TENBURY was built in 1965 by Burntisland Shipbuilding Co. at
Burntisland with a tonnage of 8459grt, a length of 462ft, a
beam of 63ft 2in and a service speed of 15 knots. She was delivered
to Alexander Shipping Co. on 4th October 1965 for management
by Houlder Bros. & Co., both subsidiary companies of Furness,
Withy & Co. In 1972 she was sold to Bibby Bulk Carriers
Ltd., with Houlder Bros. as managers but after only six months
was returned to Houlder Bros. and put up for sale. In 1974 she
was sold to the Boundary Shipping Co. of Hong Kong and renamed
Al-Barat by her owners who had Saudi Arabian interests. She
was acquired, in 1981, by the Arabian Maritime Transport Co.
of Jeddah who retained her name. In 1984 she became the Sea
Eagle when she was purchased by Byron Bay Shipping Inc. of Monrovia
with Gulfcast Shipping Co. as managers. On 27th April, when
off Bandar Khomeini (Bandar Shahpor) in Iran, she was hit by
a missile and heavily damaged. She was taken into Bashir, condemned,
and on 3rd December arrived at Port Alang where she was scrapped.
HAMPSHIRE was built in 1974 by Chantiers de
France at Dunkirk with a tonnage of 32062grt, a length of 679ft
5in, a beam of 103ft 1in and a service speed of 17.5 knots.
A liquid gas carrier she was launched on 30th July 1973 and
delivered to the Britain Steamship Co. in January 1974 for operation
Bibby Bulk Carriers Ltd. As with all Bibby LPG's her cargo was
carried at atmospheric pressure at low temperature as opposed
to other companies who carried their cargo at high pressure
to keep the gas liquified. In both cases specialist equipment
and stringent safety precautions are required. The ship, which
operated on the Europe - Persian Gulf - Kuwait service, could
be loaded in 14 hours and discharged in 18 hours. In April 1984
she was transferred to Hong Kong registry and, with the Cheshire,
was placed with a new subsidiary company, the Britain Steam
Ship Co. After five years she was, in 1989, sold to K/S Hermes,
with Kvaerner Shipping A/S of Oslo as managers, who renamed
her Hermes. She is currently owned by the Varun Shipping Co.
of Bombay with the same name.
DEVONSHIRE (2) was built in 1974 by Ateliers
et Chantiers de France Girande at Dunkirk with a tonnage of
32062grt, a length of 679ft 5in, a beam of 103ft 1in and a service
speed of 17.5 knots. Sister of the Hampshire she was launched
on 20th July 1974 and delivered to Bibby Bulk Carriers Ltd in
the following November. In April 1980, when she was off the
coast of South Africa, a giant wave swamped her injuring 7 of
her crew. She was transferred to Hong Kong registry in April
1984 but, unlike her sister, remained in the ownership of Bibby
Bulk Carriers Ltd. In 1989 she was sold to K/S Hermes, with
Kvaerner Shipping A/S of Oslo as managers, and renamed Hemera.
She is currently owned by the Varun Shipping Co. of Bombay and
operating as the Maharshi Vishwantra.
SHROPSHIRE (4) was built in 1968 by Uraga
Heavy Industries Ltd at Yokosuka with a tonnage of 14771grt,
a length of 521ft 11in, a beam of 75ft and a service speed of
15.5 knots. She was launched for Christian Salvesen's Orient
Bulk Carriers Ltd in October 1967 and delivered as the Verdala
in the following January. Managed by Harrisons (Clyde) Ltd of
Glasgow she was Christian Salvesen's first venture in bulk carrying.
In May 1973 her ownership reverted to the parent company, Christian
Salvesen Ltd.. Bibby Tankers Ltd of Liverpool acquired her as
an investment in 1974 and renamed her Shropshire but due to
her outstanding commitments management remained with Harrisons
(Clyde) Ltd. She was sold to the Aidan Shipping Co. of Malta,
with Harrisons as managers, and renamed Verdala. After only
one year she was acquired by the Macosky Shipping Corp. of Piraeus
who changed her name to Marcalan. In 1983 she was purchased
by Ileg Cia Naviera S. A. and managed by Dirphys Marine as the
Vasilakis. She was sold again in 1987 to Archipelagos Marine
Co. of Limassol who renamed her S. V. Exi. On 16th April 1992
she arrived at Port Alang in India where she was broken up.
