As Southampton is the port I most regularly visit to take Shipping photographs, I intend to keep a record of noteworthy shipping events in the Port of Southampton on this page. I will update it every few weeks or when there is something of note happening.....

Please note : Whilst I try to ensure the  validity of the information displayed on this page I take no responsibility whatsoever for any errors or inaccuracies in the information displayed.

Independence of the Seas at the City Cruise Terminal on 26th April 2008.

Independence of the Seas dwarfs the other vessels in Western Docks including the QE2 on 26th April.

Another view of the Independence of the Seas at the City Cruise Terminal.

Holding the title of the largest cruise ship in the world, the brand new Royal Caribbean vessel, Independence of the Seas arrived in Southampton on 25th April. She shares the title with her two sisterships Liberty of the Seas and Freedom of the Seas.

The vessel weighs in at 158,000 gross tons and is 339 meters long and arrived at Southampton from her builders Kvaerner Masa Yards at Turku in Finland.

The vessel will be based in Southampton for the coming 2008 cruising season.

She will depart on a short shakedown cruise on 28th April before returning for her official naming ceremony on 30th April. She will be named by Elizabeth Hall, a member of the British public who was selected from over 1,700 nominations for the role. Elizabeth is a founder of the Gamelea Countryside Training Trust which helps disadvantaged and disabled children.

The vessel has berths for 3634 passengers who will be able to take advantage of facilities including a full size boxing ring, surf simulator and a rock climbing wall.

An unusual visitor to Southampton today was Celebrity Cruises vessel Summit. This vessel is normally to be found cruising in the Caribbean. She made a brief call at Southampton, arriving at Southampton in the early hours of the morning and departing at 10:30 for a refit at Hamburg.

She is due to make a return call to Southampton on 29th April on her way back to her normal cruising area.

She was built in 2001 at Chantiers de L'Atlantique, St. Nazaire, France, has a gross tonnage of 90,280 tons and an overall length of 294 metres. she has berths for 2,449 passengers.

Summit departing from Southampton on 10th April 2008.

(Photo by Graham Darling)

P&O's new cruise ship Ventura arrived on her maiden call at  Southampton today accompanied by snow showers.

Built in the Fincanteiri Shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy, at 116,000 gross tons, and an overall length of 289 meters, she is the largest cruise ship ever built specifically for the UK market. She has berths for 3,597 passengers.

She is due to depart on shakedown cruises to Guernsey and Zeebrugge, before her official naming ceremony at Southampton on 16th April by Dame Helen Mirren.

Her initial cruise, which departs on 18th April sees her visiting Barcelona, Leghorn, Italy, Alicante and Gibraltar.

The Swedish flagged tanker Astral, built in 2006 and 7190 gross tons, was in St. Helen's Anchorage waiting for a berth at Fawley to unload her cargo of gas oil when she dragged her anchor in force 11 winds and grounded on Bembridge Ledge, damaging her rudder and jamming it 20 degrees to port. 

She was refloated, and towed into Southampton, by the coastguard standby tug Anglian Earl. She was then towed Fawley Jetty for discharge of her cargo.

She departed on March 17th for Portsmouth in tow of the tug Tenax for an inspection of her damaged rudder. She subsequently sailed in tow on March 22nd from Portsmouth for Denmark for repairs.

The Balmoral berthed at the City Cruise Terminal, Southampton, on 9th February 2008.

Fred Olsen's new cruise ship Balmoral arrived at 101 Berth, Southampton, from Dover on 4th February.

At this point she was supposed to be on her maiden cruise for Fred Olsen from Dover to the Canary Islands, but this had been cancelled due to technical problems with watertight doors and fire control systems. She had arrived at Dover from Blohm & Voss's shipyard at Hamburg where she had been lengthened by the addition of a new 30 metre mid-section. 

The 34,242grt Balmoral was built in 1987 as the Crown Odyssey for Royal Cruise Lines of Greece. She became the Norwegian Crown in 1996 for Norwegian Cruise Lines and then reverted to the Crown Odyssey in 2000 for three years before once again becoming the Norwegian Crown. She was acquired by Fred Olsen last year before going to Hamburg for the addition of the new mid-section.

She departed from Southampton after the technical problems had been overcome for Dover on 12th February for a 20 night Caribbean cruise which sailed from Dover on 13th February.

8th January - the general cargo ship BBC Ems broke away from berth 30 in the Eastern Docks during strong winds. She dropped her anchor in the River Itchen until a tug arrived to assist her back to her berth. The BBC Ems had arrived on 30th December from Ferrol in Spain to load wind turbine blades at 25 berth. She encountered technical problems whilst at Southampton and eventually sailed for Port Arthur and Houston, USA on 11th January.

20th January - the boom of a container crane collapsed on to the 93,750 grt container ship Kyoto Express at Southampton Container Terminal (SCT). No-one was hurt in the accident, however, operations at the container terminal were suspended so that checks could be undertaken on the other cranes at the terminal. There was no major damage to the the Hapag Lloyd container ship, and she sailed several days later after the debris from the crane boom had been cleared.

The crane that collapsed had been fitted with an extended boom to service the larger ships visiting the port these days. Another five cranes from the same manufacturer were taken out of service to have safety checks run on them. The safety checks may take up to a month to complete which means that the port is running at reduced capacity, with many vessels diverted to other ports or waiting in the anchorages for berths at Southampton.

