MV Sea Freightliner II
Sea Freightliner II – Sealink News
Steel twin screw motor vessel built in 1968 at John Redhead & Sons Ltd., West Yard, South Shields. England (Yard No 622) for British Railways Board, as a Cellular Container ship.
Technical Data
- Length: 118.29 m (overall) 111.56 m (between perpendiculars)
Breadth: 16.79 m
Depth: 6.10 m
Draught: 4.42 m
Tonnage: 4034 gross/2108 net/3265t deadweight
Engines: Two 4 SA 6-cylinder Mirrlees Blackstone diesels
Power: 3069 kW/4200 bHP
Speed: 13.5 knots (Max) - Crew: 18 plus relief.
Capacity: TEU: 218/Containers Hold: 162/20 ft/ Containers Deck: 56 x 20 ft
Call Sign: GYFP - Official Number: 309431
- IMO Number: 6812352
Port of Registry: Harwich/UK
Sister Ships: Sea Freightliner I (621)
History
“The second of a pair of vessels, both specially designed “cellular container ships”. Her sister was the first, of this type, to enter the water from a British yard.”.
March 15th 1968: Launched by Mr J.L. Harrington. Both her and her sister were for the fast service between Harwich and Zeebrugge.
May 21st 1968: Official opening of the Harwich Container Terminal.
June 3rd 1968: Delivered to British Railways Board and entered service.
June 24th 1969: Made her maiden voyage and inaugural journey between Harwich – Rotterdam. Initially she was installed on the Harwich (Parkeston Quay) Dunkerque route with alternate days to Zeebrugge. The containers slotted into cell spaces in the specialized holds, occupying the whole of the cargo space, and these two ships made one round trip each day. The provision of controlled temperatures meant that refrigerated containers could also be carried.
Sea Freightliner II – Courtesy of Jim Ashby (Left) Courtesy of Chris Howell (Right)
1979: Proposal to convert from using expensive marine diesel oil to cheaper heavy grade oil.
Sea Freightliner II – © Tim Webb (Left) © Simonwp (Right)
Sea Freightliner II – Roy Thornton Collection (Left) © Derek Longly (Right)
August 1981: Special survey.
Seafreightliner II – 🆕© Ken Larwood (Harwich)
December 5th 1985: Harwich – Zeebrugge lo-lo service closed and laid-up at Parkeston Quay..
July 1986: Towed from Parkeston Quay to River Stour and laid-up.
Sea Freightliner I/II – © Mick Warwick ( River Stour, 1986)
August 1st 1986: Towed from the River Stour to the River Blackwater for further lay-up.
Sea Freightliner II – © Derek Sands ( Being towed to River Blackwater, 01/08/1986)
Sea Freightliner II – © John Jones ( River Blackwater, 16/08/1986)
September 26th 1986: Sailed to Tilbury for a load of empty containers which were bound for Naples.
October 8th 1986: Left Naples for Pakistan, with a load of pipeline for scrap
January 2nd 1987: She finally arrived at Karachi.
January 17th 1987: Beached and demolition started, by Al Murtaza Metals, before the crew had left the ship!
All information is believed to be correct and no responsibility is accepted for any errors or omissions. All items included in this article are subject to © copyright. We would like to take this opportunity of thanking: Jim Ashby, Chris Howell, John Jones, Ken Larwood, Derek Longly, Derek Sands, Mick Warwick, Tim Webb and Andreas Wörteler for their assistance in producing this feature.
Article © Nigel Thornton and Ray Goodfellow (Dover Ferry Photos Group)
