Veteran Tug Kerne photographed in Liverpool on 4 September 2013. 
 
I have seen her quite a few times in Liverpool and this is the best picture I have despite having taken her picture on a number of occasions.

She was built by the Montrose Ship Building Company in 1913 for the Orient Lighterage Company and was originally going to be called Viking.

Before she was launched she was sold to the Admiralty and renamed Terrier and until 1948 worked in Chatham Docks and on the Medway. 

In 1948 she was sold by the Admiralty to new owners and renamed Kerne. Later she was sold to the Straits Steamship Company of Liverpool and worked in and around the docks and on the River Mersey for them and a number of other owners until 1971 when she was retired from service.

She was subsequently saved from scrap and painstakingly restored by a group of enthusiasts.

GT = 62.71, NT = 1.25 and Displacement = 153. 

She is 77 feet long and 18 feet wide with a 3 Cylinder Triple Expansion engine (400bhp) and has a single cast iron three bladed propeller.

Stanley dock photographed during my lunch break on 11 March 2014. 
 
This was designed by the Dock Engineer Jesse Hartley and opened in 1848.

The dock is connected on its Eastern side to the Leeds and Liverpool Canal and on its West side to Collingwood Dock. 
 
This dock sits on the East side of the main road running the length of the docks and the road crosses a bascule bridge which would have lifted and rolled back to allow ships to enter.

The large building on the right is the Stanley Dock Tobacco Warehouse which was built in 1901, this was built on the infilled South half of  the original dock and runs the full length of Stanley dock. It is 14 storeys high and said to be the largest brick building in the World with over 27 million bricks, 30,000 glass window panes and 8,000 tons of steel being used  in its construction. This building is currently being refurbished and being turned into apartments, work is underway on the South side of the building but the North elevation in my photograph has yet to recieve any attention.

Split Hopper Dredger Johannis De Rijke photographed in Liverpool Docks on 19 February 2014.

She was built by the De Donge BV Shipyard in Raamsdonkveer, The
Netherlands as Yard Number 4924 in 2007 and up to 2008 was called Comer Hard. 
 
Powered by a Caterpillar 3506 (692 kW) engine she can make 7 Knots.

Overall length is 54.8m with a 11.12m beam and 3.64m draught, her hopper can hold 942m3 of material.

She is managed by Dutch Company Van Oord who are an International Contractor who specialises in dredging, marine engineering, off shore work as well as other projects. They are based in Rotterdam but have numerous offices around the world, the Company dates back to 1868. 
 
MMSI - 246324000
REG - NL, Rotterdam
IMO - 9098969
Call Sign - PBPO
Dredger
Built - De Donge, Raamsdonksveer, NL
Yard No. - 4924
L 54.8m W 11.12m
GT - 869
Year - 2007
Liverpool, 19 February 2014

Polar King photographed in the River Mersey on 20 March 2014, she was berthed behind sister ship Polar Prince on what turned out to be a very overcast and grey day.

She is a purpose built ROV Survey and Construction Vessel and has been designed to operate in severe weather conditions. 
 
Built by Freire in Vigo, Spain as Yard Number 702 in 2011 she is 110.6m long with a 20m beam and 7.60m maximum draught.

GT = 7238 & DWT 4358

Machinery includes six MAN 1800eKW generator sets, a single Cummins 1200eKW generator and emergency generator set.

She is powered by a ABB diesel electric propulsion system with an output of 38 MW each, driving two Voith Schneider propellers this gives a maximum speed of 15.85 knots and a service speed of 11 knots. She is also equipped with two
Rolls-Royce electric bow thrusters (1,350 kW each) and a single electric
azimuth (1,400 kW).

Deck equipment includes a TTS offshore knuckle 150t SWL boom crane and three foldable cranes (1.1t SWL) for provisions and cargo handling.

She has a ROV hanger with two launch and recovery systems and two under deck umbilical winches. There are two moon pools, the main pool measures 7.2m x 7.2m and has been designed for vertical launch systems and the smaller 5.4 x 5.4m ROV moon pool.

Accommodation is provided on board for 112 personnel in 22 single and 45 double cabins with separate toilets

She is operated by Reef Subsea which is a specialist company operating Worldwide, they offer bespoke sub-sea services to various industries including  oil & gas, offshore renewables, power, telecommunications as well as other industries.

MMSI - 209023000
REG - CY, Limassol
IMO - 9523366
Call Sign - 5BDF3
Offshore Survey / ROV Vessel
Built - Freire, Vigo, ES
Yard No. - 702
L 110.6m W 20m
GT - 7238
Year - 2011
Liverpool, 20 March 2014