Four new post-panamax container cranes are on order for SCT, two are expected to arrive in June 2008 with a further two to arrive later. The new cranes will be able to service vessels carrying up to 22 rows of containers.  

Phenix with her sister Tenax shortly after her arrival at Fawley on 30th December 2007.

...and with the other units of the Solent Towage fleet at Fawley on 9th February 2008. 

On 29th December, the Phenix, a brand new tug arrived at Fawley from her builders, Astilleros Gondan at Castropol, Spain, after delivery to her new owners, Solent Towage Limited, a subsidiary of Ostensjo Rederi A/S of Norway. 

She is a sistership of the Tenax, which arrived at Fawley in March 2006. The Phenix has a gross tonnage of 643 tons and a bollard pull of 67 tons. She is powered by two Rolls Royce diesel engines giving a top speed of 15 knots.

She will be used on tanker escort and berthing duties alongside the other tugs already stationed at Fawley Marine Terminal. 

A deal was signed today between Carnival UK and ABP sealing Southampton's future as a major cruise port. The 20 year deal will give Carnival's brands (Cunard, P&O, Princess Cruises and Ocean Village) priority use of the existing QE2 and Mayflower cruise terminals at the port.

Included in the agreement is an investment of £19m by ABP to build a new cruise terminal at Ocean Dock, opposite the site of the old Ocean Terminal.

Southampton has enjoyed 245 cruise calls at the port this year, with over 800,000 passengers passing through the existing three terminal. Next year there is scheduled to be 290 cruise calls and approximately 1 million passengers expected next year.

Queen Victoria arrives at Southampton on 7th December.

Turning in the Upper Swinging Ground, assisted by tugs before berthing.

Tugs welcomed her in the usual way.

Photographs by Martin Penwright

Approaching City Cruise Terminal with P&O's Aurora at 106 berth. 

Berthed at City Cruise Terminal shortly after arrival at City Cruise Terminal.

Her first night at Southampton ready for her naming ceremony.

Photographs by Martin Penwright

Cunard's new cruise ship Queen Victoria arrived in Southampton today after her delivery voyage from the yard of Fincantieri in Venice. The 90,049 gross tonnage, 294 metre long ship has berths for 2014 passengers over 12 decks.

Her early morning arrival was witnessed by hundreds of onlookers who lined the vantage points in Southampton. She berthed at 101 berth, in the Western Docks, home to the City Cruise Terminal, watched by hundreds of people in the nearby Mayflower Park as she was given the traditional water spray display by the local tugs. 

The ship was named by the Duchess of Cornwall on Monday, December 10th, accompanied by the Prince of Wales, in the presence of many dignitaries and the world's press. Unfortunately the bottle of champagne refused to break during the naming ceremony - a bad omen if you are superstitious. The Queen Victoria was the first "Queen" not named by the reigning monarch in Cunard's history.  

She departed from Southampton on  her maiden 10 day cruise, to Rotterdam, Copenhagen and Hamburg accompanied by a firework display on Tuesday, December 11th. 

Cunard, today, announced the sale of their grand old lady, Queen Elizabeth 2 to Dubai World in a deal worth US$100 million.

The QE2, which this year celebrated her 40th year in service, will become a luxury floating hotel, retail and entertainment centre at Dubai's Palm Jumeirah complex and will be delivered to her new owners in November 2008.

The end of an era.

The QE2 berthed at Southampton on 26th August 2007.

Sir Bevois on 2nd June 2007 with Svitzer funnel colours but yet to receive her new paint job.

Adsteam Lyndhurst in Svitzer livery but still with the Adsteam name on 4th August 2007.

Svitzer Sarah in full Svitzer livery including her new name on 28th July 2007.

Following the UK's Competition Commission approval of the takeover of Adsteam Marine by SvitzerWijsmuller, the tugs in the Southampton fleet have been transforming into the Svitzer livery.  

First to go was the Adsteam funnel colours in May/June and then the repainting of the hulls and superstructures in June. Finally, in July the first renaming was sighted - Adsteam Sarah becoming Svitzer Sarah. The remaining members of the fleet will, no doubt, be renamed over the coming months.

Reflecting the growing trend for cruising in the UK market, and the popularity of Southampton as a cruise ship port, Royal Caribbean have expanded their schedules from Southampton this year. In addition Celebrity Cruises have already made occasional calls at the port.

Celebrity Cruises vessels Millennium and Constellation have already used the port this year. Millennium arrived at the City Cruise Terminal on 21st April to start her cruising season having completed repairs to her Azipods at the Sobrena Shipyard at Brest. She departed for a cruise to Amsterdam and Barcelona. 

A few days later her sistership Constellation made a call on the 25th April having arrived from Fort Lauderdale. She departed for a short cruise to Dublin and Cobh and was back on the 30th April when she left for a refit.

In addition, Royal Caribbean’s large 2002 built 138,279 grt cruise ship Navigator of the Seas which is able to accommodate 3,807 passengers is based in the port this year. She was built in 2002 and is of 138,279 grt. She has increased capacity over the 2,060 passenger Legend of the Seas which was Royal Caribbean’s ship based in Southampton last year. 

Navigator of the Seas will be undertaking various cruises from Southampton throughout the season to various destinations including the Western Mediterranean.

Millennium arriving in Southampton Harbour on 21st April. (Photograph by Martin Penwright).

Millennium at 101 berth on 21st April.

