The above provide an interesting glimpse of Halifax port activities some 30 years ago when elegant ships, such as the reefer shown (above right), co-existed alongside the more utilitarian design of the earlier generation of container-carrying vessels. Neither Manchester Liners or the Bristol City Line exist any longer. (Their parent company, Furness Withy, was taken over by C. Y. Tung, Hong Kong, in 1980). The service routes they offered have long since been taken over and expanded by other companies. In the early '70s ships belonging to Manchester Liners and the Dart Container consortium used Halifax instead of Montreal during the winter months and, in 1972, during union shut-outs at Montreal in disputes over containerisation.

Interestingly, Manchester Liners used Barrow as an alternative to Mersey ports during the troubled days of dock strikes in the U.K.. Without modern dockside container handling equipment, Barrow cranes, more used to working grabs to unload iron ore, were linked in tandem to lift containers. Evidently, this worked well enough but must have been slow compared with the use of gantry cranes with spreaders. Don provided a snippet from a Manchester Liner's in-house magazine showing two sister-ships of the CRUSADE in Ramsden Docks at one and the same time.

MANCHESTER CRUSADE was built in 1971 as one of 4 sister-ships by Smith's Dock Co. Ltd., Middlesbrough. Details: 12,039 grt, 12,124 dwt; length oa. 161 m; main engines: Crossley Pielstick diesels - 20 knots. Sold 1982 to Char Lian Marine, renamed CHAR CHE. Broken up in 1984.

MANCHESTER MARINER was a traditional-style cargo liner with centre island, masts and derricks. She was built in 1955 by Cammel Laird & Co. at Birkenhead. Details: 7.782 grt, 10,195 dwt; length oa. 466 feet (142 m) by 60 feet (18.3 m) beam. She was driven by steam turbines with a speed of 16 knots. Sold in 1968 to Mira Cia. Nav., Panama and named IRA. Sold again to Phillipine interests, renamed PANDAY IRA, then to Greek flag as IRA. Laid-up Piraeus 1971. Date of scapping unknown.

DART ATLANTIC was ordered for the Bristol City Line, a member of the Dart Container consortium, in the early 1970s. Along with the DART AMERICA, she was constructed by Swan, Hunter & Tyne Shipbuilders Ltd., at Hebburn-on-Tyne in 1972. The third of this trio of 1,556 teu ships, DART EUROPE, was built for Cie. Maritime Belge by NV Cockerill at Hoboken, Belgium, in 1970. (See Early Container Ships: CANMAR EUROPE). These three ships were employed on what proved to be an unprofitable weekly service from Antwerp and Southampton to Halifax, New York and Norfolk VA.

Details of the DART ATLANTIC are as follows: 31,036 grt; length oa. 231.5 m, beam: 30.6 m; main engine: 10 cyl motor producing 21,344 kW driving a single screw for a service speed of 23 knots. Ordered by Bristol City Line, delivered to Bibby Bros. & Co. Purchased in 1980 when Furness Withy taken over by C. Y. Tung, the founder of OOCL - no name change. Reorganization of Dart in 1981 led to her being transferred to Canadian Pacific Ltd., whereupon she was renamed C P AMBASSADOR and then CANMAR AMBASSADOR in 1985 - operated by Canadian Maritime Drilling Ltd., Calgary. She retained the same name through several further changes in ownership and management until broken up - exact year unknown.

Photo top right .... "a grand old lady, this unidentified reefer" .... to quote Don's words, was tracked down to be one of four sister-ships built by Bethlehem Steel Company, Sparrow's Point, MD, originally for the U.S. Maritime Commission in 1947/48 and transferred upon completion to the United Fruit Company. By the time of this photo, taken in 1972 (summer, judging by the greenery in the background), three of the four ships were in service for Elders & Fyffes but retained their UFC livery - the fourth had already been scrapped. Two further of these ships were broken up in 1972 - dates unknown. This leaves the most likely contender to be the PATUCA, ex SIXAOLA-70. These 5,075 grt, 16 knot, steam turbine driven vessels were stylish with their raked masts and funnels and graceful counter sterns. PATUCA was the last of the quartet to be sent to the breaker's yard in 1978. Banana boats were not uncommon in Halifax at that time - mainly loading the cardboard cartons into which bananas were packed.

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OCTOBER, 2006:

This time it is the turn of a pair of destroyers built by Vickers-Armstrong Ltd. for the Chilean Navy in the late '50s early 60s. ALMIRANTE RIVEROS and ALMIRANTE WILLIAMS were a Vickers' development of the post WWII, British "Daring" class destroyers with conventional armament (as built) - i.e. guns rather than missiles - and steam turbine propulsion machinery. The 'WILLIAMS' was launched in May, 1958 and the 'RIVEROS' seven months later, both being commissioned in 1960.

