In
association with …
ssMaritime
is proud to be supporting this suberb effort to save the 1965
built T.S.S. Dover!
Dover
Steamship Company
T.S.S.
Dover
Newsletter
no.1 - May 2011
TSS
Dover seen during her proud days sailing for 12 years before she
had a name change
Dear
Members, friends and supporters,
Welcome
to the first newsletter of the Dover Steamship Company.
Panic
at Central Quay
Around
the country there are a number of ship preservation groups, but I
guess that we are the first where the chairman alarmingly finds
himself announcing in the very first newsletter that the subject
of their aspirations has sunk at its moorings at Able Central
Quay, Middlesbrough.
The
first signs that something was amiss! May 6, 2011
I
have to inform you that over the recent May bank holiday weekend
vandals got aboard ‘Dover’ and removed/damaged vital
fittings from the machinery deck. This caused a large
ingression of water which initially caused her to list quite
heavily to starboard and from the stern she gradually settled to
the bottom in a more or less upright position. Currently at high
tide her car deck is awash, which means the machinery deck is
under water most of the time. This all happened over
a period of 5 days or so.
So
that’s the end of that , you might think, time to pack up
and go home...however this could well be the best thing that has
happened to the vessel with regard to securing her future. This
occurrence has attracted major publicity on Teesside and focussed
the minds of the ship’s owners Able UK, the local authority
and the population of Middlesbrough on finding a solution to what
to many residents of the area has become an eyesore. Many more on
the other hand hold the ‘Tuxedo Royale’ close to their
hearts. It would appear there is great affection for the former
night club where a generation has socialised, danced the night
away and even met their marital partners!
By
bank holiday Monday my ‘inbox’ was full with emails
from around the country advising me of this
‘disastrous’ situation. Thankfully, Captain Colin
Harrison of Able UK made sure we were amongst the first to know.
He was reassuring and made it clear that she had sunk in
water that at low tide left only 2’ under her keel. This was
not a hopeless situation and at some point she would have to be
refloated. As a precaution against pollution a
temporary boom has been placed around the ship and the
environment agency had advised that water from inside her could
be pumped back into the river-such was the low level of
contamination. On Friday the 6th May a top level
meeting took place at the dockside to discuss the situation.
Present were representatives from Able UK, the local authority,
the local harbour authority , the Environment Agency and
the MCA.
The
outcome was that ‘Dover’ is to be left in her current
state for about 3 or 4 weeks during which time it is hoped
that a way forward can be ascertained. I’d like to say at
this point that interestingly the scrapping option does not
appear to be at the top of anyone’s agenda. To
our own credit, we have been able to supply Able UK with a
set of general arrangement drawings which they were very happy to
receive. These drawings were researched by Andy MacLean,
who recovered them from the archive of the Newcastle Industrial Museum.
We trust that these will assist them with the refloating
operation. We are to be invited by Able UK to another
meeting taking place at Middlesbrough in about three weeks time
to discuss the prospects. We look forward to the
occasion with anticipation.
We
have already taken considerable advantage of the resultant
publicity with DSC secretary Andy Mclean getting straight onto
the Middlesborough Gazette and making sure that they knew who we
were and what our aspirations are. He has also been onto the
local Tees ITV station, making sure that they are up to speed
with our intentions. The author then did a live interview
on BBC Radio Tees. The presenter seemed quite taken aback
at the history of the ship and the fact that she is the last of
her breed. It was quite amusing that I referred to
her as ‘Dover’ and he as ‘Tuxedo’.
He was even more astounded that we wanted to bring her
‘home’ to Dover, restore her as an operational ship and
place her at the Port of Dover as a centre piece for
regeneration. He gave the impression that he
considered her to be at home already...and was Middlesbrough
...missing something? Hmm competition eh? We
also had a call from our good friends at the Dover Express who
were keen to report the latest developments.
Well
that’s the sinking debacle in a nutshell - I’m sure
you’d agree that things couldn’t get worse but it does
appear that it is quite true that to every disadvantage, there is
an equal and opposite advantage!
We
intend to exploit that advantage.
The
Dover People’s Port Trust
By
far the most important course of action that we need to take is
to secure a berth for TSS Dover. Recently we were invited by Bob
Goldfield, Chief Executive of Dover Harbour Board to his office
to discuss the possibility of bringing ‘Dover’ to Dover
Harbour. Also present at the meeting were several of his
fellow executives. It appeared that in spite of us making
our case his response was a fait accompli and
he made it quite clear that under no circumstances would they
consider accommodating a heritage vessel of ‘Dover’s
size in the port. Predictably his reasoning was based on
lack of space, lack of resources, lack of facilities and
lack of will.
