Firefighters race to pump water from listing Queen's Royal Yacht after it begins to sink
By Suzannah Hills
Last updated at 4:26 PM on 6th January 2012
An emergency operation was launched to pump water off the Royal Yacht Britannia after it started to sink while being moved.
The yacht, which is now a tourist attraction in Edinburgh, was being relocated to a dry dock so that its hull could be repainted.
But the historical vessel started listing by four degrees on the starboard side as they removed the mooring lines at the harbour, in Leith - causing a leak in the door seal.
Officials discovered the leak on Friday morning at 9.30am when they spotted the yacht was listing and went to alter the ballast levels in a bid to halt it.
Fire fighters were then called in to help pump water from the yacht to prevent any damage being caused.
Four fire engines and three other fire service vehicles were at the scene and several members of the public also gathered to watch the operation unfold.
Water could be seen being pumped out from the back of the ship's hull towards the stern of the ship.
Since the operation began, Britannia appeared to have moved slightly back towards an upright position, and by 3pm was vertical again.
Chief executive of the Royal Yacht Britannia, spokesman Bob Downie, said: 'When we were removing the mooring ropes this morning the ship moved four degrees to starboard.
'This meant that new access watertight doors to our pontoons were below the water level.
'There has been a leak in the seals in those doors which was accentuating the list.
'Because we have limited shore power, we asked the fire brigade to provide us with some assistance in correcting the ship's ballast.
'This has caused a delay in the process. Britannia has been secure at all times and we hope to continue the move to dry dock later today.'
Britannia has now returned to vertical and has started her short journey, being pulled by a tug, to the nearby dry dock in the Port of Leith, a spokeswoman for the ship said.
It is believed that the Britannia has not been damaged by the leak.
The ship, which shut on New Year's Day for a month, is being moved to the neighbouring Imperial Dry Dock, also in the Port of Leith, for work to be carried out.
A major part of the work need to be done is the painting of the area of the hull below the waterline.
The Britannia has to be taken out of the water and into the dry dock to allow that part of the hull to be inspected, treated, and then repainted.
It will be the first time since the summer of 1998 - almost 14 years - that it has been done and the Britannia has been moved from its berth.
The Britannia was designed to replace the Victoria and Albert III during the reign of King George VI.
After the King's death in 1952, the new Queen and her husband, Prince Philip, personally approved plans prepared by architect Sir Hugh Casson and chose furniture, fabrics and paintings for the yacht.
Launched in April 1953 at John Brown's Clydebank Shipyard - it travelled 1,087,623 nautical miles, calling at more than 600 ports, in 135 countries.
But, in June 1994, the Government announced that the ship would be taken out of service.
At the beginning of January 1997, Britannia set sail from Portsmouth to Hong Kong on its last and longest voyage.
On December 11 that year it was decommissioned at Portsmouth Naval Base in the presence of the Queen, the Duke and 12 senior members of the Royal Family.
The Duke of Edinburgh last year criticised the decision, saying in an interview: "She was as sound as a bell and she could have gone on for another 50 years."
The Britannia was the 83rd - and last - Royal ship of its kind.
BRITANNIA FACTS
1. Launched in April 1953 at John Brown's Clydebank Shipyard.
2. Travelled 1,087,623 nautical miles, called at more than 600 ports, in 135 countries.
3. Served the Queen for 44 years - carrying her and the royal family on 968 official voyages.
4. Government announced in 1994 Britannia would be taken out of service.
5. Princess Margaret and Anthony Armstrong-Jones were the first royal couple to honeymoon onboard, in 1960, with a 6,000-mile voyage to the Caribbean.
6. Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips honeymooned to the West Indies onboard in 1973.
7. The Prince and Princess of Wales were the last royal couple to honeymoon on the Britannia for a voyage in the Mediterranean in 1981.
8. The most recent royal event on the ship was a pre-wedding party for Zara Phillips and Mike Tindall.
9. Last year, more than 275,000 visited the Britannia.
10. Britannia was the 83rd and last Royal ship of its kind.
Britannia served the Queen for 44 years, carrying her and the royal family on 968 official voyages.
