Innehållsförteckning för November 2023 från Ships Monthly

HISTORIC SHIPS A rare and fine sight in southern coastal waters on Sunday 3 September and Monday 4 September saw two heritage steamships, both built in Scotland and today forming part of the National Historic Fleet, meet up off of Bournemouth and the Solent. Southampton-based steamship Shieldhall was staying in Poole for a week and returning to her home port after visiting the Bournemouth Air Festival, while the paddle steamer Waverley was undertaking part of a three-week sailing programme in the south of England. The two steamships put on a great show for their passengers, with steam whistles and sirens sounding as the two vessels met. A number of vessels accompanied Shieldhall and Waverley as they steamed alongside one another for about an hour, with the weather providing perfect conditions…

INCIDENT A tragic and totally avoidable death took place on 5 September when a passenger tried to reboard the Blue Star Ferries’ ferry Blue Horizon going to Crete. Thirty-sixyear-old Andonis Kargiotis had already checked in when he got off the ship for unknown reasons. When he tried to get back on the ship, crew members refused to let him embark and an altercation on the ship’s vehicle ramp started, and ended with the man being shoved overboard as the ferry cast off. His body was discovered later. The ship was immediately ordered back to port, where the captain, deck officer and two ratings were detained by Piraeus Port Police and charged, one with intentional homicide. Following the tragedy, Attica Group chief executive Spyros Paschalis resigned and the captain was accused…

RESEARCH SHIPS America’s Bollinger Shipyards at Houma, Louisiana expects to deliver the first of three oceanographic research ships it is building for the US National Science Foundation, Taani, to Oregon State University later this year, with the second vessel, Narragansett Dawn, to go to the East Coast Oceanographic Consortium led by the University of Rhode Island and the third, Gilbert R. Mason, to the Gulf-Caribbean Oceanographic Consortium, led by the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium and the University of Southern Mississippi. All three 60.6m by 12.4m ships are powered by a Siemens diesel-electric propulsion system that develops 1,200hp at 1,800rpm and drives two identical azimuthing twin propeller Z-drive thrusters to provide a speed of 12-knots and a cruising range of 6,600 nautical miles.…

IRISH FERRIES All-round increases have been reported by the Irish Continental Group during the first six months of 2023. The ferry division, trading as Irish Ferries, saw revenue go up 7.1 per cent to €179.8 million, with 227,100 cars carried, seven per cent more than the same period of 2022 and with the ferry division leading the way. Passenger totals moved up to 1,091,900, which is a 22 per cent growth from the same period in 2022, while freight carryings, at 348,200 units, represented a five and a half per cent increase on the Dover-Calais service across the English Channel, which was launched using Isle of Inishmore (1997/28,833gt) in June 2021, with two further vessels, Isle of Innisfree (1992/28,833gt) and Isle of Innisheer (2000/22,152gt), since being added to the Dover-based…

PORT NEWS Portsmouth International Port has been awarded £19.8 million from the Zero Emissions Vessel and Infrastructure system funded by the English Government in partnership with Innovation UK. The grant will allow a major decarbonisation process to begin. Others involved include Brittany Ferries, MSE International and Swan Barton. The project will build and operate a shore power system across Portsmouth’s three busiest berths to allow vessels to turn off their diesel engines while alongside and plug in to use green electricity for their onboard systems. Brittany Ferries currently runs vessels from Portsmouth on routes to Caen-Ouistreham, St Malo and Le Havre, with longer links with the Spanish ports of Bilbao and Santander. A new tonnage programme brought Galicia into service in 2020, with Salamanca following in 2022 and Santona this…

ROYAL NAVY The Royal Navy’s two aircraft carriers are at sea simultaneously on their respective autumn deployments. HMS Prince of Wales is conducting a range of aviation trials, while HMS Queen Elizabeth is at the head of Carrier Strike Group operations with NATO allies in the North Atlantic. The deck of HMS Prince of Wales will be used to hone operational limits for F-35 Lightning jets, US Marine Corps’ MV-22 Osprey tilt rotor aircraft and the Mojave drone. En route to the US Eastern Seaboard, the ship made history with a pilotless plane landing and taking off from a Royal Navy aircraft carrier for the first time. The W Autonomous Systems (WAS) drone was flown from the Lizard Peninsula, with dummy stores, and back again. The twin-engine light alloy twin…

