MERSEY & IRISH SEA NEWS BULLETIN

JULY 2000

JULY 26

NOTES & NEWS

It appears as though the web site is finally back to normal at last. I was informed at around 16:30 today that normal upload facilities within the FP2000 environment were now available again. Hopefully, everything will quickly return to normal after what has been almost two months of continued technical problems. 

I will be away for a few days from late this evening until Tuesday in Douglas. Obviously during that period there will be no e-mail responses and I am not certain if my mobile text message facility works on the IoM outside of the Orange area. 

The next update will be Wednesday August 2 followed by Sunday August 6. I will try and catch up with some backlog material as soon as possible. 

[STOP PRESS: - On Trying to upload via Front Page - same old problems occurred!]

MERSEY & IRISH SEA SHIPPING PHOTOGRAPHIC CD-ROM

I have commenced work on a project which had been planned for sometime - The creation of Mersey & Irish Sea Shipping - Photographic CDs. 

The pictures which appear on the web site are only a few of the many hundreds of ship photographs which I take each year. By the very nature of web sites there is always a limit to the size and number of pictures that can be uploaded. 

M&ISS Photographic CDs will provide high quality images in high to very high resolution which really do justice to the high resolution monitors now available. The storage capacity of CD-ROM permits sequences of shots taken during berthing manoeuvres to be included, features on certain Maritime events, detailed studies of individual ships etc.

I am at present working on a compilation of pictures taken between 1994 and 1998 which depict Mersey & Irish Sea Shipping and vessels from fringe areas in very high resolution. Some of these pictures have appeared as small images on the web site in its early days, however, many have not appeared at all.

It is proposed that these disks will sell at a very modest cost aimed at covering production costs and contributing to the running costs of M&ISS. Hence they will be very competitively priced compared to picture books. I am aiming for an early September availability of the first M&ISS CD ROM. More details next month.

Acknowledgements: Gary Andrews, Justin Merrigan, Adrian Sweeney, DENBIGH Project, Institute of Nautical Archaeology, Texas A&M University and "others".

SEA CONTAINERS/THE ISLE OF MAN STEAM PACKET COMPANY

THE PRINCESS MARGARET / THE PRINCESS ANNE - There is a rumour circulating that the two remaining SRN4 Hovercraft which are due to be withdrawn from service on the English Channel this autumn have been sold to Spanish interests for operation to Morocco. Duty Free would still be available on this route as it passes outside of the EU.

HOVERSPEED OPENS 'SHOWCASE' FOR CROSS-CHANNEL SHOPPERS

A year on from the demise of intra-EU duty-free, Hoverspeed has redeveloped its UK terminals into duty-paid showcases, designed to help re-educate passengers about the continued benefits of cross-Channel shopping.

The showcases display a wide range of wines, spirits, beer and tobacco which can be bought onboard and in the company's Continental Hoverstores at savings of up to 50% on UK high street prices.

Having browsed the selection on offer at the UK terminal, passengers travelling with Hoverspeed can pre-order wines, beers and tobacco in case quantities, for collection on arrival from the Hoverstores in Calais, Boulogne, Dieppe, and Ostend.

Hoverspeed remains the only cross-Channel operator to offer its passengers the benefit of land-based shopping on the Continent, taking advantage of lower duty rates in France and Belgium. The duty on a 75cl bottle of wine is just 2p in France, compared with £1.09 in the UK.

PIER HEAD TERMINAL 

Details of new proposals for passenger terminal facilities on the Liverpool waterfront have been unveiled today as part of the Liverpool City Council backed "Liverpool Vision" plan to revamp the City Centre at a cost of £1.5billion.

The plans reveal two separate landing stages one for the Mersey Ferries and one for liners and cruise ships - and presumably Sea Containers? This is very much a reversion to the arrangement which existed in the early days of the original Liverpool Landing Stage when two separate landing stages  existed. 

It is apparent from the plans that the "Memorial to The Heroes of The Marine Engine Room" will be moved onto what appears to be the site of the Floating Road cut! 

Meanwhile a grand new passenger terminal will be constructed on the site presently occupied by the Sea Containers portakabin facility. The building will be very much the same scale as new the adjoining office and hotel developments. However, it is not apparent where the car marshalling facilities will be situated nor the location of the linkspan pontoon. 

The Mersey Ferries Landing Stage will be moved further south, closer to the Canning River Entrance. The present site of the Porsche and Mercedes Dealership will be replaced by a futuristic "Icon" building which described at the "fourth grace" of the waterfront could provide home to a Museum of Immigration. 

JHL'S COMMENT: The picture which appeared in the Echo and is reproduced above looks impressive. However, one wonders if this will turn out to be yet another one of those Liverpool "Pie In The Sky" projects? - Only time will tell.  However, I imagine that Mrs. Mackrel and her friends will probably already be preparing for yet another battle.

PIER HEAD - MILLENNIUM II

It appears that the City of Liverpool has been granted £220,000 from the Millennium Commission lottery fund towards another end of year party. Again there are plans for the waterfront to be transformed into a "Festival of Fun" which include a huge party, pop concert. However, it is not clear yet if this will involve the use of the Pier Head area which was disfigured for over a month by the monstrous Cream Millennium marquees. It is to be hoped that sanity prevails this year and all such facilities are provided at the more than suitable King's Dock site.

SHIPS OF MANN

"Ships of Mann" is a new magazine published by Adrian Sweeney aimed at friends and enthusiasts of The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company and other shipping companies with Manx links or the Steam Packet Company itself. 

Whilst the magazine's primary focus will be The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company, the magazine will also take an interest in rivals and associates past and present such as Manx Line, Liverpool & North Wales Steamship Co, Norwest as well as Waverley and Balmoral operations in the Irish Sea and other Sea Containers Group Companies.

"Ships of Mann" is illustrated throughout in both colour and monochrome and features both current and historical photographs plus reproductions of old timetables, sailing arrangements and memorabilia. 

