The grand old nieuw amsterdam

[Brian Probetts (Site Admin)]

​While this is a sad photo, it accompanies great news. Yesterday, I received the big, thick Volume I of the multi-volume series of the beloved Nieuw Amsterdam of 1938. My good friend Dr Nico Guns over in the Holland is producing the work -- a sort of Dutch version of Frank Braynard's six volumes on the life & times of the Leviathan. The Dutch book is graced by a splendid Stephen Card cover -- the Nieuw Amsterdam departing from New York.
The photo above dates from the summer of 1974, at Kaohsiung on Taiwan, then the shipbreaking capital of the world. It is indeed the end of a great ship -- and two other passenger liners. Two-thirds of the 758-ft long Nieuw Amsterdam is already gone; the white section behnd is the final third of Home Lines' Homeric (1931). On the right, there's the bow of the Portugese liner Patria (1948).
In the face of soaring fuel oil costs begun the year before, in 1973, older ships by the hundreds ​were suddenly being scrapped. At one point, no less than 12 liners were being reduced to piles of scrap metal along the shores of Kaohsiung.
​see ​
Guns@Home (GunsatHome) is uw maritiem uitgever. Kies Nico Guns voor al uw maritieme boeken en meer.

[Ivan Cloherty]

Sad picture indeed, but at the same time making us realise that we served our time at sea when there were beautiful ships to observe in our travels, times when we could recognise a ship solely by her silouhette on the horizon and knew her name before we saw it on the bow, times when we joined a ship and didn't know her next port of call or when we would return to home shores. I know from experience now sitting on the harbour seafront that the majority of ships passing along the Channel horizon are just shaped like boxes and you would have no hope of naming them and that their ports are known months in advance and what date and time they will arrive and depart. I am so glad I served when I did and Brian I do appreciate these photos which evoke so many memories and inward smiles, keep them coming so that we may relive our youth which disappeared over the horizon so many many moons ago.

[Keith Tindell]

As you say Ivan, just big ugly boxes today, i saw a brief report on the car carrying box that was in danger of capsise on the Bramble Bank, last year, and the report said that a car had broken loose and punched a hole in the hull !, seems hard to believe to me. It was not the official report, which i look forward to with interest, kt

[Des Taff Jenkins]

Hi Keith.
There would be no chipping over the side on her then, other wise she would be like a colander.
Ivan I was just reading the travel page of the Sunday paper, and an article saying going by sea was the only way to travel, I felt like writing in and telling them we used to be paid, not much, but payed to travel the world, and like you I appreciate the picture's Brian posts.
Cheers Des

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[Ivan Cloherty]

As you say Ivan, just big ugly boxes today, i saw a brief report on the car carrying box that was in danger of capsise on the Bramble Bank, last year, and the report said that a car had broken loose and punched a hole in the hull !, seems hard to believe to me. It was not the official report, which i look forward to with interest, kt

Keith the reports I read put it down to shifting ballast whilst passing Bramble Bank which caused her to list whilst making a sharp turn and the Pilot and Master decided to ground her to avoid blocking the navigation channel. First I've heard about the hull being breached, which whilst possible may be unlikely as all vehicles are stowed on a fore and aft line and any breaking their lashings would slide thwartships and land against frames and the frames on these vessels are closer together than normal cargo ships because of the hangar like construction. On watching the eventual discharge of vehicles in Southampton the damaged ones (lovely Range Rovers) all had side damage no front or rear end damage and were driveable. Maybe the Press was short of news. We never lashed the cars on a two port load, one UK, one Continent, as some would be discharged at second port of loading, but then again we also never expected to turn over and never shifted ballast once leaving the quay as these vessels would heel over like a sailing ship in any strong wind and shifting ballast a very strong no no