    

Left to Right: ALMIRANTE WILLIAMS under tow from the Graving Dock by the Barrow tugs CENTRAL No 4 and CENTRAL No 3. The Spanish cargo ship ALMENARA moored alongside the ALMIRANTE WILLIAMS at the fitting-out berth in Devonshire Dock. ALMIRANTE RIVEROS ready for sea trials. Click the thumbnails!

They had a standard displacement of 2,730 tons, a length of 402 feet (122.5 m) and a beam of 43 feet (13.1 m). Main engines were Parsons Pametrada geared turbines giving 54,000 shp, driving two shafts for a speed of 34.5 knots. Boilers were by Babcock and Wilcox. As delivered, armament comprised 4, 4 inch guns in single mounts, 5, 40 mm AA, 2, squid 3-barreled depth charge mortars and 5, 21 inch torpedo tubes. British, Seacat missiles were added by the Chilean Navy in 1964 and exocet missiles during refit by Swan Hunter in 1971 (Williams) and 1973 (Riveros). The 'WILLIAMS' was retired from active service in 1996, 1-year later than the 'RIVEROS'. Both were sunk (expended as targets?) in December 1998.

Footnote: Three Spanish cargo vessels of Cia. Frutero-Valenciana de Nav. SA "COFRUNA" - the ALMAZAN (2526 gt / 1947), ALCALA (2604 gt / 1946) and the ALMENARA (2663 gt / 1953) tied-up alongside the destroyers while they were fitting-out during 1959. This was presumably to deliver specialised supplies / fittings for the ships and crews. The photo shown above of the ALMENARA was taken September 26th, 1959.

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JULY, 2006:

The ships below were photographed in Barrow docks a little over 45 years ago. I don't know much about them other than the sparse data I jotted down at the time. Some of you may be able to help with further details.

Left to right: - STAD DORDRECHT, CARL MEENTZEN, KETTY DANIELSEN and HERLUF TROLLE.

STAD DORDRECHT    O.N. 176018. A ship that has intrigued me for a long time was Halcyon Lijn's freighter STAD DORDRECHT. When photographed, she had arrived in Barrow Docks during February, 1961, from Sluiskil (Netherlands) with a cargo of 4,054 tons of pyrites cinders for local iron and steel works. She had the appearance and cargo handling gear of a standard, Scandinavian design, WWII-built cargo ship and yet I could not find her in Mitchell and Sawyer's "The Empire Ships". Recently, I came across a clue provided in Schepen C/S, which is a register of Dutch flagged ships of over 1,600 grt from 1957 onwards. The listing is as follows: PHRD ss Stad Dordrecht (Can. 1945 2898b 4564d 1948 Halcyonlijn tot 1962). Evidently, this ship was built in Canada and, thus, was one of 43 similar ships classed as 4,700 dwt, "Park" dry cargo ships built in the country during the war years - a number of them here in Nova Scotia at Pictou.

Armed with this information, I approached the guru of Canadian East Coast shipping, Mac Mackay, to see if he had details of where and when the ship was built. He was able to provide the following:- completed by Morton Engineering and Dry Dock Co. at Quebec City (yard no: 62) in July, 1945 as the HAMILTON PARK-48; gross tonnage - 2,898 (4,564 dwt). Subsequent names: D'ARCY MCGEE-48 for Canadian Coastwise, STAD DORDRECHT-62, SIRENA SECONDO-62, SIREAN II-62 for Altiero-Frulio, HEMILY-70 for D. Russo. Broken up at La Spezia, Italy, in August, 1972. Many thanks, Mac.

CARL MEENTZEN    IMO number: 5063849. This ship was typical of medium-size tonnage (for the day!) utilized in the iron ore trade from Setubal in Portugal, from which port she arrived in November, 1959, carrying 3,100 tons of ore. Details: 2,371 gross tons (3,550 dwt); loa: 89.1 m x 13.0 m breadth; single screw motorship; speed: 13 knots. Owned by Carl Meentzen and Co. KG of Bremen and was built in 1956 by Seebeckwerft, Bremerhaven (yard no: 806). She was sold in 1969 and became the PERIJA and then again as the NIKI in 1971. She hit a wreck and sank in February, 1971.

KETTY DANIELSEN    ID number: 29220. The Danish company, Rederiet Otto Danielsen, continues to operate a fleet of smallish dry cargo ships. The KETTY DANIELSEN (registered: Copenhagen), photographed shortly after her arrival light from Cardiff in November, 1960. She was built in 1959 by Ferus Smit at Foxhol (yard no: 127) and was 937 gross tons; 217 feet long by 32 feet breadth; single screw motorship. No further information available.