CONTAINER SHIP Denmark’s A.P. Moller-Maersk group has named its first methanol-powered container ship Laura Maersk in honour of the first Maersk vessel to bear the company’s famous seven-pointed star emblem back in the 1880s. Completed by South Korea’s Hyundai Mipo Dockyard, the 2,136TEU newbuild is powered by a MAN B&W 6G50ME-C9.6-LGIM-HPSCR main engine producing 10,320 kW to give a service speed of 17.4 knots. Its liquid methanol fuel is stored in two longitudinal tanks located forward of the engine room bulkhead with a total capacity of 1,400m3, giving the 32,614dwt ship an operating range of 6,000 nautical miles. Bunkering of green methanol will take place once every five weeks at Rotterdam. Due to the lower energy density of methanol (See: SM August 2023) fuel consumption is expected to be approximately…

NEWBUILD Mega container ships, such as the Mediterranean Shipping Co’s 24,346TEU MSC Micol, continue to come off the assembly line, but not all are finding work. Ordered during the pandemic years, when freight rates skyrocketed, the 400m by 61m MSC Micol was expected to begin her maiden voyage from Asia to Europe shortly after being completed by China’s Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, but instead is not expected to begin that voyage until the new year. The decision comes after MSC and its alliance partner Maersk cancelled 29 sailings on the Suez route in an effort to drive up rates. In addition, by not taking delivery of the 233,328gt ship until early next year, MSC may claim a 2024 build date for the vessel. WATERFRONT • www.shipsmonthly.com • The Granary, Downs Court, Yalding…

STEAM TUG After 30 months of seeking a safe and final resting place for the steam tug Forceful, the Queensland Maritime Museum announced that it is unsafe to keep the ship where she is and that she will have to be deconstructed. They are looking to retain some artefacts from her. Forceful was built in 1925 by Alexander Stephen & Sons Ltd in Glasgow and arrived in Brisbane in March 1926 to operate mostly on the Brisbane River. During World War II she was used for harbour work around Darwin. She returned to Brisbane in 1943, and continued her towing career until 1970, when she was acquired by the museum. For 35 years, Forceful continued to be steamed every year. However, by 2006 maintaining her in operational condition became too…

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Celebrity Cruises, with a fleet of 15 ships, is a premium-market cruise line owned and operated by Miami-based Royal Caribbean International. Its most recently built ship is Celebrity Beyond, and it is on the cusp of introducing another of the Edge class ships, of which there are currently three, with the latest, Celebrity Ascent, due to enter service in November. Constructed by Chantiers de l’Atlantique in Saint Nazaire, the Malteseregistered Celebrity Beyond was ordered on 16 May 2016. Laid down on 5 October 2018 as yard no.L34, she began her maiden voyage in April 2022. Her christening took place on 4 November in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with gymnast Simone Biles selected as her godmother. Celebrity Beyond (and upcoming sister Celebrity Ascent) are enlarged (one extra deck) and lengthened versions of…

■ Celebrity Beyond offers guests a wide range of restaurants, lounges and bars. The ship has four main complimentary dining rooms, all roughly the same size but different in décor and each featuring different menus. ■ The aforementioned Normandie Restaurant, as well as the Tuscan Restaurant, are aft on Deck 3, with the Cosmopolitan and Cyprus Restaurant on Deck 4. More casual fare is found at the Oceanview Café and the Mast Grill, both on Deck 14. Located on Deck 4 is Café Al Bacio, offering coffees and pastries. ■ Specialty restaurants include the 50-seat Le Voyage with a menu by Michelin-starred chef Daniel Boulud. The French-themed Le Grand Bistro ($10 breakfast, $20 lunch and $25 dinner) converts into Le Petit Chef ($55pp) on select evenings, offering a 3D performance…

Even before the United States entered the war, Seatrain New York was chartered for military service. She was renamed USS Kitty Hawk, with her long open decks carrying up to 120 naval aircraft. She served in the Pacific throughout the war. Immediately after Pearl Harbor, Seatrain Havana was called up to join her as USS Hammondsport. The only significant modification for war service was to fit fourboom cranes around the central hatchway for self-loading. Seatrain New Jersey, as USS Lakehurst, operated in the Atlantic, making several trips with vehicles and planes to support Allied Forces in North Africa. Seatrain Texas was taken over by the US Army, leaving only the old Seatrain New Orleans in civilian service. The Army were so impressed that they wanted Sun Shipbuilding to build 50…

