2024 Programme              (Updated 23rd July 2024) 

The programme of events for 2024 is shown below.

Please note that all events in the 2024 programme are subject to change.

Saturday 20th April 2024 - Solent Cruise (12:00 - 18:00)

TSS members gathered on Town Quay on 20th April for the first trip of the year - a Solent Cruise on board Solent and Wightline Cruises Solent Cat. After the very changeable spring weather lately, the conditions were very good with bright sunshine but a chilly breeze.

We set off at noon and made our way up to the Western Docks, where the cruise ships Jewel of the Seas and Ventura were berthed at berth 101 and berth 106 respectively.

At the SCT5 container berth the Hapag-Lloyd containership Al Zubara towered over her surroundings. We then passed the outward bound feeder containership Nordic Hamburg a regular caller and on her way to Cork. The rest of the container terminal was empty, so we turned around and followed the Nordic Hamburg out of the Western Docks. At the Eastern Docks the Wallenius vehicle carrier Tijuca was on the Itchen berths. In Empress Dock the research ship James Cook was present. She had recently arrived back from Puntarenas, Costa Rica.

We then proceeded down Southampton Water passing Fawley where the tanker Kivalliq W was in the process of departing. We decided to continue into the Solent and let the outbound tanker catch us up later in the cruise as we were keen to take the North Channel across the Solent in order to intercept the tanker UACC Shamiya which was inward bound for Fawley. Having photographed the UACC Shamiya we waited for the Kivalliq W to catch us up and photographed her as she passed bound for Antwerp.

Next, we photographed four vessels in St. Helen’s anchorage. There were three tankers Paul E, Sigaia Theresa and Cgas Monarch awaiting berths at Fawley. However, the highlight was the Extreme E electric racing support ship St. Helena. She was originally the RMS St. Helena, which maintained a service to Saint Helena island and Ascension Island in the South Atlantic. Onwards now to the Nab Anchorage where the only ship within range was the Lundqvist tanker Lancing. She was awaiting a berth on the Hamble oil jetty.

Having photographed all the ships in the anchorages we started to make our way back to Southampton. Off Cowes we passed the cruise ship Jewel of the Seas which had departed from Southampton for a refit in Brest. At Fawley we were able to get closer this time and photographed the tankers Nippon Princess, Eco Revolution, UACC Shamiya and Brisote.

On arrival back in Southampton Harbour the vehicle carrier Hoegh Asia was at berth 38/39 in the Eastern Docks. P&O’s cruise ship Ventura departed for a cruise with the first stop being Santander. By this time it was almost time for the cruise to end but we just had a few minutes to watch the P&O cruise ship Iona backing out of Ocean Dock, bound for Stavanger.

Our first cruise of the year was over and we found ourselves back at Town Quay. Our thanks go to the captain and crew of the Solent Cat for looking after us so well and also Neil Richardson for navigating our course for the day. Thanks also to the members of the committee for organising the day. I look forward to the next cruise.

Hapag-Lloyd's AL ZUBARA at the container terminal.

NORDIC HAMBURG departing from the container terminal.

Tanker KIVALLIQ W outward bound from Fawley in the Solent.

Tanker PAUL E in St Helen's anchorage.

The St. Helena was also in St Helen's anchorage.

Lundqvist's tanker LANCING in the Nab anchorage.

JEWEL OF THE SEAS outward bound off Cowes.

P&O's VENTURA departing Southampton...

...followed by her fleetmate IONA.

Photos and report by Chris Brooks

Preserved tug STEENBANK at Maassluis.

Bitumen tanker IVER BLESSING inbound on the New Waterway.

Korean LNG Carrier SM ALBATROSS at the Gate Terminal.

Heavy load carrier SEAWAY ALFA LIFT in the Maasvlakte.

Capesize bulker HENG MAY in the Mississippihaven.

Ore carrier SAO OASIS also in the Mississippihaven.

Feeder ship X-PPRESS ELBE in the Caland Canal.

