean as part of the
fleet involved in the Gallipoli
campaign. She arrived off
Tenedos on 17 February 1915
and attempted to fly off three
seaplanes that day. Two had
engine trouble and the third
could not take off. A Wight
Pusher finally took off and
discovered hitherto unknown
fortifications in the Dardanelles
Straits. Despite being shot at,
the Pusher dropped a 20kg
bomb, before flying back to Ark
Royal with seven bullet holes.
The first aircraft was lost on 5
March 1915, when a propeller
splintered while the plane was
at 3,000ft, and it crashed; both
crew members were rescued by
HMS Usk. The crew managed
to work out how to spot mines
in shallow waters, but failed
54 • February 2015 • www.shipsmonthly.com
ABOVE A view inside HMS Furious of one of the crew messes, set out for a concert
Mediterranean (above). Her aircraft party. Throughout the ship the decks were high enough to accommodate aircraft.
supported the Gallipoli landings.
One of her aircraft made the first
ship-launched aerial torpedo attack
on a ship. She was shelled by the
Turks on 11 January 1917 and sunk
at Kastelorizo, in the Greek islands
(below). She was a total loss and was
scrapped in 1923. Ben-my-Chree
holds the distinction of being the only
aviation vessel of either side to be
sunk by enemy action during the war.
ABOVE The crew of HMS Ark Royal, complete with their mascot. Ark Royal was a
ship of numerous firsts, including that of the first catapult-armed vessel during
World War II. She was equipped with three old fighters, which could be used to
chase away or shoot down Focke Wulf Condor reconnaissance aircraft.
make an emergency landing. BELOW HMS Argus was the first
Other attacks on the Turkish ‘aircraft carrier’ designed from the
ships failed. beginning to launch and land wheeled
On 3 April the carrier aircraft. The principle had been
trialled on HMS Furious, and the first
moved to Syros, then to
pilot to land on an aircraft carrier,
Piraeus in October and finally
Squadron Commander Dunning, was
to discover the minefield that to Constantinople, for the
subsequently killed when making
sank two British and a French armistice on 31 October
another landing on the ship.
battleship on 18 March 1915. between the Allies and Turkey.
Aircraft from Ark Royal Between the wars Ark Royal
were used during the ANZAC was used in support of the
landings on 25 April, and two White Russians and as a depot
days later Ark Royal was attacked ship. At the start of World War
and shelled by the Turkish ship
Turgut Reis. Ark Royal was
moved to Imbros in May after
German U-boat attacks on the
fleet. By 1917 Ark Royal had
moved to Mudros and was
being used as a depot ship.
On 20 January 1918 the
Turkish battlecruiser Yavuz
Sultan Sellin attacked, along
with the Midilli, and Ark
Royal’s Sopwith Babies counter-
attacked, dropping 65kg bombs
on the Turkish ships. One of
the aircraft was shot down
and the other had engine
problems and was forced to

II she was in Scapa Flow and
was the closest ship to Royal
Oak when she was torpedoed
by Günther Prien’s U-49,
rescuing 400 survivors.
Catapult testing
Of course, Ark Royal, as
Pegasus, was used to test the
catapults out for catapult-
armed merchantmen and was
the prototype. She could carry
three fighters, launched by
catapult from her deck, and was
used successfully to escort nine
convoys between December
1940 and July 1941, before
she was once again used for
training. Sold at the end of the
war, she was converted to a
cargo ship but her owners went
bust and she was sold for scrap.
The navy, having seen the
success of their new aircraft
carrier, called up numerous
cross-Channel and Irish Sea
steamers for conversion to
seaplane carriers. These ferries
were much faster than Ark
Royal and could keep up with
the battle fleets. The ferries
Engadine (1911) and Empress
(1914) were taken by the Navy
from the South Eastern &
Chatham Railway, and became
HMS Engadine and Riviera
respectively. Both had hangars
fitted and cranes to bring
aboard the seaplanes.
HMS Ben-my-Chree was
a converted Isle of Man
Steam Packet vessel, and the
Great Eastern Railway saw
its Stockholm commandeered
on the stocks and built into a
seaplane carrier. Cunard was
about to retire one of their
Blue Riband-winning liners as
war started, but the Admiralty
bought Campania and
converted her by mid-1915.
It was hoped that the old
liner could maintain a speed
that would match the Grand
Fleet, but, with her worn-out
machinery, she proved too
slow. She missed out on the
Battle of Jutland, as she was
not ready and could not catch
up. Campania never saw active
service, but instead was sunk
on 5 November 1918 in the
Firth of Forth, off Burntisland.
During a storm, she dragged
her anchor, hitting both Royal
Oak and Glorious. The damage
caused her to sink, and she
remains off Burntisland, still
containing four specially-
designed Campania aircraft
and seven 1½ Strutters.
HMS Pegasus, the erstwhile
Stockholm of the GER, was
used during the war in the
Mediterranean, and after the war
in Murmansk and Archangel
in support of White Russians.
Pegasus remained with the
Mediterranean Fleet until 1924
and was scrapped in 1931.
The success of the seaplane
carriers led the navy to think
about aircraft carriers, which
could operate wheeled aircraft.
HMS Furious was converted
with a flight deck forward,
along the lines of Campania,
in June 1917, and flights were
successfully made from this
flight deck. Later in the war
her aft turret was removed and
a flight deck fitted to her rear
deck too, but air turbulence
made this unusable.
However, what makes HMS
Furious the most important
advance in naval aviation was
the landing on 2 August 1917,
by Squadron Commander
Edwin Harris Dunning, of a
Sopwith Pup on her deck –
the first aircraft landing on a
moving ship. Five days later,
Dunning was killed when he
landed badly and his plane was
blown off the deck.
He is buried in Bradfield, and
a plaque in the church states:
‘The Admiralty wish you to
know what great service he
performed for the Navy. It
www.shipsmonthly.com • February 2015 •
AIRCRAFT CARRIERS
ABOVE The first aircraft carrier was
the converted La Foudre, which had
seen numerous uses, the last of which
before conversion was as a minelayer.
was in fact a demonstration of
landing an Aeroplane on the
deck of a Man-of-War while the
latter was under way. This had
never been done before; and
the data obtained was of the
upmost value. . . The risk taken
by Squadron Commander
Dunning needed much
courage. He had already made
two successful landings; but
expressed a wish to land again
himself, before other Pilots did
so; and in this last run he was
killed. My Lords desire to place
on record their sense of the
loss to the Naval Service of this
gallant Officer.’
‘Possibly revolutionise’ is an
understatement. The landings
by Dunning changed the world
forever, and in the next war
the aircraft carrier became the
dominant naval weapon. But
the story does not end with
Dunning and his brave feat,
but with HMS Argus. Laid
down as the Italian liner Conte
Rosso, she was converted on
the stocks and became the first
recognisable aircraft carrier,
with a full-length flight deck.
She was the original of the
aircraft carrier as we know it
today, and was used extensively
to develop ideas for the next
generation of aircraft carrier.
Argus was sold for scrap on
5 December 1946 after a
long career, by which time
the carrier was now the most
important weapon in every
nation’s navy. From those early
French beginnings, the aircraft
carrier had come of age.
55
Pride of the
Porto Santo Line
John Martin profiles the small but graceful
inter-island ferry Lobo Marinho, which
operates off the Portuguese coast running
between Madeira and Porto Santo.
T
he small inter-
island ferry Lobo
Marinho (which
means ‘Sea Wolf’),
named after the
endangered Monk seal which
are still found in relatively
small numbers in the Madeira
Archipelago, is a graceful
Portuguese passenger vessel
which carries up to 1,153
passengers and 145 vehicles.
The provision of a passenger
and vehicle ferry link between
Madeira and Porto Santo
demands that any vessel
operating on the route is of a
type and construction suitable
for ocean voyages, despite the
distance between the islands
being only 40 miles, port
to port. This is because the
passage entails full exposure to
the Atlantic’s weather systems,
and can be as challenging
as any crossing, despite the
usually temperate climate of the
Madeiran Islands.
The Porto Santo Line,
interestingly, used a rather
famous and well-liked Isle of
56 • February 2015 • www.shipsmonthly.com
Man Steam Packet vessel for
their first year of operation
when they acquired Lady of
Mann on a bareboat charter,
and she is still remembered
fondly by the local population
on both islands. A 1967-built
vessel was then acquired, and
served until 2003, before being
sold on for further trading to
the Cape Verde Islands.
So it was that in 2002 central
and regional governments,
acting in conjunction with
the Porto Santo Line (a
subsidiary company owned by
the conglomerate of Groupo
Sousa), commissioned the
building of a new vessel.
Porto Santo Line had again
been named as the operating
company, and continues to that, although the hull was in the UK as their ‘Significant
provide a service which is built in St Petersburg, Russia Ship of 2003’. A tribute indeed
reliable and of a very high at the Baltiyskiy Zavod yard, to the project’s naval architect
standard, as specified in the the actual fitting-out would Abreu Valente of Lisbon.
public service contract issued take place at Estaleiros Navais Despite some abnormal
to comply with the European De Viana do Castelo (ENVC vibration problems which were
Union competition rules on shipyard) in Portugal itself. The initially detected in the area
lifeline ferry services. final result was a ship which of the cafeteria and thought
The high specifications was recognised by the Royal to have been the result of
demanded by the owners meant Institute of Naval Architects propeller harmonic issues, the