The Royal Navy’s ‘Emergency destroyers’ (see pictorial review in SM, Oct) were built to a somewhat austere design to deliver the numbers required to sustain Britain’s destroyer flotillas during the early years of World War II. However, it was always recognised that something much better could be produced. This ambition was ultimately achieved through construction of the much enlarged Battle class. The first destroyers of this new and improved type were ordered under the Royal Navy’s 1942 construction programmes. By the time design work was under way, the vulnerability of destroyers to air attack had been shown by months of wartime experience. Not surprisingly, therefore, the provision of enhanced anti-aircraft defences was accorded a high priority in the new warships. The most obvious manifestation of this design approach was the…

SHIPS MAIL The wee Queen Mary I recently returned from Glasgow and saw the old steamer Queen Mary II while I was waiting to board Waverley for a very enjoyable cruise of the Clyde estuary (see Letter of the Month, SM, Oct). I spoke to a local about Queen Mary II, and brought up the name issue and its history. He replied that, in Glasgow, they avoided the issue entirely and simply referred to her as ‘the wee Queen Mary’. Having subscribed to Ships Monthly for over 40 years, I thought I would share this insight. Your magazine is one of the few periodicals that I read every word of, in every issue. Thanks for a great publication! Peter Ewell New Mexico, USA Pipes exposed When the first impressions of…

Given that Fort Ricasoli and Rinella Bay are mentioned, the picture must have been taken overlooking Malta’s Harbour. The Mediterranean Squadron, including HMS Bulwark, HMS Sultan, HMS Renown and HMS Ramillies, could have been there, and I suggest the picture was taken in the 1870s and the five-masted ship could be HMS Alexandra. These vessel types, during the early days of steam power, were constantly being upgraded, losing masts and altering funnels. John Jordan, Cloyne THIS MONTH’S MYSTERY SHIP This month’s mystery shows a twin-funnelled passenger vessel alongside in port. But which ship is it? When and where was the photo taken? Did the ship enjoy a long career? Can you identify ship and the location? Send your answers, including a postal address, by email to: sm.ed@kelsey.co.uk; or by post…

CABLE LAYER Norway’s Ulstein Verft has been contracted to build a DP3-rated cable-laying vessel for Nexans Marine Operations as an updated version of the French company’s 22,263gt Nexans Aurora, which was delivered by Ulstein in 2021. The newbuild, designed by Norway-based Skipsteknisk, will measure 149.9m by 31m and will have a split turntable on deck capable of holding up to 10,000 tonnes of cable, an underdeck turntable with a 3,500-tonne cable capacity, and a fibre optic basket holding 450 tonnes. Accommodation will be arranged for up to 90 crew and technicians. Cranes will be carried amidships and at the stern to give the ship the capability of handling up to four cables simultaneously.…

TECHNOLOGY The Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC) has made a bid to acquire a 49.9 per cent stake in the German port operator Hamburger Hafen und Logistik (HHLA). The company, the largest port operator in Hamburg, also operates terminals in Estonia, Italy, and Ukraine. It is understood the Geneva-based company is tabling a bid of $1.4 billion for the company, with the city of Hamburg holding the 50.1 per cent share in the company. As part of the agreement, MSC would shift a million TEU of capacity into HHLA’s terminals at Hamburg over the next eight years, making the port a central hub of its growing container business. The company will also build a new headquarters for its German liner operations, as well as moving its German cruise headquarters from Munich…

PORT NEWS After committing £2 million to the long-awaited project, owners Peel Ports have expressed disappointment that upgrades to Ardrossan Harbour, the starting point for ferry services to the Isle of Arran, have been delayed. But Scottish Parliament member Katy Clark insists the fault lies with Peel Ports, and said: ‘Despite receiving hundreds of thousands of pounds in grant funding towards design costs from the Scottish Government, the port’s intransigent owner has continually hindered movement by refusing to agree to realistic grant terms.’ The work is unlikely to be completed until at least 2026, which will be after new Ardrossan-Brodick service vessels Glen Sannox and Glen Rosa are finally completed at Port Glasgow. Peel Ports spokesman Lewis McIntyre commented: ‘We are deeply disappointed we cannot proceed with the upgrade of…