Tel: 01512894409 Mobile: 07887482024 e-mail: [email protected]

Subscription Information:

John Coates, High Raise, 36 Ballacriy Park, Colby, Castletown, Isle of Man IM9 4LU

PENINSULAR & ORIENTAL STEAM NAVIGATION COMPANY

EUROPEAN PIONEER, which operates on P&O Irish Sea's Fleetwood - Larne route, has just received a £500,000 facelift of its on board restaurant, bar and lounge areas, during its routine maintenance and dry docking being carried out at A&P facilities at Falmouth.

"We are investing more than £500,000 on refurbishing the existing restaurant and bar area of the EUROPEAN PIONEER," said Phil Simpson, UK Sales Manager P&O Irish Sea.  "In addition we are adding a whole new seating section on the starboard side of the vessel that links to the existing facilities".

"As well as providing extra space it is a place for drivers to relax and enjoy the excellent food during the crossing.  The new area can accommodate up to 33 passengers and has video games and satellite TV to keep them amused during the crossing".

"We are continually reviewing ways of upgrading the onboard facilities on our ships to ensure that passengers can enjoy cruising across the Irish Sea and make the most of the break in their often stressful journeys".

EUROPEAN PIONEER will be re-entering service on the Fleetwood - Larne route in the first week of August.

LILIET

The 9,826 grt Cypriot registered ship LILIET has finally departed from Liverpool bound for France after an enforced stay of several months at West Langton. Originally detained by the Maritime & Coastguard Agency due to a number of defects earlier in the year, LILIET was then arrested over a dispute concerning the ownership of a cargo of steel

The local press reports that port staff intervened to ensure that the 34-strong Cuban crew, including five women, had adequate facilities. Port health authority manager Brian McCann said: "Our concern was that food and water should be made available to the crew and that they did not suffer any conditions that would harm their health."

STENA LINE

HSS STENA EXPLORER is currently operating at reduced speed due to problems with a water jet. The water jet requires replacement.  The craft will be taken off the Holyhead - Dun Laoghaire run next Tuesday, August 1, for 3 round trips to undertake the necessary work.

PORT OF BELFAST

The Belfast Telegraph reported this week that BELFAST Harbour Commissioners welcomed the prospect of the Northern Ireland Assembly reaching a decision this autumn on the future of the Port of Belfast.

Commissioners chairman Frank Cushnahan said the prolonged period of uncertainty over what was going to happen to the port had been unsatisfactory for all concerned.

The decision as to whether to privatise the port rests with the Minister for Regional Development, who will study a report from the Regional Development committee.

Peter Robinson had said an early decision on the future of the port would be one of his priorities, but he is due to hand over his Ministry to Gregory Campbell on Thursday.

At the end of June, the committee said it was looking favourably at the option of a restructured trust port with extended powers, but said it needed further clarification on a number of issues.

Mr Cushnahan said the board was seeking clarification on a number of matters relating to this option, and would make a considered response in due course.

He raised the issue in his statement in the Commissioners' annual report, which noted that the number of passengers travelling through the port had exceeded two million in 1999 for the first time.

The report said turnover increased by 9% to £20.9m, but the pre-tax profit of £11.8m was down from £12.5m the previous year. Operating profit increased by 6% to £10.8m.

In September, Stena is due to transfer its conventional ferry operation back to Larne, which will reduce passenger numbers using Belfast.

However, Stena's HSS operation to Stranraer will remain at Belfast, along with the SeaCat to Troon and Heysham, and Norse Irish Ferries to Liverpool.

On the freight side, Merchant Ferries, formerly Belfast Freight Ferries, attracted increased traffic to its four-ship freight service to Heysham.

Merchant Ferries' parent company, the Cenargo Group, acquired Norse Irish Ferries, and the Commissioners expect additional shipping capacity to be introduced on the Liverpool route next year when the new Twelve Quays ro-ro berth is introduced on the Mersey.

During 1999, unit loads increased from 447,000 to 456,000, while bulk cargo grew from 6.4 to 6.6 million tonnes.

A total of 9,022 ship arrivals was registered in 1999, compared to 8,896 in the previous year.


PS DENBIGH

Part of famous Birkenhead-built blockade runner recovered

Galveston, Texas, July 25, 2024 - Archaeologists from Texas A&M University on Monday recovered a critical piece of machinery from the wreck of the British paddle
steamer DENBIGH, one of the most successful blockade runners of the American Civil War.

DENBIGH was built at the Birkenhead shipyard of John Laird, Sons & Co. in 1860, and ran between Liverpool and Rhyl until being converted to a blockade runner in 1863.

The eight-foot iron connecting rod, estimated to weigh about 1,200 pounds, transferred the power of the engine to the ship's port side paddlewheel. Efforts to recover the connecting rod began Saturday, but were postponed for 48 hours when increasing chop on the water and a falling tide caused dive operations to be suspended temporarily.

Immediately after it was recovered, the connecting rod was taken to Conservation Research Laboratory at Texas A&M University in College Station, where it will undergo cleaning and treatments to preserve the metal. If left untreated in the open air, project team members say, the iron could crumble to a pile of rust chips very quickly.

The project, organized by the Institute of Nautical Archaeology at Texas A&M University, is focusing on documenting the ship's design and technology, according to the project's director, Barto Arnold.

"This vessel represents the pinnacle of British shipbuilding technology in the mid-19th century," Arnold says. "When she was new in 1860, the engineering journals praised her as opening a new age in ship design."

Assistance in recovering the connecting rod was provided by Superior Diving Company, Inc. of Houston, which sent commercial divers and lifting gear for use in the effort.

According to investigators, DENBIGH ran aground on a sandbar here at the end of May 1865, and was shelled and burned by Union ships blockading the port. That occurred more than a month after the war ended in the East, and President Lincoln was assassinated.

DENBIGH was not a warship, according to Arnold. Like most blockade runners, Arnold says, DENBIGH was an unarmed, British merchant ship. "This was a business," Arnold says, "and they were making money hand-over- fist."

