MV Centaur

An advert from 1964 for the John Brown ship.

Custom House Greenock

With the coming of the Union in 1707, Scotland became subject to paying English duties. This proved to very unpopular and smuggling was rife.

Custom Houses were built in the main ports of Scotland, some of them being rather grand in design in order to symbolize the authority of the state

The Custom House at Greenock was built by William Burn in 1818 and is a fine building complete with Doric columns and portico, built next to the river it is still an imposing building.

USS Cole DDG 67

The second USS Cole (DDG-67) is an Arleigh Burke-class Aegis-equipped guided missile destroyer homeported in NS Norfolk, Virginia. The Cole is named in honor of Marine Sergeant Darrell S. Cole, a machine-gunner killed in action on Iwo Jima on 19 February 1945, during World War II. The ship was built by Ingalls Shipbuilding and was delivered to the Navy on 11 March 1996.

On 12 October 2000, the Cole was attacked by Al-Qaeda terrorists who committed a suicide attack in the Yemeni port of Aden; seventeen sailors were killed and thirty-nine were injured.

She is seen in these pictures passing Gourock on her way to a NATO exercise.

HMS Smiter P272

Smiter is a coastal training craft p2000 class,she is affiliated with Glasgow University.

She is seen here at the launch of Defender.

Battler

MV Sleat

MV Sleat belongs to the Professional Diving Academy and is equipped with facilities for all types of diving,she normally operates in the Holly Loch but can be seen in these pictures off the coat of Kirn at her deep water mooring.

She had a mishap in Jan 2010 when one of her engine rooms flooded and she required a Svitzer tug to come to her aid.

The official web site is HERE

Police Launch

The MOD police launch is a common sight on the lower firth,with military establishments at Faslane and Coulport.