I have worked in Liverpool Thursday and Friday this week and on Thursday night stayed over night in the new Travel Lodge hotel on the Strand which overlooks the Albert Dock. I took the picture above from the 5th floor of the hotel as I was heading off in the early evening for a night out in the City.

Earlier in the day on the way into Liverpool I saw a number of new ships including the Bulk Carrier Meloi (IMO 9392119, GT 21211, 2009) in the main docks along with veteran tug Forth Drummer (IMO 6726852, GT 114, 1965), whilst at Tranmere was the Crude Oil Tanker Stena Antartica (IMO 9322827, GT 61371, 2006).

As I was walking along the riverside on my way back to the car park  I was passed by new build Swiss registered tanker San Padre Pio (IMO 9610339, GT 5425, 2013) which was heading towards Birkenhead Docks on the other side of the river.

At the cruise ship terminal this morning was Boudicca (IMO 7218395 GT 28388, 1973) who is a regular visitor to Liverpool. Although I have seen her many times this is the first time I have managed to get a decent picture of her. Shortly after I took the photograph she left port bound for Dublin.

In front of the Albert Dock a super yacht called Lady Sandals was moored which I believe was at one time owned by the actor Nicholas Cage but now belongs to Gordon Butch Stewart owner of Sandals/Beaches Resorts.
 
Built in 1985 by Feadship as Yard Number 631 she was designed by De Voogt Naval Architects and had a refit in 2007. 
  
Her overall length is 40.11m with a 35.66m beam, 2.36m draft and 349 GT.
 
Accommodation is provided for 8 guests in 4 cabins (1 Master, 1 Double, 2 Twins). She has a crew of 7. The hull is constructed from steel with an aluminium superstructure and teak decking. 
 
She has two Caterpillar diesel engines with a total power output of 2330hp / 1714kW driving twin screws giving a maximum speed of 16.0 kts and a cruising Speed of 13.0 kts. Range is 3,250 nm at 12 kts.         

A recent arrival within the Albert Dock Basin was the Soteria. Unfortunately I could not get a good picture of her.  

She was built as a oak framed solid wood Danish fishing boat in 1932, in the 1970's she retired from fishing and became a charter boat and also acted as a sail training vessel before being converted into a Schooner in Holland in 1980.

She is 22m long with a beam of 4.75m and 2.4m draft. Displacement is 60t. Fitted with a Beta Marine 150hp engine in 2012 she can make a maximum of 7 knots under power or up to 12 knots under sail.
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Seen working in the River near Pier Head I saw the crane ship MSC Buffalo. Although she spends most of her time on the Manchester Ship Canal (i.e. MSC prefix) this is the first time I have seen her. I need to do some research on this vessel to find more out about her. She is one of the few vessels I have seen displaying Manchester as her home port on her stern.

Belgium registered tug Zeebrugge photographed in the early morning sun in Liverpool Docks on 6 June 2013.

She is powered by two type 6MDZC 4 stroke 6 cylinder medium speed internal combustion engines (1.165 kW at 750 rpm).

She has a hydraulic towing winch on the forecastle deck and an identical towing winch on aft deck. 

Bollard Pull Ahead  = 39 t and Astern = 37 t.

Air-conditioned accommodation is provided for up to 8 personnel.

She is owned by URS Belgie which is a Towage and Salvage Company based in Antwerp which operates in numerous Dutch and Belgian ports. With a towing history dating back to 1870 at the time of writing they operate 31 vessels.

MMSI - 205071000
REG -  BE, Zeebrugge
IMO - 8915483 
Call Sign - ORLZ
Tug
Built - Rupelmonde CN, Rupelmonde, BE
Yard No. - 466
L 31m W 8m
GT 249
Year - 1992
LIverpool, 6 June 2013

I was in Liverpool on Monday and was lucky enough to see three new ships.

New build tanker Stenaweco Julia L (IMO 9661247, GT 29940, 2013) was moored in the main docks, above is the best picture I could get of her.

She is one of three tankers owned by Sterling Ocean Shipping, which is majority owned and controlled by Alterna, with technical management provided by Fleet Management. She has been placed under long-term time charters with
Stena Weco (a joint venture between Stena Bulk and Weco) a shipper of petroleum products, edible oils and chemicals. The Sterling MR tankers represent the first in a series of STX  next-generation ECO MR tanker designs.

