Merchant Ships: Various

Clyde

2021

*Page under Construction*

Introduction

As of last year (?)* any non-military nautical traffic on the Clyde will be included in a single Merchant Shipping page. A combination of less ships coming upriver to Clydebank or the Glasgow city docks, further reduced as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic, and less opportunity for me to get out and photograph vessels that do appear, means that it`s no longer worthwhile creating individual pages for bulk carriers, tankers, container ships, general cargo vessels etc. The latest entry for this year will appear at the top of the page.

I`ve taken hundreds of bulk carrier shots over the years and many of the following years are still incomplete. Links to previous entries appear below...

Likewise, general cargo ships appearing on the Clyde have previously been given their own pages each year. I`ll put the links here when I get the chance, but like the bulkers, not all have been completed to the volume of entries...

Name - *start at top*

January

Sebat

Most of the ships that sailed upriver to Clydebank or Glasgow during January arrived in the early hours of the morning due to high tide times, ruling out photos. The majority were coasters, however, the first bulk carrier to visit the upper Clyde this year was 150 metre-long Panamanian-flagged Sebat (IMO: 9151383) which arrived and departed in the dark at the beginning of the month. Coincidentally, I got some shots of the same vessel departing after she visited last April (right).

Sten Baltic & Cemisle

It wasn`t until Monday 25 January that I was able to get my first ship shots of 2021. Two vessels, namely cement carrier Cemisle and Oil / Chemical tanker Sten Baltic were due to pass under the Erskine Bridge around sunup but by the time I scraped the ice from the car and got down to the old ferry slipway, Cemisle was just passing by. She was on the standard cement run from Belfast which she has been operating for many years.

Sten Baltic wasn`t far behind and she sailed into view soon after I`d walked under the bridge to greet her. Red-hulled etc Sten fleet //* was delivering grades from Mongstad in Norway.

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February

FPV Jura & Challenger of Leith

The night of Tuesday 2 / Wednesday 3 February was a stormy one which resulted in problems for several large vessels in the Firth of Clyde. // The containership Elbspirit was unable to tie up at Ocean Terminal and remained at anchor // Anch ToB A2 for GOT // etc until the 7th etc* This was a minor inconvenience, however, compared to etc // In the afternoon of the 3rd, Arklow Cape sailed upriver to berth at Shieldhall, and another coaster, Lumen, left Diesel Wharf shortly afterwards, travelling light for Liverpool. Jura then Challenger of Leith followed etc (to edit)*

Valaris DS4 broke free from the jetty at the old Hunterston Ore Terminal and drifted dangerously toward the east coast of nearby Cumbrae?* // A Rescue helicopter from Prestwick was scrambled, as was the Troon lifeboat and several other vessels including tugs from Greenock made their way to the locus to assist. The other pipelayer, Ensco DS 8 etc was also at risk of snapping her moorings and //

Jura left the KGV mid-morning on Sunday 7 February but I didn`t bother photographing her on the way out to resume patrol as the weather was even colder than when she arrived with similar visibility but intermittent light wind blown snow etc. //

(Incident images © The Scotsman / Daily Record / Cumbrae Tourist & Travel Info) *

Fugro Frontier

Saturday 6 February 2021: Sailed down from Aberdeen. // (IMO: 9701657) is a Research/Survey Vessel that was built in 2014 (7 years ago) and is sailing under the flag of Bahamas. // It’s carrying capacity is 456 t DWT and her current draught is reported to be 3.3 meters. Her length overall (LOA) is 53.6 meters and her width is 12.5 meters. // 1309 tons // DWT 450 tons // Builder DAMEN SHIPYARD GORINCHEM - GORINCHEM, NETHERLANDS (to edit)*

A couple of Pied Wagtails were flitting about, seeking out flies and other bugs on the stone embankment but, unlike this Robin, they evaded my camera.

the compact flexible platform supports a wide range of offshore services. With a typical operational profile of geophysical survey and shallow geotechnical investigations operations are available up to 2000m WD. Its limited 3m draft, specially designed T-frame and versatile back deck add to its operational capabilities both offshore and close inshore. The 53m-long vessel is prepared for dynamic positioning and equipped with state-of-the-art survey equipment. The vessel can be configured to tow a variety of survey equipment including up to a four source and four streamer 3D seismic spread. It is also outfitted with a large T-frame to allow the deployment of two large scale gradiometers at once. (to edit)*

The Fugro Frontier can deploy up to eight ROTV controlled magnetometers at once providing the most efficient UXO survey available. The vessel can also be set up to support ROV, geotechnical and environmental operations as well as 2D seismic projects. (to edit)*

