By Brian Ingpen
MARITIME MEMORIES
Opposite (clockwise from top left): Port Huon and Port Albany traded under the Port Line flag for only seven years before the effects of containerisation were felt in the conventional reefer services. Both vessels were sold to Greek interests in 1972 and were renamed Julietta and Marietta respectively. Photograph: Lawhill-De Vries Collection Another vessel built 50 years ago was Unicorn Lines’ Voorspeler. She traded mainly from Durban to Mossel Bay. Photograph: Brian Ingpen Collection Royal Interocean Lines’ Straat Futami and her sistership Straat Fushimi were the first of the company’s vessels to be built outside the Netherlands. Photograph: Lawhill Collection Southampton Castle is dressed overall to mark her last departure from a South African port, as well as the last sailing of a Union-Castle mailship from Cape Town in October 1977. Photograph: Lawhill-De Vries Collection Left: British Admiral arriving in Cape Town. When built in 1965, she was the largest British tanker. Photograph: Brian Ingpen/George Young Collection
and without being able to broadcast a maytunity while I was still a schoolboy, I have Castle; Port Albany and Port Huon, and the day signal, she was totally disabled, forcing special memories of Royal Interocean Blue Star Line reefer ships New York Star her 70 crewmembers and 12 passengers to Lines, the Dutch company who ran a fleet and Australia Star. abandon ship. of about seven passenger-cargo ships and The Clan sister ships, the Port Line vessels Clan Malcolm that had been sent to search about 25 freighters from its head office in and the Blue Star ships were fitted with the for the mail ship found her still ablaze. EarHong Kong. latest refrigeration plant, the first pair for ly speculation was that she would have to Until the 1960s, most of their ships had the South African fruit trade and the other be scrapped. She was, however, towed to been built in Dutch yards, apart from the four to carry Australasian fruit, frozen meat Europe for repairs. Both ships were withpassenger ship Boissevain that had come and dairy products to Britain. drawn from duty when the mail ship serfrom Blohm & Voss in Hamburg, and a Union Castle vice ceased in 1977 ending a service that few American war-built steamers that the The Union-Castle mail ship Southampton had lasted 120 years and that had contribcompany had taken over to replace its Castle attracted considerable media attenuted directly to the economic growth of war losses. To meet the post-war shipping tion when delivered from the Swan Hunter South Africa. boom and indeed large-scale expansion of yard at Wallsend in 1965. Her twin Sulzer its own services between Asia, South Africa Transfer of leadership engines produced 35,200 bhp to drive her and South America, as well as to West AfriThe 1960s marked the transfer of the leadalong at 23-knots. This unique vessel carca and Australia, RIL began a shipbuilding ership of global shipbuilding from Britain ried only 12 passengers initially, but later and fleet modernisation programme in the and Europe to Japan as indicated by British modifications increased the passenger 1950s that continued for nearly 20 years. shipyards having produced 260 vessels in berths to cater for St Helenians travelling The first RIL ships to be ordered from a 1955 and 176 a decade later. yard outside of the NetherIn contrast, Japan had moved lands were the 11,800-deadThe 1960s marked the transfer of the leadership of global from building 158 ships in weight sister ships, Straat Fu1955 to 699 in 1965. tami and Straat Fushimi, that shipbuilding from Britain and Europe to Japan as indicatIn addition, Japanese yards were delivered form the Hita- ed by British shipyards having produced 260 vessels in chi yard in Osaka in 1965. Jap- 1955 and 176 a decade later. In contrast, Japan had moved had moved into the supership leagues, building tankers and anese shipbuilders also built from building 158 ships in 1955 to 699 in 1965. bulkers of over 300 metres by the Straat Holland-class. As 1968. In the sphere of marithe editor of the book pointto or from the island. She had two special time electronics, Japan also took the lead, ed out, “Japanese yards have broken into tanks to carry bulk wine and reefer space developing new shipboard systems. Some the specialised cargo ship field with several for South African fruit exports. 40 years later, that country’s leadership orders from foreign owners.” Even at that time, the march towards conmantle in shipbuilding and maritime techDuring the restructuring of Dutch shipping tainerisation had begun in earnest, as indinology was taken over by South Korea. in 1977, both ships were transferred into cated by her having container stows atop And in the interim, even greater strides the Nedlloyd fleet and took the prefix Nedlnumbers 3, 4, 5 and 6 hatches and on the in maritime technology have enabled the loyd. Three years later, they were under the weather decks abreast of these hatches. design and construction of the mega-ships Panamanian registry as Char Mou and Char Her sister ship, Good Hope Castle, was – huge cruise ships carrying 4,000 passenTah respectively. They were scrapped in Taidogged by several problems, beginning gers, 400-metre containerships that are wan in 1984 and 1983. eco-friendly and have unprecedented carwith a severe labour shortage that delayed The sister ships go capacity. her delivery by four months. Her sea trials Fifty years is indeed a long time – and the Fifty years ago, four other sets of sister had to be postponed because of a force 12 march of technology has ensured that ships ships were commissioned: the Clan Line gale and, in July 1973, she suffered a seriare very different critters to those trundling sister ships Clan Ranald and Clan Robertous fire when steaming from Ascension down the ways in 1965. son; Southampton Castle and Good Hope Island to St Helena Island. Without power Maritime Review Africa NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015
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