CANADIAN BRIDGE/BEDFORDSHIRE was built in
1974 by Harland & Wolff at Belfast with a tonnage of 65135grt,
a length of 858ft, a beam of 133ft 9in and a service speed of
15.5 knots. A bulk carrier, she was built for the Britain Steamship
Co., a Bibby subsidiary since 1967, and managed by Watts, Watts
& Co. for the Seabridge Consortium. When she came off charter
in 1977 she was renamed Bedfordshire and on 26th January 1978
she was laid up at Loch Strachan. On 8th September 1978 she
was sold to Shell Tankers (UK) Ltd of London, renamed Tectus
and made her first sailing from the Clyde to Richards Bay, South
Africa where she loaded a cargo of coal for Hamburg. She was
never converted to carry oil. In 1987 she was sold to the Philippine
Transmarine Carriers Inc. of Manila who changed her name to
Bocita and in the following year was acquired by Tianjin Ocean
Shipping Co. of China (COSCO Tianjin) who renamed her Shou An
Hai. Current records indicate that she has either changed owners
again or been broken up.
YORKSHIRE
(4) was built in 1975 by Swan, Hunter Shipbuilders Ltd at Newcastle
with a tonnage of 60814grt, a length of 854ft, a beam of 133ft
8in and a service speed of 16 knots. She was ordered by the
Maritime Fruit Carriers of Israel and purchased by Bibby's on
the stocks. Built in two halves, the fore part at Swan, Hunter's
dry dock at Hebburn and the after part, which was launched on
1st October 1974, at Walker, she was the company's first oil
tanker and delivered on 6th October 1975. By 1981 suitable charters
had dried up and she was laid up in Norway until 1983 when she
returned to service. In 1985 she was bareboat chartered for
six years to the American Petroship partners for operation by
York Marine Ltd. of Gibraltar as the York Marine. She was used
as a storage vessel at the Mubarek oil terminal. Transferred
to Bibby Bulk Tankers Ltd of Hong Kong in 1987 she was used
as an oil storage hulk. On 18th April 1988 whilst being used
as a storage hulk moored of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates
she was attacked by Iranian warships and set on fire aft. Abandoned
by her crew she was towed into Fujirah where the blaze was contained
and extinguished. She was sold , as lies' to Lamelosa Shipping
Ltd of Limassol and renamed Martontree. During 1992 she spent
some months laid up at Piraeus and on 28th August 1993 arrived
at Port Alang where she was broken up. (Photo: Bibby Line Group)
MERSEY BRIDGE/CAMBRIDGESHIRE was built in
1976 by Sunderland Shipbuilders Ltd at Deptford, Sunderland
with a tonnage of 39427grt, a length of 748ft 5in, a beam of
105ft 11in and a service speed of 15 knots. Launched on 4th
November 1975 she was delivered to Bibby Bulk Carriers Ltd in
the following March for charter to the Seabridge Consortium
who, by this time, was experiencing difficulties. When she came
off charter in 1977 she was renamed Cambridgeshire and placed
on a tramping charter. In April 1979 she became the largest
ship ever to use Hong Kong's Whampoa dry dock. She was sold
in 1983 to Capito Marine of Monrovia who renamed her Festival
and, in 1988, to Tallowcraft Shipping Co. of Monrovia who changed
her name to Eastray. In 1992 she was acquired by Sailor S. A.
of Kingstown, St. Vincent and Grenadines and renamed Anemos.
Current records indicate that she has either changed owners
again or been broken up.
LIVERPOOL
BRIDGE/DERBYSHIRE (4) was built in 1976 by Swan, Hunter Shipbuilders
Ltd at Haverton-on-Hill with a tonnage of 91655grt, a length
of 965ft 1in, a beam of 145ft 2in and a service speed of 15.5
knots. Launched on the 5th December 1975 she was the sixth and
largest OBO built at Swan, Hunter's Haverton-on-Hill yard. When
she was delivered to Bibby Tankers Ltd in the following June
for charter to the Seabridge Consortium she was the largest
ship ever owned by the Bibby Group. On 12th June 1976, when
lying off Flushing, her engine room was extensively damaged
following an explosion. When she came off charter in 1978 she
was renamed Derbyshire and laid up at Stavanger for 12 months.
