Regina photographed on 29 May 2012 in Barcelona. 

I took the photograph from the deck of the Serenade of the Seas as we headed out of port en route to Cannes.

Since I saw her she has been renamed Regina I but over her career she has had a number of names including Regina, Hanseatic Swan, Regina J, Portlink Hunter and Bremer Handel. Interestingly she has had the same name a number of times.

Built by Viana do Castelo, Viana do Castelo in Portugal as Yard No 188 her keel was laid on 2 September 1993 and she was launched on 12 February 1994. Overall she is 100.67m long with a 16.50m beam and 5.898m Summer draught.

GT = 3806, DWT = 4766  and NT 1981.

She can carry 380 20ft container and has a hold capacity of 6803m3.

Powered by a Krupp MAK 9 M 453 C - 4 stroke single acting 9 cylinder 320 x 420 mm diesel engine (3200 kW) she has a service speed of 15 Knots via a single controllable pitch propeller. The vessel is also equipped with a Schottel (250kW) bow thruster and two main diesel generator sets each rated at 300 kVA.

MMSI - 304010459
REG - AG, St.Johns
IMO - 9071064
Call Sign - V2AC3
General Cargo Ship
Built -Viana do Castelo, Viana do Castelo, PT
Yard No - 188
L 100.67m W 16.50m
GT - 3806
Year - 1994
Barcelona, 29 May 2012

Fu Yu Shan photographed in Kuantan on 10 April 2011. 
 
I took the picture from the deck of the Costa Classica after we had spent the day ashore and shortly before we left port for Laem Chabang. A number of vessels waiting offshore and a glimpse of a Kendak Class Patrol Vessel in the naval base can also be seen.

She was built by Mitubishi in Shimonoseki, Japan as yard number 874 in 1985 and is 151m long with a 25m beam and a 9.82m draught.

GT = 13482, NT 7799 & DWT 20225

She is powered bt a Mitsui B&W 5L60MCE (5110kW) diesel engine giving a service speed of 15 Knots.

In total she has four holds ranging from 2800.3m3 to 8113.4m3 giving a total capacity of 27004.4m3. 

MMSI - 412228000
REG - CN, Guang Zhou
IMO - 8400505
Call Sign - BOHM
General Cargo Ship
Built - Mitsubishi, Shimonoseki, JP
Yard No - 874
L 149m W 25m
GT - 13482
Year - 1985
Kuantan, 10 April 2011

Lithuanian registered General Cargo Ship Audre photographed in Rotterdam on 3 April 2012, I took the picture from the deck of the P&O ferry first thing in the morning following our overnight sailing from Hull. 

She was built by Baltijos in Klaipdea, Lithuania in 1997 and is 102.83m long with a 15.85m beam and 6.65m Summer draught

GT = 3893, NT = 2533 and DWT = 5820.

She has two cargo holds with capacities of 3447m3 and 3434m3 totalling 6881m3. The vessel is also capable of carrying 350 20ft containers.

Her main engine is a MAN B&W 8L32/40 8 cylinder diesel Engine (3520kW) giving a service speed of approximately 11knots, she also has two Leroy Somer M47-1L1106/4 (346kW) generators and a single 375kW rated bow thruster. 
 
She is also equipped with two Norlift Deck cranes rated at SWL36t each.

Audre is operated by the Lithuanian Shipping Company which wase founded in 1969 and is one of 11 vessels in their fleet, the Company is 50.6%  owned by the Lithuanian Government.

MMSI - 277088000
REG - LT, Klaipeda
MO - 9113056
Call Sign - LYJV
General Cargo Ship
Built  -Baltijos LS, Klaipeda, LT
Yard No - 304
L 102.83m W 15.85m
GT - 3893
Year - 1997
Rotterdam, 3 April 2012

Two visits to Liverpool and a drive past Trafford Wharf resulted in seven new ships this week.

Tuesday found me taking my usual early morning run into Liverpool along what seems to be known as the Dock Road but is actually called Regent Road. This is one of the best places to see ships close up but photograph opportunities are limited due to equipment stored between the dock and the road and some nice green mesh which has been fastened to the fence to presumably stop materials and rubbish being blown on to the road. 

Two new vessels were in port the relatively newly arrived Belgium registered tug St. Annastrand (IMO 8915471, GT 249, 1991) which was heading South through the dock system and the General Cargo Ship Krempertor (IMO 8817409,  GT 2351, 1990) which has since left port and is currently berthed in Londonderry.