I also have the honour of being the first person to put her photograph on Shipspotting.

Crude Oil Tanker Peary Spirit (IMO 9466130, GT66563, 2011) was moored at Tranmere, I believe that she was due to leave for Skagen in Denmark on Tuesday whilst Western Ferries new build Sound Of Soay could be clearly seen in the basin at Cammell Laird alongside her sister ship Sound Of Seil. As far as I know neither vessel yet has an IMO number although Sound Of Seil has been on sea trials in Liverpool Bay.

On the way home I saw Bulk Carrier Arethusa (IMO 9318591, GT 40224, 2007) unloading opposite the container terminal at Seaforth.

The Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial is a site in France we visited on a rainy 7 August 2013. It was about a 90 minute drive from our camp site and we did struggle to find it resulting in a couple of three point turns in muddy lanes and lay-bys.

The site is dedicated to the commemoration of Newfoundland soldiers who were killed during World War I. The site covers the ground over which the Newfoundland Regiment made their attack on 1 July 1916 during first day of the Battle of the Somme.

The Battle of the Somme was the Regiment's first major engagement and during an assault that lasted approximately 30 minutes the Regiment was all but wiped out. Of the 801 men who went into action 233 were killed, 386 wounded and 91 were missing. 

After going in the visitors centre we did a complete circuit of the site stopping at three cemeteries on the way before returning to the car and heading back to our camp site.

This is a thought provoking place.

Interconnecting trenches at the top of the hill in woodland. The trees many of which I believe are native to Newfoundland were planted after the site was bought by Canada. 

I have seen old pictures of the site taken during the war and it looks quite different - thick mud, trenches, shattered trees and miles of tangled barbed wire.

Trenches zig-zag across the hillside, the remains of trenches and shell craters were everywhere.

Looking across the hill towards the German positions. It was down this hill that the Newfoundland Regiment advanced nearly a 100 years ago.

At the bottom of the hill - Trees and sheep now occupy some of the German positions.

Walking back across the top of the hill along the edge of the woodland. 

The monument to the Newfoundland Regiment can be seen in the distance.

Electric fences keep you from straying off the path. 

Seen in Liverpool on 29 July 2013 Dagmar Theresa is a chemical tanker operated by Herning Shipping a.s. which is based in Herning, Denmark.

Built in Turkey in 2001 she has a MAK M26 main engine, controllable pitch propeller, bow thrusters and two auxillary engines giving a service speed of 12.5 knots.

Herning Shipping commenced operatons in 1963 when to ensure a reliable service for the family owned oil company Uno-X, Vitta and Peder Lysgaard decided to purchase their first vessel the Vitta Theresa. 

A change of ownership took place in August 2011 and Herning Shipping is today owned by Triton, a private equity investment firm. Currently they operate over 40 vessels worldwide.

Herning shipping a.s. specialises in the transportation of liquid products including petroleum products, lubricating oils, edible products, vegetable oils, fats, molasse and waxes as well as acids, solvents and sophisticated chemical products. 

They operate world wide but primarily in Northern Europe, the Baltic, Mediterranean, North and West Africa, South America and South East Asia. 

MMSI - 220146000
REG - MT, Valetta
IMO -  9228588
Call Sign -  9HA2338
Chemical Tanker
Built - R.M.K.Tersanesi Tuzla, TR
Yard No. - 46
L 93m W 14m
GT 2654
Year - 2001
Liverpool, 29 July 2013

HMS Ranger is an Archer Class patrol and training vessel which I photographed on 24 and 25 May 2013 when she visited Liverpool as part of the Battle of the Atlantic Celebrations.

She was built at Shoreham On Sea in 1987 by Watercraft Ltd and was originally allocated to Ulster Division of the Royal Navy reserve based in Belfast.

In 1991 she went to Gibraltar with HMS Trumpeter to form the Gibraltar Squadron returning to the UK in 2004.

She has a displacement of 54 tonnes and is 20.8m long with a beam of 5.8m and 1.8m draft.
 
Propulsion consists of 2 Rolls Royce M800T diesel engines rated at 1590 bhp giving a service speed of 18 Knots and range of 550 Nautical Miles.

Her complement can vary from 12 Royal Navy personnel to 6 training staff and 12 students.

If necessary she can be armed with 3 x 7.62 mm GPMG's, a 20mm cannon can also be fitted.

