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Offshore Marine - Ships In Fleet

57K views 106 replies 39 participants last post by  John Gowers 
#1 ·
I wonder if anyone can help me? I am trying to assemble a full listing of all ships within the "Cunard World" and as such am keen to identify ships that formed part of the Offshore Marine subsidiary. Thanks to another thread I have been able to gather a few vessel names to start me off but need help to get to a definitive list.

I am also interested to establish when Cunard acquired the company and also when Cunard relinquished control.

Appreciate any help...

(PS - I have also added a similar thread for both Ellerman and Moss Tankers)
 
#31 ·
Both the Canadian built ships were built for Canadian Offshore Marine so were part of Offshore Marine - they were not chartered in.

1968 saw the founding of the marketing company for supply ships, the Offshore Supply Association (OSA) Ltd in London. Member comopanies were:

NordseeVersorgungsschiffahrt G.m.b.H., Hamburg,
Deutsche Dampfschifffahrts-Gesellschaft "Hansa", Bremen
Offshore Marine Ltd., Great Yarmouth.

Offshore Marine ships were managed by the International Offshore Services (UK) Ltd., London, until 1968. Hays Wharf being a part of London and Rochester Trading. If you look at the history of the South Shore, as built she carries the funnel markings of that company (L&R Trading) but was managed by IOS under the Offshore Marine tradename - however, she always carried OSA funnel markings (and number) when Hays sold to Cunard (who allied to OSA!)

On April 1, 1968 Offshore Marine Ltd. was sold by Hay's Wharf Ltd. to Cunard.

Both the Scotian Shore and Breton Shore were 'OSA numbered' (552 and 553) and built for the Offshore Supply Association - of which OM was a partner. From the start they wore Offshore Marine co,lours and funnel markings and flew the OM houseflag. They are also included in fleet lists for OM.

On December 31, 1972 Offshore Marine Ltd. separated from OSA. However, ships with OSA numbers in Offshore Marine retained them but not on the hulls are the OSA ships did. An example is that the Channel Shore, as built, carries the OSA roundel on her funnels with the OSA number 504. She was UK flagged and registered and had a UK callsign GQET. Later in '72 she took up OM markings.

The histories of the Breton Shore and Scotian Shore are as follows:

Breton Shore was sold in 1980 to Geophoto Services of Pictou, Canada and became the Edward O Vetter. In 1995, Secunda Marine bought her and she became the Cabot Sea. In 2005 she became the Oceanus 1for an undisclosed Panamanian owner before being bought by Mabisel Trading of Nigeria and staying with them until 2010. She is listed in Equasis as survey overdue but also known to be out of service. I do not know where she is currently.

The Scotian Shore became the Fred G Agnich of Geophoto on sale in 1980. In 1994 she was sold to Western Sea Service of Panama and became their Western Crest until 1995 when, with the same name, she was sold on to an undisclosed Panamanian source before going on to Maritime Atlantic of Kingstown in 1996, and became the Western Salvor.

In 1997 she reverted back to Scotian Shore and was sold on to Tuna Suppliers of Kingstown. IN 2006, still as Scotian Shore, she went on to Freeway Marine for a short while before being sold on to Petra Services of Piraeus. In 2010 Equasis had her as no longer in service and this was due to - possibly - certification issues. She has been detained under Paris IMO several times.

I hope that helps?

Jonty
 
#32 · (Edited)
Both the Scotian Shore and Breton Shore were 'OSA numbered' (552 and 553) and built for the Offshore Supply Association - of which OM was a partner. From the start they wore Offshore Marine co,lours and funnel markings and flew the OM houseflag. They are also included in fleet lists for OM.
Jonty
Thanks Jonty, once again superb feedback. It is probably down to my lack of knowledge regarding the industry structure and itsconventions that I'm asking what may be daft questions. My goal is to build a total view of the Cunard 'empire' through the ages. This entails identifying those ships (I'm using ships in this context but my activities have included planes that Cunard operated either directly or indirectly) that I can categorise either as Managed/Chartered/Owned. As such I'm unsure how to categorise Breton and Scotian, it does appear from what you say that unlike others in the OM fleet they were not actually owned by Cunard.
 
#33 ·
Cap, interesting.

It may well be that they were owned but by OM's Canadian subsidiary? Both ships were Canadian registered. In this photo, however, you can see that the Scotian Shore wears the full livery and flies the OM houseflag!

http://www.shipspotting.com/gallery/photo.php?lid=128970

I think - and this is just a guess - that as they were built after Hays sold them, there will be no history about their provenance in the book available re Hays and London and Rochester Trading. Likewise, they were in service after OSA split from associations with OM - and I believe they served most of their time over here, making me think they were run, crewed and managed by OM over here but owned by Canadian Offshore Marine - which was a subsidiary of OM UK!

That's about the best I can do on both ships. - and strangely, the company history does not appear to be out there!

