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HOW BADLY WILL SHIPPING BE HIT?

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www.shipsmonthly.com • May 2020 • 3
CONTENTS VIRGIN VOYAGES SCARLET LADY DEBUTS
MAY 2020
www.shipsmonthly.com
� STENA

REGULARS 14 NAVAL
US Navy and French Navy carrier cross-
decking, fewer frigates for the Royal Navy,
FRANCE
CLASSIC LINER
6 WATERFRONT and newbuilds for Pakistan. Gary Davies
FROM A
GOLDEN AGE The impact on the ships and shipping of the
coronavirus restrictions, new crane ship for
VIRUS HITS SHIPPING
CRUISE SHIPS LAID UP ■ FERRY SERVICES CANCELLED
CARGO SERVICES BOOSTED ■ ROUND UP OF THE IMPACT
Boskalis, and innovative sailing ro-ro freighter.
HUNT CLASS
THE NAVY’S
MOST COSTLY
10 FERRY
SHIPS
How travel restrictions have affected ferry
£4.70
routes, IOW travel changed, and second
E-Flexer Stena Edda arrives. Russell Plummer

16 CARGO
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FERRY COMPANY Viking Line CARGO CLASSICS Blue Funnel HMS OCEAN Aircraft carrier

Russians to build for the Arctic, Pacific

International reduces box capacity, and
SLOW STEAMING TREND FOR BOXBOATS TO GO SLOW LNG shuttle tankers in Europe.

COVER Allure of the Seas passing through the 18 NEWS FEATURE

Solent on 20 March heading for an unscheduled
Focus on container shipping, with slow
eight-day stop at Southampton. She should
have been undergoing a US$165 million steaming, how big can Container ships go,
‘Royal Amplification’ refit at Cadiz. However, and autonomous boxships.
the work was postponed as shipyards across 12 CRUISE
Europe stopped work as a result of the ongoing
coronavirus pandemic. MARITIME PHOTOGRAPHIC
How the coronavirus is affecting the cruise 41 SHIPS PICTORIAL
industry worldwide, with ships laid up and Photos of ships around the world, including in
cruise itineraries cancelled. William Mayes the Mediterranean, at Tilbury and Fraserburgh.
WWW.POCKETMAGS.COM

SUBSCRIBE TODAY • See page 20 for more info

 Fridtjof Nansen arriving at Portsmouth during a promotional tour of
UK ports in March. She visited Liverpool, Dartmouth, Portland, Dover,
Fowey, Tilbury and Portsmouth, where she stayed longer than expected
due to the uncertainty caused by the coronavirus. The expedition cruise
ship is one of two new battery hybrid-powered vessels introduced in
2019 by Norwegian operator Hurtigruten. MARITIME PHOTOGRAPHIC

FEATURES
22 SCARLET LADY
A first look on board Scarlet Lady, Virgin
Voyages’ new cruise ship. Andrew McAlpine
WWW.SHIPSMONTHLY.COM
48 HUNT MINESWEEPERS LINER HERITAGE
Profile of the Hunt class mine countermeasures
vessels, which have been a mainstay of the
Royal Navy since the 1970s. Patrick Boniface

26 MARITIME MOSAIC
Shipping using the Scheldt estuary, one of
Europe’s busiest waterways. Chris Brooks
28 GOALPOSTERS
The life and times of Blue Funnel’s classic
‘Goalposters’, a series of iconic cargo liners
built between 1906 and 1921. Roy Fenton
44 HMS OCEAN
The Light Fleet Carrier HMS Ocean (R68) was
launched 75 years ago. James Hendrie
52 VIKING LINE TODAY
A look at the past, present and future of Viking
Line, Baltic ferry operator. Russell Plummer
57 GRANUAILE
The lighthouse tender Granuaile performs
essential duties maintaining the aids to
navigation around Ireland. Trevor Boult
64 FROM THE BRIDGE
Senior master Ronny Rosenberg of Eckerö’s
Helsinki-Tallinn ro-ro Finbo Cargo. John Pagni
33 FRANCE
GREAT SHIP OF STATE
The transatlantic liner France of 1962 was
French Line’s final paquebot. Stephen
Payne recalls the design and career of one
of the most famous liners ever built.
CHARTROOM
60 SHIPS MAIL
Readers’ comments, views and memories.
61 MYSTERY SHIP
Can you identify this month’s mystery?
62 SHIPS LIBRARY
Reviews of maritime- and ship-related books.

MAY 2020 • Volume 55 • No.5

WATERFRONT
DUNKIRK TRIP
POSTPONED
LITTLE SHIPS
Although the enemy failed to halt
the Dunkirk evacuation in 1940,
the coronavirus pandemic has
forced the cancellation of an 80th
anniversary crossing by more
than 70 of the famous ‘little ships’
that was scheduled for late May.
The flotilla of vessels which
played a part in the evacuation
was due to cross from Ramsgate
for a programme of events during
their time in Dunkirk Harbour.
Ian Gilbert, rear admiral of the
Dunkirk Association of Little Ships
said: ‘It is very sad that we have
had to postpone Dunkirk-80. A
huge amount of work had gone
into arrangements both here and
in Dunkirk and it is only the second
time that we have not sailed since
the first return to Dunkirk in 1965.’
• One 80th anniversary event going
ahead is publication on 24 April of a
100-page A4 book in the World of
Ships series describing Operation
Dynamo and the ships that saved an
army, with chapters covering most of
the participating vessels. See shop.
kelsey.co.uk for full details.
SAILING RO-RO FREIGHTER BERTH BOOST FOR GREENOCK
A ro-ro sailing freighter proposed by
Neoline of France has gained the support of the
French Sogestran, Renault, Manitou and Beneteau groups. NEOLINE
NEW DESIGN
The French Sogestran group has
decided to invest in Neoline’s
project to develop a transatlantic
sailing freighter through its
subsidiary, Compagnie Maritime
Nantaise – MN, to carry Renault
automobiles across the Atlantic.
Sogestran will assist Neoline in
financing its first ships and setting
up a company to operate them.
The 446ft vessels will use sails
6 • May 2020 • www.shipsmonthly.com
WASALINE HYBRID FOR SCANDINAVIAN SERVICE
 Construction has commenced in Finland on a new RoPax for Wasaline
that will run on both LNG and liquefied biogas. WÄRTSILÄ
RO-PAX
Finland’s Rauma Marine
Constructions has started
construction of the hybrid ferry
Aurora Botnia for Wasaline, with
FINNISH COAST GUARD VESSEL SOLD
PATROL VESSEL
The Finnish Coast Guard, the
maritime arm of the country’s
Border Guard, will shortly
announce the sale of its OPV
Merikarhu, the 1994-built 1,420gt
ship which was retired after her
return from a two-year stint in
the Mediterranean on EU Frontex
duty in south-east Greek waters
on refugee patrol.
as their main propulsion, with
an expected commercial speed
of 11 knots, using trained crews
and advanced meteorological
routing technology. Neoline
plans to place an order for
the construction of the first
sailer with Bouguenais-based
Neopolia Mobility, following
support given by several other
French companies, including the
Renault and groups, as well as
Groupe Beneteau. JS
the delivery of the ship expected
in the spring of next year.
To utilise a hybrid power
generation system, as well as an
electric propulsion system, the
vessel will be the first ro-pax to
The impressively equipped
multi-purpose ship with ice class
1A, performs SAR, oil recovery
and patrol duties, with two RIBs,
cranes and a water cannon for
fire fighting. Her sale and the
impending retirement of two
other vessels, Tursas and Uisku,
will trigger an order for another
offshore patrol ship, like the
2013-built LNG-powered Turva,
which cost about €240 million. JP
SCOTTISH PORT
Peel Ports is boosting capacity at
Greenock’s Ocean Terminal on
the River Clyde near Glasgow by
installing a new 200m-long pontoon
that will enable vessels of up to 340m
in length to be accommodated.
The pontoon is being built nearby
at Peel Ports Inchgreen Dry Dock
in Greenock. It consists of four
cassions, each weighing 1,000
metric tonnes and made from
The 2002-built
Brilliance of the Seas
at Greenock’s Ocean Terminal.
be issued a Clean Design class
notation by DNV. Propulsion will
be provided by four Wärtsilä
main engines which will run on
both LNG and liquefied biogas,
with the latter to be supplied by
a plant in Vaasa that produces
the gas from recycled materials.
A large battery pack will
allow the vessel to use electric
power when entering or leaving
port. With a capacity for 800
passengers and 1,500 lane
metres of freight, the ship will
operate between Vaasa, Finland
and Umeå, Sweden. JS
 The 1994-built OPV Merikarhu
is crewed by 10 to 12, has
accommodation for 30 in 16 cabins,
and is about to be sold. JOHN PAGNI
reinforced concrete and filled with
polystyrene to aid buoyancy.
The Ocean Terminal started
as a Container Terminal, but Peel
Ports has significantly expanded
the cruise ship side of the business.
The £19.2 million project is part of
a £1 billion Glasgow Region Deal,
funded equally by the Scottish and
UK Governments. The new facilities
are expected to boost cruise
visitors to around 150,000 a year
and help the local economy. RP

THE LARGEST LAY-UP OF PASSENGER TONNAGE EVER
CORONAVIRUS
The impact of the COVID-19
crisis on the world’s shipping
industry has been dramatic, with
the disruption felt most keenly
by the cruise and ferry industries.
Parking places for suddenly
out-of-work cruise ships have
been hard to find, but protected
anchorages in the Bahamas
FERRY TRAVEL HIT BY RESTRICTIONS
FERRY DISRUPTION
Ferry travel was badly disrupted
by the measures to contain the
coronavrus, with the number
of people travelling massively
CARGO, CRUDE AND CONTAINERS HIT BY CORONAVIRUS
CARGO SECTORS
The coronavirus outbreak had
a major impact on the cruise
ship industry, but most other
sectors of the maritime industry
appear to be coping, although
long-term health is certainly
not guaranteed. The industry
shut-down in China in February
put many container ships and a
number of bulk carriers quickly
out of work, with nearly 400
boxships unemployed.
Because a large number of
ships were also stuck in Chinese
shipyards undergoing scrubber
installations, over two million
TEUs of container capacity
was out of service. However,
as Chinese factories and ports
were chosen by several groups
of ships by mid-March, with Sky
Princess, Regal Princess, Island
Princess, Crown Princess and
Independence of the Seas at the
Great Isaac anchorage, while
Navigator of the Sea, Symphony
of the Seas, Harmony of the
Seas, Celebrity Reflection, Oasis
of the Seas, Mariner of the Seas
and Nieuw Amsterdam were
on 14 March, two days after the company
introduced restrictions on carrying passengers  950 employees due to travel
reduced. On 12 March Seatruck
Ferries stopped shipping drivers
and passengers on their Irish Sea
vessels to reduce the risk of cross-
contamination. Services continued
as normal, but were restricted to
began to reopen in mid-March
mid-March,
vessels were needed to get
empty containers back to China.
A number of ships normally
employed on the long haul
between Asia and Europe were
redirected across the Pacific
to load empty boxes at North
American West Coast ports. This
included Mediterranean Shipping
Company’s 23,756 TEU MSC
Mia and 23,656 TEU MSC Nela,
making them the largest ships
ever to call on the Pacific coast.
In the tanker sector, despite
a sudden drop in demand for
petroleum, a market-share
war between Russia and Saudi
Arabia saw the latter country
charter over two dozen Very
Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) to
anchored off Coco Cay, and
Disney Fantasy off Gorda Cay.
Celebrity Edge, Celebrity
Equinox and Empress of the Seas
were anchored off Freeport,
with Carnival Elation, Carnival
Conquest and Carnival Magic
in port there, while Norwegian
Breakaway, Riviera and Seven Seas
Explorer were at Nassau. Many
ships were still offloading stores at
Seatruck Performance at Heysham
on Irish Sea services. NICHOLAS LEACH
the shipment of drop trailers and
unaccompanied vehicles.
DFDS suspended all mini-cruises
until April in response to the
Dutch government’s measures.
The Amsterdam-Newcastle
load outbound cargoes at rates
approaching $250,000 per day.
This represented a dramatic shift
from the $30,000 per day rates
a few weeks earlier. At the same
time commodity speculators
began chartering additional
One of the world’s largest tankers, Euronav’s Europe, has been
chartered, not for transportation but for oil storage. EURONAV
www.shipsmonthly.com • May 2020 •
news
WATERFRONT • www.shipsmonthly.com • The Granary, Downs Court, Yalding Hill, Yalding, Kent, ME18 6AL • t > 01959 541444 • e > sm.ed@kelsey.co.uk
Miami, Port Everglades and Port
Canaveral, but they were expected
to proceed to anchorages. MSC
Seaside and MSC Meraviglia
were anchored off Miami, while
Adventure of the Seas and Viking
Sky were off Port Everglades and
Disney Dream off Port Canaveral
in what has become the largest
mass lay-up of passenger
tonnage ever seen. JS
service continued for a few
days for those travelling with
a vehicle, but on 18 March
was temporarily suspended.
The last sailings before the
suspension were on 21 March
from Amsterdam and on
22 March from Newcastle.
Brittany Ferries suspended
all passenger sailings on routes
from England to France and
Spain, Ireland to Spain and
France-Ireland from 21 March
and are maintaining only lifeline
freight links using vessels with
reduced crews.
Stena Line planned to lay off
restrictions imposed amid the
pandemic. The company’s
passenger operations had been
badly affected, especially in
Scandinavia, where passenger
traffic to Sweden, Denmark,
Poland, Germany, and Latvia has
been halted to a large extent.
ships to store the cheaper oil in.
This included one of the world’s
largest crude carriers, Euronav’s
441,561dwt Europe, which was
taken by Glencore for six months
as a stationary storage vessel,
with crude at $30 per barrel. JS
7
WATERFRONT
BRIEF NEWS
LOCH KATRINE • Plans for the
120-year-old screw steamer Sir
Walter Scott to sail in 2020 have
had to be abandoned after a
boiler survey revealed severe
cracks which are beyond repair.
Gordon Allan, managing director
of the Sir Walter Scott Steamship
Ltd, described the news as a
‘major setback’, adding: ‘This
follows a downturn in business
after major landslides on the
lochside last August, but we were
well on the way to recovery, with
prospects of a bumper season.’
Sailings will continue between
Trossachs Pier and Stronachlachar
using other vessels, including the
1960-built Lady of the Lake. RP
ALL-ELECTRIC DOUBLE-ENDER
• Norwegian ferry operator
Brevik Fergeselskap has ordered
an all-electric passenger/vehicle
ferry from Holland Shipyards
Group for delivery before the
end of this year. The 42m by 11m
double-ender, to have 1,300kWh
of battery power, will be capable
of transporting 98 passengers
and 16 vehicles across the waters
of Eidangerfjorden to connect the
Norwegian settlements of Brevik,
Sandøya and Bjørkøya. JS
BC FERRIES • British Columbia’s
BC Ferries has named its first
two Island-class ferries Island
Discovery and Island Aurora
following their delivery from the
Damen yard in Romania. The twin
vessels are to enter service this
summer on the Powell River-
Texada Island and Port McNeill-
Alert Bay-Sointula routes. JS
HELSINKI TOP SPOT • For the
third successive year Europe’s
no.1 international passenger
conduit is Port of Helsinki. Last
year 12.2 million people passed
through its terminals at the three
harbours, while cargo nearly
matched 2018’s records. Though
growth slowed to just one per
cent, people are still willing to
make the 80km voyage to Tallinn,
totalling 8.9 million or over three-
quarters of the final number.
Cruise passenger numbers rose
to 653,000, up 16 per cent, with a
total of 303 calls by cruise ships. JP
8 • May 2020 • www.shipsmonthly.com
LPG TANKERS TO BURN LPG AS FUEL
TANKERS
Singapore-headquartered BW
LPG, part of the BW Group
(see SM, Feb), has exercised
an option with South Korea’s
STX Heavy Industries to have
four more of its Very Large Gas
Carriers (VLGCs) retrofitted to a
WILSON RENAME OSVs FSG LOSE
WINDFARM VESSELS CONTRACT
Norwegian-based Wilson Group
have been expanding and now
operate a large fleet of coastal
vessels serving UK, Scandinavian
and EU Ports, and have constantly
updated their fleet. One of the
latest additions, the 2017-built
Barbados-flagged Wilson Rotterdam
(2,529dwt), recently visited Aberdeen
before going to Rotterdam.
In February Danish company A1
Offshore solutions changed their
 The 2017-built Wilson Rotterdam leaving Aberdeen on 18 January. Wilson
have renamed four offshore supply vessels from the fleet of Danish company
A1 Offshore solutions which have been used in the windfarm sector. DAVID DODDS
BW LPG, the world’s largest transporter of Liquid
Petroleum Gas, is to have eight of its Very Large Gas
Carriers modified to burn LPG as a fuel. BW GROUP
dual-fuel configuration to allow
them to burn a portion of their
LPG cargo as fuel.
MAN Energy Solutions will
oversee conversion of the ships’
MAN B&W 6G60ME-C9.2 HFO-
burning engines to 6G60ME-
C9.5-LGIP (Liquid Gas Injection
Propane) LPG-fuelled engines,
name to Wilson Offshore and their
offshore supply vessels were given
Wilson names. These vessels had
been working on windfarms, but it
remains to be seen how Wilson will
use them. Their new names are:
Notus Express (ex-Siem Supplier)
is now Wilson Arctic; Master
Express (ex-Toisa independent),
now Wilson Atlantic; Connector
Express (ex-Viking Dynamic),
now Wilson Adriatic; and Eurus
Express (ex-Skandi Marstein) is
now Wilson Aegean. RC
while Finland’s Wärtsilä will
integrate its LPG Fuel Supply
System into the converted
vessels, as well as make several
required design modifications.
The ability of the ships to burn
LPG is expected to result in
reduced air pollution emissions,
as well as lower fuel costs. JS
FERRY BUILDERS
German shipbuilder Flensburger
Schiffsbau has lost a major contract
to build a pair of 56,000gt ro-pax
vessels for TT-Line Tasmania, and
there are now doubts whether
Brittany Ferries’ new vessel,
Honfleur, will be delivered this year.
The Tasmanian pair were
originally due for delivery in 2021.
Now the 27-knot vessels, to link
Devonport, Tasmania with Port
Melbourne 105 miles away on
the Australian mainland, will be
built in Finland by Rauma Marine,
to enter service late in 2022 and
early 2023. They have capacity for
1,800 passengers and 600 cars.
There are also growing doubts
whether the 42,500gt Honfleur
will be ready for delivery to
Brittany Ferries to join the
Portsmouth-Caen/Ouistreham
route by the end of the year, and
little has been heard of a possible
start date for work on a 67,300gt
vessel ordered by Irish Ferries. RP

