Norwegian cargo steamer B. A. Broch in 1904

 Norwegian cargo steamer B.A. Broch photographed as brand new in Kristiania (Oslo) in July, 1904. The 216.3 ft (c. 63 m.) 878 brt ship was built by Akers mek. Verksted, Kristiania, for A/S B. A. Broch, Kristiania. My restoration and colorization of Anders B. Wilse´s original image in the Norwegian Maritime Museum archive.

B. A. Broch later had three other Norwegian owners. On October 14. 1916, when she sailed for the last owner, Rederi-A/S Granat (K. M. Pedersen), renamed Rabbi, carrying coal from Swansea (Wales) to Rouen (France) she was captured and scuttled by the German submarine UB18. The crew abandoned the ship in lifeboats, and were later saved by another Norwegian steamer.

Spitsbergen Panorama (1880s)

 Spitsbergen panorama. Photographed in the 1880s by Axel Lindahl, a Swedish photographer who worked in Norway for several years. My colorization of an image in the Norsk Folkemuseum archive (Digital Museum).

Saill training ship Statsraad Erichsen (1901)

 Norwegian sail training ship Statsraad Erichsen photographed in 1901. My colorization of Anders Beer Wilde´s photo in the Maritime Museum of Norway archive.The brig Statsraad Erichsen was built in 1859 at the Karljohansvernverft in Horten. It was used as a sail training ship from 1901 to 1936.

Great Lakes bulk carrier Thomas Lynch (ab. 1907)

The 183 m steel Greal Lakes bulk freighter Thomas Lynch photographed (ab.) 1907. My colorization of an image in the Library of Congress archive (Detroit Publishing Co. collection).

The Thomas Lynch, which entered service in 1907, was built by the Chicago Shipbuildning Co. for the Pittsburgh Steamship Co. (home port Duluth, MN). The ship was rebuilt in 1943 and 1950. Since 1951 it was part of the United Steel Co. fleet. In 1965 the Thomas Lynch was sold to Upper Lakes Shipping Ltd and renamed Wiarton. In 1971 it was sold for scrap. She was towed to Hamilton (ON), where her hull was sunk with steamers Grovedale and Henry R.Platt Jr. to form a breakwall. (Information from the Great Lakes Vessel History page).

Fullrigger Grace Harwar

Fullrigger Grace Harwar. My colorization of an image in the MS Maritime Museum of Denmark archive. There is no date in the museum caption, only that it is from the 20th century.

"Grace Harwar was a full-rigged steel ship built in 1889 by Wm. Hamilton & Co., Port Glasgow Yard No 69 for W. Montgomery, London. Dimensions: 266.7 × 39.1 × 23.5 ft (81.2 × 11.9 × 7.1 m) and tonnage: 1816 GRT, 1749 NRT and 1736 tons under deck. The forecastle was 31 ft (944.8 cm) long and the poop 31 ft (944.8 cm). Rigged with royal sails over double topgallant sails. The mizzen topgallant sail was single. 1913 sold to Finska Rederi AB Delfin (Georg Stenius), Helsingfors, Finland. 1916 sold to Gustav Erikson, Mariehamn, Åland. 1935 broken up at Charlestownon on the Firth of Forth."

(Wikipedia)

Cargo ship Alexander in stormy weather

Today the 104 m cargo ship Alexander passed by in stormy weather on its way 

from Ventspils to Ghent: 

Danish schooner Dannebrog (ab. 1920)

Danish schooner Dannebrog af Thurø, built by J.Ph. Jørgensen, Thurø, in 1916. My colorization of the original photo by an unknown photographer in the MS Maritime Museum of Denmark archive.

USS Mayflower - The President´s yacht (1909)

USS Mayflower, the US President´s yacht, photographed at the Hudson-Fulton Celebration in New York State in 1909. My colorization of a Detroit Publishing Co. collection photo in the Library of Congress archive.