On 11th July 1980 she sailed from Seven Islands in the St. Lawrence
estuary bound fro Kawasaki with a full 165,000 ton load of concentrated
iron ore pellets. She berthed at Cape Town on 6th August. Five
weeks later, on 9th September, she reported her position as
25.19N, 133.11E, 230 miles southeast of Okinawa. Six hours after
sending her position she reported, at 0930, that she was hove
to in a severe storm and adding that she would be late arriving.
She was never seen again and disappeared without trace with
the loss of 42 crew members and 2 officers wives during typhoon
'Orchid'. On 24th October an empty lifeboat was spotted by the
Taiei Maru 700 miles away in the Luzon Strait. The Derbyshire
became the largest British built and owned ship to be lost at
sea. The subsequent enquiry blamed 'Orchid' but the families
of the victims and the Trade Union believed that a design fault
caused the ship to break in half before an SOS could be sent
especially in view of the fact that a smaller ship, the Alrai,
formerly Athelmonarch, had survived the typhoon. They based
their belief on the fact that cracks had been found at Frame
65 in five similar bulk carriers built by Swan, Hunter and cited
the fate of the ill fated Kowloon Bridge, formerly the English
Bridge, which broke her back after drifting ashore in Eire.
If it could be proved that the Derbyshire was lost due to a
design weakness rather than an 'Act of God' then a claim for
compensation, estimated at £60,000,000, could be lodged.
In October 1987 a second enquiry declined to examine the design
fault thesis as there was no evidence and no one had survived
to testify as to what had happened. On 23rd January 1989 following
a House of Lords decision the Wreck Commissioner issued a statement
saying that the loss was unexplained and that there was no specific
reason for the loss. However, the families of the victims and
the Unions were not satisfied and in 1994 the International
Transport Workers Federation financed an expedition which eventually
found the wreck lying some 2.5 miles deep, 400 miles east of
Okinawa. The Department of Transport appointed Lord Donaldson
to review the new development and he concluded that a detailed
underwater survey would cost around £2,000,000. Funded
partly by Britain and partly by the European Union the survey
was conducted in two phases during 1997 and 1998 during which
153,774 electronic stills and some 200 hours of high definition
film was taken. By pasting together the individual photographs
it was possible to produce, as a single picture, large expanses
of the wreck in clear black and white images. With the new evidence
to hand and in view of certain allegations made against the
crew in the first enquiry the Deputy Prime Minister ordered,
in December 1998, a full reopening of the formal enquiry in
the High Court. The hearing commenced on 5th April 2000 and
continued for 54 days during which time the evidence was fully
examined. Mr Justice Colman concluded that ' On the basis of
the condition of the wreckage and of the data derived from the
model tests conducted at MARIN, it can be concluded with reasonable
confidence that the initiating cause of the loss was the destruction
of some or all of the ventilators and air pipes located on the
foredeck by sustained green water loading over many hours in
the course of Sept.8 and probably Sept. 9. Water was therefore
able to enter the bosun's store, machinery spaces and probably
the ballast tanks in substantial quantities and, possibly to
a minor extent, the fuel tank. The Derbyshire then developed
a trim by the bow which, although imperceptible from the bridge,
had the effect, as the bow dropped lower and lower, of accentuating
green water loading on No.1 hatch cover as the sea conditions
became more severe in the course of that day. By about 1700,
those conditions had deteriorated so greatly that there was
likely to have been green water loading in excess of the collapse
strength of No.1 hatch cover. Once the hatch cover gave way,
water would enter No.1 hatch, very rapidly filling the large
ullage space above the cargo and thereby causing the ship to
go still further down by another 3.7m. It is estimated that
the filling of No.1 hold might take as little as five minutes
or as much as 16.5 minutes. This flooding in turn caused the
green water loading on No.2 hatch cover progressively and rapidly
to increase until it exceeded the collapse strength of that
hatch cover and water then entered No.2 hold. No.3 hatch suffered
the same fate. At that point, the Derbyshire was irretrievably
lost". No blame was attached to the crew for the loss of
the ship. (Photo: Bibby Line Group)
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE was built in 1969 by Upper
Clyde Shipbuilders (Clydebank Division) at Clydebank with a
tonnage of 22189grt, a length of 633ft 6in, a beam of 90ft 2in
and a service speed of 15.5 knots. Launched on 25th September
1968 she was built as the car carrier Volnay for Aidan Shipping
Ltd of Glasgow with Harrisons (Clyde) Ltd of Glasgow as managers.
