HMS EDINBURGH - D97 outbound

The Type 42 destroyer EDINBURGH sailed from King George V dock this morning, and is seen here as she started to pick up speed on her way out to sea. EDINBURGH is now reported to be on passage to Leith, her adopted 'home port' where she will berth for a few days.

JUPITER

Another wild day in the west of Scotland, with a southerly gale blowing up the Firth of Clyde, as this image of CalMac's JUPITER approaching Dunoon shows. In the background, the coaster APOLLO EAGLE, a regular visitor to the river carrying cargoes of cement, can be seen riding at anchor awaiting a river passage to Glasgow.

VASILIY SHUKSHIN

A Russian coaster has been at Shieldhall for a few days discharging a cargo at the riverside berth. VASILIY SHUKSHIN, which now flies the Maltese flag, was built in 1995 by the Volgograd Shipyard is 89.5 metres long, and has a deadweight of 2,792 tonnes. She is managed by a Belgian company, and like many Russian vessels,  her owners appear to have a Maltese address. She is of the 'Baltiyskiy' Project 16290 type, and is operated by the North-Western Shipping Company. 

LYS-SKOG

Another Norwegian vessel was seen today heading out to sea, after a brief visit to Greenock. LYS-SKOG, which arrived earlier today had also been at Ocean Terminal a few days ago, bringing in paper from Norway before visiting the Irish port of Drogheda. Today's call at Greenock was to allow her to take on fuel bunkers before returning to Scandinavia. LYS-SKOG, together with other ships belonging to DFDS-Lys Line, have been regular visitors to the Clyde for some time. Described as a palletised cargo ship, LYS-SKOG has a deadweight of 3,728 tonnes and an overall length of 99.43 metres. She was built in 1990 at the Kraljevica Shipyard in Croatia, and was lengthened by 10 metres at a Polish shipyard eight years later.

KRONVIKEN outbound

Another view of the Norwegian tanker KRONVIKEN, taken this morning as she headed south past Dunoon and down the blustery Firth of Clyde. Her next cargo will be another load of North Sea crude, which she is due to load at Hound's Point, on the Firth of Forth.

BLACK PRINCE

Fred Olsen's veteran cruise ship BLACK PRINCE was seen late this afternoon lying alongside Greenock Ocean Terminal, as she prepared for her final departure from the Clyde this year. Like some other passenger vessels of her vintage - perhaps most notably QUEEN ELIZABETH 2 - BLACK PRINCE will not meet the next batch of SOLAS regulations without considerable modification, which her owners have decided not to proceed with due to the expense involved. However, BLACK PRINCE is currently scheduled to return to Greenock on a number of cruises next year, prior to her withdrawal.

JOKER

Strahlmann's coaster JOKER, which arrived yesterday evening, moved upriver from her anchorage this morning to the BVT Surface Fleet shipyard at Govan, as the former Fairfield yard is now known. JOKER was built as ELISIA at the Hugo Peters shipyard at Wewelsfleth in 1984, and joined the Strahlmann fleet in 2002. She is 82.29 metres long, with a deadweight of 2,311 tonnes. 

ALBA NA MARA

Working on the Clyde over the past few days, Fisheries Research Services' new research vessel ALBA NA MARA was seen this afternoon working in the Lower Loch Long area. ALBA NA MARA was designed and built by Macduff Shipbuilders for the Scottish Government as a replacement for CLUPEA, and was handed over to her owners in April 2008. Reported to have cost around £4 million, the 27 metre long vessel is equipped with a sophisticated range of deck machinery and electronics to allow a range of fishing and environmental sampling to be carried out. ALBA NA MARA is capable of operating throughout the year, carrying out inshore research, surveys and monitoring around the British Isles from her base at Fraserburgh, and can carry up to 15 people for two weeks at a time.

KRONVIKEN

The Norwegian-flagged Aframax tanker KRONVIKEN, built in Korea in 2006 by Samsung Heavy Industries arrived at Finnart this morning with a cargo of North Sea crude loaded at Sture in Norway. KRONVIKEN is owned by Viken Shipping and managed by Wallem Shipmanagement, two companies with historical links. With a deadweight of 114,523 tonnes, KRONVIKEN is 248.99 metres in length and has a full load draft of 14.9 metres.