Lobo Marinho outward bound
from Funchal to Porto Santo Island.
COURTESY OF THE PORTO SANTO LINE
new vessel took up position at
Funchal harbour on Madeira in
2003. The bi-annual overhaul
interval is possible thanks to
the application of an advanced
hull coating system below the
waterline, and this attitude
to ‘best practice’ is evident
throughout the ship, as I was
to observe in person, courtesy
of the Porto Santo Line and
Comandante Joao Bela.
Unlike almost all of the
current cruise ship and ro-pax
vessels, Lobo Marinho does not
conform to the high, block-
sided characteristics favoured
by shipowners and builders.
Her superstructure, masts and
funnels exhibit a flowing and
low profile, with more than
adequate outside deck space.
This is important, since
she caters not only to the
local inter-island passengers
and businesses, but also to a
substantial number of tourists
who visit the island of Porto
Santo. This outside deck
space is well utilised in fine
weather, for the ship often
ABOVE Lobo Marinho approaching Porto Santo.
ABOVE Lobo Marinho berthed at Porto Santo.
has considerable numbers of
wildlife enthusiasts on board,
hoping to spot the elusive
‘Lobo Marinho’ and the
numerous other interesting
species found in these waters.
Lobo Marinho carries first
and tourist class passengers, the
former enjoying an exclusive
lounge situated at the forward
end of deck 7, with panoramic
windows and a private outdoor
viewing area on the deck
above. Tourist class passengers
also enjoy high standards,
since all of the public areas
are extremely well-appointed,
with an art deco theme evident
throughout.
During my day on board,
I travelled first class outward
from Funchal to Porto Santo,
and in tourist on return. There
are four bars (one outdoors)and
two restaurants, one of which
is quite formal and ‘a la carte’.
In addition, there is a cinema, a
games room, quiet lounges and
various shopping outlets.
Technically, the ship herself
is designed and equipped with
safety, comfort and speed
clearly in mind. Twin MAK
diesels deliver 22,000hp and a
speed of 21 knots. Rolls Royce
provided the stabilisers, and
her handling characteristics are
further enhanced by a pair of
Becker rudders. The 500kw bow
thruster was supplied by Wärtsilä,
and a bulbous bow assists with
seakeeping and fuel economy.
www.shipsmonthly.com • February 2015 •
FERRY PROFILE
ABOVE The bridge.
ABOVE Captain Bela.
ABOVE Captain’s day room.
LOBO MARINHO
TYPE Ro-ro/passenger
BUILT 2003, St Petersburg
SIZE 112m x 20m x 4.9m
TONNAGE 8,072gt
MAIN ENGINES 2 X 8000kw, speed
21.2 knots average
CAPACITY 1,153 passengers,
145 cars
OWNERS Porto Santo Line
HOME PORT Funchal
FLAG Portugal
Lobo Marinho operates with a
mean draft of 5m, which means
that, for her length overall,
she is sitting comfortably in
the water rather than on top
of it, and in a relatively heavy
sea is not prone to ‘pounding’
or ‘slamming’. I witnessed
her easy movement on the
outward passage as we cleared
the shelter of the Madeiran
coast and encountered an
Atlantic swell between 3m
and 5m in height. The ratio
of draft to freeboard and
superstructure height means
that Lobo Marinho is also less
‘wind-driven’ than many ferries
of a similar length. Bridge
equipment is built around the
Japanese Furuno Corporation’s
57
ABOVE Boarding area and main foyer.
ABOVE First class lounge.
integrated suite of navigational
instruments, and two radars
(one X band and one S band),
with GPS feed, are included.
Lobo Marinho is also fitted with
a leading edge AIS system,
but curiously has not yet been
equipped with electronic charts,
an omission Captain Bela is
more than comfortable with,
since his vessel operates more
or less exclusively between
only two ports, without many
navigational hazards on the way.
Captain Bela is very proud
of his command, and has sailed
continuously on her as master
since the vessel entered service.
He comes from a long line of
Portuguese ship captains, and
58 • February 2015 • www.shipsmonthly.com
ABOVE The formal restaurant.
is the fourth to reach command
on a father-to-son basis, his
great-grandfather having been
the first. He gave me a tour
of his bridge, the associated
offices and control rooms,
and explained how the ship is
manned and operated.
Like all European shipmasters,
he also has to comply with
the stringent requirements of
the International Maritime
Organisation and the Flag
State requirements of the
Portuguese maritime authorities,
all of which takes up much of
his time and that of his senior
management team of just one
deck and three engineering
officers. On our voyage back
ABOVE Tourist class lounge.
to Funchal in Madeira that
night, I dined in the vessel’s
more formal restaurant, which
was the reason why the ship
was described in the Daily
Telegraph as the best luxury
travel experience of 2011.
I found the experience to be
an extremely good one.
As we neared Funchal, the
twinkling lights of the old
town beckoned, and I learned
that a high point of the year
for the crew, and the fortunate
passengers, was an evening
departure and mini-cruise from
Funchal on New Year’s Eve.
It is usually a formal affair,
and outside the harbour, in
company with several large
breakwater at Funchal. COURTESY OF JOAO ABREU
cruise liners, they enjoy
Funchal’s famous firework
display and bring in the New
Year in style.
We entered Funchal harbour
at 2010, and, with fine
weather and good visibility,
Captain Bela took his ship
into the narrower part of
its confines before turning
her ‘short round’, and then
backing into position at her
berth. This final manoeuvre
of the day demonstrated the
vessel’s excellent handling
characteristics in constrained
spaces, and no doubt Lobo
Marinho will continue to be
a major asset to the Madeiran
Archipelago for many years.
Lobo Marinho as taken from the outer
 Ships off the Eastern Wight 2
NEW Volume 2 filmed from Cowes and Ryde NEW
including P&O 175 and 3 Queens - 1hr 40 mins
ALSO AVAILABLE
Ships of Southampton Water - 1hr 31mins
Ships of Southampton Water 2 - 2hrs
Ships off the Eastern Wight - 1hr 45 mins
Ships of Portsmouth Harbour - 1hr 45mins
Ships of the Dorset Ports - 1hr 37mins
Ships of Cornwall - 1hr 57mins
Ships of Dover & Ramsgate - 1hr 58mins
Ships of South West Scotland - 1hr 57mins
All DVDs are £14:95 post free from Colin Hall Top Floor, Charford Manor,
Breamore, Fordingbridge, Hants, SP6 2DS
Or through our website www.colin-hall-publishing.co.uk
See website for more information on these and our bus and train DVDs