Acquired by Bibby's in 1977 she was converted into a cargo carrier
by removing the car decks and renamed Northamptonshire. In 1980
she was sold to Hong Fat Shipping Inc. and renamed Andaman Sea
for management by Yick Fung Shipping & Enterprises Co. Ltd
of Hong Kong. She was acquired by Sea Friend Maritime Inc. who
renamed her Argaman Sea in 1985 and in 1991 her name was changed
to Milta when she was purchased by Milta Shipping Co. of Valetta
with Pigassos Maritime Inc. Current records indicate that she
has either changed owners again or been broken up.
STAFFORDSHIRE
(3) was built in 1977 by Ateliers et Chantiers de Dunkerque
et Bordeaux at Dunkirk with a tonnage of 41677grt, a length
of 724ft 5in, a beam of 112ft 2in and a service speed of 17
knots. Launched on 11th April 1977 for Bibby Navigation Ltd
she was a liquified atmospheric gas carrier capable of carrying
four different liquids ranging from propane to anhydrous ammonia.
She was delivered in September 1977 to United Gas Carriers Corp
of Monrovia with Bibby Bros. as managers and was promptly laid
up in the Clyde estuary where she remained for 20 months. In
1982 she was chartered to store liquid petroleum gas off South
Korea. Her port of registry was transferred to Hong Kong in
April 1984 but management of her was controlled from the Isle
of Man. By 1989 she was carrying liquid butane/propane from
the Middle East to Europe and in 1995 was the largest ship in
the Bibby fleet. She is currently owned by the China Ocean Shipping
Co. (COSCO) and operating as the Yuanda. (Photo: Bibby Line
Group)
LANCASHIRE (5) was built in 1972 by Seutelvens
Verkstad at Frederikstad with a tonnage of 2527grt, a length
of 289ft 2in, a beam of 45ft 6in and a service speed of 13 knots.
She was built in 1972 as the Leiv Eriksen for I/S Leiv Eriksen
of Oslo with Einar Bakkevig as manager. A liquified gas carrier
she was acquired by Bibby's in 1987 and renamed Lancashire.
In 1989 she was sold to Weststar Shipping Co. of Nassau who
renamed her Joule for management by Gazocean S. A. of the Bahamas.
Current records indicate that she has either changed owners
again or been broken up.
DORSETSHIRE (3) was built in 1980 by Nippon
Kokan K. K. at Tsurumi Yard, Yokohama with a tonnage of 30875grt,
a length of 718ft 6in, a beam of 106ft 8in and a service speed
of 15 knots. A petroleum mixed products tanker with 7 pumps
she was launched on 14th March 1980 as the Freeport Chief for
Horn Shipping Inc. with Anders Jahre of Monrovia as manager.
In 1988 she was owned by Chief Shipping Co. of Monrovia and
managed by Jahre Shipmanagement A/B. She was purchased by Bibby
Bulk Carriers Ltd and Britain Steam Ship Co. in 1989 and renamed
Dorsetshire. After two years she was sold to Spartan Shipping
Inc. of Monrovia who renamed her Protank Orinoco and she is
currently owned by the Ranger Marine S. A. of Piraeus with the
same name.
Wartime Managed Ships
EMPIRE PRIDE was built in 1941 by Barclay,
Curle & Co. at Glasgow with a tonnage of 8418grt, a length
of 495ft, a beam of 64ft 4in and a service speed of 16 knots.
She was launched as a troopship on 15th May 1941 for the Ministry
of War Transport with Bibby Bros. & Co. as managers and
delivered in the following September. With the capacity to carry
2000 men in wartime she was, in 1945, operated for the Ministry
of Transport by Bibby's in troopship livery. Replaced by the
Devonshire (2) in 1954 she was decommissioned in June of that
year and sold to Charlton Steam Shipping Co. of London, a Chandris
subsidiary, and renamed Charlton Pride. She was converted into
an emigrant carrier on the Australia and New Zealand assisted
passage run. In 1956 she was purchased by Donaldson Line for
£600,000, reconverted to carry cargo only at Rotterdam
and renamed Calgaria for their Canadian service. She commenced
her first voyage on 21st March from Rotterdam to Halifax, Nova
Scotia and back to Glasgow and was then positioned to Avonmouth
for runs to Canada and South America. In April 1963 she was
sold to Fortelza Cia. Nav. and renamed Embassy for a final loaded
voyage to Hong Kong where she arrived on 9th July for demolition.