"USS Mayflower (PY-1) (later as USCGC Mayflower (WPG-183)) was the second ship in the United States Navy to have that name. Mayflower—a luxurious steam yacht built in 1896 by J. and G. Thompson, Clydebank, Scotland for millionaire Ogden Goelet who died on board the Mayflower in August 1897." --
"With the Spanish–American War requiring that the Navy expand rapidly, she was purchased by the Navy from Goelet's estate and commissioned at the New York Navy Yard as the USS Mayflower on 24 March 1898 with Commander M. R. S. McKensie in command." --
"Mayflower was decommissioned at New York on 1 November 1904 for conversion to a presidential yacht."
"Recommissioned on 25 July 1905, with Commander Cameron Winslow in command, she immediately sailed for Oyster Bay, Long Island, New York, to prepare for the peace conference which ended the Russo-Japanese War. President Theodore Roosevelt introduced the Russian and Japanese delegations on board Mayflower on 5 August. The ship continued to play a prominent role in support of the negotiations which won President Roosevelt the Nobel Peace Prize."
"After duty as a dispatch boat protecting American interests in Santo Domingo in 1906, Mayflower served as presidential yacht until 1929. On 22 July 1908, she collided with the American 211-gross register ton schooner Menawa in Long Island Sound; Menawa was lost, but all six people aboard Menawa survived.[3]Mayflower was the scene of many diplomatic and social events during her years as the presidential yacht. Many members of the world's royal families visited the yacht and numerous persons of great prominence signed her guestbook. President Woodrow Wilson selected Mayflower as the setting for much of his courtship of Mrs. Edith Bolling Galt."
"One of Herbert Hoover's early acts as president was to dispense with Mayflower as an economy measure, saving upkeep costs of $300,000 per year. She was decommissioned at Philadelphia Navy Yard on 22 March 1929, and her Filipino stewards and much of her furniture were transferred to the presidential retreat at Rapidan Camp."
(Wikipedia)

Steam yacht Winya (1905)

Steam yacht Winya photographed in 1905. My colorization of a photo in the Library of Congress archive (Detroit Publishing Co. collection).

Four-masted barque Olivebank off New Zealand in 1926

The Åland Islands (Finland) shipowner Gustaf Erikson´s four-masted barque Olivebank photographed off Bluff Harbour (New Zealand) in 1926. The original picture by E. A. Phillips - here with my processing and colorization - is in the Maritime Museum archive in Stockholm (Fo33756). The Olivebank run into a mine in the North Sea and was destroyed on September 8, 1939. It was built by Mackie & Thompson, Glasgow, in 1892.

The Royal Swedish Navy armored cruiser Fylgia saluting (1928)

The armored cruiser Fylgia saluting the German Navy while visiting Kiel on May 22, 1928. The original picture - here processed and colorized by me - is in the archive of the Maritime Museum in Stockholm (Fo229116).

HMS Fylgia was an armored cruiser of the Swedish Navy. Launched in 1905, the ship was in service until 1953. The cruiser was primarily used as a training ship for naval cadets. (Wiki)

Schooner Thor Heyerdahl and expedition motor yacht Capella C met in Öresund

German schooner Thor Heyerdahl and UK registered expedition motor yacht

Capella C met this afternoon in Öresund. 

Schooner Thor Heyerdahl:

"Thor Heyerdahl (named after Thor Heyerdahl), originally named Tinka, later Marga Henning, Silke, and Minnow, was built as a freight carrying motor ship with auxiliary sails at the shipyard Smit & Zoon in Westerbroek, Netherlands, in 1930. Her original homeport being Hamburg, Germany, she was used for the next 50 years as a freighter. Eventually sailing unter the flag of Panama as Minnow and then awaiting further use in Germany, she was bought in 1979 by two sailing enthusiasts, who turned the now run-down ship into a topsail schooner to use it for sail training, especially for teenagers and young adults. One of the two original owners was Detlef Soitzek, who had sailed with the Norwegian anthropologist, zoologist, ethnologist and adventurer Thor Heyerdahl on his Tigris expedition in 1977/1978, and suggested to name the ship after the famous researcher and adventurer. The ownership of the ship was subsequently turned over to an association.
From spring to fall, Thor Heyerdahl sails mainly the Baltic Sea and participates in international sail training events. In winter, the ship has repeatedly crossed the Atlantic Ocean and sailed in the Caribbean, especially as classroom under sails with teenage crews." (Wikipedia)

Expedition motor yacht Capella C:

"This vessel was built at BOELE’s SHEEPSWERFEN EN  shipyard in Holland and launched in 1968 as “Her Majesty Ship Bloomendhal” A905, an auxiliary hydrographic vessel of the Royal Deutch Navy.
Later on she became a Pilot Boat for the Rotterdam Harbour’s administration. In 1989 an Australian/Irish gentleman refitted her as a private yacht, and named her Capella C.  The Stars Capella A and Capella B are “Capella”. This double star appears as only one for the human’s eyes and it is one of the brightness stars of the sky. Capella is a well know star for the celestial navigators.
M.Y. Capella C has hosted prestigious guests like members of the British Society and H.S.H. the Prince Rainier III of Monaco." 

http://www.capellac.com

The passenger and cargo ship S/S Aranda

The Finnish cargo and passenger ship S/S Aranda photographed by Selim Björses in 1931. My colorization of the original photo which is in the Svenska Litteratursällskapet collection in Helsinki.