www.colin-hall-publishing.co.uk

Ships Corner
To Advertise: MODELS WANTED
VOSPOR THORNEYCROFT cased War Ship FOR SALE AND WANTED, Waterline Ship

Telephone 01732 445325

models 1980’s, 2 feet to 6 feet long from £250. Models 1/1200 and 1/1250, Dave 02392
Tel: 02380 227458 352383, dave.willcocks@ntlworld.com

HOLIDAYS FOR SALE BOOKS

PHOTOTRANSPORT SHIPS MONTHLY MAGAZINES
Back issues from October 1998 to 1996 and
2007 to 2013.
WARSHIPS INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINES
Back issues from 2010 to 2012
All in good condition, offers.
MARITIME BOOKS FOR SALE, RARE AND
SECONDHAND, ALL ASPECTS. Free bi-
monthly catalogues from Terry Smith, 62
Chapelfield, Freethorpe, Norwich, NR13 3LY.
Tel: 01493 700004.
Email: terence.smith578@btinternet.com

Tel: 07530 929339

Superb quality colour prints from the Caledonian Cruises Please read my new book
Don Smith Collection from the 1930s
Caledonian Canal, Loch ‘Samoan Sunset’ by Cpt Dick Brooks.
to present day of passenger/cruise/
cargo vessels, tugs and warships. Ness & Inner Hebrides Published by Amazon on Kindle.
Print sizes up to 18”x12” Code: B00PBCWF78
For list and sample please send 3 & 4 night cruises
£3.95 to Mr D. Smith, 53 Wharf Road, or tailor made private charters Book Three in the Black Ship Trilogy.
Wormley, Herts. EN10 6HZ
April to October Life in the South Seas.
Email: mail@phototransport.com
Please mention Ships Monthly when responding
www.caledoniancruises.com Tel: 01473 421 742 or
View our new website: or call 01983 299395
www.phototransport.com email: dick.brooks@hotmail.co.uk

