Tanker Naparima photographed near Immingham on 20 August 2014.
 
I took the photograph late afternoon from the deck of the P&O ferry to Zeebrugge.
 
She was built by Minami-Noppon, Usuki, Japan as Yard No. 640 in 1986 and is 175m long with a 27.7m beam and 10.01m draught

GT = 20,573 & DWT = 30,947.
 
Powered by a Kobe 2SA6CY (7943kW) diesel engine she has a top speed of 15 knots.

Tank capacity is 36,930m3

MMSI - 356777000
REG - UK, Douglas
IMO - 9136694
Call Sign - 3FMM6
Chemical / Oil Products Tanker
Built - Minami- Noppon, Usuki,,JP
Yard No. - 640
L 175m W 27.7m
GT - 20573
Year - 1986
Immingham, 20 August 2012

Stena Concert photographed in Immingham on 23 August 2012.

I took the photograph from the deck of the P&O ferry first thing in the morning as we headed up the estuary to Hull following my trip to Zeebrugge and Brugge.

She was built by the Uljanik Ship Yard in Pulya, Croatia and is 182.5m long with a 32.2m beam and 12.191m draught. Her keel was laid on 11 November 2003 and she was launched on 27 March 2004 before being completed in July 2004

GT = 27,512, NT = 13,819 & Summer Deadweight = 47,288.

Total tank capacity is 53,211m3 @98%.

Main engine = Man B&W 6S50MC Diesel engine giving a reported top speed of 15.5knots. 

MMSI - 31056000
REG - BM, Hamilton
IMO - 9258595
Call Sign - ZCDX9
Chemical / Oil Products Tanker
Built - Uljanik SY, Pula, HR
Yard No. - 
L 182m W 32m
GT -27512
Year - 2004
Immingham, 23 August 2012

Post Panamax Bulk Carrier Nord Pyxis photographed at Imminghan on 23 August 2012.

She was built by Shanghai & Chengxi in Shanghai, China as Yard Number  1141 in 2010.

Overall she is 250m long with a 34m beam and 14.5m draught.

Powered by a MAN B&W 7S60MC-C7 2 Stroke 7 cylinder (15520 kW/ 21495hp) diesel engine she has can make 14.7 knots.  She is also equipped with three diesel generator sets each rated at 938kVA, 750KW and 1078 hp.

In total the vessel has 7 holds with a total cargo capacity of 131,202m3.

GT = 63,864, NT = 35,665, DWT = 114,500

She is operated by Norden A/S who are an independent Danish Company which was founded in 1871. They operate bulk carriers and tankers worldwide. At the time of writing they are operating a reported 209 vessels comprising  161 Bulk Carriers and 48 Tankers. Nordens head office is located in Hellerup, Denmark, they also have offices in Shanghai, Annapolis, Rio de Janiro and in Mumbai.

MMSI -563817000
REG - SG, Singapore
IMO - 9448047
Call Sign - 9V8706 
Bulk Carrier
Built - Shanghai & Chengxi, Shanghai, CN
Yard No. - 1141
L 250m W 34m
GT - 63864
Year - 2010
Immingham, 23 August 2012

Bridge plaque from the Danae Class Light Cruiser HMS Dauntless (D45)

She was ordered under the 1916 Emergency Programme from Palmers Engineering and Shipbuilding Company, Hebburn in September 1916. The ship was laid down in January 1917, launched on 10 April 1918 and completed in December 1918 before beginning operational service in 1919. 

Whilst serving on the America and West Indies Station in July 1928 she ran aground off Halifax, Nova Scotia on the Thrum Cap Shoal sustaining major damage with her engine room and boiler being breached. She was salvaged and her subsequent refit was completed in 1930. After further service in the Fleet the ship was placed in reserve in August 1936. 

Laid-up at Portsmouth she was brought back into service in 1939 following the outbreak of the Second World War when she joined the 9th Cruiser squadron with the South Atlantic Command. In December the squadron was transferred to the China Station and in March 1940 Dauntless operated as a unit of the British Malaya Force in the Indian Ocean. She operated mainly off Batavia keeping watch on German merchant ships in the Dutch East Indies. On 15 June 1941 she collided with HMS Emerald off Malacca and had to put into Singapore for repairs which were eventually completed on 15 August 1941.

In February 1942 Dauntless returned to Britain and underwent a refit at Portsmouth. Following this she was transferred to the Eastern Fleet in Simonstown, South Africa until January 1943. She was then used as a training ship and in February 1945 was again reduced to the reserve. She was sold to be broken up for scrap on 13 February 1946 and in April 1946 was broken up at the yards of T.W. Ward, of Inverkeithing.

She had a displacement of 4,650 tons and was 144m long with a 14m beam and 4.4m draught. 

Propulsion consisted of Six Yarrow type water tube boilers and Parsons geared steam turbines, this gave a top speed of 29 knots and an overall range of 2300 nm.

