Maipo

From SN Guides

In 1973, at Birkenhead, the CSAV owned Maipo, (named after a River and Valley, which is now a wine producing area in Chile) built in 1966, a turbine-powered cargo ship, finished loading general cargo for South America (at the Bibby and Henderson Lines quay) and at some stage during the afternoon of 2nd November 1973 she was possibly warming through her engine (turbine) in readiness for sailing later that evening, when, without anyone noticing, she managed to travel the 1000 or so feet from her berth at the north end of the dock and hit the starboard side of Knightsgarth, a motor-ship built in 1960, laden with ore, waiting to move into and discharge at Bidston Dock, and in the meantime lying quietly alongside at the lay-by berth of Cavendish Warf, until her ore berth was available.

No one was injured but the Knightsgarth suffered major damage to her shell plating, from the main deck all the way down to the bottom plates, where the bulbous bow of Maipo had pierced the ore-carrier. She was lucky to find a dry-dock within the West Float and was able to be repaired in under three weeks.