Shipping Lines - Montrose-built veteran vessel goes into winter lay-up

A fond farewell in September was made to her temporary berth by the Pumphouse pub beside Canning Dock. Departure was scheduled for the top of floodtide in order to clear the sill of the dock gate from Canning Dock out into the Mersey on a damp and somewhat dismal day and welcome on-board catering was the order of the day.

While the Kerne, (ex-Terrier, ex-Viking) left Vittoria Wharf, East Float for Liverpool four decades ago, Birkenhead was a busy port with numerous vessels around in addition to many shipping movements to keep enthusiasts and casual observers enthralled. Sadly, most of the historic infrastructure has disappeared and is today replaced by modern office accommodation and high rise housing development.

When Kerne sailed that day she was the only active vessel in sight. Later the weather dried up and the paint brushes came out before a move to Sandon Dock commenced. For the trip, bunkers were required while the rain kept the resultant dust down. For the short voyage the river was choppy, which helped to wash the deck clear.

Then, on to Liverpool, through the dock system, with a pleasant trip had by all bringing the 2024 sailings to a close. One of the final jobs being to lash down the funnel cover.

An interesting fairly recent visit to the port of Montrose was that of the Eems Transporter which arrived in early August with a cargo from Nouakchout in the West African state of Mauretania. She stayed in port only for the matter of four hours prior to departing for Belfast.

The Deo Gloria, Dutch-flag, port of registry Urk, stayed a few hours longer to unload her cargo of several heavy reels which she had brought from the French port of Rouen. Not good for the captains and crew such short spells in port. However, ship owners are not keen to have their vessels in port any longer than is necessary. Other imports handled over the summer included a range of agribulks and used oilfield downhole tubulars shipped in from the Norwegian port of Floro. Export cargoes included RDF bound for power generation in Sweden.

The Lianne was taken up at the Hamburg anchorage and arrived at Montrose light ship, in other words in ballast to load cargo. Having arrived alongside in early November, she sailed on the following tide to discharge her cargo of bulk rape seed at the largest crushing mill in the UK located at the port of Erith in Kent.

Registered at St. John’s, Antigua & Barbuda, she appeared to have Dutch connections based at Spijk in The Netherlands. Her builders were listed as Umo Shipbuilding Industry &Trade located at Karadeniz Eregli in Turkey. Around half a dozen cargo ships arrived the following weekend. A large length of the North Quay had been cleared to make way for the pending armada, the largest being the Vancouverborg with a part cargo of fertiliser inward bound from Lincolnshire.