US NAVY DEPLOYS HOSPITAL SHIPS
CORONAVIRUS
In response to the coronavirus
outbreak, the US Navy started
preparing its two hospital ships,
USNS Comfort and USNS Mercy,
for domestic deployment,
although the twin vessels will
not be used to treat coronavirus
patients directly, but to alleviate
the pressure on shoreside
facilities. This is because the
TANKER TO BE SCRAPPED
STRANDED SHIP
A Maltese-flagged chemical tanker
that ran aground in November
2019 on the Spanish coast near
Corunna is to be scrapped, despite
being successfully refloated in
December by SMIT Salvage.
Although originally it was to
have been towed to Spain’s Fene
shipyard for repairs, it appears
 The 2011-built chemical tanker Blue Star is to be scrapped after suffering
grounding damage on the Spanish coast last November. GAL
1,000-bed ships feature open-bay
treatment areas designed for
combat casualties, which would be
ill-suited to handling potentially
contagious coronavirus patients.
Staffing is also expected to
be a problem, as the vessels
are traditionally staffed by US
Navy reservists and/or civilian
volunteers. This may present
problems if those personnel have
to be drawn from the civilian
that hull damage to the 9,438dwt
Blue Star was more extensive than
originally estimated.
In March the tug VB Hispania
(ex-Fairplay 32) was contracted
to tow the vessel to Turkey for
demolition. Built in 2011, and
operated by Valencia-based
Boluda, the 48.8m VB Hispania has
an engine output of 8,050hp and
a bollard pull of 103 tonnes. JS
The US Military Sealift
Command hospital ship
USNS Comfort (T-AH 20)
is one of two such vessels
deployed in response to the
coronavirus outbreak in
the US. US NAVY
medical work force that is already
responding to the crisis.
USNS Mercy, based in San
Diego and in service for more
than 20 years, will be the first of
the ships ready for service. The
Norfolk, Virginia-based USNS
Comfort may take longer, as she
has been undergoing schedule
maintenance since returning
from a five-month humanitarian
deployment to Latin America. JS
NEW FOR BOSKALIS
A new crane vessel to be built out
of an existing hull for Netherlands-
based Boskalis will feature 7,500m2
CRANE SHIP
The construction of two new
windfarms off the coast of Taiwan
has spurred Netherlands-based
Royal Boskalis Westminster NV
(Boskalis) to convert an existing
ship hull into a crane vessel that will
have a lift capacity of 4,000 tonnes
and a lift height of over 100m.
To be named Bokalift 2, the
ship will be equipped with a
www.shipsmonthly.com • May 2020 •
news
HERITAGE
WATERFRONT • www.shipsmonthly.com • The Granary, Downs Court, Yalding Hill, Yalding, Kent, ME18 6AL • t > 01959 541444 • e > sm.ed@kelsey.co.uk
MACHINES
NEW WEBSITE
An exciting new Heritage
Machines website has been
launched by KelseyMedia, to
support the company’s range of
14 specialist heritage magazines.
The titles focus on everything
from vintage and classic tractors
to commercial vehicles, ships,
ferries, agricultural machinery,
steam and industrial heritage,
plus a good deal more besides.
The new website provides
visitors with access to a wide
selection of articles, news items,
events listings and auction
reports, intended to whet the
appetites of veteran, vintage
vehicle and machine enthusiasts.
Event organisers will be able
to post details of forthcoming
events, and there is a diary section.
Readers can use the website to
sell unwanted machinery and
ephemera, using a free reader
ad service. The site also contains
links to the KelseyMedia shop, so
visitors can take advantage of the
latest subs offers.
of free deck space aft and
a crane capable of lifting
4,000 tonnes. BOSKALIS
Huisman Offshore Mast Crane
capable of lifting jackets for
wind turbines off the deck and
also upending monopiles from a
horizontal to a vertical position.
In addition, the crane will be
equipped with a flying jib for lifting
smaller components up to 125m
above the deck. Position-keeping
will be aided by four retractable
Wärtsilä steerable thrusters and
two tunnel thrusters. JS
9
FERRY
NEWS IN BRIEF
MOLSLINJEN • The Aarhus-
headquarted Danish ferry
operator boosted all areas
of business in 2019, with
passenger carryings climbing
8.3 per cent to 3,492,698, while
car totals increased 5.3 per cent
to 1,351,588. There were 7,640
sailings, 122 more than in 2018,
and departures by the six-vessel
fleet are planned to increase
by 4.2 per-cent in 2020.
Molslinjen provides high-speed
links with Incat catamarans
Express 1 (2009), Express 2
(2013), Express 3 (2017) and
Max Mols (1998) and also
operates conventional vessels
Hammershus (2018/ 18,500gt)
and Povl Anker (1978/12,131gt).
GOUROCK REPAIRS •
Caledonian Marine Assets has
given the go-ahead for repairs
to the linkspan at Gourock Ferry
Terminal, which has been closed
since September 2019. Costing
£2.1 million, the project will
involve repairs to the linkspan
support structures and steel deck
replacement. The repairs will
mean Gourock can again be a
bad-weather alternative port for
ferries serving Bute and Arran.
RED FUNNEL REFITS • With
the 2019-20 winter maintenance
programme taking a week
longer than originally expected,
summer timetables for car ferry
and Red Jet passenger services
to Cowes, Isle of Wight started
a week later than planned, on
Friday 3 April.
STENA SUPERFAST X LEAVES IRISH SEA AND SAILS TO ITALY
CORSICA LINEA
Irish Sea service for Stena
Superfast X (2002/30,285gt) came
to an end on 3 March, when she
arrived in Belfast from Cairnryan
after providing refit cover on the
North Channel route. Previously,
the HDW-built vessel relieved
On the Rosyth-Zeebrugge run.
10 • May 2020 • www.shipsmonthly.com
Russell Plummer
VIRUS HITS MANY FERRY OPERATIONS
COVID-19
Ferry operations around the
world have been hit by the spread
of the COVID-19 virus, with
Stena Line one of those most
seriously affected. More than
950 seagoing and shore staff
from Sweden alone have been
laid off, and routes serving ports
in Sweden, Denmark, Poland,
Latvia and Germany have been
almost brought to a standstill.
After 40 years the company’s
Denmark-Norway route linking
Frederikshavn with Oslo, covered
by Stena Saga (1981/33,750gt),
has been permanently closed.
The vessel was built by Wärtsilä
at Turku in 1981 for Svea Line
for the Stockholm-Helsinki run
as Silvia Regina, before being
bought by Stena and introduced
on the Harwich-Hook of Holland
Stena Adventurer (2003/43,532gt)
on the Holyhead to Dublin route
after herself being displaced by
new E-Flexer Stena Estrid.
Stena Superfast X did not
linger long and set sail for the
Mediterranean to join Corsica
Linea. She will have a two-month
refit to create 120 new cabins and
Jean Nicoli in ANEK colours.
route with a British crew as Stena
Britannica in 1991. In 1994 She
was transferred to the Oslo
service as Stena Saga, with a
refit in winter 2002-03 increasing
passenger capacity by 200 to
a total of 2,000.
Travel restrictions imposed
by most of the Scandinavian
countries also forced Color Line,
Fjord Line and Hurtigruten to lay
off staff, with Tallink responding
by putting Star (2007/36,249gt),
one of its Tallinn-Helsinki shuttle
ferries, on a direct link from
Paldiski, Estonia to Sassnitz,
Germany, bypassing ports in
Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania.
Galaxy (2006/48,915gt) and
Baltic Princess (2008/48,300gt)
are omitting calls at Mariehamn
on what had become
predominantly a freight
operation between Kapellskar
a reclining seat lounge before
she enters service as A. Nepita
between Marseilles and Algiers.
Taking 1,200 passengers and
660 cars, she started as Superfast
X from 2002 to 2007 as Superfast
Ferries tried to establish a
Rosyth-Zeebrugge route. She
then went to the Western
Dover-Calais service as
SeaFrance Molière.
Stena Saga has been
withdrawn from the
Denmark-Norway
route.
(replacing Stockholm) and Turku.
Finland’s borders were closed
from 19 March, with Tallink’s
Romantika (2002/43,803gt) used
to make special sailings to return
passengers trapped in Estonia
and Latvia to Sweden. Polferries’
Baltavia (1981/17,790gt) also made
an emergency trip from Sassnitz to
Klaipeda to pick up 250 stranded
passengers and their cars.
Passengers were banned
from services to Spain’s North
African enclaves of Ceuta and
Melilla, while the Balaeric Islands
introduced a ban on passenger
movements to the Spanish
mainland. In Italy, the ferry GNV
Splendid (1987/31,122gt), until
recently Irish Ferries’ Oscar
Wilde, is being used at Genoa for
post-hospital stays to compensate
for a shortage of hospital beds in
the Liguria region.
Mediterranean as Cotunav’s Jean
Nicoli before sailing Dover-Calais
for SeaFrance as SeaFrance
Molière, continuing on the same
route after a move to DFDS as
Dieppe Seaways from 2012 to
2014 until being chartered by
Stena Line for Holyhead-Dublin
service as Stena Superfast X.
Leaving Gdansk after a refit.
 news
RESIDENTS ONLY

WATERFRONT • www.shipsmonthly.com • The Granary, Downs Court, Yalding Hill, Yalding, Kent, ME18 6AL • t > 01959 541444 • e > sm.ed@kelsey.co.uk
Stena Line’s second E-Flexer ro-pax vessel Stena Edda completed a
delivery voyage from China on 24 February. TO THE ISLANDS
SCOTTISH ROUTES
First minister Nicola Sturgeon
announced on 22 March that
ferries on routes around Scotland
and to Orkney and Shetland
would be for essential travel
only. A Government statement
explained: ‘From now on ferries
will be for those who live on our
islands and have need to travel
to and from the mainland and for

SECOND E-FLEXER ENTERS SERVICE essential supplies or business.’

IRISH SEA
Stena Line’s second E-Flexer ro-
pax ferry, Stena Edda, completed
her month-long delivery voyage
from the Avic Yard in China to
reach Belfast on 28 February.
She then crossed to Birkenhead
Twelve Quays for berthing trials,
and was expected to enter service
on the Birkenhead-Belfast service
in the middle of March, flying the
Cypriot flag and being registered
in Limassol, similar to the
previously introduced Holyhead-
Dublin route vessel Stena Estrid.
Stena Edda takes over from
the Visentini-built ro-pax Stena
Lagan (2005/27,510gt), which is
heading to Turkey for a major
rebuild to boost freight capacity,
involving lengthening by 39m
and conversion to double-deck
loading. The process will be
repeated with Stena Lagan’s sister
Stena Mersey, also built in 2005,
when the third E-Flexer, Stena
Embla, appears in early 2021.
The old Visentini pair have spent
all their working lives so far running
from the Mersey to Belfast, first
with Norse Merchant Ferries, then
with Norfolkline and for a brief
spell owned by DFDS, before
Stena came on the scene in 2014.
The vessels can at present take
up to 720 passengers with 482
cabin beds and have 2,238 lane
metres of vehicle space.
The Cal Mac network, with
more than 30 vessels serving
Cumbrae, Arran, Bute, Skye and
a host of Hebridean outposts
including North Uist, Harris
and Lewis, is covered by the
sweeping restrictions. They
also apply to Serco Northlink’s
sailings from Aberdeen to
Orkney and Shetland and the
shorter Scrabster-Stromness
crossing, plus the Pentland
Ferries connection from Gills Bay,
Caithness to St Margaret Hope.

MCA APPROVE EXCEPTIONAL MEASURES

SOLENT
The Maritime and Coastguard
Agency granted exceptional
solutions, allowing two ferry
operators running to the Isle of
Wight to support the government’s
social distancing guidance in
response to the coronavirus
pandemic by allowing passengers
to remain in vehicles on crossings.
Passengers can stay in their
cars during two daily crossings
each way between Southampton
and East Cowes, while other
scheduled sailings operate
normally. Vehicle space is offered
on the 1800 and 2100 sailings
from Southampton and- at 1930
and 2230 from East Cowes,
but capacity is limited due to a
need for greater space between
vehicles to ensure there are
adequate clear pathways.
Red Funnel chief executive
Fran Collins said: ’We thank the
MCA for working with us to allow
passengers this option during an
exceptional time. Many customers
had been in touch to request this
option and, while we empathised,
we were legally unable to oblige.’
Wightlink are also allowing
passengers to stay in their cars on  IOW links: Red Osprey at Cowes,
crossings by St Clare (2001/5,395gt), and St Claire at Portsmouth.
which departs Portsmouth
Gunwharf on even hours through
the day and from Fishbourne on
odd hours. No foot passengers
are carried and lounges, cafes
and shops on board are not open
during the 45-minute journeys.

FERRIES IN THE NEWS . . . FERRIES IN THE NEWS . . . FERRIES IN THE NEWS . . . FERRIES IN THE NEWS . . .
SICILIA • The 24,409gt ro-pax ferry
delivered by Visentini in 2002 became
the second vessel from the Balearia
fleet to undergo conversion to
dual-fuel operation at the West Sea
Viana Syd yard in Viana do Costelo,
Portugal from 27 February. She has
2,050 lane metres of space, plus 1,000
passengers with 308 cabin beds.
NAMES CHANGED • Minoan Lines
vessel names have been altered to
better reflect the routes now served.
Festos Palace (2001/37,484gt) moved
to the Piraeus-Chania service as Kydon
Palace on 17 February, while Mykonos
Palace (2002/36,835gt) now runs to
Heraklion as Festos Palace alongside
Cruise Bonaria (2001/36,825gt),
which has undergone a change
to Knossos Palace. The previous
Knossos Palace (2000/37,482gt) will
also get a new name when she starts
operating between Civitavecchia
and Olbia, Sardinia.
RHAPSODY • Originally SNCM’s
Napoleon Bonaparte, Rhapsody
(1995/44,307gt, pictured) was one of
two Grandi Navi Veloci vessels used in
Marseilles as accommodation vessels
during a refit for Norwegian Cruise
Lines’ Norwegian Spirit (1998/75,338gt).
Also there was GNV Allegra
(1987/31,914gt, ex-Oscar Wilde).
STENA NAUTICA • The 1986-built
Stena Line vessel made the Grenå-
Varberg route’s final sailing on 31
January, with the service withdrawn
due to building developments in the
Swedish town’s harbour area. Stena
now run from Grenå to Halmstad, the
Varberg route having been started
in 1960 by Europa Ferry, with Lion
Ferry taking over five years later until
Stena arrived on the scene in 1982.
Stena Nautica started as the Danish
ferry Niels Klim and also spent time
as Isle of Innisfree on charter to
B&I Line from 1992 to 1995.

www.shipsmonthly.com • May 2020 • 11

CRUISE
CORONAVIRUS HITS THE CRUISE
INDUSTRY NEWS
The impact of a new strain of
Coronavirus that broke out in
a Chinese city far from the sea
has set the cruise industry back
quite seriously as the spread
around the globe continues
and countries take drastic steps
to prevent its spread. Initial
blanket advice from the US State
Department was for American
citizens to avoid cruise ships.
This was the tip of a very large
iceberg, which has now effectively
closed almost the entire cruise
industry worldwide. The
implementation of the shutdown
was actually astonishingly fast,
WHERE IT ALL STARTED
PRINCESS CRUISES
The ship which made most
of the headlines, Diamond
Princess, had been quarantined
at Yokohama, resulting in the
initial handful of infections
multiplying to more than 700.
At that time, it seemed that
the problem was limited to
South East Asia and, perhaps
as far as the cruise industry was
concerned, just that ship.
Later, Grand Princess was
prevented from docking in
San Francisco after 21 cases
(including 19 crew) were reported
on board. Eventually, the ship
was allowed into Oakland, where
the passengers and crew were
quarantined prior to testing.
On the other side of the
country, Regal Princess was held
Several cases of Coronavirus were confirmed
on Grand Princess. WILLIAM MAYES
12 • May 2020 • www.shipsmonthly.com
William Mayes
and it is worth recording how the
industry got to the position in
which it now finds itself.
COSTA CRUISES
As the virus spread to Northern
Italy, Costa, already badly hit
with four ships out of service in
Asia, suffered further disruption
when Tortola, in the British Virgin
Islands, turned Costa Favolosa
away, as the ship had a number
of passengers on board that had
flown out to the cruise from Italy.
A similar problem occurred
when Costa Fortuna tried to dock
in Penang and Phuket, and Costa
Luminosa’s return to Europe
offshore after the discovery that
a number of crew had recently
transferred from Grand Princess.
She was later allowed into Fort
Lauderdale, a day late.
In mid-March another
Princess ship, Golden Princess,
had a number of cases on
board off New Zealand. Initially,
Princess Cruises cancelled all
sailings on Majestic Princess,
Royal Princess, Sapphire Princess
and Sun Princess. Sapphire
Princess was relocated to
Australia six months early.
Diamond Princess will be out
of service for some time for a
really deep clean, which will
involve destroying and replacing
all of the cabin fabrics and
mattresses. Princess was the first
to declare a suspension to its
programme, until 12 May.
AIDAbella is one of two Aida ships withdrawn
ended in Malaga, rather than
Savona. That port, in northern
Italy, is Costa’s main base for
western Mediterranean cruises,
so Costa Smeralda’s last cruise
before laying up in Barcelona just
called at Italian ports to unload
passengers. Subsequently, Costa
Cruises suspended operations
until 3 April, but that date has
since looked rather optimistic.
With many countries now
closing ports to cruise ships
completely, and others closing
borders, the availability of transit
ports has seriously diminished.
At the time of writing, India
had closed all ports to cruise
passengers, as had Hong Kong,
Malaysia, the Maldives, Samoa,
South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan
and the UAE. Italy was also
closed, as was Spain. Norway,
Denmark and New Zealand
started quarantining arriving
passengers for 14 days, not
ideal on a one-day port call.
The closure of Hong Kong
has effectively put both Star
Cruises and Dream Cruises out
of business temporarily.
 Riviera is one of two Oceania ships which had all Italian ports dropped from
their itineraries. WILLIAM MAYES
from Asia. WILLIAM MAYES
Current precautions, where
cruising is still possible, now
involve temperature screening of
embarking passengers, in addition
to copious question sheets
covering health and recent travel
history. Many cruise lines are
offering no-penalty short-notice
cancellation by passengers, and
some were giving shipboard
credit to passengers who chose
to continue with their plans.
A number of ports seem to
be randomly denying entry
to individual cruise ships with
little or no notice. In Europe,
MSC Opera was denied access
to Malta, despite having no
evidence of disease, after medical
staff on the island threatened to
strike if the ship was allowed in.
The cruise industry’s black
Friday, 13 March, was a real
turning point, but unfortunately in
the wrong direction. Saga Cruises
was the first to halt sailings (until
1 May) with Fred. Olsen (23 May),
NCL, Oceania, Regent Seven Seas
(all 11 April) following rapidly.
That was also a bad day for
Fred. Olsen’s Braemar, denied

INDUSTRY WORLDWIDE
port access in Freeport, other
than for supplies to be taken
to the ship, as she had five
confirmed case aboard. It was
thought that she would have to
sail back to Southampton, but
HOW THE CRUISE LINES HAVE BEEN AFFECTED
Almost every cruise line has
terminated its 2020 Asia season,
with ships either laid up or
moved elsewhere. In a very fluid
situation, at the time of writing
the following suspensions of
cruises were in place:
• Aida Cruises has suspended all
operation until early April.
• Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line
had already taken Grand Classica
out of service for three months
due to the business environment
‘causing anxiety’, thereby
removing the recently introduced
Nassau itineraries from West
Palm Beach. Grand Celebration is
out of service until 10 April.
• Cunard’s Queen Mary 2
disembarked most of her
passengers in Australia and began
a 24-day run for home. Departures
are suspended until 11 April.
• After the trouble in finding a
South East Asian port that would
accept the ‘clean’ Westerdam,
the ship found refuge in Alaska,
laying up in Juneau on 22 March
to await the start of the season.
That is likely to be delayed, as
Canada has banned all cruise
calls by ships carrying more than
was instead allowed to dock at
Mariel in Cuba, from where her
passengers were flown home.
When the US Government then
asked for all cruise departures
from the United States to be
500 passengers until the end of
June. Holland America expects
to resume sailings on 14 April.
• Virgin Voyages cancelled
the New York showcase call
of its first ship, Scarlet Lady,
which, after visiting Dover and
Liverpool, proceeded directly
to her homeport of Miami. The
maiden voyage planned for 1
April has now been rescheduled
to depart on 7 August.
• Carnival Cruise Line
rescheduled itineraries that were
due to call at Grand Cayman and
Jamaica following the refusal by
those countries to allow Carnival
Freedom and Carnival Horizon
to dock, with no evidence of any
illness aboard either ship. Now,
operations are suspended until
9 April for the US-based ships.
• Other lines with suspended
sailings are Celestyal (1 May),
CMV (24 April), Crystal (8 May),
Cunard (11 April), Disney (12
April), Marella (optimistically 23
March), P&O Cruises (11 April),
P&O Australia (13 April), Paul
Gauguin (11 April), Seabourn (14
April), Viking and Windstar (both
30 April). As events continue to
halted for 30 days, most of the
other cruise lines followed suit
and as a result there were a lot of
ships idle for most of March and
April. While the big companies
will weather the current storm,
unfold, it is almost certain some
of those dates will be extended.
• Celebrity Cruises moved
Celebrity Millennium out of
Asia and started US West Coast
sailings early, with a programme
that included a series of ‘Cruising
for Heroes’ cruises for fire fighters,
first responders and veterans.
• Sistership Celebrity
Constellation’s 17 March cruise
from Dubai was cancelled
following the closure of all ports
on the itinerary, including Dubai.
• Celebrity will delay the naming
ceremony of Celebrity Apex,
which had been due to take place
in Southampton on 30 March.
 Spirit of Discovery heading up the Thames for Tilbury on 16 March, having
left Southampton for temporary lay-up. FRASER GREY
www.shipsmonthly.com • May 2020 •
news
WATERFRONT • www.shipsmonthly.com • The Granary, Downs Court, Yalding Hill, Yalding, Kent, ME18 6AL • t > 01959 541444 • e > sm.ed@kelsey.co.uk
 Viking Star at Tilbury Cruise
Terminal on 15 March, before she
moved to Tilbury Dock. FRASER GREY
some of the smaller operators,
without strong financial backing,
will surely cease trading. This
is a story that could have many
unforeseen consequences, and is
likely to run for some time.
The ship will now be named
after her inaugural European
season when she arrives in Fort
Lauderdale in October. Her
godmother will be American
author Reshma Saujani. Celebrity,
sister company Azamara and
parent company Royal Caribbean
have now suspended
operations until 14 April.
• MSC Cruises initially changed
some itineraries for MSC Seaside,
MSC Divina and MSC Meraviglia
after the Jamaican port of Ocho
Rios refused some calls by the
company’s ships. Subsequently,
the European and US
programmes were suspended.
13
NAVAL
CROSS-DECKING
FRENCH NAVY
The only two navies to operate
nuclear-powered aircraft carriers
have participated in cross-
deck interoperability exercises.
USS Dwight D. Eisenhower
FS Charles de Gaulle and USS
Dwight D. Eisenhower. US NAVY
FORCE MULTIPLIER
PAKISTAN NAVY
The Pakistan Navy has taken
delivery of the first of two
newbuild general-purpose
Offshore Patrol Vessels.
PNS Yarmook (F271) was
commissioned at Constanta Port
in Romania on 13 February, close
to the shipyard in Galati where
it was built. The second vessel,
to be named Tabuk (F272), is
planned for handover in May.
The Damen OPV 1900,
which the PN is classifying as
a corvette, displaces 2,300
tonnes, making it large enough
14 • May 2020 • www.shipsmonthly.com
Gary Davies
(CVN 69) and FS Charles de
Gaulle (R91) rendezvoused in the
Mediterranean Sea on 3 March
for the dual carrier operations.
The rare meeting allowed
pilots from both carriers to
land and launch across the two
Pakistan is classifying its new
OPVs as corvettes. DAMEN
to provide a flight deck and
hangar to operate both a
medium-size helicopter and a
UAV. It also has the capability
for the simultaneous launch of
its two high-speed RHIBs of
11.5m and 6.5m and space to
accommodate two standard
shipping containers.
The ships are being
supplied without weapons
or a combat system. As the
ships will be used for coastal
patrol duties, they are likely
to be equipped with a
Chinese 30mm gun and CIWS
mounting for self-defence.
flight decks. US naval aviators
flying the F/A-18E Super Hornet
and four French aviators, flying
the French Rafale and an E-2C
Hawkeye, conducted touch-and-
goes and one trap and recovery
on each carrier.
The exercise was not just
symbolic but also practical, as
it proved the safe integration
UNDERSEA WARFARE
ROYAL NAVY
The UK MoD has announced the
award of a Defence and Security
Accelerator (DASA) contract
to MSubs for the provision
of an extra-large uncrewed
underwater vehicle (XLUUV) for
the Royal Navy. The Plymouth-
based contractor will provide a
30m-long underwater vehicle with
a range of up to 3,000 nautical
miles, which will be based on an
existing manned submersibles.
The autonomous vessel
is essentially a £1 million
technology demonstrator which
will be used by the RN and the
Defence Science and Technology
of French and US systems and
the compatibility of operator
practices and procedures.
The 42,500-tonne FS Charles
de Gaulle previously worked
alongside the Eisenhower in
2016, and last year also operated
with USS John C. Stennis (CVN
74) while in the Red Sea.
Laboratory to explore the
potential capabilities of larger
unmanned vessels. If successful,
second phase funding of £1.5
million will be made available to
continue development.
Remotely piloted and
autonomous XLUUV submarines
are seen as a significant new
development for the future of
submarine operations. They
are particularly adept for covert
intelligence gathering, being able
to leave their dock autonomously
and secretly move to an operational
area without any embarked crew
for up to three months.
 Concept image of an
XLUUV developed by
MSubs. MSUBS