NEWBUILD The Netherlands-based dredging specialists Van Oord have taken delivery of the 14,500kW hopper dredger Vox Alexia from Singapore’s Keppel Singmarine Pte Ltd as the third LNG-powered dredger in its fleet. The others are Vox Ariane and Vox Apolonia. All three 138m by 28m trailing suction hopper dredgers have a hopper capacity of 10,500m3 and are equipped with one suction pipe, with a submerged dredge pump as well as two shore discharge pumps. Delivery of the 11,910gt dredgers increases the Van Oord fleet to more than 100 vessels, including over 20 trailing suction hopper dredgers, the latter having capacities ranging from 1,000m3 to 38,000m3.…

BRITTANY FERRIES Millbay Docks, on a 50-acre site originally opened by Associated British Ports, is to be further developed, with Plymouth City Council signing a memorandum of understanding supporting the venture with major user Brittany Ferries. Currently, the French operator handles 460,000 passengers a year at the port, with more than 150,000 vehicles passing through, and cargo contributing of £95 million a year. Chief executive Christophe Matthieu said Brittany Ferries was delighted to support the strong message of collaboration, adding: ‘We have provided support for Plymouth since our company’s inception in 1973 and 50 years on are looking forward to further economic growth, with more cross-border trade and options at sea and while in port.’ Pont-Aven (2004/40,835gt), Brittany Ferries’ largest vessel until the arrival of 42,000gt Chinabuilt E-Flexer vessels Galacia…

STENA LINE Three ferries from the Irish Sea operations of Stena Line appeared on different routes over the first weekend of September. Stena Foreteller (2002/24,608gt) left her normal Liverpool-Belfast freight crossings to make a one-off weekend appearance on the Rosslare-Cherbourg service. This released Stena Horizon (2006/27,522gt), one of the series of vessels from Italy’s prolific Visentini Yard, the family-owned operation near Venice, to cover for Stena Estrid (2019/41,671), an E-Flexer product of China’s Avic Weihai Yard, on the key route between Dublin and Holyhead. With P&O’s Liverpool-Dublin freight route due to close due to loss of the Peel Ports-owned Mersey berth currently being used for 24 weekly crossings carrying 3,000 units, Stena Line is expressing interest as Dublin Port invites operators to take part in a selection process to find…

EXPLORA JOURNEYS A double milestone occurred at the Fincantieri Sestri Ponente shipyard at Genoa on 6 September when Explora Journeys’ Explora II was floated out and steel-cutting commenced for Explora III. This series of six (recently increased from four) ships have deliveries scheduled through to 2028, with ships III and IV being LNG-fuelled and ships V and VI designed to run on hydrogen. Construction of Explora II took place in two shipyards, with the forward section assembled in the Castellammare yard in Naples before being towed to Genoa. The forward section was launched on 20 January 2023. The completed ship is due for delivery in spring 2024 and will spend her first months in the Mediterranean. She will carry 922 lower berth passengers, and have a gross tonnage of 63,621.…

CONTAINER SHIPS Pandemic profits, combined with expanding environmental mandates and new technologies, have generated a massive ordering of container ships, with a record 385 vessels of 2.22 million total TEU capacity to be delivered before the end of this year and 391 ships of almost 3.00 million TEU in total capacity scheduled to be delivered next year. This may change the ranking of container ship companies by vessel count and total TEU capacity over the coming months as ships are both added to and subtracted from fleets. Last year the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) overtook Maersk Line as the largest container carrier ranked by capacity, with a fleet of over 730 owned and chartered ships capable of accommodating a total of 4.8 million TEU, while another 1.5 million in TEU…

INDIAN NAVY All seven of the Indian Navy’s planned Project 17A frigates are now afloat following the launch of the final vessel. Mahendragiri entered the water at the Mazagon Dock (MDL) shipyard in Mumbai on 1 September, two weeks after Vindhyagiri, the sixth of class, was floated at the Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) shipyard in Kolkata. Construction of the advanced stealth frigates is being shared between the two shipyards, with MDL building four and GRSE the other three. Also known as the Nilgiri class, they are a follow-on to the Indian Navy’s Project 17 Shivalik class frigates. Their indigenous design features extensive use of low-observability technologies, composite materials and an angular shape hull and superstructure. Displacing 6,670 tonnes, they are to be armed with eight BrahMos vertically-launched cruise…

NORTH KOREAN NAVY North Korea’s state media has reported the launch of a ‘nuclear attack submarine’ at a highly choreographed ceremony attended by the nation’s leader, Kim Jong Un. The vessel, named Hero Kim Kun Ok (841) after a North Korean naval officer and historical figure, is claimed to be capable of launching nuclear weapons, although this is something it has thus far not been able to achieve. Images of the carefully staged event reveal the vessel to be a significantly modified, Chinese-developed Romeo class diesel-electric powered submarine with a crudely shortened bow and a large casing behind the sail for ten missiles. The front four hatches appear larger than the other six, indicating a payload mix of long-range ballistic and shorter-range cruise missiles. The stern and propellers were deliberately…

