Alf (barque)
Alf was a three-masted Norwegian barque which became stranded and wrecked on 23 November 1909 on Haisbro Sands, off the coast of Norfolk. She was originally built in 1876 as Inchgreen for Scottish owners, in the 1890s she was sold to Danish owners and renamed Adolph Harboe. Around the turn of the 20th century she was sold to Norwegian owners and renamed Alf, the Barque Alf was built at the shipyards of Caird and Company in Greenock, Scotland in 1876. She was constructed with a hull and she had three masts. She was ordered by W Lindsay and Company of Greenwich and she was initially called Inchgreen, in 1878, she sailed to Sydney, Australia with a crew of 23 and 13 passengers, arriving on 18 December. By 1891, she had sold to Danish owners Fr. Harboe of Skjelskør, who renamed her Adolph Harboe, the code letters NVDH were allocated. In 1893, her letters were NSHW. By 1895, the code letters NHBG were allocated and she was still on the Danish register in 1903. Later, she was purchased by Actieselsk Alf and renamed Alf, the Alf had crossed the North sea from Porsgrunn in Norway with a cargo of timber.
She was heading for the city of Liverpool with a crew of fifteen men aboard. On Tuesday 23 November 1909, Alf had reached the north east coast of Norfolk in good time but it was now dark and very cold. The master was unable to locate the Haisbro light vessel with the consequence that his ship ploughed into the Haisborough sands three miles south-east of the Haisbro Light vessel. Captain Orberg soon realized he could do nothing to get the ship off the sand and he ordered that the ship’s boats be launched to get himself and his crew clear of the sandbank. The first mate was ordered to charge of the port boat whilst the captain would take the starboard boat. There was no hope of the two small boats getting back alongside the barque and the two men watched as the two boats with the thirteen crewmen aboard drifted away out of their sight. With the first mate still on the wreck, the carpenter had taken charge of the port boat. The boat had got into only a hundred yards from the Alf when a wave caught the boat capsizing it
RMS City of Chester
RMS City of Chester was a British passenger steamship that sailed on the transatlantic route from 1873 to 1898. The ship was built by Caird & Company of Greenock for the Inman Line, at 4,566 tons she became the largest passenger ship afloat when launched on 29 March 1873 – a title she held until the 5, 000-ton Britannic was launched in February 1874. Propulsion was by a 2-cylinder compound steam engine with nominal 850 horsepower, which drove a single 21-foot diameter screw, on sea trials, sailing from the Clyde to the Mersey, she made over 15 knots. The ship was 444 feet long and 44 feet in the beam, and could accommodate over 1,500 passengers,125 in 1st class,80 in second class, and 1,310 in steerage. The first-class passengers enjoyed luxurious facilities, a saloon with piano and library, a smoking room. There was a Ladies Boudoir, and separate Ladies and Gentlemens bath-rooms with marble sea-water baths, the steerage passengers slept in bunks. The ship was employed on the Liverpool–Queenstown–New York route, making her maiden voyage on 10 July 1873.
In February 1893 the Inman Line was taken over by the American Line, in 1898 she was sold to the United States Government, and renamed Sedgwick, serving as a U. S. Army transport ship during the Spanish–American War. In early March 1900, the Secretary of War Elihu Root sailed aboard the Sedgwick to Havana for discussions with the Military Governor of Cuba, General Leonard Wood. In 1903 she was sold to an Italian shipping company and first renamed Arizona, in 1906 Napoletano, before finally being scrapped in Italy in 1907
RMS Moldavia
RMS Moldavia was a British passenger steamship of the early 20th century. She served as the Royal Navy armed merchant cruiser HMS Moldavia during World War I until sunk by an Imperial German Navy submarine in 1918, Moldavia was built by Caird & Company of Greenock, Scotland for the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company. Her yard number was 301 and she was launched on 28 March 1903, the completed ship was 520 ft in length, a beam of 58.3 ft and a draught of 24.8 ft. Coal bunkerage was 2,000 tons and cargo about 3,500 tons, Moldavia was built for 348 first and 166 saloon class passengers. The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company operated Moldaia on the England—Australia route via the Suez Canal, for the following two weeks after Jutland she spent challenging and boarding merchant vessels in the North Sea, before returning to Loch Ewe on 16 June 1916. Her sinking resulted in the deaths of 54 U. S. soldiers on board, the vessel was added to the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986,2017 No 147 and became a designated vessel on 3rd March 2017.