Navigator of the Seas at 101 berth on 28th April, with Sea Princess at 106 berth in the distance.

Navigator of the Seas departing Southampton on 28th April 2007...

... for a cruise to Copenhagen.

Liberty of the Seas in Southampton Water on it's maiden arrival at Southampton on 22nd April 2007. (Photograph by Graham Darling)

...and arriving at 101 berth. (Photograph by Martin Penwright)

A view of her berthing at the City Cruise Terminal. (Photograph by Martin Penwright)

She departed on 26th April for New York. (Photograph by Graham Darling)

The joint largest cruise ship in the world, Royal Caribbean’s Liberty of the Seas, made her first and only European port of call at Southampton on 22nd April. She has recently been completed and handed over by her builders, Aker Yards of Turku, in Finland. 

The Liberty of the Seas is a sistership to Freedom of the Seas which made her debut at Southampton last year. She is of 160,000 tonnes, 1,112 feet long and capable of carrying 4,375 passengers over 15 decks. Facilities include an ice skating rink, boxing ring, surf simulator and water park. 

Liberty of the Seas will cruise for the American and Caribbean market so is unlikely to be seen in Southampton again. Another sistership of the series, Independence of the Seas, is, however, expected to cruise out of Southampton next year. 

The Liberty of the Seas made a short promotional cruise to Guernsey on 24th April and then left for New York and her home market on 26th April.

Ocean Village Two is moved from berth 106 in the Western Docks to berth 46 on 21st April.

The Millennium waited in the Upper Swinging Ground when the Ocean Village Two departed from 106 berth.

Ocean Village Two at 46 berth ready for her naming ceremony.

Whitonia seen in Empress Dock on 21srt April 2007.

The Southampton based fleet of tankers owned by John H. Whitaker has been boosted by a recent addition. The newly built Whitonia, was recently named in a ceremony at Southampton. 

The Whitonia is apparently the largest bunkering tanker to be based in the UK and can carry 6,214 tonnes of fuel, with her pumps delivering 1,000 tonnes of fuel per hour. She was built in Dubai and will be used to bunker the ever increasing number of cruise ships using the port as well as the usual cargo ships.

The new ferry service from Portsmouth to Cherbourg operated by the Irish based company Celtic Link, which was due to commence it's service from Portsmouth on 15th January 2007, has been cancelled. This is due to the vessel which was to be used for the service, the Celtic Mist, being detained in Southampton due to the poor condition of the ship.

The Celtic Mist (ex Lithuanian owned Klaipeda) of 21890 grt, built in 1987 was described by an inspector as 'being fit for not much more than scrap'. She had been chartered by Celtic Link from Jay Management of Greece.

The Celtic Mist arrived at 102 berth, Southampton, on 4th March from Portsmouth for repairs and has now been moved to 46 berth.

The ship was detained following complaints from the crew members to the International Transport Federation (ITF). The vessel will no longer be allowed to operate in UK waters until major repairs are carried out. 

The engine room has been described as a "nightmare", she suffers from excessive vibrations, crew members refuse to work in the boiler room and the crew accommodation is the worst the inspectors had seen for a long time. 

Update - 7th April 2007

The Celtic Mist departed from Southampton for Piraeus on 7th April, where repairs will be made to the vessel. Celtic Link have been barred from using the vessel on the Portsmouth to Cherbourg route whose launch is several months overdue until the repairs take place. In the meantime Celtic Link are looking for other appropriate tonnage with which to operate the route.

The Celtic Mist approaching berth 46 on 17th March 2007. 

Due to the windy conditions and the poor state of the vessel, tugs had to be called and the move to 46 berth was aborted on 17th March 2007...

....she was towed back to 102 berth. The vessel was successfully moved to 46 berth the day after.

Kincraig in Southampton Water on 16th December 2006 escorting an arriving container ship.

The Kincraig meeting the arriving container ship Hyundai Liberty in Southampton Water on 17th March 2007.

The tug Kincraig owned by J.P. Knight (Caledonian) Ltd. arrived at the beginning of December to provide towage services with the Adsteam fleet in Southampton. 

The Kincraig is usually based at Invergordon in Scotland. She was built in Japan in 1998 and is of 290grt. 

Red Funnel's ferry Red Eagle was in collision with Whittaker's tank barge Humber Energy in the Thorn Channel in the Solent at 19:30 today.

Damage sustained by both ships was minor and they continued on their respective voyages. no passengers or crew members on either ship was injured.

The Humber Energy in Southampton Water on 7th October 2006.

The Dutch tug Multratug 7 was an unusual visitor to Southampton. 

Multratug 7 departing with the barge Limosa 2 on 14th January 2007.

The newly built tank barge NS702 (subsequently named Limosa 2) had grounded off Hope Point, Newhaven, whilst being towed from a shipyard in Gdynia, Poland to Nantes, France by the Polish tug Ajaks on December 7th.

The barge was refloated on 10th December by the Belgian tug Fighter and other salvage vessels from the Dutch salvage company Multraship. She was towed into Southampton and spent several weeks in Ocean Dock being repaired.

The Dutch tug Multratug 7 arrived in Southampton on 6th January to tow the barge back to the shipyard in Gdynia for permanent repairs. She departed with her tow on 14th January, but aborted the departure and came back to Southampton on the same day, eventually departing on the 24th January.