VLCC BALTIC LOYALTY in the Caland Canal.

Shuttle tanker ALTERA WAVE in the Caland Canal.

Saturday 11th May 2024 - Rotterdam and Europoort Cruise (10:00 - 19:30)

A reasonably fine morning saw 36 TSS members, guests and friends gathered at Boompjeskade for the third Nehalennia cruise around the Port of Rotterdam.

Our boat for the day, the NEHALENNIA at Rotterdam.

During our trip, we saw vessels of practically every type – from the largest bulk, oil and container carriers down to the smallest pleasure boats, enough to satisfy the varied interests of everyone aboard. There were also quite a few movements to attract our attention.

As in previous years, our route took us out towards the Hook of Holland where we were caught up by the museum tug Steenbank passed by the inbound bitumen tanker Iver Blessing. However, instead of crossing via the Breediep, we continued out and turned hard to port to enter the Calandkanaal following closely in the wake of Elbcarrier and passing LNG carrier SM Albatross at the Gate terminal.

We then went into the Maasvlakte complex where many vessels awaited our attention including Seaway Alpha Lift loading largish windfarm bits at the SIF terminal, eventually making our way via Mississippihaven where ore carrier Sao Oasis was duly logged. We then continued back into the Calandkanaal. Again there were plenty of ships including crude oil tankers Altera Wave and Yuriy Kuchiev, feeder X-Press Elbe and outbound feeder A2B Spirit.

The boat's crew were kept busy during the day serving drinks of various types together with a very tasty lunch selection and late afternoon spicy nibbles.

Altogether a most enjoyable outing.

Photos by Des Upcraft and Charles McCrossan, report by Roger Hammond.

Monday 15th July saw the first TSS Solent Cruise where we joined forces with the Southampton Branch of the World Ship Society (WSS) for a joint venture. 71 members of the TSS and WSS assembled at Town Quay for the cruise. The weather had turned decidedly wet an hour or so before we boarded the Solent and Wightline Cruises vessel Solent Cat.

We set off in rather wet conditions, bound for Fawley, hoping to see the tanker Nantucket before she departed from Fawley berth 5 having discharged a cargo of crude oil. The tugs were still waiting to pull her off the jetty as we passed Fawley. We continued out into the Solent, bound for St. Helen’s anchorage. We passed the elderly tug Storebror towing a barge and bound for Southampton in the North Channel. By now it had stopped raining and there were a few patches of brightness forming. We photographed the LPG tanker Gas Elixir in St. Helen’s anchorage before continuing out to the Nab Anchorage.

Three vessels were photographed in the Nab Anchorage - the Italian tanker, Dattilo M., the Turkish built coaster Orko which had arrived from Waterford and finally, another Italian tanker, the Angelina Amoretti which had arrived from Rotterdam.

We then went back to St. Helen’s to photograph the remaining ships there. By now there were some small patches of blue sky and a few patches of sunshine. The remaining ships included a few Fawley regulars, Paul E, Eco Universe, Samus Swan and her fleetmate Mona Swan. Additionally the general cargo ship Bellingshausen was photographed. Finally, and probably the most interesting vessel was the Chinese owned tanker XT Peace. She was built in 2023 and had arrived from Rizhao, China, via Singapore and Las Palmas. I believe it is her first visit to Europe.

It was now time to head back towards Southampton where it was looking rather grey. We took the main channel in order to pass the outbound containership CMA CGM Louis Bleriot, which had departed from Southampton, bound for Rotterdam. We passed her off Cowes, but by this time it was tipping it down. Continuing back to Southampton we passed the outbound vehicle carrier Thruxton in Southampton Water. She was bound for Cape Town. The rain had almost stopped by the time we got to her, so photos were possible.

After looking in Empress Dock where several of Whitaker’s bunkering tankers were berthed, we headed up to the Western Docks where the cruise ship Mein Schiff 3 was berthed. By this time the inbound Hapag-Lloyd containership Al Jmeliyah was arriving in the harbour. We passed her in very grey conditions off Marchwood.

