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.

Velox

Loch Shira

Loch Shira the Largs to Cumbrae ferry departs Garvel dry dock after completing her annual overhaul.

Lion

The Burns and Laird ferry Lion departing from Ardrossan 1972

Spes Bona

On the27 January an Ayrshire fisherman told STV News how he and his fellow crewmen escaped serious injury after a cargo vessel collided with their boat off the Isle of Arran.

Donald Gibson, 40, was on the bridge of his ship the Spes Bona V at around 1.10am on Wednesday when he noticed cargo vessel heading towards them.

Mr Gibson said he realised that the cargo ship – the Leeswig - was not going to move so he took evasive action.

The Maybole fisherman told STV News: "We were trawling for prawns and displaying all the signs that we were fishing. We were facing each other. It became apparent the ship wasn’t going to change course, so I took evasive action.

"We were hit on the port side, quite high up, which is the strongest part of the boat. We were very fortunate. Had we been slow to react it (the Leeswig) would have crashed right into the boat and it would have capsized us.

"I would like to think that somebody was in the wheelhouse of the Leeswig and saw us, but I just don’t know.

"The Leeswig just carried on like nothing had happened. We got all our gear up and went to Troon harbour with the assistance of the Clyde Coastguard."

Mr Gibson said the Spes Bona is 36 tonnes but the Leeswig was an estimated 2,500 tonnes. He added: "He (Leeswig) wouldn’t have felt it. It would be like an artic lorry hitting a kid’s bike. It could have been a very different outcome."

Mr Gibson was on the boat with his brother and captain Robert Gibson, from Dunure near Ayr, and two Filipino fishermen called Rodolpho Soriano and Esterio Villamor.

Mr Gibson said the Spes Bona was fishing around three miles south east of the Isle of Arran when the accident happened. Clyde Coastguard confirmed that a lifeboat was sent to the scene and escorted the Spes Bona to Troon. The damaged ship, they added, was not taking on water.

The spokesman added they had briefly spoken to somebody on the Leeswig, who said they were on route to Spain. It is not known what the location of the Leeswig is now. The boat is thought to be registered in St John’s, the capital of Antigua and Barbuda

The Marine Accident Investigation Branch stated on its website that they have a launched an initial investigation into a collision between the two vessels.

Story courtesy of STV news