The most recent Royal event to be held on the Britannia was in July, when the Queen's grand-daughter Zara Phillips and England rugby star Mike Tindall hosted a pre-wedding party on board the vessel, which was attended by Princes William and Harry, and the Duchess of Cambridge.
The vessel's romantic connections stretch back to 1960, when Princess Margaret and Anthony Armstrong-Jones became the first royal couple to honeymoon onboard, with a 6,000-mile voyage to the Caribbean.
Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips cruised the West Indies onboard Britannia on their honeymoon in 1973 while in 1981 the Prince and Princess of Wales flew to Gibraltar to meet Britannia at the start of their 16-day honeymoon voyage in the Mediterranean.
Britannia hosted her final honeymoon five years later for the Duke and Duchess of York, who spent five days aboard the yacht cruising around the Azores.
The ship is now owned by The Royal Britannia Trust, a charitable organisation whose sole remit is the maintenance of Britannia in keeping with its former role.
Last year was one of the attraction's busiest years with more than 275,000 visitors, a 12% increase on the previous year.
It is due to reopen to the public on 1 February.
412 Ft is not bad, makes it a real megayacht way ahead of others and its times. Today it is a new fashion for billionaires to get built yacht beyond the 400 ft mark.
This one is very classy and well built, even though it could have had one extra upper deck - lots of crewmen indeed.
It was ultimately decommissioned and never replaced. But today such a large yacht would not be judged so eccentric in size. It played a key role within foreign affairs handling by the Queen, and was not a waste of moneys. It is no more superfluous than the Air Force One after all.
Name: HMY Britannia
Owner: Her Majesty's Government
Operator: Royal Navy
Builder: John Brown & Company
Clydebank, Scotland
Yard number: 691
Launched: 16 April 1953
Commissioned: 11 January 1954
Decommissioned: 11 December 1997
Status: Museum ship open to the public, Leith, Edinburgh, Scotland
General characteristics
Tonnage: 5769 GT (gross tonnage)
Length: 412 ft (126 m)
Beam: 55 ft (17 m)
Height: 139 ft (42 m) to top of mainmast
Draught: 15 ft (4.6 m)
Propulsion: Steam turbine, 12,000 hp
Speed: 21.5 knots (39.8 km/h) maximum speed
Range: 2,400 nautical miles (4,400 km)
Troops: 1 platoon of Royal Marines
Crew: 19 officers
217 Royal Yachtsmen
re: Apocalypse now Dept : Queen's Royal Yacht begins to sink (karma: 1)en>frfr>en By Mournblade Comments: 369, member since Sat Oct 24, 2009
On Fri Jan 06, 2012 04:23 PM
The yacht was a gift to Hermann Goering, supreme commander of the Luftwaffe, from the German motor industry in 1937 to mark Goering’s marriage to his second wife, Emmy, but was named after his first spouse, Carin, who died of TB six years earlier.
The 90ft-long (27.5 Metres) 70 ton Carin II was described by one contemporary newspaper as "a symbol of German shipbuilding supremacy, a floating embassy for the state". The construction and presentation attracted great public interest as it was the first vessel of its type and size to be built. For a private vessel it had an astronomical price tag - 1.3 Million Reichsmarks.
Hitler was a frequent visitor, as was Nazi propaganda minister Josef Goebbels, SS chief Heinrich Himmler, and his security police leader, Reinhard Heydrich.
Goering stored the finest wines and cognac aboard, hosted lavish dinners and shot ducks from a specially constructed platform on the bow.
During the summer of 1940 Goering would sit on the green leather sofa in the boat’s splendid wood panelled salon and study Battle of Britain operational maps on the burr walnut table.
The Carin II survived the collapse of the Third Reich virtually unscathed and was found, moored off Hamburg, by Field Marshal Montgomery who requisitioned it as Nazi treasure for George VI and his family as a spoil of war.
The boat was first renamed the Royal Albert and then Prince Charles and for 15 years it provided a holiday home for the Royal Family.