Norwegian Cruise Line's "colourful" new cruise ship Norwegian Pearl arrived at the port today, from Rotterdam, completing her inaugural visits to European ports after delivery from her builders Meyer Werft in Papenburg, Germany. She was handed over to her new owners on 28th November in Eemshaven, Holland. 

The latest in the "Freestyle Cruising" Jewel class fleet, she  weighs in at 93,500 grt and is 294m long. A feature of this ship is that it has the first four lane ten-pin bowling alley afloat. 

Capable of carrying 2400 passengers, she departed Southampton on 2nd December with 1,198 passengers on a positioning, transatlantic, non-stop 10 night cruise to Miami.

She will be christened by American actress and TV star Rosie O'Donnell at Miami on December 16th. She will then operate cruises based in the Caribbean and Alaska, so is unlikely to be seen at Southampton in the near future.

Norwegian Pearl at berth 38/39, Eastern Docks, on 2nd December showing off her unusual paint job.

You can see the rock climbing wall behind the funnel in this stern view.

Departing from Southampton on 2nd December on her transatlantic crossing to Miami.

The new RFA Largs Bay at Marchwood in the early morning sunshine on 4th November.

The new Royal Fleet Auxiliary Amphibious Landing Ship,  Largs Bay (L3006) arrived at Marchwood Military Port this week.

Built by Swan Hunter on the Tyne, she is one of four Bay Class ships which are set to replace the long serving RFAs Sir Tristram, Sir Geraint, Sir Percivale and Sir Galahad which have been familiar visitors to Marchwood for a number of years.

Launched on 19th July 2003, and delivered on 25th April 2006, she has been performing sea trials off the South Coast, before entering service later this year. She joins the already delivered Mounts Bay (L3008) and the Cardigan Bay (L3009) and Lyme Bay (L3007) which are due for delivery in the near future.

The Largs Bay weighs in at over 16,000 tonnes, and, with a length of 177 metres she is nearly twice the size of her predecessors. she has storage capacity for 32 Challenger II Main Battle Tanks, 350 armed troops and the appropriate landing craft to deploy these forces and their accompanying stores from offshore. 

The port of Southampton was closed to shipping today due to a leakage of  Propane from the Hong Kong registered LPG tanker Ennerdale, which was berthed at Fawley Oil Terminal. The 4,227 gt, 1997 built ship had previously arrived on 15th October from Leixoes and was loading 1,600 tonnes of Propane from Fawley.

The leak, from a faulty valve was discovered at 22:00 on 17th October and Southampton Water was closed to shipping from 22:30 until 05:40 the next morning.

The Solent's Maritime Response Plan (Solfire) was put into action, but luckily the gas dispersed over Southampton Water, which meant that nearby homes did not have to be evacuated. Fine water jets were used by Fawley's staff and teams from Hampshire Fire Brigade to disperse the gas.

The Ennerdale eventually departed from Fawley on 19th October bound for Leixoes. 

Southampton Container Terminals

Associated British Ports today announced that it has drawn up plans to dramatically increase the container capacity at Southampton Container Terminals (SCT).

The plan is to create two new deepwater berths within the existing dockside for container handling. It is thought that this relates to berths 201 and 202 which are adjacent to the existing container terminal and currently used for car storage and handling of vehicle carriers at the port. 

Further proposals are to create a new dedicated berth for feeder container ship handling, which will free up a deepsea berth currently used for this activity.

It is also intended to invest in more automation and to use the existing land in a more efficient way.

The cost is likely to be several hundred million pounds and the work will take place in a number of phases. It is hoped that this development will be ready before other new planned container terminals at the Thames Gateway in London and at Bathside Bay in Harwich and will increase the capacity of SCT from 2 million to 3.7 million teu per year. 

Bulk Terminal

ABP is to invest over £4 million in a new multi-purpose transit shed and new mobile harbour crane at Solent Stevedores facilities at berth 107 to 109 in the Western Docks. The bulk terminal will also be expanded to use the site of the King George V dry-dock thus providing more land for cargo handling.

Adsteam Lyndhurst as the Lyndhurst underway in Southampton Water on 28th December 2005.

The Southampton based Adsteam harbour tug Adsteam Lyndhurst had a fire in her engine room at about 1am on 3rd September, whilst underway in the harbour.

The crew sealed off the engine room and returned to the quayside where the fire was dealt with by Hampshire Fire Brigade.

None of the four crew on board at the time was injured.

On 12th August, Wallenius Wilhelmson's new vehicle carrier Topeka was named at berth 38/39, Eastern Docks, Southampton. Although owned by a Norweigan company, she flies the British flag and is registered in Southampton.

She had previously arrived on 10th August on her delivery voyage from her builders, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Kobe, Japan via Zeebrugge and Malmo.

Topeka weighs in at 61,321 grt, has a length of 190 metres and has capacity for 6,540 cars. 

After departing Southampton on 12th August, she was back again on the 19th  before departing for East London, (South Africa) and then Australia.  

Two views of Topeka at berth 38/39, Eastern Docks, for her naming ceremony on 12th August 2006.

Photos by Graham Darling

Hamtun as Multratug 16 in the River Schelde at Ternuezen on 19th July 2006...

..and again catching the evening sunlight as she departs Terneuzen locks on 13th August 2006.

In her Adsteam colours at Southampton on 12th June 2004...

... and in her Red Funnel days at Southampton on 3rd November 2001.

Adsteam's Southampton based tug Hamtun has been sold to Multraship Towage and Salvage of Terneuzen, Netherlands and has left the Solent for her new home port of Terneuzen on the River Schelde.

