Displaying items by tag: Older cargoship aground

23rd January 2017

Brand New Cargoship Calls In Wake of Older Cargoship Grounding

After grounding on the River Barrow cargoship Lisa is towed by Bargarth upriver to New Ross Port more than a week ago. On the neighbouring River Suir, newbuild Arklow Cape docked at Belview, Port of Waterford yesterday evening.

#Cargoships - One of Arklow Shipping’s newest cargoships, the single-hold Arklow Cape is today docked on the River Suir at Belview the Port of Waterford, writes Jehan Ashmore.

The Irish flagged 5,053dwt newbuild with Arklow as a port of registry, was launched in October last year and delivered into service the following month. The ‘C’’ class vessel is the second of a 10-ship order from Ferus Smit’s Dutch yard in Westerbroek.

Arklow Cape departed from Bayonne on the French Atlantic coast and the voyage took two days to reach Waterford Estuary. The newbuild arrived yesterday evening to Belview Terminal, downriver of Waterford City.

In the career of Arklow Cape typical cargoes will include grain to be carried in a ship that measures 87m in length overall and is a similar size to cargoship Lisa. The 89m vessel dating to 2001, however while on the neighbouring River Barrow more than a week ago got into difficulties having grounded.

Fortunately all crew were safe following the incident which saw the cargoship become stuck on a mud-bank south of the Pink Rock. The location is between the disused Barrow Railway Bridge and New Ross Port, the ship's destination.

Tugs were dispatched to the scene from Waterford based operator, Fastnet Shipping. Among the tugs involved was the 25 ton bollard pull tug Bargarth which came to the aid of the St. John's registered cargoship.

The undamaged Lisa was refloated and was able to continue the short leg upriver to the inland port to discharge a 4,500 tonne dry cargo.

After an inspection by maritime authorities, the cargoship was permitted to set sail.

Published in Ports & Shipping

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About Conor O'Brien, Irish Circumnavigator

In 1923-25, Conor O'Brien became the first amateur skipper to circle the world south of the Great Capes. O'Brien's boat Saoirse was reputedly the first small boat (42-foot, 13 metres long) to sail around the world since Joshua Slocum completed his voyage in the 'Spray' during 1895 to 1898. It is a journey that O' Brien documented in his book Across Three Oceans. O'Brien's voyage began and ended at the Port of Foynes, County Limerick, Ireland, where he lived.

Saoirse, under O'Brien's command and with three crew, was the first yacht to circumnavigate the world by way of the three great capes: Cape Horn, Cape of Good Hope and Cape Leeuwin; and was the first boat flying the Irish tri-colour to enter many of the world's ports and harbours. He ran down his easting in the Roaring Forties and Furious Fifties between the years 1923 to 1925.

Up until O'Brien's circumnavigation, this route was the preserve of square-rigged grain ships taking part in the grain race from Australia to England via Cape Horn (also known as the clipper route).

At a Glance - Conor O'Brien's Circumnavigation

In June 1923, Limerick man Conor O’Brien set off on his yacht, the Saoirse — named after the then newly created Irish Free State — on the two-year voyage from Dun Laoghaire Harbour that was to make him the first Irish amateur to sail around the world.

June 1923 - Saoirse’s arrival in Madeira after her maiden passage out from Dublin Bay

2nd December 1924 - Saoirse crossed the longitude of Cape Horn

June 20th 1925 - O’Brien’s return to Dun Laoghaire Harbour