Photographed in Liverpool's Albert Dock 24  May 2013 (top) and 25 May 2013 (bottom).

On the 8 August 2013 we went on the restored railway from St. Valery to Le Crotoy.

The journey took just over an hour and as the weather was excellent all the windows were fully open in the carriages.

You could also stand on small open platforms at both ends of each carriage which was good.

Although I enjoyed the journey from St. Valery to Norelles Sur Mer where the railway runs along the bay, the best part for me was the second leg of the trip to Le Crotoy where the track runs alongside fields, over small brooks and streams and across winding stony farm tracks.

A number of famous people have used the train in the past - One name that stood out for me was Jules Verne who for a time lived in le Crotoy.

The railway was originally opened in 1887 to bring tourists into the Somme Bay area and transport local produce such as shingle, beetroots and sea shells. 

In the early 1900's the railway ran along a long trestle bridge which carried the line between 4 and 5m above the marshes, this has since silted up and the line now runs along an embankment for much of its length. 

In the 1960's the railway closed due to competition from road transport but was reopened in 1970 by a group of railway enthusiasts who run the line to this day as a non-profit preservation society. 

Engine No. 1 pulled the train from St.Valery. 

She was built in 1906 in La Courneuve (Paris) by the company Corpet Louvet (No.109 Factory 2) for Aisne Iron Departmental. She mainly worked the meter gauge line between Soissons and Rethel.

Another picture of Engine No.1 pulling into St.Valery.

A photograph out of the window as we travelled along the embankment beside the marshland. This area is regularly covered by the sea and spring tides can bring the channel water right up to the bottom of the embankment. 

Most of the time the bay is a vast grazing area for the salt meadow sheep which move in large numbers across the landscape.

Amongst the grassland are areas of marsh and wetlands comprising ponds, ditches and channels where reeds, rushes and aquatic plants grow freely. More than 300 different species of bird make a migrating halt or spend the winter in the area each year.

Train No. 15 which took us from Norelles Sur Mer to Le Crotoy. 

I was expecting the same train to take up all the way to Le Crotoy but they change trains at Norrelles Sur Mer.

The track at Norrelles Sur Mer runs alongside the modern railway line and station - The steam trains and modern trains spent some time 'whistling' to each other, something I imagine happens every day.

No. 15 dates from 1920 and was built in Belgium by Haine St Pierre

No.15 at Le Crotoy.

Le Crotoy station 

The watertower and engine shed at Le Crotoy.

This photograph is puzzling - The perspectives dont look right.

The engine shed looks like it is on a slope which it wasn't. If I straighten the photograph to make the engine shed look right the tower looks like it is falling over - very strange.

I have been in Liverpool for the last three days, on Monday I drove as usual along the Dock Road and saw three new vessels these being the Chemical /Oil Products Tanker Leesow Swan (IMO 9386378, GT 4752, 2008) which was preparing to leave for Dagenham and Dutch registered Hopper barges  Roar R and Hege R (IMO 7906801, GT  746, 1979 & IMO 8861711, GT  746, 1979). 
 
There have been quite a few new dredging and support vessels arriving in Liverpool over the last few weeks. Presumably these are here to undertake the work associated with Liverpool 2 the new Panamax container terminal located on the River Mersey on the waste ground known as the Seaforth Triangle. Due to open in 2016 construction is noted as including the deepening of the river by 54ft, a 2802ft quay, 8 ship to shore cranes and 27 rail mounted cranes. 

Due to work commitments I did not have the opportunity to get to the riverside but did see the incoming Russian registered General Cargo Ship Vladimir Noskov (IMO 9519236, GT 4182, 2009) and Rotterdam bound Tanker Clipper
Burgundy (IMO 9309203, GT 2865, 2006) as I was driving home.

Tuesday was quieter but much warmer  with the temperature reaching 25 Deg.C.  I saw three new ships these all being General Cargo Ships which included  Goliath (IMO 8714669, GT6037, 1988) at Seaforth,  Lingeborg (IMO
9399399, GT 4695, 2008) which I watched manoeuvring into the docks at Birkenhead and Emslake (IMO 9552032, GT 3500, 2011) heading out to sea.
 
When I walked out of the house today it was cold with mist shrouding the fields, closer to the coast the mist dissipated and it has turned out to be a really nice day with only scattered clouds.

