Ships and shipping

The Nakhoda Ragam class is a class of corvette offshore patrol vessels originally built for the Royal Brunei Navy and named after the lead ship of the class, in turn named after a legendary Malay seafarer. Three vessels were built by BAE Systems Marine (now BAE Systems Maritime - Naval Ships). The ships were to be named: KDB Nakhoda Ragam KDB Bendhara Sakam KDB Jerambak The customer refused to accept the vessels and the contract dispute became the subject of arbitration. When the dispute was settled in favour of BAE Systems, the vessels were handed over to Royal Brunei Technical Services in June 2007. In 2013 it was announced that these warships had been sold to the Indonesian Navy and would soon be leaving Barrow where they have been laid up since 2007.

Lough Neagh sand suction dredger barges Ballyronan and Toomebridge at Northstone's Sandy Bay wharf. These are two of eight identical vessels built by James W Cook Ltd of Wivenhoe, Essex, between 1968 and 1974 for Scotts of Toomebridge. They are 120’ 6" long by 19’ 3" beam and all loaded and discharged by pump. They were built at the largest size for the locks on the Lower Bann which gives access to the lake from the sea. The sand trade on Lough Neagh continues to occupy several companies and a large number of barges in dredging around 1 million tonnes of sand annually.

The 6840 gross tonnage nuclear fuel carrier Pacific Grebe lies adjacent to the Goliath crane in Ramsden Dock, Barrow-in-Furness. With sister ships Pacific Egret and Pacific Heron the vessel is engaged in transporting Highly Active Waste from Sellafield back to the country of origin - mainly Europe and Japan. These British registered ships are the UK's only armed merchant ships with a defence force on each provided by the nuclear industry police.

Iron Baron (7950 tons dwt) was built in 1936 by Lithgows at Port Glasgow as an Ore Carrier for Broken Hill Proprietary Ltd. The first ship of the 'Chieftain' class she worked between Whyalla and Newcastle carrying ironstone until sold in 1966. The ship is seen here unloading at Steel Works Wharf, Newcastle in 1936. Destination for the ore, a blast furnace with associated Cowpar stoves are visible on the right.

Mersey Ferry Royal Iris has just a few passengers for this trip to see the sights along the river. Seen from the mudflats below the derelict promenade at Rock Ferry. The serried ranks of terraced houses on the far shore ar at Dingle.

The 999grt bulk cargo ship Matrisha was launched in Japan in 1976 and, after a number of name and ownership changes, was wrecked after running aground on the south coast of Ireland. After salvage the hulk was towed to the remote Carhiracon Quay on the Shannon estuary where it was used to store cement for a number of years. Today it lies quietly rusting and awaiting its fate.

The sad remains of the 1936 built steam dredger 'Mannin 2' sunk at Weston Point Docks.

A couple of barges have made the trip over the Wash from Boston to Wells-Next-The-Sea harbour. The old granary in the background has now been converted to holiday flats.

The cheap way to see the Statue of Liberty and the New York Skyline is to take the Staten Island ferry. It's about an hour for the return trip and best of all it's free!

Type 45 Destroyer HMS Daring is leaving Plymouth whilst undertaking flag officer training.

Fishing vessel Humbak in Vineyard Sound. Seen from the ferry between Falmouth and Oak Bluffs on the way to Martha's Vineyard.

The 999grt bulk cargo ship Matrisha was launched in Japan in 1976 and, after a number of name and ownership changes, was wrecked after running aground on the south coast of Ireland. After salvage the hulk was towed to this remote quay on the Shannon estuary where it was used to store cement for a number of years. It was lying quietly rusting and awaiting its fate. The ship was finally cut up and scrapped in 2011.

The fuels storage capacity at Wick Harbour seems somewhat excessive to supply this fishing vessel. I suspect the fleet was actually out working.

The Staten Island ferry 'John F Kennedy' swings past the Statue of Liberty on a westward run. There may be no such thing as a free lunch but the Staten Island trip does not incur a charge

Redundant railway and ship at Birkenhead Docks. It is some time since the wagon turntable saw use whilst the RMS St Helena only came out of service in 2018 as the passenger and supply ship serving the remote island of the same name. It subsequently served for a shore period as a floating armoury in the Gulf of Oman. The ship is said to now be under conversion to a mobile hub for the race events of the Extreme E electric SUV racing series.

Calmac's Loch Fyne in the harbour at Mallaig before making a crossing to Armadale on Skye. The purpose built ferry for this route was removed by the Scottish Government for use elsewhere and replaced with the Loch Fyne which is unsuitable for the Armadale service as it is unable to operate when tides are low and struggles to dock at Armadale when it is windy from certain directions. This has led to regular cancellation of sailings and significant problems for users.

The 2998gt ship Arklow Raven is loading scrap at the European Metal Recycling Irwell Park Wharf on the Manchester Ship Canal. Visible in the background are Barton Swing Aqueduct, Barton Swing Bridge and Barton High Level Bridge.

Offshore supply ships Enea, Nao Protector and Standard Viking in port at Aberdeen.