BONDENAU

One of Erwin Strahlmann's Slovakian-built coasters arrived today. BONDENAU is one of the large 'Rhein' class built by Slovenske Lodenice Komarno on the River Danube and was completed in April 2007, although like most of her sisters, construction of her hull was commenced several years earlier in 1998. She is 87.85 metres overall, and has a deadweight of 3,704 tonnes. BONDENAU anchored at the Bravo anchorage for a short time, before heading upriver to start loading a cargo of scrap metal at Diesel Wharf.

ARKLOW RULER outbound

Outbound today from Renfrew, the coaster ARKLOW RULER was seen at speed as she approached the Cowal Buoy on her way down the Firth of Clyde. The destination for her cargo of scrap metal is Seville, is southern Spain. Her place in the Lobnitz basin at Renfrew was taken almost immediately by one of her fleetmates, ARKLOW RALLY.

HMS EDINBURGH - D97

Followed closely by Clyde Marine Services' tugs BRUISER and BATTLER, the Type 42 destroyer EDINBURGH was caught passing below the Erskine Bridge today, as she made her way to King George V Dock for a courtesy visit to Glasgow. EDINBURGH, one of the Batch 3 ships and a product of the Cammell Laird shipyard on the Mersey, joined the Royal Navy when commissioned in December 1985, the penultimate ship of the class. She recently returned from a tour of duty in the Far East. She can be distinguished from her immediate sisters MANCHESTER, GLOUCESTER and YORK as she has raised bulwarks at her bow. These were fitted during trials of the Phalanx CIWS, which was originally mounted forward but later moved to the decks either side of the funnel.

FESCO ANGARA outbound

Approaching Dalmuir, the bulk carrier FESCO ANGARA was seen this afternoon as she made her way slowly downriver accompanied by SVITZER MALLAIG and AYTON CROSS, the latter still made fast to the larger ship's stern to ensure her safe passage down the Clyde. FESCO ANGARA was heading for Riga in the Baltic Sea to load her next cargo.

GENCA

Paying another visit to Greenock, Spliethoff's GENCA arrived yesterday evening to load paper for Baltimore, for where she sailed this evening. Berthed ahead of the large ro-ro freighter was the feeder container ship MARIS on the weekly BG Freight Line service from Rotterdam. 

SICHEM HIROSHIMA

A new tanker belonging to Eitzen Chemical ASA, and managed by EMS Ship Management, arrived at Brodick Bay on Monday afternoon from Dublin, and proceeded up the firth to Finnart this afternoon. SICHEM HIROSHIMA, only delivered from her Korean builders six months ago, is a 128.6 metre long ship with a deadweight of 13,119 tonnes. Her master is Indian, while her officers are crew are a mix of Indian and Filipino nationals. 

ARKLOW RULER

Another arrival this morning that had to anchor before heading further upriver was the latest member of Arklow Shipping's fleet to visit the Clyde, ARKLOW RULER, which was delivered to the Irish part of the company in 2006. Built at the Barkmeijer Shipyard at Stroobos, she has a deadweight of 4,485 tonnes and an overall length of 89.99 metres. Pictures of her launching can be seen here.

LIQUID SUCCESS

The motor tanker LIQUID SUCCESS arrived on the river this morning, and proceeded to anchor at the Tail o' the Bank to await an improvement in visibility before heading upstream to Clydebank. She was built in 1999 in Germany by Lindenau at their Kiel shipyard, and was named SILVER RIVER before taking her present name in 2005. She is 145.61 metres in length, with a deadweight of 13,300 tonnes. Flying the Liberian flag, LIQUID SUCCESS is now managed by Elmira Shipping and Trading, a Greek company.

AASFJORD

Seen in King George V Dock at Shieldhall, the Norwegian coaster AASFJORD arrived today with a cargo of cement from Port Talbot, in South Wales. These bulk cargoes are frequently carried by Aasen Shipping's fleet, which as well as cargoes of aggregates from Glensanda bring these vessels to the Clyde on a regular basis. In the background, the wind turbines being built at Whitelee, and brought by sea to this dock, can be seen over the top of the cargo sheds.