Hamtun was one of the original tugs owned by Red Funnel, which was taken over by Howard Smith and subsequently Adsteam.

Multraship also own two other ex-Red funnel tugs, the Gatcombe, which is now Multratug 6 and the Vecta which is now Multratug 8. 

The Calypso

On the 6th May, the Cypriot registered cruise ship The Calypso, owned by Louis Cruise Lines had a fire in her engine room whilst 16 miles off Beachy Head in the Channel. The Calypso has departed Tilbury on 5th May for St. Peter Port, Guernsey, with a party of 462 mainly Dutch passengers.

Although the fire was put out by the crew, fire fighters from  East Sussex attended the ship, as well as numerous merchant ships and four RNLI lifeboats.

The immobilized ship was taken in tow by the tug Anglian Monarch and arrived at berth 38, Southampton on 6th May. She was later moved to102 berth in the Western Docks where she is to be repaired.

Sea Princess  

Princess Cruises' Sea Princess was the centre of media attention when over 200 of her passengers fell ill on a "French and Spanish Coast" cruise, cutting the cruise short by one day. The virus was thought to be the "novovirus" which has plagued several cruise ships over the last few years. The last port of call - Lisbon was cancelled and she returned to Southampton one day early.

She arrived at 38/39 berth at Southampton on 2nd June where the ship was disinfected ready for the next cruise to the Western Mediterranean starting on Saturday 3rd June.

The Calypso at 102 berth on 3rd June, undergoing repairs after her fire.

Sea Princess at berth 38/39 Southampton on 3rd June, preparing for her next cruise after the virus outbreak.

Freedom of the Seas inward bound in Southampton Water on 29th April.

The length of the Freedom of the Seas can be appreciated in this view of the cruise ship. 

The Freedom of the Seas was escorted down Southampton Water by a local tug spraying water.

....and a helicopter!

The Freedom of the Seas at City Cruise Terminal dwarfs P&O's Arcadia which was at Mayflower Cruise Terminal.

She doesn't look too good from the stern....

....but not too bad from the bow.

Today, the largest cruise ship in the world arrived at Southampton. Royal Caribbean Cruises' Freedom of the Seas has surpassed the record set by the Southampton based Queen Mary 2, to take the title. The 338 metre long vessel, with a breadth of almost 39 metres, weighs in at 158,000 Grt. Her 1,360 crew can cater for 4,370 passengers. 

The ship boasts 15 decks and such innovative features as the largest fitness centre afloat, a surf machine where passengers can ride artificially generated waves, a rock climbing wall (on the funnel) and a family sized water park.

She was built by Aker Finnyards at Turku in Finland, and before calling at Southampton, she also paid courtesy visits to Hamburg and Oslo.

Hundreds of members of the public lined vantage points along Southampton Water and Southampton Harbour to witness the arrival of the Freedom of the Seas at 08:45 on a gloomy Saturday morning. She was escorted by local Southampton tugs which put on the customary water spraying salute as she made her way to her berth at the City Cruise Terminal at 101 berth.

The Freedom of the Seas is due to leave Southampton on Wednesday 3rd May for New York where she will be officially named. 

The ship will cruise the Caribbean for the American cruise market and so is unlikely to be seen very often, if at all, in Southampton.   

On Sunday, April 23rd, five cruise ships were in port at the same time. This was the first time this has happened since 1966!

At the City Cruise Terminal at 101 berth the Saga sisters Saga Ruby and Saga Rose were moored. The Saga Rose departed Southampton at 17:00 for a 23 night cruise to Egypt. The Saga Ruby departed an hour and a half later for a two week Atlantic Islands cruise.

At the Mayflower Terminal, at 106 berth P&O's Oceana was moored. She departed at 17:00 for a 13 night Canary Island cruise.

The Cunard flagship Queen Mary 2 was at the Queen Elizabeth II Terminal at berths 38/39, preparing for a transatlantic crossing to New York.  

The highlight of the arrivals and departures was undoubtedly the departure of the Queen Elizabeth 2 from 105 berth at 12:45 at the end of her annual World Cruise. She was bound for a refit at Bremerhaven.

As the Queen Elizabeth 2 sailed past the berthed Queen Mary 2 they saluted each other with a blowing of horns and the Queen Mary 2 played the  hit song, "You're Beautiful" by James Blunt followed by Diana Ross singing, "Forever Young".

The new Tenax assisting a tanker at Fawley on 19th March 2006. (Photo by Martin Penwright)

Tenax underway in the Solent on 3rd June 2006.

The Silex has departed from the Solent for Italy. She is seen here in the Solent on 4th April 2004.

The new Spanish built tug Tenax has arrived at Fawley Oil Terminal to replace the Silex which has previously been stationed there. Delivered in 2006, the Tenax is a large tug of 664 Grt.

The Silex has departed the Solent for warmer waters in Ancona, Italy. 

The tugs at Fawley are operated by Ostensjo of Norway, but are owned by the Ostensjo subsidiary Solent Towage Ltd. 

The largest container ship ever to call at Southampton, the Arnold Maersk (built 2003, 93496 Grt) arrived at Southampton today from Rotterdam. The 352.6 meter long ship departed on 11th March for the Far East.

Maersk Line ships now call regularly at Southampton after an absence of almost eight years. Three Maersk Line Asia-to-Europe services were re-located to Southampton in February 2006.   