www.shipsmonthly.com • February 2015 • 59

 ships mail
Write to Ships Mail, Ships Monthly, Kelsey Publishing, Cudham Tithe Barn, Berrys Hill, Cudham, Kent TN16 3AG, or email sm.ed@kelsey.
co.uk. Please note that letters via email must enclose sender’s full postal address. Contributions to Ships Monthly must be exclusive
and must not be sent to other publications. The editor reserves the right to edit material. Kelsey Publishing reserves the right to
reuse any submission sent in any format.
Uganda memories
I was very pleased to read the
article about Uganda, as it brought
back some happy memories. I used
to work in a Thamesside factory,
and from my place of work I could
see the funnels of liners in the
Royal docks. I used to daydream,
but of course, in the 1950s, only
posh people went on those ships.
About 15 years later, when
working in central London, I heard
that the National Trust for Scotland
had arranged a cruise on Uganda
to Iceland and that, if I went in the
dormitory accommodation, the
cost would be £40. I made my way
to Dundee and can remember the
excitement of boarding my first big
ship. I was used to youth hostelling
and the ship was just like a youth
hostel on the sea.
We did not go to Iceland, because
of the outbreak of the Cold War,
but we did go to Norway, the
Faroes and Shetland. Subsequently
I made two further cruises on
Uganda, but then a few years later
the Falklands War took place.
Submarine HMS Andrew
With regard to the Letter of the Month
(SM, Sept 2014), I thought readers
may be interested in a few other facts
about HMS/M Andrew. She was built
by Vickers Armstrong in Barrow and
launched on 6 April 1946 and was part
of SM4 at HMS Penguin from 1957 to
1960, along with the other submarines,
Aurochs and Anchorite.
Andrew appeared in the film ‘On
the Beach’, in which she played the
part of the American nuclear boat
USS Sawfish. She was fitted with
a four-inch deck gun (now in the
Submarine Museum) in 1964 during
the Indonesian-Malayan confrontation.
Andrew also holds another claim to
fame in submarine history, as she was
the oldest Amphion class submarine
in service. She was also the last UK
submarine to carry a deck gun, and the
last submarine designed during World
War II in service. As the first submarine
60 • February 2015 • www.shipsmonthly.com
After I retired in 1994 my wife
and I did a fair amount of cruising
on many different ships. My wife
passed away in 2010 and I was not
planning on cruising again. However,
I embarked on Saga Ruby in 2011
and heard a lady mention Uganda.
It appeared that she and her late
husband had made a number of
cruises on the ship, again with the
National Trust for Scotland, sleeping
in separate dormitories.
In fact the lady I spoke to,
Daphne, was aboard Uganda in 1971
when the ship had to go to Bergen
for repairs and they had a wonderful
time, as all the excursions were free.
Thanks to Uganda, we have cruised
to cross the Atlantic submerged using
her ‘snort’ system in May 1953, she
undertook the 2,500 nautical mile
15-day voyage from Bermuda to the
UK and set a new world record for
continuous underwater operation.
Incidentally, I receive Ships Monthly
in a rather roundabout fashion – in
exchange for Navy News from a
friend and neighbour, but I find the
publication most interesting. It is
good to read about other maritime
features – targets in an earlier life!
Vic Evason, Vice President, South
Kent Submariners Association
Biddenden, Kent
Battery-driven car ferry
In your Editorial (SM, Dec 2014) you
mention the world’s first battery-
driven car ferry. But what about the
two, soon to be four, ferries built
by Ferguson on the Clyde for CMAL
(Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd)?
King of Scandinavia at
Esbjerg after transfer
from Color Line.
together on quite a few occasions,
including last year on Saga Pearl II
on an NT for Scotland cruise.
We have just returned from a
cruise on the same ship, and one
of the lecturers on board was Dr
Allen Betzstone, who used to be
headmaster on Uganda. Another
lecturer was David Pollard, who
did much to found the SS Uganda
trust. Since last year I have been a
volunteer on the preserved steam
tug Portway, and on the bridge is a
clock presented by the SS Uganda
Trust. I have very fond memories
of Uganda, and if she was still
sailing I would go on her again.
J. W. Mitchell, Chiselhurst, Kent
These ferries, Hallaig and Lochinvar,
were launched on 17 November 2012
and 23 February 2013 to carry 150
passengers/23 cars, and are deemed
to be hybrid driven.
Each has a diesel generator with
power going to a 400v switchboard,
then electrically driving the propulsion.
During the night two lithium-ion
battery banks are charged to offer
additional power. Do these ferries
qualify for the category you make for
the ZeroCat 120?
Martin C. D. Greig
Bishopton, Renfrewshire
• While these CalMac vessels are
notable for their power, they are
hybrids and are thus not quite the
same as the ZeroCat, which is powered
entirely by electricity. Ed
Empress of Scotland
In response to Michael Barrett’s letter
on Empress of Scotland (II) (SM, Nov
2014), a good reference for the ship is
George Musk’s book Canadian Pacific:
The Story of the Famous Shipping Line
(Toronto, 1981). In case Mr Barrett does
not have access to these resources,
here are some details of the ship. She
was launched as Empress of Japan,
of 26,316grt, by Fairfield’s at Govan,
Glasgow in December 1929. She had
three funnels, two masts and a 21-
knot service speed. Her maiden voyage
took her from Liverpool to Québec in
June 1930, and she was then operated
on the Vancouver to Hong Kong
service until 1939.
During World War II she was used for
trooping, and her name was changed
to Empress of Scotland in 1942,
after Pearl Harbor. In May 1948 she
was returned to CP, and extensively
refitted. Her first revenue-earning
voyage after the war, from Liverpool
to Québec, came in September 1950.
She was sold to Hamburg-Atlantik Linie
in 1958 for service between Hamburg
and New York. After being severely
damaged by fire at New York, in
September 1966, she was scrapped at
Hamburg in 1967.
Peter Dawes
Edmonton, Canada
Belgian wartime ferries
I would like to thank Tony Slatter of
Surrey for his reply regarding the ships
Prince Philippe and Prinses Astrid
(SM, August 2014). After some more
research, aided by Mr Slatter’s letter, I
have found the following, which may
be of interest. These vessels were two
of eight ships from the Belgian Cross
Channel ferry fleet in service during
the war.
Prince Philippe was the third of the
trio, along with Prince Baudouin and
Prins Albert, and she was launched
in September 1939 ready for service,
but was never to enter commercial
service. When, on 10 May 1940, the
German Luftwaffe attacked, she made
it to England and was converted to
a Landing Ship, Infantry. During the
early morning of 15 July 1941, while en
route from Liverpool to Inverary, she
was in collision in thick fog with HMS
Empire Wave in the North Channel.
HMS Prince Philippe was taken in tow
but sank later.
She was under the command of
Commander Robert Edward Dudley
Ryder, VC, RN at the time. According to