FESCO ANGARA

A part cargo of animal feedstuff arrived this morning aboard a Russian freighter, owned  and operated by the Far-Eastern Shipping Company. FESCO ANGARA, a ship built in Korea by Hyundai in 1985 as ESPERANSA for the Greek Comninos Brothers company, was later renamed ESPERIA before being acquired by the Russian Government in 1985 and being renamed ANGARA. She gained the current prefix to her name in 2007. FESCO ANGARA is 186.7 metres overall, and has a deadweight of 37,155 tonnes. She is registered in the Marshall Islands, like many of her owner's fleet, while ship management is in the hands of Fesco Wallem, of Hong Kong.

Busy Gourock

Gourock Pier was a busy place on Friday evening, with three CalMac ferries present. JUPITER, seen departing and heading off round Kempock Point, was as usual on the Dunoon ferry service. SATURN, on the left, had returned from Greenock on Thursday where she had been receiving her annual overhaul at the Garvel Drydock. CORUISK, usually employed in summertime on the crossing from Mallaig to Armadale on Skye, had just completed her sailings there and was arriving at Gourock on her way to the Garvel yard, where she is to receive her own overhaul in the next couple of weeks. 

PHAROS

Seen on Thursday afternoon at Oban, the Northern Lighthouse Board's navaids tender PHAROS was caught sailing from the Lighthouse Pier in lovely sunshine. After leaving Oban Bay, she turned south into the Firth of Lorne. Together with her Trinity House sister ship GALATEA, she was built by the Remontowa Shipyard in Poland, and has been a regular visitor to the Clyde both to the Garvel dock at Greenock, and on routine inspections of the lighthouses and buoyage with the Clyde estuary.

HARTLAND POINT

The Fleet Replenishment Ship FORT AUSTIN arrived on the Clyde on Tuesday afternoon and after a night at anchor off Greenock, moved on Wednesday morning to Glen Mallan. Before berthing, she had to await the departure of this ship, HARTLAND POINT. She is one of a series of six ships owned by Foreland Shipping, and operating on long-term charter to the Ministry of Defence. Built at Belfast by Harland and Wolff, HARTLAND POINT was completed in December 2002. She is 193 metres long, has a deadweight of some 13,300 tonnes, and is a sistership of ANVIL POINT, which visited the Clyde in March. After working cargo at Glen Mallan, HARTLAND POINT was heading for Sunny Point in North Carolina, USA, a major munitions base.

EUROPEAN CAUSEWAY

The other operator using Loch Ryan is P&O Irish Sea, who run two sisterships between Cairnryan and Larne. EUROPEAN CAUSEWAY was built by Mitsubishi in Japan in 2000 and was joined two years later by the almost identical EUROPEAN HIGHLANDER. This crossing is also served during the summer months by the fast craft EXPRESS, now laid up for the winter months. The P&O ships provide an intensive service, each making three or four return crossings every day. EUROPEAN CAUSEWAY is 159.5 metres in length, with a deadweight of 4,276 tonnes and is 20,646 gross tons. She can carry 410 passengers and up to 315 cars, or a maximum of 84 15m freight units.

STENA SEAFARER

Two ferry operators run services across the North Channel from Loch Ryan to Northern Ireland. The railhead at Stranraer is served by Stena Line, who run both a High Speed catamaran ferry, STENA VOYAGER, and a conventional ro-ro ferry, STENA CALEDONIA. A few days ago, STENA VOYAGER suffered from some weather damage and had to be taken out of service. To provide additional capacitywhile she is undergoing repairs, a freight ferry usually employed between Larne and Fleetwood has temporarily been placed on the Stranraer-Belfast crossing. STENA SEAFARER was built for Stena Line in 1975 by Sietas, and named UNION MELBOURNE for a charter in New Zealand, becoming UNION TRADER in 1978 when she returned to the northern hemisphere to serve on her present route on charter to Pandoro.  In 1980 she was bought by P&O and renamed PUMA, before a further name change to EUROPEAN SEAFARER in 1998 following a reorganisation of the company's freight operations in the Irish Sea. In 2003, P&O divested themselves of some of their Irish Sea services, and she was transferred to the Stena fleet, adopting her current name and now flying the flag of the company which was initially responsible for her design and construction.