Her complement was 350.

She was armed with six BL 6 inch (152.4mm) L45 Mark XII guns, two QF 3 Inch (76.2mm) Mk II AA Guns, two 40mm 2pdr AA guns and twelve 21 inch (533mm) torpedoes in four triple launchers.

Photographed at Portsmouth Naval Dockyard 28 October 2014.

Cyclops photographed on 28 October 2014 at the Navy Dockyard in Portsmouth.

She was built in the Number 6 Boat House at Portsmouth Dockyard  in 1915. Originally known as Pinnace 642 she was a 42ft rowing launch built by the Royal Navy for the Battleship HMS Sovereign (1915). The vessel was used for carrying supplies out to the ship and other duties and was manned by 38 seamen.

Constructed from teak she is 12.80m long with a 3.35m beam and 0.91m draught.

Gross Tonnage is 10t

Following her naval service she operated as a small ferry carrying people stores and livestock between the Hebridian Islands, she also worked as a mooring buoy tender and workboat. Although originally rowed she did have a 90hp Perkins engine installed although currently she is fitted with the diesel engine from a combine harvester.

Crude Oil Tanker Amazon Virtue photographed as we passed Fawley on 25 October 2014.

Built by Hyundai Heavy Industries in Kunsan, KR in 2014 as Yard Number 2602 she is 228.55m long with  40m beam and 12.112m draught.

GT = 44,776, NT = 21,065 and Summer Deadweight 72,412.

She is powered by a B&W / Hyundai 5G60ME-C Diesel Engine.

Tank capacity is 85,325m3 @ 98 %.

She is operated by Sun Enterprises which was established in Piraeus in 1968 but with roots dating back to 1902 when the steam ship SS Theofano was acquired. The company served as a consolidated operating company for a fleet of bulk carriers and tankers.

MMSI - 241293000
REG - GR, Chios
IMO - 9660360
Call Sign - SVBW8
Crude Oil Tanker
Built - Hyundai, Kunsan, KR
Yard No.2602
L 228.55m x W 40m
GT -44776
Year - 2014
Fawley, 25 October 2014

Southampton Harbour Master vessel Spitfire coming into Cowes on 1 November 2014. I took the photograph from the top deck of the 11am Red Funnel ferry back to Southampton at the end of our holiday on the Isle of Wight.

She was the first of two Interceptor 55 Pilot Patrol vessels built for VT Critical Services by Safehaven Marine and was supplied to the ABP Port of Southampton in 2009.

Powered by Scania D16 (650hp) engines she has an operational speed of 24.5 knots. Overall she is 16.7m long with a 5m beam and 1.50m draught.

I have seen the vessel and her sister ship 'Pathfinder' many times and she is used as a patrol and pilot boat in Southampton waters and in the wider Solent area. 

The vessel has air conditioned on board accommodation comprising twin bunk berths, a seating area, galley, toilets and showering facilities. One of the vessels roles is the removal of floating flotsam such as trees, pallets and other debris that often finds its way into the channel and become a hazard for boat users.

To facilitate this she is fitted with a large stainless steel basket that can be lowered 400mm below the surface to recover flotsam. The basket has a 250kg lifting capacity and the rear deck allows the carrying of recovered objects to shore. The basket can be seen folded at the stern of the ship in my photograph.

MMSI - 235073277 
Callsign - 2CJH2
L 16.5 W 5
Cowes, 1 November 2014

The AP1-88 hovercraft Freedom 90 photographed in Ryde on 26 October 2014.

The AP1-88 class of hovercraft was developed jointly by British manufacturer Hoverwork, the British Hovercraft Corporation and the National Research Development Council from 1981.

I have been on this vessel a number of times over the years sailing to Southsea on the mainland or back to Ryde on the Isle of Wight.

The vessel has a length of 21.5m with a 10.06m beam and a landed height of 8.90m. Powered by twin MTU V12 water cooled diesels (800hp, 597 kV) driving 2.755m diameter propellers she has a top speed of 60 knots.

In total she can carry 100 passengers.

Operated by Hovertravel she crosses the Solent in less than 10 minutes. The company operates two hovercrafts and has carried more than 26 million passengers since it opened in 1965, it is the world's longest-running commercial hovercraft service and is the only scheduled hovercraft passenger service in Europe.

MMSI - 235007472
REG - UK
IMO - N/A
Call Sign - MLMJ9
AP1-88 Hovercraft
Built -
Yard No. -
L 21.5m W 10.06m
GT - 75
Year - 1990
Ryde, 26 October 2014

I took this picture in a side street in Portsmouth on 28 October 2014.

At first I did not think that they were real cannons that had been used as bollards on a street corner but they do seem to be as they were all different and nothing like the imitation ones I have seen before.

It would be interesting to know their age and where they came from i.e. off a ship or a shore battery.