The WELSH PRINCE sailing from Middlesbrough Dock
(Photo from WSS Teesside Branch Weller Collection) Prince Line Ltd. (Furness Withy & Co. Ltd. - managers), London, 7381gt, completed Doxford, Sunderland, 9-1944.
1961 Vergmont (British), 1971 broken up. (BU Whampoa 23.2.71)
Ron

A companion view by Albert Weller of the WELSH PRINCE sailing from Middlesbrough Dock: I am more intrigued, however, by the tug (?) to the right. It might be a TCC vessel and if so I suspect it will be their JOANETTA. Otherwise, HM Customs had their vessels alongside Dock Point, but is this one they operated?
Ron

Must be a JOANETTA photo somewhere, but suspect as you say this is Customs or similar rather than a tug.

A larger scan of the stern view above: Ron

The vessel certainly looks like the Customs Cutter which was based at Dock Point and as Taximan has suggested the 'Speedwell' more than likely. The John H. was taken to the Dock Point for a thorough rummaging putting her out of use for a few days.

For some reason I neglected to say that I recorded the WELSH PRINCE in Middlesbrough Dock on 10th, 12th, 17th and 20th December 1960 as ship sighting no. 27 in my personal records. I recall her being sold and renamed quite early the following year so I think Albert would catch her sailing at the end of that visit in December 1960.

Ron M

He who was always one step ahead of you noted her in Middlesbrough Dock on 27 May 1960.
But how far back did Albert Weller go, well before either of us, I imagine?

As far as I can work out from the negatives Albert left he was definitely taking photos by 1960, possibly back into 1959. Going through his various contributions to NEM pages one of the earliest shots must be the WILLIAM GRAY and N.E.R. tugs, toether with the THROSTON at Hartlepool. Those older tugs were scrapped sometime during 1960.
Otherwise the Indian frigate BETWA building on the Tyne could just have been 1959 but more likely 1960 as I suspect he photographed the EMPRESS OF CANADA during that same river trip.

So it seems his photographic exploits started after you had started trotting round the docks, but before I did!

Ron M

Dave's Tynebuilt website gives N.E.R. NO. 4 as sold to be broken up in January 1960, so that seems to point to a 1959 date for Albert's photos of those tugs.

Ron M