ARKLOW VENUS

Having arrived back from Kilroot with another cargo of road salt, ARKLOW VENUS was seen this afternoon shortly before sailing from Shieldhall after she had completed discharging cargo. Details of this Dutch-flagged coaster can be seen in this earlier post.

T-class Submarine

One of the Royal Navy's T-class submarines was seen heading out to sea this afternoon,  with CalMac's JUPITER lying at Dunoon Pier in the background.

LOCHNEVIS

CalMac's Mallaig-based Small Isles ferry LOCHNEVIS completed her annual overhaul and survey at the Garvel Drydock today, and ran trials off Gourock. She is seen here heading for Gourock on their completion, where she berthed for a couple of hours before setting off for Mallaig to resume duty.

SD COLONEL TEMPLER and SD NIMBLE

Seen on Friday being manoeuvred in the Great Harbour at Greenock, Serco Denholm's acoustic research ship SD COLONEL TEMPLER was being assisted by SD NIMBLE. SD COLONEL TEMPLER was built by Hall Russell at Aberdeen as a stern trawler in 1966, but was converted in 1980 to become a floating trials platform operated under the auspices of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency. In 1997, she was further modified, and since 2000 has been managed by Serco Denholm.

PANTELIS outbound

Seen sailing from Finnart on Friday afternoon, the tanker PANTELIS had been discharging a cargo of North Sea crude oil from Mongstad, the huge Norwegian oil terminal. PANTELIS was built in 2004 by Samsung Heavy Industries at Koje in South Korea. At 249.87 metres long, she has a deadweight of 114,500 tonnes. Owned by a Cypriot company and operated by Enesel SA, a Greek firm, this Aframax tanker is currently on charter to Stena Bulk. Registered at Limassol, PANTELIS has a Greek master, with a variety of other nationalities making up her crew.

ARKLOW VENUS

Following ARKLOW RANGER downriver a couple of hours later was another of the company's ships, ARKLOW VENUS, which unlike her fleetmate had brought a cargo to the Clyde. This was a consignment of salt for use on roads in the forthcoming winter, loaded at Kilroot on Belfast Loch and discharged at Shieldhall. She was seen passing Western Ferries' SOUND OF SANDA off McInroy's Point, as she headed back to Kilroot. ARKLOW VENUS flies the Dutch flag, and was built in 2000 at the Pattje Shipyard at Waterhuizen in the Netherlands. She is 89.75 metres long, has a deadweight of 4,940 tonnes, and was originally named SIDER VENUS, joining the Arklow fleet in 2005.

ARKLOW RANGER

Outbound today, the Arklow Shipping coaster ARKLOW RANGER was seen as she made her way past Lunderston Bay, starting our on her passage to Seville with a cargo of scrap metal loaded at Renfrew. This neat little coaster was seen on a previous visit to the Clyde in August 2007, and many other members of the 'R' class have also loaded cargoes here.

HUMMEL outbound

After a part discharge of her cargo at Rothesay Dock, the tanker HUMMEL moved downriver to the Tail o' the Bank where she spent a few days at anchor. The German ship moved back to Clydebank on Wednesday afternoon to complete unloading, and sailed this morning for Amsterdam.

JUPITER

Weather conditions on the upper firth have been far from ideal for photography today, as this view of JUPITER making her way from Dunoon to Gourock in a following sea demonstrates. All of Caledonian MacBrayne's Clyde routes were affected by weather at some stage during the day, as were the vast majority of the Western Isles routes too. Winter appears to have arrived this week!

TIMCA departing

Seen sailing this afternoon in better conditions that those prevailing when she arrived, TIMCA was outbound from the Clyde with her newly-loaded cargo of paper reels for Baltimore, on the east coast of the USA. An interesting gallery of images showing the ship can be seen on the Spliethoff website.

ALSERBACH

A departure from the Clyde early this morning was the coaster ALSERBACH, which sailed from Renfrew - where she is seen in this view - with a cargo of scrap metal destined for the Spanish port of Seville. Like many other members of the Alstership fleet, she is frequently seen on the Clyde and in other UK ports loading cargoes like this.