There will be some ex OM men on here for sure who will know more about the Canadian link!

Good luck.

Jonty
 
#34 ·
Thanks again Jonty, the feedback makes interesting reading.

I have been progressing things off-line and appear to have moved forward (well slightly). I'll do my best to outline where I am now.

I have identified with the help of the forum,36 vessels for OM, all appear to have been in service during Cunard's parentage, but unsurprisingly not all of them for the full duration. Nine of them were taken out of service before the sale to Zapata, reducing the number to 27. However, according to the press release at the time of the sale the number of vessels transferred was 24!

Although I have most of the OM ships with in service and out of service dates (years) there are a handfull where I don't have their end of service year. These are;

West Shore
South Shore
Norfolk Shore
Pacific Shore

If anyone can confirm when these came out of service/sold on or whatever then this may just prove to be the concluding piece of the jigsaw.

Cheers
Chris
 
#35 ·
Chris,

West Shore - built 1967 for Offshore Marine of Rochester. Out of service in 1971 when she sank!

South Shore - Built 1965 for Offshore Marine of Rochester. Sold 1972 to Sea Service Shipping of Rochester. 1973 renamed Border Blazer for Tyne Tees Fabrication (of Rochester) until 1981. Then became Rafeef 2 until '82, then Al Jubail IX until '85 and then Al-Mojil XiX until 1992 - fate unknown (to me, at least!)

Norfolk Shore - Built 67/68 for Offshore Marine Rochester. In 1981 became Norfolk Service, then Dawn Shore in 1984 (Warbler Shipping of Lowestoft) in 1988, sold to Putford 1994 renamed Putford Shore and in 2010 still about though possibly no longer in service?

Pacific Shore - 1969 for OM. 1980 to Zapata as Pacific Service. Sold 1985 and became Kinnaird of Caledonia Towage and Marine. '88 became Grampian Kestrel of George Craig, In '91 became Putford Teal of Putford Marine. In 1996 became Seven HHallelujah owned by Teal Shipping of Belize. In 2008 became Sea Giant of Moen Marine of Lagos. In 2010 reported as no longer in service.

Hope this helps?

Jonty
 
#36 ·
Hey Jonty,

Thanks for the information absolutely spot-on! I've updated my data and can now list the ships of OM at the time of the sale together with marrying them up to Cunard literature which I have been able to date as 1978.

All in all a great exercise.

Also thanks to all who have contributed to this thread...
 
#37 ·
A little more to add to the extremely interesting contributions already offered.
TERN SHORE:-
Originally built as a stern trawler at Gateshead in 1959 and named UNIVERSAL STAR
O.N.301577 103' length 242/73 tons. First owners were Universal Trawlers Ltd. of Aberdeen.( Boston D.S.F.Co.Ltd.)
Her PRN was A344 when fishing out of Aberdeen.
In 1964 transferred to Lowestoft with a PRN LT479
1966 converted to tug and in 1968 sold to OM and renamed TERN SHORE.
1971 renamed PESCALDO VIR ? and sold to Italian owners.
1972 renamed MONTE FORTE.

Hope this is of interest or help.
Regards
Dave
p.s. I would be interested to see your finished work on the OM fleet.
 
#38 ·
Davie I was wishing your name to pop up and here you are about my old favourite Tern Shore.
Can you remember the Captains name? I know it was Lionel ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, but cant remember the rest and my first discharge book has been lost.
This could be an interesting detailed account of the fleet,wonder if it will ever make print?
How are you keeping?

Don
 
#41 ·
Hello Don, keeping OK thanks, just memory holes appearing here and there.
I never sailed on TERN SHORE so can't help you there.
However, here are some master's names from my Discharge book which may jog your memory and perhaps help " cap0057 ".

NORTH SHORE G.F.Winfield
SOUTH SHORE Ron.R.Stanley, John Henderson, Albert("Bert") Hodson.
EAST SHORE David Sly, John Grantham.
WEST SHORE Charlie Sheales, D.A.Baines, F.("Dickie") Bird,
Per Heng ( Norwegian), JohnHenderson, L.Tomlinson (could this be Lionel? in 1970 when the West Shore sank?)
ATLANTIC SHORE R.D.Turner
ESSEX SHORE J.L.Thomas, B.D,Tyler.
KENT SHORE David Sly,
NORFOLK SHORE J.Henderson
SUFFOLK SHORE Len Gillings

Best Regards
Dave
 
#40 ·
There were 2 more Weather Class, Biscay and Dogger, although they looked rather different having an extra deck in the accommodation, I believe the hulls and machinery were the same. They were followed by the last ships built for OM, the Kingdom Class. These were PSV's, the Anglia, ***bria and Mercia.