Arnold suggests that there would have been little of monetary value in the way of cargo. The real value of this wreck, he says, is what it can teach us about how ships were built in the 1850s and 1860s. Iron was a relatively new construction material at the time, and ships like DENBIGH were used to test new methods of construction and engine designs.

"They didn't have a lot of theoretical engineering knowledge like we have today. They couldn't try out new designs with computer simulations," he says. "This was empirical, trial-and-error knowledge. You build it and see if it works. If it does, you refine the design a little more. If it doesn't, you back up and start again."

Arnold stresses that the work to document and preserve the wreck have benefited from the efforts of many researchers, both in the U.S. and in the U.K. One researcher who deserves special mention is Jeremy (Jerry) Williams, a  Merseyside historian whose specialty is the Merseyside region and its relation to the American Civil War. Williams visited the United States last autumn speaking on DENBIGH, the Confederate warship Alabama, and other events in Liverpool in 1861-65.
 
DENBIGH made almost fourteen knots, or sixteen miles per hour, on her trial run when she was new in 1860. The Mechanic's Magazine referred to "the graceful form of the steamer [that] became thus an object of admiration to the number of persons who witnessed her performance from the shore, and whenever other vessels came into competition with her in speed she left them behind with the greatest ease."

During the Civil War, DENBIGH made thirteen successful round trips between Havana and Mobile, Alabama and Havana and Galveston during 1864 and 1865. This made her the second-most successful blockade runner of the entire Civil War.

The present field season began on June 1, and continues through the end of July. The project utilizes about a dozen divers and researchers. Most are volunteers, undergraduate and graduate students from around the United States and Canada.

Project Director Arnold anticipates that one or two more years will be necessary to complete his team's investigation of the site. The ultimate goal, he says, is to recover one of the ship's engines and drive train, including the 18-foot diameter paddlewheel. After cleaning and preservation, Arnold says, the artefacts will be placed in a museum for all to see.

The Denbigh Project is organized by the Institute of Nautical Archaeology at Texas A&M University, and is funded entirely through contributions by individuals, corporations and foundations.

Visit the DENBIGH Project website at: http://nautarch.tamu.edu/PROJECTS/DENBIGH/denbigh.html

WORLD FERRY NEWS

BRITISH COLUMBIA FERRY CORPORATION

It was announced some time ago that the British Columbia Ferry Corporation was to abandon its short lived and costly venture into high speed ferries.

It has now been announced that BCF has appointed PriceWaterhouseCoopers to manage the sale of its three high speed catamaran, PacifiCat, passenger ferries.

It was in March this year, the provincial government announced that it planned to close Catamaran Ferries International, a subsidiary to state-owned BC Ferries, which operated the PacifiCat fast ferries.

The PacifiCats, PACIFICAT EXPLORER, PACIFICAT DISCOVERY and PACIFICAT VOYAGER are among the largest passenger and vehicle fast ferries in the world. Fully laden, the 122 m ships can carry 1,000 passengers and 250 cars at a speed of 34 knots.

PriceWaterhouseCoopers is looking to existing ferry operators and possibly even newly formed companies to make offers for the three identical ferries. The sale is to be launched officially in August with the three available for immediate delivery.

JULY 23

NOTES & NEWS

City Netgates appear to have made no progress in providing full access to the web site and file upload by FTP continues. I had said that I would give them until mid August to get the problems sorted, however, due to the lack of progress I intend to start looking for a new host as soon as I return from the Isle of Man early next week. 

Last week I request visitors' opinions  on whether the site should have:

1. Smaller capacity - faster complete turnover of content [Max 50 Meg]

2. Higher capacity - slower turn over - around six months [or more] as at present. [Max 300 Meg]

The aim being to help me decide whether I should choose a high profile, but more expensive, local host who  would probably be easy to call on if things should fall over - option 1 or another host offering competitive storage rates BUT situated many miles away - option 2.

For your information the site is currently around 100 Meg.

At present I have had one message in favour of each of the options. Hardly conclusive! If you would still like to make a comment please e-mail [email protected]

The next site update will be on Wednesday 26 July. Please note there is no update scheduled for Next Sunday July 30 as I will be away.

John Luxton

July 23, 2024

Acknowledgements: Gary Andrews, John Shepherd, Bryan Morgan and "Others"

SEA CONTAINERS/THE ISLE OF MAN STEAM PACKET COMPANY

SEACAT ISLE OF MAN - Friday July 21 saw the launch of the new movie "Thomas and the Magic Railroad"  starring Alec Baldwin and Peter Fonda which was filmed on the Isle of Man.

To help promote the film, the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company and the Isle of Man Department of Transport arranged for the 07:00 sailing of SEACAT ISLE OF MAN to carry a somewhat unusual cargo on the main cabin roof.

On Thursday July 20 SEACAT ISLE OF MAN departed Douglas at 07:00 on her 07:00 sailing for Liverpool. As she  approached the Liverpool Sea Terminal she will start a massive Thomas the Tank Engine inflatable was blown up.

Thomas was met at the Sea Terminal by the Company’s very own “fat controller”, and local Merseyside schoolchildren. Next week 20 children from the Merseyside charity “KIND” –Kids In Need and Distress- will be given a fun packed day out to the Isle of Man by SeaCat. They will see the movie, ride on the steam railway where it was filmed and the day will end with a big Thomas the Tank engine themed party!

COASTAL CONTAINER LINE

COASTAL BAY - frequent travellers on the Irish Sea will be familiar with the small container ships of COASTAL CONTAINER line which operate from the Seaforth Container Terminal on Merseyside to Dublin and Belfast. 

One of these vessels, COASTAL BAY, a regular on the Liverpool to Dublin route disgraced herself early on Friday morning whilst enroute from Dublin to Liverpool. The vessel ran aground at Church Bay near Holyhead around early on Friday morning.