CONTAINER SHIPS Biofuels and synthetic fuels are rapidly entering the maritime market to help with the reduction of CO2 emissions, and a number of vessels are now burning hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) and fatty acid methyl ester (FAME), both of which can be used by diesel engines without major engine modifications, but require separators for cleaning. HVO is made by the hydrocracking of vegetable oils derived from such organics as rapeseed, sunflowers and soybeans, while FAME is derived by the transesterification of fats with methanol. Bio-LNG, made by processing organic waste, such as household and industrial waste, manure and sewage, is also being used, but, as with HVO and FAME, supplies are limited. Synthetic LNG or synthetic natural gas (SNG) is also making headway, and last year the 1,036TEU container…

STEAM TUG After years of service in Auckland, the steam tug William C. Daldy is facing an uncertain future. Three years of Covid prevented public sailings, cutting the tug’s earnings and reserves. The lack of public operations has also reduced the William C. Daldy Preservation Society’s ability to attract and train volunteers and to replace retiring crew with new recruits with current qualifications. Each sailing costs more as the price of Huntly coal has continued to rise. Sponsorship has been harder than ever to attract. The Preservation Society has operated the tug with a team of dedicated volunteers since purchasing her from the Auckland Harbour Board in 1975, and she has since become a popular feature at Devonport’s Victoria Wharf. She was regularly open to the public and sometimes steamed…

UNICORN The Unicorn Preservation Society has received its biggest single donation to date, with £1,110,930 from the National Heritage Memorial Fund. This will finance the urgent work required for the continued preservation of HMS Unicorn, Scotland’s oldest ship and Dundee visitor attraction, and will provide over 95 per cent of the total needed for immediate conservation and repairs. The work will restore strength to HMS Unicorn’s hull and thereby improve her resilience at her current berth in readiness for her projected move to the nearby East Graving Dock. Key parts of the structure will be strengthened by replacement of rotten timbers in the hull. The focus is to retain as much of her original fabric as possible.…

LOCH KATRINE After three years out of service with boiler issues, Loch Katrine’s Sir Walter Scott, launched by Denny in 1899, resumed sailing this summer after the completion of a £750,000 restoration project. The work involved replacing her two boilers and decking, as well as major structural repairs, funded by their SOS ‘Save our Steamship’ fundraising appeal. The appeal caught the public’s imagination, with donations coming in from throughout the UK and across the world, boosted by grants from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Stirling Council, the Pilgrim Trust, Hugh Fraser Foundation and the Gordon Fraser Foundation. The work was undertaken by an in-house team over 18 months with the support of specialist contractors. Following this restoration, her eco-credentials are even stronger, with the aim of continuing to reduce her…

Norröna is the well-known cruise ferry owned by the Faroese company Smyril Line, which takes in unusual routes on the North Atlantic. Each week the ships sails from Hirtshals in Northern Denmark to Tórshavn in the Faroe Islands, and on to Seyðisfjørður in Eastern Iceland. During the high summer she completes an extra round trip between the Faroes and Denmark. Built in 2003 at a cost of €93.4 million, she was delivered from Flender Werft in Germany to a design by Knud E. Hansen, Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft. She provided three times the capacity of the original ferry on the route, and was thus a considerable upgrade. Norröna is the only passenger ship operating dedicated North Atlantic routes all year round. She can take 1,482 passengers and there is space for 800…

Completed in August, the £420 million Aberdeen South Harbour expansion is the largest marine infrastructure project in Trust Port history. The impressive new port area was formally opened on 22 September by HRH The Princess Royal. The Princess Royal was welcomed by the Lord-Lieutenant of Aberdeen, David Cameron, and Roy Buchan, Chair, Port of Aberdeen, and then met Bob Sanguinetti, CEO, Port of Aberdeen, ministers from the Scottish Government and UK Government, and Steve Murray, Port Chaplain. A public open day was held on 24 September, allowing people the chance to see behind the scenes at the new harbour. Construction work on the site, to the south of the current harbour, started in 2017, after years of planning. It now offers 1,500m of deepwater berths, extensive heavylift capabilities, 125,000m2 of…

