Liverpool Pilot vessel Turnstone photographed heading back to the Pilot Headquarters on 11 April 2014.

I have discussed her previoulsy in my blog.

It was good to see her at speed and to test the sport setting on my new camera.

http://www.shipspottersteve.com/blog/liverpool-pilot-turnstone

Victorian War Memorial photographed in Dover on 12 April 2014.

We had just arrived in Dover and I took the photograph as we were walking into the town centre for our evening meal in a local pub.

The memorial was erected shortly after the Indian Mutiny.
 
The inscription reads IN MEMORY OF COMRADES WHO FELL DURING THE INDIAN CAMPAIGNS OF 1857, 1858 AND 1859. ERECTED BY THE 1st BATTALION 60th ROYAL RIFLES AUGUST 1861.

The other faces are inscribed ROHILCUND, OUDE, DELHI - CELER ET AUDAX.

The King's Royal Rifle Corps was originally raised in colonial North America in 1755. Later known as the 60th Rifles and the King's Royal Rifle Corp the Regiment become part of the Royal Green Jackets in 1956.

The memorial has some shrapnel damage which occured during an air raid on 23 January 1916 when a German Seaplane dropped a number of bombs on the town. One of the bombs landed in a street close to the monument causing a number of chips to the stonework.

Flagship Iris photographed in Liverpool Docks on 19 February 2014. 

She was built by Hyundai Mipo in Ulsan, KR as Yard Number 2176 in 2010 and is 183m long with a 32m beam.

Total hold capacity 53,032m3.

She has a MAN 6S50MC-C Diesel engine which gives a service speed of approximately 15 Knots. 
 
GT = 29,669, NT = 14,114 and DWT 51,551

Currently she is operated by Stena Weco which is a joint venture between Stena Bulk and Weco.

MMSI - 538004786
REG - MH, Majuro
IMO - 9447768
Call Sign - V7ZC2
Chemical / Oil Products Tanker
Built - Hyundai Mipo, Ulsan, KR
Yard No. - 2176
L 183m W 32m
GT - 29669
Year - 2010
Liverpool, 19 February 2014

River Class Patrol ship HMS Tyne (P281) photographed in Liverpool on 28 March 2014.

She has been designed to undertake a number of roles including safeguarding the fishing stocks in the UK, environmental protection, security and search & rescue operations. The vessel typically has a complement of 28 but can accommodate a crew of 30 plus a Royal Marine boarding party of 18.

Her sister ships are HMS Mersey and HMS Severn.

Built by Vosper Thornycroft in Southampton the vessel is 79.9m long with a 13.6m beam and 3.8m draught. She was launched on 27 April 2002 and  commissioned into the fleet on 4 July 2003.

Displacement = 1,677 tonnes.
 
Propulsion consists of twin Rushton 12RK 270 Diesel Engines (4,125 KW / 5,532 hp at 1000rpm) giving a stop speed of  20 knots. Range is 7,800 nautical miles at 12 knots. The auxiliary power suite comprises three 250kW Caterpillar engines, she is also equipped with a  Motoren VT bow thruster rated at 280kW.

The working deck can be utilised to transport smaller craft or light vehicles. It can also accommodate if necessary up to seven containers enabling the ship to  carry additional stores, workshops, diving chambers or medical facilities. A heavy crane of 25t capacity is fitted to handle standard containers.

Tyne's main armament is a BMARC KAA 20mm gun.

She is also equipped with General Purpose Machine Guns.

Tyne's name plate

One of two Halmatic Jet Pacific 22 rigid inflatable boats.

RIB launch and recovery can be carried out in wave heights between 2.5m and 4m using single-man operation, single-point lift davits.

Crosby photographed hard at work in Liverpool docks on 28 March 2014. 

She is a  purpose built tank barge with a capacity approaching 500 tonnes and came into service in 2013.

She is owned by Mainmast who are a Maritime Logistics Company formed in November 2001. 

They are based in Lincoln and operate a number of edible oil motor tank barges both on the River Humber and in Liverpool.

Royal Navy Sandown Class Mine Sweeper HMS Pembroke (M107) photographed on her visit to Liverpool on 24 May 2013.
 
She was built by Vosper Thornycroft and launched on 12 December 1997 before being commissioned into the fleet on 6 October 1998.

Displacement is 484 tons.
 
She has a length of 52.5m with a 10.9m beam and 2.3m draught.
  
Propulsion consists of a diesel-electric drive giving a service speed of 13 knots.

Ships complement is 34 personnel.

Pembrokes primary weapon is a single Oerlikon 30 mm KCB gun on DS-30B manual mount. It has a rate of fire of 660rpm with an effective range of 3500m.

She is also armed with 12.7mm machine guns.

Propeller from the SS Hilda photographed in Dinard, France on 17 April 2014.

The SS Hilda was built by Aitkin & Mansel, Glasgow in 1883 as Yard Number 117 for £33,000.

Launched in July 1882 she was completed in January 1883 and handed over to her owners after completing sea trails on 13 January 1883.

She had a GRT of 848 and was 71.78m long with a 8.86m beam and 4.32m draught, powered by two John & James Thompson and Company compound steam engines and a single propeller she had a top speed of 14 knots. In 1894 she had a refit with new boilers and electric lighting fitted throughout the ship. 

Registered in Southampton she was owned by the London & South Western Railway, she could carry 566 passengers and was intitially used on the  Southampton - Channel Islands - St.Malo service before transferring to the direct Southampton - St.Malo service in October 1890 until she sank on 18 November 1905 with the loss of 125 lives

Hilda left Southampton at 22:00hrs on 17 November 1905 on her regular service to St.Malo in Brittany carrying 103 passengers. Thick fog forced her to anchor off the Isle of Wight but with the advent of better weather conditions the voyage was resumed at 0600hrs the next day.  After midday the weather conditions worsened again and she was unable to reach port due to snow reducing visibility. 

Although visibility did improve on a number of occasions attempts to enter the port had to be abandoned, just before midnight another attempt was made to get into port but the vessel hit the Pierre de Portes rocks which lie to the West of the entrance channel into the harbour, soon after running aground the vessel broke in two. Attempts were made to launch the the six life rafts but this seems to have failed although one did wash up down the coast. 

Only one crew member (an able bodied seaman) survived together with five passengers. Most of the survivors seem to have saved themselves by climbing the stern rigging.

The remains of wreck lies in 25m of water, the propeller I photographed was removed in 1997.

Crew vessel Sea Storm photographed in Liverpool on 9 April 2014. 

Personnel had just transferred to her from the accommodation ship Wind Solutions and she was heading towards the locks to gain access to the River Mersey.

She was built by Danish Yachts in Skagen, Denmark as Yard Number 121 and is 25.7m long with a 10.7m beam and 1.75m draught.

GT = 275, NT = 73 and DWT 65

She can accommodate 24 personnel.

In order to achieve the best possible maneuverability the vessel is equipped with twin propellers and four side thrusters enabling her to operate and remain static alongside wind turbines in sea conditions with a significant wave height of up to 2.5m high

Propulsion machinery consists of two MTU 10V 2000 M72 diesel engines, each of 900 kW giving a service speed of 22 knots. 

Sea Storm is one of four vessels, her sister ships being Sea Breeze, Sea Gale and Sea Hurricane. The vessels are leased on a five-year agreement with the Danish company A2SEA.

MMSI- 2190463000
REG - DK, Fredericia
IMO - 9672947
Call Sign - OUWZ2
Crew Boat
Built - Danish Yachts, Skagen, DK
Yard No. - 121
L 25.7m W 10.6m
GT 275
Year - 2013
Liverpool, 9 April 2014