Ships Monthly Magazine No.599 Minerva - The small ship with big style - November 2014 Back Issue

This month we are featuring several
new ships, but perhaps we should
be remembering the old ones.
We have details of the latest new
cruise ships coming out of the
shipyards as cruise companies continue to
order more and larger ships, as well as reports
on technological advances, such as the
world’s first ethane-powered ship. But as the
industry understandably looks to the future,
the historic warship HMS Plymouth goes to
the scrapyard, raising the question: are we
forgetting our maritime heritage?
While the nation commemorates the
centenary of World War I, it is a fitting time
to remember historic ships. The problems of
funding for HMS Plymouth, which ultimately
led to her being towed to Turkey, where
she will be broken up, are familiar among
preservation groups around the country.
Having served in the Falklands in 1982, she was
later opened to the public, but the costs of
continuing this and maintaining the ship were
prohibitive, so sadly this historic ship is no more.
However, there is good news in other
quarters, as efforts are being made to get
Balmoral back into service, and the lighthouse
tender FIngal, latterly Windsor Castle, is to be
given a new lease of life in Leith. But perhaps
we should look abroad to Tallinn, where the
preserved icebreaker Suur Tõll can be seen at
the Estonian Maritime Museum. This historic
craft, which is celebrating her centenary, has
been well preserved, is open to the public to
enjoy, and is surely a good example of what
can be done in the way of ship preservation.