Runcorn to Ellesmere Port.

Everything was going very nicely, and on time. To get from the Manchester Ship Canal (MSC) into the Ellesmere Port Boat Museum you have to liaise with the the Chester and West Cheshire Council as they have to open the swing bridge above the lock. It is hard enough to get through to them to organise anything but then they finish work at 1600 and you have to give them your ETA before you even start the trip. I had guessed that we would be there about 1530, and we were on track.

Just as we passed under the Silver Jubilee Road Bridge at Runcorn we heard from Eastham Port Control that a vessel ahead was ready to sail and two tugs were coming up to her and we had to stay behind her all the way to Ellesmere Port. Best Laid plans etc. The 'Iver Ability' was built in 2006 and is registered at Gibraltar. This is a flag of convenience and probably the only connection with the place is a brass plate office. It is an asphalt/bitumen carrier. A bit bigger than the FMC gas boats that carried bitumen from this part of the world to Birmingham. 

The larger ships are accompanied by a tug at each end to assist. Since 1989 Carmet Shipping, who own the four almost identical tugs MSC Viceroy, Victor (seen above) and Viking and Volant, have had the sole rights to working tugs on the MSC. They are twin screw with a bollard pull of 16 tonnes and were built at James W. Cook and Son of Wivenhoe in Essex (no longer active) between 1974 and 1976.

They were soon under way and starting to speed up a little. The stern tug travelled astern with two ropes so that a little alteration of course will quickly put weight on to assist the big vessel. These days the modern tugs can put as much weight in the line going astern or sideways so may be would have been pulled along stern first. The 'Royal Charter' had finished her work and was pushing to get past and heading home.

Just before the entrance of the River Weaver into the Ship Canal, and the Weston Marsh Lock, (now damaged and out of action for a good period it seems), there is Weston Mersey Lock that when the Ship Canal was built still allowed ships from the Weaver in to the Mersey. It is now disused.

There is quite a bend in the canal by the Weaver and the procession slowed and we could see the tugs assisting the 'Iver Ability' round the turn. You can see the yellow buoy that marks the shallows on the inside of the bend.

Looking out through the Weaver Sluices you can see there was no water in the Mersey at all, just in a very small river channel. It made me wonder how long the ship would have to wait at Eastham before penning out into the Mersey.

'Meander' was soaking up the sun and saving fuel as we puttered along behind the convoy. The delay meant that we definitely would not make the 1530 time for the swing bridge, and he said that he would have to go at 1600 for his other works. It looked like we were going to spend the night in the basin outside the Museum.

This light beacon made me think of the lights marking Skerries around the west coast of Scotland. There is an oyster catcher to the left of centre on the rock, if you look closely.

'Happy Bear' was sitting on the Ince Oil Berth as we passed. She is an Liquified Petroleum Gas carrier and looks in very good nick for having being built in 1996. She is registered in the UK with port of Registry of Douglas, Isle of Mann. It doesn't mean that there is anybody British onboard though. It is a long time ago that the stipulation of being British flag stated at least the Master and Chief Engineer have to be British.

It didn't seem anytime at all we were approaching Telford's Lighthouse at the entrance to Ellesmere Port Basin and 'Meander' started the turn into the dock.

We were lucky as the Bridge man was just setting off when he saw the 'Iver Ability' pass so he knew that we were just behind, so he came round and opened the bridge for us and in we went to the Lower Basin. Another safe arrival.