The wreck site is protected and may be dived on a look, nothing may be removed from the wreck and nobody may enter the vessel, as it is now a war grave. 58th Infantry Regiment List of shipwrecks Recreational diving Shipwrecks
Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company
The Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Limited was a Scottish shipbuilding company in the Govan area on the Clyde in Glasgow. Fairfields, as it is known, was a major warship builder, turning out many vessels for the Royal Navy and other navies through the First World War. It built many transatlantic liners, including record breaking ships for the Cunard Line and Canadian Pacific, such as the Blue Riband winning sisters RMS Campania, at the other end of the scale Fairfields built fast cross channel mail steamers and ferries for locations around the world. These included ships for the Bosphorus crossing in Istanbul and some of the ships used by Thomas Cook for developing tourism on the River Nile. Charles Randolph, who trading as a millwright, founded the business as Randolph & Elliott by building engines. John Elder joined the business in 1852 and it diversified into shipbuilding as Randolph and Company. The first ship was built in 1861 as No 14, the shipyards imposing red sandstone Drawing Offices were designed by John Keppie of Honeyman and Keppie, with help from a young Charles Rennie Macintosh, and built 1889–91.
The sculpted figures flanking the entrance are by James Pittendrigh Macgillivray, John Carmichael was manager of the Fairfield yard in 1894. He had been born in Govan in 1858 and had entered Fairfield as an apprentice in 1873, when his apprenticeship was completed seven years later, Sir William Pearce made him head draughtsman, and he was promoted to assistant manager. Alexander Cleghorn FRSE became the Fairfield manager in 1909, the company established the Coventry Ordnance Works joint venture with Yarrow Shipbuilders and others in 1905. The Fairfield Titan was built for the yard in 1911 by Sir William Arrol & Co. with a lift capacity of 200 tons. It was acknowledged for years as the largest crane in the World. It was employed in lifting the engines and boilers aboard ships in the fitting out basin, the crane was a Category B listed building but was demolished in 2007 in yard modernisation works. In 1919 the company part of the Northumberland Shipbuilding Company. In 1921 Alexander Kennedy was knighted, the Fairfield West yard site was used by the United States Army Corps of Engineers in 1944 to build four landing craft.
The works specialised in assembling bridges and other major structures, in the 1950s the yard underwent a major £4 million modernisation programme which was implemented slowly over a period of ten years to minimise disruption to the yard. In 1963, the Fairfield engine building division merged with another Lithgow subsidiary, David Rowan & Company, Fairfields Chepstow works was sold to the Mabey Group in 1966. The era of the Fairfield experiment was captured by Sean Connery in his documentary The Bowler, in 1968 the company was made part of Upper Clyde Shipbuilders, which collapsed in 1971 when a strike and work-in received national press attention
William Denny and Brothers
William Denny and Brothers Limited, and often referred to simply as Denny, was a Scottish shipbuilding company. The shipbuilding interests of the Denny family date back to William Denny, by 1823 the company name had changed to William Denny & Son. From 1845 the company became Denny Brothers, and in 1849 the firm was reconstituted as William Denny & Brothers, although the Denny yard was situated near the junction of the River Clyde and the River Leven, the yard was on the Leven. The founder developed the companys interests in ship owning and operation with interests in the British & Burmese Steam Navigation Company, the Company built all types of ships but were particularly well known as producers of fine cross-channel steamships and ferries. It was a pioneer in the development of the ships stabiliser in conjunction with Edinburgh-based Brown Brothers & Company, in 1913 the Channel steamer Paris was one of the first ships to use geared turbine engines utilising new Michell tilting-pad fluid bearing.