The Arnold Maersk departing from Southampton on 11th March 2006. (Photo by Graham Darling)

The Red Falcon inward bound in Southampton Water on 11th December 2005.

The Red Funnel vehicle ferry Red Falcon struck the link span at speed whilst docking at Town Quay this afternoon. Several passengers of the 130 on-board at the time were injured and taken to hospital. The bow doors of the Red Falcon were severely damaged as was the link span. 

It is expected that the ferry service will be significantly disrupted as a result of the damage to the link span and the ferry, especially as one of the three vessels which operate the service (Red Osprey) is currently away for it's annual winter refit.  

The bulk carrier Daviken (built 1987, 23306 Grt) arrived in Southampton today, after main engine camshaft failure whilst off the South Coast during a voyage from Philadelphia to Antwerp in ballast.   

Due to the forecast of bad weather the Daviken was towed into Southampton by the tug Anglian Earl for repairs to be undertaken. The Daviken was escorted into Southampton by local tugs as well as the Anglian Earl and berthed at 38/39 berths in the Eastern Docks. 

Two views of the Daviken at berth 38/39 Southampton on 11th March 2006. (Photos by Graham Darling) 

The final dry-dock in Southampton - the historic King George V drydock (also known as No.7 Dry dock) has been closed by ABP.

Apparently, the caisson gate is in a poor state of repair and will be dismantled. In future it is planned that the dry-dock will be used for the working of bulk cargoes.

The dry-dock was opened in 1933 by King George V and Queen Mary and was intended for use by the newly built liner Queen Mary.

The last ship to use the dry-dock was Grimaldi's vehicle carrier Grand Benelux in September. 

The newly renamed Adsteam Redbridge assists the arrival of the vehicle carrier Franconia on 25th February 2006.

December 2005

Adsteam's purchase of Howard Smith Towage is finally having an effect on the naming of the existing Southampton tugs. 

In recent weeks :

•  The ex Red Funnel tug Redbridge has been renamed Adsteam Redbridge

• The Sun Surrey, which arrived in Southampton from the Thames in 2004 has been renamed Adsteam Surrey.

• The Deben which arrived in Southampton from Felixstowe in 2003 has been renamed Adsteam Deben. 

It is suspected that the remainder of the Southampton tugs will be renamed in a similar way soon. 

December 2005

The Channel Freight Ferries service between Radicatel on the Seine and Southampton closed on 16th December. The vessel currently employed on the route, the CFF Seine, will be re-deployed.

Channel Freight Ferries lost approximately £2.5m on the route this year, before the exceptional costs incurred by the closure. This lead the parent company, the shipbroking company, Clarksons to close the service. 

A record shipment of grain was exported from the Frontier Agriculture facility at berth 36, Eastern Docks. The 2002 built 69,999 ton deadweight Greek bulk carrier Athina Zafirakis called to load 60,000 tons of milling wheat for export to Spain. 

Athina Zafirakis at berth 36, Southampton.

Stella departing Southampton on 20th November at the beginning of her long voyage to Piraeus.

November 20th 2005

Red Funnel's relief car ferry Bergen Castle finally departed from Southampton today after being laid up for sale at 110 berth for a number of months. The Bergen Castle was used as a stand-in vessel when Red Funnel's three "Raptor" class ferries were enlarged in Poland over the last year.

The Bergen Castle has been purchased by Greek interests and renamed Stella. Her initial destination was Piraeus. It is interesting to note that she has been registered in Wonsan (North Korea) under her new owners.  

The former Royal Navy Landing Ship Sir Geraint (L3027) departed Husbands Shipyard, Southampton after being sold and renamed Sir G, registered in Panama. On departure from Southampton she was bound for the Tees. It is rumoured that she will make a final voyage from the Tees for scrapping in the India or the Far East.

Her sistership, Sir Percivale remains at 49 berth, Southampton for sale. 

Sir G laid up at berth 49, Eastern Docks

The Sea Princess, followed by Legend of the Seas and finally the Aurora departing from Southampton (Photos by Martin Penwright)

June 18th 2005

Three in a row!

The Sea Princess, Legend of the Seas and Aurora made a simultaneous departure at 17:00 from Southampton today.

The Sea Princess and Aurora were both on Norwegian Fjord cruises whilst the Legend of the Seas was bound for the Mediterranean. 

The Russian general cargo ship Yamal was in collision off the coast of Dorset with the container feeder Jessica B. 

The Yamal was on a voyage to South Wales with a cargo of pig iron whilst the Jessica B was bound for Dublin. 

Jessica B suffered some minor damage to her bow, but the Yamal sustained a large hole in her hull above the waterline and damage to her aft superstructure. 

The Jessica B continued on her voyage, whilst the Yamal which also took on a list was escorted to Freshwater Bay for inspection and then on to berth 108, Southampton, where temporary repairs were made.

The Yamal eventually left the port on 19th June bound for South Wales.

Jessica B passing Terneuzen on 17 July 2005 still with minor damage to her bow.

Yamal at Western Docks on 18th June 2005 showing the temporary patch on her hull and the damage to her superstructure. (Photos by Martin Penwright)

Legend of the Seas berthed at the City Cruise Terminal on 7th May 2005.

Legend of the Seas following P&O's Arcadia down Southampton Water on 7th May 2005 at the start of an "Atlantic Islands" cruise.