FELIX ROUSSEL was built in 1930 by Ateliers
et Chantiers de la Loire at St. Nazaire with a tonnage of 16774grt,
a length of 561ft 10in, a beam of 68ft 4in and a service speed
of 16 knots. She was launched on 17th December 1929 and completed
in November 1930 for Les Services Contractuals des Messageries
Maritimes. Deployed on their Marseilles - Far East - Yokohama
service she commenced her maiden voyage on 26th February 1931.
In 1935 her fore end was lengthened by 26ft at La Coitat at
which time she was given a sloping stem. Her tonnage was increased
to 17083grt and her speed to 18.5 knots. She returned to service
on 15th May 1936 and on 11th July collided with the China Navigation
Co's Yunan and the River Yangtse. On 20th March 1940 she sailed
from Marseilles bound for the Far East and on 13th May, during
her return voyage, was detained at Port Said. In the following
July she was taken over by the Royal Navy at Suez and a new
crew, which was mainly French, was signed on. Thereafter she
trooped between Bombay and Suez, was placed under Bibby management
and then operated a shuttle between Malaysia and Suez. Early
in 1942, when in convoy east of Java, she was detached with
Canadian Pacific's Empress of Asia and Ellerman's City of Canterbury
to land the 11th Northumberland Fusiliers at beleagured Singapore.
On 5th February whilst approaching Singapore she was attacked
by 27 Japanese aircraft and sustained damage when hit with two
bombs between the funnels, killing 12 army gunners. Her troops
were landed and on 6th February she was attacked again. The
Empress of Asia was destroyed but the City of Canterbury escaped
with 2000 refugees and the Felix Roussel with 1100, all women
and children plus unwanted civilians. During 1943-44 she trooped
between Suez - Bombay/Durban/Australia and in 1945 took part
in the first convoy back to Singapore On 16th April 1946 she
was returned to Messageries Maritimes and on 25th June 1948
work was commenced at Dunkirk to restore her for commercial
service. She resumed service on the Marseilles - Far East service
on 22nd September 1950. On 24th April 1955 she was sold for
$3,500,000 to Cia Internacional Transportadora's Arosa Line
and renamed Arosa Sun. She was refitted at Trieste for Atlantic
service during which her promenade deck was glassed in, the
number of lifeboats reduced and her passenger capacity increased
to 60 1st Class and 890 Tourist Class. She made her first sailing
on 20th August 1955. In December 1958 she was arrested at Bremen
due to Arosa Line's financial difficulties and when the company
went bankrupt in 1959 she was taken over by a Swiss Bank and
put up for auction. In 1960 she was acquired by Koninglijke
Nederlandsche Hoogoven & Stalfabrieken and converted at
Ijmuiden into a workers accommodation ship. On 28th march 1974
she arrived at Bilbao where she was broken up by Hierros Ardes.
PRESIDENT DOUMER was built in 1933 by Soc.
Provençal de Construction Navale at La Ciotat with a
tonnage of 11898grt, a length of 468ft 6in, a beam of 64ft and
a service speed of 17 knots. She was launched on 22nd January
1933 for the Marseilles - Suez - Madagasgar service of Messageries
Maritimes but due to the depression work on her was delayed
and it wasn't until 6th June 1935 that she commenced her maiden
voyage from Marseilles to the Far East. On 21st June she had
to put into Aden with engine trouble and, after transferring
her passenger to other company ships, returned to Marseilles
where she arrived on 7th July. Her maiden voyage eventually
recommenced on 15th November. In 1938 improvements to her engines
increased her speed to 18 knots. When World War 2 was declared
on 3rd September 1939 she was requisitioned for troopship duties.
On 18th April 1940 she sailed from Brest with troops for Norway
with French Line's Flandre and Paquet Lines Djenne and escorted
by three warships. She landed her troops at Salangenfjord, north
of Narvik, on 28th April and during the voyage 4 torpedoes were
fired at the convoy by U-47 which all missed. Shortly afterwards
she re-embarked her troops when the Allies evacuated Norway.
On 29th May 1940 she was at Port Said when France fell to the
invading Germans and, on 19th July, was taken over by the British.
Apart from 74 crew members and 20 naval marines the rest of
her crew were repatriated to France by the Athos 11. She was
then handed over to Bibby's who managed her as a troopship.
