ROYAL NAVAL VESSELS VISIT PORT OF CARDIFF
Associated British Ports’ (ABP) Port of Cardiff has recently seen two unusual additions to the shipping fleet that visit the port - with a further unusual vessel to berth on Britannia Quay in August 2005.
HMS Cardiff sailed into the port of her namesake city for the last time on 6 July 2005, staying for six days before setting sail for Portsmouth, where she was decommissioned last Thursday. In recognition of her 26 years of service, which saw the vessel involved in the Falklands campaign and both Gulf Wars, her complement of 287 men were granted the ‘Freedom of the City’ – meaning that the crew marched through the city on Saturday 9 July with bayonets fixed, drums beating and colours flying.
The Amazonian Hope 2, an ex-naval diving tender, docked next to her younger, but larger, sibling on 10 July 2005. Converted by the Vine Trust into a high-tech medical centre at BAE Systems’ Barrow dockyard, the vessel is currently on a tour of the UK before she embarks on a 7,000-mile transatlantic voyage. She is heading for the upper reaches of the Amazon River, where she will support the trust’s charitable work in Peru.
The larger of the two naval vessels visiting Cardiff this summer is the Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessel RFA Sir Galahad, which will be taking part in ‘Cardiff on the Waterfront’. The maritime celebration, taking place in Cardiff Bay over the weekend of 13-14 August 2005, is part of the Sea Britain Festival marking the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar. The vessel, classed as a Landing Ship Logistic, is the third naval vessel to bear the name. Her predecessor was lost to Argentinian bombs during the Falklands war.
Clive Thomas, Acting Port Director for ABP’s South Wales Ports, said: “Britannia Quay is the Port of Cardiff’s hospitality berth and ABP welcomes ships of all shapes and sizes into the port. The three vessels visiting Britannia Quay this summer highlight the Port of Cardiff as an important maritime hub and showcase for the region.”
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