HERLUF TROLLE    ID number: 23807. This small Danish coaster was owned by Naestved Kulimport Carl Severinsen A/S of Naestved. She had arrived light from Liverpool in July, 1960, and sailed with a cargo of pig iron. Of 482 gross tons, she was built in 1956 by Bodewes at Hoogezand (yard no: 76). No further details available.

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NOVEMBER, 2005:

Last month marked the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar and brought to mind some of the ships that took part in the most recent conflict in which the Royal Navy incurred major losses - the Falklands campaign of 1982. The photographs below show three of the British ships which were lost and also the Barrow-built Argentine destroyer, HERCULES, which survived the campaign.

Left to right: HMS SHEFFIELD (D80), ATLANTIC CONVEYOR, HMS COVENTRY (D118) and the Argentine Type 42, HERCULES. The photograph of the Atlantic Conveyor is courtesy of Capt. Peter Dunford.

HMS SHEFFIELD - was the name ship of the Type 42-class destroyers - photographed when berthed at Portsmouth, summer 1981, within cannon shot of Nelson's flagship, HMS VICTORY (launched in 1765 at Chatham Dockyard). SHEFFIELD was launched by Vickers Ltd. at Barrow-in-Furness on June 10th, 1971 and was commissioned into the RN February 16th, 1975. She was struck by an exocet missile on May 4th, 1982 while on duty with the Falklands task force. The missile did not explode but it started a major fire, as the result of which the ship was abandoned and sank six days later. Twenty-one crew members were lost.

ATLANTIC CONVEYOR - this unusual shot is of the ship arriving at the Halterm container terminal, Halifax in February, 1972. It was taken by a friend of Capt. Peter Dunford of Bedford, Nova Scotia, who was on his first trip with her. As can be seen, the ship was heavily iced after a rough passage across the Banks. An estimated 700 tons of ice had to be thawed and removed before access was gained to the mooring winches and container lashings.

ATLANTIC CONVEYOR was built in 1970 by Swan, Hunter Ltd., Newcastle-upon-Tyne, for the Cunard Steam Ship Company as contribution to the ACT consortium. She was a ro-ro general cargo container vessel of 14,946 gt (18,146 dwt) with a length of just over 212 m and was powered by 4 steam turbines geared to a single shaft for a speed of 22 knots. She was taken over by the Ministry of Defence in April, 1982 after being laid-up in Liverpool since 1981 and was rapidly converted by the addition of forward and aft flight decks into an aircraft carrier at Devonport. She sailed for the Ascension Islands on April 26th carrying helicopters, Harrier jets and ammunitions, fuel and stores, arriving May 2nd where she rendezvoused with the assault ships, FEARLESS and INTREPID, P&O's CANBERRA and the ro-ro ferry, ELK. This convoy joined the main task force on May 18th whereupon ATLANTIC CONVEYOR was positioned to sail between the Barrow-built carriers, HMS INVINCIBLE and HMS HERMES in order to offload the Harrier VTOL jets. She was ordered into Falkland Sound on May 25th to unload supplies from below decks and shortly afterwards was hit by two exocet missiles fired by Argentinian fighters. There was no option but to abandon ship as fires raged out of control. HMS ALACRITY, in close proximity to the burning ship and at great danger to both ship and company, rescued many of the survivors. Six of the crew were lost, including Captain North, as well as six naval and RFA personnel. The burnt-out hulk of the ship sank on May 28th. (See Ships Monthly November 2004 for a full account written by Charles Drought).

HMS COVENTRY - was built by Cammell Laird's, Birkenhead, and was commissioned into the RN on October 20th, 1978. She was the first RN ship to fire both Sea Dart and Sea Skua missiles in action during the Falklands campaign. She fell victim to bombs on the same day that ATLANTIC CONVEYOR was fatally struck, the bombs causing severe damage to her port side. Taking on water, she was abandoned, rolled over, capsized and finally sank with the loss of nineteen crew members.

I do not know the identity of the Type 42 alongside COVENTRY at Portsmouth in the photograph taken summer, 1981. The carrier, HMS HERMES, can be seen in the background (see Built by Vickers).

ANS HERCULES The Argentine Government signed a contract with Vickers Ltd on May 18th, 1970 for the construction of two Type 42 destroyers as air defence escorts for the aging, Cammell Laird-built carrier VIENTICINCO DE MAYO (completed January 17th, 1945 as the Colossus-class HMS VENERABLE, ex HNMS KAREL DOORMAN-68). One of the destroyers, HERCULES, was launched at Barrow-in-Furness October 24th, 1972 and the second, SANTISSIMA TRINIDAD, at the AFNE shipyard at Rio Santiago during May, 1974. HERCULES fitted-out at the same time and in the same dock as HMS SHEFFIELD and both ships were essentially similar in specifications. I do not know to what extent HERCULES took part in the later conflict but she survives to this day following conversion to an amphibious assault ship.

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