It was time for our cruise to end so we berthed in Town Quay where we said our goodbyes. Our thanks go to the TSS Committee and the committee of the WSS Southampton Branch for organising the day and thanks to Neil Richardson for navigating the boat on the day. Finally a big thankyou to the captain and crew of the Solent Cat for looking after us so well. Hopefully the next Solent Cruise will be held on a slightly drier day!

Veteran tug STOREBROR in the Solent.

DATTILO M in the Nab Anchorage.

Cargo ship ORKO also in the Nab Anchorage.

Fawley regular MONA SWAN in St. Helen's Anchorage.

Chinese owned tanker XT PEACE in St. Helen's Anchorage.

...finally the PAUL E was also in St. Helen's Anchorage.

Vehicle carrier THRUXTON outbound from Southampton.

MEIN SCHIFF 3 in the Western Docks, Southampton.

Containership AL JMELIYAH inbound in Southampton Harbour.

Photos and report by Chris Brooks

Photos from our September 2023 Solent Cruise.

HMM LE HAVRE dominated the container terminal.

Chemical tanker ST SARA was in St Helen's Anchorage.

VENTURA departing Southampton for Vigo.

Photos by Chris Brooks

We have booked a third Solent Cruise, which will have something for everyone with the prospect of seeing almost all types of ships ranging from the largest container vessels, tankers, cruise ships, down to tugs, coasters and ferries. Bring your partner, even if they are not particularly interested in ships, as this is a very pleasant way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

The cruise will depart from Town Quay in Southampton, on board a Solent and Wightline Cruises "Cat" type vessel as used previously. This cruise will cover Southampton, the Solent including St. Helen's Anchorage and possibly part of the Nab Anchorage(vessel, weather and tides permitting) and possibly Portsmouth Harbour. The trip will last for six hours.

The "Cat" vessels have an open deck area as well as a large enclosed saloon with toilets, and are an excellent platform for photography. The bar will be open for the purchase of drinks and light refreshments at cost.

Date Confirmed - Bookings being taken.

26th to 30th September - Bremen & Bremerhaven

We have made arrangements for a trip to the River Weser ports of Bremen and Bremerhaven in Germany to view and photograph as much shipping as possible. Both Bremen and Bremerhaven are old Hanseatic Cities similar to Hamburg with a wealth of fine old buildings, cafes and bars.

Bremen is home to Becks Brewery, as well as playing host to a thriving port and is within easy access to the ports of Bremerhaven and Hamburg via road and rail. A wide variety of shipping can be seen across in and around these ports and we will endeavour to view as many as possible during our stay.

As is now the norm with short haul trips, members will be asked to make their own travel and hotel arrangements to and from Bremen. This avoids the huge mark ups charged by booking agents.

It is intended that the three days at Bremen will be used as follows:-

- Weser Boat trip from Bremen to Bremerhaven to view shipping at Bremen, Vegesack, Elsfleth and Brake en route with time ashore at Bremerhaven to view shipping or visit the excellent ship museum, which houses several historic ships both in the halls and afloat.

- Day trip by train to Hamburg to undertake a port cruise, either by using the public cruises, or if we receive interest from around 30 participants, by hiring a private boat.

- Day trip by train to Cuxhaven to view passing shipping on the Elbe, much of which comes through the Kiel Canal.

The exact trip rotation will vary taking into account the weather conditions and boat times. There will also be plenty of time to enjoy Bremen with its medieval centre. There will also be an opportunity to undertake other day trips, such as an upriver cruise from Bremen for those who do not wish to join all of the organised days. Participants will be advised of the day trip details before the trip and where and when to meet up.

Date confirmed, expressions of interest being taken.

16th November 2024 - Ocean Liner Society Ship Show

The TSS will have a table at the Ocean Liner Society Ship Show.

The show will take place in Alton Community Centre, Alton, Hampshire.

TSS Committee members will be on hand to answer questions, so come along and have a chat with us.

Further details to be advised when available.