I took the photograph of a Christmas tree in Dam Square, Amsterdam as we were heading back to the station on 9 December 2014.

The tree is over 20m high and decorated with 4,000m of lights consisting of over 40,000 LED fairy lights.

As is tradition the tree was grow in the Ardennes.

On the 9 December 2014 we went to Amsterdam for the day, its only a 55 minute flight from where I live in the UK, the train station is also under the airport and you can be at Amsterdam Central Station in about 15 mins. The railway also run alongside the docks and I saw the bulk carrier NBA Rubens as we passed.

Whilst in Dam Square which is in the centre of the city I took the above photograph of the Royal Palace

Built as City of Amsterdam's Town Hall work was started in 1648 and it was opened in July 1655 by Cornelis de Graeff the Mayor of Amsterdam.

The building was constructed on 13,659 timber piles and clad in a yellow sandstone from Bentheim in Germany.

It served as the Town Hall until 1808 when Louis Napoleon, brother of the Napoleon Bonaparte declared it as his personal residence during his reign as the King of The Netherlands.

In 1813 Prince William of Orange, later King William I, returned the palace to the City of Amsterdam, but maintained the right to use it as a royal residence and hosting space when in the capital.

Raoul F photographed working in the port of Livorno on 31 May 2012.

Sadly I cannot find very much information about this interesting vessel and some of the information out there is conflicting i.e. She is classed as both a chemical / oil products tanker and a wine tanker,

Built in 1987 by the Nafs Shipyard in Athens she was until 1991 known as Elias.

Overall she is 41.5m long with a 8.29m beam and 3.5m hull depth.

In total she has 8 tanks.

Owned by Acquedotto Portuale SRL she has two engines rated at (294kW) each powering a fixed pitch propeller.

MMSI - 
REG - IT
IMO - 8841424
Call Sign - IXSP
Wine Tanker
Built - Nafs Shipyard, Athens, GR
Yard No. - 
L 41.5m W 8.29m
GT - 332
Year - 1987
Livorno, 31 May 2012

Vilma photographed in the Albert Dock, Liverpool on 27 July 2013.

She was built in 1934 by the Bronsodde Shipyard in Vejle, Denmark as a gillnet fishing boat.

Originally she had a low ketch rig and a 2 cylinder diesel engine and was named Mias, she was registered as RI100 and her homeport was Hvide Sande.

She was bought by her present owner in 1996 from Silloth in Cumbria who converted her to a topsail schooner. Her home port is now Bangor in North Wales and she is registered in Beaumaris.

She is Licenced MCA cat 2 to carry 12 people and is in demand to participate in maritime festivals on both sides of the Irish Sea.

My thanks to Vilma's owner for kindly providing the above information.

A timber pile sank into the beach near Fort Victoria on the Isle Of Wight.

There were a number of fossil hunters on the beach looking for fossilised turtle shell which apparently is quite common in the area.

Photographed 31 October 2014

Bro Nyborg photographed near Immingham on 23 August 2012.

She was built by the Jiangnan Shipyard in Feng Chan Village, Chang Xing Town, Chongmin County, Shanghai China in 2007 as Yard Number h2337.

Her keel laid on 26 September 2005 and she was launched on 31 March 2006 before being completed on 17 February 2007. Overall she is 144.10m long with a 23.03m beam and 8.90m draught.

GT = 12,105, DWT  16,564.7 & NT 5,043.

Powered by a single Wartsila 6L46 (6,300kW/8,565 hp) diesel engine she can make 15 knots.

Tank capacity is 18,694m3 including a 508m3 slop tank.

Other equipment on board included three Wartsila 4L20 diesel generators

From 2007 to November 2011 she was called Nyborg Maersk

MMSI - 220479000
REG - DK, Nyborg
IMO - 9322695
Call Sign - OVXR2
Chemical / Oil Products Tanker
Built - Qiuxin, Shanghai, CN
Yard No. - h2337
L 144.1m W 23.03m
GT - 12105
Year - 2007
Humber near Immingham, 23 August 2012

Giglio photographed in Livorno on 31 May 2012.