Holyhead Coastguard received a call at 00:30 on Friday to report that the 88 metre, 2463 grt coaster with seven people on board had run aground on at Church Bay, near Holyhead. The vessel, COASTAL BAY, was on its way from Dublin to Liverpool with a mixed cargo which including some firelighters when it struck shortly before high water.

Holyhead Coastguard made an immediate request for Holyhead Lifeboat and Holyhead Coastguard Rescue Team to go to the scene. Once on scene, the lifeboat put a line on board ‘COASTAL BAY’ and attempted to pull her off. The vessel had also tried to go astern in order to try and drive herself off earlier.

Minor damage resulted in a small spillage of diesel oil, but this was not thought to be of significance.

On Saturday Morning the Howard Smith Towage tug TRAFALGAR which is based on Merseyside managed to pull the stranded off the rocks and tow her to Holyhead for examination by divers.

A correspondent noted TRAFALGAR with COASTAL BAY in tow passing the  Bar at about 07:30  and off Q.1 at 08:00 on Sunday July 23.

Weather conditions at the time were good and there is some mystery as to why the COASTAL BAY should have run aground. 

It is only just over three years ago that a slightly larger general cargo container vessel CITA on a voyage from Southampton to Belfast ran aground on St.Mary's Isles of Scilly. The CITA, however, was not so lucky driving hard onto Newfoundland Point she shed her containers, the contents of which were eagerly gathered by locals residents. At the subsequent enquiry into the loss of the CITA it transpired that the  ship had been left on auto pilot and the officer of the watch was asleep!

MARITIME & COASTGUARD AGENCY

20 foreign ships were under detention in UK ports during June 2000 after failing port state control safety inspections, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) announced this week. The list consists of 16 ships detained in June, along with 4 ships still under detention from previous months. The rate of detentions compared with inspections carried out over the last 12 months is 5.9%. This is a slight increase on the 12-month rate of 5.7% to May.

The ships detained included:-

• A Netherlands-flag general cargo vessel detained for 17 days in Montrose. Oil was found in the ballast tank and the oily water separator was found to be inoperative. In addition, charts and nautical publications were found to be out of date and the line throwing rockets were expired. No valid statutory certificates were on board.

Ships detained at Irish / Celtic Sea Ports during June included:

DUN LAOGHAIRE LIFEBOAT

The Dun Laoghaire Lifeboat Station web site has been redesigned and now runs under Front Page. You can visit the site at  http://welcome.to/rnli.dunlaoghaire

IRISH NAVAL SERVICE

LE EITHNE - The INS Helicopter Patrol Vessel lost a member of its crew overboard this week. The vessel had been returning to Ireland after a courtesy visit to Boston, USA.

Twenty year old Able Mechanic Robert Dean of Cork City was reported missing on Thursday morning when he failed to report for duty for a morning watch, though he had been seen 10 minutes earlier. At the time EITHNE was 920 miles west of Bantry. The Canadian Coastguard based at Halifax, Nova Scotia, had coordinated an extensive air and sea search involving the EITHNE a tug and a fixed wing aircraft.

On Friday the search for the missing sailor was called off and a memorial service held on board the ship led by Fr. Des Campion, Naval Service Chaplain.

Mr Dean had been in the Naval Service for only one year, and the LE EITHNE was his first ship, with the US visit being his first sea trip abroad. The Atlantic crossing was the second undertaken by the vessel, and involved visiting three US ports, Newport, Rhode Island, New York and Boston, as part of the Tall Ships festival. The sail training vessel, ASGARD II, has also participated in the Tall Ships race.

JAMES FISHER & SONS plc

On July 14, James Fisher & Sons Plc, the Barrow based shipping company announced the proposed acquisition and conversion of two vessels as cable laying ships subject to shareholder approval at an Extraordinary General Meeting to be held on July 31, 2000.

James Fisher plc already owns and operates the highly successful cable laying ship,  NEXUS, currently  on time charter with Global Marine Systems Limited (formerly Cable & Wireless Marine). As part of its specialist shipping activities

Given the success of the NEXUS and the likely continuing demand for cable laying vessels to lay fibre optic telecommunications cables, the company has decided to further its expertise and reputation in this specialised and growing market through the purchase of MOTHER OF PEARL and OCEANIC PRINCESS 

The two Vessels are currently ro/ro ships and are highly suitable for conversion to cable laying operations. The MOTHER OF PEARL, built in 1997, will cost US$7.7 million (£5.1 million) to purchase, on or before 17 July 2000, from Pearl Lines Co. Ltd. and approximately US$22.3 million (£14.9 million) to convert to a cable laying vessel, making a total purchase and conversion cost of approximately US$30 million (£20 million). If the shareholder resolution is not approved, the MOTHER OF PEARL could be sold on the open market.

The second ship OCEANIC PRINCESS, built in 1984, is currently undergoing conversion by Caldwell Cable Ventures Inc. and will be purchased for approximately US$18 million (£12 million), representing its cost of purchase and conversion to the expected date of its acquisition by James Fisher. Completion of the conversion to a cable laying vessel will cost approximately an additional US$12 million (£8 million), making a total purchase and conversion cost of approximately US$30 million (£20 million).

On completion of conversion work, both Vessels will be the subject of a five year time charter, with further options to extend on the Charterer's behalf. The Charterer will be it-international Telecom, USA, a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics Advanced Telecom Systems.

SEVERN PRINCESS

Though much adverse comment has appeared on the M&ISS site concerning the lack of major interest in ship preservation within these islands and the difficulties encountered by some preservation and heritage groups it is pleasing to hear further updates on the progress of the former River Severn vehicle ferry SEVERN PRINCESS.

Bryan Morgan of the Severn Princess Restoration Group writes: " Work continues on the Severn Princess, as you will see if you check out the Restoration log on www.severnprincess.co.uk   New components have been fabricated and delivered, and we had a tour of inspection by Mrs. Anne Palmer, whose husband, the late Percy Palmer, was skipper of the Severn Princess from the day she was launched.

