2025

~SHIPS~DORSET~ Images of the Month for January 2025 ~ 1of2 ~ ~ Idunn ~ arriving at Port of Poole - December 2024  

During the afternoon of 14th December 2024 the 130m general cargo ship Idunn arrived at Poole's South Quay to load 7,000 tons of Purbeck ball clay. In recent years this trade has been handled by the fleet of Charles M Willie using ships such as Celtic Commander and Celtic Mariner - regular callers at the Port of Poole and significantly smaller in scale than December’s arrival. Idunn is the largest ship recorded at Poole loading clay (according to two of our most experienced contributors) yet all the loading was undertaken by a single grab crane! Larger ships may required different cargo handling. Idunn’s arrival was capture by regular ~Ships~Dorset~ contributor Kev Mitchell including these two super images.

~SHIPS~DORSET~ Images of the Month for January 2025 ~ 2of2 ~ ~ Idunn ~ arriving at Port of Poole - December 2024  

Idunn was built in 2012 by the Ben Kien Shipyard in Vietnam as a multipurpose dry cargo ship equipped for carriage of containers and strengthened for heavy cargo. The vessel is equipped with 2 cranes mounted on the starboard side, each of about 80 metric tonnes lifting capacity with a reach of 18m (a reach of 28 metres can be made if capacity is reduced to 50 tonnes). When Idunn's two cranes are worked in tandem, heavy lifts of up to 160 tonnes can be handled. Propulsion is delivered via a 4,000 KW controllable pitch propeller and the ship has a 500KW bowthruster.

Key Dimensions for Idunn … Gross Tonnage = 6,580 …Length = 130m … Beam = 17m … Deadweight Tonnage = 9,290 … Grain capacity = 11,000 cubic metres … Container capacity = 640 TEU … Max. Service Speed 14 knots ... in service since 2012.

~SHIPS~DORSET~ Images of the Month for February 2025 ~ 1of2 ~ ~ Hartland Point ~ at anchor in Poole Bay - January 2025  

When our ~Ships~Dorset~ contributor Frazer Hockey took these super photographs, the Hartland Point was anchored in Poole Bay on the 12th January ... and there was a lot of activity at Marchwood Military Port near Southampton! Hartland Point, together with sister-ships Eddystone and Hurst Point are involved in moving equipment to Eastern Europe participating in NATO exercise Steadfast Dart 2025 being held in Bulgaria, Greece and Romania. The United Kingdom is providing the largest contribution of forces to the exercise with over 2,600 personnel and 730 vehicles deploying to NATO’s eastern flank for the Alliance’s principal exercise of the year. These ships are well suited to such tasks with a straight stern ramp 16m long & 17m wide (with 12 independently operated "fingers" enabling the ship to operate at narrow link-spans) ... internal ramps to all cargo decks ... and a side ramp on the starboard side. 

~SHIPS~DORSET~ Images of the Month for February 2025 ~ 2of2 ~ ~ Hartland Point ~ at anchor in Poole Bay - January 2025  

The Point Class of six roll-on/roll-off sealift ships were originally procured under a Private Finance Initiative for use as naval auxiliaries to the British armed forces. Two of the ships have since been released, leaving four available including Hartland Point. The four ships are operated by Foreland Shipping Limited, established in 1999 to build, commission and operate these specialised vessels in the UK Strategic Sealift Service. Foreland Shipping is part of the Hadley Shipping Group. Hartland Point was built by Harland & Wolff at their Belfast yard in 2002. The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has a 22-year charter from Foreland Shipping who own, operate and crew the ships, utilising them as merchant vessels when they are not required for military service.

Key Dimensions for Hartland Point … Gross Tonnage = 23,335 … Length = 193m … Beam = 26m … Deadweight Tonnage = c9,900 … Ro-Ro Lane Metres = 2620m providing trailer capacity of c160 … OR … Container capacity = c410 TEU … Max. Service Speed 18 knots ... in service since 2002.

~SHIPS~DORSET~ Images of the Month for March 2025 ~ 1of2 ~ ~ Douwent ~ at South Quay, Poole - February 2025  

On the 18th February, the Liberian flagged Douwent arrived in Poole from Aalst - located on the River Dender 19 miles northwest of Brussels in Belgium. Her cargo of bricks was unloaded at South Quay where ~Ships~Dorset~ contributor Maksymilian Michalczewski captured these two super images on 18th February  just before light stated to fade … Douwent departed on the 22nd for Amsterdam.  

~SHIPS~DORSET~ Images of the Month for March 2025 ~ 2of2 ~ ~ Douwent ~ at South Quay, Poole - February 2025  

Completed as “Torpe” in November 1987 by Ferus Smit, Westerbroek for Dutch owners, she went to H. Steenstra as “Douwe S” in 1993. In 2005 she was sold to D&H Freight Management, based in Newent, Gloucestershire and renamed “Douwent” and registered in the UK. She hoisted the Liberian flag in 2013 when her owners became Douwent Marine Ltd. and spent time on charter to Scotline of Romford. Now 37 years old - still going strong!  

Key Dimensions for Douwent … Gross Tonnage = 1,311 …Length = 79m … Beam = 11m … Deadweight Tonnage = 1,996 … Hold Dimensions = L55m x B9.4m x  D5.2m … Grain Capacity = 2,660 cu. m ... in service since 1987.

~SHIPS~DORSET~ Images of the Month for April 2025 ~ 1of2 ~ ~ Arklow Valour ~ alongside at Poole - March 2025  

On the 20th March, Ships Dorset contributor Ray Sexton captured two super images of Arklow Valour, recently arrived from Cork … and one of the Arklow fleet flying the Dutch flag. One shot off the Port Bow … and another off the Port Quarter … all angles covered! Arklow Valour is one of the 19 vessels built for Arklow at the Royal Bodewes shipyard at Hoogezand in the Netherlands, who delivered the 5,150 deadweight tonnage minibulker / general cargo ship to the owners in the early weeks of 2017. After a short call at Poole loading aggregates, Arklow Valour sailed at noon, the same day as these photos, for Plymouth.

~SHIPS~DORSET~ Images of the Month for April 2025 ~ 2of2 ~ ~ Arklow Valour ~ alongside at Poole - March 2025  

Arklow Shipping Limited came into existence in 1966 taking management of a 7 ship fleet, previously with different owner/operators. In nearly 60 years since, Arklow Shipping has bought, sold and built ships … with steady expansion the fleet currently stands at 61 ships with gross tonnages between 3,000 and 23,000. The company’s head office has always been in County Wicklow, Ireland, but in the intervening years the fleet expansion and European clientele benefitted by setting up a Netherlands branch office in 1989. Two thirds of the fleet are now registered in Ireland … the rest of the ships in Netherlands … Arklow Valour - the later.

Key Dimensions for Arklow Valour … Gross Tonnage = 2,999 … Length = 87m … Beam = 15m … Deadweight Tonnage = 5,150 … Service Speed = 12 knots … Hold Dimensions = L60m x B12.4m x D8.6m … Grain Capacity = 6,260 cu. m ... in service since 2017.