FRIGATES
FADING
AWAY
ROYAL NAVY
The Royal Navy’s headline number
of frontline surface combatants
is set to be reduced from 19 to
15 ships after further delays to
the Type 31 frigate programme.
The first of five ships had been
due to enter service in 2023. This
has now been revised to May
2027, with all the class delivered
EYES AND EARS
ROYAL NAVY
The UK MoD has awarded contracts
worth around £330 million to
Thales UK for the development of
sonar and sensor systems for the
Dreadnought class submarines.
The next-generation SSBNs will
be equipped with the latest Sonar
2076 and Combat System Mast.
Sonar 2076, comprising bow,
flank and towed array systems, is
already one of the world’s most
advanced sonar suites and is
currently in service with the RN’s
Trafalgar and Astute class attack
submarines. The Combat System
Mast is an unobtrusive ‘digital
periscope’ which combines
electronic warfare technology
with cameras to visualise what is
happening on the sea surface.
The £31 billion Dreadnought
programme will provide the RN with
four new ballistic missile submarines,
to be named Dreadnought,
Valiant, Warspite and King
George VI, from the early 2030s.
by the end of 2028. The revised
timetable will result in a temporary
reduction in frigate numbers, as
four Type 23s are planned to be
decommissioned before the first
Type 31 replacement achieves
Initial Operating Capability.
Babcock is currently
constructing a new purpose-built
module hall at Rosyth which will
be able to assemble two ships
SEALIFT INVESTMENT
NIGERIAN NAVY
Albwardy Damen has belatedly
revealed news of the keel-laying
ceremony of a new landing craft
being built for the Nigerian Navy.
The announcement was made
several months after the event,
which took place at the Damen
Shipyards Sharjah in the United Arab
Emirates on 9 December 2019.
The Landing Ship Transport 100
(LST100) is an off-the-shelf Damen
in-house design which features
a mix of commercial and naval
The LST 100 is scheduled for delivery in May 2022. DAMEN
Commissioned in 2002,
HMS St Albans is the
RN’s newest frigate.
MARITIME PHOTOGRAPHIC
side by side from prefabricated
modules manufactured at
other shipyards. The next HMS
Glasgow, the first of eight Type
26 frigates, is also due to become
operational in 2027, despite
construction starting back in 2017.
The artificially prolonged build
time means the next newbuild
frigate to join the fleet will arrive
25 years after the last.
standards and specifications. The
100m vessel will have a crew of 32
and accommodation for up to 250
Embarked Marine Forces. The ship
is equipped with a flight deck for
helicopter and UAV operations,
and has significant space for cargo,
loaded via the stern ramp, bow
ramp or the 25-tonne main crane.
The acquisition of the as-yet-
unnamed LST100 will restore the
Nigerian Navy’s sealift capability.
The NN’s two listed LSTs are both
unserviceable due to mishaps and
poor maintenance.
www.shipsmonthly.com • May 2020 •
news
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BRIEF NEWS
RAN • Australia’s A$8 billion Air
Warfare Destroyer programme
has come to a conclusion with
the delivery of NUSHIP Sydney.
The third and final Hobart
class guided missile destroyer
was formally accepted at the
Osborne Naval Shipyard in
Adelaide on 28 February. The
fifth warship to bear the name
will be homeported at Garden
Island in Sydney, along with
sisterships Hobart and Brisbane.
A commissioning ceremony is
planned for 2 May.
INDONESIAN NAVY • The
British-built frigate KRI Usman-
Harun is to undergo extensive
modernisation. The mid-life refit by
Len Industri will include installation
of a Thales TACTICOS Combat
Management System, SMART-S
Mk2 air and surface surveillance
radar, STIR EO Mk2 radar and EO
fire control system, and a Vigile
Mk2 tactical multi-purpose R-ESM
system. The same systems are
installed on the IN’s latest Raden
Eddy Martadinata class frigates.
QATARI NAVY • Al Zubarah
(F101), the first Doha class
corvette, was launched at
Fincantieri’s Muggiano shipyard,
La Spezia on 27 February. The
ship is being built under a €4
billion contract for seven warships
comprising four corvettes,
one amphibious LPD and two
Offshore Patrol Vessels. The
Dohas will primarily serve as air
defence platforms. They will have
16 Aster 30 Block 1NT surface-to-
air missiles, which are capable of
intercepting ballistic missiles.
RUSSIAN NAVY • Russia has
test-launched a Tsirkon missile
from a ship for the first time. The
hypersonic weapon was fired by
the Project 22350 frigate Admiral
Gorshkov from the Barents Sea
against a ground target, with
officials stating the missile’s flight
exceeded 500km. The Russian Navy
also plans to trial Tsirkon missiles on
the Udaloy class destroyer, Marshal
Shaposhnikov and the Project 949A
(Oscar II class) nuclear-powered
submarine Irkutsk.
15
CARGO
BRIEF NEWS RUSSIANS TO BUILD FOR THE ARCTIC
ODFJELL TANKER TO TAIHUA Russia will use experience gained in the
operation of the 2017-built LNG carrier
• Norway’s Odfjell Tankers has
Christophe de Margerie to build a new
sold its 2000-built chemical series of ships at its Zvezda Shipbuilding
tanker Bow Andes to Hong Complex. SOVCOMFLOT
Kong-based Taihua Ship
Management for $5 million.
Acquisition of the 16,000dwt
Japanese-built ship, which has
a special survey due, brings the
Taihua fleet up to 13 vessels, all
oil or chemical tankers. JS

LNG CARRIER FOR
SOVCOMFLOT • Russia’s
Sovcomflot has taken delivery
of the 174,000m3 capacity LNG
carrier SCF La Perouse from
South Korea’s Hyundai Samho
Heavy Industries for operation
under a long-term time charter four ships from the Russian state first icebreaking LNG carrier.
agreement with energy major
LNG CARRIERS development corporation. The expertise of Samsung Heavy
Total. The new vessel features a Smart LNG, the joint venture The enhanced Arc7 icebreaking Industry will also be brought in to
slow-speed dual-fuel X-DF engine established by Russia’s tankers will be constructed at the give the vessels greater icebreaking
and will be followed by two more Sovcomflot and Novatek last Zvezda Shipbuilding Complex in capability and manoeuvrability
sisterships later this year, bringing year to own and operate a the Russian Far East to a design that than previous ships. The Russian
the Sovcomflot fleet to 150 fleet of LNG carriers to serve will use Sovcomflot’s experience Maritime Register of Shipping
vessels with a total deadweight Novatek’s Arctic LNG 2 project, gained while operating the 2017-built will provide technical supervision
of 12.8 million tonnes. JS has obtained financing for the first Christophe de Margerie, the world’s during construction.

DUAL-FUEL BOX SHIP •
Classification society DNV
GL has entered into a Joint
Development Project (JDP) with
China’s Huangpu Wenchong
Shipbuilding Company
concerning the design of a new
5,000TEU dual-fuel container
ship for the rapidly expanding
intra-Asia trades. The vessel will
use LNG as fuel and will make use
of a hydrodynamically optimised
hull form to reduce resistance. JS
UNUSUAL VISITOR • A rare
caller at the port of Hull was the
2,486dwt Turkish-flagged cargo
vessel Muammer Yagci, which
came with steel plates on 23
February. The 75m vessel arrived
from Iskenderun and, after
discharging, sailed for Antwerp.
She was built by the Dortler
Shipyard, Istanbul in 1994, and
her 26 years have been spent
entirely under the ownership
of Yagci Deniz Cilik of Istanbul
under one name. Most of her
voyages have been round the
Med and Europe, and she has
only rarely visited the UK. RC
LNG TANKERS IN EUROPE
SHUTTLE TANKERS
Singapore-based AET has
placed the dynamic positioning
shuttle tankers Eagle Blane and
Eagle Balder in service under
long-term charter to Norwegian
energy company Equinor
for operation in the North
Sea, Norwegian Sea and the
southern Barents Sea.
Completed by South Korea’s
Samsung Heavy Industries,
 AET’s latest South Korean-built shuttle tankers employ dual-fuel
engines, with LNG and LVOG storage tanks mounted on deck. AET
the 123,100dwt sisterships
are propelled by two low-
pressure dual-fuel two-stroke
engines which meet IMO Tier
III emissions requirements
in gas mode while burning
LNG and LVOG (liquid volatile
organic compounds). They
have also been equipped
with the latest generation of
bow-loading systems, as well
as shaft generators with DC
switchboards. JS
STRANDED VLOC
SALVAGE
Salvors have begun removing
bunker fuel from the stranded
300,663dwt very large ore carrier
(VLOC) Stellar Banner off the
coast of Brazil. The 2016-built
bulker, owned by Seoul-based
Polaris Shipping, ran aground
shortly after departing the Ponta
da Madeira terminal in São Luís,
Brazil on 24 February while
carrying a full cargo of iron ore for
China. A 25m section of the ship
at the starboard bow was badly
damaged. The vessel is estimated
to have 3,500 tons of fuel oil and
140 tons of gas oil on board. JS
 Approximately 3,640 tons of fuel
and gas oil is to be removed from the
grounded ore carrier Stellar Banner
before salvage can commence off the
coast of Brazil. MARINHA DO BRASIL

16 • May 2020 • www.shipsmonthly.com


The 2009-built 50,595dwt Kota Layer is one of a large number of container ships operated by Pacific
International Lines the company is refocusing on the South East Asia and Indian Ocean trades. TREVOR JONES
PIL REDUCES BOX CAPACITY
CONTAINER SHIPS
Singapore-based Pacific
International Lines (PIL), founded
in 1967 and currently the world’s
tenth largest container carrier,
has been selling ships and leaving
a number of trade lanes as it
refocuses on the South East Asia
 The 295m by 45m LNG Merak is the second of four Yamal LNG carriers
being built by China’s Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding. MOL
CHINA DELIVERS LNG CARRIER
NEWBUILD
China’s Hudong-Zhonghua
Shipbuilding has delivered the
174,000m3 capacity LNG carrier
LNG Merak to a joint venture
formed by Mitsui OSK Lines
and China COSCO Shipping
Corporation as the second of
four gas tankers it is building
to support Russia’s Yamal LNG
and Indian Ocean trades. After
exiting the Asia-Europe trade
last year, and selling off most
of its Singamas dry container
manufacturing factories in
China, the company has left the
transpacific trade this year.
It has sold its 60 per cent interest
in Pacific Direct Line, an operator
project in the Arctic. Completed
to Lloyd’s Register classification
rules, it is the 12th LNG carrier
built in China to be operated by
MOL and follows a sistership.
LNG Dubhe, which was delivered
by the Hudong-Zhonghua yard
last year. The final two vessels
of the series, LNG Pheoda and
LNG Megnez, are to be handed
over later this year. JS
of small feeder ships in the South
Pacific market. In addition, PIL has
sold six of its largest and newest
container ships, with four of the
11,923TEU vessels going to Hong
Kong-based Seaspan and two to
Taiwan’s Wan Hai Lines. All of the
container ships were built in China
between 2017 and 2018. JS
TEEKAY SELLS THREE
TANKERS
Tanker operator Teekay has
concluded the sale of three
2003-built Suezmax crude oil
tankers as part of a financial
restructuring. The 165,293dwt
sisterships Ashkini Spirit
and Ismati Spirit have been
acquired by single-ship owners,
managed by Goodwood Ship
Management and Columbia
Ship management.
The Hyundai Samho-built pair
 The 2003-built tanker Ashkini Spirit sails from Tranmere on 24 August
2019 for China after discharging crude oil on Merseyside. SIMON SMITH
www.shipsmonthly.com • May 2020 •
news
RAND LOGISTICS
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ACQUIRE ASC
FLEET NEWS
Chicago, Illinois-headquartered
GATX Corporation has entered
into a stock purchase agreement
for the sale of its American
Steamship Company (ASC)
business to New Jersey-based
Rand Logistics for a purchase
price of $260 million. The 12-ship
ASC fleet, the largest under the
US-flag trading on the Great
Lakes, consists of self-unloading
vessels that range in length from
635ft to 1,000ft. JS
 The 1980-built American Mariner
is one of 12 American Steamship
Company vessels being purchased
by Rand Logistics from GATX
Corporation. PORT OF DULUTH
have been renamed Evagoras
and Icaria respectively under
the Liberian flag. The smaller
159,199dwt Ulsan-built Narmada
Spirit was renamed New
Discovery for Greek owners at
Singapore in February and she
also flies the flag of Liberia.
Ashkini Spirit (84,789gt)
visited Tranmere on Merseyside
on 24 August last year, arriving
from Escombreras in Spain to
discharge her cargo of crude oil,
which originated in the Gulf. RC
17
NEWS FEATURE
FUTURE CONTAINER SHIPS
THE SLOW BOAT TO CHINA IS THE LATEST THING
SLOW STEAMING
Despite the digital age
enabling quicker commerce, the
international shipping industry
seems to be moving in the
opposite direction. The world’s
largest shipping company,
Copenhagen-based Maersk Line,
along with many other shipping
lines, are embracing ‘slow
steaming’ and increasing transit
time of ships on their routes.
Slow steaming reduces fuel
consumption, with fuel usually
being the greatest expense
for large container ships. As
China’s economy grew, and the
HOW BIG CAN CONTAINER SHIPS GO? MORE THAN 26,000TEU?
CAPACITY
In January Jan Tiedemann, from
Alphaliner (BRS) in Hamburg,
reported that DNV GL has
awarded Hudong Zhonghua
Shipbuilding (group) Co Ltd
an approval in principle for the
design of an LNG-powered
25,000TEU container vessel.
Based upon the vessel’s
reported dimensions, the ship
could actually have a capacity
closer to 26,000TEU.
Container ships grow with
each new order and there
seems to be no upper limit,
although there are increasingly
critical voices concerning
18 • May 2020 • www.shipsmonthly.com
country became the world’s
biggest exporter, its reliance on
international shipping became
critical. But since the 2008
financial crisis and record high
oil prices, container lines, led
by Maersk, are now using slow
steaming to improve margins.
Other shipping sectors, including
traditionally low-speed tankers
and dry-bulk ships, have also
adopted the practice.
For any form of transport, when
speed doubles fuel consumption
roughly quadruples. Generally
speaking, slow steaming happens
when the 24-knot service speed
common for most container ships
this development. Shipping
companies constantly outbid each
other with new records in the size
of their ships, cargo capacities
and the number of containers
transported. The pressure on
shipping companies to cut costs
pushes this development, as
Potentional 26,000TEU container ship with LNG propulsion to measure 432m by 63.3m, with 26 bays by 25 rows,
maximum 26,046TEU, with 2,000+ reefers
is reduced to 18 knots or less.
Most container ships now travel
much slower than 20 knots.
During the recession, slow
steaming mitigated declining
freight rates and lowered costs.
When the financial crisis hit in
2008-09, record numbers of new
cargo ships were entering service.
But since then slow steaming
has transformed international
shipping, which moves 90 per
cent of the world’s goods.
Slow steaming means that,
for example, the 14,770TEU
container ship Emma Maersk,
on the Europe-Singapore route,
increases its transit time by 20
fuel costs and fierce competition
between shipping companies give
an advantage to those who are
able to transport containers at the
lowest cost with the largest ship.
The world’s largest container
ships are currently over 400m
long and can carry well over
per cent, from 35 to 42 days. This
reduces costs by about US$2.5
million on a single one-way
voyage, saving about 4,000 tonnes
of fuel oil while reducing carbon
dioxide emissions by 30 per cent.
Maersk first experimented
with slow steaming in 2007-08, as
fuel oil costs doubled from $350
per ton in July 2007 to $700 per
ton in July 2008. The company’s
ultra-large Triple-E 18,000TEU
container ships, introduced in
2013, were designed to run at
slower speeds using less powerful
engines, with fuel consumption
50 per cent less than the industry
average and 20 per cent better
than the ships then in service,
travelling at 19 knots rather than
23 knots, reducing the emissions
by 50 per cent per container.
In 2012 India’s largest
shipping company, The Shipping
Corporation of India, made slow
steaming standard operating
procedure, while the Hamburg
Süd fleet sails at 16 to 18 knots
on the Europe-South American
East Coast service, giving 40 per
cent fuel savings with their Santa
class ships. This has lengthened
voyages from six to seven weeks
and seen a seventh vessel added
20,000TEU. More giants are
being added, especially on the
intercontinental trade routes
between Europe and East
Asia. But where will this lead
us in shipping? On land more
investment must be made to
supporting infrastructure.

Recent developments in the container ship industry
to the service. Meanwhile, CMA
CGM French Asia Line’s service has
become the proverbial slow boat to
China, with a voyage taking 77 days.
A greater long-term benefit
to slow steaming is significantly
reduced carbon emissions.
Global shipping produces over
The infrastructure includes
larger berths and quays for
ships serviced by larger cranes
and intermediate storage areas,
as well as greater transport
capacities to the hinterland. In
addition to investment in land-
based infrastructure to cope
with the ever-growing number
of containers per ship during a
port call, environmental and port
safety aspects are also playing an
increasingly important role.
The handling of the ship giants
is also becoming more difficult,
with ships of over 200,000dwt.
The area exposed to the wind,
and the greater sizes and
draught of the ships, make safe
manoeuvring in existing harbours
and their access routes riskier.
940 million tons of CO2 annually.
Together with a shift to liquefied
natural gas (LNG), slow steaming
is seen as vital to industry efforts
to reduce shipping’s emissions,
and the return of wind-powered
ships could also further reduce
pollution. Roddy Sergiades
The port operators have to
make considerable investments
in their infrastructure to cope
with the large new ships, with
a single ship moving an ever
larger number of containers per
port call, to be managed in the
shortest time span in a port.
The cost risk of a single ship
accident rises. The loss of ship
and cargo alone, without taking
into account damage to the
environment, infrastructure
or consequential damage in
the logistics chain, can cause
losses of millions of dollars,
and this factor does not make
insurers feel comfortable.
Text by Frank Diegel,
Marine-Pilots.com;
graphic by Jan Tiedemann
AUTONOMOUS BOXSHIPS AND
NUCLEAR TANKERS FOR NSR?
Russia is considering the construction of
a fleet of container ships, possibly to be
remotely controlled, that would operate
across the Northern Sea Route. ROSATOM
ARCTIC OPERATIONS
After three of the world’s top five
container shipping companies
vowed not to operate in the
Arctic because of environmental
concerns, the Russian Ministry
for the Development of the Far
East has suggested that a state-
run container shipping company
be set up to offer a service
between Murmansk in the west
and Kamchatka in the east.
The line envisioned would
use feeder vessels to transport
containers from major European
and Asian ports to hubs in the
Barents Sea and Bering Strait,
where they would be reloaded
onto ice-class vessels for the
3,500-nautical-mile Northern
Sea Route (NSR) passage.
Russia’s state-owned
Rosatom Group has been
holding talks with Moscow’s
VTB Bank to secure $7 billion
in funding to acquire up to 55
ice-class container ships and
upgrade port facilities along
the route, which is a shortcut
between Asia and Europe.
Rosatom is also considering
the use of autonomous or
remotely controlled vessels
which would sail behind one of
the company’s nuclear-powered
icebreakers for year-around
operation. However, the
development of nuclear-
powered tankers for operation
across the NSR could be more
economical than building
www.shipsmonthly.com • May 2020 •
news
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container vessels specifically for
the Arctic passage.
Nuclear-powered tankers
of at least 100,000dwt could
carry petroleum across the
Arctic between terminals at
each end of the NSR, where the
oil would be transshipped to
conventional vessels. Novatek
is already developing reloading
terminals for its export of LNG
from the Yamal facility, and
two terminals are to be built,
one in the Ura Guba area near
Murmansk and one in Kamchatka.
Each facility will handle up to 20
million tons of LNG per year.
Ship-to-ship reloading is
already being accomplished by
Lukoil and Gazprom Neft, with
both companies operating fleets
of ice-class tankers that carry
oil from the Arctic terminals of
Varandey, Prirazlomnaya and
Novy Port to Murmansk. Although
shipping along the NSR has
increased, reaching 30 million tons
in 2019, the majority of it is bulk oil,
gas and mineral movement, with
very few container ships making
use of the passage. Jim Shaw
Ice-classed tankers serving the
Prirazlomnaya oil platform in
the Pechora Sea. GAZPROM NEFT
19
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 INTRODUCING
SCARLET LADY
Offering a ‘sea change’
for the cruise industry
and towed to the shipyard,
where the two sections were
It is not often that a new company vows joined together, and the upper
to change the way we cruise, but that is hull blocks were then added.
A total of 398 separate blocks
Virgin Voyages’ stated intention with the were used in the construction
of Scarlet Lady.
introduction of the new Scarlet Lady, as Scarlet Lady has an ultra-
modern design, inspired by
Andrew McAlpine explains. super yachts, and seems to be
Scarlet Lady alongside at
Dover, 21 February. ALL PHOTOS
more akin to a concept ship BY THE AUTHOR UNLESS STATED
of the future. The sweeping

S
ir Richard Branson
first had the dream
of owning his own
cruise line at the
age of 26, but it is
only now, with the arrival of
the first ship, Scarlet Lady,
that this dream has become
a reality, and, according to
Virgin Voyages, this is going
to be an ‘epic sea change’.
The name Scarlet Lady
probably sounds familiar to
anyone who knows about the
history of the Virgin Group,
as it pays homage to one of
the earliest airliners that flew
for Virgin Atlantic. Fincantieri
was chosen to build the ship,
as the Italian shipbuilder has
a long history of building
some of the world’s finest
cruise ships. Since 1990 it has
completed a total of 80 cruise
ships for many of the world’s
cruise lines. Scarlet Lady
was constructed at its Sestri
Ponente shipyard in Genoa.
To speed up construction,
one half of the keel section was
built in Genoa, while the other
half was built at another facility
bow seen on many cruise ships
has been replaced by a modern
vertical ‘axe bow’ shape,
which has already been seen
on Celebrity Edge. Another
feature that sets her apart is the
hull colour. Instead of white,
Virgin Voyages opted for a
two-tone light- over dark-grey
combination, colours found
on the Virgin brand.
SHADES OF GREY
During the initial design
process, the ship’s design
team from Volume Creative,
of Horsham, West Sussex,
went through hundreds of
shades of grey, tested them
in different lights, and even
included the sunshine of Italy
and the Caribbean to ensure
they found the right ones. The
lower part of the stern carries
Virgin’s signature red with the
Virgin logo. Hull art on cruise
ships has become popular
recently and Scarlet Lady has
her own in the form of the
‘Scarlet Lady’ logo.