On 30th October 1942, during a voyage in convoy from Freetown
to UK in bad weather, she was torpedoed by U-604 north east
of Madeira with the loss of 260 lives.
FORBIN was built in 1922 by Forges et Chantiers
de la Méditerraneene at Le Havre with a tonnage of 7291grt,
a length of 417ft 10in, a beam of 55ft 2in and a service speed
of 12 knots. She was launched on 12th April 1922 and served
French ports and the French African colonies with the occasional
trooping voyage to Indo-China as required. When France fell
in July 1940 she was at Gibraltar, taken over by the British
authorities and allocated to Bibby's for management. On 9th
June 1944 she was sunk at Arromanches as part of Mulberry 'B'
harbour, Gooseberry 5 (Corncob). She was raised after the war
but being beyond repair was broken up.
OCEAN VISCOUNT was built in 1942 by Permanenete
Metals Corp at Yard No.1, Richmond, California with a tonnage
of 7134grt, a length of 441ft 6in, a beam of 57ft and a service
speed of 11 knots. She was completed in June 1942 for the Ministry
of War Transport and allocated to Bibby Bros & Co. for management.
After the war, in 1948, she was acquired by Clan Line Ltd and
renamed Clan Kennedy. She was sold to Eddie Steamship Co. of
Keelung in 1959 and broken up in Japan during the following
year.
(2).jpg)
YORKSHIRE
(4) was built in 1975 by Swan, Hunter Shipbuilders Ltd at Newcastle
with a tonnage of 60814grt, a length of 854ft, a beam of 133ft
8in and a service speed of 16 knots. She was ordered by the
Maritime Fruit Carriers of Israel and purchased by Bibby's on
the stocks. Built in two halves, the fore part at Swan, Hunter's
dry dock at Hebburn and the after part, which was launched on
1st October 1974, at Walker, she was the company's first oil
tanker and delivered on 6th October 1975. By 1981 suitable charters
had dried up and she was laid up in Norway until 1983 when she
returned to service. In 1985 she was bareboat chartered for
six years to the American Petroship partners for operation by
York Marine Ltd. of Gibraltar as the York Marine. She was used
as a storage vessel at the Mubarek oil terminal. Transferred
to Bibby Bulk Tankers Ltd of Hong Kong in 1987 she was used
as an oil storage hulk. On 18th April 1988 whilst being used
as a storage hulk moored of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates
she was attacked by Iranian warships and set on fire aft. Abandoned
by her crew she was towed into Fujirah where the blaze was contained
and extinguished. She was sold , as lies' to Lamelosa Shipping
Ltd of Limassol and renamed Martontree. During 1992 she spent
some months laid up at Piraeus and on 28th August 1993 arrived
at Port Alang where she was broken up. (Photo: Bibby Line Group)
LIVERPOOL
BRIDGE/DERBYSHIRE (4) was built in 1976 by Swan, Hunter Shipbuilders
Ltd at Haverton-on-Hill with a tonnage of 91655grt, a length
of 965ft 1in, a beam of 145ft 2in and a service speed of 15.5
knots. Launched on the 5th December 1975 she was the sixth and
largest OBO built at Swan, Hunter's Haverton-on-Hill yard. When
she was delivered to Bibby Tankers Ltd in the following June
for charter to the Seabridge Consortium she was the largest
ship ever owned by the Bibby Group. On 12th June 1976, when
lying off Flushing, her engine room was extensively damaged
following an explosion. When she came off charter in 1978 she
was renamed Derbyshire and laid up at Stavanger for 12 months.
On 11th July 1980 she sailed from Seven Islands in the St. Lawrence
estuary bound fro Kawasaki with a full 165,000 ton load of concentrated
iron ore pellets. She berthed at Cape Town on 6th August. Five
weeks later, on 9th September, she reported her position as
25.19N, 133.11E, 230 miles southeast of Okinawa. Six hours after
sending her position she reported, at 0930, that she was hove
to in a severe storm and adding that she would be late arriving.
