MY FAVOURITE SHIP!

MY FAVOURITE SHIP!

Postby teesships » Thu Jul 19, 2012 6:06 pm

Well, I had to get round to her sooner or later, didn't I?

BEREZINA/EFORIE (5097979), NAVROM, Romania, 3542gt.
March 1918: launched as WAR HIGHWAY, yard no. 246, by J. Blumer & Co. Ltd., Sunderland; May 1918: completed and operated under ownership of The Shipping Controller, London, management with F. and W. Ritson, Sunderland;
20eforieaswarhighway.jpg
(From Jim Fenwick, whose father sailed on her as an Engineer)
1919: sold to The Hartlepool Seatonia S.S. Co. Ltd., West Hartlepool, and renamed SEATONIA; 1927: managing owners, Hessler & Co., became bankrupt; sold to J.E. Murrell S.S. Co. Ltd. (J.E. Murrell & Sons, managers), West Hartlepool, and renamed BRACONDALE;
20eforieasxbracondale.jpg
(This photo, taken by Capt W.J.L. Parker, shows her as the BRACONDALE in Jersey City, N.J., on 9 April 1932.)
1933: after loading timber from the Kara Sea area of Russia, for three days stood by another vessel severely holed by collision; shortly afterwards stopped by a Russian destroyer and searched for stowaways; 1934: sold to Sovtorgflot, Russia and renamed; new name transliterated as BERESINA; 1936: ownership recorded as U.S.S.R.; 1950: transferred to Sovromtransport, Romania; 1959: transferred to NAVROM Romanian Maritime and Fluvial Navigation, Romania; name re-translated as BEREZINA; the vessel was rebuilt around this time;
19berezina1.jpg
19berezina2.jpg
19berezina3.jpg
(These three photos of the BEREZINA on Newcastle Quay at Spillers, were taken by Joe Archer on 13 February 1961)
I then saw the BEREZINA there for myself on 14 February 1961 during my first ever ship interest visit to the Tyne.
1962: renamed EFORIE by NAVROM;
On 1 August 1970 I came across her again in Hull as the EFORIE. Ever since this has been one of my favourite ships, not least because she survived almost 60 years in service. These are my photos from that sighting - I had only a fixed lens camera then and, to my great disappointment, could not fit the full ship in my viewfinder. I was still determined to record her and I did - in various bits!!
20eforie1.jpg
20eforie2.jpg
20eforie3.jpg
However I did not give up completely. After taking my bits and pieces I went round the far side of Alexandra Dock and, despite the lack of telephoto equipment (I had to wait another 10 years!) I did get a full shot of the EFORIE - well sort of!
1213eforiegeneral.jpg
(This also shows the tug FOREMAN on the left and the BELOZERKSLES in the middle.)
From this, the EFORIE itself enlarges reasonably well:
1213eforiestern.jpg
6 June 1975: last reported movement, passing Istanbul; laid-up, presumably at Constantza, Romania; April 1978: reported due to be broken up at Constantza.
And, that I thought, was that! But, no, I subsequently learned she had not been broken up but laid up on Macin channel on Danube (somewhere near Braila port). There she rusted away until eventually broken up circa 2003.
20eforie9.jpg
(Photographed in 1991)


Fuller details are given in my article SIXTY YEARS AFLOAT in SEA BREEZES of June 1978.

Ron
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Re: MY FAVOURITE SHIP!

Postby northeast » Thu Jul 19, 2012 8:38 pm

Nice one, Ron.
From my files, a photo from 1964, unknown photographer
EFORIE1918D.jpg

and better still, a colour photo by Richard Myers of Leeds/YSE, probably at the same berth in Alexandra Dock where Ron found her (this one is undated).
In 1970's we had a good trade in beech imported on Navrom vessels.
EFORIE18.jpg
Photo Richard Myers
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Re: MY FAVOURITE SHIP!

Postby teesships » Fri Jul 20, 2012 11:20 am

George,

Thanks for these extra views. The first one is really good. I have it noted as being from the Richard Cox collection although, as you say, photographer unknown.

The colour view from Richard Myers was, I suspect, taken around the same time as my own sighting. It left me wondering why I did not also move back a bit to bring the whole ship into my viewfinder. Maybe there was road traffic around preventing me from doing so, but can't now remember!

Ron
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Re: MY FAVOURITE SHIP!

Postby teesships » Fri Sep 09, 2016 6:55 pm

WOW! It's only taken me 15 years or so to discover that some of what I say above about seeing the EFORIE in Hull is complete and utter hogwash!
Having now dug out my packet of my original negatives for probably the first time in around 35 years I now find I did, after all, take a full view of my favourite ship! So, here it is!

Hull - 1 August 1970:
eforie010870x3.jpg

I can only surmise now that at some stage the original print from this negative disappeared from my collection, probably when I wrote about her back in 1978!
Having unearthed these negatives I have also scanned the others, providing better results that the previous efforts which we scanned from the prints quite some time ago:
eforie010870x1.jpg
eforie010870x2.jpg
eforie010870x4.jpg

See also: viewtopic.php?f=190&t=3878

Ron
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Re: MY FAVOURITE SHIP!

Postby teesships » Sat Aug 01, 2020 2:23 pm

50 YEARS AGO TODAY1

My sighting of the EFORIE made my day! Having seen her early in 1961 as the BEREZINA she thereafter became my favourite ship.

My photos above from Hull - 1 August 1970.

Ron M
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