Funnel of Crystal Serenity (IMO 9243667, GT 68870, 2003) photographed in Liverpool on 29 August 2008.

She is one of two vessels operated by Crystal Cruises which was founded in 1988. The Company is wholly owned by  Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK) which is headquartered in Tokyo.

Hoegh Trader photographed in Southampton on 4 April 2015. 

She was built by Daewoo in Okpo, South Korea in 1998 was 199m long with a 32m beam and 10m Summer draught until lengthened in 2009. She is now 228.77m long which increased her GT from 56,816 to 68,060, DWT from 16,393 to 27,100 and NT from 19,766 to 25,775.  

Up to 2006 she was called Hual Trader which reflected the Hoegh-Ugland Auto Liners (HUAL) joint venture.

Powered by a MAN-B&W 7S60MC marine diesel engine she has a top speed of 20 Knots.  

She is operated by Hoegh Autoliners, Hoegh's shipowning history dates back to 1927 when Leif Hoegh founded Leif Hoegh & Co. Initially the owning and operating of tankers formed the mainstay of the companies work however this soon diversified and after operating combined oil/bulk/ore carriers they started transporting cars and other vehicles.  

MMSI - 308828000
REG - BS, Nassau
IMO - 9171280
Call Sign - C6QF8
Vehicles Carrier
Built -  Daewoo, Okpo, KR
Yard No.4418
L 228.77m x W 32m
GT - 68,060
Year - 1998
Southampton, 4 April 2015 

Veteran cruise ship Horizon photographed in Liverpool on 22 July 2015. I took the photographs from my phone as I walked along the riverside to a late afternoon meeting at Princes Dock.

She was built for Celebrity Cruises in 1990 at Papenburg by Meyer Werft as Yard Number 619 and is 207m long with a 29m beam and 7.31m draft.

Her service with Celebrity ended in 2006 when she was transferred to Island Cruises. The ship completed a refit in 2006 and in 2009 was sailing in Pullmantur colours as Pacific Dream. In 2010 she was renamed Horizon and operating for French Cruise line Croisieres de France

Powered by 2 x 5994Kw & 2 x 3996 KW MAN-B&W Diesel Engines she has a top speed of 21.5 Knots.

She can carry 1828 passengers

MMSI - 229727000
REG - MT, Valetta
IMO - 8807088
Call Sign -  9HYZ9
Passenger Cruise Ship
Built - Meyer Werft, Papenburg, DE
Yard No. - 619
L 207m  W 29m
GT 46811
Year - 1990

I took this picture from a bridge over a dismantled railway line when we went walking on the outskirts of Wigan on 31 May 2015.  

Originally it was part of the Lancashire Union Line and built in about 1869 to bypass Wigan and serve local collieries and iron works.

The company was vested jointly between the LNWR and LYR from 1883 until the two parent companies merged in 1922, according to old maps this section which is South of Welley Junction was operated by the LNWR.

I believe this section of the line was closed in 1976.

Cowes Harbour Authority pilot vessel Valerie photographed in Cowes on 11 April 2015.  

She is a Nelson 40 V Class vessel built in 1971 for the Harwich Pilot Service before seeing service with Portland Harbour Authority. 

Purchased by Solent & Blue Line Cruises in 2010 she was refitted with most major systems including new engines, gearboxes and propellers.  

She can cruise and 17 Knots and carry 12 passengers.

Sunset over Cowes, I took this picture back in April 2015 whilst holidaying on the Isle of Wight. 

The photograph was taken a very short walk from the caravan park where I was staying which is in East Cowes and overlooking the Solent.

On many evenings we walked down to the Solent crossed the river by the chain ferry and walked through Cowes and along the seafront until the streetlights stopped.

On a few occasions we continued walking into the dark before heading back to where we were staying with a well earned stop in a nice Cowes pub for a few beers.

Azamara Quest photographed in Liverpool on 8 July 2015.

I have been struggling to get to Liverpool recently and it was good that a meeting in the City coincided with her visit.

Built by Atlantique in St.Nazaire she was completed in 2000 as Yard Number y31 and is 181m long with a 25.48m beam and 5.95m draught.

Originally she was built for Renaissance Cruises as R Seven but following the collapse of this Company in 2001 she was laid up for two years until being chartered by Delphin Seereisen and being renamed Delphin Renaissance. In 2006 she was sold to Pullmantur Cruises and sailed as Blue Moon until being acquired by Azamara where she entered service on 27 October 2007.

