Market Friday - Vessels as Seen in the Port Natal Maritime Museum (Part 2)

Today is #MarketFriday, a project initiated by @dswigle, and this post is my contribution to this project for this week.

If you want to learn more about this project and would like to participate, visit today's post by @dswigle.

Last week I shared our visit to the Port Natal Maritime Museum. There was just too much to see to fit it all in one post, So, last week was Part 1 and today I'll share some more photos in Part 2.

As mentioned in last week's post, there was an entrance fee of R10.00 per person. And at an exchange rate of R17.44 for USD/ZAR (last week's rate), R20.00 for me and my wife means that we paid a total of $1.15 for both of us to enter.

Last week we had a look at what is on display outdoors...I almost want to call it..."the real stuff". If you haven't seen it, you can read the post here.

Today we will go on a trip down memory lane...but indoors. Today I'll share some photos of models of boats and ships from yesteryear...one of which is still in service even today!

I had to do my own research though, as there was not really much information (or a guide of some kind) to explain the history of these vessels.

The photos I am sharing today were also a new challenge to me, as it was the first time I took photos of this nature and under these circumstances.

As all these models are displayed in glass "containers", there was a lot of reflection and it was a bit of a challenge to get clear images and to eliminate the reflections the reflections as good as I can.

But the best way of learning is by doing...lol! So let's go for it!

Tug Boats.

We'll start in the reception area, where a model of the OTTO SIEDLE is on display.

According to shipsnostalgia.com, the OTTO SIEDLE was built in 1938 for South African Railways and Harbours by Lobnitz.

She mostly worked in Cape Town, but also in Durban and East London till 1981 "when she was sunk as a target for the South African Navy off Cape Point".

In another very interesting article that I found on the internet, Changes galore on the tugs since my younger days, it seems that the OTTO SIEDLE also did some work in Walvis Bay, Southwest Africa (now called Namibia), and that it was probably in a joint exercise between the South African Navy and the South African Airforce, that she was sunk as a target during this exercise.

Next up is the FC STURROCK.

I couldn't find much information about this tug boat, but according to balticshipping.com (stats available at this link), this tug boat was built in 1959 for South Africa by FERGUSON MARINE - PORT GLASGOW, U.K.

According to a short post on Flickr Clive Reid, the FC STURROCK was working alongside the JR MORE (of which I shared some photos in Part 1) in 1963, when the American vessel, the AIMEE LYKES was grounded on the Aliwal Shoal, south of Durban.

Together with the JR MORE, the FC STURROCK played her part in salvaging the stricken vessel.

Next, we'll be looking at the PAUL SAUER.

According to balticshipping.com, this tug boat was built by SOUTHERN AFRICAN SHIPYARD - DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA, in 1980 to operate under the South African flag, originally named as PAUL SAUER.

On the information plate inside the display, it says that the PAUL SAUER was built by Dorbyl Marine. I gather the Southern African Shipyard might be part of Dorbyl Marine, looking at the SA Shipyards website.

It kept the name, PAUL SAUER, until 2002 when it was renamed PINOTAGE.

It is currently still sailing under the South African flag, doing service in Cape Town. According to africaports.co.za, the PINOTAGE (ex PAUL SAUER) is one of four tugs currently doing service in Cape Town.

Each of these four tugs "is maintained to SAMSA class 8 standard and is equipped for fire fighting and salvage" according to the same post.

RORO Ships.

The next photo is an interesting illustration of the function of RORO ships (this is an illustration of the process in years gone by).

RORO stands for " Roll On Roll Off".

According to RORO.com, a RORO ship is "a type of shipping vessel designed to handle freight that is too large to fit into shipping containers. Initially developed in the 19th century for the transport of trains across waterways, RORO became commercially available in Japan in the 1960s with the globalization of the auto industry".

Today, cargo is typically towed or driven on and off these ocean vessels, using built-in ramps that can withstand weights of up to one million pounds.

According to the same website, it makes "shipping large assets as fast and easy as possible", and they are commonly used to ship machinery, cars, trucks, boats, trailers, RVs, or motorcycles worldwide.

As we visited the Port Natal Maritime Museum last weekend, one of these (modern-time) RORO ships happened to be docked in the Durban Harbor and I managed to capture this monster in the background while taking photos outdoors at the museum. I shared the photo in a recent #wednesdaywalk post, Around Durban Harbor and Port Natal Maritime Museum.

But here it is again. You can clearly see it towering out behind the JR MORE, being docked in Durban Harbor.

The first photo was also in last week's #MarketFriday post,

And this is the one from my #wednesdaywalk post.

I recall driving by one day when this ship was also docked in the harbor and it was open to load/offload. Looking into this vessel felt like looking into a multi-story parking garage that you would expect to find in the city center.

All credit to RORO.com, here is a screenshot of a diagram on their website to get an idea of what I am talking about.

Source: RORO.com

Wow! The excitement is getting me off-topic...lol! Let's get focused again...the Port Natal Maritime Museum...

Flying Boats.

Next up is CANOPUS Flying Boat.

According to the information on display, the CANOPUS, was one of the British Overseas Airways Company's flying boats. Apparently, "during the 1930s and 1940s, flying boats like these were regular sights in Durban Harbor.

According to airandspace.si.edu, the CANOPUS was built by the Short Brothers for the Imperial Airways in 1936.

The CANOPUS had two decks and the following diagram (all credit to the National Air and Space Museum as seen on their website) gives you an idea of the layout and luxury that was offered on this flying boat.

Source: The National Air and Space Museum

Here you can see a video of the New flying boat 'Canopus' on test flight (1936)

Pasenger Liners

The Union Castle Line - Royal Mail Line to South Africa.

For the next photo, the railing got in the way, but I had to go halfway up the stairs to the upper level to get this photo, which I feel was the best photo, trying to neutralize all the reflections.

This is a model of the SS ARMADALE CASTLE, one of the passenger ships owned by the Union-Castle Mail Steamship Co Ltd.

According to Wikipedia, the SS ARMADAL CASTLE "was a passenger steamship built in 1903 at Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering, Govan, Scotland, for the Union-Castle Mail Steamship Co Ltd, London, the first ship ordered for the newly formed company".

According to the same article, the ship was requisitioned as an armed merchant cruiser in the Royal Navy on 2 August 1914.

It was later returned for commercial service in 1919. In 1936, she was scrapped at Blythe by Hughes Bolckow Ltd.

Next up is the CITY of DURBAN.

According to ship-rex.com, the CITY of DURBAN, built in 1954, was a cargo-pasenger liner on London-South Africa-Beira service.

According to the same article, it got sold in 1971 and was renamed MEDITERRANEAN DOLPHIN. In 1974, it was broken up in Kaohsiung.

You can find the whole history and some photos of the CITY of DURBAN at tynebuiltships.co.uk.

Other.

The Flying Dutchman?

This model was hanging from the roof in mid-air. I couldn't find any information about it and I couldn't help to see some humor in this...Might this be the Flying Durchman...lol?

Can you guess what this is?

It was a basket, enabling passengers to embark and disembark with ease.

Here are some photos I took inside of the basket, showing photos on display to show the process in action.

In Conclusion.

I have many more photos. Many are of vessels that are not displaying a name, others are merely photos of interesting and fascinating models.

We want to pay another visit to the museum at a later stage again, as there is more to see and I am sure that we can actually get access to go onboard the boats on display outside.

I'll save the photos I still have and share them in later posts with the possibility of more new photos at a later stage.

But that's it for today, folks.

Thank you for reading my post. I do appreciate it!