Both berths at Tranmere were occupied with Crude Oil Tankers and although I had seen Hildegaard before Seamusic (IMO 9407445, GT 62775, 2009) was added to the list.

Wednesday proved a busy day for me and I spent a good few hours driving from home to work in Manchester before heading to Liverpool for a meeting and then back to Manchester for more meetings. As a result of this I did not get time to do my blog. The good side of this is that I did see General Cargo Ship Velserdijk ( IMO 9346691, GT 2984, 2008) berthed at Trafford Wharf on the Manchester Ship Canal and on the opposite  bank waiting at the scrap yard Arklow Resolve a vessel  I have seen many times. As I have mentioned before photograph opportunities have now gone here due to the plants and small trees that have grown between the footpath and canal. I can't see anyone ever cutting these back which is a shame. 

Later in the day I was in Liverpool and although I was not in the City more than a
couple of hours I did see two new build offshore passenger / utility vessels in
the form of Sea Comfort (IMO 9674282, GT 326, 2014) and SMV1 (IMO 9718040, GT 174, 2014) moored in the main docks and the newly arrived veteran Bulk Carrier Star Vega (IMO 8307416, GT 24943, 1985)

General Cargo Ship Christina G photographed in the Port of Livorno on 31 May 2012. I took this photograph from the deck of the Serenade of the Seas as we were preparing to leave port. 

She was built by Damen Bergum in  Bergum, The Netherlands as Yard Number 9389 in 2008 and is 88.6m long with a 12.5m beam and 5.42m Summer draught. 

Powered by a MAK 8M20C four stroke single action diesel engine (1520kW) she can make 13 knots via a single controllable pitch 2600mm diameter propeller rated at 226 rpm.

GT = 2545, DWT 3183 & NT = 1460.

She has a single hold measuring 62.70m x 10.10m x 8.43m (max height) giving an overall capacity of approximately 5250m3. 
 
The vessel also has a single SWL 13.5t deck crane.

She is operated by ESTE Shipping & Trading GmbH who are based  in Buxtehude, Germany.

MMSI -305279000
REG - AG, St.Johns
IMO - 9387310
Call Sign - V2DO3
General Cargo Ship
Built -Damen Bergum, Bergum
Yard No - 9389
L 89m W 13m
GT - 2545
Year - 2008
Livorno, 31 May 2012

General Cargo Ship Allegretto photographed in Liverpool docks on 11 April
2014.

She was built by Bodewes in Hoogezand, The Netherlands in 2006 as Yard Number 3183 and is 89.88m long with a 15.2m beam and 5.25m draught.

GT = 3183, NT = 1765 & 4400 DWT at Summer draught.

She can accommodate 176 TEU (126 hold + 50 on deck) and has a maximum hold capacity of 6392m3.

She is powered by a MAK 6M25 four stroke marine diesel engine (1850kW at 750rpm). Auxiliary and Emergency Generators are both SISU Type 634 Diesel Engines (150kW at 150rpm). The vessel is also equipped with a Jastram Type BU05F bow thruster (300kW). 

Allegretto is one of seven vessels operated by Eicke Shipping which is based
in Heide, Germany

MMSI - 304936000
REG - AG, St. Johns
IMO - 9353395
Call Sign - V2CQ7
General Cargo Ship
Built - Bodewes, Hoogezand, NL
Yard No. - 675
L 89.88m W 15.2m
GT 3183
Year - 2006
Liverpool, 10 April 2014

HMS Charger (P292) photographed in the Albert Dock Liverpool on 24 May 2013 as she and other naval vessels were preparing for the Battle of Atlantic celebrations being held the following day.

She is an Archer Class patrol vessel built by Watercraft Marine and was commissioned into the fleet in June 1988.

She is 20.8m long with a 5.8m beam and 1.8m draught. Powered by Rolls Royce M800T Diesel Engines (1590bhp) she has a top speed of 18 knots and a range of 550 nm at 15 knots.

Armament consists of 7.62mm General Purpose Machine Guns.

P292 is the 6th Royal Navy vessel to bear the name HMS Charger

The first HMS Charger was a gun-brig which was launched at Deptford on 17
April 1801. Her weapons consisted of one 8-in mortar, ten 18-pdr carronades and two 18-pdr guns, she was sold in June 1814.