22 • May 2020 • www.shipsmonthly.com


The company approached
award-winning designer Toby
Tinsley to design the logo,
which is said to represent the
ship’s ‘feminine spirits’ and
reflects the cruise brand’s
mermaid image. Both Tinsley
and the Virgin Group worked
together previously in 2007
to design the Virgin Galactic
logo. For the interior spaces
Virgin Voyages specifically
The bridge.
Brilliant Suite.
hired ten land-based architects
to create spaces reminiscent
of boutique hotels rather than
other cruise ships. None of the
interior designers had previously
designed for the cruise industry.
BARS AND LOUNGES
There are four bar and lounge
venues on board, as follows:
THE MANOR • Situated on deck 7,
this is Scarlet Lady’s signature
nightclub, inspired by the first
Virgin music studio.
THE DOCK • Situated aft, this
outdoor deck space offers ocean
views and is for relaxation.
RICHARDS ROOFTOP • Situated
on deck 16, this top deck VIP area
The Loose Cannon bar.
www.shipsmonthly.com • May 2020 •
NEW CRUISE SHIP
SUSTAINABLE CRUISING
Scarlet Lady has been
equipped with the latest
technology to provide
propulsion and power
generation and reduce her
carbon footprint. Main
propulsion is provided by the
Swedish company ABB, and
consists of two Azipod XO
Propulsion units. This system is
installed on many of the latest
passenger vessels. It comprises
two electric drive motors with
off-hull submerged azimuth
thrusters and 360-degree
rotating propellers.
The two units provide good
manoeuvrability, allowing
in-port navigation without
tug assistance, and minimal
vibration and noise. With
the propulsion units placed
outside the hull, the Azipod
system frees up space on
board. Power comes from a
combination of two eight-
cylinder and two 12-cylinder
Wärtsilä 46F marine diesels.
A hybrid scrubber system,
also supplied by Wärtsilä, is
installed to meet new IMO
emission regulations. The
system operates in a closed or
open loop, and uses seawater
is for suite passengers only, and is
located forward above the bridge
and features circular loungers,
giant umbrellas with dichroic glass
that casts shadows of rainbow
reflections across the outdoor
lounge. For passengers not wishing
to walk to the bar, a bottle of
champagne can be delivered to
them anywhere on board via the
‘shake for champagne’ mobile app.
23
to remove SOx (sulphur oxide)
from the exhaust, and also
significantly reduces NOx
(nitrogen oxide) emissions.
Wärtsilä also supplied the
navigation and automation
control systems, from its latest
NACOS Platinum series.
Alternative power is provided
by four-stroke engines
powering the four electricity
generators, each equipped with
ABB’s TPL-C turbochargers.
Scarlet Lady is the first
ship to be carbon-neutral, as
confirmed by Virgin Voyages’
president and chief executive
Tom McAlpin, who spoke at
a press conference on board
Scarlet Lady during her formal
launch in Dover, saying: ‘We
will be the first ship to be
carbon-neutral, and we want
to make that change now, not
in five years’. To achieve this,
Virgin Voyages has collaborated
with two Scandinavian
SCARLET LADY
COMPANY Virgin Voyages
BUILT Fincantieri Sestri Ponente, Italy,
yard no. 6287
COST €600 million (US$710 million)
TONNAGE 108,192gt
DIMENSIONS 277m x 38m x 8m
SPEED 22 knots
MACHINERY Four Wärtsilä diesel
electric units (two 12V46F Mcr
14,400kW and two 8L46F Mcr 9,600kW)
BOW THRUSTERS Three tunnel
thrusters of 1,720kW (2,339bhp)
DECKS 17
CAPACITY 2,750 passengers,
1,160 crew
REGISTRY Bahamas
ONBOARD ENTERTAINMENT AND ACTIVITIES
Scarlet Lady is an adults-only ship.
There are multiple entertainment and
activity venues on board:
ATHLETIC CLUB • Situated on deck
16, this is a yacht-inspired lounge/gym
 Redemption Spa.
24 • May 2020 • www.shipsmonthly.com
companies to reduce the ship’s
environmental footprint,
Sweden’s Climeon, a renowned
clean energy innovator, and the
Norwegian company Scanship.
Virgin Voyages is the first
major cruise line to install
Climeon’s Ocean system on
board its ships. The system
reduces carbon dioxide emissions
by converting waste heat
generated by the ship’s engine
into electricity. One Climeon
unit can produce enough
energy to power 250 normal
households, and the six
installed on Scarlet Lady are
enough to provide power not
only for the cabins and suites
but also the restaurants, casino
and other venues.
Scanship specialises in waste
management and wastewater
purification, using technology
called microwave-assisted
pyrolysis (MAP) to convert
organic waste into clean
energy. These initiatives give
Scarlet Lady a smaller carbon
footprint, which it is estimated
will eliminate 5,400 tons of
carbon dioxide waste per year.
Virgin Voyages is also
committed to having one
of the cleanest fleets at sea,
banning all single-use plastics
both on shore and on board
the ships. This covers items
such as plastic straws, tea and
coffee cups, bottled water
and other beverage bottles,
condiment packets, food
packaging and shopping bags.
The company will emphasise
the use of recyclable and
reusable materials, with bottled
area and features the largest daybed
at sea, the net, an idea thought up by
Sir Richard himself, which is a 220ft2
area of triple netting giving views ten
decks below. The gym area features
 Swimming pool outside.
 Scarlet Lady undergoing her sea trials. VIRGIN VOYAGES
water replaced by filtered still
and sparkling water available
in the bars and restaurants,
together with specially
designed Natura filtered water
stations throughout the ship.
Food and all other onboard
items will be sourced from
sustainable suppliers, and all
materials and products on
board are to be sourced with
sustainability in mind.
ACCOMMODATION
Scarlet Lady features a total of
1,330 cabins plus 78 so-called
RockStar suites (1,408 in total
for 2,770 guests , and thus a
maximum of 2,860). Views of
the sea are offered from the
majority of the cabins, with 86
per cent featuring a balcony
(which the cruise line refers to
as ‘sea terraces’). There are 21
categories of cabin, ranging in
size from the 200m2 Massive
Suite, sleeping six passengers,
football tables and a running track.
MYBEAST • Situated on deck 16,
this is an outdoor playground.
THE B COMPLEX • Indoor fitness
centre for cycling, yoga and workouts.
 The top deck.
to the Solo Insider Cabin of
16m2, sleeping two passengers.
All cabins feature smart
automatic mood lighting,
temperature adjusters, 4K
flat-screen 43in HDTVs,
a mini-bar, USB charging
points, and US and European
plug sockets. The cabins also
feature the king-sized seabeds
designed by Walter Knoll. All
rooms have presence sensors,
which detect when someone
has left the cabin and switch
into energy saver mode,
triggering the blinds to close
and air-conditioning to adjust
to an eco-saver temperature.
Bathrooms have rain shower
heads, while sea terraces have
handcrafted hammocks.
The 78 Rockstar suites are
the most luxurious and were
designed by Tom Dixon’s
interior product and design
consultancy Design Research
Studio. There are eight types
REDEMPTION SPA • Situated on
deck 5, the design of this spa was
inspired by an underwater cave, and
features a hydrotherapy pool and
other spa treatments.

DINING OPTIONS ON BOARD
The Galley is a market-style
Food Hall on deck 15.
V irgin Voyages wanted to
change dining onboard. There
is no main dining room, booked
dining times, dress codes or
buffet. Instead, all restaurants are
complimentary, with food and free
basic beverages, including soda,
still and sparkling water, teas and
Virgin’s own blend of Intelligentsia
coffee all included in the fare.
There are seven restaurants,
which offer a wide choice of cuisine:
Geonbae Korean BBQ restaurant,
The Wake is a steak and seafood
restaurant and Martini Bar aft on Deck 6.
Pink Agave, and a Mexican
restaurant; Razzle Dazzle, offering
a range of vegetarian and vegan
dishes; Extra Virgin, providing
Italian pasta dishes; The Pizza Place,
offering pizzas; Test Kitchen, a
laboratory-feel experimental dining;
The Dock, a lounge offering beach
club and Mediterranean food and
Wake, which is the equivalent of the
main dining room. The Galley food
hall has food options ranging from
breakfast to dinner.
of RockStar suite, with the
majority located on Deck 15,
while Deck 16 houses one
‘RockStar Suite Sailor’ (bow-
facing owner suite). They
feature rock-and-roll themed
décor, with mood lighting
controlled via an in-cabin
tablet, a working vinyl turntable
with a collection of classic
records, marble bathrooms, full
bars and cocktail kits.
Scarlet Lady was delivered on
14 February, and her inaugural
voyage commenced on 1 April.
She will sail mainly four- and
five-night Caribbean itineraries
from Miami. During her
voyage from Genoa to Miami,
she hosted media and travel
industry representatives on
stops in Dover and Liverpool,
www.shipsmonthly.com • May 2020 •
NEW CRUISE SHIP
 The Runway ‘Running Track’ is
located on deck 17 and is totally
separate from the exterior spaces.
 Scarlet Lady at Liverpool Cruise
Terminal on the Mersey on 25
February. ROB FOY
but her planned call at New
York City was cancelled. Her
two pre-inaugural voyages
were undertaken in late March
2020 following her arrival in
Miami. These two three-night
sailings went from Miami
and visited Virgin Voyages’
new private island resort,
The Beach Club at Bimini,
which is located on the Bimini
islands in the Bahamas.
TIMELINE
2015 23 June: ordered
2017 22 March: steel cutting
2017 13 Oct: keel-laying
2019 8 Feb: floated out
2019 22-30 Nov: on sea trials
2020 14 Feb: official handover
25
 The Scheldt estuary is of considerable commercial and
strategic importance, and is one of Europe’s busiest

MOSAIC waterways. Ships using Antwerp, the second largest port

in Europe, pass through the estuary, while Terneuzen
on its southern shore and Vlissingen on the north bank
are also busy ports in their own right. The area is an
ideal one for shipspotting, as Chris Brooks found out.

 The 215,553gt containership

Cosco Shipping Universe
passing Griete, near Terneuzen,
bound for Antwerp from
Hamburg on 12 August
2019. She was built in 2018
in Shanghai, China for Cosco
Shipping Lines. With a capacity
of 21,237TEU, she was equal
fourth (as of August 2019) in
the list of the world’s largest
container ships by TEU.

 Towage services at
Terneuzen are provided by
Boluda Towage Europe and
Multraship. The 2012-built
Damen tug Multratug 19
(453gt) is pictured departing
her base at Terneuzen locks for
her next assignment.

26 • May 2019 • www.shipsmonthly.com

 READERS’ ARCHIVE
The 24,196gt bulk carrier Federal Spruce inward bound
in the Gent Canal, bound for Gent from Heroya,
Norway, 12 August 2019. She was built in Zhoushan,
China in 2012 for Fednav of Canada.

 The British-flagged products tanker Raleigh Fisher outward bound in the

River Schelde at Terneuzen, having departed Antwerp for Arzew. She was built
in Guangzhou, China in 2005 as Rosa Maersk, becoming Maersk Raleigh in
2017. In July 2019 she was sold to James Fisher to become Raleigh Fisher.

 The containership Viona passing Walsoorden, inward bound for Antwerp on 10

August 2019, from Leixões. Built in 2006 at Daewoo Mangalia shipyard, Romania,
she was completed by Sietas at Neuenfelde, Germany as Viona. Upon completion,
she became Safmarine Mbashe until 2009, when she reverted to the name Viona.

The Liberian-flagged bulk carrier Barbara passing Terneuzen on 10 August 2019 bound for Antwerp from
Vila Do Conde, Brazil. She was built in 1994 in Chita, Japan as the Future 32A type bulk carrier Glorious
Future. In 1999 she became Aliacmon River, Theotokos in 2005 and Barbara in 2006.

www.shipsmonthly.com • May 2019 • 27

BLUE FUNNEL
GOALPOSTERS
Roy Fenton chronicles the life and times of Blue Funnel’s
‘Goalposters’, a series of iconic cargo liners which
were built from 1906 to 1921.
B
uilt in batches over
a period of 15
years, Blue Funnel’s
Bellerophon class
ships represented a
quantum leap for the company
in terms of size and power,
and also introduced goalpost
masts to the fleet. Their
building followed Blue Funnel’s
acquisition by Alfred Holt of the
China Mutual Shipper’s Steam
Navigation Co Ltd, and the class
was designed for the round-
the-world service inherited
from the latter company.
Their masts offered the
maximum outreach for derricks
to handle the logs which
were frequent cargoes on the
Pacific legs of these voyages.
The space between the masts
also maximised deck space for
the logs. Inevitably, the ships
became known as ‘goalposters’
or ‘the football ships’.
EVOLUTION
Blue Funnel’s previous biggest
cargo ships were the Peleus
class, introduced in 1901,
which measured 455ft. But
28 • May 2020 • www.shipsmonthly.com
Bellerophon, first
of Blue Funnel’s
goalposters.
 Ships built from 1905 for the
Crown Line of Glasgow probably
inspired the goalposts masts of the
Bellerophon class. Here is a late-
comer, Crown of Castile of 1912.
China Mutual’s biggest ship,
taken over in 1902, was
Keemun of 482ft, and the
first goalposters emulated
her length and gross tonnage
of just under 9,000. With
subsequent batches of the
ships built to the same basic
design, length was stretched
to 507ft and gross tonnage
to over 11,000. To ensure
a service speed of 14 knots
they were given two triple-
expansion steam engines
driving twin screws.
The price of speed was
high, with the ships burning
around 90 tons of coal each
day. The goalpost masts were
new to Blue Funnel, and
were probably inspired by a
series of ships built by D. and
W. Henderson and Co from
1905 for Crown Line. A  A coloured postcard shows Bellerophon in Tacoma. Although the deck looks
feature shared with a number cluttered, it was possible to stow logs between the legs of the masts.

of Blue Funnel ships was the
capacity for up to 200 Chinese
migrants or temporary
workers in the ‘tween decks,
and the portholes to provide
some light in this space can be
seen in photographs.
A break with tradition was
to abandon the three-island
layout characteristic of the
Blue Funnel fleet and to fit
just a short forecastle. Split
superstructure was retained,
with a bunker hatch between
the two sections. Credit for
the design goes to Holt’s
 Reputedly the fastest of the class, Teucer is seen in the Thames in wartime.
AUTHOR’S COLLECTION
naval architect Henry Wortley,
who did not see the series
completed, as he succumbed
to the so-called Spanish
influenza epidemic in 1919.
FIRST BATCH
Bellerophon was the lead ship
of the class and emerged first,
but was actually the second
to be launched, at Belfast,
by Workman, Clark and Co
Ltd, in November 1905. A
small detail, but undoubtedly
important to crews, was
that alone among the class,
Bellerophon had steel decks,
whereas her near-sisters had
wooden cladding. She enjoyed
a long career, steaming
through both world wars to
be broken up at Barrow-in-
Furness in 1948.
Spreading the building
work among three shipyards
meant Bellerophon was quickly
replicated, and indeed all five
members of the first batch were
delivered within the space of a
year. Second of the class, Teucer,
came from Hawthorn, Leslie
and, although launched four
 Cyclops in the Mersey. J.& M. CLARKSON
www.shipsmonthly.com • May 2020 •
CARGO VESSELS
days ahead of Bellerophon, she
was completed and registered
at Liverpool two weeks later.
She was regarded as the fastest
of the class, and, thanks to her
speed, she managed to evade
a U-boat, this time in the
Mediterranean, in December
1915. She came through World
War II unscathed, and went to
breakers in Troon early in 1946.
Cyclops was the third of the
class and was delivered by D. and
W. Henderson and Co, who had
built the earlier goalposters for
Crown Line. She too survived
29
 The one-off Protesilaus leaves Vancouver. AUTHOR’S COLLECTION
World War I, despite being
attacked twice. In February
1917 her speed allowed her to
outrun the pursuing U 60, and
in April she evaded a torpedo
fired by U 55. However, during
World War II her luck ran out,
and U 123 torpedoed and
sank her in the North Atlantic
during January 1942.
Titan was Henderson’s
second of the class, delivered
from their Meadowside yard
on the Clyde in July 1906.
One of two of this batch lost
during World War II, she was
torpedoed by U 47 while she
was westbound in the North
Atlantic in September 1940.
Fortunately, she was in a convoy,
Ixion in a Pacific north west setting. AUTHOR’S COLLECTION
30 • May 2020 • www.shipsmonthly.com
and her massive crew of 90 were
all rescued by escort vessels.
Hawthorn, Leslie’s yard  Titan, looking imposing as she arrives in the Mersey. J.& M. CLARKSON
at Hebburn-on-Tyne wasted
little time after completing
Teucer, with Antilochus being
launched in May 1906 and
entering service in August.
In September 1915 she came
off best when attacked by a
U-boat, fighting it off with
her gun. Her good fortune
continued, and she survived
World War II to be scrapped
at Briton Ferry in April 1948.
SOLITARY PROTESILAUS
After a break of four years,
another goalposter was
delivered by Hawthorn, Leslie  Talthybius steams out of a North American port. AUTHOR’S COLLECTION

to a slightly modified design,
the only batch 2 vessel,
Protesilaus. Her hull was 2ft
beamier, but much more
obvious was an alteration to
her mast arrangements, which
had become rugby posts.
Her end in World War
II was more farcical than
tragic. Protesilaus hit a mine
off Swansea on 21 January
1940, and was abandoned
by her crew. She was taken
in tow, but grounded near
the Mumbles lighthouse and
subsequently broke in two just
aft of her funnel. After what
must have been an epic feat of
salvage, she was refloated on
20 July and taken to Briton
Ferry to be broken up.
However, she enjoyed a
reprieve thanks to the urgent
need for blockships to protect
the Royal Navy’s anchorage at
Scapa Flow, where the battleship
Royal Oak had been torpedoed
the previous October. Pausing
on the way at Greenock, she
set out under tow for Scapa
but on 13 September sprang
a leak off Skerryvore. Having
survived so much hitherto, she
did not go down easily, and
had to be sunk with gunfire.
TYNDAREUS • THE ‘TIN CAN’
T he third ship of batch three
was laid down by Scotts’ in
March 1914, but the short-sighted
policy of giving priority to warship
construction saw her sit and
occupy a valuable building berth
until she was launched in August
1916. Although she was to be by a
considerable margin the last survivor
of the goalposters, her maiden
voyage was almost her last.
Tyndareus set out from Liverpool
early in 1917 for south-east Asia
carrying 1,030 officers and men of
the Middlesex Regiment in a large
convoy bound for Hong Kong.
Leaving aside the question of why
thousands of troops were being sent
on such a voyage at this stage of the
conflict, the ships were sent round
the Cape of Good Hope, and so
were at least spared the dangers of
the Mediterranean, where U-boats
remained a serious threat.
However, on 6 February,
when she was off Cape Agulhas,
Tyndareus hit a mine which had
been laid by the German raider
Wolf. She began to sink by the
head, but in answer to her distress
messages other ships in her convoy
took on board her full complement.
However, Tyndareus did not sink,
and was towed to Simonstown.
Repairs were protracted, and
not until 1920 did she resume
service for Blue Funnel. During
World War II she again did
 In original condition, Tyndareus loads timber from lighters, probably in
Vancouver. AUTHOR’S COLLECTION
some trooping work, as well as
operating as a freighter. A particular
duty was to take trainee airmen
across the Atlantic for training in
Canada and the USA, returning
with aircraft on deck.
After the war she took on a new
lease of life as a pilgrim ship, for
which she was given extra lifeboats
and fitted with a hospital and a
public address system. Initially
carrying 2,000 pilgrims, she was
repainted and rigorously cleaned
at the start of each pilgrimage
season. Holts reckoned not to make
much money from their long-
standing involvement in this trade,
but calculated that their policy of
offering good-value fares, decent
if basic accommodation, and their
www.shipsmonthly.com • May 2020 •
CARGO VESSELS
freedom from corruption enhanced
Blue Funnel’s reputation.
At some point Tyndareus was
also converted to oil-burning which,
although not increasing her by
now modest top speed, did reduce
passage times, as boilers no longer
needed to be periodically shut
down for ash disposal. The space
previously occupied by coal bunkers
also increased her cargo capacity.
The old ‘tin can’, as crews referred
to her, was very successful in her new
role, but the company were anxious
about her passing her 1961 survey.
As a result, the passenger ship
Gunung Djati was acquired to take
on her work, and the old Tyndareus
was broken up in Hong Kong where
she arrived in September 1960.
Tyndareus with extra lifeboats
during her pilgrim ship days.
J.K. BYASS/WORLD SHIP SOCIETY LTD
31
DESIGN EXTENDED
Despite building other ships
in the intervening years, Blue
Funnel obviously valued the
goalposters sufficiently to
return to the design, and
two further examples were
delivered in 1912. Another
builder was involved for these
ships, Scotts’ Shipbuilding
and Engineering Co Ltd of
Greenock. Their length was
extended to 506ft, pushing
gross tonnage over the 10,000
mark. The masts were further
modified, being slightly taller
than in the first batch, but
with a cross beam added to
the after mast.
The first of the batch,
Talthybius, had an adventurous
time during World War II.
During Liverpool’s May Blitz
in 1941, she was hit twice
by bombs, but worse was to
follow. On 3 February 1942
she was at Singapore during
the Japanese attack, bombed
again and this time set on
fire. Although the blaze was
controlled, Talthybius was
regarded as unseaworthy and
was scuttled in Empire Dock.
But, becoming desperately
short of ships, the Japanese
raised her and put her to work
as Taruyasu Maru. However,
on 3 June 1945, she hit a
mine and sank for a second
time. Again she was salvaged
but, having paid out on her
war loss insurance, the British
government now took her
over and renamed her Empire
Evenlode. She seems to have
pottered about locally for a
while, until the odd decision
was taken to bring her all the
way home to be broken up.
 Achilles in the Mersey. J. & M. CLARKSON
32 • May 2020 • www.shipsmonthly.com
Her old owners, Holts, were
reappointed as managers, and
she slowly limped back to the
UK, arriving at the breaker’s
yard at Briton Ferry during
September 1949.
Ixion followed from Scotts’
Greenock yard in 1912. Her
large ‘tween-deck spaces
proved useful during 1918,
when the odd circumstances
of World War I dictated
that Serbian troops had to
be moved to Basra. In May
1941 she was torpedoed in
the North Atlantic by U 94.
Her taking a while to sink
allowed time for her massive
complement of 105 to be
rescued by a merchant ship
and a convoy escort.
POST-WAR PAIR
It is either a tribute to the
usefulness of the goal posters, or
a reflection of the owner’s innate
conservatism, that a design from
1906 was perpetuated in 1916,
when Achilles was laid down on
the berth previously occupied by
Tyndareus. Work at Scott’s yard
was again suspended, so that she
was not launched until January
1920. Again, the fourth batch
showed a further amendment
to the masting arrangements,
which reverted to rugby posts.
More significantly, both
batch four ships were given
turbine machinery, the first in
the Holt fleet. The company
complained about defective
workmanship in Achilles, but
did acknowledge that she
performed better than the
triple-expansion-powered
Tyndareus. When the last of
the now much modified class,
Philoctetes, took to the water
THE BLUE FUNNEL ‘GOALPOSTERS’
NAME TONNAGE LAUNCHED COMPLETE FATE
BELLEROPHON 8,918gt 29.11.1905 1.1906 Broken up 1948
TEUCER 9,017gt 25.11.1905 2.1906 Broken up 1948
CYCLOPS 8,998gt 23.3.1906 6.1906 Torpedoed 11.1.1942
TITAN 8,998gt 8.6.1906 7.1906 Torpedoed 9.9.1940
ANTILOCHUS 9,018gt 9.5.1906 8.1906 Broken up 1948
PROTESILAUS 9,547gt 28.10.1909 1.1910 Sank 13.9.1940
TALTHYBIUS 10,224gt 7.11.1911 1.1912 Broken up 1949
IXION 10,224gt 29.10.1912 12.1912 Torpedoed 7.5.1941
TYNDAREUS 11,347gt 1.8.1916 11.1916 Broken up 1960
ACHILLES 11,426gt 8.1.1920 6.1920 Broken up 1948
PHILOCTETES 11,446gt 25.5.1922 12.1922 Broken up 1948
 Dutch lines loading logs in south-east Asia also adopted goal post masts.
This is the 1908-built Sumatra of NV Stoomvaart Maatsch Nederland.
RAUL MAYA/AUTHOR’S COLLECTION
from Scott’s yard in May masts, beginning with the
1922, it was 16 years since British-built Celebes in 1907.
class leader Bellerophon had Later members of the class
been delivered. of five, included Sumatra
The Admiralty acquired both (pictured), which came from
the ships in 1940 and, with their Amsterdam. At 394ft, they
large internal spaces and frugal if were considerably smaller than
commodious accommodation, Bellerophon and sisters.
they were converted to destroyer Blue Funnel themselves
depot ships. With her name developed the design in their
already taken by a light cruiser, five-ship Calchas class. They
Achilles became HMS Blenheim, were smaller than the later
while Philoctetes retained her Bellerophons at 491ft, and their
tongue-twisting title with the construction spanned the
addition of HMS. A massive years 1921 to 1923. The class
complement of 674 is quoted suffered badly in World War
for the ships, presumably II, three being attacked by
indicating how many, including a German commerce raider,
destroyers’ crews, could sleep on a U-boat and a Japanese
board. Both HMS Blenheim and submarine, while a fourth was
Philoctetes were sold soon after taken up by the Admiralty as
the war, the former scrapped a repair ship, after which she
at Barrow and the second at was fit only for breaking up.
Newport, Monmouthshire. Thus, the longest surviving
goal posters were members of
AFTERMATH the Bellerophon group, with
Dutch lines serving the East Tyndareus steaming on into
Indies also carried logs of the 1960s, held together by
valuable timber, such as faith and the hard work of her
mahogany, and – no doubt engineers. The ‘goalposters’
inspired by Blue Funnel’s were not only iconic ships, but
example – built a series of in the Alfred Holt tradition,
five ships with goalpost were very soundly built.
 SHIP OF THE MONTH

FRANCE
 France in her heyday.
 French Line
baggage tag
for France.