April 30th 2005

Royal Caribbean International's cruise ship Legend of the Seas arrived in Southampton today and was berthed for the first time at the City Cruise Terminal. The Legend of the Seas will be making regular cruises out of Southampton during the summer months.

The Legend of the Seas was built in 1995, weighs in at 69,490 Grt and carries approximately 1,800 passengers.

An unusual cruise ship called at Southampton today. The Ocean Village arrived in Southampton for refit in No 7 Drydock. Once a familiar sight at Southampton under her previous name of Arcadia, the Ocean Village is now based in Barbados during the winter time and Palma in the summer.

The Ocean Village's refit is due to be completed by 11th May at which point she will depart Southampton for her summer base at Palma.

Ocean Village arriving at Southampton on 30th April 2005. (Photo by Sean Sparks)

Thomson Celebration arriving for the first time in Southampton on 27th April 2005 (Photo by Sean Sparks)

At the City Cruise Terminal on 8th May 2005

April 27th 2005

The new cruise ship Thomson Celebration arrived at Southampton's city Cruise Terminal today on her first visit to Southampton. She was built in 1984 as the Noordam for Holland America Line. Sold to Thomson at the end of last year she was converted to her new livery at Falmouth earlier this year.

Thomson Celebration will spend this summer cruising out of Southampton, performing a series of private cruises before leaving for an "Atlantic Isles" cruise on 8th May.

An unusually busy day for cruise ships in Southampton. As well as Fred Olsen's Braemar at the City Cruise Terminal and the Adonia in No.7 Dry Dock, Southampton witnessed both the Queen Mary 2 and the Queen Elizabeth 2 at Southampton today.

The Queen Mary 2 departed from berth 106 at 18:00 whilst the Queen Elizabeth 2 departed from berth 39/39 at 18:30. The QM 2 then lead the QE2 down Southampton Water watched by hundreds of onlookers.

The Queen Mary 2 was bound for New York on one of her regular liner voyages, whilst the Queen Elizabeth 2 was heading for Funchal on a cruise. 

Queen Mary 2 departing Southampton with the Queen Elizabeth 2 following her in the background.

Adonia departing from Southampton on 7th August 2004.

April 15/16th 2005

P&O's cruise ship Adonia was in port today for the last time. After arriving from an Atlantic Islands cruise she proceeded to No.7 Dry Dock in Southampton for a refit. 

On emerging from the dry dock on 28th April she will have been renamed back to her original name of Sea Princess and will sail under the Princess Cruises banner once more. The Sea Princess will sail out of Southampton for the Summer months of 2005. 

The Arcadia, P&O's new £200m cruise ship arrived in Southampton at the end of  it's delivery voyage from the shipbuilders in Italy. The 83,000 ton vessel will be based in Southampton from where it will serve the British cruising market.

The Arcadia set sail for a private cruise to the Channel Islands on the 7th April and returned to Southampton on 9th April. 

Arcadia is due to be named by Dame Kelly Holmes on 12th April at berth 102 in Southampton and will set sail on her maiden cruise on 14th April for a 16 night Mediterranean cruise. 

The vessel was originally intended to sail as the Queen Victoria for Cunard, before Carnival, the parent company of both companies transferred her to P&O Cruises prior to completion.

Arcadia arriving at Mayflower Terminal Southampton for the first time on 6th April.(Photo by Sean Sparks)

Arcadia at Mayflower Cruise Terminal, Southampton having arrived back from her private cruise to Guernsey on 9th April.

A bow view of the Arcadia taken on 9th April

Red Eagle before conversion on 4th September 2004....

...and after conversion on 2nd April 2005.

March 21st 2005

Red Funnel's Isle of Wight raptor class ferry, the Red Eagle returned from Gdansk, Poland where a second vehicle deck and a 11m new section of hull was inserted into the ship. The Red Eagle is now 93.4m long instead of 82.4m and can take 200 instead of 140 cars. The Red Eagle sailed for Gdansk to be converted during December 2004. 

This completes a 10m investment programme in the vehicle ferry fleet and new terminals. The Red Eagle's two sister ships Red Osprey and Red Falcon were both converted in the same manner during the winter of 2003/2004.

The Saga Ruby, Saga Shipping's new cruise ship arrived in Southampton today from her £17 million refit in Malta Drydocks, Valletta. Saga Ruby will be better known as Cunard's Caronia, built 1973, 24492 Grt., which was sold to Saga in 2004. Saga Ruby will spend much of February in Southampton, preparing for her maiden cruise on 1st March to South America for 32 nights, visiting The Azores, Antigua, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Costa Rica, Belize, Mexico, USA and Bermuda. 

The Saga Ruby at Southampton at the end of her inaugural cruise on 2nd April 2005.

NYK Lynx at lying idle at 101 Berth, Southampton, with the ill fated Aurora at 106 berth.

January 23rd 2005

The NYK Lynx, built 2002, 75201 Grt, made an impressive site whilst moored at 101 berth, Western Docks, Southampton for most of January. She arrived at Southampton on 1st January, and was idle at 101 berth until 29th January when she moved to the container terminal and then departed for the Far East. It seems that she was waiting for a slot on the service on which she was operating.

