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Glenfinlas

8K views 6 replies 6 participants last post by  BillH 
#1 ·
One of the 4 PRIAM class general cargo ships built 1966/67 for Glen Line.She came from the Clydebank yard of John Brown & Co.in 1966.The others were Japanese built-GLENALMOND,PEMBROKESHIRE and RADNORSHIRE.
This was taken in London not long after she entered service.
 

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#2 ·
I have just been editing my "memoirs" and came to the point where I was a Commissioning Engineer with EELM on Marine data Loggers. I decided to put "Glenfinlas" into "Google" and came up with this site.

I came to the entry by "Fairfield" and feel I must correct some of the early history of these ships, as I commissioned, with others, the Datalogger from the time the ship was being built at John Brown's near Glasgow. This was also the time that the QE II was being built there on the slipway. The Glenfinlas was indeed one of the 4 Glen & Shire line ships and 4 Blue Funnel line ships being built at the same time - a total of 8 ships. Of these, 4 "Blue Flues" were built in Japan plus one of the Glen & Shire line ships. Another "Priam" was built on north Tyneside, can't remember the name of the ship or the yard now, may have been Vickers, and I started off commissioning her Data logger, but was moved onto the Glenfinlas. I subsequently sailed with the Glenfinlas, along with a colleague Len Elsey, and a large number of dockyard mateys who were finishing building the ship and, for us, installing and cabling up the Data Logger!!! We sailed first to Hamburg, then Middlesborough, London and then to Antwerp from whence she went deep sea and we all went home. She was used on the Far east run to Japan.

Those were the days!
 
#3 · (Edited)
Malcolm Powell said:
I have just been editing my "memoirs" and came to the point where I was a Commissioning Engineer with EELM on Marine data Loggers. I decided to put "Glenfinlas" into "Google" and came up with this site.

I came to the entry by "Fairfield" and feel I must correct some of the early history of these ships, as I commissioned, with others, the Datalogger from the time the ship was being built at John Brown's near Glasgow. This was also the time that the QE II was being built there on the slipway. The Glenfinlas was indeed one of the 4 Glen & Shire line ships and 4 Blue Funnel line ships being built at the same time - a total of 8 ships. Of these, 4 "Blue Flues" were built in Japan plus one of the Glen & Shire line ships. Another "Priam" was built on north Tyneside, can't remember the name of the ship or the yard now, may have been Vickers, and I started off commissioning her Data logger, but was moved onto the Glenfinlas. I subsequently sailed with the Glenfinlas, along with a colleague Len Elsey, and a large number of dockyard mateys who were finishing building the ship and, for us, installing and cabling up the Data Logger!!! We sailed first to Hamburg, then Middlesborough, London and then to Antwerp from whence she went deep sea and we all went home. She was used on the Far east run to Japan.

Those were the days!

Indeed they were.Remember all the articles in the shipping mags on the Data Loggers,the precusor of the everyday computers of today.Had it all explained when on a visit to PRIAM in Glasgow.
The 4 Blue Funnels PRIAM PROMETHEUS PEISANDER and PROTESILAUS were all Tyne built as was Glen's RADNORSHIRE.
GLENALMOND and PEMBROKESHIRE were Japanese built and of course GLENFINLAS came from Clydebank.
 
#7 ·
Indeed they were.Remember all the articles in the shipping mags on the Data Loggers,the precusor of the everyday computers of today.Had it all explained when on a visit to PRIAM in Glasgow.
The 4 Blue Funnels PRIAM PROMETHEUS PEISANDER and PROTESILAUS were all Tyne built.
GLENALMOND PEMBROKESHIRE and RADNORSHIRE were Japanese built and of course GLENFINLAS came from Clydebank.
RADNORSHIRE came from the Tyne but was a problem from the outset. She suffered numerous delays and was taken over into Holt ownership after launch.

RADNORSHIRE (1967 - 1972) Super “P” class.

O.N. 334684. 12,089g. 6,455n. 562'11"(BB) x 77'9" x 30'0".
9-cyl. 2 S.C.S. A. (840 x 1800mm) oil engine manufactured by Akt. Burmeister & Wains Maskin-og-Skibsbyggeri, Copenhagen. 22,500 BHP 21 kts

13.3.1967: Launched by Vickers Ltd., Walker on Tyne (Yard No. 188), for Glen Line Ltd.

11.1967: Completed and transferred to the China Mutual Steam Navigation Company Ltd.

1972: Transferred to the Ocean Steamship Company Ltd., and renamed PERSEUS.

15.1.1973: Owners restyled as Ocean Transport & Trading Ltd.

1973: Reverted to the China Mutual Steam Navigation Company Ltd.

1978: Sold to the China Navigation Company Ltd., Hong Kong, and renamed KWANGSI.

1982: Transferred to Panama registry, and renamed ASIA DRAGON.

1982: Sold to Saudi Falcon Navigation Company, (Saudi International Shipping Company S. A., managers), Saudi Arabia, and renamed SAUDI ZAM ZAM.

1983: Removed from management.

1984: Sold to unspecified Chinese shipbreakers.
 
#5 · (Edited)
I travelled from Hong Kong to New York on board the Phemius (ex-Glenfinlas) on her last trip with Blue Funnel as part of their contribution to the Barber Blue Sea Round the World service in 1978. My father, known in Ocean Fleets as, "Commander" Crowe was Chief Officer. She was sold to Swire's and renamed Kweichow.
To correct previous threads two of the "Super Glens" were built in Nagasaki (with Sulzer engines); Glenalmond (Patroclus) and Pembrokeshire (Phrontis). The Glenfinlas (Phemius) was built on the next slip to the QE2 at John Brown's and the Radnorshire (Perseus) was the only Glen of the class built on the Tyne, (Vickers Armstrong I think) along with the four, Priam, Peisander, Prometheus and Protesilaus built for Blue Funnel. The six built in the UK had B&W engines.
The Priam and Peisander had hydraulic deck cranes while the six others in the class had electric deck cranes. The Glenfinlas and the Radnorshire and two of the four original bluies had a large jumbo derrick serving no.5 hatch and four of the class had a smaller twin derrick system at the same point (rigged against the accomodation bulkhead). Even when the Glens were transferred to Blue Funnel they kept their London port of registry on the stern-I'm not sure about the Glenalmond (Patroclus) as she was part of NSMO (Dutch Blue Flu) and would have had Amsterdam on the stern. The three Glens built in Japan and the Clyde had the fo'csle look-out mast painted white while the five built on the Tyne had this mast painted 'China Brown' like the cargo handling masts and derricks.
They were novel for Holt ships (and almost immediately obsolete) but still aesthetically pleasing compared to their successors. That trip when I was eleven was among the most formative experiences of my life, and I ate 5 meals a day in both the Officers dining saloon and the Chinese PO's mess, hence my username as the Chinese Bosun referred to me as 'Chief Office No.1 Son.'
 
#6 ·
Can verify that the "Radnorshire" was built on Tyneside ,as I work on her in the yard after launch and prior to sea trials. When on trials she had to put into some German port as they could not pump up fuel oil,but cannot remember which port. Apparently the pipework was in such a state that the majority was ripped out and hurredly re-vamped.
 
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