PORT ALFRED (was Re: PORT AUCKLAND)

[teesships]

Albert Weller slide in Middlesbrough Dock circa August 1974:

See also: viewtopic.php?f=13&t=5888

Ron

[teesships]

.... except that now I look a bit more closely, Albert's shot is not the PORT AUCKLAND, her layout is completely different!
Over to the detectives to solve??

Ron

[magoonigal]

It might be the PORT INVERCARGILL, but not 100%.

[northeast]

Shows we were not paying attention at the back of the class!
Amazing how many variations there were in the later Ports.
Nearest I can get is PORT ALFRED, good match except this one seems to have an extra pair of derricks on the bridge front?
But all others in Harry Spong's book seem to differ even more.

[northeast]

It might be the PORT INVERCARGILL, but not 100%.

Similar but had a single mast at 2/3 holds and a crane aft.
But the name does look longish.
None of the ships show the 'cab' on edge of No3 hatch that this one has.
Presume there must have been some mods to the gear on these ships?

[teesships]

I'm going with PORT ALFRED. Those "extra" derricks on the bridge front seem to have been added or removed at some time during her life as I have found elsewhere on line two images showing them, and two without! That "cab" also shows placed port side in one shot, but possibly something that could be moved - looking at the various photos.

Ron

[northeast]

.... and of course he could have scribbled Alfred on a notebook and later read it as Auckland ...

[magoonigal]

Well assuming the PORT ALFRED was the same Port and Starboard, looking at the picture on the top of Page 192, she has Round Ports all the way along the main deck passageway, whilst our ship has Oblong ones forward of the bridge like the INVERCARGILL on page 191 and she appears to have the two derricks at the bridge front.

Now could the Crane on the aft deck have been removed at the later date. The WSS picture is dated July 1960, quite early on in her life......
I see the Launceston still had hers in 1977 though.......

Anyway going off the Hull Design it has to be one of these.....ALFRED, INVERCARGILL or LAUNCESTON.


BUT have just spotted the picture of ALFRED on Page 149, THEY WERE DIFFERENT ON BOTH SIDES! and the Cabs look right.
No Crane......
So you could be right George even though it does look to be a longer name.........

Well anyway we have reduced the odds to Three.!

[teesships]

PORT ALFRED (5282249), Port Line Ltd., 10487gt,
completed Harland & Wolff, Belfast, 3-1961
1961 PORT ALFRED - 1978 MASIRAH - 1982 MASIR
BU Siracha 24.7.86 [Thai Viroj Co]

Hope my own photos will convince the discerning amongst you that it was the PORT ALFRED (not PORT AUCKLAND) in Albert Weller's slide. (Also transferring relevant posts from the "wrong" topic.)

Middlesbrough Dock - 13 January 1975:

Still there - 20 January 1975:

Ron

[teesships]

Some of my photos above of the PORT ALFRED were taken 50 YEARS AGO TODAY

She was my first ship sighting of 1975 and this turned out to be a year of firsts for me.

Locally, I paid my first ever visit to the South Gare and also discovered the riverside road through then British Steel land passing Eston Jetty and Tarmac Jetty and affording closer views of tankers at the North Tees Oil Jetties.
I made my first visit to Seaham and also to Goole.
During the year I made the decision to record as sightings only ships which I actually photographed - previously lany ship seen had been jotted down
I think it would be during this year that I started to load and develop my own black and white films as a consequence of expanding my range of worldwide contacts involved in negative exchange.

I am busy downloading all my negatives for the year to continue my 50 YEARS AGO series and it looks as though there will be a total of around 600 of them to bring to you, with quite a few others distributed elsewhere in my archives over the half century since. There is a thrill for me in all this as nearly all my negatives from this year onwards have never been printed nor scanned previously.

Happy new year to one and all.

Ron M