RFA ARGUS - A135

Seen sailing from Glen Mallan this afternoon was RFA ARGUS, a ship built in 1981 by the Italian shipyard Cantieri Navale Breda as the container ship CONTENDER BEZANT. During the Falklands War in 1982, she was taken over by the Ministry of Defence and later converted at Belfast to become an Aviation Training Ship. Renamed ARGUS, her new role was to train navy helicopter pilots while she could also be adapted to act as a logistics ship. ARGUS is equipped with a large hospital facility including two operating theatres and beds for up to 100 casualties. Despite this, she is not designated as a hospital ship, but rather as a Primary Casualty Reception Ship. She is 175.1 metres long, and has a displacement of 28,481 tonnes. 

TIMCA inbound

Arriving this morning during some rather fresh autumnal weather, the Danish ro-ro freighter TIMCA was heading for Greenock Ocean Terminal to uplift another cargo of paper. Somewhat unusually, today she used two tugs to berth on account of the strong southwesterly winds. Both TIMCA and her sister GENCA are now becoming regular visitors to the Clyde on Spliethoff transatlantic services.

HENG SHAN HAI

The Chinese bulk carrier HENG SHAN HAI arrived at Hunterston this afternoon, and was seen as she entered the Largs Channel with the Clyde's three Svitzer tugs in attendance. HENG SHAN HAI was built by the Shanghai Hudong Shipyard in 1998, and the 225.0 metre long ship, which has a deadweight of some 72,769 tonnes, was bringing in a cargo of coal from Murmansk. She is operated by COSCO Bulk Carriers, part of the enormous and diverse China Ocean Shipping Group.

HMNLS ROTTERDAM - L800

Three of the Dutch participants in Exercise Joint Warrior 082 are berthed in King George V Dock. The amphibious transport ship ROTTERDAM (L800) was built by the Royal Schelde shipyard at Vlissingen, and completed in 1998. She is 162.2 metres long, with a displacement of 12,750 tonnes, and is fitted with a diesel electric powerplant for propulsion. ROTTERDAM is capable of operating landing craft from her floodable stern dock, as well as working with helicopters from her large flight deck. Since being commissioned into the Royal Netherlands Navy, she has been joined by a similar but slightly larger ship, JOHAN DE WITT, which also took part in the exercise. Astern of ROTTERDAM are berthed two of the 'Tripartite' class minesweepers, MAKKUM and MAASLUIS. The bow of the coaster APOLLO FALCON can also be seen behind one of the wind turbines delivered by DEO VOLENTE on her most recent visit this week.

Type 45s at Scotstoun

On Friday, the second Type 45 destroyer, DAUNTLESS, was moved from the drydock to the fitting-out berth. To allow her to lie alongside, DARING was temporarily moved into the river before double-berthing beside the newer ship. An excellent sequence of shots of the move can be seen on Upper Clyde Shipping. 

SIGAS DUKE

A vessel of a type not seen on the Clyde was also noted as she made her way north through the Sea of the Hebrides on Thuesday. SIGAS DUKE, a liquified gas carrier, is Maltese registered, and was built in Norway in 1982 and was originally named TRAENAFJORD. She was renamed KNUD THOLSTRUP later that year, then became KNUD KOSAN in 1991. Her present name was adopted in 2006. She is owned by Sigas Singapore Pte Ltd and managed by EMS Ship Management. SIGAS DUKE is 76.75 metres long, and has a deadweight of 2,618 tonnes. She can carry ammonia or LPG in her three fully refrigerated tanks, at temperatures as low as -48.0 °C.

USS KLAKRING - FFG42

Seen at speed in the Sea of the Hebrides to the west of Tiree was the US Navy's frigate KLAKRING, making her way back to the Clyde following the completion of Exercise Joint Warrior 082. KLAKRING - a member of the 'Oliver Hazard Perry' class - dates from 1982. She was in company with LEROY GRUMMAN while several other naval vessels were also sighted as they headed south for debriefing.