THE LAST GREAT

‘SHIP OF STATE’
The transatlantic liner France of 1962 was French Line’s final
transatlantic paquebot. Stephen Payne recalls the design
and career of one of the most famous liners ever built.

F
rance of 1962
was French Line’s
final transatlantic
paquebot. She was
a prestige project
in every sense and had much
to live up to, sailing in the
wake of the incomparable
Normandie (1935) and her
immediate predecessors, Île
de France (1927) and Liberté
(1930, ex-Europa).
These three were all grand
‘Ships of State’, conceived
in an altogether different
era to that in which France
would operate. For all her
First class magnificence and
Blue Riband mechanical
prowess, Normandie was a
commercial failure, not least
because her Tourist and Third
classes were somewhat inferior
to those of Queen Mary
(1936), which negatively
affected her voyage loadings.
Seized by the Americans for
the war effort, she was sadly
destroyed by fire and capsized
while berthed at New York
and undergoing conversion
into a troopship in February
1942. Île de France survived
the war and was substantially
modernised to resume post-
war commercial service, but
was mechanically outdated
by the end of the 1950s,
with a direct drive steam-
turbine propulsion, which was
hopelessly inefficient.
Withdrawn in November
1958, she was scrapped the
following year in Osaka, Japan,
but not before a starring role
in the disaster film ‘The Last
Voyage’, which saw her torn
apart by numerous explosions

www.shipsmonthly.com • May 2020 • 33

FRANCE
French Line’s final transatlantic paquebot

 The Grand Salon was the First Class Main Lounge.  The First Class Chambord Restaurant was seen as  The blacony of the cinema theatre balcony was
one of the best French restaurants in the world. the preserve of First Class.
 SHIP OF THE MONTH

FIRST AND TOURIST CLASS DECKS

PUBLIC ROOM FIRST CLASS TOURIST CLASS
Main Lounge Salon Fontainebleau Salon Saint Tropez
Music Room Salon Debussy Salon Ravel
Card Room Salon Monaco Salon de Bridge
Smoking Room Salon Riviera Cafe Rive Gauche
Restaurant Chambord Versailles
Cinema/Theatre Dress Circle Stalls
Swimming Pool D Deck Upper Deck

 The elegant dome was a key feature of the First  The Riviera Lounge was France’s very  The Salon Saint Tropez was the Tourist Class
Class Chambord Restaurant. sophisticated First Class Smoking Room. Lounge.

FRANCE
DIMENSIONS 1,035ft x 110ft 7in,
draught 32ft 9.75in (service), 34ft 5in
(maximum)
DISPLACEMENT 58,000 tons (full
load), 44,000 tons (lightship),
TONNAGE 66,348gt, 14,000dwt
PASSENGERS 2,016 total, 407-509
First class, 1,271-1,637 Tourist class
CREW 1,044
CARGO 236,000ft3 (general), 15,700ft3
(insulated)
ELECTRICAL ALTERNATORS
Generating 15,400kW in total
LIFTS 21 in total for passengers, crew
and service staff
TELEPHONES 1,300
WIRING 18,000 miles
ON BOARD China crockery 22,000
items, silver tableware 25,5000 items
for the film director’s verve.
Liberté was somewhat more
modern, being propelled by
geared turbines, and she also
benefited from thorough
rebuilding after the war. She
was withdrawn in late 1961 as
France was nearing completion
and scrapped at La Spezia, Italy.
The French Line began
contemplating new
transatlantic liners as early
as 1952. Three separate
concepts were evaluated, and
at one stage it appeared that
two 30,000grt ships would
be ordered, but in the event
a single large 66,000grt,
quadruple-screw fast liner was
ordered from Chantiers de
l’Atlantique at St Nazaire on
25 July 1955 for delivery early
in 1962. The new ship was
laid down on the slipway used
to construct Normandie in
the early 1930s on 7 October
1957 and subsequently
launched on 11 May 1960.
The naming ceremony was
performed by the French
36 • May 2020 • www.shipsmonthly.com
President’s wife, Madame
Yvonne de Gaulle, who
christened the ship France
using a magnum bottle of
Champagne. After being
launched into the river
Loire, the ship entered the
St Nazaire Lock Dock, built
to dry-dock and service
Normandie, and the object
of the famous World War II
British Commando raid to
deny its use to German navy
heavy units. While France
was in drydock, the 74-ton
rudder was attached and the
four external 64ft 7in-long
propeller shafts were installed.
The ship’s four retractable
fins of the Denny-Brown
stabiliser installation were also
mounted on their activating
shafts. Each fin measured 90ft2
and extended 12ft 6ins when
deployed, moving through 40
degrees in operation to provide
an opposing force to any rolling
motion. The ship was then
moved to the Penhoet Wet
Dock for outfitting alongside,
as Normandie had been.
France was fabricated
mainly from mild steel, with
some high tensile steel in  On the same slipway that supported the famous Normandie in the early
high-stress areas, while 750 1930s, the hull of France nears completion at St Nazaire.
tons of light aluminium alloy
was utilised in the upperworks
above Verandah Deck. The
structure was almost entirely
welded but some riveting
was employed. The ship
was divided into eight main
fire zones, while watertight
compartmentation afforded
15 watertight compartments
through 14 transverse
 SHIP OF THE MONTH

 One of the eight massive  A model of the new French Line flagship
Penhoet boilers being is put through her paces at the model test
manoeuvred around the tank. Note that the funnel design has not yet
shipyard by low-loader. progressed to the winged funnels.

By constructing the ship this lounge, library/writing room

bulkheads; access between
compartments was provided
by 59 hydraulically controlled
watertight doors. The
compartmentation provided
a three compartment, rather
than the more usual two,
survivability standard.
For fire safety and integrity,
Method 1 was followed,
according to SOLAS 1960
regulations, overseen by
the French classification
society Bureau Veritas (BV).
This basically meant that
the ship was constructed of
fire-proof materials without
any combustibles, such as
plywood or wood veneers.
Non-structural bulkheads
were built from Marinite
Board (compressed asbestos
board), faced with polyester
paint, laminated plastic, vinyl,
metal, ceramic or glass cloth
for aesthetic purposes.
way, a sprinkler installation
was not required. However,
later in the her career, while
she was sailing as Norway,
the regulations changed, and
sprinklers had to be fitted.
This was executed cheaply by
installing exposed pipework,
rather than concealing it,
throughout the ship, something
that greatly detracted from the
ambiance on board.
There were 11 decks: Sun,
Boat, Verandah, Promenade,
Upper, Main and A to E
decks. First class public rooms
were ranged along Verandah
Deck, major spaces forward
to aft comprising the dress
circle of the cinema/theatre,
and smoking room, flanked
to port and starboard by
enclosed promenades. On
Promenade Deck below,
again flanked by covered
promenades, the Tourist class
spaces were distributed, from
forward to aft, the stalls of
the cinema/theatre, smoking
room, library/writing room
and the lounge.
The Tourist Saint Tropez
main lounge sported the
longest bar afloat at 63ft in
length, while the cinema/
theatre was the largest afloat,
seating 644 persons. The
dining rooms of both classes
were on A Deck, sandwiched
between the main galley.
The 376-seat First Class
Chambord Restaurant was
located forward, accessed by a
22-step ‘grand descent’, while
being surmounted by a large
circular dome. The Tourist
Versailles Restaurant had a
mezzanine level on Main

www.shipsmonthly.com • May 2020 • 37

  The shapely cruiser stern of France awaits painting prior to her launch.

 The hull of France nears completion and will soon be ready for launching.  France glides down the slipway and is afloat for the first time.

Deck to extend its capacity

to 826 seats. 240 First class
passenger cabins were located
on Sun, Boat, Upper, Main
and A Decks, whereas the
721 Tourist cabins occupied
Verandah, Promenade, Upper,
Main, A, B and D Decks.
The vast majority of cabins
were fully en-suite, with only
a small Tourist section relying
on communal facilities. In
total, 2,044 passengers could
be accommodated, nominally
407 in First and 1,271 in
Tourist, with a further 366
interchangeable between the
two classes. When France
was cruising with the French
Line, capacity was restricted to
1,349 passengers in an open
one-class configuration.
Each class had two non-
wrap-around promenade decks,
port and starboard, which
straddled their public rooms, on
Verandah Deck First class and

38 • May 2020 • www.shipsmonthly.com


FUEL CONSUMPTION
SHIP CONSUMPTION GRAMS
PER HP PER HOUR
ÎLE DE FRANCE 1927 480
NORMANDIE 1935 301
FRANCE 1962 244
Promenade Deck Tourist class.
The majority of the weather
decks, including Boat Deck,
were covered in a dark green
coloured artificial compound
called Cementex. Only the aft
ends of Promenade and Upper
Decks were sheathed with
teak. All accommodations were
air-conditioned, powered by a
comprehensive £5 million plant.
France’s eclectic exterior
met with universal appeal:
she had long, fine, sleek
lines, topped off with two
beautifully sculptured unique
winged funnels. Internally,
she was ultra-modern
throughout, with each
public space entrusted to a
different noted French interior
architect. Unfortunately, some
considered that the lack of co-
ordination between the rooms
led to a disparate effect.
While this may have been
a little harsh, some of the
rooms did appear a bit stark.
Nonetheless, the ship was
the embodiment of France
Majesty and elegance
personified – France
at sea at speed.
SHIP OF THE MONTH
The Bridge was
uncluttered.
WEIGHT (KG) OF
MACHINERY PER HP
122
68
50
afloat and was noted for
her particularly high service
and gastronomic standards.
Nothing exemplified this
more than the Chambord
Restaurant, which was always
a black tie event at dinner.
Thirty-six waiters, aided by
32 captains and four assistant
maîtres d’hôtel presided, and
the menu presented over 100
items which changed every day
and was not repeated during
a voyage, even a world cruise.
The 17,000ft2 galley, which
served both the Chambord
and Versailles Restaurants,
was manned by 180 chefs,
bakers, butchers, confectioners,
sauciers and apprentices led
by a Master Chef. Galley Collage of French Line
equipment included 26 ovens memorabilia for France.
and 56 hotplates.
Upon entering transatlantic was generated from eight
SPEED AND POWER service, France was paired with huge Penhoet boilers, four
France was the second fastest United States, with the ships in each of the boiler rooms,
passenger liner ever built, at sailing on alternate Fridays compared to 29 on Normandie.
one point achieving 35.21 from Le Havre and New Advances in marine engineering
knots on sea trials. Propulsion York. Once United States was since Île de France was
was provided by single withdrawn in 1969, France’s commissioned in 1927 were
reduction geared turbines sailings were sensibly co- considerable, as exemplified
developing a maximum ordinated with Cunard Line’s by comparing the relative fuel
160,000shp, distributed Queen Elizabeth 2. consumptions (see table).
between four shafts through The main propulsion In service, France consumed
two separate boiler room/ machinery was arranged as two about 750 tons of heavy fuel
engine room combinations. independent forward and aft oil a day, whilst producing
Four ahead turbines were boiler/engine room sets. Steam 14,000shp more and ran at
geared to each shaft, the 19:1
gearing providing 164rpm at A French Line publicity
the shafts at maximum power photo of France.
for 34.13 knots trials speed.
A normal service speed
of 31 knots (156rpm) was
provided (the Cunard Queens
ran at 28.5 knots), with
33 knots achievable under
seagoing conditions. Each
shaft was originally fitted with
four-bladed propellers, but
the two inboard shafts were
retrofitted with five-bladed
propellers within six months
of the ship entering service;
the same arrangement was
adopted on United States
Line’s United States (1952) to
minimise resonant vibrations.
www.shipsmonthly.com • May 2020 • 39

a two-knot improvement
in speed over the larger
Normandie, which burnt
over 1,000 tons a day. With
economical cruising in mind,
with one engine room shut
down and the attendant
propellers free-wheeling, the
ship could reach 23 knots.
ENTRY INTO SERVICE
France was delivered on 6
January 1962 and, after a
short shakedown cruise to the
Canaries and a trial docking
in Southampton, she sailed
on 3 February on her maiden
voyage from Le Havre to New
York via Southampton, where
she arrived to the customary
fireboat welcome on 8 February.
MEMORIES OF FRANCE
F rom the age of 12, I corresponded
with the French Line Director
in London based at 20 Cockspur
Street adjacent to Trafalgar Square.
In those days the glass-fronted
office displayed a magnificent model
of France, and large letters spelt
out ‘French Line’ along the office
façade. In early 1974 I received a
letter announcing that France would
be withdrawn later that year as the
French Government had decided
not to underpin her operation.
Therefore, if I wanted to experience
her, I would have to act quickly.
I coerced my father into taking
me on a cross-Channel trip to Le
Havre from Southampton to sail
back on France on 24 May 1974, at
40 • May 2020 • www.shipsmonthly.com
The ship had cost £30
million, of which £23 million
was paid by French Line,
and £7 million by the French
Government directly to
Chantiers de l’Atlantique.
France had five profitable
years, averaging 75 per
cent occupancy, but from
1968 she abandoned winter
transatlantics as she slipped
into the red due to falling off-
season demand, when cruising
was substituted instead.
In 1967 and 1968 a few calls
were made to Quebec, and
from late 1971 to 1974 calls
were made to Bremerhaven
in an attempt to widen
her appeal. Her off-season
cruises were wide-ranging
the start of her first transatlantic
crossing of her last season. We
sailed at 1100 and explored the
great ship, before enjoying lunch
in the Tourist class Versailles
Restaurant, where we shared a table
with an American passenger who
offered to pay our fare to complete
the trip to New York.
As we approached Southampton,
I was called to the First class
Purser’s Office, which, to the
great annoyance of my father, was
difficult to access from our Tourist
class confinement. Having found
the Purser, I was presented with
a model of the ship and a large
cutaway plan, which remain prized
possessions to this day.
and included two complete
circumnavigations of the world
in January 1972 and 1974.
Despite her massive allure,
increasing operating costs,
particularly for fuel, saw her
make a £6 million loss during
the 1973 season. The 1974
transatlantic season saw her
being operated on six-day
crossings at reduced speed
to conserve fuel, and a fuel
surcharge was imposed in an
attempt to minimise losses,
which were underwritten by an
increasingly belligerent French
Government.
France was due to remain
in service up to 25 October,
but, after a crossing, as she
approached Le Havre on 11
September 1974, the crew
mutinied, and she was forced
to anchor outside the port.
The following day her 1,266
passengers were offloaded
onto the car ferry Viking
III and on 18 September
French Line cancelled the
last scheduled voyages. The
France’s crew gather for a group photo on the liner’s aft
terraced decks.
SERVICE SUMMARY
1962-1974
 377 North Atlantic crossings
with 588,024 passengers
 93 cruises with 113,862
passengers
 Total distance steamed
1,860,771 miles
 1974 World Cruise 4 Jan to
11 April, 93 days; passengers
taking various segments 2,536;
miles steamed 46,477; fuel
consumed 46,827 tons
 An official portrait of France
produced by French Line. She
undertook her maiden voyage
on 3 February 1962, and was in
service until 24 October 1974.
ship eventually docked on 9
October after the crew lost all
hope of a last-minute reprieve,
and the ship was officially
decommissioned by French
Line on 25 October.
On 19 December France was
towed to a lay-up berth, dubbed
‘Quai de L’Oubli’, Quay of
the Forgotten. The following
year she was put up for sale for
approximately US$40 million,
with the stipulation that she
should be retained in a static or
sailing role, but not scrapped.
Although several offers were
made for her, French Line
deemed them inappropriate
and she remained laid up at
her berth, apart from a dry-
docking for hull maintenance in
November/December 1976.But
she was to have a future, in a new
role and with a new name.
 Part 2 of this history of the
famous liner, in the next issue
of Ships Monthly, takes up the
story of how the liner France was
transformed into the Caribbean-
based cruise ship Norway.
 PICTORIAL

The 2017-built ro-ro cargo vessel Meleq (32,770gt) on

the Thames passing Tilbury. The Malta-flagged vessel
is currently sailing on North Sea routes. FRASER GRAY

PICTORIAL
Have you an outstanding photo that would grace our
image to Ships Monthly for inclusion in these pages,
gallery? Send your
which showcase the
best in ship photography around the world.

Blue Star Ferries’ 2012-built ro-ro ferry, the 25.5-knot Blue Star Patmos
(18,498gt) at speed, currently operates on the Greece-Dodecanese Islands
ferry route covering Piraeus-Kalymnos-Kos-Rhodes. ANDY HERNANDEZ
www.shipsmonthly.com • May 2020 • 41
 The 2001-built cruise ship Celebrity
Summit (90,940gt, ex-Summit) aproaching
St Thomas, US Virgin islands. She was one
of the first cruise ships to be powered by
gas turbines. DARREN HOLDAWAY
42 • May 2020 • www.shipsmonthly.com
The Denmark-flagged crew vessel
Esvagt Alpha (1,244gt, ex-Argus) at
Fraserburgh in 2018. She was built by
Svendborg Skibsvaerft & Maskinbyggeri
in Svendborg in 1971. JAMES PRENTICE
Family reunion: the 41,678gt Pacific
International Lines sisterships Kota Lihat
(2013) and Kota Lestari (2014) pass
in Lyttelton harbour, New Zealand on
7 September 2017. NICK TOLERTON
 PICTORIAL

The 2016-built offshore supply ship

Hai Yang Shi You 285 (12,321gt)
arrives at South Shields in February.
The ship is operated by the
Chinese company COOEC Subsea
Technology Co. DAVID FRASER

www.shipsmonthly.com • May 2020 • 43

 HMS OCEAN
down on 8 November 1942.
She was launched less than a
year later, on 8 July 1943, and
commissioned on 8 August
1945. She almost did not
enter service with the Royal

Colossal class carrier Navy after the Australian

Government offered to buy her.
This was denied and, following
her commissioning, she sailed
to the Cammell Laird yard at
Birkenhead to be modified
HMS Ocean (R68), launched over 75 years ago, was one of to operate night fighters. She
the Light Fleet Carriers ordered during World War II and laid operated with Hellcat NF 11
aircraft with 892 Naval Air
down as the Colossus class. James Hendrie traces her history Squadron (NAS).
The changes included
and career, which saw her involved in post-1945 campaigns. replacing the British Type 277
‘height finding’ radar with
the American SM-1 radar.
With this work completed

O
nly four of
the Colossus
class of
aircraft carrier
entered service
before the end of World War
II, including HMS Ocean,
but none actually saw any
action. However, Ocean was
subsequently involved in
both the Korean War and the
Suez Crisis, and, in 1945, she
became the first carrier on
which a jet-powered aircraft
landed and took off.
HMS Ocean was the third
of the Colossus class of Light
Fleet Carriers, which were
designed to be cheaper and
quicker to build than full-
size fleet carriers. They were
regarded as being dispensable,
and were to serve for only a
short period. They could be
completed in a little over two
years, were lightly armoured
and had short-range gun
armaments, with more reliance
on their aircraft for defence.
The Light Fleet design
was a scaled-down version
of the Illustrious class. The
thinking was that the Colossus
class carriers would displace
between 13,190 tons at light
load and 18,040 tons at full
load. The propulsion system
was similar to that used for
cruisers and comprised four
Admiralty three-drum boilers
supplying steam to two sets
of Parsons geared turbines,
delivering 40,000shp to drive
two shafts and two propellers.
HMS Ocean’s armament
consisted of 30 x 40mm AA
guns and four three-pdr and
24 two-pdr AA guns, and she
carried a complement of up to
40 aircraft, which were a mix
of fighters and bombers. The
guns were designed for close-to
defence, while the air group
could provide air cover before
any attacking forces got close
to the carrier. The favoured
AA gun for this class was the
40mm, which was found to be
far superior to other armaments
after experiences in the Pacific.
HMS Ocean was built at
the Alexander Stephen &
Sons yard, Glasgow, being laid
HMS Ocean off Korea in
July 1952 during her first
deployment to the area.
MICHAEL. W .POCOCK/WWW.
MARTIMEQUEST.COM
and World War II over, HMS
Ocean was based at the Rosyth
Naval base in Scotland. Here
she was involved in flying trials
for the De Havilland DH.103
Sea Hornet. This twin-engine
piston fighter aircraft was built
on the successful wooden
construction principles
applied to the De Havilland
Mosquito. Like HMS Ocean,
the Sea Hornet was designed
to see action in the Pacific
against Japan but it did not
reach operational status until
after the war had ended.
SWORDFISH AIRCRAFT
During 1945 the last carrier
operations by the famous
Fairy Swordfish aircraft took
place from HMS Ocean. The
Swordfish was a mainstay
aircraft used on aircraft carriers
and land-based operations by
the Fleet Air Arm during World
War II, with over 2,000 of the
aircraft constructed. Swordfish
were successful in attacks against
Bismarck, attacking U-Boats
while on convoy protection
duties and carrying out an
attack on the Italian Navy at
the Battle of Taranto.
On 3 December 1945 the
first landing and taking-off of
a purely jet-powered aircraft
on an aircraft carrier took
place on HMS Ocean. The
De Havilland Sea Vampire
LZ551, piloted by Eric
‘Winkle’ Brown, was one of
three prototype Sea Vampire
aircraft used to carry out flight

