Top: BRITISH SPIRIT - Below: SIR JOHN FISHER (Clydebuilt Database photos)

Two Clydebuilt ships from 1983 in the news
One sold on, one goes for scrap...

It is rare these days to see an extant British-built ship in any listings or that are newsworthy, but two Clydebuilt vessels - by coincidence both from 1983 - have surfaced enough to comment on.

One is the 1983 Govan-built BRIGHT ZHEJIANG a 37,800 GRT bulk carrier which has recently been sold for further trading.

She was launched as the SIR JOHN FISHER on the 8th June 1982, for James Fisher & Sons Ltd, Barrow,

Only three years later she was sold to Neptunia Inc, Monrovia and renamed HELEN, lasting with them until 1995 when she went to Silver Univers Shipping (managers Samsun Corp) Seoul.

In 2000 she was sold to Bright Zhejiang Shipping (managers Zhejiang Fuchuen Shipping & Enterprises Co of Hong Kong and given her present name. The company appears now to be trading as ZOSCO, or Zhejiang Ocean Shipping. She would appear to be the last of their elderly bulkers, the rest of the fleet are new builds from 2009 and 2010. It is not known as yet who the new buyer is.


On a sadder note, another Clyde-built veteran has recently been sold for scrap. Originally completed at the venerable yard of Scott Lithgow's in 1983 as the 127,778 dwt BRITISH SPIRIT for BP Shipping, she went to Da An Shipping Pte Ltd of Singapore where she was given her last name of OCEAN POWER.

She was the last of 87 tankers that have been built on the Clyde for BP and/or its associate companies according to the Clydebuilt Database.

Her final destination is Bangladesh where yet another piece of British and Clyde maritime history will only exist in memory and print.





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