Owen
 
#43 ·
Glad you are keeping OK Davie. Yes I am sure that it was indeed Lionel Tomlinson who was on the Tern Shore, a real gentleman from what I remember. Thanks for that!
One Offshore Marine ship I think everyone has forgotten was the Dee Shore, which if I remember was built in Spain and would have been the last ship to join the fleet.
Owen I believe I mentioned Dogger Shore right at the start of this thread but forgot the Biscay. Dont know about the extra deck though. I know the Viking had an extra deck which seemed to make her roll like nothing on earth. There were only the Captain and Chiefs rooms there, and I know I could put one sock on sitting on my bunk and the other in the bathroom where I had been thrown.

Don
 
#44 ·
Don, I think he is OK with info on the ones you mentioned - and you are right. The 'Dee Shore' was OM's only UT704 and built by Ast. de Santander S.A. - Santander in 1976. She ended her days as the 'Cruz Tide' for Tidewater and I think they have only recently laid her up.

As for moving decks - OIL had two ships with them (one being the OIL Venturer ) and I know they were not that popular in use. In fact, they seldom were used!

Jonty
 
#83 ·
Ice breaker.



As I think I remember. The Polar shore was sister to the Bay Shore and had English Electric diesels. The Polar bad ice breaker class and CP props. In 74 she was damaged breaking the ice to open the harbour in St Johns. I was Chief on the Bay Shore and she was great Tow Boat.
 
#48 · (Edited)
Hi Guys, back again with yet another question :rolleyes: Although from reading the threads so far it is proving to be interesting for many people.

As I mentioned earlier I managed to tie all the ships in with the material I have. However, I have uncovered another do***ent, this time from 1983 but indentifies the Cunard fleet including OM as of 1971. What I have is part of a do***ent from, what at the time was known as the Monopolies and Mergers Commission. The back-drop for this report is the unsuccessful acquistion/merger of Trafalgar House (aka Cunard) and P&O. It does provide for some interesting reading.

I have been able to marry my results across the whole Cunard fleet with what the M&MC indentifies for 1971 & 1983. Unsurprisingly there are a few differences which I'm now investigating, one of which is for an OM ship.

The vessel in question is the Cook Shore, according to the commission report the Cook Shore was not in-service in 1971 but the information I had contradicts it and suggests the ship was in service until 1978 when she was sold and renamed "Suffolk Kinsman". Given the brilliant help I've had so far I hoping someone can provide clarification, as I'm sure my information is the one that is askew.

Regards
Chris
 
#49 ·
Chris,

Can help you with this one!

The Cook Shore was built by Adelaide Ship Construction PTY Ltd of Port Adeliade, Australia in Dec of 1969 for OSAMarine (Australia) of Sydney. in Dec of 1972, she transferred in house to Offshore Marine (London). That sort of throws out your 1971 info.....however, that is the info I have on her.

In 1978 she became uffolk Kinsman, in 1986 she was Eurosalve 2, in 1990 became Cornishman, in 1991, became Putford Snipe, in 1996. Stella Dena until 2003 when she was no longer appearing on any lists. Her fate, therefore, is unknown to me.

Hope this helps?

Jonty
 
#50 ·
Hi again Jonty,

Thanks for a prompt reply. I now believe that with your additional information I can resolve the issue regarding Cook Shore.
My original information had assumed her entry into OM service was 1969 and ending her OM career in 1978. I'd picked-up her start date from an earlier post in this thread. As it now stands her OM service began in 1972 and finishing in 1978. This fits in with the commission report.

Many thanks
Chris
 
#52 ·
Offshore Marine

If anyone is interested I worked for Offshore Marine from 1970 through the purchase by Zapata finaly leaving to join OIL in 1988. I have photos of all the vessels owned and operated by OM, was involved in the building of some and the repair and maintenace of all.

I have some excellent memories of the pionering days of the 70's and reading the threads above brought back some names long forgotten.

Tony
 
#53 ·
Island Shore 1977

I remember chartering the 'Island Shore' and converting her for use as a 'Remote Operated Vehicle' (ROV) support vessel 1n 1977. We used her to survey the Kinsale Head Gas Pipeline with ROV 'Consub2', our first job.. There were some blank faces in the Edgware Road Office when I went to arrange the Charter party, as only a couple of years before I was a 2/O with Cunard, and people kept asking what ship I was now on..

If anyone is interested I worked for Offshore Marine from 1970 through the purchase by Zapata finaly leaving to join OIL in 1988. I have photos of all the vessels owned and operated by OM, was involved in the building of some and the repair and maintenace of all.

I have some excellent memories of the pionering days of the 70's and reading the threads above brought back some names long forgotten.

Tony
 
#57 ·
Can any ship mates remember the Mercia Shore pulling the crane of the Brent
Delta Platform it was the West crane in the 70's ? I was on the Platform at the time and was a Saturday night and the sea state was dodgy for a lift that night
and safety was scoffed at in them days we use to do supply boats in any weather if there was a panic on the Platform for gear to be offloaded .

Ex crane op
Roger S Whitfield
 
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