NORD STAR

A coaster well known in Scottish waters for many years was seen on Thursday as she headed towards Oban. NORD STAR, which was built in 1978 by Cubow at Woolwich as ORDINENCE, and later renamed KAVA SOUND, is now owned by Hebridean Coastal Services Ltd of Stornoway, and is one of a very few coasters owned and operated almost exclusively in our waters. She is 49.3 metres in length, and her deadweight of 727 tonnes makes her useful for carrying small quantities of general cargo around the islands and lochs of the western seaboard.

 

LIAMARE

Following a few days alongside in the Great Harbour at the former Scott Lithgow Repair Berth, LIAMARE was towed upriver yesterday to Shieldhall, where she has discharged her cargo of animal feed. LIAMARE, a ship whose hull was built in the Ukraine but which was fitted out in Holland, is one of three sisters built there. One of those is well known on the Clyde - AASHEIM.

HUMMEL

A German-owned tanker took the place of FRYKEN this morning at the NuStar berth in Rothesay Dock. Owned by Carl Büttner GmbH & Co, HUMMEL was built in 1989 by the Lindenau Shipyard at Kiel. She is 145.35 metres overall, and has a deadweight of 12,326 tonnes. 

SOLITAIRE

The pipe-layer SOLITAIRE finally departed from the Clyde this morning, sailing for Algeciras in southern Spain, where it is presumed that repairs to her damaged pipe-laying equipment may be undertaken. Her extended stay on the Clyde generated considerable interest, as did the comings and goings of the numerous supply vessels working with her. One such vessel shown here, HAVILA FAVOUR, was one of the two Havila Shipping vessels working with SOLITAIRE that originally belonged to Stirling Shipping of Glasgow. She was built at Port Glasgow by Ferguson Shipbuilders in 1999 as STIRLING SPEY. Her elder sister HAVILA FAITH, ex-STIRLING TAY, also made a return to her home river.

FRYKEN

Also arriving today was this small tanker, an interesting little ship that started her life as an unusual vessel with the ability to carry both general dry cargoes, and oils in bulk. Designated a C-O-B ship (container-oil-bulk), she was built in Holland in 1989 by Van der Giessen-de Noord at their yard at Krimpen ann den Ijssel and was originally named NORRSUNDET. Together with her sister SKUTSKAR - a vessel that was also on the Clyde fairly recently in her modified form as SAXEN - they introduced a new concept by carrying pulp and paper from Sweden to various European destinations, then returning with oil products and containers. In 1993, both ships were sold and this one became COLDSTREAM SHIPPER. Three years later, she was again renamed, becoming FRYKEN following her sale to Ahlmarco. She was rebuilt in Poland in 2004 and is now classed as a double-hulled vessel, complying with new regulations for tankers. With an overall length of 99.57 metres, FRYKEN has a deadweight of 6,862 tonnes. She was carrying a cargo of fuel from Antwerp.

MARIS

The BG Freight Line service linking Belfast and Greenock with Rotterdam saw another new visitor arriving on the Clyde this morning in the shape of MARIS, seen here passing Inverkip on her way upfirth. MARIS, one of the few feeder container ships that has never changed her name, was built at the Sietas shipyard in 1995. A member of her builder's large Type 151 class, MARIS can carry up to 508 TEU containers, of which 52 can be reefer boxes plugged into the ships' electrical supply. She is 101.13 metres long, with a deadweight of 5,325 tonnes. Owned by a German company, she is registered in Antigua and Barbuda.

BLACK PRINCE and CORAL SEA

Providing a late season cruise from Greenock, Fred Olsen's BLACK PRINCE sailed this afternoon for Almeria and other Mediterranean ports, having arrived early this morning from Liverpool. She was captured as she passed the inbound coaster CORAL SEA, arriving from Denmark with a cargo of wind turbines to be discharged at King George V Dock in Glasgow.

BOA FORTUNE

Continuing to run stores out to SOLITAIRE off Tomont End, the northern tip of Great Cumbrae, BOA FORTUNE made another visit to Greenock today. Built to the standard Ulstein UT706 design, she has twin screws driven by Bergen Diesels, each producing 3,305 bhp. Her cargo deck aft can carry up to 1,800 tonnes. She is also fitted with six tanks which can carry drilling mud and other such cargoes. A full description of her can be found here.

[EDIT: BOA FORTUNE completed work with SOLITAIRE this evening, and has now sailed for Killybegs.]