Have a look again at the site next week when yet more restoration pictures will be uploaded.  Things seem to be happening quite fast now that the interior work in the hull is almost finished.  You can be sure it'll slow down again when the paint brushes come out...

Important bit of news - we now actually own a pair of new engines.  Tim will be telling you all about this in the next newsletter which is at this moment in preparation.

It'll be "trips round the bay" before we know where we are!"

WAVERLEY STEAM NAVIGATION CO

ESTELLE

The sailing ship ESTELLE is due to arrive at Clarendon Dock, Belfast on August 3.

She has been rebuilt by volunteers in Finland using environmentally friendly materials.
The vessel now sails the oceans promoting fair trade for Third World countries and sustainable development.

War on Want NI and Oxfam are behind the ship's visit and invite the public to come to Donegal Quay on Saturday, August 5, for a day of fun events.

There will be a Mad Hatter's Tea Party when people can sample fair trade drinks and snacks, and there will be stalls with fairly traded crafts and food, entertainers and face painters.

The charities also want visitors to bring along their old tools, such as chisels and hammers, for Tools for Solidarity who will repair them and ship them to Africa.

AMBER ROSE

The Belfast Telegraph reported this week that Bernard Moffat of the Manx based Celtic League has revealed that the report into the sinking of the Portavogie fishing vessel, AMBER ROSE, is due for release in the near future.

"The Chief Inspector of accidents at the Marine Accident Investigation Branch, Rear Admiral JS Lang has told me in a letter he hopes to publish the report before the end of the month," Mr Moffat said.

The 80ft vessel sank off the Isle of Man almost two years ago with the loss of its skipper, Portavogie fisherman Tom Hughes.

He was the only one of the six-strong crew, which included his 16 year old son Mark, who failed to make it to the surface when the trawler capsized and sank in a short time.

Controversy surrounded attempts to recover Mr Hughes' body` when the British government refused the services of Royal Navy divers.

Mr Hughes' body was eventually recovered by civilian divers.

"The Labour government's mean-spirited response at the time led to calls for a fund to be established for recovery purposes," said Mr Moffatt.

"This was put into sharp contrast this year when, following the SOLWAY HARVESTER tragedy the Manx government moved speedily to pledge money and resources to recover crew members' bodies and also lift the vessel for examination."

STENA LINE

CHEAP DAY TRIPS TO IRELAND WITH CAR

A small advertisement appeared in the Liverpool Daily Post this week:

"Your day trip to Ireland by car starts here"

"Now you can enjoy a full day in Ireland with your car. With regular
departures from Holyhead and a crossing time of only 99 minutes by Stena HSS
it won't be long before you hold the keys to Ireland"

From £49 Day Return - valid to 31 August."

Considering it is now peak season this is quite an unbelievable fare. The advertisement suggested that bookings could be made on line but the Stena Line web site did not give any details.  

ENTERTAINMENT CRUISE ?

This week a former Royal Ulster Constabulary reservist was ordered to pay £250 compensation to a woman whose arm he bit during an entertainment cruise on board HSS STENA VOYAGER.

Paul Ross, aged 42, from Old Forge Park, Newtownards, denied assaulting the woman and two men after alleged sectarian remarks were made during the cruise. He is no longer a member of the police force.

Christine Brennan had told Belfast Magistrates Court last month that Ross sank his teeth into her arm as she tried to protect herself.

"I was screaming at him but he wouldn't let go," she said. "He bit my arm very badly and the skin was broken." At yesterday's resumed hearing Ross said he was sitting in the ship's disco area when he was attacked.

He said he heard someone say, "Hit him", and he could remember nothing after that "only punches".

He denied biting Mrs. Brennan or assaulting anyone else and said he was "astounded" when he was arrested after the ship returned to port.

Resident Magistrate John Clery said he had listened to confusing accounts of what happened and that was inevitable because of the amount of drink that was taken.

He said he was satisfied that retribution was afflicted on Ross and that he was seriously assaulted.

"But I am also satisfied he initiated the fracas and that he lunged at Mrs. Brennan with his mouth," said Mr Clery.

"He is fortunate not to be facing a more serious charge in relation to that assault." He fined Ross £100 for assaulting Mrs. Brennan and £50 each for the assaults on the two men.

JULY 16

NOTES & NEWS

Another week has passed by with the web site still not functioning correctly and with updates confined to text pages which are FTP transferred. This is despite a backlog of gallery material awaiting posting. As I have mentioned previously I am reluctant to perform major updates outside of the FP2000 environment as this may result in damage to the rest of the site which I might  then unable to rectify.

Further news from City Netgates is that the site has been copied across to the new server. This should be commissioned tomorrow, Monday July 17. Of course this update may temporarily disappear in that eventuality as presumably it will be posted to the old previous server. I will check this out tomorrow evening. 

Around five weeks have now passed since the web site last functioned correctly, and it is rather frustrating. However, it is pleasing to note that whilst things have not been operating properly the site continues to get a large number of visits each week.

Of course, I am now considering possible alternatives should the site still not be functional by mid August which is the deadline I am giving Netgates. 

At present I have examined two possible options:

Locally hosting by Merseyworld, this company hosts many Merseyside websites including a number of commercial shipping sites. The advantage of using Merseyworld is that it is a prominent gateway site for anyone seeking information on Merseyside. The hosting charges are quite hefty which would probably result in a maximum site size of 25 or 50 Megabytes. [Earlier this year the site had been pushing towards 100Meg!] If Merseyworld was considered the option there would be a much greater turn over of material than at present. 

Another option considered is to use a London company RAMJAM for hosting. This company offers up to 200 Meg for around the same rate that Merseyworld charge for 25meg - cheaper but its not local and of course without the Merseyside connection.

