London Scrap Terminal’s first caller

MILESTONES MARKED IN BUSY YEAR

Two of P&O’s classic cruise ships in Southampton:

Contributors this month

George Holland George Holland is a teacher who,

NEWS IN BRIEF

NEW FOR SIREMAR Turkey’s Sofine Shipyard has delivered

Ferry to Flotel for Baltic veteran

The former Baltic Sea ferry Isabelle has been

New Chinese rescue vessel

The 14,449gt Chinese rescue vessel Nanhai Jiu 103

Next generation

An impression of Wilhelmsen’s next-generation PCTC ships. VEHICLE

Aranui 5 set to cruise with cargo

One of the world’s few remaining passenger/cargo ships,

Irish Sea expansion

RO-RO FREIGHT Shortsea ro-ro operator CLdN is set

Second dual-fuel newbuild

The dual-fuel pure car and truck carrier Lake

Low water on the Amazon

Record low water levels on the Amazon river

Free crossings

The Sandbanks to Shell Bay chain ferry Bramble

New names announced by Cal Mac

An artist’s impression of one of the new

Ellerman MSC partnership

Ellerman’s 32,901gt container ship Windswept arriving at Rotterdam,

Busy week at Meyer Turku

Mein Schiff 7 will carry 2,894 guests and

Heavylif ter rebuild

SAL Heavy Lift’s rebuilt Anne-Sofie heads back to

Final departure

P&O FERRIES The final departure from Dublin of

Old ro-ro blown ashore in Med

The 31-year-old ro-ro vessel Lider Prestij (ex-Beniamino Carnevale,

End of the road for Jubilee ST

The tall ship Lord Nelson was one of

NEWS IN BRIEF

MY STAR The first year of operation by

Second Dover vessel delivered

P&O Pioneer, pictured in summer 2023 having entered

New Mersey ferry to be built on the Mersey

SMALL FERRY A contract between Liverpool City Council

FERRIES IN THE NEWS . . .

ISABELLE Following upgrades in Finland and Estonia, the

Ireland ferry growth for Rosslare and Dublin

Stena Horizon at Rosslare Harbour. STENA LINE Stena

Condor Ferries route debut

Condor Islander making her first arrival into Guernsey

Superstar vessel completed

The brand-new ro-pax ferry Finncanopus is set to

NEWS IN BRIEF

PRINCESS CRUISES The second ship of Princess Cruises’

Out of service for a second time

Ambition took over Ambience’s schedule in December 2023.

Giants delivered by Meyer

Carnival Jubilee entered service on 23 December 2023.

Another sale

Pacific Venus, as Eastern Venus, will re-open the

Three new ships named and enter service

The new Norwegian Viva was named in November

Unexpected stay in dry dock causes delays

PHOENIX REISEN When Phoenix Reisen’s Amera, formerly Holland

Confusion reigns

LIFE AT SEA Last month the difficulties surrounding

NEWS IN BRIEF

RNZN HMNZS Te Mana has successfully test-fired a

New offshore ‘Patrouilleurs’

In accordance with the Military Programming Act 2024-2030,

Spain’s submarine milestone

The first S-80 Plus class submarine was handed

Modern MEKO

TURKISH NAVY The first of the Turkish Navy’s

The ‘Swiss Army’ ship

Portugal’s new ‘drone, land and submarine carrier’ is

New Type gets under way

The F126 is the German Navy’s largest ever

Red Sea interceptors

US NAVY The US Defense Secretary has announced

NEWS IN BRIEF

ICE-CLASS TANKERS Dynacom Tankers Management of Greece has

Russia’s Rosatom takes over FESCO

FLEET NEWS Russia’s Rosatom, the country’s largest nuclear

LNG-powered Newcastlemax bulkers

The 209,821dwt Mount Nova Terra is one of

Hapag-Lloyd takes first SFL vessel

The 2013-built container ship Thalassa Patris (149,475gt) at

Green routes

CARGO CARIERS In December 2023 X-Press Feeders announced

CMA CGM builds up its fleet

The 145,650dwt CMA CGM Bahia, the first of

Sevmorput to be retired

Built in 1988 and now the world’s only

THE BIG PICTURE

QUEEN MARY 

PICTORIAL

Have you an outstanding photo that would grace our gallery? Send your image to Ships Monthly for inclusion in these pages, which showcase the best in ship photography around the world

THE MANY LIVES OF ISLE OF INNISFREE

George Holland looks back over the varied career of the cross-Channel veteran Isle of Innisfree, which began her career in the 1990s as Prins Filip and has been known by no fewer than ten names.

CONTINUED ADVENTURES ON TRISTAN DA CUNHA

What happened next on our ‘Southern Ocean Adventure’

CHARTROOM

Peter Clarke, of Staines, supplied the above photo,

DECEMBER’S MYSTERY

The mystery ship I believe to be Empire

THIS MONTH’S MYSTERY SHIP

This month’s mystery shows a classic single-funnelled cargo

book of the month

Ley te Gulf A new history of the

T.A. & C.H. Walker

Shipbuilders, Railway & Civil Engineering Contractors

Hearts of Steel

In July 1918 Herbert Leeder joined the Royal

British &Commonwealth Warship Camouflage of World War II

During World War II navies developed low-visibility camouflage

A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE

Andrew Cooke talked to Captain Dominic McCall on board Waverley, the world’s last seagoing paddle steamer, about his career and the famous vessel.

THE CROSS CHANNEL FERRY SCENE HALF A CENTURY AGO

In 1973 more than 40 ferries were operating a wide range of cross-Channel routes. Part One looked at ships serving the main Dover routes, and here Nicholas Leach looks back half a century at the historic ferries running out of Harwich, Felixstowe, Newhaven, Southampton and Folkestone.

‘LINE ASTERN’ AT LAGOS

In Januar y 1976 Malcolm Cranfield visited Nigeria to photograph ships anchored off Lagos, and saw three familiar ships berthed ‘line astern’, discharging cement.

MARITIME MOSAIC

WARSHIPS ON THE THAMES

OCEAN NOVA

Small but mighty

PANAMA CANAL in colour

Clive Fennessy supplied a series of colour postcards of ships transiting the Panama Canal during the last century.

SHIPSPOTTING

SHIPPING AT TERNEUZEN

THE TRAGIC LOSS OF HMS COURAGEOUS

The aircraft carrier Courageous was the first major British warship to be lost in the early weeks of World War II, and, tragically, many of those who lost their lives were naval pensioners and reservists, who had been called up only a few weeks earlier. Neil McCart recounts the tragic event.