Geography has been kind to the United States of America and Canada, as several large interconnected natural lakes are ideal for use by ships to transport large cargoes from their source to factories and other processing centres, making the movement of bulk goods easy and convenient. Farsighted people realised the possibilities of connecting the lakes to the Atlantic, via the Saint Lawrence River, by the building of locks. Consequently, the two countries have long taken advantage of this natural route for both domestic and international shipping. The sprawling Great Lakes have been important to North America’s economies since the 19th century, allowing ships to transport raw materials more efficiently than by rail or road. The first large freighter was the steamer Onoko, which was launched on 16 February 1882. With…

letter of the month The ‘Newhaven-Dieppe into a second century’ article (SM, Feb) reminded me of my first trips abroad as a student in the late 1950s, which were via this service, with one on Londres. However, as an Immigration Officer in the 1960s I have more vivid recollections of carrying out passport examinations during the Channel crossings on that route on many of the car ferries mentioned. I also recall the fourth Brighton, just a few weeks before she was sold, when she undertook an extra relief service on a particularly busy summer day. The normal crossing time then was just over three hours, but she went from quayside to quayside in three hours exactly – said at the time to have been something of a record, and to…

SHIPPING ROUTE Favourable weather and ice conditions this past summer saw the first capesize bulk carrier, the 69,159dwt Gingo, make use of Russia’s Northern Sea Route (NSR), as well as the first non ice-strengthened Aframax tanker, the 156,630 dwt Leonid Loza. The 2000-built Gingo sailed from Murmansk to China carrying 164,600 tonnes of iron ore concentrate, the largest single cargo to be transported via the NSR to date. Meanwhile, the 2011-built Leonid Loza was carrying a full load of crude, also from Murmansk to China. Russia’s nuclear-powered icebreakers Taimyr and Sibir, operated by FSUE Atomflot, provided escort along the passage where needed. According to Russia’s Minister for the Development of the Russian Far East and Arctic, freight traffic along the NSR has increased from four million tonnes in 2014 to…

FERRY SERVICES Between June and the end of August 1.7 million passengers used Viking Line’s Baltic servicesn with some sailings sold-ut well in advance. The biggest increase of 8.7 per cent came on the three-vessel route from Helsinki to Tallinn in Estonia maintained by Viking XPRS (2008/33,728gt), which now sails under the Finnish flag, while also operating are longer-serving fleet members Viking Cinderella (1989/46,398gt) and Gabriella (1992/35,492gt) with passenger capacities of 2,560 and 2.420 respectively. Passenger totals grew to 801,919 on the service from Stockholm to Turku via Mariehamn in the Åland Islands, with the route’s largest vessel the 65,211gt Finland-built Viking Glory (2021) taking 2,800 passengers and just over 300 cars.…

P&O FERRIES Pride of Kent left cold lay-up at Tilbury Docks on 5 October bound for Turkish breakers in Aliaga. She called at Calais to take on fuel and stores for her final journey. Her sister, Pride of Canterbury, was moved from Dover to take her place at Tilbury the same day and is expected to follow the same fate. This brings to an end to their 31-year career with P&O Ferries. In their original incarnation they were built as the European class freighters European Highway and European Pathway, for the Dover-Zeebrugge route. They were converted to multipurpose ferries in 2002-03, but received no mechanical upgrades. They replaced PO Kent (ex-Spirit of Free Enterprise) and PO Canterbury (ex-Stena Fantasia) on the Dover-Calais route. Their most popular features were their Club…

WIND ENERGY Airbus is to equip one of the vessels used to transport aircraft subassemblies, Ville de Bordeaux, chartered from shipowner Louis Dreyfus Armateurs, with wind-assisted propulsion technology that captures wind energy to generate thrust and, therefore, delivers savings in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. The eSAIL®, developed by the Spain-based bound4blue, creates up to seven times more lift than a conventional rigid sail. It consists of a sail-like vertical surface and an electrically-powered air suction system that helps the airflow to re-adhere to the sail, generating additional lift. Three 22m-high eSAILs® will be fitted to Ville de Bordeaux ahead of a six-month performance monitoring period. WATERFRONT • www.shipsmonthly.com • The Granary, Downs Court, Yalding Hill, Yalding, Kent, ME18 6AL • t > 01959 541444 • e > sm.ed@kelsey.co.uk…