It undertook work in hovercraft and helicopter-type aircraft. A marine engineering company, based in Dumbarton, was formed by Peter Denny, John Tulloch, in 1862 the company was renamed Denny & Co. The company manufactured a range of types of marine engines and was absorbed into William Denny & Brothers in 1918. Dennys were always innovators and were one of the first commercial shipyards in the world to have their own experimental testing tank, William Denny & Company went into voluntary liquidation in 1963. Inspired by the work of eminent naval architect William Froude, Dennys completed the worlds first commercial example of a ship testing tank in 1883, the facility was used to test models of a variety of vessels and explored various propulsion methods, including propellers and vane wheels. Experiments were carried out on models of the Denny-Brown stabilisers and the Denny hovercraft to gauge their feasibility, after the Denny yard closed, the test tank facility was taken over by Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Limited and used for the testing of submarines until the early 1980s.
Re-opened as part of the Scottish Maritime Museum in 1982, it retains many of its original features, existed under multiple roles and ownerships for over 80 years before finally being scrapped in Japan. She was a Roll-on/roll-off Road/Rail ferry built for New Zealand Railways Department, the flag was unusual in having an elephant as its emblem. The flag consisted of an elephant against a white field. This image was taken from the arms of Dumbarton, and it served to symbolise the strength. History of Dennys Shipyard - Clyde Waterfront Heritage
SS Bokhara
The SS Bokhara was a P&O steamship which sank in a typhoon on 10 October 1892, off the coast of Sand Island in the Pescadores, Formosa. Of the 150 people who perished, eleven were members of the Hong Kong cricket team, Hong Kongs cricket team had played an Interport cricket match against Shanghai at the Shanghai Cricket Club on 3 October 1892 and were returning home on the SS Bokhara. Built by Caird & Company of Greenock and launched on 18 December 1872, the passenger liner travelled mainly to India and the Far East and in 1875 had its registry transferred to Greenock. On the ships voyage, in 1873, it was stranded on an uncharted rock off Hong Kong and after eventually refloating. In 1884 the ship was used as a vessel for soldiers in the Mahdist War. The ship set off from Shanghai on 8 October, due to arrive at Hong Kong on the 11th and was bound for Colombo. On board were 173 people, as well as silk, unluckily the storm was recurving and passing up the west coast of Taiwan. The expected drift in a south west direction was actually between south and south south west straight towards the Penghu Islands.
The winds worsened on the 10th and as the ship rolled violently the ships boats were smashed and the deckhouse damaged. The engineers tried in vain get the boiler going again to raise steam, the captain went below to warn the passengers and get them on deck, but it was too late. At about eleven forty-five the ship struck the reef twice, with the strike causing the starboard side to be ripped wide open. The survivors, who lay injured on the beach, were found by local Chinese fishermen who brandished axes and knives. After salvaging bits and pieces from the wreckage, the fishermen took the survivors to Peihou Island followed by Makung and they were picked up by the Douglas Steamer Thales, who transferred the survivors to HMS Porpoise which was heading to Hong Kong. There is residual uncertainty about exactly how people were aboard the ship. The best estimate is 173, but it could have been more since at least one child, confusion was caused by the total loss of the two year old Norwegian cargo steamer Normand, Car.