She was never seen again and disappeared without trace with
the loss of 42 crew members and 2 officers wives during typhoon
'Orchid'. On 24th October an empty lifeboat was spotted by the
Taiei Maru 700 miles away in the Luzon Strait. The Derbyshire
became the largest British built and owned ship to be lost at
sea. The subsequent enquiry blamed 'Orchid' but the families
of the victims and the Trade Union believed that a design fault
caused the ship to break in half before an SOS could be sent
especially in view of the fact that a smaller ship, the Alrai,
formerly Athelmonarch, had survived the typhoon. They based
their belief on the fact that cracks had been found at Frame
65 in five similar bulk carriers built by Swan, Hunter and cited
the fate of the ill fated Kowloon Bridge, formerly the English
Bridge, which broke her back after drifting ashore in Eire.
If it could be proved that the Derbyshire was lost due to a
design weakness rather than an 'Act of God' then a claim for
compensation, estimated at £60,000,000, could be lodged.
In October 1987 a second enquiry declined to examine the design
fault thesis as there was no evidence and no one had survived
to testify as to what had happened. On 23rd January 1989 following
a House of Lords decision the Wreck Commissioner issued a statement
saying that the loss was unexplained and that there was no specific
reason for the loss. However, the families of the victims and
the Unions were not satisfied and in 1994 the International
Transport Workers Federation financed an expedition which eventually
found the wreck lying some 2.5 miles deep, 400 miles east of
Okinawa. The Department of Transport appointed Lord Donaldson
to review the new development and he concluded that a detailed
underwater survey would cost around £2,000,000. Funded
partly by Britain and partly by the European Union the survey
was conducted in two phases during 1997 and 1998 during which
153,774 electronic stills and some 200 hours of high definition
film was taken. By pasting together the individual photographs
it was possible to produce, as a single picture, large expanses
of the wreck in clear black and white images. With the new evidence
to hand and in view of certain allegations made against the
crew in the first enquiry the Deputy Prime Minister ordered,
in December 1998, a full reopening of the formal enquiry in
the High Court. The hearing commenced on 5th April 2000 and
continued for 54 days during which time the evidence was fully
examined. Mr Justice Colman concluded that ' On the basis of
the condition of the wreckage and of the data derived from the
model tests conducted at MARIN, it can be concluded with reasonable
confidence that the initiating cause of the loss was the destruction
of some or all of the ventilators and air pipes located on the
foredeck by sustained green water loading over many hours in
the course of Sept.8 and probably Sept. 9. Water was therefore
able to enter the bosun's store, machinery spaces and probably
the ballast tanks in substantial quantities and, possibly to
a minor extent, the fuel tank. The Derbyshire then developed
a trim by the bow which, although imperceptible from the bridge,
had the effect, as the bow dropped lower and lower, of accentuating
green water loading on No.1 hatch cover as the sea conditions
became more severe in the course of that day. By about 1700,
those conditions had deteriorated so greatly that there was
likely to have been green water loading in excess of the collapse
strength of No.1 hatch cover. Once the hatch cover gave way,
water would enter No.1 hatch, very rapidly filling the large
ullage space above the cargo and thereby causing the ship to
go still further down by another 3.7m. It is estimated that
the filling of No.1 hold might take as little as five minutes
or as much as 16.5 minutes. This flooding in turn caused the
green water loading on No.2 hatch cover progressively and rapidly
to increase until it exceeded the collapse strength of that
hatch cover and water then entered No.2 hold. No.3 hatch suffered
the same fate. At that point, the Derbyshire was irretrievably
lost". No blame was attached to the crew for the loss of
the ship. (Photo: Bibby Line Group) 
STAFFORDSHIRE
(3) was built in 1977 by Ateliers et Chantiers de Dunkerque
et Bordeaux at Dunkirk with a tonnage of 41677grt, a length
of 724ft 5in, a beam of 112ft 2in and a service speed of 17
knots. Launched on 11th April 1977 for Bibby Navigation Ltd
she was a liquified atmospheric gas carrier capable of carrying
four different liquids ranging from propane to anhydrous ammonia.
She was delivered in September 1977 to United Gas Carriers Corp
of Monrovia with Bibby Bros. as managers and was promptly laid
up in the Clyde estuary where she remained for 20 months. In
1982 she was chartered to store liquid petroleum gas off South
Korea. Her port of registry was transferred to Hong Kong in
April 1984 but management of her was controlled from the Isle
of Man. By 1989 she was carrying liquid butane/propane from
the Middle East to Europe and in 1995 was the largest ship in
the Bibby fleet. She is currently owned by the China Ocean Shipping
Co. (COSCO) and operating as the Yuanda. (Photo: Bibby Line
Group) 
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