Difficult decisions may lie ahead! The RAMJAM option may appear on face value to be the best, however, local hosting could have its advantages, especially as Merseyworld has a high profile and is usually returned by most search engines. However, the site would have to reduce in size. Perhaps this might not be such a bad thing. There are corners of the site where I sometimes seldom venture! I would welcome some feedback on whether the site should have:

1. Smaller capacity - faster complete turnover of content

2. Higher capacity - slower turn over - around six months [or more] as at present.

E-mail your comments to [email protected]

 KEEPING IN TOUCH

With recent problems it has been difficult keeping all the site visitors fully informed about changes and updates. Those visitors who call regularly and with whom I have corresponded, most of your e-mail addresses are stored on line and I can circulate information to you should the site go down, or problems arise. However, I know there are many others out there who I do not know of and who for reasons of privacy etc do not wish to complete the Visitors' Book. As a result regular visitors might like to register for site news using the following mail address [email protected] please enter the heading SITE NEWS REQUEST

The purpose of this register is not to send out messages telling you that the site has been updated etc. But solely to inform visitors of technical problems etc. And enable me to keep YOU informed. Hopefully it will not be used very often! It would be useful even if regular visitors who I correspond with could also return the message with their current e-mail address as I know there are some visitors who have changed addresses and my information mailings to them have already been returned.

UPDATES

There is no update scheduled for this Wednesday. However, there may be some service updates during the week should I regain full control of the site.

Now to this week's news!

John Luxton, July 12, 2024

Acknowledgements: Gary Andrews and Stuart Cameron.

SEA CONTAINERS/THE ISLE OF MAN STEAM PACKET COMPANY

THE PRINCESS ANNE and THE PRINCESS MARGARET, the soon to be withdrawn SRN4 hovercraft have now appeared for sale along with a host of spare parts on the Sea Containers vessels4sale.com web site.

Unconfirmed reports suggest that the Silja SeaCat Gothenburg - Frederikshavn service which is currently operated by SEACAT DANMARK will cease operations in August. English language information supplied to a correspondent recently only shows departures to August 7. This appears to confirm a message posted to the Yahoo Ferries in Focus Newsgroup which suggests that the service will end in August. 

SEACAT DANMARK - it is understood that SEACAT DANMARK is due to operate the Dover to Calais service this winter instead of one of the ex-Holyman Incats.

PENINSULAR & ORIENTAL STEAM NAVIGATION CO

On July 13 P&O Irish Sea announced that it had reached an agreement on future pay deals with officials of NUMAST, the union that represents officers working on its vessels. 

The agreement provides for two pay increases over a 30 month period and improves pension arrangements for over 2/3 of the workforce.

Peter Donnelly, Personnel Director Of P&O Irish Sea commented:

"We have an agreement on pay on conditions for a 30 month period, which benefits all parties and enables both the Company and our Ships Officers to plan for the future."

The proposed industrial action planned by NUMAST for July (scheduled for July 18, 19, 25 and 26) has now been cancelled and all P&O Irish Sea services will run normally. In any event it is understood that due to different union agreements the SUPERSTAR EXPRESS would have been unaffected by industrial action.

At this stage it is unclear as to whether officers working for P&O North Sea Ferries and P&O Scottish Ferries have yet made similar pay agreements. It had been stated that on the North Sea routes industrial action may take place on July 20, 21, 28 and 29 whilst the Scottish services could be hit on July 20 and 27.

EUROPEAN CAUSEWAY - P&O's newest ship was due to commence her voyage home from the builders on Saturday July 15, 2024 at 08:00 Japan time under the command of Captain Jim McMullan. As with the "Voyage Home" of Irish Ferries JONATHAN SWIFT in 1999 it will be possible to track the progress of the vessel at the P&O Irish Sea website: www.poirishsea.com

STENA LINE

Stena Line has become the first ferry company on the Irish Sea to receive the prestigious Hospitality Assured accreditation in recognition of its high standards of customer service aboard its passenger ferries.

Hospitality Assured is a quality marque developed by the Hotel and Catering International Management Association (HCIMA) - the 23,000 member-strong worldwide professional body for managers in the hospitality industry - to reward achievement of service excellence. 

Launched in 1998, the Hospitality Assured standard is awarded only to organisations in the hospitality and leisure sector which demonstrate delivery of the highest standards of service across all areas of their business.

Based on a system of self-assessment and individual on-site assessment by
independent experts, Hospitality Assured enabled Stena Line to measure the quality of its customer service, including the call centre, based in Ashford, Kent, against a checklist of 12 areas of best practice.

These included customer research, service delivery, business goals, training and resources to continually develop and enhance customer services. The self-assessment checklist identifies operational strengths and weaknesses and can be used as a diagnostic tool for further development by Stena Line.

The award applies to Stena Line routes between Fishguard and Rosslare,
Holyhead and Dun Laoghaire/Dublin, and Belfast and Stranraer.

Paul Piddock MHCIMA, head of onboard services for Stena Line's Fishguard to Rosslare route, said: 'We are delighted to receive this accreditation. Hospitality Assured is a long-term commitment to our customers and the most useful monitor for service excellence we have found. The standard's principles are easily communicated and understood by all of our staff. The shared values equip us with the flexibility that we need in this highly competitive market. There is no crystal ball to help us shape our business for the future, but a device which gets us close to the customer is most welcome.

'The best reward of all is the degree of ownership from all of our staff and
their participation is constant. So the award is clearly for their efforts and recognises their professionalism.'

Ian Griffith, director of Hospitality Assured, said: 'Stena Line's staff on the four Irish routes assessed for Hospitality Assured have demonstrated their very high commitment to customer service in everything they did and are to be congratulated on their fine achievement.'

CUNARD

QUEEN ELIZABETH 2, flagship of the Cunard fleet paid a much hyped [over hyped!] visit to Merseyside on Thursday July 13 as part of her "Round Britain" cruise. This being her fifth visit in ten years. Her visit being the only major passenger ship call of the year [Excluding of course the COSTA CLASSICA which arrives in the autumn for major work at Cammell Laird.]