She carries approximately 710 passengers (double occupancy) plus 410 crew.

In March 2012 the ship suffered a fire in one of her engine rooms South of the Phillipines, a number of crew were injured although the fire was quickly contained. In November 2012 she had an eight day dry dock which in addition to a newly painted hull also resulted in new soft furnishings, a new steam room and a new caviar and champagne bar being installed

Azamara joined the cruise industry in 2007 after Royal Caribbean acquired Pullmantur, Celebrity Cruises who are part of the Royal Carribben Group taking on the vessel. The line was however rebranded as Azamara Club Cruises in April 2010.

MMSI - 256216000
REG - MT, Valetta
IMO - 9210218
Call Sign -  9HOM8
Passenger Cruise Ship
Built - Atlantique, St.Nazaire, FR
Yard No. - y31
L 181m  W 25.46m
GT 30277
Year - 2000
Liverpool, 8 July 2015

Crew boat photographed in East Cowes on 4 April 2015 as we came into East Cowes.

Built by FBM Marine in Cowes she was called Adamant until 2008 and SD Adamant from 2008 to December 2010. 

FBM Marine was founded in Cowes in the 1940'a as Fairey Marine but was taken into receivership in 1975 with the rest of the Fairey Group. After numerous takeovers and mergers the company was acquired by Babcock International in 2000. 

In the background  can be seen the old Saunders-Roe hanger which is now known as Venture Quays. From here the company built many sea planes and hovercraft.  Since the Queen's Silver Jubilee in 1977 the hanger doors have been adorned with the world's largest Union Flag.

MMSI - 235001263
REG - UK, Beaumaris
IMO - 9048316
Call Sign - 2IBE9
Crew Boat
Built - FBM Marine, Cowes, UK
Yard No. - 1340
L - 32m W 7m
GT - 134
Year - 1992
East Cowes, 4 April 2015 

Nasen Class Anti-Submarine Warfare Frigate Thor Hererdahl (F314) photographed in Liverpool Docks on 25 April 2015.

She is one of five vessels built by Navantia of Spain for the Norwegian Navy , her sister ships are  HNoMS Fridtjof Nansen (F 310), Roald Amundsen (F 311), Otto Sverdrup (F 312) and  Helge Ingstad (F 313), the Nasen Class replaced the Oslo class which had been in service since 1966.

The main mission of the frigate is anti-submarine warfare and the ship is equipped to detect, identify, track, engage and attack hostile submarines, the ship is also equipped for anti-air warfare and anti-surface warfare roles and can carry out non-combatant tasks in peacetime

The 4,600t ship has five decks and two superstructures, the welded steel, 132m monohull has 13 watertight compartments for enhanced survivability.

She has a CODAG propulsion plant which gives a maximum speed of 27 knots and a cruising speed of more than 18 knots, she has two shafts with controllable pitch propellers, two rudders and a pair of active stabilising fins.

The ship is equipped with a helicopter landing deck and hangar which can support one medium-sized helicopter.

The ship is armed with two modules each with four launch tubes for the NSM (naval strike missile) long-range anti-ship missile, this weapon has a 125kg multi-purpose warhead and a range of 160km. She also has an eight-cell mk41 vertical launch system for the evolved Sea Sparrow RIM-162 missile (ESSM) and has the capacity to carry 32 missiles. The evolved Sea Sparrow missile has an operation range of 27 nautical miles and travels at Mach 4. This system is used to protect the ship from attacking missiles and aircraft and is designed to counter supersonic manouvering.

The  ship has two twin magazine torpedo launchers for BAE Systems Stingray lightweight torpedoes and has a single Oto Melara SuperRapid 76mm gun with a rate of fire of 120 rounds a minute.

MMSI - 259045000
REG - NO,
IMO -
Call Sign - LABH
Nasen Class Frigate
Built - Navantia, ferrol
Yard No. - 
L 134m W 16m
GT - 5920
Year - 2011
Liverpool, 25 April 2015

T1 photographed in Portsmouth on 7 April 2015.

She was built by Griffon Hoverwork in 2010 and was the first prototype of the Partial Air Cushion Supported Catamaran (PACSCAT) for the Royal Navy.

The vessel is designed for the fast deployment of high payloads onto a beach from an amphibious assault ship.

IMO - 9522491
GT - 115
Built - 2010
Portsmouth, 7 April 2015