But eventually the Royals decided it wasn't a good look to be cavorting on Goering's old luxury yacht in a period of post-war austerity and it was handed over to the Goering family in 1960.
re: Apocalypse now Dept : Queen's Royal Yacht begins to sink (karma: 1)en>frfr>en By Whatchamacallit Comments: 38662, member since Fri Nov 14, 2003
On Fri Jan 06, 2012 04:51 PM
Name: 1998–Present Christina O
1978–1998 Argo
1954–1978 Christina
1943–1954 HMCS Stormont (K327)
Owner: John Paul Papanicolaou
Builder: Canadian Vickers Ltd., Montreal
Laid down: 23 December 1942
Launched: 14 July 1943
General characteristics
Length: 325 ft (99.06 m)
Beam: 36 ft (10.97 m)
Speed: 19 knots
Crew: 30
The Onassis yact of fame. A bit shorter than the Britannia, yet more conspicuous in its luxury.
re: Apocalypse now Dept : Queen's Royal Yacht begins to sink (karma: 2)en>frfr>en By iciparis Comments: 3669, member since Tue Jul 18, 2006
On Fri Jan 06, 2012 07:27 PM
WilyB wrote:
iciparis wrote:
I saw that rust bucket Clemenceau (well, what was left of it) in a photo taken in Hartlepool last year. Now, fancy that!
Ships are usually recycled in 3rd world shit holes, such as Pakistan or Ukistan. Now fancy that!
What? Places that can do the specialised asbestos removal treatment that your backward shithole is incapable of.
Remember the story WilyB? The dumb stinkies tried to dump it on the fly in India where they don't give a shit about human life. It never even got that far, so after an embarrasing turnaround you were forced to take the piece of shit to an advanced country with the skills and know-how to do the job properly.
France, queen of the third world, don't do asbestos clean-up, n'est pas? It is known. Do your researches.
Britannia is only heading for a dry dock for a touch up - a four-degree list after 14 years alongside a quay. Sacre bleu! Some perspective please.
re: Apocalypse now Dept : Queen's Royal Yacht begins to sinken>frfr>en By simplefrench Comments: 63902, member since Wed Mar 19, 2003
On Fri Jan 06, 2012 07:42 PM
Asbestos removal is in general done in 3th world countries. But UK has a powerful company able to do it. So why not. Obviously,France pays for this service.
re: Apocalypse now Dept : Queen's Royal Yacht begins to sinken>frfr>en By iciparis Comments: 3669, member since Tue Jul 18, 2006
On Fri Jan 06, 2012 08:12 PM
simplefrench wrote:
Asbestos removal is in general done in 3th world countries. But UK has a powerful company able to do it. So why not. Obviously,France pays for this service.
Yea, but you towed the hulk half way round the world to try and get it done on the cheap. Even they told you to fuck off. So you had to bring the hulk to a country with superior know how. You'll be pleased to to know the stinkie old wreck has been dismantled properly and safely, none of it remains; it is a dead Clemenceau, it is no more, asbestos, toxic chemicals and all, something you backward fuckers couldn't even do yourselves. Strikes me as pathetic.
Si je décide de m'appeller "Jean V. Bokassa", que je me déclare Nationaliste et Chrétien, alors Bestinou m'applaudira si je prends le pouvoir,
fût-ce par la force, et que j'impose à mes opposants politiques un régime diététique constitué pour l'essentiel d'huile de ricin.
Maintenant, criez tous en coeur: Viva il Duce Jean V Bokassa I°.
re: Apocalypse now Dept : Queen's Royal Yacht begins to sink (karma: 3)en>frfr>en By Yorktown Comments: 5762, member since Mon May 23, 2005
On Sat Jan 07, 2012 04:03 AM
iciparis wrote:
Strikes me as pathetic.
Sure.
Now, just for the record, you obviously cannot be unaware of the fact that the pride of Britain's merchant marine was designed and built by the French from prow to stern, can you? Really, I'd be much eager to know how bitter it is for a self-respecting Briton.