Michelsen Co. which had been lost some time the day, the 9th, on Tortoise Rock. Of the 26 crew of the Normand all survived the immediate wreck, the two who survived, 2nd Engineer John NIstad and Ordinary Seaman Thomas Herness, were washed ashore on Fisher Island about a mile apart after some seventeen hours in the water. Initially they were taken to be Bokhara survivors, adding to the uncertainties, only two Hong Kong cricketers survived, Dr James Lowson and Lieutenant Markham
Royal Mail Steam Packet Company
The Royal Mail Steam Packet Company was a British shipping company founded in London in 1839 by a Scot, James MacQueen. The lines motto was Per Mare Ubique, after good and bad times it became the largest shipping group in the world in 1927 when it took over the White Star Line. Queen Victoria granted the initial Royal Charter of Incorporation of The Royal Mail Steam Packet Company on 26 September 1839. Fourteen new steam vessels were built for the purpose, Medway and Isis, Severn and Avon, Clyde, Teviot and Solway, Tay and Medina. In reference to their destination, these vessels were known as the West Indies Mail Steamers, the West Indian Mail Service was established by the sailing of the first Royal Mail Steam Packet, PS Thames from Falmouth on 1 January 1841. A Supplemental Royal Charter was granted on 30 August 1851 extending the sphere of the Companys operations, in 1864, the mail service to the British Honduras was established. A further Supplemental Royal Charter was granted extending the sphere of the Companys operations on 7 March 1882.
In the decade before the First World War the RMSP modernised its fleet, each had a name beginning with the letter A, so collectively they were called the A-liners or the A-series. The first was RMS Aragon in 1905, followed by sister ships Amazon and Avon in 1906, Asturias in 1908, Arlanza in 1912, Andes and Alcantara in 1913 and Almanzora in 1915. Earlier members of the series, from Aragon to Asturias, had twin screws, the final four members of the series, from Arlanza to Almanzora, had triple screws, with the middle one driven by a low pressure Parsons steam turbine. After the First World War RMSP faced not only existing foreign competition, Lord Vesteys Blue Star Line had joined the South American route and won a large share of the frozen meat trade. Then in 1926–27 Blue Star introduced its new luxury five ships Almeda, Arandora and Avila to both increase refrigerated cargo capacity and enter the passenger trade. At the same time RMSP introduced a pair of new 22,200 GRT liners, RMS Asturias in 1926 and RMS Alcantara in 1927, although these were the biggest and most luxurious UK ships on the route, RMSP Chairman Lord Kylsant called Blue Stars quintet very keen competition.
The company ran into trouble, and the UK Government investigated its affairs in 1930. In 1931 Lord Kylsant was jailed for 12 months for misrepresenting the state of the company to shareholders, so much of Britains shipping industry was involved in RMSPC that arrangements were made to guarantee the continuation of ship operations after it was liquidated. Royal Mail Lines Ltd was created in 1932 and took over the ships of RMSPC, the new company was chaired by Lord Essendon. RML was a cruise ship operator. RMSs largest vessel was the 25,895 GRT turbine steamship RMS Andes and she was designed as an ocean liner but when launched in 1939 was immediately fitted out as a troopship
SS Tynwald (1866)
45474, was an iron paddle-steamer which served with the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company, and was the second vessel in the Company to bear the name. She was the third of three sisters to come from the Greenock yards of Caird & Co. her two older siblings being Snaefell and Douglas, Tynwald had a registered tonnage of 696 GRT. Length 240, beam 26, depth 14, Tynwald had an operating speed of 15 knots and her engines developed 1,300 shp. Built by Caird & Co of Greenock, and launched on Saturday 17 March 1866, both funnels were situated aft of the paddle boxes, with the main mast close to the after funnel. Tynwald and her sisters were considered fast vessels, her older sister Snaefell, is recorded as having made the passage from Douglas to Liverpool in 4hrs 20 minutes, which would suggest a speed in excess of 15 knots. In 1882 Tynwald had a thorough overhaul and she was fitted with new boilers, surface condenser and new decks, which with repairs to the engines cost £11,219. Tynwald was designed to carry a mixture of passengers and cargo and her designation as a Royal Mail Ship indicated that she carried mail under contract with the Royal Mail.