44 • May 2020 • www.shipsmonthly.com


HMS Ocean under way. Her
fight deck was 695 ft in
length and she could carry
up to 40 aircraft.
testing and trials. The aircraft
still survives and is currently
on display at the Fleet Air Arm
Museum at Yeovilton.
Following this activity
with aircraft, HMS Ocean
was transferred to the
Mediterranean Fleet in
December 1945, sailing to
Malta with Supermarine Seafire
and Fairey Firefly on board.
While in the Mediterranean,
she carried out carrier night
fighter trials until the summer
of 1946. In June 1946,
after her air group had been
offloaded, Ocean was used to
transfer troops to Singapore.
Two years later Ocean
was part of a task force
AIRCRAFT CARRIER
supporting the withdrawal of
British troops from Palestine,
providing air cover after the
land-based RAF aircraft had
been evacuated. Her next
major theatre of action was
in Korea, where she served
during 1952 and 1953. In
August 1952 her Hawker Sea
Fury aircraft engaged North
Korean MIG 15 jets, claiming
one official kill in the process.
During the Korean War
Ocean operated alongside the
aircraft carriers HMS Glory,
HMS Triumph, HMS Theseus
and HMAS Sydney, arriving
on station via Malta and Hong
Kong. She carried 825 NAS
with Fairy Firefly aircraft and
802 NAS with Hawker Sea
Fury aircraft. There were
challenges in accommodating a
full complement of aircraft and
their crews alongside the ship’s
personnel, and also issues in the
heat and humidity of the Far East.
Ocean’s aircraft carried
out several roles, including
providing air support to
the UN and US forces on
islands off Korea. They also
carried out air reconnaissance
missions to support ground
troops and close air support
for attacking ground troops.
While aircraft were normally
launched using a catapult,
rocket-assisted take-off gear
(RATOG) was used in Korea
as well. This involved rockets
being attached to the aircraft
which the pilots fired as part
of the take-off run.
The Colossus class of aircraft carrier was
designed for quick construction and short service,
but HMS Ocean served the Royal Navy for 20 years.
www.shipsmonthly.com • May 2020 • 45
 While Ocean was in the
Korean War theatre, her
aircraft flew just under 6,000
sorties, dropping nearly 4,000
bombs and firing 16,000
rockets. As well as having an
offensive capability using her
aircraft, Ocean also carried a
Dragonfly HR 1 helicopter on
her first tour. This was used
for search and rescue missions.
This helicopter was transferred
to Ocean from HMS Glory.
The Dragonfly brought
Carole Carr, well-known
star of the BBC’s ‘Calling all
Forces’, on board the ship in
September 1952. Carr was
a popular visitor to HMS
Ocean and other ships during
that period. The Korean War
Armistice was signed in July
1953 but Ocean remained
in the area. Before she left,
her crews and officers held a
service on deck and a wreath
was dropped into the Yellow
Sea to remember the fallen.
After leaving Korea, Ocean
46 • May 2020 • www.shipsmonthly.com
headed for Devonport in
late 1953 to undergo a refit
to convert her to a training
carrier and joined the Home
Fleet. However, another war
intervened and she saw further
active service, in support of
British, French and Israeli
forces after President Nasser
nationalised the Suez Canal.
This war saw a change in
warfare, with helicopters being
used to carry Commando
forces into battle.
HELICOPTER ASSAULT
Helicopters from Ocean and
HMS Theseus were used in
the first mission in a war zone.
They carried 45 Commando
Royal Marines and landed
them by what was then a new
airborne method rather than
the traditional method of
parachute drops of amphibious
landings. Ocean’s Whirlwind
 HMS Ocean at Malta during a
tour of the Mediterranean in 1951.
COPYRIGHT MICHAEL. W. POCOCK/WWW.
MARTITIMEQUEST.COM
 HMS Ocean at the Grand Harbour
Malta 1951. COPYRIGHT MICHAEL. W.
POCOCK/WWW.MARTITIMEQUEST.COM
HMS Ocean in her role as a
Command Carrier.
Mk.2 helicopters each carried
five marines, and Bristol
Sycamore helicopters were
also used in the landings. In
less than two hours helicopters
from both ships landed over
400 marines and 23 tons of
stores and equipment.
Further missions were
carried out, and after the Suez
campaign other carriers were
converted into Commando
Carriers. Ocean needed
only minimal modifications
to allow her to operate
helicopters in this support
role. In the 1960s HMS
Fearless and HMS Intrepid
A SIXTH OCEAN
In the 1990s a new HMS Ocean
(L12) entered service, becoming
the sixth ship to carry the name.
She was constructed in the mid-
1990s by Kvaerner Govan on the
River Clyde and fitted out by VSEL
at Barrow-in-Furness. Ocean was
commissioned as an amphibious
assault ship in September 1998 at
her home port, HMNB Devonport,
Plymouth. She was designed
to provide the amphibious
assault capabilities previously
offered by HMS Albion and HMS
Bulwark. In December 2017 the
Brazilian Navy purchased the
ship for £84.6 million. She was
decommissioned from Royal Navy
service on 27 March 2018, arrived
in Rio de Janeiro on 25 August
2018, and was renamed PHM
Atlântico; she is to become fully
operational this year.

HMS Ocean was one of four
Colossus Class aircraft carriers
that entered service before
the end of World War II.
COPYRIGHT AND PICTURE CREDIT
MICHAEL. W. POCOCK/WWW.
MARTITIMEQUEST.COM
commissioned as amphibious
assault ships as this method of
delivering troops to war zones
became the norm.
Suez was Ocean’s last
active service before she was
withdrawn from service.
However, other notable events
 HMS Ocean saw the first jet-powered aircraft take off from a carrier.
during her service included
one of her Whirlwind HAS22
helicopters of 845 NAS
ditching in the Mediterranean
off Malta on 10 January
1957. Later that year Ocean
took part in the Royal Review
of the Home Fleet in the
Cromarty Firth, alongside
aircraft carriers HMS Ark
Royal and HMS Albion.
In September 1957 Ocean
and the submarine depot ship
HMS Maidstone (F44) were
at the centre of a diplomatic
incident, when the USSR
 HMS Ocean carried a mixture of fighter and bomber aircraft.
www.shipsmonthly.com • May 2020 •
AIRCRAFT CARRIER
HMS OCEAN
PENNANT R68
BUILT 1942-45, Alexander Stephen &
Sons Ltd, Govan, Glasgow
ORDERED 7 Aug 1942, laid down
8 Nov 1942, launched 8 Jul 1944,
commissioned 8 Aug 1945
DIMENSIONS 695ft x 112ft, draught
18ft (at standard displacement) and
23ft (at full load)
DISPLACEMENT 13,190 tons light
load and 18,040 tons full load
ENGINES Parsons geared turbines,
two shafts, two propellers, four
Admiralty three-drum boilers,
40,000shp
SPEED 25 knots maximum
COMPLEMENT 854 ship’s crew, air
crew not included
ARMAMENT 30 x 40mm AA, 4 x 3pdr,
24 x 2pdr AA
AIRCRAFT Up to 40
protested against both ships
visiting Helsinki, and the ships
were shadowed by Soviet
naval vessels. During 1957
Ocean was reduced to Reserve
Status and this lasted until
1960, when she was finally
decommissioned.
Two years later she arrived
at Faslane on the Clyde for
scrapping, which lasted from
May to August 1962. Two
decades after Ocean had been
laid down she bowed out.
Like others of the Colossus
class, she had served the Royal
Navy longer than anticipated
when the class was conceived.
Although she did not serve
during World War II, she
more than played her part in
the other conflicts in which
she was involved.
47
HUNT CLASS
Hard-working mine
countermeasures ships
They are among the oldest and yet hardest-worked ships
in the Royal Navy. The Hunt class mine countermeasures
vessels have been a mainstay of the fleet since the late
1970s and have seen service all over the world and in both
the Falklands and Gulf Wars. Patrick Boniface looks back at
the history of these remarkable ‘small ships’.
signatures of the ships that
pass above or nearby; however,
by using GRP the magnetic
signature of any minesweeper
is reduced significantly.
The Royal Navy was at
the forefront of developing
GRP for military use and, in
the 1960s, began examining
designs for future mine warfare
vessels. They first, however,
had to prove that GRP was
strong enough to survive the
rigours of military operations
in the North Atlantic and
North Sea, where the ships
HMS Chiddingfold (M37) entering the water for the first time would be expected to operate.
at Vosper Thornycroft shipyard, Southampton, October 1983.
A plan was formulated to
build a repeat Coniston class
world’s first minesweeper with
a hull built entirely of GRP.
In service, Wilton became
known unofficially as HMS
‘Tupperware’ and HMS
‘Indestructible’, as well as the
less than flattering ‘Plastic Pig’.
She served with the 2nd
Mine Counter Measures
Squadron and in 1974
was heavily involved in the
Royal Navy’s contribution
to Operation Rheostat, the
removal of ships and weapons
from the Suez Canal. She
proved the concept of plastic-
hulled ships and survived
two collisions without any
significant damage before
being withdrawn from service
in 1994. In 2001 she became
the new home of the Essex
Yacht Club at Leigh-on-Sea.
HMS Wilton demonstrated
that GRP could be used

I
n the mid-1960s the
development of glass
reinforced plastic
(GRP) technologies
opened up a whole
new avenue for boatbuilding
around the world. Many
small boat and yacht builders
immediately saw the benefits
of the new material, which
offered strength, durability
and simplicity of maintenance,
and thousands of motor boats
of all shapes and sizes were
subsequently constructed of
glass reinforced plastic.
For the military, GRP
offered something new as
well: a way to combat the sea
mine, one of the most dreaded
and lethal of naval weapons.
Traditionally, mines are
detonated by pressure waves,
acoustic sounds or magnetic
minesweeper with machinery successfully in warships, and as
and sweep equipment salvaged
from the decommissioned
HMS Derriton. The future
HMS Wilton was laid down
at the shipyard of Vosper
Thornycroft at Southampton
on 7 August 1970 and was
launched on 18 January 1972.
She was commissioned into
service in the Royal Navy on
14 July 1973 and became the

 HMS Cattistock, the third ship

to carry the name, was launched
in 1981 and commissioned on 5
March 1982. At around 625 tons,
the Hunts were the largest warships
constructed of glass reinforced
plastic. MARITIME PHOTOGRAPHIC

48 • May 2020 • www.shipsmonthly.com


 MCMVs such as HMS Hurworth
(M39)are some of the first warships
to enter the front line in a conflict.
a result work on the larger and
much more expensive Brecon
class mine counter measure
vessels (MCMV) continued.
The major difference between
the Ton class ship Wilton,
which was the experimental
GRP ship, and the Hunt class
was that the separate roles of
the traditional minesweeper
and that of the active
minehunter were combined
in one hull, whereas hitherto
two different vessels would
have been required to deal
with a mine threat. Later
modifications saw the removal
of mine-sweeping equipment.
Having built HMS Wilton
and already having the
infrastructure in place to build
the new vessels, Southampton-
based Vosper Thornycroft
secured the contract to build
most of the 13 planned ships.
The ships were all named after
famous hunts, with lead vessel
Brecon being laid down on 30
May 1979. The class became
the world’s largest GRP ships,
with a displacement of 725
 HMS Hurworth (M39) is
tons deep load.
homeported at Portsmouth. All the
Brecon measured 60m
ships are named after famous hunts.
MARITIME PHOTOGRAPHIC
overall, had a beam of 9.8m
and a draught of 2.2m. The
Hunt class ships were powered
by a pair of Paxman 9-59K
Deltic diesels giving the ships
a top speed of 17 knots. They
also had a separate hydraulic
drive system and a bow
thruster to permit accurate
MINE WARFARE
manoeuvring at slow speeds.
On commissioning, the
ships were originally armed
with a single 40mm/60 Mk.7
gun forward of the bridge. To
detect the sea mines, the ships
had state-of-the-art Plessey Type
193M sonar. All this technology,
however, came with a hefty price
tag. HMS Ledbury cost £65
million, making her, on a cost-
per-ton basis, one of the most
expensive warships ever built.
Vosper Thornycroft built
all but two of the ships, with
Cottesmore and Middleton
being completed by Yarrow
Shipbuilders at Scotstoun on
TIMELINE
1973 14 July • Wilton
commissioned into service to
became the world’s first GRP
minesweeper
1979 30 May • Brecon laid down
1982 Brecon and Ledbury sent to
the Falklands; in the aftermath of
the conflict, the two vessels cleared
minefields in the approach to Port
Stanley laid by the Argentinians
1991 First Gulf War, with Brecon
involved in the hostilities
1993 Brocklesby hit the headlines
in the so-called Cherbourg Incident,
when she challenged a French
trawler in Channel Islands waters
1993 Apr • Lieutenant
Commander Prince Andrew, Duke
of York, took command of HMS
Cottesmore, until November 1994
2002 Dec • As HMS Cattistock
was leaving Portsmouth, an
accident occurred that saw her
collide with the jetty which made a
2ft hole in her side; she was quickly
repaired and put back into service
2004 Jan • HMS Brecon
made history when she became
the first Royal Navy warship to
be commanded by a woman,
Lieutenant Charlotte Atkinson
2005 19 July • Brecon was
decommissioned
2008 Feb • Brecon became a
static training vessel at Jupiter
Point at HMS Raleigh
2013 18 May • Cottesmore and
Dulverton commissioned into
Lithuanian service
2017 14 Dec • Quorn
and Atherstone formally
decommissioned.
www.shipsmonthly.com • May 2020 • 49
  The Yarrow-built HMS Middleton leaving Portsmouth. She undertook a
three-year deployment out of Bahrain from 2009 to 2012. PATRICK BONIFACE

 HMS Hurworth (M39) operating in the English Channel. The Hunts were
lightly armed, with just a single 40mm cannon mounted on the forecastle. The
Hunts are now fitted with 30mm guns instead of the original 40mm weapon.

the Clyde. HMS Brecon was they were decommissioned

commissioned into service on
18 December 1979.
The sophisticated sonar
and mine detection capability
fitted to the ships was at the
forefront of the fight against
Iraq forces during the First
Gulf War in 1991, when the
ships actually performed the
role for which they were built.
In 1997 Brecon, Cottesmore
and Dulverton were assigned
to Northern Ireland Patrol
duties, for which they were
converted into patrol boats,
involving the addition of rigid-
hulled inflatables and space
for a ten-strong Royal Marine
boarding party. They served as
patrol vessels until 2005, when
and laid up for disposal.
Those Hunts not converted
to patrol boats were deployed
in support of the Allied
invasion of Iraq in 2003,
including HMS Brocklesby. She
was one of the first coalition
ships to sail into Umm Qasr,
and cleared a channel into the
port, enabling the swift and
safe resupply of Allied forces.
DECOMMISSIONED
The first of the class to be
decommissioned were Bicester  HMS Quorn was controversially decommissioned early, during defence cuts,
and Berkeley, which were sold after having had millions of pounds spent on her refit in December 2017.
to the Greek Navy in 2001,
being renamed Europa and
Kallisto respectively. In 2004
HMS Cottesmore was deemed

HUNT CLASS MINE COUNTER MEASURES SHIPS

NAME PENNANT LAUNCHED IN SERVICE CURRENT/NOTES
ROYAL NAVY SHIPS
Brecon M29 1978 1980 Training ship at HMS Raleigh
Ledbury M30 1979 1981 In active service
Cattistock M31 1981 1982 In active service
Brocklesby M33 1982 1982 In active service
Middleton M34 1983 1984 In active service
Chiddingfold M37 1983 1984 In active service
Atherstone M38 1986 1986 Decom’s’ned 14.12.2017
Hurworth M39 1984 1985 In active service
Quorn M41 1988 1989 Decom’s’ned 14.12.2017
HELLENIC NAVY
Europa M62 1985 1988/2001 Former HMS Bicester
Kallisto M63 1986 1986/2000 Former HMS Berkeley
LITHUANIAN NAVAL FORCE
Skalvis M53 1982 1983/2011 Former HMS Cottesmore
Kuršis M54 1982 1983/2011 Former HMS Dulverton

50 • May 2020 • www.shipsmonthly.com


surplus to requirements and was
decommissioned the following
year. On 19 July 2005 Brecon
was also decommissioned,
and three years later became
a static training vessel at
Jupiter Point at HMS Raleigh,
providing initial training to
new Royal Navy recruits, a
role she still performs.
After a few years lying idle,
HMS Cottesmore and HMS
Dulverton were sold to the
Government of Lithuania in
April 2009. Renamed Skalvis
and Kuršis respectively, the
pair underwent an extensive
18-month regeneration project
at A&P Falmouth during
which they were converted
back into fully-equipped
minehunters. This included the
installation of the Thales hull-
mounted Sonar 2193 system,
plus new propulsion, command
and control and mine disposal
systems. The pair were
commissioned into Lithuanian
service on 18 May 2013.
Lithuania paid €55 million for
the vessels in instalments.
For the remaining eight
Hunt class ships, a contract
to re-engine them was signed
with BAE Systems in 2008.
This saw the existing 30-year-
old Napier Deltic 9-59K
power units replaced by
Caterpillar CAT C32 engines,
MINE WARFARE
HMS Cottesmore (M32), launched
in 1982 and decommissioned in
2005, operating as a Northern
Ireland Patrol Vessel. MARITIME
PHOTOGRAPHIC
together with new gearboxes, refit at Portsmouth, were remain in service for at least
bow thrusters, propellers and decommissioned, despite another decade and perhaps to
control systems, in a six-year millions of pounds having the mid 2030s. To enjoy such
refurbishment programme already been spent on lengthy careers, the ships have
that was completed in 2018. preparing for overhaul. progressively been upgraded
New technologies were also The 13 Hunt class Mine with the installation of new
fitted so they could continue Counter Measures vessels systems, including Sonar Type
in service until the 2030s. have, following successive 2193 and the NAUTIS 3
In response to the Arab defence cuts, gradually been command system. Through
Spring uprisings of May 2011 whittled down in number. The these new systems the ships can
the Royal Navy contributed to survivors are among the oldest detect and classify objects as
Operation Unified Protector, vessels serving the Royal Navy, small as a football at distances
with HMS Brocklesby clearing but it is expected that they will of up to 1,000m away.
the waters of Misrata Port
in Libya of mines that had
been laid by forces loyal to
Muammar Gaddafi. On 5 July
2011, upon her return to her
homeport of Portsmouth, the
MCMV flew a special version
of the famed Jolly Roger,
to indicate the successful
destruction of a sea mine.
In 2012 a pair of Royal Air
Force Tornado jet fighters
crashed into the Moray Firth
and HMS Cattistock was
given the task of locating
the wrecked aircraft on the  HMS Dulverton (M35) operating as a Northern Ireland Patrol Vessel. She was
seabed. HMS Ledbury, the converted into a patrol vessel in 1997. MARITIME PHOTOGRAPHIC
Royal Navy’s oldest warship,
replaced sistership HMS
Chiddingfold in the Persian
Gulf in 2017 and is currently
serving in the region. She is
expected home this year.
In October 2017 HMS
Atherstone and HMS Quorn,
which had been lifted out of
the water ahead of a planned
 HMS Ledbury (M30) is the oldest
active warship in the Royal Navy,
having commissioned on 11 June
1981. She cost £65 million, making
her the most expensive cost-per-ton
for any class of ship built for the RN.  The former HMS Cottesmore was sold in 2011 to Lithuania, for whom she
PATRICK BONIFACE was renamed Skalvis. Note the dark grey paint scheme she has been given.
www.shipsmonthly.com • May 2020 • 51
 VIKING LINE
FACE FRESH
CHALLENGE
Coronavirus halts major
Baltic ferry connections
Russell Plummer looks at the past, present and future of
Viking Line, the Baltic’s trend-setting ferry operator.

S
eventy years
ago some of
Scandinavia’s most
eminent ferry experts
questioned the sanity
of two sea captains from the
Åland Islands who bought an
already elderly steam-powered
British vessel and started the
first drive-on drive-off car
ferry service between Finland
and Sweden. Two other new
companies quickly followed,
one of them using another ex-
English Channel stalwart. But
competition moved towards
co-operation and Viking Line
was born. The Line is now
working towards the delivery
of what will be its largest ever
vessel at the end of 2020,
The former Dover car ferry Dinard, which inaugurated Viking Line services
as Viking in April 1959.
but by April services were
suspended and others offered
reduced trips as coronavirus
swept the world.
The 63,800gt Viking Glory,
taking shape at the Xiamen
Yard in China, is due to enter
service between Stockholm
and Turku, via Åland, in
January 2021, joining the
2013-built Viking Grace and
replacing Amorella, which has
been on the route since her
delivery from the Brodograd
yard at Split and was
originally running opposite
sister Isabella, which went
to Tallink in 2013, and now
links Stockholm with Latvian
capital Riga, with a slight
change of name to Isabelle.
Expected to take the
morning departure from
Sweden and return from Turku
overnight, Viking Glory will
carry 2,800 passengers, with
berths for all in 980 cabins,
400 passengers more than
currently handled by Amorella.
With 1,500 lane metres, she
also offers an additional 600
lane metres of vehicle space
over the present ship.
Viking Glory will become
the world’s first vessel with
Wärtsilä 31DF dual-fuel
engines running completely
on sulphur-free liquefied
natural gas, a six-engine line-
up delivering a service speed
of 22 knots, with assistance
from two top-deck rotor sail
towers, a feature first seen in

HMS Chiddingfold (M37) entering the water for the first time
 Ålandsfärjan was built inThornycroft
at Vosper 1933 by Wm Denny Southampton,
shipyard, & Bros, Dumbarton and1983.
October was  The 1989-built Viking Cinderella (46,398gt) is well established as Viking
commissioned by the Southern Railway as Brittany. Line’s Stockholm-based mini-cruise vessel.