The second ship to carry the name was originally called HMS Courier
which was a wooden paddle picket bought in August 1830. She was 155ft 6in long, 32ft 6in wide and of 733 tons. Renamed HMS Hermes in 1831 she became HMS Charger and used as a coal hulk in 1835 until being broken
up in 1854.

The third ship to carry the name was an Albacore class 4-gun wooden screw gunboat built by Pitcher of Northfleet. Renamed YC3 she was used as a buoy boat in Halifax from 1866 before being renamed YC6 in 1869. She was sold in July 1887 and broken up in 1921.

The fourth ship was a torpedo boat destroyer. Built by Yarrow of Poplar she was completed in 1896 and served until being sold in 1912.

The fifth ship to carry the name HMS Charger was a Tank Landing Ship. Originally named LST 3026 she was renamed HMS Charger in 1947. The vessel was eventually broken up in Spain in 1968.

Aasheim photographed using her own excavator to load aggregates in Liverpool Docks late afternoon on 20 February 2014.

She is 107.5m long with a 15.3m beam and 6.338m draught.

In total she has 2 holds separated by a single bulkhead having a total capacity of 7996.67m3 (Hold 1 3596.23m3 and Hold 2 = 4400.44m3).

GT  4112, NT 2267 & DWT 5826

She has a MAK (3750kW) Diesel Engine giving a top speed of 12 Knots and is equipped with a Hitachi ZX800 excavator for loading / discharging materials.

I first saw her back in 2007 when she sailed under the Norwegian flag.

She is owned by Aasen Shipping who are based in Mosterhamn, Norway. The Company was established in 1981. 

MMSI - 236598000
REG - GI, Gibraltar
IMO - 9247106
Call Sign -  ZDKD8
Genaral Cargo Ship
Built - Zaliv, Kerch, RU
Yard No. - 1201
L 107.5m W 15.3m
GT 4112
Year - 2001
Liverpool,  20 February 2014

I spent the whole day in Liverpool yesterday seeing four new ships, the docks seemed quiet during my early morning run along the dock road but I did see General Cargo Ship Willeke (IMO 9232486, GT 1451, 2000) and tanker LS Evanne ( IMO 9519614, GT 4765, 2009).

Although Evanne was some distance away I did stop and take her photograph as even though she was berthed stern towards the main road the sun was catching her side possibly making a good photograph. Although LS Evanne is still in port Willeke has since left and is currently making her way to Oslo.

Whilst working in the City I saw Sten Hidra (IMO 9358931,GT11935, 2007) through a gap between two buildings and it was more luck than anything else that I looked up when I did, this was late afternoon and she had departed Eastham a short time before and was heading out of the Mersey on her way to Amsterdam.

Final ship of the day was veteran General Cargo Ship Wieniawski  (IMO 8821931, GT 18208, 1992) which was berthed in the Seaforth basin along the
river wall. Although she had been there all day and I had driven past in the
morning the sheer amount of cars and equipment waiting on the dock to be loaded into one of the regular ACL callers meant I could not see her. With the
departure of Atlantic Compass during the day the dockside was largely clear
meaning I had a clear view across the basin where I saw her berthed behind
Yeoman Bank, a vessel I used to see regularly but have not seen for a number of years. 

The tower of Wigan Parish church photographed on 5 July 2013. My daughter was playing in the orchestra and during the break I took the opportunity to have a walk around the church and churchyard.

The church stands on the crest of a hill in the centre of Wigan.

There has been a church on this site since at least 1199 although it is likely that there was a church here much earlier. Finds dating back to the Roman period have also been found here so perhaps a Roman building also once occupied this prominent site.

Roman buildings have also been located during excavations in the town centre and this may be the Roman town known as Coccium which was mentioned
in the 2nd Century as being 17 miles from the fort at Manchester and 20 miles
from the fort at Ribchester. This is unproven however and the Roman buildings in Wigan could belong to totally different settlement on the Roman Road whose name has been lost in the mist of time.

On the 1st April 1643 during the English Civil War 86 royalist sharpshooters occupied this tower against the Parliamentarian forces inflicting more casualties than were killed in the storming of the town. They surrendered only when the enemy prepared to blow up the tower.

Most of the present structure was erected between 1845 and 1850 when the majority of the church (excluding the tower and North chapel) were  almost completely rebuilt. The rebuilding copied the layout of the old church which dated to the late medieval period although some elements were probably
earlier.