The morning of Thursday July 13 was somewhat overcast and cloudy with periods of misty drizzle. I made my way down to the King's Dock area over looking the river. Through the mist the QE2's bulk was briefly visible beyond the groyne at New Brighton. A thinning of the cloud cover made her visible again and she was escorted up the River Mersey by the Howard Smith tug TRAFALGAR which performed the customary fire monitor salute and the preserved tug GOLDEN CROSS which is sponsored by Cunard and had the distinction of handling the original QUEEN ELIZABETH and the QUEEN ELIZABETH 2. 

The QE2 anchored mid-river around 08:00 with passengers being tendered ashore by ferry. 

Her departure in the evening was somewhat delayed. Originally scheduled for 18:00 according to notices displayed by the GOLDEN CROSS during the previous week she did not actually depart until 19:20. Comms traffic revealed that some passengers boarding the QE2 had boarded the service ferry by mistake!

When the QUEEN ELIZABETH 2 finally departed quite a large number of people had gathered both at the Pier Head and on the Wallasey side of the river. She sailed down river accompanied by GOLDEN CROSS and TRAFALGAR. 

GOLDEN CROSS did not return to the Canning Half Tide basin after the departure but was noted at West Langton on Friday afternoon. 

A QUEEN ELIZABETH 2 photo feature will be posted when the web site is properly functional again.

The QUEEN ELIZABETH 2's master Captain Ron Warwick stated in the local press that he would like to bring the proposed QUEEN MARY 2 to Merseyside when she enters service.

IRISH FERRIES

ISLE OF INISHMORE - In failing light on the evening of July 12,  Holyhead Coastguard is co-ordinated a Search and Rescue operation for a 42 year old Dublin man thought to be missing overboard.

Irish Ferries reported to the Coastguard that they were missing one foot-passenger when the ferry arrived at Dublin from Holyhead after 19:00. Enquiries showed that the man had last been seen onboard by another passenger at around 16:25.

Holyhead Coastguard tasked the rescue helicopter from RAF Valley to
carry out a search of an area covering in excess of 7 square miles; now completed the rescue helicopter is making use of the last minutes of light to search the route taken by the ferry.

IRISH NAVAL SERVICE

On Friday July 14 another Irish tuna fishing boat has been arrested by the Irish Navy, the fourth such arrest in recent weeks. The vessel, the GOLDEN FEATHER, was escorted into Cork Harbour. 

Fishermen's organisations have said today's arrest was further evidence that Irish boats were being targeted by the INS to force them out of drift netting. The Minister for Defence denied that the Navy was being over-zealous in its actions against Irish fishermen, or that it had been instructed to harass Irish boats to force them out of drift-netting.

NOTES FROM SCOTLAND by Stuart Cameron

ABP

There are two ABP ports in Scotland - Ayr and Troon. The former, which is the oldest port on the west coast of Scotland - has seen big changes in recent years shipping has been totally removed from the south side of the harbour - with one notable exception. It was mainly renowned for the once great fishing fleet but the fishmarket has been demolished (replaced by a new one at Troon) and an enormous number of riverside flats are lining the old quays and the once famous Ayr shipyard. In its heyday it was operated by Samuel McKnight and produced many fine paddle steamers for the UK excursion and ferry fleets. Later it was operated by Ailsa of Troon. Port operations at Ayr are now concentrated in the north basin and a short section of the north wall on the River Ayr but ABP have invested quite heavily on bulk handling and warehouse facilities. The 'notable exception' maintaining the shipping presence on the south side of the harbour is Waverley. Sadly, the paddler will only sail from Ayr on 3 days this year (August 21-23 ) and she will find a very different Compass Quay from the one that she left last year as the flats now encroach on her berth.

Troon, on the other hand is booming. It is now the main fishing harbour on the Clyde with a new fish market built adjacent to the inner harbour. SeaCat has taken over the berth inside the breakwater for their Belfast service and P&O intend to transfer their freight service from the Clydeport run Ardrossan to Troon in the near future. This will see the redevelopment of a part of the harbour that has been closed since the demise of the one famous West of Scotland Shipbreaking Company. Among the last ships to be demolished there was the Mac mailboat Loch Seaforth and the majestic Clyde flagship turbine steamer Duchess of Hamilton. The remainder of the harbour is occupied by the renascent Ailsa shipyard. It has been gaining in strength over recent years and is confident of long term development despite the shortfalls looming in the short term.

MOD Ferries Contract

This contract has been the subject of much Scottish press space for almost a year since Kvaerner Industrier announced their withdrawal from shipbuilding. That was a big reversal of the trend in the previous 10 years when Kvaerner expanded rapidly (some say too rapidly) in shipbuilding to own a significant amount of European capacity. This threatened the future of the 135 year old Govan shipyard (virtually rebuilt for modular shipbuilding since 1989 by Kvaerner). Unlike Cammell Laird, the name of this famous shipbuilding yard was lost in the late 1960s. It was most famous as the Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Company. Its founder, John Elder, made many marine innovations and is credited with inventing the compound steam engine. His father David Elder, was involved through association with Robert Napier, in the specification and building of the first Cunard liners and his brother, Alexander, was co-founder of the once great' but recently demised' Elder Dempster line.

The Fairfield yard is now owned by BAE Systems and is building one of the two fleet auxiliary oil tankers originally assigned to BAE Systems Barrow yard. Problems arose in the timing of that contract and BAE acquired the lease of Govan (Clydeport purchased the yard from Kvaerner) transferring the order for the second tanker to Govan. Work on it has progressed very well and it is due to enter the water not long after the first ship at Barrow in the autumn. Scottish press state that BAE management have been most impressed by the way the Govan workforce have 'turned round' the contact and are anxious to reward them with further work. At present the workload runs out in the autumn. BAE Systems are partners in Sealion, one of the contenders for the 'MOD ferries' contract. However, it has recently been announced that BAE Govan (a separate operating subsidiary) have also been asked by Maersk to tender for the vessels and some indication that the other tenderers - including Andrew Weir have also asked Govan to tender.