ISLE OF SCILLY The Isles of Scilly Steamship Group has ordered two new vessels for service between Penzance and St Mary’s from the Piriov Group, with work starting in Vietnam early next year before the hulls are towed to Piriov’s yard in France for completion, with delivery due in 2026. The contract covers a new passenger vessel, Scillonian IV, and a new freight ship to replace the company’s present pairing of Scillonian III (1977/1,346gt) and Gry Maritha (1981/590gt). More than 30 different yards worldwide were considered and Scillies Group chairman Ian Howard said: ‘Piriov has an excellent reputation for building passenger ferries and cargo vessels and their naval architects and senior management have conducted multiple visits to Penzance and the Isles of Scilly and have a full understanding of the…

HOLLAND AMERICA The last of Holland America Line’s ships to be adapted to run on shore power while in port, Volendam, had her modification completed on 27 September in Vancouver and was connected to the local power supply for a day. Adaptation of the HAL ships has been a fairly long process, starting in 2006 with the four Vista class ships, Noordam, Oosterdam, Westerdam and Zuiderdam. Two later ships, Eurodam and Nieuw Amsterdam, were built with the capability of easy conversion, while the newest trio (Koningsdam, Nieuw Statendam and Rotterdam) were built to take shore power. In 2025 Volendam will offer a number of ten- and 11-night cruises from Fort Lauderdale, but the highlight for the ship that year is likely to be the 25-night roundtrip cruise from Boston to…

DUTCH NAVY HNLMS De Ruyter has become the first Dutch warship to be equipped with a long-range Tomahawk (TLAM) sea-launched cruise missile capability. The major weapons upgrade was installed during her current mid-life refit. The refit also saw her Harpoon maritime strike and anti-ship missile capability being replaced with the Kongsberg Naval Strike Missile system. Additionally, the air-defence and command ship now has the latest Thales SMART-L multi-mission radar, which can detect ballistic missile threats and pass on targeting data to accompanying destroyers. All four De Zeven Provincien class frigates are to receive the TLAM upgrade between 2025 and 2029, with the Block IV missiles being housed in the ships’ existing Lockheed Martin strike-length Mk 41 vertical launch silos, which also hold Evolved Sea Sparrow (ESSM) and SM-2 Block IIIA…

UKRAINE WAR Images from the aftermath of a Ukrainian offensive against Russian Black Sea Fleet assets at the Sevastopol naval base reveal catastrophic damage to high-value vessels. The attack on 13 September, using British-supplied Storm Shadow cruise missiles, effectively destroyed a Kilo class submarine and a landing ship. The Project 636.3 class diesel submarine Rostov on Don has two gaping holes in her hull as the result of a huge internal explosion, likely caused by a direct hit. The Ropucha class landing ship Minsk was pictured with a melted superstructure. The Russian MoD downplayed the effects of the multiple missile strikes on vessels undergoing maintenance at the Sevmorzavod shipyard but it is evident that both are beyond economic repair. The dry dock they were sharing is also out of use…

NEWBUILD China’s Hudong-Zhonghua has received approvals in principle from a number of classification societies, including ABS, Lloyd’s Register, Bureau Veritas and DNV, for its design of a 271,000m3 capacity LNG carrier that, if built, will be the world’s largest. The proposed vessel, which is targeted to QatarEnergy’s LNG expansion projects in the Middle East, would measure 344m by 53.6m and sail on a design draught of 12m using a dual-fuel propulsion system in conjunction with a hull air lubrication system. Its LNG cargo would be carried in five tanks at cryogenic temperatures incorporating GTT’s NO96 Super+ containment technology. Currently, the world’s largest LNG carriers are Qatar’s Q-Max class that measure 345m (1,132ft) by 53.8m (177ft) and have a capacity of 266,000m3.…

TANKERS Denmark’s Uni-Tankers is adding five more vessels to its fleet, including the 6,100dwt, 2022-built chemical-product tanker Sedat Basak, recently acquired from Gozne Maritime & Trading of Malta, and two sisterships to be built by Turkish shipbuilder Gisan Altinova for delivery in 2024 and 2025. Completed by the Turkish builder Gisan Gemi in September 2022, Sedat Basak has been operating in Northern Europe since her completion. In addition, the Middelfart-based owner is to take delivery of two larger 12,500dwt stainless-steel tankers, Swan Virtue and Swan Glory, which are currently under construction, and operate them in partnership with a Japanese company during 2025 and 2026. Uni-Tankers currently operates a fleet of 30 ships, of which half are owned and half are chartered.…

