Ships in the Sound

This is the Henty Pioneer passing down the Sound on 27th August. She's a small oil tanker owned by Liverpool-based Henty Oil, who specialise in bunkering. At the time this picture was taken, the Ship AIS gave her destination as Kyle of Lochalsh, in which case she was going in diametrically the wrong direction. After passing down the Sound, the system tracked her further south, passing between Colonsay and Jura - you can find her on the AIS map here.

Look closely at the picture and you can see she's flying a red flag from the mast just aft of the bridge, which indicates that she carries a dangerous cargo. It's also noticeable that she could do with a lick of paint. It's worrying that a ship with her cargo, that appears so uncared for, and doesn't know where she's going, is passing through such restricted shipping lanes.

In the photo the Henty Pioneer's in ballast. On 3rd September she came back up the Sound, having followed the same route, but this time she was fully loaded.

On the subject of restricted waters, it must be a relief to the masters of ships like the CSL Thames when the number of small boats scurrying around in the Sound has started to diminish with the changing season. The CSL Thames isn't the largest of the bulk carriers that goes down the Sound to Glensanda quarry, yet she dwarfs one of the MacLean brother's creel boats.

Helping to keep the waters safe in the Northern Lighthouse Board's Pharos. She, with her sister ship Pole Star, spends her time servicing the various lights and buoys off our coast.

If the government persists in its potentially catastrophic plans to remove the big Coastguard tug from duty off Scotland's west coast, we'll be relying on ships like this to get us out of trouble if - or, rather, when - a ship loses power and starts drifting onto the rocks. More information about the campaign to retain the service here.

Cal Mac's Clansman and the Spirit of Fairbridge pass the Ardmore Point light at rather different speeds. The Spirit of Fairbridge is a 92' schooner used in youth training, though at the time she passed us she wasn't on a training voyage. It may be significant that the website, here, is very out-of-date, with some parts that don't work.

There are still cruise ships moving through the Sound. This is the Saga Pearl II, owned and operated by Saga Cruises. Like so many cruise liners, she has had her fair share of owners over the years since she was built in 1982, at Keil in Germany. For example, for some twenty years she was owned by Safmarine, who operated her on a cruise run between the UK and South Africa.

She was bought by Saga in 2009 and completely refitted in South Wales. She's a relatively small cruise ship, carrying 446 passengers to 252 crew. When this picture was taken she was on a round-Britain cruise, six days, starting and ending at Dover.

More about her history here, and, in case you fancy a nice cruise, the Saga website is here.