Boxed in on a giant boxboat
It is amazing that today’s largest
container ships carry more boxes
(18,000TEU) than Queen Elizabeth (I)
carried troops (15,000) during World
War II on each voyage, so each of
the Sinking Reports, she was classified
as a Landing Ship and sank eight miles
north-west of Corsewall Point.
As for HMS Prinses Astrid, she hit
a mine off Dunkirk on 21 June 1949,
and I have found a Pathe News Reel
of the occasion. Prinses and Princess
Astrid are the same ship, which
was commissioned as HMS Prinses
Astrid. I found it easier to use the
Commissioned Name, but many of the
crew used the English spelling.
I was given a lead by an ex-RN
Doctor who was based in Iceland and
who lives in the same State of New
South Wales as me, but four hours’
drive away. My interest in these ships is
due to my late father, who served on
HMS Prins Albert in World War II.
Rick Smallman
Port Macquarie, NSW, Australia
Bows facing the sea
Contributor Paul Barker (SM, Dec
2014) comments that he cannot recall
having seen any vessels berthed in
Ocean Dock with their bows facing the
sea, perhaps a superstition which has
persisted since the 1912 loss of Titanic.
I can confirm that when boarding
vessels which have included Cunard’s
three current Queens and many
of P&O’s vessels, including on the
occasion of P&O’s 175th anniversary,
where Azura was berthed at the Ocean
Dock, all have been berthed facing the
sea. On a rare occasion they have been
berthed bow to shore.
Jeff Cheers
Runcorn, Cheshire
More Durban memories
The letter about memories of Durban
from Henry Aitken (SM, Oct 2014),
in response to the article about
Durban (SM, Aug 2014), brought back
memories of my childhood and later
them could travel in their own box
with a ‘Jeep’ as well. Now there is
talk of 24,000TEU ships being on the
drawing board. Whatever next?
A. Frost, Sunderland
working life. I knew the North and
South piers well, as I fished there
throughout my boyhood, and dived
for crayfish from them as I grew older.
The North pier has now been moved
north to widen the harbour entrance.
At the time of the Suez Canal
closure, I had established a boating
and diving company. We were worked
off our feet trying to keep up with
all the demands from leaking ships
limping into Cape Town. Table Bay was
full of ships wanting services. We had
lots of work, as many of the older
More thoughts on aircraft carriers
Before you call an end to the debate
on the subject of aircraft carriers, can
I respectfully correct William Jory’s
letter (SM , December 2014). First
of all, did he actually read the other
letter by Mr McCall, who correctly
pointed out the apparent lack of
airborne early warning aircraft and
point-to-point interceptors? I suggest
Mr Jory looks at the experience of the
Are the Royal Navy’s new aircraft
carriers going to carry aircraft?
vessels could not take the hammering
of the storms and big swells along the
South African coast, so we had lots of
pumping out and patching to do.
We also ran an offshore supply
service to passing ships. They usually
wanted mail, a film change and fresh
stores. This was carried out in all
weathers all day and night. I ran a
sturdy 50ft ex-fishing boat, which could
withstand the worst storms, so we
never missed a trip due to bad weather.
It was sometimes scary rising and falling
about 20ft, as the loads went up and
down, and we frantically dodged them,
usually by going full astern.
Regarding Neville Wiggill’s enquiry
about Texanita and Oswego Guardien,
I worked on both: Texanita was in Cape
town doing its annual engine overhaul.
One of our sidelines was pumping acid
through a ship’s engine to clean it out.
The tanks had not been cleaned, so
the gas in them exploded when hit by
Oswego Guardian, a collision in thick
fog. The explosion was heard in towns
many miles inland. All hands perished,
except one who was found by a
helicopter the next morning. Oswego
Guardian stopped about 30 miles off
Cape Point to await instructions.
I was part of a team of divers flown
out to the vessel to examine the
Royal Navy in Salerno 1943 and the
Falklands, where AEW and PDI were
not available.
Second, had American carriers
been at Pearl Harbor in 1941, they
would have made no difference. They
were equipped largely with Brewster
F2A, which was no match for the
Japanese Zero. As the Japanese
proved, neither was the land-based
www.shipsmonthly.com • February 2015 •
READERS’ PAGES
damage and make sure that nothing
was hanging down at the bows. A large
shark swimming alongside the vessel
delayed the dive a bit, but we soon
gave the all clear. With the forepeak
flooded, the ship was down by the
head, so the superintendent dumped
several thousand tons of oil from the
no.1 tank to bring up the bows. The oil
was light Arabian crude and dissipated
quickly. We stayed aboard, and entered
harbour next morning, where the ship
had temporary repairs, then left.
George Bell
Almeria, Spain
Uganda’s demise
I have just read the article on the
Uganda (SM, Dec 2014), but details of
her demise were not included. Uganda
was sold, as stated, to Triton Shipping
Co, Kingstown, when she was under
the St Vincent & the Grenadines flag.
She sailed under her own power on
20 May 1986, and was not towed, being
escorted down the river Fal by Falmouth
tugs and sailing for Kaohsiung, where
she was anchored off the port. On 22
August 1986 she was hit by typhoon
Wayne and heeled over on her side.
She was broken up in situ.
Charles Loughlin
Falmouth, Cornwall
Curtiss P40 aircraft.
Third, given the fact that the F35
has now experienced its third engine
fire (so the manufacturer claimed),
there is no chance of it being available
by 2018. Sorry, but I agree with Mr
McCall. In fact I think the new carriers
should be renamed Blair’s follies.
R. Gunn
Whickham, Newcastle
61
 ships library
bookof
themonth
Britain’s
Future Navy
Nick Childs
Published by Pen & Sword
Maritime, 47 Church Street,
Barnsley, South Yorkshire S70 2AS
Tel 01226 734555
Price £19.99 plus p&p
What kind of Royal Navy does
Britain need now? The 21st century
promises to be one of huge
uncertainties and challenges for the
senior service. Does Britain have the
right naval strategy to cope with
emerging threats and, if it does,
Cutty Sark: The last
of the Tea Clippers
Eric Kentley
The greatest of the tea clippers,
Cutty Sark, has been restored to her
original glory, and this book provides
a detailed photographic record of her
as she is today. Previously unpublished
historical images from the ship’s
collections and those of the National
Maritime Museum are also included.
The book also describes the history
of one of the world’s most famous
ships from her construction at
Dumbarton in 1869, her tea voyages,
a career under a Portuguese flag and
subsequent return to the Thames, the
fire and the painstaking restoration. NL
• Published by Conway, 1 Gower
Street, London WC1E 6HD, in
association with Royal Museums
Greenwich, 192 pages, price £20.
62 • February 2015 • www.shipsmonthly.com
does the Navy have the right ships and
enough of them to implement it?
Nick Childs looks at the changing
strategic and economic environment
and asks what Britain’s role in the
world could or should be. Is she still
interventionist? If so, should our
forces be designed purely to work
with US, UN or Western European
forces? What are the options for a
naval strategy? The author considers
what kind of navy would be needed
to support such options. What kind of
ships are needed and how many? What
of aircraft carriers and the nuclear
option? What are the technological
developments affecting current and
future warship design projects? Is
200 Years of Clyde
Paddle Steamers
Alistair Deayton and
Iain Quinn
In August 1812 Comet, Europe’s
first ever commercial steamship,
began operating on the Clyde from
Glasgow to Greenock. It was the start
of a revolution, and soon companies
such as David MacBrayne and the
Caledonian Steam Packet operated
steamers far and wide, a legacy
kept alive today by Waverley. This
book takes the reader through two
centuries of Clyde paddle steamers,
illustrating the most famous, such as
Columba, Jeanie Deans and Waverley,
as well as the piers they sailed from,
from Rothesay to Helensburgh. NL
• Published by Amberley Publishing,
The Hill, Stroud, Gloucs GL5 4EP, tel
01453 847800, www.amberleybooks.
com, 160 pages, price £14.99.
the new Type 45 destroyer what is
needed and is it worth the cost?
The RN has shrunk in terms of
numbers, public profile and strength
relative to its peers, and the problem
is that only a crisis will reveal whether
it has reached or has already passed a
critical crossroads or tipping point. NH
The Hunters and
the Hunted
Bryan Perrett
Protection of Britain’s far-flung trade
routes was seen by the Admiralty
as vital to preventing disruption of
essential food and supplies and to
safeguarding the nation’s interests
overseas. The Imperial German
Navy had a large number of surface
warships deployed around the world
when World War I broke out, so the
Royal Navy launched a major effort to
find and destroy them.
This book covers the major actions
that ensued. It includes the escape of
Goeben and Breslau to Turkey, where
they became units of the Turkish
Navy serving in the Black and Aegean
Seas, the cruiser Sydney’s trapping
and the destruction of the cruiser
Emden, as well as the mystery of the
internal explosion which destroyed
the cruiser Karlsruhe. The loss of the
cruisers Monmouth and Good Hope
to Vice Admiral von Spee’s East Asiatic
Squadron at the Battle of Coronel is
also explored, as is the subsequent
destruction of that squadron at the
Battle of the Falklands.
Actions in East Africa are covered
in detail, including the lengthy naval
and air campaign that resulted in the
destruction of the cruiser Konigsberg
in the upper reaches of the Rufiji River,
and operations on Lake Tanganyika
which later inspired the novel and film
‘The African Queen’. NH
• Pen & Sword Maritime, 47 Church
Street, Barnsley, South Yorkshire S70
2AS, tel 01226 734555, enquiries@
pen-and-sword.co.uk, www.pen-and-
sword.co.uk, hardback, price £18.99.
The Great Liners DVD
Episode 36: The Great
Port of London (part 2)
Looking at photos and reading about
ships is great, but to actually see film
of them as they sail in and out of the
ports is magic, especially when that
port is London during its heyday, when
it was the busiest port in the world.
Using rare film never seen before,
this DVD goes on a maritime trip back
to when London was full of ships of
every shape and size, all the way from
Tilbury to Tower Bridge. Snowbow have
also managed to put all the authentic
sounds on as well, so as we stand
on the busy quaysides watching the
myriad of tugs as they manoeuvre the
ships in and out of the many docks, it
is truly brought to life.
There are passenger liners, cargo
ships, coasters and every kind of
craft you can think of, for as far as
the eye can see . . . sights we thought
we would never to see again. Thanks
to this DVD, we can as it provides an
insight into a forgotten era. DC
• Produced by Snowbow Productions,
145, The Promenade, Peacehaven,
East Sussex BN10 7HN, tel 01273
585391/584470, or www.snowbow.
co.uk; 65 mins, price £17. 95 plus p&p.
 READERS’ PAGES