For the storage of letters and specie a specified area was allocated for the carriage of such items, in addition, there was a considerable quantity of regular cargo, ranging from furniture to foodstuffs. After an uneventful career, Tynwald was disposed of in 1888, both Tynwald and her older sister Douglas were sold at auction, and raised the combined sum of £26,644. Official numbers are issued by individual flag states and they should not be confused with IMO ship identification numbers. Tynwald had the UK Official Number 45474 and used the Code Letters H R T J. Bibliography Chappell, island Lifeline T. Stephenson & Sons Ltd ISBN 0-901314-20-X
Aden
Aden is a port city in Yemen, located by the eastern approach to the Red Sea, some 170 kilometres east of Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000 people, Adens ancient, natural harbour lies in the crater of a dormant volcano which now forms a peninsula, joined to the mainland by a low isthmus. This harbour, Front Bay, was first used by the ancient Kingdom of Awsan between the 5th and 7th centuries BC, the modern harbour is on the other side of the peninsula. Aden gives its name to the Gulf of Aden, Aden consists of a number of distinct sub-centres, the original port city, the modern port, known as Steamer Point in the colonial period, and the resorts of Gold Mohur. Aden encloses the eastern side of a vast, natural harbour that comprises the modern port, the volcanic peninsula of Little Aden forms a near-mirror image, enclosing the harbour and port on the western side. Little Aden became the site of the oil refinery and tanker port, both were established and operated by British Petroleum until they were turned over to Yemeni government ownership and control in 1978.
From March to July 2015, the Battle of Aden raged between Houthis and loyalists to President Hadi, water and medical supplies ran short in the city. On 14 July, the Saudi Army launched an offensive to retake Aden for Hadis government, within three days the Houthis had been removed from the city. A local legend in Yemen states that Aden may be as old as human history itself, some believe that Cain and Abel are buried somewhere in the city. The ports convenient position on the sea route between India and Europe has made Aden desirable to rulers who sought to possess it at times throughout history. The same work describes Aden as a village by the shore, there is no mention of fortification at this stage, Aden was more an island than a peninsula as the isthmus was not so developed as it is today. Although the pre-Islamic Himyar civilization was capable of building large structures, fortifications at Mareb and other places in Yemen and the Hadhramaut make it clear that both the Himyar and the Sabean cultures were well capable of it.
Thus, watch towers, since destroyed, are possible, the Arab historians Ibn al Mojawir and Abu Makhramah attribute the first fortification of Aden to Beni Zureea. Abu Makhramah has included a biography of Muhammad Azim Sultan Qamarbandi Naqsh in his work. The aim seems to have been twofold, to hostile forces out and to maintain revenue by controlling the movement of goods. In its original form, some of work was relatively feeble. After 1175 AD, rebuilding in a solid form began. According to Muqaddasi, Persians formed the majority of Adens population in the 10th century, the envoys boarded three treasure ships and set sail from Sumatra to the port of Aden
RMS Medina (1911)
RMS Medina was an ocean liner built by Caird and Company, Scotland, in 1911, for the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company. She was a Royal Mail Ship intended for use on the London to Australia route and was the last of the ten ships in P&Os M-Class, the RMS Medina was the last of ten ships ordered by the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company of the ‘M’ class. The order was placed with Caird and Company of Greenock and she was 550 feet long and 62 feet wide with a depth of 34 feet. She was to carry 670 passengers,450 in first class and 220 in second and she was powered by quadruple-expansion steam engines which produced 1,400 horse power two her twin screws which moved through the water at a top speed of 19 knots. During building it was decided that Medina would take King George V, Medina was, initially commissioned into the Royal Navy as the Royal Yacht and her crew were mainly naval personnel. Medina was provided with an extra mast, necessary to maintain Royal flag etiquette and furnished with a hull with bands of royal blue and gold.
Various large rooms intended for use were redecorated as Royal apartments. Medina left Portsmouth for India in November 1911, returning in February 1912 where she returned to Caird and she was delivered to P&O in June 1912. She had only two years of service before the First World War broke out, but remained with P&O during the war. SM UB-31 torpedoed her off Start Point, Devon on 28 April 1917, today Medinas wreck is upright with a 15 degree list to port. She is reasonably intact despite salvage of copper and passengers baggage from forward holds and her stern is most damaged and she is sinking into the mud of the seabed. Her bulkheads are collapsing and her compartments are folding down
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