2024

~SHIPS~DORSET~ Images of the Month for January 2024 ~ 1of2 ~ ~ Lady Adele ~ arriving at Port of Poole - December 2023  

Ships of the Wijnne Barends fleet are frequent callers at both Poole and Portland so about time one of the “ladies” starred in our monthly feature. Thanks to these excellent photos by Frazer Hockey we can show Lady Adele arriving into Poole on the 8th December and another shot of her discharging her cargo at South Quay before she departed in ballast for Rotterdam on the 12th. This was Lady Adele's second visit of 2023, having called at Poole in February with a previous load of timber from Latvia. 

~SHIPS~DORSET~ Images of the Month for January 2024 ~ 2of2 ~ ~ Lady Adele ~ alongside South Quay, Poole - December 2023  

Wijnne Barends Shipping has its origins in 1855 … its fortunes have risen and fallen over time - but it’s still going strong today. The company’s ship ownership peaked in 1955 when they had a fleet of 130 coastal vessels … these days they own a fleet of 36 ships (lengths 80-115 m / gross tonnages 2,500-5,000). Lady Adele was built in 2015 by the Groningen Shipyard at Waterhuizen in the Netherlands.  

Key Dimensions for Lady Adele ... Gross Tonnage = 2,544 ... Length = 88m ... Beam = 13m ... Service Speed = 10 knots ... Hold dimensions = 62m x 10.8m x 7.7m(height) ... Grain capacity c182,000 cu.ft. … Built 2015 in Netherlands

~SHIPS~DORSET~ Images of the Month for February 2024 ~ 1of2 ~ ~ Condor Voyager ~ at South Quay, Poole - January 2024 

Condor Voyager arrived in Poole on the morning of Saturday 6th January having crossed from St. Malo empty. Darryl Morrell was on hand to capture these two great photos of Condor Voyager deploying her Marine Evacuation System for required safety drills and tests, She then sailed to Cherbourg the following morning (Sunday 7th) for refit. In 2020 Condor Ferries' new ownership structure saw Brittany Ferries became stakeholder. In 2021 Brittany Ferries re-assigned their High Speed Craft (operated previously as "Normandie Express") to Condor on charter and renamed her Condor Voyager. 

~SHIPS~DORSET~ Images of the Month for February 2024 ~ 2of2 ~ ~ Condor Voyager ~ at South Quay, Poole - January 2024

Brittany Ferries purchased the "Normandie Express" from Incat in 2007 for £30m, having been on charter from them since 2005. Built 2000 as "Incat Tasmania", she was renamed "The Lynx" for a Tranz Rail inter-island charter in New Zealand until 2003.

Key Dimensions ... Gross Tonnage - 6,581 … Length - 97.22 m … Beam - 26.6 m … Draft - 3.43 m … Service Speed 33 knots (46.5k max.) … Capacity - 850 passengers & 267 cars ... Powered by 4 x Ruston 20RK270 engines (7080kW each) and propelled by 4 x Lips 120E water-jets.

~SHIPS~DORSET~ Images of the Month for March 2024 ~ 1of2 ~ ~ BBC Rio ~ entering Poole Harbour - February 2024  

BBC Rio entered Poole Harbour on the morning of 2nd February and thankfully, Harry Whittle was on hand to record her arrival. The ship left Masan in South Korea 19th December last year with a cargo of wind turbine blades bound for Germany. Her service call at Poole enabled two containerised items on the port side to be offloaded, a crew change and some essential maintenance. 

~SHIPS~DORSET~ Images of the Month for March 2024 ~ 2of2 ~ ~ BBC Rio ~ entering Poole Harbour - February 2024  

BBC Chartering & Logistics was established in 1997 and named after the founding partners Bruno Bischoff and Roelf Briese. The company is based in Germany with offices or representatives in most major markets worldwide enabling rapid growth of their shipping business specialising in heavy lifts and project cargoes. The BBC fleet now numbers over 140 vessels with lifting capacities up to 800 tonnes. 
Key Dimensions for BBC Rio ... Gross Tonnage = 14,941 ... Length = 162m ... Beam = 25m ... Service Speed = 14 knots ... Hold capacity = 25,500 cu. m. … 3 cranes x 80 tonnes ... Container capacity 1050 TEU … Built 2012 in Yezhing, China. 

~SHIPS~DORSET~ Images of the Month for April 2024 ~ 1of2 ~ ~ Freeway ~ dredging at Port of Poole - March 2024  

The trailing suction hopper dredger Freeway arrived at Poole on the morning of the 18th March for a week's maintenance dredging from the Swash Channel to the Ro-Ro terminal and turning basin. Freeway is managed by Koninklijke Boskalis Westminster NV and currently completing a series of assignments along the UK South Coast. Darryl Morrell was on hand to capture these two great shots whilst the dredger was working the western end of the Ferry Turning Area at Port of Poole.  

~SHIPS~DORSET~ Images of the Month for April 2024 ~ 2of2 ~ ~ Freeway ~ dredging at Port of Poole - March 2024  

In January 2015 Boskalis christened the Freeway in the harbour next to its head office in Papendrecht, the Netherlands. She was the fourth vessel in a series of 4,500 cubic meter hopper dredgers built by Boskalis around that time and is very well suited for operations in shallow water including port maintenance and coastal protection projects. After completing her assignment at Poole, by 23rd March Freeway was on her way to Plymouth for her next task. 

Key Dimensions for Freeway ... Gross Tonnage = 4,320 ... Deadweight Tonnage = 5,950 … Length = 92m ... Beam = 19m ... Service Speed loaded = 11knots ... Total Power = 9,750 kW … Hopper Capacity c4,500 cu.m. … Dredging Depth = 30m … Built 2015 in Szczecin, Poland by the Shipkits consortium