52 • May 2020 • www.shipsmonthly.com


the Baltic after Viking Grace
was fitted with a single tower.
Viking Line’s fleet will
remain at seven vessels in
2021. In addition to Viking
Grace and Viking Glory
running to Turku, Mariella
and Gabriella remain on the
Stockholm-Helsinki run; the
fleet’s longest-serving vessel,
Rosella, sails Kapellskär-
Mariehamn; Viking Cinderella
offers Stockholm-Mariehamn
mini cruises; while a fast link
between Helsinki and Estonian
capital Tallinn has been served
since 2008 by Viking XPRS.
FIRST CAR FERRY
The Baltic’s car ferry era
started on 1 June 1959, when
Viking, the former Southern
Railway passenger ferry Dinard,
dating from 1924 and rebuilt
after World War II service
as a hospital carrier to take
cars, stern-loaded, between
Dover and Boulogne, began
running between Koropo,
Finland via Mariehamn
to Graddo in Sweden for
Rederi AB Vikinglinjen. The
company had been created by
Gunnar Eklund and Henning
Rundberg, who chose pale
blue as their first hull colour.
Two weeks later Swedish
company Rederi AB Slite, set
up by Carl-Bertil Myersten,
began a service from Simpnas,
Sweden to Mariehamn after
converting the former cargo
vessel Slite to take cars. The
two companies then worked
together to establish better
ports, with a switch in Sweden
to Kapellskär, while later
Naantali and then Turku were
used in Finland.
In 1963 there were
differences within the Viking
company over its future
direction, and advocates of
pure ferry operations set
up Ålandsfärjan AB. They
brought in the 1933-built
turbine steamer Brittany
to sail from Mariehamn
to Graddo (and later
Viking’s oldest vessel, Rosella
(1980), serves the Kapellskär–
Mariehamn route.
 The 1992-built Gabriella (ex-Frans
Suell, Silja Scandinavia) has partnered
Mariella on the Helsinki route since
she was purchased by Viking Line
from Silja Line in 1997.
 The 37,799gt cruise ferry Mariella
was built by the Wärtsilä Perno
Shipyard in Turku and was the
world’s largest cruise ferry from 1985
until 1989, when the title passed to
her Viking Line fleetmate Athena.
Kapellskär) under the name of
Ålandsfärjan following work
at Helsingborgs Varv to create
a stern-loaded vehicle deck
that could take 40 cars.
The Ålandsfärjan company
later became SF Line and,
from July 1966, Viking Line
was set up as a marketing
company for all three
operators. To avoid confusion,
Vikinglinjen became Rederi
AB Solstad, with a later
change to Rederi AB Sally.
Sally became the dominant
partner and took over the
Stockholm-Helsinki route
using 1980 Wärtsilä-built
sisters Viking Song and Viking
Saga, before the latter was
www.shipsmonthly.com • May 2020 •
FERRY FLEETS
switched to a cruise role as
Sally Albatross, which ended in
1990, when she was gutted by
fire while in a floating dock at
the Finnboda Shipyard.
Viking Song was sold
to become Fred. Olsen’s
Braemar before Baltic service
as Regina Baltica. Surprisingly,
the name remained
unchanged after she moved
to the Mediterranean to join
the Trasmediterranea fleet
in 2018. The similar Viking
Sally was also completed in
1980 and, after becoming the
Tallinn-registered Estonia,
sank during a severe Baltic
storm in April 1994 with very
heavy loss of life.
The Sally monopoly on the
Helsinki route was broken
in 1985 when SF Line
commissioned the Wärtsilä,
Turku-built Mariella, which at
37,799gt became the world’s
largest ferry. Thirty-five years
later she remains a mainstay of
the route, which now has Åland
calls at Mariehamn in either
direction. Mariella continues
to offer one of the best Baltic
53
travel experiences and went to
Naantali in 2000 for a refit,
which included the fitting of
ducktail sponsons at the stern.
She was back for a further
public rooms upgrade in 2006
before another shipyard visit
to Landskrona in 2015.
Slite took delivery of
sistership Olympia in 1987,
with the pair sharing the
Helsinki crossings until the
company’s demise, when the
Irish Continental Group were
the successful bidders for the
ship, which they chartered
to P&O Ferries to launch a
Portsmouth-Bilbao service as
Pride of Bilbao, which ran until
September 2010. Then she
became SPL Princess Anastasia
for a newly established St
Peter Line service from
Stockholm to St Petersburg,
which started in the spring of
2011, with Moby Lines taking
over the route and vessel
in November 2016. Moby
brought a new version of the
striking liveries familiar from
their Mediterranean routes.
Olympia’s place on the
UK LINKS WITH MEYER YARD SERIES OF FERRIES
T he red hulls of the Slite company,
 Apollo as built for Viking Line
Baltic service in 1970.
 Brittany Ferries ran the vessel
from Plymouth as Benodet in 1984.
 There was a move to Truckline in
1989 but the name did not change.
54 • May 2020 • www.shipsmonthly.com
Viking Line service was taken
by 1997 acquisition Gabriella,
a 2,420-passenger vessel built
in Split as Frans Suell for
Euroway’s Lübeck-Malmö
service. She was then used by
Silja Line as Silja Scandinavia
between Stockholm and
Turku until being brought
in by Viking Line to join the
long-serving Mariella. From
2014, instead of lying all day in
Helsinki, the vessels started to
offer a return trip to Tallinn.
TURKU YARDS SISTERS
It had been the Slite
company’s turn to build big
in 1989-90 when looking
to Turku Yards for 40,059gt
sisters Kalypso and Athena,
with the former running
Stockholm-Mariehamn-
Turku and the latter covering
mini-cruises from the Swedish
capital. It ended abruptly
when Slite was declared
bankrupt in 1994, with
both vessels going to Star
Cruises for operation as Star
Aquarius and Star Pisces on
Far East itineraries until DFDS
reportedly taken from the lipstick
colour of the chairman’s wife, were
adopted by all three Viking partners,
before the early 1970s brought an
ambitious building programme, with
the Jos L. Meyer yard at Papenburg,
Germany turning out five 4,238gt
vessels. Apollo (1970) and Diana (1972)
went to Slite, with Viking 1 (1970), Viking
3 (1972) and Viking 4 (1973) joining the
Sally fleet before the slightly enlarged
Viking 5 followed in 1976.
Although only the former Viking
3 remains in service, between Italy
and Greece as Red Star Ferries’
Damien, three sister vessels saw later
service in British waters. Viking 4
served Sealink’s Portsmouth-Channel
Islands route as Earl Granville for
almost a decade from 1990 before
a Mediterranean stint as Olympia
Express ended with a one-way trip to
Indian breakers in 2005. Viking 5 ran
Ramsgate-Dunkirk as The Viking and
later Sally Express when Sally tried to
establish an English Channel route.
Then came a Fred. Olsen ferry spell as
The 25-knot Viking XPRS connects Helsinki with Tallinn,
Estonia, covering the route in two and a half hours.
purchased Star Aquarius. She and between Kapellskär and
made a 2001 debut as Pearl Naantali before work from
of Scandinavia on the DFDS 1997 included 24-hour
Copenhagen-Oslo service, Stockholm-Mariehamn
with a name change to Pearl trips. In autumn 2003
Seaways in 2011. she was moved to develop
Currently, the oldest unit a new Helsinki-Tallinn
in the Viking fleet is the service, until a switch to
1980-built Rosella, which was the Kapellskär-Mariehamn
first used mainly on routes link in 2008. Extensive
from Stockholm to Turku interior improvements were
Bolette, with scrapping in 2015 after
time in a Western Mediterranean joint
venture between Olsen and Moroccan
interests under the name of Boughaz.
The most travelled vessel was lead
ship Apollo (1970), which appeared
as Olau Kent, linking Sheerness and
Vlissingen from 1976 before a spell in  1976 brought a Sheerness-
the Baltic as Gelting Nord, starting Vlissingen route debut as Olau Kent.
in 1980. She then had a year-long
English Channel charter as Benodet,
linking Plymouth and Roscoff for
Brittany Ferries. There was a switch
to Channel Islands Ferries as Corbière
from 1985, with a move to Truckline
without any change of name in 1989.
Next came Baltic service with
Tallink as Linda beginning in 1991,  Corbiere in Channel Island Ferries
and finally the original name colours after a 1985 switch.
Apollo was restored for service in
Canadian waters when she served
Newfoundland routes from 2000 until
sale to Quebec breakers in March
2019. Three other vessels were built to
the same design for Mexican owners:
Azteca (1975) scrapped in 2004, and
Coromuel (1973) and Puerto Vallarta  Back as Apollo in Eastern Canada’s
(1974), both broken up in 2008. Woodward Group fleet.
 FERRY FLEETS

VIKING LINE FLEET 2020

VESSEL BUILT YARD GT PASS CARS ENGINES SPEED ROUTE
NT BEDS LANE M
ROSELLA 1980 Wärtsilä Marine, 16,870 1,530 340 4 x Pielstick 19 knots Kapellskar-
Turku, Finland 8,395 418 720 23,000kW Mariehamn
MARIELLA 1985 Wärtsilä Marine, 37,799 2,500 60/ 4 x Pielstick 22 knots Stockholm-
Turku, Finland 23,644 2,500 1,115 23,000kW Helsinki
AMORELLA 1988 Brodogradliste, 34,384 2,480 450 4 x Pielstick 21.5 knots Stockholm-
Split, Yugoslavia 19,862 1,996 970 24,000kW Turku
GABRIELLA 1992 Brodogradliste 35,492 2,200 480 4 x Pielstick 21.5 knots Stockholm-
Split, Yugoslavia 19,862 2,200 970 24,000kW Helsinki
VIKING 1989 Wärtsilä Marine, 46,398 2,560 305 4 x Sulzer 21 knots Stockholm-
CINDERELLA Turku, Finland 29,223 2,500 760 28,000kW Mariehamn
VIKING XPRS 2008 Aker Yards, 35,778 2,500 250 4 x Wärtsilä 25 knots Helsinki-
Rauma, Finland 14,165 2,500 955 40,000kW Tallinn
VIKING 2013 STX, Perno, 57,565 2,800 556 4 x Wärtsilä 21.8 knots Stockholm-
GRACE Finland 37,600 2,800 1,275 30,400kW Turku
VIKING 2020 Xiamen SB, 63,800 2,800 640 6 x Wärtsilä DF 22.1 knots Stockholm-
GLORY China 38,000 TBA 1,500 33,000kW Turku

undertaken during a visit to was ordered from Spanish from the STX yard in Turku. thoughts were still on the
the Balti Laevaremondi Yard builder Astilleros Sevilla for She entered service in January agenda when the €194 million
in Tallinn in 2011. delivery in March 2010. But, 2013 with Åland calls in contract with Xiamen for
As there are no night after building delays, the either direction, at Mariehamn Viking Glory was signed in
sailings in current schedules, order was cancelled and the outward from Sweden and at 2018, and steel cutting for the
the number of cabin berths hull was moved to a yard in Långnäs returning overnight. 2,800-passenger vessel began
was cut from 1,184 to 418, Vigo, being completed as Since joining the fleet, in September 2018.
with the space created used Trasmediterranea’s Villa de Viking Grace has been Changes to Viking’s routes
to increase restaurant and Teror in July 2019. fitted with a 24m-high, in response to the coronavirus
shopping areas. Since then, In July 2010 Nils-Erik 4m-wide rotor sail tower outbreak began with the
Rosella has steadily increased Eklund retired as Viking’s built by Norwegian company suspension of the Stockholm-
carryings on the Åland link CEO and his replacement, Norsepower as a modification Helsinki service, Mariella’s last
from the outer Stockholm Michael Backman, previously of the earlier Flettner Rotor. trip leaving on 17 March, with
archipelago, usually making with Royal Caribbean Cruise The tower is located on the Gabriella following the next
two return crossings each day. Line, quickly announced that top deck in front of the funnel day. The Stockholm-Åland-
Helsinki-Tallinn traffic negotiations were taking place and cuts CO2 emissions by Turku route operated by Viking
became increasingly important with nine different shipyards 900 tonnes a year. Grace and Amorella continued,
after Estonia broke away from for a pair of near-60,000gt Before Viking Grace’s but Viking Cinderella mini-
the Soviet bloc and joined vessels for the Stockholm- service debut, Viking Line cruises stopped together, with
the European Union, with Turku service. In the end decided not to take up Rosella’s trips to Åland and
competing services started by the 57,566gt LNG-powered the option for a sistership, Viking XRPS’ Helsinki-Tallinn
Tallink-Silja Line, Eckerö Line Viking Grace was delivered although newbuilding trips were cut to one a day.
and Viking Line, with Viking
also using 74m catamaran
A glimpse of how newbuilding Viking
Condor 10 as Viking Express 1 Glory will look when starting
on charter from 1995 to sailings in January 2021 with
establish a high-speed service twin rotor sail towers.
opposite a conventional vessel.
Viking Line next ordered
a new fast cruise ferry for
the route, and the 25-knot
Viking XPRS was delivered
by Aker Finnyards, Helsinki.
She made her maiden sailings
on 27 April 2008 as the
first Viking newbuild since
Kalypso in 1990. On two-
hour 30-minute crossings
each way, Viking XPRS
boosted passenger carryings
by 61 per cent and vehicles
by 74 per cent in her first full
year. A second ship, to have
been named Viking ADCC,

www.shipsmonthly.com • May 2020 • 55

 THE FLEET BOOK
marc-antoine bombail
michael gallagher
Ships Corner
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 WORKING SHIPS
Irish Lights Tender Granuaile, second
of that name, dressed for the naming
ceremony of Ballycotton’s new RNLI
lifeboat in June 1999. ALL PHOTOS BY
THE AUTHOR UNLESS STATED

what are now known as Aids

GRANUAILE
Irish Lights tenders aid navigation
to Navigation tenders. A
major review of the vessels
of the GLAs described them
as a ‘fleet’, reflecting the
close cooperation of each
authority, particularly with
rapid intervention in cases of
casualties to navigation aids
should a tender operated by
one of the other authorities be
The lighthouse tender performs an essential duty in closer to hand.
maintaining the aids to navigation which are crucial to the NEW FOR THE GLAS
safe passage of ships around the British Isles. Trevor Boult The first of the new vessels
to come into operation was
looks at one of these vessels and her predecessor. given the proud name of her
two predecessors, Granuaile.
This new multi-functional

T
he Commissioners
of Irish Lights
(CIL) is one of
the three General
Lighthouse
Authorities of the British Isles,
sharing its responsibilities with
the Northern Lighthouse
Board (covering Scotland and
the Isle of Man) and Trinity
House (covering England,
Wales and the Channel
Islands). CIL is responsible
for the whole of Ireland’s
coast and its adjacent seas and
islands. Key to their functioning
is the specialist type of vessel
historically referred to as a
‘tender’. This honourable title
accurately reflects the caring
roles they play in helping
to maintain the safety of
navigation to all mariners in
home waters, and protect the
shores they transit or approach.
As the 20th century ended,
the projected future needs of
navigation, taking account of
advances in technology and
pressures on funding, were
instrumental in initiating
new innovative designs and
operational concepts for
ship has proved so good at
performing her role that both
the Northern Lighthouse
Board and Trinity House have
based the designs of their own
latest principal vessels on this
prototype, namely Pharos and
Galatea. This was also the case
for the OSV Relume, which is
operated by the Middle East
Navigation Aids Service.

www.shipsmonthly.com • May 2020 • 57


GRANUAILE (1970)
BUILT 1970, Ferguson Brothers Ltd,
Port Glasgow, yard no.457
LAUNCHED 25.2.1970, completed
8.1970
TONNAGE 2,003grt, 1,000dwt
Granuaile at Dun Laoghaire.
HMS Cattistock, the third ship
to carry the name, was launched
in 1981 and commissioned
on 5 March 1982. At around
625 tons, the Hunts were the
largest warships constructed
of glass reinforced plastic.
MARITIME PHOTOGRAPHIC

DIMENSIONS 264ft x 42ft x 13ft

ENGINE Oil engine driving twin
screws,13.5 knots
NAMES 1999 Granuaile II/
2000 Ocean Seeker
OWNERS Commissioners of Irish
Lights/Gardline Shipping, Lowestoft
DISPOSAL Arrived at Grenaa for
breaking by Fornaes ApS, 15.12.2015

All four tenders represent a
major shift in the manner of
operation from earlier ships,
not least in their propulsion
and station-keeping, which is
provided by azipods, thrusters
and dynamic positioning,
using GPS as a primary data
source. Meanwhile, on deck,
the way navigation buoys
are recovered, maintained
and redeployed requires
fewer staff. To any crew
complement, moving from
one generation of vessel to
its often radically different,
replacement is a challenge.
However, the ‘new’ Granuaile
(III), which entered service
in 2000, essentially continues
the great tradition which her
predecessor so ably upheld.
The latest is a versatile Class 1
DP vessel with a large working
deck and proven capability
to undertake a wide range
of operations. She is available
for commercial charter, and
previous successful operations
include Remote Operated
Vehicle (ROV) inspections,
ground sampling, renewable
energy site marking, diving
support, buoy maintenance,
life-saving application
testing, and hydrographic
and seismic surveying.
In order to facilitate
the official naming of her
newbuild replacement, the
earlier Granuaile was renamed
Granuaile II. The procedure
involved not only painting
the new name at the bow but
also obtaining certification
and registry approval from
Customs and Excise, Lloyd’s
and the Department of Marine

ON BOARD THE
1970-BUILT GRANUAILE
 The navigating bridge.
 The automated lightvessel
Skua at Coningbeg being visited
by a launch from Granuaile for its
periodic inspection and resupply.
 (left to right) Captain George
Ball manoeuvres Granuaile close
to the Coningbeg lightvessel for
inspection; the launches attend
Fastnet lighthouse; the engine
control room; and the Fundale
buoy is lifted aboard for inspection,
repair and scheduled maintenance.

58 • May 2020 • www.shipsmonthly.com


GRANUAILE (2000)
BUILT 2000, hull built at Galati
shipyard, Romania; fitted out at
Damen Shipyards, Netherlands
TONNAGE 2,625gt, 787 net
DIMENSIONS 79.63m x 16.08m,
draught 4.6m, aft deck area 300m2
ENGINES Two 1,100 kW Indar
Variable Speed AC Motors driving two
Schottel steerable thrusters; one 1,200
kW bow thruster (Tees White Gill Jet)
CONTAINER CAPABILITY 16TEU
HOME PORT Dublin
AN IRISH NAME
T he name Granuaile refers to
the Irish pirate queen Grace
O’Malley, daughter of a powerful
clan chieftain. Her extraordinary life
centred on the 16th century Tudor
conquest of Ireland by England and
Queen Elizabeth I. The O’Malleys
were a renowned seafaring family
who controlled the sea routes along
the west coast of Ireland from their
castle on Clare Island.
As England steadily gained
control of Ireland, Grace came
under increasing pressure to obey
the English crown. An expedition
from Galway attacked Grace in her
stronghold on Clare Island. Her
response was to turn to piracy,
blockading the port of Galway and
WORKING SHIPS
The current Granuaile is equipped with specialised
buoy and mooring handling equipment, including
hydraulic ram chain guides and stoppers. She
has a 20-ton constant tension crane with two
independent falls and a 20m outreach, among
other equipment. CIL
and Natural Resources. The were replaced by automated After nearly 30 years in
fact that this was carried out lightfloats. She was also service, Granuaile II, as she
on a particular day, a Friday engaged in daylight helicopter later became, was sold to the
13th, generated superstitious operations and limited Lowestoft-based Gardline
concern in the Port of Dublin. hydrographic surveys, and and worked as a survey vessel,
conducted inspection tours, renamed Ocean Seeker, until
THE SECOND GRANUAILE accommodating up to 12 2015, when she was broken
The former Granuaile was officials in a dedicated deck. up in Denmark.
built in 1970 by Ferguson at
Port Glasgow. Her defined
roles were to transport, lay,
pick up and maintain floating
navigation marks, replenish
and restore lighthouses and
manned lightvessels, which
attacking English ships in Galway Bay.
After Grace’s two sons were
captured, she set sail for England
to speak to the English monarch in
Ocean Seeker, the former Granuaile
(1970), at Lerwick in 2005. IAN LEASK
person. The Irish ships sailed up the
River Thames and Grace met Queen
Elizabeth at Greenwich. Grace
refused to bow, stating that she was
a Queen of her own land and not a
subject of the Queen of England.
Each held the other in admiration
and they reached a truce. Grace
ceased attacking English ships and
began attacking those of Spain. Her
sons were returned to her. Grace
– Granuaile in Gaelic – died at
Rockfleet Castle in 1603, the same
year as Queen Elizabeth. The first
CIL tender named Granuaile was  An inconvenient failure of Granuaile’s bow thruster while she was docking
built in 1948 and served until 1970. in difficult conditions at Dun Laoghaire required improvised assistance. Also
berthed in the harbour was the Trinity House tender Mermaid.
www.shipsmonthly.com • May 2020 • 59
CHARTROOM
SHIPS MAIL
Liberty ships
I was intrigued to read (SM, Nov
2019) about Whitby shipping and the
Headlam Shipping company. There
was a Liberty ship mentioned in the
article named Sandsend, built in
1943. This brought back memories
of several Liberty ships, one of
which, named Hai Suan, sailed into
Singapore harbour and raised the
communist flag. Her crew then fled,
leaving the ship moored in Singapore
for some seven years. There were
a number of court cases about the
ship, but eventually a Greek company
bought the vessel, which had a new
bottom built and departed as Julia.
Another Liberty ship, named
Alkimos (George M. Shriver), got into
difficulties on our Western Australian
coast, and ended up being a total
loss, although tugs managed to tow
her free three times. There is now a
suburb with the name of Alkimos.
The Liberty ship design was unique
in that it could be quickly built and,
very sensibly, they had the same type
of machinery, triple-expansion steam-
driven, mostly oil-fired. It is amazing
how long many of the Liberties lasted
and there are still a few preserved
and operational. But did Sandsend
originally have a ‘Sam’ name when she
was in use during World War II?
I would be interested if any reader
could provide more information about
the ship. I have been getting your
excellent magazine for many years
and it is still as informative as ever.
Max D. Bell
Wagin, Australia
Travelling on Orsova
Thank you for the article on Orsova
(SM, Mar). I travelled home from
Sydney to Tilbury on her in 1964 and
what a voyage! We stopped at all the
ports en route, allowing passengers
time ashore to sightsee. The highlight
CLAN LINE REUNION 2020 TO BE HELD IN OCTOBER
The annual Clan Line Steamers
reunion will take place at The Liner
Hotel in Liverpool on Wednesday 7
October 2020. The annual Clan Line
reunion is one of the last remaining
reunions to be held by a former
major United Kingdom shipping
lines. Sadly, a number of the other
UK major shipping companies’
reunions no longer take place.
The reunion is open to all former
employees, spouses and partners,
60 • May 2020 • www.shipsmonthly.com
RIGHT ENGINES
FOR ROVERS
I enjoyed reading Steve Tindale’s
article on the five ships of the Rover
class, which gave the Royal Fleet
Auxiliary many years of good service
(SM, Mar). It is interesting to note
that, even back in the late 1960s, the
MoD seemed incapable of building
ships with the right engines.
It was a problem for the first three
of the Rover class then, and is a
problem for RN Type 45 destroyers
today. While the five Rover ships had
a stated full load displacement of
approximately 11,000 tons, their fuel
cargo capacity was less, about 6,500
tons split between various grades of
naval fuels, FFO, diesel and avcat.
Only one of the ships was
deployed for Operation Corporate
(Falkland Islands 1982), because one
ship was required at Portland for
essential pre-conflict operational
for me was the trip by bus to the
Pyramids and Cairo.
Ken Allen
Edinburgh
Cruise corrections
With regard to the letter from
Marmaduke Soddy (SM, Feb), surely
one or two of his comments about
cruise ships need correcting. First,
cruise ships do not discharge waste or
sewage at sea, as anyone who takes
an interest in shipping should know.
Second, the electricity is supplied
by the ships’ own generators, which
is not what Mr Soddy implies. Third,
the emissions from ships are being
both seagoing and shore staff of the
British and Commonwealth Shipping
Company. If you sailed in any of the
British and Commonwealth Shipping
Company lines vessels, or meet the
above criteria, you are welcome to
attend the reunion.
The reunion consists of a three-
course lunch, bar refreshments and
raffle and is generously supported
by the Cayzer family. More than 100
former employees, spouses and
training, at least one other ship was
generally in refit, and at least another
of the ships was supporting RN, and
New Zealand, warships conducting
shipping protection operations in the
Persian Gulf during the Iran-Iraq War.
Mr Tindale also suggests that RFA
Green Rover was the first RFA to fly
the flag of a RN Flag officer. I am not
sure this is correct, although I claim
no detailed knowledge. I have found
references to RFA Olwen flying the
flag of the Vice-Admiral, Commander
in Chief FE Fleet in 1966. RFA
Olmeda flew the flag of FO1 FEF in
1970 and I recall that task also falling
addressed by the fitting of scrubbers
and the use of multi-fuel engines or
alternative fuels such as LPG.
It is natural for people to want
luxurious experiences and why
not? Everyone is conscious that the
environment needs protecting, but
life cannot stand still or be changed
radically in a moment. Efforts are being
made and should be encouraged, not
only in shipping but life in general.
R. Wilson, Isle of Man
Victory not Warrior
In the article on Portsmouth Historic
Dockyard (SM, Feb), the caption on
page 23 should read ‘HMS Victory’
partners attended last year’s event.
We look forward to welcoming
all attendees, especially first timers,
to this year’s reunion. You have
to be registered on the invitation
database to attend.
For further information, and to
be added to the invitation database,
please contact Catharina Smith at
Cayzer House, Catharina.Smith@
Caledonia.com, tel 020 7802 8453.
Dave Tyler
to RFA Stromness after HMS Blake
had serious boiler tube problems.
RFA Stromness also flew the flag
of the Commander British Forces Far
East at the October 1971 final ‘steam
past’ of the Far East Fleet. While not
flying the flag of an admiral, RFA Fort
Beauharnois flew the flag of the RN
Commodore ‘Grapple Squadron’ at
the testing of the UK nuclear bomb
at Christmas Island in 1957. I suspect
that there could well have been other
occasions in the 1960s and early
1970s when this happened.
A. J. Slatter
Reigate
and not ‘HMS Warrior’. I do not think
Nelson would be pleased! I continue
to enjoy the magazine.
Maurice Lamp, By email
Bristol Channel steamers
As a veteran Bristol Channel
sailor, I was surprised at the scant
mention of the impressive fleet of
paddle steamers operated by P. &
A. Campbell from Bristol and the
Welsh ports to Weston-super-Mare
and as far east as Ilfracombe and
Lundy Island (SM, Jan). After their
war service, many were completely
refurbished, while splendid new
paddle steamers were added to
provide a comprehensive service from
the leading Welsh ports.
Andrew Wilkins
Kenmore, Australia
Santa Cruz shipping
I recently spent a week on Tenerife,
staying in Santa Cruz, and walking
around the port area revealed an
interesting variety of ships, including
La Palma (see Mystery Ship) and
Lagaren, a Swedish 1894-built
lightship. Lagaren was rigged as
a schooner, but was impounded
in Santa Cruz after her owner was
caught running drugs.