On
the absolute plus side this has now enabled us to fully embrace
an offer from Dover People’s Port Trust to fully support our
aspirations and to provide a berth at Dover Harbour should
they succeed in taking control of the Port of Dover over the next
few months. DPPT chairman Neil Wiggins has on several
occasions publically reaffirmed the trust’s desire to place
TSS Dover as the centrepiece for the regeneration of Dover.
We in return fully support the DPPT and feel that it is most
likely that they will succeed in their ambitions. However,
it has to be said that if delays occur then we may realistically
have to consider a temporary base for our vessel . To that
end , one of our tasks for this summer will be to try and
find an alternative temporary berth in the South East.
The
Business Plan
We
currently are lucky enough to have been able to harness the
expertise of international business strategist Alan Shirley
who is working on the format, content and presentation of our
business plan. Such a plan is essential for us to approach and
attract the kind of sponsors with the professionalism
that would merit a scheme of the financial magnitude which
we have in store. We would like to thank Alan for his commitment.
We have decided to divide the project into 2 phases...
- Acquire,
Survey, Dry Dock, Repair at Middlesbrough and Tow the
vessel back to Dover.
- Restore
the vessel to full operational order and establish her as
a people’s centre of community and training
ship, promoting maritime education and local
nautical(Dover Straits) heritage and bringing TSS Dover
close to our local and national population . She
would serve as a steam turbine coastal cruiser as well as
a static entity-in this mode , possibly providing
conference and exhibition facilities.
We
have already budgeted for Phase 1 the projected cost is
hovering around £350,000. We have already made
contact with several promising funding sources and they have
agreed to let us complete our plan before we meet them formally.
Exciting Stuff!
Out
and about with DSC.
At
long last we have worked out how we can have a free sales and
publicity stall on main street Dover. We are about to have a
license (no charge for this) issued to us by Dover District
Council for this purpose. We then get the chosen location rubber
stamped by KCC Highways –then we proceed. Look out for
our stand in the near future. We already have a selection of
exclusive merchandise in our possession, especially prepared for
us by David Harvey of the Remembrance Line Association of
Folkestone. It is absolutely vital that we create this source of
income to keep the DSC in fighting shape to ‘fund the
funding’ and promote the expansion of our membership.
Earlier in the year we were present at the Travel and Leisure
show at the cruise terminal, Dover and for July we have space
paid for at the Dover Regatta. We had hoped to have been ready
for the Hellfire Corner show in Dover but our sales stand has
just not been ready in time.
Don’t
forget to check out the website for general info and the latest
news. Our Webmaster Ralph Hart has been working hard developing
the site and has been keeping a close eye on the recently
stressful situation. We are always on the lookout for photographs
of ‘Dover’ and it’s people -to place on the
website. A quick attic survey is required perhaps?
The
next Members/Public Meeting
By
kind permission of the town clerk we have been allowed to use the
Council Chamber for our next members/public meeting. This, of
course, is at the Town Hall, Biggin St., Dover and will
take place on Tuesday June 14th 2011 .
Please arrive at 7.00 for 7.30 start. We will be circulating the
agenda to members ASAP.
The
DSC Committee
I
would like to thank all the committee members for their
dedication to date. We meet on a fortnightly basis on a
Tuesday evening. I’ve already mentioned the
sterling work of Andy and Ralph. Sarah Jane Hart
has been conscientiously looking after our somewhat strained
finances, Neil Wiggins has been supporting us in his area
of expertise in the shipping and maritime business-and obviously
the People’s Port, Pat McGeehan has been advising us
on technical matters in his role as a former chief engineer on
‘Dover’, Andrew and Matthew Mullins with Ruth
Parkinson with input mainly on heritage matters. Artist Ruth
also designed our striking poster which has been diligently
distributed by Paul Terry. I also would like to
thank Vic Matcham and Stewart Dimmock who earlier
on gave excellent guidance through the Dover local
political system.
Current
view from the Tees north bank-as 'Dover' aka 'Tuxedo Royale' lies
settled on the river bed
...and
Finally
I
would like to thank all of you for your continued support . In
the future we intend to turn out regular newsletters and organise
regular member’s meetings.
We
look forward to meeting you on Tuesday, June 14, 2011.
On
behalf of your committee
Richard
Moffatt - Chairman DSC.
Email:
chairman@tssdover.co.uk.
Website:
www.tssdover.co.uk.
Join
us? Then visit: www.tssdover.co.uk/html/join_us.htm.
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Dover Feature
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This
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