She was built by Giacalone, Mazara del Vallo in 2010 as Yard Number 123 and is 74m long with a 14.8m beam and 3.50m draught.

In total she has ten epoxy coated cargo tanks in addition to a pair of slop tanks and a recovery tank providing a total capacity of 2,400m3 including 324m3 slop tank capacity.

Propulsion plant consists of two Yammartyoe 6S21A-SV four stroke diesel engines giving a top speed of 11 knots.

She is also equipped with a 150kW bow thruster, two 450kW diesel powered generators, a single 150kW diesel driven harbour power generator and a 100kW emergency power generator.

GT = 1800, NT = 553 and DWT 2783.

She is operated by the D'Alesio Group which was founded in 1930

MMSI - 247284200
REG - IT, Livorno
IMO - 9365207
Call Sign - IBXB
Oil Products tanker
Built - Giacalone, Mazara del Vallo, IT
Yard No. - 123
L 74m W 14.8m
GT - 1800
Year - 2010
Livorno, 31 May 2012

Kathleen and May is a wooden hulled topsail schooner built at Connah's Quay in North Wales in 1900 by Ferguson & Baird. She was built for Captain John Coppack who was a leading ship owner and was originally named Lizzie and May after his two daughters.

With a length of 29.98m, a 7.06m beam and 2.59m draught she was designed to carry a cargo of 226 tons, her planks were 75mm thick pitch pine laid on double oak frames and secured with nails and iron bolts

She operated as a trading schooner until 1961 and regularly sailed around the British coastline delivering a variety of cargos between Liverpool, Cardiff, Ireland, Scotland, the Channel Islands and West Country.

Accommodation on board consisted of a fo'c'sle that could house four hands and two small cabins for the mate and Captain which were located off the saloon which also acted as the mess room.

Her first commercial voyage was under the command of Captain Tom Hughes and was from Connah's Quay to Rochester with 226 tons of fire bricks, she then carried cement to Plymouth, pitch to Cardiff, coal to Falmouth and clay to Weston Point, by 1908 she had sailed nearly 40,000 nautical miles

In 1908 she was bought by MJ Fleming of Youghal in Southern Ireland and renamed Kathleen and May after his daughters. She operated between the Bristol Channel and Ireland importing coal whilst often carrying oats or pit props on the outward journey.

During World War I she carried coal and other vital resources to small ports around the country.

In 1931 she  purchased by a Captain Jewell who shortened her top mast and fitted an 80hp engine. In World War 2 she was operated by the Ministry of Defence to carry gun powder and was equipped with a machine gun on her foredeck.

In 1945 Captain Jewell died leaving her to his son who continued to operate her until 1961 after which she had a number of owners before retiring in 1967, she has subsequently been restored.

MMSI - 235036333
Call Sign - MDNN

Photographed in Liverpool, 22 August 2013.

MSC Irene photographed at extreme range from the rear deck of the Serenade of Tthe Seas as we left the Piraeus and the Greek Mainland behind and headed to Santorini. I seem to remember that I was enjoying a few beers at the time after a full day exploring Athens.

She was built by Samsung in Koje, KR as Yard Number 1712 in 2010 and is 366.07m long with a 51.2m beam and 16m draught.

GT = 151,559 & DWT 156,082

Maximum container capacity is 13,798 TEU.

Her main engine is a Sulzer 12RTA96C (72240 kW) engine giving a top speed of 25.2 knots.

She is operated by MSC (Mediterannean Shipping Company) which is based in Geneva, Switzerland and is one of approximately 445 vessels in their current fleet. The Company was formed in 1970 and is now one of the largest container carriers in the World and carried 13,722,000 TEU in 2013.

MMSI - 355233000
REG - PA, Panama
IMO - 9399040
Call Sign - 3EZQ6
Container Ship
Built - Samsung, Koje, KR
Yard No. - 1712
L 366.07m W 51.2m
GT 151559
Year - 2010
Piraeus 5 June 2012