CONVOY ESCORT SHIP Since the Honourable Company of Master Mariners departed HQS Wellington in April, rumours have been circulating regarding the fate of the ship. In September 2006, with maintenance costs spiralling and exceeding Company income, a decision was taken to create the Wellington Trust, which took ownership of the ship. Unfortunately, the Company found itself still with the burden of providing financial support to the Trust for maintenance of the ship. At the start of 2020 the Company were advised by the Trust that their financial position was such that they could no longer support maintenance of the vessel. The major item that needed addressing was the aftermath of a cumulative failure to meet increasingly stringent safety standards required of a vessel operating as both an administrative base and…

GLENACHULISH Scottish Ministers are currently considering the siting of 15 SSEN super pylons on the Skye side of the ferry crossing in the Kylerhea Narrows, where the mainland and Skye are closest. This will affect the sustainability of the ferry operation run by the historic MV Glenachulish, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Vessels. As the last of the UK’s manually-operated turntable ferries, she was one of National Historic Ships UK’s Flagships of the Year in 2022. Plying the oldest, shortest and fastest route to Skye, she is the last survivor of the many small ferries which were once a common sight connecting far-flung Scottish communities. The proposed super-pylons are expected to bring significant disruption during the construction phase. WATERFRONT • www.shipsmonthly.com • The Granary, Downs Court,…

EDGE SERIES (size 1,004ft/1,073ft x 128ft) Celebrity Edge (2018), 2,918 guests, 130,818gt; Celebrity Apex (2020), 2,910 guests, 130,818; Celebrity Beyond (2022), 3,849 guests, 141,420gt; Celebrity Ascent (2023) 3,849 guests, 141,420gt. SOLSTICE SERIES (size 1,041ft x 121ft): Celebrity Solstice (2008), 3,148 guests, 121,878gt; Celebrity Equinox (2009), 3,148 guests, 121,878gt; Celebrity Eclipse (2010), 3,148 guests, 121,878gt; Celebrity Silhouette (2011), 3,324 guests, 122,210gt; Celebrity Reflection (2012), 3,480 guests, 125,366gt. MILLENNIUM SERIES (size 965ft x 105ft, all 91,000gt) Celebrity Millennium (2000), 2,593 guests; Celebrity Infinity (2001), 2,593 guests; Celebrity Summit (2001), 2,599 guests; Celebrity Constellation (2002), 2,170 guests.…

Specialised ships were rare in the 1920s, but Seatrain was an exception, having been designed with one simple purpose: to ship railcars of fresh fruit and vegetables from Cuba to the United States. At the beginning of the last century American investors formed large agricultural estates in Cuba to grow sugar, fruit and vegetables for the US market. From 1915 a train ferry between Havana and Key West allowed perishables, like pineapples and winter tomatoes, to be moved direct to US cities in temperature-controlled boxcars, which would often return south carrying dairy products. However, New York and Chicago were more than 1,500 miles from Key West. The long trail up through Florida, and transferring the freight cars between competing railroad companies, meant that the fruit could take a fortnight to…

Marlin II was built in 1941 as a singledecker with an extended midships section, housing the bridge and deck officers forward with the engineers, and the engine room accommodated nearby, but with a hold between them. The crew were accommodated astern in the poop. She was equipped with six double Samson posts, each pair supporting two threetonne derrick booms. She was completed in January 1942 as Vedby for A/S Motortramp, a company owned by A.E. Reinman of Stensbygård, an estate and farm south of Naestved on the island of Sjaelland in southern Denmark. Due to the German occupation of Denmark, she was deliberately ballasted to rest on the bottom of the dock and, when she was refloated in May 1943, it was found that she had not suffered hull damage…

Diana Coode asked for some information about a ship named Naief (SM, Dec 2022) and sought details of the ship’s history. Naief was built in 1957 as the passenger ship Bunte Kuh, for the HADAG service from Hamburg and Cuxhaven to Helgoland. The 2,520gt ship was a near-sister to Wappen von Hamburg (later Delos, Polar Star, Pacific Star, Xanadu, Aurora). She measured 90.25m in length and was powered by twin Napier Deltic diesel engines, giving a cruising speed 16 knots. In 1962 the ship was sold to Sun Lines of Greece and converted into a full-time cruise ship for 240 passengers at Mariotti shipyards in Genova, being renamed Stella Solaris, and operating three- and four-day cruises to the Greek islands and Turkey. In 1968 I was fortunate to take the…