A more modern vessel we saw was
the catamaran Volcan De Tagoro,
which entered service in August
2019 and works the Las Palmas (Gran
Canaria) to Santa Cruz (Tenerife)
route. Her speed has cut the journey
time to an hour and 40 minutes for
the 50.6-nautical-mile crossing, which
has given operator Naviera Armas a
clear advantage over its competitors,
MARCH’S MYSTERY SHIP
The Mystery Ship, which was
built by William Harkness & Son,
Middlesbrough in 1912, is La Palma,
and she is pictured at Santa Cruz de
Tenerife, Canary Islands, where she
has been almost her entire career,
operating maritime services between
the islands. She measured 67.09m by
9.1m by 3.68m, and was of 893gt.
She was a general supply/ferry
with an ability, as required, to tow
vessels which had broken down.
She attended several breakdowns,
including, in 1931, one 200 nautical
miles north of Tenerife. She was
chartered for military service during
World War I. The Spanish company
Trasmediterranea took her over
in 1930. In 1936 she was again
militarised, until 1938, when she
returned to the inter-island service.
She was modernised in 1958 but
suffered mechanical failures, which
resulted in her being laid up in March
1976 and retired from service. She
was under threat of being scrapped,
but various persons formed a society
with help from the Maritime Trust to
save her. However, it was not until
2004 that work began to restore and
preserve her as a museum ship and
cultural centre. She is now 108 years
old, remains afloat in Santa Cruz, but
what does the future hold for her?
John Jordan, Cloyne, Co Cork
The 10,870gt
Volcan De
Tagoro arriving
at the entrance
of Santa Cruz
harbour,
23 January.
including airlines.
The vessel was built by Incat
of Tasmania, being laid down in
November 2017 and launched in
June 2019. She has a service speed of
35 knots and is powered by 4 MAN
engines of 9,100kW, with each driving
a Wärtsilä LJX 1500 waterjet. Naviera
Armas was established in 1941 and its
vessels are all named after volcanoes,
La Palma is a legendary steamboat, part
of the maritime history of the Canary
islands for over a century, now berthed
Santa Cruz de Tenerife. She was a
mixed passenger and cargo vessel
which operated for 64 years between
the ports of the Canary Islands.
Since the beginning of the 20th
century, the inter-island passenger
vessels have borne the popular title
of ‘correillos’, or little mail boats,
and had an all-important mission
to convey the post between islands
when air transport was in its infancy.
Terry Corner
Washbrook, Ipswich
THIS MONTH’S MYSTERY SHIP PHOTOGRAPH
either on the surface or under the sea
in the Canaries Islands area.
Phil Barnes
Horsham, Sussex
More tugs in Mombasa
I was in Mombasa (SM, Feb, Ships
Mail) in 1976 serving on board the
Shell tanker Donovania. While we
were on standby, we noticed the smell
of coal smoke in the engine room,
which was a little disconcerting, as we
had an oil-fired auxiliary boiler.
It turned out it was the exhaust
smoke of the coal-fired tug that was
berthing us. Throughout this port call
we could see this tug’s location due to
the constant emission of black smoke.
So they definitely had at least one
steam tug at that time.
Roger Beecroft,
Kilcreggan, Argyll
Portsmouth tour
I enjoyed reading the article about
HMS Victory (SM, Feb) and how she
www.shipsmonthly.com • May 2020 •
READERS’ PAGES
Write to Ships Mail,
Ships Monthly, Kelsey
Media, The Granary,
Downs Court, Yalding
Hill, Yalding, Kent ME18 6AL, or email
sm.ed@kelsey.co.uk. 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.
nearly got scrapped. Back in the 1980s
I drove tourist coaches at weekends
and in the school holidays. On one
occasion I took a group, mostly
Americans and Australians, on a day
tour, which included Portsmouth.
The guide took everyone to see
HMS Victory on a group ticket, so it was
included in the fare, but one woman, an
Australian lady, stayed behind. ‘Aren’t
you going to join the others?’ I asked.
‘No’, she replied, ‘I’ve seen the replica
in Melbourne Harbour’.
Geoffrey White, Kalkara, Malta
This month’s mystery photo shows
an old coaster whose name is
difficult to read but starts ‘Clews’.
Can any reader provide some more
information about her, such as her
full name? When was she built and
how long was her career? Where
could the photo have been taken?
Send your answers and the
identity of the ship, including
postal address, by email to: sm.ed@
kelsey.co.uk; or by post to Mystery
Ship, Ships Monthly, Kelsey Media,
The Granary, Downs Court, Yalding
Hill, Kent ME18 6AL. Emails preferred.
61
CHARTROOM
SHIPS LIBRARY
Shipbreaking
at Faslane
Ian Buxton
Faslane was arguably the UK’s leading
shipbreaking centre from the start of
its activities in 1946 until its closure in
1981. This excellent 71-page history
tells the story of the centre. By the
time of its closure, no fewer than 68
Royal Navy ships had been cut up,
along with 126 merchant vessels.
There were six battleships, including
the last HMS Vanguard, which arrived
in 1960. A number of famous liners
were broken at the yard, including
Aquitania. The book includes around
80 high quality photos, most of which
have not been published hitherto.
The demolition of any ship is a sad
event, but its breaking allows unusual
views of the layout and compartments
of the ship in question. A fascinating
annotated photo taken in August
1959 shows the battleship Duke of
York cut down to just below the lower
deck. Another diagram shows a plan
of Faslane with all the berths, cranes,
other equipment and offices.
The shipbreaker is, of course, in
business to make a profit and the book
includes some interesting statistics.
These confirm that, although steel
scrap may be the ‘bread and butter’
of the shipbreaker, it is non-ferrous
metals and equipment that realise
higher prices. Not just battleships and
liners were demolished at Faslane,
but so were smaller vessels such as
hoppers, ferries and drifters. All are
covered in this excellent book, which is
packed with information. RHBH
• Published by and Available from the
author ilbuxton@outlook.com at £10.95
plus £2 P&P (UK) and £5 elsewhere.
PORTS OF CALL
Due to the coronavirus outbreak,
and the consquent uncertainty
surrounding cruise ship calls, we
have omitted the Ports of Call
listing for May; we hope to include
a listing in June and July when
cruise calls get back to normal.
62 • May 2020 • www.shipsmonthly.com
bookof
themonth
Cruise & Maritime
Voyages:
Celebrating the
first decade
2010-2019
Richard Kirkman and
Richard Bastow
Published by Ferry Publications, PO
Box 33, Ramsey, Isle of Man IM99
4LP; tel 01624 898445
info@lilypublications.co.uk,
192-page hardback, price £17.95
Cruise & Maritime Voyages
celebrates a decade of operations
in 2020. The company has
expanded its operations from a
fleet of two ships in 2010 to become
Cold War Fleet –
Ships of the Royal
Navy 1966–91: A
Photographic Album
Clive and Sue Taylor
Clive and Sue Taylor have been
photographing warships for more than
45 years. The images in this collection
are of exceptional quality and clarity,
and many are published for the first
time. They chart the development of
Royal Navy ships over the second half
of the Cold War, and include some
spectacular aerial photos.
The book’s large page size shows
the images to their best advantage.
Ships returning from the Falklands
campaign, some with visible battle
damage, are featured in a number of
shots, while others show ships at the
1977 Silver Jubilee Review and mine
one o the UK’s leading
independent cruise line,
with a choice of six small
to medium-sized vessels
and further expansion
planned with the
acquisition of more ships.
The book tells the history of Cruise
& Maritime Voyages success, with
profiles of each of the key vessels,
records of the shipboard personnel
and the voyages undertaken by the
fleet. Operations have been focussed
on small to medium-sized classic
ships, and offer creative itineraries
largely serving the British market,
expanding into Australia recently.
CMV was launched with two ships,
Marco Polo and Ocean Countess,
and gradually more ships have been
acquired. The arrival of Astor in
countermeasures vessels during the
1974 clearance of the Suez Canal.
The captions helpfully explain
details of armament and equipment,
which are particularly interesting in
classes such as the varied Leander
frigates. The full spectrum of naval
vessels, from aircraft carriers to
harbour tugs, is covered. PB
• Published by Osprey Publishing,
Kemp House, Cumnor Hill, Oxford,
OX2 9PH, tel 01865 727022, info@
osprey publishing.com, price £50.
Bretagne: 30 Years of
Splendour
Vitor Francisco
Brittany Ferries’ 1989-built cruise
ferry Bretagne joined the company’s
fleet in July 1989 on the services from
Plymouth to Roscoff and Santander.
This well-liked ship began operating
READERS’ PAGES
the fleet enabled the company
to recreate ‘classic’ liner voyages
between Tilbury and Australia,
and once the larger Magellan
had entered service expansion
continued apace. In 2021, CMV
are on course to carry 200,000
passengers and employ almost
4,000 staff worldwide.
This impressive publication
contains many photos of all the
ships, looks at each vessel, most
of which have interesting histories,
traces CMV’s fleet expansion, and
includes itinerary summaries. NL
from Portsmouth in the winter of
1992-93 on the low-season services
to Spain and was transferred to the
Portsmouth-St Malo route later that
year after the introduction of the
1987-built Val de Loire at Plymouth.
The book’s Portuguese-born author,
Vitor Francisco, has admired passenger
ships since he was a child and has
travelled aboard Bretagne since 1992.
He was aboard the ship when the
crew celebrated her 30th birthday on
13 July 2019, and that particular trip
was also the author’s 75th crossing
on board. The occasion set the
wheels in motion for a self-produced
publication celebrating Bretagne.
The end result is an impressive
248-page hardback book full of colour
and mono images of the ship, her
interiors, her crew and views of the
ports that she serves, Portsmouth
and St Malo. The text is detailed and
concise so as to permit the range
of photos to remain plentiful. The
book is divided into seven chapters
detailing the ship’s career, her
construction and technical data. This
publication is highly recommended
for all fans of the ship and cross-
Channel ferries in general. AC
• Published by Books International,
contact vitor.francisco@talktalk.net for
orders, price £30 plus postage.
 The Honourable Company of
Master Mariners
Formed in 1926, we are a professional body for Sea Captains
and a City of London Livery Company
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

WHERE ARE YOU FROM?
I was born in the small Åland
village of Geta (population 502)
and lived there until l was 17.
Åland is the Swedish-only speaking
autonomous archipelago between
mainland Finland and Sweden and
home to many shipping companies
and seafarers.
WHEN DID YOU FIRST
GO TO SEA?
I started working with my father
on fishing boats when l was 17
years old and had my skipper’s and
engineer’s licence. I wanted to be
on the water since l was about six
years old. I went to sea on larger
ships after EU salmon quotas
meant it was no longer possible to
make a living fishing.
WHAT WAS THE FIRST
SHIP YOU SERVED ON?
My first ship was the ferry
Kalypso, which I served on from
1994. However, after the owner,
FINBO CARGO
BUILT 2000, Astilleros Españoles SA
(AESA), Seville, Spain
OPERATORS Norfolkline (2000-06),
Acciona Trasmediterranea (2006-07),
P&O Irish Sea (2007-09), P&O Ferries
(2009-10), DFDS Seaways (2010), P&O
Ferries (2010-19), Eckerö Line (2019-)
DIMENSIONS 179.95m x 25.24m x 6.5m
TONNAGE 22,152gt
MAIN ENGINES 4 x Wärtsilä 9L38
diesel engines of 5940kW each; 2 x
Wärtsilä 6L20 diesel engines of 930kW
each, speed 22.5 knots
CAPACITY 366 (from 2019), crew 47
FORMER NAMES Midnight Merchant
(2000-06), El Greco (2006-07),
European Endeavour (2007-19)
64 • May 2020 • www.shipsmonthly.com
v ie
A idgew from
the Br
Eckerö Line’s ro-ro Finbo Cargo has been sailing between Helsinki
and Tallinn’s cargo harbours since June 2019. Her senior master,
Ronny Rosenberg, talked to John Pagni about his ship and career.
Slite, went bankrupt, the vessel
was bought by Star Cruises and
relocated to Singapore. I was
deckhand and it was an enjoyable
trip via the Suez Canal and I then
helped to train the new crew.
HOW DID YOUR
CAREER PROGRESS?
After Kalypso, l worked on a fish
farm for four years, operating
small workboats and tugs, feeding
fish and undertaking general
fish farm duties, but l was home
every night after long 12-hour
days. I did not want to do that for
the rest of my life so l enrolled at
Åbo (Turku) Maritime Academy
in 1999. I worked as deckhand on
Anette, a small dry cargo carrier,
and the ro-ro United Express
(later Birka Express). I gained my
mate’s certificate in 2002 and
then worked on dry cargo ships
for Husell Chartering, including
Midgard, Nedgard, Belgard and
Trenden. I also worked now and
then on smaller ferries in the Åland
archipelago as mate and captain.
Two years later l began a captain’s
course and got my ticket in 2006.
WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST
COMMAND?
My first command was the small
3,000gt bulker Belgard, which
operated all round northern
Europe on the spot market, picking
up cargoes, mainly sawn timber, as
well as soya, food, clay or whatever
could be loaded.
DO YOU HAVE ANY
FAVOURITE SHIPS
AND PORTS?
I enjoy visiting many different
ports, including Kaskö (Finland)
and Sundsvall (Sweden), where we
were never in a rush. Our schedule
was not counted in minutes, as it
was not important if loading took
place on Tuesday or Wednesday.
I like Fécamp in France and King’s
Lynn or Boston, where small ships
make one-off calls.
ANY UNUSUAL
EXPERIENCES?
I was thrown overboard from a
fishing boat during a January
storm once and was lucky my
colleagues managed to get me
out of the water. I was in the
Mediterranean for a year and a
half on Eckerö Shipping’s Baltic
Excellent and Transporter after
 BRIDGE VISIT

The ro-ro cargo vessel Birka Express, on which Ronny Rosenberg worked The 21,473gt passenger ferry Norlandia was built in 1981. She operated
as deckhand when the vessel was named United Express; she is pictured Helsinki-Tallinn 1997-2013 and is one of six Eckerö ships on which Ronny
on charter to Finnlines in 2009. Rosenborg has served as master.

the Arab Spring in 2013. Calls at
the Libyan ports were interesting,
especially Benghazi, as there was
still shooting going on. We could
hear it when we were anchored,
so our time docked was as short
as possible. The situation became
too warlike and in the end we
refused to go back.
WHAT IS IT LIKE TO WORK
ON FINBO CARGO?
It is going well, as our routines and
schedules have fallen into place. I
passed my Estonian pilot’s licence
test, which was taken in Estonian.
As long as the subject is pilotage
l can manage, and the same with
Finnish. It is quite demanding to
get these and requires hard work.
Finbo Cargo is the sixth Eckerö
ship I have worked on, after the
ro-pax Translandia, the ro-ros Baltic
Excellent and Transporter, and
the passenger ferries Nordlandia,
Finlandia and ro-ro Finbo Cargo.
HOW DO YOU SPEND
YOUR LEISURE TIME?
I originally worked ten days on
and off, but when a third master
was hired I now work ten days on
and 20 off. I do renovations on my
1970s-built house, and go fishing,
hunting and travelling, especially
to southern Italy, where there are
relaxed people, and we can also
enjoy good food and wine.
FINBO CARGO
Finbo Cargo was added to the
busy Helsinki-Tallinn route on
26 June 2019, when Eckerö Line
started the ro-ro service from
Finland’s Vuosaari Harbour to
Muuga Harbour in Estonia. The
1998 Spanish-built ship was
formerly Midnight Merchant, El
Greco and European Endeavour.
As the latter, she served on
P&O’s Dublin-Liverpool service
for 12 years (pictured right).
The 22,152gt ship was
repainted in Finnish colours and
renamed Finbo Cargo, after
an island in Åland. She takes
passengers with their vehicles,
as well as trucks, despite her
name. She has modest facilities
for up to 366 passengers, with
lounges at the bow and a bar/
café and self-service for food.
Truck drivers have a separate
area. Power comes from four
Wärtsilä 9L38 engines, giving
a speed of 22 knots. There are
47 cabins available for the two-
hour-45-minute crossing, and
she makes 22 voyages weekly.
She has just over 2,000 lane
metres of vehicle space.

www.shipsmonthly.com • May 2020 • 65

 NEXT ISSUE ON
SALE
MAY
8
FRANCE TO NORWAY
HOW THE FAMOUS LINER
BECAME A CRUISE SHIP

After her withdrawal from service in 1974, the French Line ship
France was laid up until being sold, and eventually she was taken on by
Norwegian Caribbean Lines, who converted her into the cruise ship Norway.

PLUS ISLE OF LEWIS • Profile of the well-known Caledonian MacBrayne ferry, which
has been serving the Highlands and Islands of Scotland’s west coast for 25 years.
KING GEORGE V BATTLESHIPS • Conrad Waters reviews the Royal Navy’s
famous World War II battleships through a selection of old photographs.
THE BRITISH MOTOR COASTER • Roy Fenton traces the development of
the coaster to 1939, and asks why its advancement was so slow.

LATEST BOOK FROM THE WORLD SHIP SOCIETY

GRAND FLEET DESTROYERS PART 1: FLOTILLA LEADERS AND ‘V/W’ CLASS DESTROYERS by
John English, 243 x 183mm, softback, 138 pages, 140 B&W photographs
This book describes the design, development and careers of two distinct groups of vessels, the destroyer leaders and the ‘V/W’ class destroyers, which were originally
designed as leaders. The majority of the 93 vessels described in this volume were to have long careers, covering both World Wars. The ‘V/W’s only had limited fleet
service in the last year of WW1 and an extensive programme of conversion into anti-aircraft escorts had been initiated pre-war, but was terminated early because of the need to have as many
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especially, the range of the surviving ‘V/W’ destroyers.
There were some losses during WW 1 and in the Baltic 1918-20, but losses during WW 2 were much more severe. The early leaders, the ‘Marksman’s, were, except ABDIEL, quickly disposed of, but
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Available from booksales@worldshipsociety.org or WSS, 274 Seven Sisters Road, Willingdon, Eastbourne, BN22 0QW United Kingdom, price £10 to members (quoting membership number) or £15
to non-members plus P & P £1.73 (UK), £4.60 (Europe) & £4.55 (RoW). Payment JUNE be made by GBP cheque or credit card. For the latter please state whether Visa or Mastercard and quote card
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MEMBERSHIP • Annual membership of the World Ship Society (includes 12 digital copies of “Marine News” and digital Supplements per annum) costs £24 (£20 outside UK and EU). Get a trial digital copy
of ‘Marine News’ by e-mailing your name and address to: membershipsecretary@worldshipsociety.org or write to the Membership Secretary, World Ship Society, 17 Birchdale Road, Appleton, Warrington,
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66 • May 2020 • www.shipsmonthly.com

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