February ports of call Compiled by Edwin Wilmshurst

Date Arr/dep Ship From/to Flag Operator GT Date Arr/dep Ship From/to Flag Operator GT

SOUTHAMPTON TILBURY
6 x / x Oriana Atlantic Isles/W Mediterranean BA P&O 69,840 16 0700/1600 Marco Polo Amazon/Norwegian Fjords BE Cruise & Mar 22,080
7 x / x Oceana La Coruna/Caribbean BA P&O 77,499
AVONMOUTH
7 x / x Boudicca Atlantic Isles/Atlantic Isles & Lisbon BE Fred. Olsen 28,388
25/26 0900/2200 Azores Caribbean/Norwegian Fjords P Cruise & Mar 16,144
16 0700/1600 Saga Sapphire Atlantic Isles & Coast/Atlantic Isles M SAGA 37,301
FLAG CODES BA Bermuda, BE Bahamian, M Malta, P Portugal
17 0800/1600 Saga Pearl II Caribbean/Norwegian Fjords M SAGA 18,591
NOTES x time not known
21 x / x Boudicca Atlantic Isles/Norwegian Fjords BE Fred. Olsen 28,388
23 x / x Oriana W Mediterranean/Atlantic Coast BA P&O 69,840

This month’s mystery ship is a
classic liner from the first half
of the 20th century, or maybe
earlier. Can anyone help with
further details? What was
the name of the ship? Which
company was she operated by?
When and where was she built?
On what routes did she operate,
and what was her fate? And
where might this photograph
have been taken?
• Send your answers and
information, including a postal
address, by email to sm.ed@
kelsey.co.uk, or by post to
Mystery Ship, Ships Monthly,
Kelsey Publishing, Cudham Tithe
Barn, Berrys Hill, Cudham, Kent
TN16 3AG. Emails preferred.

speed of 13.5 knots. Both served

December’s mystery ship in their owners’ Amsterdam to

The mystery ship being
demolished in Kaohsiung is one
of two Saudi Arabian sisterships:
Miriam B or Noor B. They were
built in 1938 for Koninklijke
Nederlandsche Stoomboot
Maatschappij (Royal Netherlands
(Paramaribo) Surinam service for
many years. In 1967 they were
sold to Saudi Lines of Jeddah, and
refitted as pilgrim ships. They
were both scrapped at Kaohsiung,
in 1973 and 1974 respectively.
Thus, these practically identical
sisterships had remarkably
parallel career histories.
In Jim Shaw’s picture, the ship is
being demolished from the stern
towards the bow, in other words
one is looking at the hulk from
the port bow, with bridge front
facing the viewer and foremast
at extreme left. The rear (third)
mast and funnel have already
gone, as has the dark-painted
navigating bridge. The only
Steamship Co) as the cargo tonnage increased to just under feature distinguishing the two
vessels Pericles and Socrates 5,100grt through the adding of sisters was their radar mast. The
(3,167grt and 3,169grt/4,670dwt). more top hamper, but dimensions mast is still intact in the mystery
In 1950 both were converted remained the same at 359ft by picture and I therefore deduce
to passenger-cargo ships 50ft. Both were propelled by their that the ship pictured is Miriam B
and renamed Oranjestad and original 3,400bhp seven-cylinder (ex-Oranjestad, ex-Pericles).
Willemstad respectively. As such, Stork diesels, giving a service Robert H. Langlois, Vale, Guernsey

www.shipsmonthly.com • February 2015 • 63

 JANUARY SALE
SUBSCRIPTION OFFERS
Beat the January blues and take out a
magazine subscription from as little as £10

up
SAVE
to

6 6% SAVE

6 ISSUES FOR £20

37%
up
to
SAVE
33%
6 ISSUES FOR £20
up
to
SAVE
36%
6 ISSUES FOR £20
up
to
SAVE
36%
6 ISSUES FOR £15
up
to
SAVE
40%
6 ISSUES FOR £20
up
to

12 ISSUES FOR £30 13 ISSUES FOR £35 12 ISSUES FOR £30 13 ISSUES FOR £25 13 ISSUES FOR £35

up up up up up

SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE

to to to to up to

SAVE
to

32% 32% 32% 27% 27% 31%

4 ISSUES FOR £12 7 ISSUES FOR £20 4 ISSUES FOR £12 6 ISSUES FOR £20 6 ISSUES FOR £20 12 ISSUES FOR £20
8 ISSUES FOR £20 14 ISSUES FOR £35 8 ISSUES FOR £20 13 ISSUES FOR £35 13 ISSUES FOR £35 24 ISSUES FOR £30

up up up up

SAVE
up

SAVE SAVE SAVE

up

SAVE
to

SAVE
to to to to to

34% 37% 39% 39% 32% 32%

6 ISSUES FOR £20 6 ISSUES FOR £20 12 ISSUES FOR £20 6 ISSUES FOR £20 6 ISSUES FOR £20 6 ISSUES FOR £20
12 ISSUES FOR £35 13 ISSUES FOR £35 24 ISSUES FOR £35 13 ISSUES FOR £35 12 ISSUES FOR £35 13 ISSUES FOR £30

up

SAVE
up up up up up

SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE

to

SAVE
to to to to to

31% 26% 34% 32% 66% 31%

6 ISSUES FOR £20 6 ISSUES FOR £20 6 ISSUES FOR £20 6 ISSUES FOR £20 6 ISSUES FOR £10 6 ISSUES FOR £20
12 ISSUES FOR £35 12 ISSUES FOR £30 12 ISSUES FOR £30 13 ISSUES FOR £35 12 ISSUES FOR £12 12 ISSUES FOR £35

IT’S EASY TO ORDER

ONLINE subscriptiongiftshop.co.uk/js14 CALL 0845 872 7385 & quote offer code JS14
Hotline open: Mon–Fri 8am–9.30pm, Sat 9am–4pm. Please note that calls are charged at your local rate, for further information please check with your service provider.