The Trade & Industry Minister Steven Byers visited the Scottish Grand Committee in Glasgow today (10/7/00) and announced a shipbuilding summit meeting to be held on Thursday. (13/7/00). The emphasis is to be a strategy to retain and grow of the remaining UK shipbuilding capacity. He said that there is a 'once in a generation opportunity' to secure the future of British shipbuilding as the government was about to embark on the ' largest naval building programme ever' (presumably in terms of value rather than number of ships). These include:

The 'MOD ferries' which are either six or four in number depending on which newspaper is consulted. In fact I think 6 ships are included in the service contract but this involves only 4 new builds as 2 already exist

Two new 'logistics' type ships to replace some of the existing 'SIR' class vessels

Two new super aircraft carriers to replace the Invincible class (from 2010 onwards)

It is likely that the first stages of this work at least will be shared out to ensure no major problems in advance of the next General Election - after which - who knows? As an impressive show that shipbuilding still has a large public support - the Govan shop stewards and MPs recently handed over a public petition to Tony Blair in Downing Street supporting the retention of Govan. Although the yard workforce is down to about 800 from 8000 in its heyday the petition attracted 80,000 signatures - a lot more than New Labour's lead over the Scottish National Party in the Govan Constituency!

CalMac Ferry Overhauls

A significant feature of last winter was the almost total absence of the Calmac fleet from the ship repair yards at Greenock and Ailsa, Troon. Most of the vessels went to A&P on Tyneside with one ship going to Birkenhead That was felt acutely at the Garvel Drydock which also narrowly lost out on the Waverley rebuild contract. The Garvel yard has been quiet for almost a year. In addition its parent company, the diversified industrial services group Semple Cochrane plc has suffered some serious boardroom problems, despite which significant investment in new plant seems to have continued in an effort to make the yard more competitive. Semple Cochrane are now under new management and the coming winter will prove an interesting test on whether the Calmac fleet will return to the Clyde for its main overhaul schedule. That may be a bit academic as the CalMac operation will be split asunder by the time of the 2001-02 winter overhaul season . Although it is proposed to for a 'New CalMac' company to own and lease the fleet (ultimately they are owned by the First Minister of the Scottish Parliament who holds the shareholding of Caledonian MacBraynne) everything seems very uncertain at present

JULY 12

NOTES & NEWS

Welcome to the latest M&ISS News Update. At present the web site difficulties have still not yet been resolved. However, City Netgates have informed me that the site will be transferred to a new server within the next few days which hopefully will resolve the present difficulties and allow full updates to take place. 

John Luxton

July 12, 2024

Acknowledgements: Gary Andrews, Justin Merrigan and "others"

SEA CONTAINERS

SUPERSEACAT THREE - it is reported that SSC3 managed to suck some debris into one of her water jets during the  18:00 Liverpool   - Douglas sailing on Saturday July 6. Attempts to remove it took 30 minutes and included going astern at full speed in the middle of the Irish Sea

SEACAT ISLE OF MAN The  07:00 Douglas to Liverpool and 10:30 Liverpool to Douglas were on Monday July 10, due to adverse weather conditions in Irish Sea.

On July 10 the company issued a press release promoting the new Heysham to Douglas SeaCat service:

For the first time passengers travelling from the Lancashire port of Heysham can get to the Isle of Man in just two hours. The fastest crossing ever has been made possible with the introduction of the first ever fast ferry sailings from Heysham throughout the Summer months.

The new sailings to and from Heysham are ideal for short breaks. The location of Heysham and its proximity to the M6 motorway also make it the ideal choice for travellers heading to the Isle of Man from Scotland, Cumbria, the North East and Yorkshire.

Hamish Ross, Managing Director of Sea Containers' Irish Sea Operations said: "Our fast ferry service from Heysham to the Isle of Man offers greater choice than ever before. We now have SeaCat and SuperSeaCat services to the Isle of Man from Heysham and Liverpool, linked to the twice daily sailings of our new conventional ferry MV Ben-my-Chree. The Island has so much to offer visitors and we feel our sailing programme this year makes it even easier for people to discover or re-discover this magical island. Our recent launch of a SuperSeaCat fast ferry service to Belfast linked to our fast growing Isle of Man services has once again established Heysham as a major passenger port. This combined with the burgeoning Irish Sea freight services through the port from Warrenpoint, Dublin, Belfast and the Isle of Man has revitalised the Lancashire port and brought real benefits to the local economy."

Captain Graham MacLean, General Manager of Heysham Port went on to add: "Heysham has never been busier and this new service builds on the 14 ferry sailings a day we already have from the Port. New business is always welcome at Heysham, especially when it involves fast ferries with fast turnarounds offering additional services on established routes. Traditionally Liverpool has always provide the fast craft route to the Isle of Man, now with a SeaCat from Heysham, customer choice has never been greater. The SeaCat also cuts the journey time to the Island significantly compared with conventional vessels. From a personal point of view I am particularly pleased to see the arrival of the "SeaCat Isle of Man" catamaran as I captained her sister ship "SeaCat Scotland" before taking up my present job ashore here as Heysham Port's General Manager."

Heysham remains ideally placed for vehicle drivers and their passengers being only 6 miles from the UK motorway network. The Port is also accessible by train and coach.

Timetable:
Mondays and Fridays only until 22 September 2000.
Depart Heysham: 16:45 Arrive Douglas: 18:45
Depart Douglas: 14:00 Arrive Heysham: 16:00

Between 22 July and 2 September an additional sailing will operate on Saturdays at the same times as stated above.

Best value Summer Fares:
Vehicle - £159 for Car + 2 Summer Time Short Break Special.
Foot Passengers - £19 Adult Single Footloose fare (£38 Return fare).
The flexibility of our crossings to and from the Isle of Man mean that passengers can return or make their outward journey via our Liverpool services if they so wish.