Classifications Bureau Veritas
Flag state/ Port Bahamas Maritime Authority (BMA)
Build(er) December 2014 – Damen Shipyards Galati
IMO/Cal sign 9701657 / C6BH4 (Charlie Six Bravo Hotel Four)
Official Number 7000675
MMSI No. 311 000 263
YN Contr. 556068/1272
Dimensions
Length overall 53.7 m
Beam (mid) 12.5 m
Draft (summer) 3.1 m + 0.25 m blister

Net Tonnage 1,400 GT

Propulsion 2 x Azimuth thrusters (electric)
Bowthrusters 1 x Tunnel thrusters (electric)
This vessel has a cruising speed of 10 knots, but this will vary depending on survey requirements.
It`s maximum speed is 11.2 kn.
Electric power
Diesel generator sets 4 x 372 kW
UPSsupply survey 1 x 30 kva, 220 vac
Survey equipment includes various navigational, acoustic and global positioning systems, CCTV cameras, echosounders and side scans sonors.

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March

YM Fuji

Monday 8 March / longer days meant there was still enough light to capture the arrival of YM Fuji (IMO: 9622760) on the Upper Clyde when she sailed past Erskine around 18:00 hrs / etc. Derince, Turkey with a hold full of soda ash destined for Riverside Quay in the city. / etc*

CMS Boxer led the way with Svitzer Anglegarth tied on at the stern.

YM FUJI is a General Cargo that was built in 2015 (6 years ago) and is sailing under the flag of Malta. It's carrying capacity is 10952 t DWT and her current draught is reported to be 7.8 meters. Her length overall (LOA) is 131 meters and her width is 19 meters. Former names OXFUJI (2019, Malta) YO CO (2018, Malta). Builder MARMARA SHIPYARD - KOCAELI, TURKEY owned / managed by YILMAR SHIPPING & TRADING - ISTANBUL, TURKEY. (to edit). . It's gross tonnage is 7370 tons. (to edit)*

Swans & Seal

MV Coruisk

Saturday 13 March 2021, etc from the KGV to Gourock. CalMac ferry etc* CMS Boxer etc*

Aasnes & Jaguar

Two ships were photographed today etc // General cargo vessel Aasnes (IMO: 9101546) was built in 1996 and is sailing under the flag of Gibraltar. On this occasion she was transporting road salt from Kilroot to the KGV Dock and for a change of scenery I caught her passing the Renfrew Ferry slipway opposite Yoker.

Sunday 14 March 2021. Jaguar wind turbine components from Cartagena, a port city and naval base in the Murcia region of southeast Spain. // JAGUAR (IMO: 9613628) is a General Cargo that was built in 2012 and is sailing under the flag of Netherlands. It’s carrying capacity is 6000 t DWT and her current draught is reported to be 4.4 meters. Her length overall (LOA) is 107.95 meters and her width is 16 meters. // Gross tonnage 5170 tons / DWT 6000 tons / Builder SHIPKITS - GRONINGEN, NETHERLANDS. Flag NETHERLANDS. Home port VLIELAND. Manager & owner SHIPOWNERS SUPPORT - FARMSUM, NETHERLANDS (to edit)*

Eken

Sunday 28 March 2021, First day of summer etc the oil products tanker Eken (IMO number 9286827) brought grades from Kalundborg, Denmark, to the Clydebank Oil Terminal. One of the Ektank fleet, a company based in Gothenburg, Sweden she is currently under the charge of Swedish outfit OSM Shipmanagement of Hisings Baka. This vessel, a product of Qiuxin Shipyard, Shanghai, dates from 2004. // MMSI 258894000 / Gross tonnage 8829 tons / DWT 13702 tons / Flag NORWAY INTERNATIONAL REGISTER / Home port ARENDAL. This is the first time I`ve seen this vessel on the Clyde. etc* (to edit)*

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April

Paddle boarders etc*

Bro Alma

The weather was superb on Sunday 11 April 2021 when tanker Bro Alma (IMO Number 9356610) arrived from Rotterdam with Grades for the Clydebank Oil Terminal. One of the numerous such vessels that make up the sizeable Maersk Tankers fleet, she was built in Istanbul, Turkey, in 2008 by the Celik Tekne Shipyard. Several of her sisters also have the Bro prefix, with Bro Distributer and Bro Nordby in particular having visited the Clyde numerous times over the years.

Bro Alma is 144 metres long, has a deadweight of 17,000 tonnes (Gross tonnage 12162 tons) and currently flies the Netherlands flag, home ported in Delfzijl, a city in the province of Groningen in the northeast of the country.