The period in which I first became interested in photographing ships (on a very limited budget, I might add!) was a time of transition from the old to the new - or should I say newer? Pre-WWII tonnage was being phased out at an ever increasing rate to be replaced by standard ships constructed during the war and shortly thereafter. It was also the beginnings of the ship design revolution with more and more larger freighters adopting the bridge amidships, machinery aft configuration, or both accommodation and machinery aft. These changes were reflected in the types of shipping engaged in the iron ore trade, which was a shame in the aesthetic sense, but no doubt made sense in the economics of ship management - including ease of unloading cargo, which brought about more rapid turn-around times in port.
It was a busy period for ports like Barrow, when often every berth was occupied and ships were lined up at anchorage off Walney Island to await their turn. A cursory glance at my records shows an average of around 60-70,000 GT of shipping arriving at the port on a monthly basis, mostly accounted for by ore carriers averaging 3-4,000 GT or thereabouts. This compares with around a quarter million tons of shipping to be seen arriving at the Port of Halifax on an average day, which may amount to 3 or 4 vessels!
[Built by Vickers] [Selection of Vintage Ships] [Scandinavian Ore Ships] [British Owned Ore Ships]
[More Ore Ships] [Ships Laid-up]
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