From a shipping point of view it has been quiet with only two new ships being seen, these were the Tranmere bound Tanker Mariposa (IMO 9425540, GT 28418, 2010) which berthed in front of regular Tranmere visitor Alfa Britannia and the General Cargo Ship Rantum (IMO 8611219, GT 1984, 1989) which had arrived in the docks during the day.

Photographed against the river wall in St.Valery-sur-Somme on 8 August 2013 Somme II is a now retired Buoy handling vessel laid down by Auroux of Arcachon in 1949. 

Although post war shortages of steel resulted in her original all metal design changing to oak and larch on a steel frame she was launched in 1950 and delivered to Saint-Valery-sur-Somme for the Department of Lighthouses and Beacons in August 1950. 

She was decommissioned in 1999 when she was replaced by a newer vessel, to avoid her being scrapped she was bought by a trust who have restored her.

Propulsion is via two engines, the main engine is a Baudouin DG3 150hp diesel engine powering a 800mm propeller with auxiliary power originally being provided by a 12hp gasoline engine. In 1954 the auxiliary engine was replaced by a Couach NC4 45hp gasoline engine, this engine was again replaced in 1965 by a Couach DX6 engine and finally by a Baudouin 4D106 65hp engine. 

Somme II was specially designed for navigating in the Somme Bay, channel and port of St Valery as well as off the coast. She has a length of 17.5m, beam of 5.8m and a shallow draft of 1.48m. For nearly 50 years the vessel moved the buoys and maintained 14 km of  shipping channel to safely allow commercial vessels to enter and leave the bay.

Her original crew consisted of a Captain, Engineer and 3 sailors. 

Somme II was classed as an historic ship in 2000. 

We visited Le Treport on 10 August 2013 and had a very enjoyable afternoon walking around the town and using the tramway to visit the cliff tops.

The town is located on the left bank of the River Bresle which is the boundary between Normandy and Picardy. In the Gallo-Roman times a city called Augusta was built on the Bresle, this had two ports, one river port in Augum (Eu) and a sea "outer" port, Ulterior Portus, which later became Le Tréport.

The town was attacked and burnt by the English in 1339 and in 1360 a terrible storm flooded the town. The English attacked the town in 1513 and again in 1545. Because of the raids a large sandstone tower was built to protect the town, the only remains of this tower are apparently underground in the vaults of the town hall. At this time the size of the port was also increased by the opening of a basin and the construction of new wharfs, unfortunately the basin quickly filled up with shingle.

Around 1770 the shingle was removed and a hunting lock constructed, this was completed about 1776 and allowed the regulation of the water level in the marshy areas used for water fowl hunting.

In the middle of the 19th century, King Louis-Philippe increased the popularity of Le Tréport by building a villa where he received Queen Victoria in 1843 and 1845. As Le Tréport was the King's preferred holiday resort the popularity of the town increased resulting in the construction of many new buildings including hotels.

Photograph of part of the marina and fishing vessel berths.

General Cargo Ship Sardius (IMO 9518256, GT 3477, 2011) in the inner harbor.

Tréport is one of the leading French ports in both the export and import of fertilizers and clays, handling about 100 shipping movements and more than 280,000 tons of merchandise a year.

Tourist boat Eros waiting to take another group out along the coast to view the ecology of the cliffs and shingle beaches.

Electric tramway running up to the top of the cliffs. This was originally constructed as a funicular railway linking the town with the top of the cliff and the prestigious Le Trianon Hotel. 

Work started in 1907 and was finished 18 months later. The line was inaugurated on 1 July 1908 by the Count and Countess of Eu. The first carriages carried 48 passengers a time and weighed 6 tons each.

As the railway was only used during the summer months and was expensive to run services stopped after World War Two.

At the end of the 1950's instead of a funicular railway a single lined aerial cable car equipped with 10 two-seater gondolas was introduced, this was closed in the 1970's. 

In 1992 the town bought the site and changed the system to an electric tramway.

View of the coast from the top of the cliffs above the town. 

The lighthouse and entrance to the harbour are just visible. 

Close to this point was the luxorious Hôtel Trianon which was built on the cliff top over looking the town. This which was used as a British military hospital during the First World War but destroyed by the German Army in 1942 as it represented a landmark for Allied pilots crossing the channel. All that remains of the hotel today are a few steps.

St. Jacques Church which sits overlooking the town, it dates back to 1362.