Modern Shipping on the River Clyde and Clyde Estuary.

                                                   ALL PHOTOS CLICK FULL SCREEN

I noticed recently there has been a slight increase in the number of large ships travelling up the River Clyde to the various docks. So much so that practically every day there's a new arrival. With the weather being poor recently it makes a good alternative and I can see it becoming quite addictive. This is the Shannon Star leaving Clydebank Docks recently and the first ship I managed to see leaving the dock itself- a skillful operation considering the small amount of room available, meaning this ship had to back all the way in to reach this position so it could face the right way for departure out again.

Most large ships coming or departing the river have an accompanying local tug just to make sure everything goes smoothly as these ships travel the world's oceans and can easily be in Turkey, South America or Germany a few days later.  This one, Shannon Star, was built in 2010, is a chemical/oil products tanker at 128 metres or 420 feet in length and was off to Norway next. A short hop away. You can look up the world's ships on AIS Shipfinder and zoom in on your own local river or sea port to see what's there. It's free online and also has an app which is handy if you want to know when individual boats arrive or leave port. 

 Last glimpse of the Shannon Star as it departs under the Erskine Bridge and passes the Erskine Hotel.

 

Some ships are so large that they dwarf the river they sail up, like a floating metal skyscraper. This one is the Aurilia, a bulk carrier, and at 225 metres or 738 feet long, is much taller, (if placed upright) than London's iconic Gherkin, 591 feet and even the sloping Leadenhall Building, at 737 feet and 48 floors high.

 Another giant ship I spotted recently at Govan Docks was this one with its own cranes. Due to the recent flurry of new buildings being erected in Glasgow City Centre I'd imagine concrete, sand, metal, and stone will be in high demand until they are completed and shipping is still the best way to deliver heavy bulky materials. I never got the name of this one....

 ... but going by the colours, the black line on the upper bridge, and the pale yellow cranes this is the same one passing under the Erskine Bridge, seen above. A lucky glimpse as it wasn't planned.

Another example, The Bro Nyborg, a tanker passing under the Erskine Bridge.

 Stril Explorer, An Offshore Support Vessel with what looks like a helicopter pad on the upper deck.

Sten Hidra, another oil tanker moored at Clydebank Docks.

Fishing Support Vessel Minna.

General Cargo ship Jomi passing Renfrew.

HMS Duncan on the Clyde a few years ago. A warship built on the River Clyde but based around Portsmouth after its launch. I vaguely remember the end of that great shipping era on the River Clyde in the late 1950s to 1960s when the numerous yards here still built some of the largest and fastest ships around for the international market but I was too young as a pre teen to really appreciate what I was seeing at that time. The QE2, the last of the great liners to be built at Clydebank was launched in 1967 but I had other things on my mind then so it failed to register much.  This post might make up for that oversight. Unlike the three recent cruise ships, docked at Govan during covid 19, and the QE2 launch, no large crowds witnessed these ships departing...  only me or a mere handful of other watchers... but that makes it even more special somehow.

HMS Duncan full view. If Russia invades Ukraine we might need all the UK warships we can get... on standby... and then some.  Strange times we live in.

Firth of Clyde Estuary. Greenock is the West of Scotland's main deep water port for container ships and passing cruise ships. This is a smaller version of one but I have witnessed cruise ship monsters moored here for a few days, three times the height of this example, the number of stacked decks and cabins towering well above town's church spires and skyscrapers. A sight to behold for lucky locals.

 A yacht passing the upturned hull of the sugar boat bound for Tate and Lyle's one time sugar factory at Greenock. The island home of various seabirds now and surprisingly large.

Kingdom of Fife passing Gourock. A familiar ship in the Clyde Estuary and an Offshore Tug/Supply Vessel.

 Container ship Jana passing Greenock's Lyle Hill with the Cross of Lorraine WW2 Free French memorial clearly visible.

Hercules fly past and tanker.

 Hercules bomber close up.

Second bomber. 50 years anniversary?

 A busy Clyde Estuary view. Large tanker with police escort.

Scenic backdrop for tanker.

 Skog. Firth of Clyde. 

 Nuclear Submarine with winter mountain backdrop.

 Pipe and Cable laying ship. Greenock docks.

 It's a hard life but somebody has to keep watch down the various docks and document it. A new hobby perhaps!? A change is as good as a rest they say.