SAVE MONEY ON MANY OTHER POPULAR TITLES : subscriptiongiftshop.co.uk/js14

on sale
16 January 2015
To subscribe
turn to page 20
next issue David Brown looks back at the first decade of Princess Cruises
following the purchase of the company by P&O in 1974.

THE THREE SHIPS THAT

STARTED PRINCESS CRUISES
SHIP OF
THE MONTH PLUS
LOFOTEN MEDITERRANEAN
After 50 years, the WORKHORSES Behind the
motor ship Lofoten scenes on Grimalidi Lines’ 2003-built
is still going strong ferry Sorrento.
on Hurtigruten’s CHARLES W. MORGAN
Norwegian Coastal REMEMBERED The story of
express route, an American whaling ship, now a
as Peter Knego museum exhibit in Connecticut.
explains

DIGITAL ‘MARINE NEWS’ NOW IN FULL COLOUR

The World Ship Society’s monthly journal ‘Marine News’ has been the enthusiast’s best source of shipping news for 65 years. Now available in full colour to members
as a PDF delivered by e-mail, it is cheaper, delivered earlier and more up to date. Digital membership of World Ship Society costs just £20 per year and for that
annual subscription, you get all the other benefits of membership: branch activities, significant price reductions on other Society publications, photographic
offers as well as access to unrivalled information facilities. Get a trial digital copy of ‘Marine News’ by emailing your name and address to membershipsecretary@
worldshipsociety.org or write to the Membership Secretary, World Ship Society, 17 Birchdale Road, Appleton, Warrington, Cheshire WA4 5AR (UK) and see how for just
£20, membership of the World Ship Society can greatly enhance your knowledge of world shipping.

NEW DIGITAL FULL COLOUR SUPPLEMENT TO ‘MARINE NEWS’ DELIVERED AS A PDF BY E-MAIL EVERY MONTH WITH YOUR DIGITAL COPY OF ‘MARINE NEWS’

The new digital supplement to ‘Marine News’ has been introduced to allow publication of supplementary photographs, fleet Lists & long feature articles covering modern
and historical subjects. The monthly Digital Supplement takes nothing from the main journal and is a bonus. The July
2014 digital supplement consists of 42 pages and contains: (a) an illustrated Fleet List and History of AMBROSE, DAVIES &
MATTHEWS Ltd of Swansea and (b) 45 supplementary photographs grouped under the title of the news section in which
they occur in ‘Marine News’ (28 – Sales transfers & renamings, 1 casualty, 2 demolitions, 6 new ships and 8 warships).
WORLD SHIP SOCIETY MEMBERSHIP HAS NEVER BEEN BETTER VALUE

www.shipsmonthly.com • February 2015 • 65

A vi e w fro m
th e Br i d g e
Giles Wade, Senior Master of Condor Vitesse, which
operates between Poole and Weymouth and the Channel
Islands, talks to Richard Webber about his career.
Do you come from a seafaring
family?
My grandfather ran a small tug and
boat building yard constructing
wooden yachts. Although he had never
worked away at sea, he was licensed
as a Trinity House Pilot on the Essex
rivers. My parents are keen sailors, and
I was brought up around small boats.
However, I am the first in my family to
have gone away to sea.
What inspired you to make a
career in shipping?
I grew up listening to Grandfather’s
stories of piloting small ships and his
life on the rivers. Once I’d settled on the
idea of going to sea when I was about
15, there was no going back. I gained
a Cadetship with P&O Containers,
attending Glasgow Nautical College
for my 2nd Mate’s and Chief Mate’s
certificates.
What ships did you serve on
before joining Condor?
I spent 11 years with P&O Containers,
although the company changed to P&O
Nedlloyd during my time with them.
I served on most ships in the fleet,
trading to the Far East, Australasia and
the US. I had a very happy few years as
2nd Mate on the City of Cape Town (ex-
Table Bay 1977) trading between Tilbury
and South Africa.
When did you join Condor?
I joined Condor Ferries in 2004 as Chief
Officer and was promoted to Relief
66 • February 2015 • www.shipsmonthly.com
THE LAST WORD
Master in 2005. In 2006 I was given a
permanent Master’s position.
Tell me about Condor Vitesse?
Condor Vitesse is one of three identical
86m wave-piercing catamarans
operated by Condor Ferries. She is
powered by four Ruston V20 diesel
engines, each driving a reversible
waterjet, and has a top speed of around
40 knots. One of the big differences with
this type of ship is the manoeuvring,
which is all done using the four
waterjets. There are no thrusters or
rudders, yet the ship is incredibly
manoeuvrable.
What do you like about the job?
The best parts for me are the large
amounts of pilotage and ship handling.
A normal day involves four port calls. I wave height can make for a very hard afloat. For the crew, the extra time in
have a pilotage exemption for all our day at work. Cape Town was great, but it was not
ports, and carrying out eight acts of so good for people waiting for their
pilotage and ship handling every day, What has been the most cargo. In fact, the Mercedes factory in
alongside all the daily work of running interesting experience at sea East London came to a halt, as we had
the ship, keeps you on your toes. during your career? all their interior carpets on board.
Through the summer months, when I was on a ship that was hit by an oil
the ship is running full-time, we keep rig. She was City of Cape Town and we What is the most useful
a deck officer on a night shift in port. were alongside in Cape Town. A very innovation introduced during
Occasionally, it’s my turn, and 12-hour strong wind blew up one afternoon and your time at sea?
night shifts are not my favourite! a large semi-submersible oil rig broke GPS was just starting to be fitted on
its moorings at a nearby repair yard and ships when I first went to sea, but now
How does poor weather affect drifted across the dock. It caused a lot electronic charts show a real-time
your operations? of damage to the ship moored ahead display of the ship’s position. While I
High-speed ferries operate to a of us and punctured our bulbous bow have to say that I prefer a traditional
maximum wave height limit. Very before harbour tugs managed to get Admiralty chart to the current
bad weather means we can’t sail, and it clear. The dry dock in Cape Town was electronic charts, navigating a fast ferry
passengers transfer to our conventional too small for us, so the repair ended is made easier by having a live chart
ferry; operating near to the maximum up being made by divers with the ship display to refer to.