The unlucky P&O Cruise ship Aurora today, finally, had it's round the world cruise cancelled. The cruise which started on 9th January, was curtailed off the Isle of Wight due to problems with one of the ship's propulsion units. The ship proceeded back to Southampton for repairs which were finally completed by January 19th when the ship left Southampton for tests in the open sea. However, these tests were unsuccessful and the Aurora limped back to port on the evening of 20th January, when the cruise was cancelled. The passengers had remained on board the vessel for the duration of the repairs in Southampton Docks.

The Aurora subsequently departed for Bremerhaven for repairs which are likely to take 10 weeks.

Aurora on a previous visit to Southampton in May 2004.

CFF Seine at Berth 30, Southampton on 17th July 2004.

Channel Freight Ferries, which operates the roll-on roll-off freight only service between Radicatel on the River Seine and Southampton has announced an increase in the frequency of it's services from November. It will now operate additional daytime crossings on weekdays, Tuesday to Friday, as well as the existing night-time crossings. This will lift the capacity of the service by 66%. The two existing vessels, CFF Seine and CFF Solent will continue to be used. 

Update 21st November : The existing CFF Solent has been returned to it's owners and will revert to it's previous name of Tango. The Tango will be replaced by the Dart 2 which has been chartered by CFF and is to be renamed CFF Solent.

Update January 2005 : The Dart 2 has been replaced by the Estonian flagged Lembitu, built 1998, 7606 Grt, which is now operating the service with the CFF Seine.

Update April 2005 : The Lembitu no longer is employed on the service. All sailings are now made by the CFF Seine. 

ABP have today announced a further investment of £0.5 million in the City Cruise Terminal at Berth 101, Southampton. This will be spent enlarging the facilities at the terminal in order the cater for the ever increasing size of cruise ships using the facility. 

Over 220 cruise ship calls are already booked for the port next year with vessels from Royal Caribbean International, Fred Olsen and Saga Shipping, amongst others using the City Cruise Terminal. 

Saga Pearl at the City Cruise Terminal with Oriana and  Oceana at the Mayflower Terminal on 11th Oct 2003.

The San Sapor and North Africa moored in the River Itchen on 5th July 2004.

The three ex US Army tugs, North Africa, Lundys Lane and San Sapor which have been laid up in the River Itchen for many months departed for the Rijnwaal Shipyard, Hardinxveld Gissendam in Holland under their own power. It is understood they have been purchased by the Nigerian Port Authority and have been  renamed Ogbomoso, Balali and Irrua respectively. They are part of a 35 ship consignment which have been purchased / renovated by the shipyard for the Nigerian customer.

The Italian registered chemical tanker Attilio Ievoli built 1995, 4,550 grt ran aground off Lymington River today. She had just departed Fawley Oil Terminal for Barcelona. The tanker was refloated four hours after running aground, with no apparent damage. After inspection, she continued on her voyage to Barcelona two days later.

Attilio Ievoli photographed departing from Rotterdam on 1st June 2004.

Jewel of the Seas departing on her maiden voyage on a dull 8th May 2004.

The latest new cruise ship to be built for Royal Carribean Cruise Lines arrived at Southampton for her naming ceremony. The Jewel of the Seas was christened on 7th May 2004 at berth 38/9 Southampton. She departed on her first cruise for Vigo and Lisbon on 8th May.

Both the Queen Mary 2 and the Queen Elizabeth 2 were in the port of Southampton today, after crossing the Atlantic together from New York. At the port the Boston Cup was handed over from the QE2 to the QM2. This means the the QM2 is now officially the flagship of Cunard. The QM2 will now take over the Trans-Atlantic liner voyages to New York whereas the QE2 will be used mainly as a cruise ship.

April 20th 2004

A bad day for Associated British Ports and the Port of Southampton. The plan for the proposed new container terminal at Dibden Bay in Southampton has been turned down by the government on environmental grounds. There are now questions about the future of the Port of Southampton as one of the major container ports in the UK. 

The capesize bulk carrier Bosporus arrived at Berth 47, Eastern Docks, Southampton under tow of the tug Fairplay XIV. The Bosporus had suffered a total engine failure whilst in the English Channel on a voyage to Brazil. Local tugs assisted her arrival through the Solent and Southampton Water. She is the largest vessel I have seen in Southampton for quite a while - built as the World Place in1995 and 150,973 tons deadweight.

On 25th April she departed for Rotterdam for repairs being towed by the Belgian salvage tug Alphonse Letzer. 

Bulk Carrier Bosporos at Southampton on 24th April 2004. Interesting paint job!

Queen Mary 2 arriving at Southampton on 12th April 2004

The Queen Mary 2 arrived into Southampton from Lisbon today - over four hours late. This delay was due to problems with her bow thrusters experienced at her previous port of Lisbon. Some negative publicity about this delay appeared in the press. This was the first time the QM2 was in Southampton since her inaugural cruise to Fort Lauderdale in January.

So, today, the longest, tallest, heaviest (QM2) and oldest (Doulos) passenger ships in the world are in Southampton!

The world's oldest ocean going passenger ship - m.v. Doulos - built 1914 - arrived at 101 Berth Southampton today from Dubrovnik. The Doulos is a floating Christian bookshop and will be open to the public from 8th to19th April. She sails on 21st April for Scheveningen in the Netherlands.

The Doulos was built in 1914 as the Medina - a name which she retained up to 1949, when she became the Roma, carrying pilgrims to Rome in 1950. In 1952 she became the cruise ship Franca C for Costa Line. She has been the Doulos since 1978. 

For more information see www.mvdoulos.org 

Doulos at Southampton on 9th April 2004