I recently met a daughter of the above and during our conversation I mentioned that I had been in the Merchant Navy when I was younger and she asked if I had sailed with Port Line.
I told her that I hadn't, but I had worked on a number of their ships when I was an apprentice at Falmouth Docks...
PORT AUCKLAND
IMO 5282263
1949 completed by Hawthorn, Leslie + Co. Ltd., Hebburn
for Port Line Ltd., London
12.624BRT, 16.120tdw, 13.200bhp 2 oil engines 2SA 6Cy. twin screws, Doxford, 17kn
1976/77 rebuilt, live stock carrier,
1977 kuw. AL MASHALLAH
1979 broken up Kaohsiung, Taiwan
PORT PIRIE
IMO 5282562
1947 completed by Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson, Wallsend
for Port Line Ltd., London
10.537GRT, 11.210tdw, 10.700bhp 2 oil engines 5Cy. Doxford, 16kn
1972 broken up Castellon, Spain
Port Nicholson at Wellington. One of Union SSCo's crane ships in the background.
Port Nicholson
Built: 1962, Harland and Wolff, Belfast
Tonnage: 11,711grt
Owners: Port Line
1979: Broken up Kaohsiung.
Port Chalmers (IV) at Lyttelton. Another Port liner to the left, and Union SSCo's 'Karepo' to the right, a coal hulk in between.
'Karepo' was sold 1952, so this pic taken before then.
Port Chalmers
Built: 1933, Swan, Hunter and Wigham Richardson, Newcastle
Tonnage: 8,535grt
Owners: Port Line
1965: B
Third of 3 snaps of 'Port Napier' at Lyttelton. Beautiful, substantial lines before 'streamlining' took over. Love them all.
Apologies again for poor image--very small photo, limited scanner skills!
Port Napier
Built: 1947, Swan, Hunter and Wigham Richardson, Newcastle
Tonnage: 11,879grt
Owners: Por
Second of 3 snaps of 'Port Napier' at Lyttelton. Beautiful, substantial lines before 'streamlining' took over. Love them all.
Apologies again for poor image--very small photo
Port Napier
Built: 1947, Swan, Hunter and Wigham Richardson, Newcastle
Tonnage: 11,879grt
Owners: Port Line
1970: Broken up a
First of 3 snaps of 'Port Napier' at Lyttelton. Beautiful, substantial lines before 'streamlining' took over. Love them all.
Apologies again for poor image--very small photo
Port Napier
Built: 1947, Swan, Hunter and Wigham Richardson, Newcastle
Tonnage: 11,879grt
Owners: Port Line
1970: Broken up at
Snapshot (cropped and enlarged) of 'Port Lincoln', Lyttelton.
Apologies for poor image--very small photo.
Port Lincoln
Built: 1946, Swan, Hunter and Wigham Richardson, Newcastle
Tonnage: 7,250grt
Owners: Port Line
1971: Broken up Castellon, Spain.
Snapshot of 'Port Hobart' at Lyttelton, c. 1950's?
Port Hobart
Built: 1946, Harland and Wolff, Belfast
Tonnage: 11,138grt
Owners: Port Line
1945: Launched as 'Empire Wessex' for MOT, completed as 'Port Hobart'.
1970: Broken up, Shanghai
Snapshot of 'Port Alma' taken at Lyttelton, c.1950's? Most of the photos in this bunch are quite small, hence a bit blurry.
Port Alma
Built: 1928 Swan, Hunter and Wigham Richardson, Newcastle
Tonnage: 7,983grt
Owners: Commonwealth and Dominion Line(Port Line)
1964: Broken up Onomichi, Japan.
Photo of 'Port Wyndham' taken 1-9-1941 in Jubilee Drydock, Wellington.
Built: 1935 by John Brown and Co, Clydebank.
Owners: Port Line
Tonnage: 8,580grt
1945: Port Line's final war casualty. Apparently torpedoed twice forward by German midget submarine, 11.4.45. Repaired by builders. German records
The Port Line flag flies on the ferry Cartela in the port of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, on Sunday, 24 October 2010. The ferry was taking participants of a Port Line reunion ("Vintage Port") in Hobart on a lunch time river cruise on the Derwent. People from overseas and from all