BRITISH WARSHIPS & AUXILIARIES
2015/16
The fully revised and updated
well respected guide to the
ships,aircraft and weapons of the
fleet. Over 80 colour photos.
Complete with pennant numbers
and silhouettes.Now expanded to
include Royal Marine Craft and
Border Agency vessels.
P/B £9.99
OUR LATEST BARGAINS - ORDER NOW
SHIPWRECK INDEX OF THE BRITISH
ISLES: Vol 4 - SCOTLAND
The fourth in a series of books
circumnavigating the British Isles by
recording shipwrecks. This is a
major and important contribution to
maritime and archaeological history.
Also a va ila b le:
Vol 5: West Coast of England and
Wales
Vol 6: Ireland
H/B Was £49.00
FEARLESS & INTREPID 1965-2002
Twelve chapters covering the
careers of FEARLESS and
INTREPID in great detail
through each year of their service
from the disengagement from
Empire, through the Falklands
War when they led the
amphibious fleet, to the twenty-
first century troubles in the
Middle East.
H/B Was £24.00
HARRIER CARRIER: HMS INVINCIBLE
The career of HMS
INVINCIBLE, the first of the
RN's new generation of aircraft
carriers, which began in 1980 and
took her through the Falklands
War and into the 21st century.
Well illustrated with a special
colour section
H/B Was £19.95
Prices include UK P&P. Overseas customers will be charged postage at cost. Please order by credit card
Website: www.navybooks.com
MARITIME BOOKS
The Specialist Naval Book Publishers
OUR NEW TITLES
US NAVY WARSHIPS & AUXILIARIES
3rd EDITION
Updated for 2015, this is the 3rd
Edition of this pocket sized guide
to the ships, submarines and
aircraft of the US Navy, Military
Sealift Command and Ready
Reserve Fleet. It also includes the
ships & aircraft of the USCG. In
full colour with over 150 photos.
224 pages.
P/B £13.99
SINK THE BELGRANO
A definitive retelling of the sinking
of the BELGRANO - one of the most
dramatic moments of the Falklands
conflict. With unprecedented access
to sailors from the BELGRANO and
HMS CONQUEROR.
Now £19.99 each H/B Was £19.99 Now £9.99
READY FOR ANYTHING: THE ROYAL
FLEET AUXILIARY 1905-1950
This book combines a history of the
service, including many little-known
wartime operations, with data on the
ships, and a portrait of life in the
service gleaned from personal
recollections.
Now £10.00 H/B Was £27.00 Now £15.00
HMS HERMES 1923 & 1959
The comprehensive histories of
the two aircraft carriers named
HERMES. The stories take the
reader from the 1920s into the
Second World War, the late
1950s and 60s, through to the
Falklands Campaign and into the
Indian Navy where the last
HERMES still serves as INS
VIRAAT.
Now £10.00 H/B Was £24.00 Now £10.00
Maritime Books
Lodge Hill, Liskeard, Cornwall, PL14 4EL
E-mail sales@navybooks.com
COUNTY CLASS GUIDED MISSILE
DESTROYERS
When they first appeared in the
1960s these ships were unlike any
destroyers that had gone before -
the County class brought the Royal
Navy into the missile age! This
lavishly illustrated volume charts
the career of all eight ships from
design, through launch and
throughout their service careers.
H/B £25.00 - order direct for just £20.00
WHILE STOCKS LAST
JANE’S FIGHTING SHIPS 2012-2013
The essential reference guide to
the changing capabilities of
modern navies, their ships,
aircraft and weapons systems in
service and under construction.
Colour photographs and line
drawings can be found
throughout to assist with
recognition.
H/B Was £670.00 Now £99.00
THREE ARK ROYALS 1938 - 1999
The full stories of the last three
ARK ROYALS; the wartime
ARK which saw so much action
in the first two years of the Second
World War; the ARK of the
1950s, 60s and 70s which, during
the years of intense antagonism
between the superpowers,
projected British maritime air
power all over the world.
H/B Was £23.00 Now £15.00
COLOSSUS CLASS AIRCRAFT CARRIERS
For the first time in one volume,
here are the comprehensive
histories of the eight light fleet
aircraft carriers of the Colossus-
class, from commissioning to the
end of their service with the
Royal Navy. Including 140 good
quality photographs.
H/B Was £24.00 Now £10.00
Tel: 01579 343663
 Snowbow
The Greatest Maritime Film Archive In the World brings to you:
The Great Liners on DVD including:

Cargo Liners of The Great Port of The Great Port of The Queen Mary’s A Hundred Years
the World Southampton Liverpool 1936 Maiden Voy of P&O

The Great Port of The Worst Journey East of Suez The Great Port of
Mersey Bound
London (Part 1) in the World British India Bristol

The Great Ship’s to New Castles to the The End of the

Tankers
Cunarders Zealand Cape Line

Snowbow has unique access to the world’s greatest maritime film archive and as a result of this, we have produced 37 x 60 minute DVDs in this remarkable
series of “The Great Liners”. Not so very many years ago this country could boast of having the biggest shipping industry and Merchant Navy in the world.
These amazing programmes take us back to those days, showing our ports when they were jammed packed with ships of every shape and size for as far
as the eye could see. But not only do you see the ships as they sail in and out of the ports, you are also taken aboard famous ocean liners of Cunard, P&O,
British India, Orient Lines, Shaw Savill, Royal Mail, NZSCo and many more as they sail the world over. You’re taken all over the ships from bridge to engine
rooms; conventional cargo ships, bulk carriers, tankers, ferries, tramp ships, coasters, tugs and just about every kind of floating vessel you can think of,
for they’re are all in this amazing series.
Plus our very latest release,

“The Great Port of London”

(Part 2)

If you were to visit London Docks today, it’s difficult to imagine that it was once the biggest and busiest port in the world, but when you watch this wonderful
programme it shows the port in its heyday when from Tilbury to Tower Bridge it was were crammed full of ships. Its all colour film and even the sound track
has been restored, which brings the whole port alive again, it’s almost as we’re there standing on the quaysides, watching a myriad of busy steaming tugs,
expertly manoeuvring an almost endless armada of ships in and out of the port. As the Curator of the New York Maritime Museum commented…
‘It’s almost as if you are there for real’.
All the DVDs in this series have been produced to TV Broadcast Standards, and are still at the original price of £17. 95p plus postage. At the moment we have
a tremendous saving of 3 DVDs for the price of two, which is a massive saving, so enjoy them while you still can.
We’re also doing two new Maritime Memory cruises, which are very special and my book “Jumping for Balloons” is now available at £12.95p plus postage.
To order or for more details on all the things we do, go to our website: www.snowbow.co.uk Tel: 01273 585391/584470 or write/send your orders to:
Snowbow, 145 The Promenade, Peacehaven, East Sussex, BN10 7HN.

Did I really used to look like this! Oh well, at least I have so many stories to tell, and you may have read a lot of books, in your time, but I doubt you’ve ever
read one quite like this!
Best wishes,
Des.