The building of the ship began in 1915 at the Ab Vulcan Varf in Turku. It was being built as a minesweeper for the Russian Imperial Navy. However, due to changed circumstances, the work was interrupted.

As there was to be no delivery to Russia, the shipyard opted to build the ship to a cargo and passenger vessel - named S/S Aranda - with a capacity to function in icy winter circumstances.

After a brief interlude with a private owner, the government of Finland bought the S/S Aranda in the summer of 1921 for the Turku - Åland islands route during the difficult winter season. 
In the summer months the Aranda was used for cruises in the Finnish archipelago and also to some international destinations. In the summer of 1928 she took Finnish visitors to the Amsterdam Olympic games.

The winter of 1945 was to be the last for Aranda on the Turku - Åland islands route. In June the same year she had to be handed over to the Russians as a war reparation. The Russians renamed the ship Marshal Govorov.

The Finnish Steamship Co. steamer S/S Urania in Helsinki (early 20th cent.)

The Finnish Steamship Co Ltd. (FÅA) combined passenger and cargo ship S/S Urania in the Helsinki Southern harbour in the early 20th century. My colorization of a photo in the Helsinki city museum collection (N350500). The photographer is unknown.

The 68.6 m Urania - built in 1891 by Wigham Richardson & Co. in Newcastle - was one of the ships carrying Finnish migrants on the route Hanko - Copenhagen - Hull. (In Hull the migrants boarded bigger ships for the journey to the US). The Urania had cabins for 22 first class passengers, 34 second class passengers and 186 third class passengers.

S/S Urania sank in heavy fog near Kullen (not far from where I live) on February 2, 1913 when it collided with the Norwegian S/S Fancy while on its way from Hull to Copenhagen. The passengers and the crew were rescued by the heavily damaged Fancy to Helsingör, Denmark.

Cable laying vessel NKT Victoria in Öresund

Norway´s Ship of the Year 2017, NKT Victoria, passed by this morning. The 140 m advanced cable laying vessel is on its way to Landskrona for maintenance.

"NKT Victoria was proclaimed Ship of the Year 2017 in Norway in recognition of her innovative, technological and sustainability capabilities." --

"NKT Victoria was christened 4 May 2017 and directly went to sea for her maiden project laying the 113 km HVDC cable connecting the Scottish regions Caithness and Moray. Afterwards she has laid cables for projects such as the 600 MW wind farm Kriegers Flak in Denmark and the export cable connecting the Rentel windfarm to shore in Belgium. She also proved her capabilities in service operations completing the repair of the high-voltage link Skagerrak 2 between Denmark and Norway in the harsh November conditions of the North Sea." (NKT home page)

STS Sedov in Öresund

STS Sedov - the world´s largest sail training ship with a length of 117,5 meter - passed by this morning. Even without sails the Sedov is always a mighty sight.

"STS Sedov (Russian: Седов), formerly Magdalene Vinnen II (1921–1936) and Kommodore Johnsen (–1948), is a four-masted steel barque that for almost 80 years was the largest traditional sailing ship in operation. Originally built as a German cargo ship, Sedov is today a sail training vessel, training cadets from the universities of Murmansk, Saint Petersburg and Arkhangelsk. She participates regularly in the big maritime international events as a privileged host and has also been a regular participant in The Tall Ships' Races." (Wiki)

Cruise ship MSC Meraviglia in Öresund

The first visit of the huge 4500 passenger MSC Meraviglia this year. Note the profuse smoke. Maybe the chef forgot the ten thousand slices of bacon which were in the ovens

 or pans for breakfast? :-)

Early morning blue

The blue colour of the Öresund water was beautiful this morning when a small motor sailer

and a Dutch cargo ship passed by. 

Helsinki view from 1900

This photograph - here with my colouring - by an unknown photographer shows a scenery from Helsinki´s Southern harbour in 1900 (ab.). The passenger ship is Ebba Munck, which operated the route Helsinki - Vaasa at the time. The freight steamer is one of the FÅA ships, but I do not have any information about its name. 

The black and white photograph is from the Helsinki City Museum´s collection. 

Finnish trawler Randi in Öresund

Finnish trawler Randi AAL 128 in Öresund this morning: