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70-463: MV Pentalina-B was a ferry which operated on a variety of Scottish routes. Launched in 1970 as MV Iona , she was the first drive-through roll-on/roll-off ferry built for the David MacBrayne fleet. She was the first ship in the company's history to have bridge-controlled engines and geared transmission, rather than direct drive. During her career she inaugurated more endloading linkspans than

140-463: A high priority was assigned to the construction of LSTs that the previously laid keel of an aircraft carrier was hastily removed to make room for several LSTs to be built in her place. The keel of the first LST was laid down on 10 June 1942 at Newport News, Virginia , and the first standardized LSTs were floated out of their building dock in October. Twenty-three were in commission by the end of 1942. At

210-562: A large new car ferry for the Argyll Hebrides and placed an order with the Ailsa yard in Troon. The deep-drafted vessel could not operate from MacBrayne's existing West Loch Tarbert pier and a site at Redhouse, much further down the loch was identified. In January 1969, Argyll County Council announced that they would not proceed with works at Redhouse. As the alternative route from Oban was too long,

280-512: A major breakdown before the new MV  Clansman was ready for service. She maintained the Oban - Craignure service for just under three weeks, in partnership with MV  Pioneer . Pentalina-B ' s hoist and side ramps were removed in the summer of 1999. From 2006 to 2009 Pentalina-B was chartered out in her off-season, to carry livestock across the English Channel from Dover. She

350-513: A partner of the firm Grainger and Miller. The service commenced on 3 February 1850. It was called "The Floating Railway" and intended as a temporary measure until the railway could build a bridge, but this was not opened until 1890 , its construction delayed in part by repercussions from the catastrophic failure of Thomas Bouch's Tay Rail Bridge . Train-ferry services were used extensively during World War I . From 10 February 1918, high volumes of railway rolling stock, artillery and supplies for

420-526: A passenger certificate, and was allowed to carry fifty passengers. Thus Empire Cedric became the first vessel in the world to operate as a commercial/passenger roll-on/roll-off ferry, and the ASN became the first commercial company to offer this type of service. The first RORO service crossing the English Channel began from Dover in 1953. In 1954, the British Transport Commission (BTC) took over

490-452: A previous Ailsa car ferry like MV  Glen Sannox or the 1964 trio of MacBrayne ferries. The most obvious influence was her intended rival, MV  Sound of Jura , built in Norway for Western Ferries in 1968 – the first drive-through ferry in west coast waters. Iona was ten feet longer than MV  Hebrides , and of greater draft, but twin rudders gave her greater manoeuvrability than

560-407: A propeller speed of 300 rpm. The first ship in the company's history to have such geared transmission, these gearboxes were a regular source of trouble throughout her career. She was equipped with Denny-Brown retractable stabilisers and a bow-thrust controllable-pitch propeller. Engine Control was possible from the consoles in the engine-room, in the wheelhouse, in the bridge wings, or at the aft end of

630-800: A second train-ferry was established from the Port of Southampton on the South East Coast. In the first month of operations at Richborough, 5,000 tons were transported across the Channel, by the end of 1918 it was nearly 261,000 tons. There were many advantages of the use of train-ferries over conventional shipping in World War I. It was much easier to move the large, heavy artillery and tanks that this kind of modern warfare required using train-ferries as opposed to repeated loading and unloading of cargo. By manufacturers loading tanks, guns and other heavy items for shipping to

700-643: A stern ramp and a side ramp for dual loading of thousands of vehicles (such as cars, trucks, heavy machineries, tracked units, Mafi roll trailers , and loose statics), and extensive automatic fire control systems. The PCTC has liftable decks to increase vertical clearance, as well as heavier decks for "high-and-heavy" cargo. A 6,500-unit car ship, with 12 decks, can have three decks which can take cargo up to 150 short tons (136  t ; 134 long tons ) with liftable panels to increase clearance from 1.7 to 6.7 m (5 ft 7 in to 22 ft 0 in) on some decks. Lifting decks to accommodate higher cargo reduces

770-401: A stern ramp as well as interior ramps, which allowed cars to drive directly from the dock, onto the ship, and into place. Loading and unloading was sped up dramatically. Comet also had an adjustable chocking system for locking cars onto the decks and a ventilation system to remove exhaust gases that accumulate during vehicle loading. During the 1982 Falklands War , SS  Atlantic Conveyor

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840-484: A turntable at the forward end of her car deck made the management of on-board traffic difficult. Initial problems were exacerbated by the need to use a side-loading hoist. Things improved after she hanselled the new end-loading linkspan at Gourock on 26 July 1971. In April 1972 Iona moved to the Western Isles, serving Port Askaig and Colonsay , but from Oban rather than West Loch Tarbert. From 1 May she displaced

910-475: A vessel 300 ft (91 m) long a "craft" was considered a misnomer and the type was re-christened "Landing Ship, Tank (2)", or "LST (2)". The LST(2) design incorporated elements of the first British LCTs from their designer, Sir Rowland Baker, who was part of the British delegation. This included sufficient buoyancy in the ships' sidewalls that they would float even with the tank deck flooded. The LST(2) gave up

980-531: Is also present in the village and has a 24h ATM, although the branch itself is only open once a week. By the pier is an all-purpose store called Fàilte (meaning welcome in the local Gaelic language). Lochboisdale Development Limited have recently opened a new harbour on the small island of Gasaigh. This is about 1 km (1,100 yd) from the village, and is reached by two causeways. The harbour provides many facilities. Mooring licences are available for day visiting, monthly and seasonal berths, with inclusive use of

1050-508: Is developing a new vessel class with a capacity of 12,800 CEU. The design has received Approval in Principle (AiP) from Lloyd's Register , which was granted in June 2024. The car carrier Auriga Leader , belonging to Nippon Yusen Kaisha, built in 2008 with a capacity of 6,200 cars, is the world's first partially solar powered ship. The seagoing RORO car ferry, with large external doors close to

1120-495: Is situated on the shore of Loch Baghasdail at the southern end of the A865 . The town profited from the herring boom in the 19th century, and a steamer pier was built in 1880. In 1905, a mission church was built, and by 1953, steamers were connecting Lochboisdale with Oban , Castlebay , Mallaig and Lochmaddy . Lochboisdale is the ferry terminal for the island of South Uist, with regular vehicle ferry services to Mallaig and, in

1190-532: The Toyota Maru No. 10 , Japan's first pure car carrier, and in 1973 built the European Highway , the largest pure car carrier (PCC) at that time, which carried 4,200 automobiles. Today's pure car carriers and their close cousins, the pure car/truck carrier (PCTC), are distinctive ships with a box-like superstructure running the entire length and breadth of the hull, fully enclosing the cargo. They typically have

1260-423: The stern , bow , or sides, or any combination thereof. Types of RORO vessels include ferries , cruiseferries , cargo ships , barges , and RoRo service for air/ railway deliveries. New automobiles that are transported by ship are often moved on a large type of RORO called a pure car carrier (PCC) or pure car/truck carrier (PCTC). Elsewhere in the shipping industry, cargo is normally measured by tonnage or by

1330-499: The tonne , but RORO cargo is typically measured in lanes in metres (LIMs). This is calculated by multiplying the cargo length in metres by the number of decks and by its width in lanes (lane width differs from vessel to vessel, and there are several industry standards). On PCCs, cargo capacity is often measured in RT or RT43 units (based on a 1966 Toyota Corona , the first mass-produced car to be shipped in specialised car-carriers and used as

1400-462: The ASN under the Labour Governments nationalization policy. In 1955 another two LSTs where chartered into the existing fleet, Empire Cymric and Empire Nordic , bringing the fleet strength to seven. The Hamburg service was terminated in 1955, and a new service was opened between Antwerp and Tilbury. The fleet of seven ships was to be split up with the usual three ships based at Tilbury and

1470-463: The ASN were able to convince commercial operators to support the new route between Preston and the Northern Ireland port of Larne . The first sailing of this new route was on 21 May 1948 by Empire Cedric . After the inaugural sailing Empire Cedric continued on the Northern Ireland service, offering initially a twice-weekly service. Empire Cedric was the first vessel of the ASN fleet to hold

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1540-522: The Front were shipped to France from the "secret port" of Richborough , near Sandwich on the South Coast of England. This involved three train-ferries to be built, each with four sets of railway line on the main deck to allow for up to 54 railway wagons to be shunted directly on and off the ferry. These train-ferries could also be used to transport motor vehicles along with railway rolling stock. Later that month

1610-698: The Mallaig - Armadale run and Iona was placed on the sale list. She was sold during the 1997 season to newly reformed Pentland Ferries , eager to revive a Pentland Firth car ferry service from Gills Bay in Caithness to Burwick or St Margaret's Hope on Orkney . Renamed MV Pentalina-B , it was several seasons before she took up the Gills Bay - Orkney service. In plain red and black funnels, she had an unexpected Cal-Mac charter in May 1998, when MV  Isle of Lewis sustained

1680-532: The Oban - Craignure ferry, opening the new Oban linkspan on 15 October. On 29 April 1974, still without a permanent role, she started a new fast "Marine Motorway" from Oban to Castlebay and Lochboisdale , inaugurating a Lochboisdale linkspan that July and berthing there overnight. Iona included Coll and Tiree only in her winter roster, which also included a non-landing call at Tobermory . She still used her lift at Barra, Coll and Tiree. Even without Coll and Tiree,

1750-627: The ageing Loch Seaforth as the Stornoway mailboat , and offered a car-carrying service to Kyle of Lochalsh and Mallaig . Iona's basic passenger facilities were less than ideal for the very long sailing to the West Highland railheads. Ullapool had been selected as a more suitable mainland port and Iona inaugurated a new terminal and linkspan there on 26 March 1973. Hoist loading continued at Stornoway for another two months. Thereafter Iona bow-loaded at Stornoway and stern-loaded at Ullapool. She

1820-621: The basis of RORO vessel size. 1 RT is approximately 4m of lane space required to store a 1.5m wide Toyota Corona) or in car-equivalent units ( CEU ). The largest RORO passenger ferry is MS  Color Magic , a 75,100 GT cruise ferry that entered service in September 2007 for Color Line . Built in Finland by Aker Finnyards , it is 223.70 m (733 ft 11 in) long and 35 m (114 ft 10 in) wide, and can carry 550 cars, or 1,270 lane meters of cargo. The RORO passenger ferry with

1890-419: The conflict was over. The Soviets flying Yakovlev Yak-38 fighters also tested operations using the civilian RORO ships Agostinio Neto and Nikolai Cherkasov . Lochboisdale Lochboisdale ( Scottish Gaelic : Loch Baghasdail [ɫ̪ɔx ˈbɤːs̪t̪ɪl] ) is the main village and port on the island of South Uist , Outer Hebrides , Scotland. Lochboisdale is within the parish of South Uist, and

1960-691: The crew) at a speed of 18 knots, it could not have the shallow draught that would have made for easy unloading. As a result, each of the three ( Boxer , Bruiser , and Thruster ) ordered in March 1941 had a very long ramp stowed behind the bow doors. In November 1941, a small delegation from the British Admiralty arrived in the United States to pool ideas with the United States Navy 's Bureau of Ships with regard to development of ships and also including

2030-447: The earlier MacBrayne ferries. She was the company's first vessel without traditional teak decking. Her vehicle facilities impressed, but passenger accommodation compared poorly with the 1964 ships. She had very little open deck space for passengers. Forward on the boat deck ('B' Deck), there was a full-width lounge for 101 passengers with seating upholstered in blue and purple until they were recovered with vinyl by 1979. High bows obstructed

2100-409: The end of the first world war vehicles were brought back from France to Richborough Port drive-on-drive-off using the train ferry. During the war British servicemen recognised the great potential of landing ships and craft. The idea was simple; if you could drive tanks, guns and lorries directly onto a ship and then drive them off at the other end directly onto a beach, then theoretically you could use

2170-479: The entire scheme was abandoned in August 1969. Instead, the hoist-loading MV  Arran , one of the pioneering Clyde car ferries replaced MV  Lochiel at Islay, competing with Western Ferries . Iona was launched on 22 January 1970. The historic MacBrayne name had last been used by a celebrated paddle steamer of 1864 , finally scrapped in 1935 after 72 years. She ran trials on 25 and 28 May and entered service

MV Pentalina-B - Misplaced Pages Continue

2240-518: The first purpose-built seagoing ships enabling road vehicles to roll directly on and off. The British evacuation from Dunkirk in 1940 demonstrated to the Admiralty that the Allies needed relatively large, seagoing ships capable of shore-to-shore delivery of tanks and other vehicles in amphibious assaults upon the continent of Europe. As an interim measure, three 4000 to 4800 GRT tankers, built to pass over

2310-549: The following day on the Gourock - Dunoon service for CSP, with MV  Bute . She remained almost constantly on the Gourock - Dunoon station until November 1971, with the occasional assistance at Arran. She was troubled by a run of early breakdowns: starboard ramp, hoist, forward capstan, bow-thrust unit and automatic steering. All were duly fixed, but her gearboxes continued to be a regular problem throughout her career. The absence of

2380-482: The forward view for seated passengers. Aft of this, a deckhouse held a cafeteria. On the lower deck ('E' Deck'), below the car deck were a smoke-room/bar (no longer used) and crew quarters. Unusually for a large MacBrayne ship, Iona had no sleeping accommodation for passengers. Iona ' s main machinery was twin Paxman engines, each driving a fixed-pitch propeller through a gearbox, reducing an engine speed of 900 rpm to

2450-574: The front directly on to railway wagons, which could be shunted on to a train-ferry in England and then shunted directly on to the French Railway Network, with direct connections to the Front Lines, many man hours of unnecessary labour were avoided. An analysis done at the time found that to transport 1,000 tons of war material from the point of manufacture to the front by conventional means involved

2520-417: The greatest car-carrying capacity is Ulysses (named after a novel by James Joyce ), owned by Irish Ferries . Ulysses entered service on 25 March 2001 and operates between Dublin and Holyhead . The 50,938 GT ship is 209.02 m (685 ft 9 in) long and 31.84 m (104 ft 6 in) wide, and can carry 1,342 cars/4,101 lane meters of cargo. The first cargo ships specially fitted for

2590-465: The heavy year-round army traffic to Uist bases via Lochboisdale. The arrival of the new MV  Claymore at Oban and the purchase of Western Ferries' Kennacraig facilities in October, finally allowed Iona to take up the Islay service on 15 February 1979. At first she gave three return runs daily between Kennacraig and Port Ellen , with two on Sundays. From 24 October 1979, she gave two calls weekly at

2660-596: The name of White Star Line ships in combination with the "Empire" ship naming of vessels in government service during the war. On the morning of 11 September 1946 the first voyage of the Atlantic Steam Navigation Company took place when Empire Baltic sailed from Tilbury to Rotterdam with a full load of 64 vehicles for the Dutch Government. The original three LSTs were joined in 1948 by another vessel, LST 3041 , renamed Empire Doric , after

2730-440: The navigation bridge deck, for astern working. Iona's car deck could take vehicles up to 16.5 feet in height and 32-ton in weight. She had a bow visor, a stern-and side-ramps with a hoist that could handle 27.5 tons. Traffic for the hoist was marshalled by automatic barriers. Her bow-visor, raised by a racking system, rather than a hinge, was not watertight, limiting her passenger-carrying capacity later in her career. The bow-ramp

2800-517: The newly extended Port Askaig pier. After Western Ferries finally abandoned their Islay service at the end of September 1981, Cal-Mac offered more calls to Port Askaig. Each winter Iona returned to Oban, relieving Claymore and usually had her own refit in February or March, sometimes at Govan, but more usually in Greenock. Losing her crane in 1983 and a Perspex canopy on her limited open deck space, she

2870-492: The observation that "there was little merit in a simple conception of this kind, compared with a work practically carried out in all its details, and brought to perfection." The company was persuaded to install this train ferry service for the transportation of goods wagons across the Firth of Forth from Burntisland in Fife to Granton . The ferry itself was built by Thomas Grainger ,

MV Pentalina-B - Misplaced Pages Continue

2940-626: The others maintaining the Preston to Northern Ireland service. During late 1956, the entire fleet of ASN were taken over for use in the Mediterranean during the Suez Crisis , and the drive-on/drive-off services were not re-established until January 1957. At this point ASN were made responsible for the management of twelve Admiralty LST(3)s brought out of reserve as a result of the Suez Crisis too late to see service. The first roll-on/roll-off vessel that

3010-655: The possibility of building further Boxer s in the US. During this meeting, it was decided that the Bureau of Ships would design these vessels. As with the standing agreement these would be built by the US so British shipyards could concentrate on building vessels for the Royal Navy . The specification called for vessels capable of crossing the Atlantic and the original title given to them was "Atlantic Tank Landing Craft" (Atlantic (T.L.C.)). Calling

3080-642: The rest of the fleet put together. Purchased by Pentland Ferries in 1997, she was renamed MV Pentalina-B and operated across the Pentland Firth until the arrival of their new vessel. In 2009, she was sold to a Cape Verde owner. MV Iona (VII) was the first of a new generation of major car ferries built for the Scottish Transport Group to replace the ageing 1939 mailboat Lochiel , serving Islay , Jura , Gigha and Colonsay from West Loch Tarbert . Early in 1968 MacBraynes were authorised to order

3150-416: The restrictive bars of Lake Maracaibo , Venezuela , were selected for conversion because of their shallow draft. Bow doors and ramps were added to these ships, which became the first tank landing ships. The first purpose-built LST design was HMS  Boxer . It was a scaled down design from ideas penned by Churchill. To carry 13 Churchill infantry tanks , 27 vehicles and nearly 200 men (in addition to

3220-417: The sail from Oban to Barra and South Uist was still a long one and, with very early morning departures. Iona's lack of sleeping berths was greatly criticised. In her 1975 refit, a new deckhouse was added, aft of the officers' accommodation and incorporating eight double cabins. MV Iona completed five seasons on the Oban - Castlebay / Lochboisdale service, but proved increasingly too small, especially with

3290-477: The same landing craft to carry out the same operation in the civilian commercial market, providing there were reasonable port facilities. From this idea grew the worldwide roll-on/roll-off ferry industry of today. In the period between the wars Lt. Colonel Frank Bustard formed the Atlantic Steam Navigation Company , with a view to cheap transatlantic travel; this never materialised, but during

3360-699: The ship unstable and causing it to capsize . Free surface water on the vehicle deck was determined by the court of inquiry to be the immediate cause of the 1968 capsize of the TEV ; Wahine in New Zealand. It also contributed to the wreck of MS  Estonia . Despite these inherent risks, the very high freeboard raises the seaworthiness of these vessels. For example, the car carrier MV  Cougar Ace listed 60 degrees to its port side in 2006, but did not sink, since its high enclosed sides prevented water from entering. In late January 2016 MV  Modern Express

3430-549: The signing of the Armistice on 11 November 1918, train ferries were used extensively for the return of material from the Front. Indeed, according to war office statistics, a greater tonnage of material was transported by train ferry from Richborough in 1919 than in 1918. As the train ferries had space for motor transport as well as railway rolling stock, thousands of lorries, motor cars and "B Type" buses used these ferries to return to England. During World War II , landing ships were

3500-453: The speed of HMS Boxer at only 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) but had a similar load while drawing only 3 ft (0.91 m) forward when beaching. In three separate acts dated 6 February 1942, 26 May 1943, and 17 December 1943, Congress provided the authority for the construction of LSTs along with a host of other auxiliaries, destroyer escorts , and assorted landing craft . The enormous building program quickly gathered momentum. Such

3570-543: The total capacity. These vessels can achieve a cruising speed of 16 knots (18 mph; 30 km/h) at eco-speed, while at full speed can achieve more than 19 knots (22 mph; 35 km/h). As of 7 August 2024 , the largest LCTC was the Höegh Aurora , the inaugural vessel of a planned class of twelve, each with a capacity of 9,100 CEU. Meanwhile, the Marine Design & Research Institute of China (MARIC)

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3640-511: The transport of large quantities of cars came into service in the early 1960s. These ships still had their own loading gear and so-called hanging decks inside. They were, for example, chartered by the German Volkswagen AG to transport vehicles to the U.S. and Canada. During the 1970s, the market for exporting and importing cars increased dramatically and correspondingly also did the number and type of ROROs . In 1970 Japan's K Line built

3710-426: The up-and-coming civil engineer Thomas Bouch who argued for a train ferry with a roll-on/roll-off mechanism to maximise the efficiency of the system. Ferries were to be custom-built, with railway lines and matching harbour facilities at both ends to allow the rolling stock to easily drive on and off. To compensate for the changing tides , adjustable ramps were positioned at the harbours and the gantry structure height

3780-524: The use of 1,500 labourers, whereas when using train-ferries that number decreased to around 100 labourers. This was of utmost importance, as by 1918, the British Railway companies were experiencing a severe shortage of labour with hundreds of thousands of skilled and unskilled labourers away fighting at the front. The increase of heavy traffic because of the war effort meant that economies and efficiency in transport had to be made wherever possible. After

3850-586: The war he observed trials on Brighton Sands of an LST in 1943 when its peacetime capabilities were obvious. In the spring of 1946 the company approached the Admiralty with a request to purchase three of these vessels. The Admiralty were unwilling to sell, but after negotiations agreed to let the ASN have the use of three vessels on bareboat charter at a rate of £13 6s 8d per day. These vessels were LSTs 3519 , 3534 , and 3512 . They were renamed Empire Baltic , Empire Cedric , and Empire Celtic , perpetuating

3920-470: The war, a concept called the shipborne containerized air-defense system (SCADS) proposed a modular system to quickly convert a large RORO into an emergency aircraft carrier with ski jump, fueling systems, radar, defensive missiles, munitions, crew quarters, and work spaces. The entire system could be installed in about 48 hours on a container ship or RORO, when needed for operations up to a month unsupplied. The system could quickly be removed and stored again when

3990-424: The waterline and open vehicle decks with few internal bulkheads , has a reputation for being a high-risk design, to the point where the acronym is sometimes derisively expanded to "roll on/roll over". An improperly secured loading door can cause a ship to take on water and sink, as happened in 1987 with MS  Herald of Free Enterprise . Water sloshing on the vehicle deck can set up a free surface effect , making

4060-447: The winter, Oban . The pier area has undergone a transformation; the old shop and surrounding buildings were either renovated or removed to provide new housing and commercial units for rent. Lochboisdale Hotel, built in the late 19th century as a fishing hotel, is adjacent to the ferry terminal. The whole village is within walking distance of the pier, and has a post office with a coffee shop and internet café . A bank ( RBS ) branch

4130-497: Was a great success at Armadale seeing an increase in traffic, and offering a varying routine of weekend sailings from Mallaig to Castlebay, Lochboisdale. In winter she relieved widely throughout the fleet. It was not deemed worth massive alterations for her to remain in year-round Cal-Mac service. With the arrival of a new MV  Clansman in July 1998, MV  Lord of the Isles took over

4200-679: Was chartered to Cal-Mac in December 2008, operating the Ullapool - Stornoway freight run in place of MV  Muirneag . She was again chartered to Cal-Mac in April 2009, operating a freight run from Kennacraig to Port Askaig . She was sold in late 2009 to an owner in Cape Verde . and passed through the Irish Sea on 10 January 2010, en route for Mindelo . On the delivery voyage, she suffered water ingress and

4270-520: Was extensively refurbished in 1984. She continued to be bothered with mechanical trouble, usually her gearboxes. In May 1989, Iona was once again displaced by Claymore , cascading to the Islay station on the commissioning of MV  Lord of the Isles . Iona took over the Mallaig - Armadale service. For the first time in sixteen years, she was again on a purely hoist-loading route, until she opened linkspans at Mallaig and Armadale on 1 April 1994. She

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4340-461: Was formed in 1842 and the company wished to extend the East Coast Main Line further north to Dundee and Aberdeen . As bridge technology was not yet capable enough to provide adequate support for the crossing over the Firth of Forth , which was roughly five miles across, a different solution had to be found, primarily for the transport of goods, where efficiency was key. The company hired

4410-478: Was in several sections, which coiled back into the vehicle deck, reducing available car spaces. Roll-on RORO vessels have either built-in or shore-based ramps or ferry slips that allow the cargo to be efficiently rolled on and off the vessel when in port. While smaller ferries that operate across rivers and other short distances often have built-in ramps, the term RORO is generally reserved for large seagoing vessels. The ramps and doors may be located in

4480-409: Was listing off France after cargo shifted on the ship. Salvage crews secured the vessel and it was hauled into the port of Bilbao, Spain. At first, wheeled vehicles carried as cargo on oceangoing ships were treated like any other cargo. Automobiles had their fuel tanks emptied and their batteries disconnected before being hoisted into the ship's hold, where they were chocked and secured. This process

4550-458: Was not a popular Lewis mailboat. Major service problems began on 13 June 1973, when the Stornoway linkspan broke down. Iona had to hoist-load, again, for three days. Then Iona herself broke down, and for several days sailed at 10 knots on one engine. The newly rebuilt MV  Clansman also lay idle at Stornoway. Iona again suffered engine trouble in July and spent the rest of that season as

4620-629: Was purpose-built to transport loaded semi trucks was Searoad of Hyannis , which began operation in 1956. While modest in capacity, it could transport three semi trailers between Hyannis in Massachusetts and Nantucket Island, even in ice conditions. In 1957, the US military issued a contract to the Sun Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company in Chester, Pennsylvania , for the construction of a new type of motorized vehicle carrier. The ship, USNS Comet , had

4690-494: Was requisitioned as an emergency aircraft and helicopter transport for British Hawker Siddeley Harrier STOVL fighter planes; one Harrier was kept fueled, armed, and ready to VTOL launch for emergency air protection against long range Argentine aircraft. Atlantic Conveyor was sunk by Argentine Exocet missiles after offloading the Harriers to proper aircraft carriers, but the vehicles and helicopters still aboard were lost. After

4760-554: Was tedious and difficult, and vehicles were subject to damage and could not be used for routine travel. An early roll-on/roll-off service was a train ferry , started in 1833 by the Monkland and Kirkintilloch Railway , which operated a wagon ferry on the Forth and Clyde Canal in Scotland . The first modern train ferry was Leviathan , built in 1849. The Edinburgh, Leith and Newhaven Railway

4830-505: Was towed to Brest Roads for repair. In June 2014 she ran aground on rocks in Moia Moia Bay, Sao Domingos, Cape Verde following a breakdown during a storm. A short causeway was built out to the ship, allowing the cargo to be unloaded. The remains of the wreck remain extant on the shore at 15°1′26″N 23°26′21.5″W  /  15.02389°N 23.439306°W  / 15.02389; -23.439306 . Iona bore hardly any resemblance to

4900-466: Was varied by moving it along the slipway. The wagons were loaded on and off with the use of stationary steam engines . Although others had had similar ideas, Bouch was the first to put them into effect, and did so with an attention to detail (such as design of the ferry slip ) which led a subsequent President of the Institution of Civil Engineers to settle any dispute over priority of invention with

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