Revised 14 July 2008
(at bottom of page)
TEESSHIPS
A FAVOURITE
SHIP
UNIKLOR
Original
details given on this page from 7 April 2000:
On 12 December 1960 I first came across the UNIKLOR in berth in
Middlesbrough Dock. Over the next 12 months I was to see her a
total of 8 times, but then she disappeared from the local scene,
my last sighting being on 15 October 1961.
I do recall a conversation with someone on the dockside one time she was in berth that the chlorine (implied by her name) she carried was used in the production of biro pens. One suspects in this day and age hazardous cargo regulations would come into play and I would not be able to get near such a ship!!
She is ship no. 31 in my records and like many from those early days passed unrecorded with the camera. Since then I have often dreamed of finding a photo of her, and such has now come to pass. When I started this site only 2 months ago I inserted a plea for a photo of the UNIKLOR; and Ben Gernaat from Holland has been able to respond with a picture from his own collection. He recalls he himself received this about 30 years ago from a contact in Germany and believes the view reproduced below was taken on the Kiel Canal.
Apart from the fact that I saw her so many times in a short period, I believe what has endeared this ship to me is her longevity - as far as I know she is still in service over 60 years after being built - but also the unusual nature of her career. Part of this is that she must have been the last, or among the last, ships to be bestowed with an EMPIRE prefix after the war - in her case several years after! She is also one of few ships to be credited as holding four different names in just one year.
Let me give you the gist of her story, mainly as recorded in THE EMPIRE SHIPS (SECOND EDITION) by W.H. Mitchell and L.A. Sawyer, published in 1990. She was built in 1939 at Elmshorn as the TRAVE for German owners. Clearly she was a victim of the war that was then about to ensue and she was found damaged at Flensburg and, in May 1945, when the war in Europe ended, she was taken as a war prize. Subsequently towed to Methil and passed into ownership of Ministry of War Transport in October 1945, but remained laid up until 1952. During that year repairs were completed and she was converted from dry cargo by being fitted with tanks for the carriage of corrosive acids. She was then renamed EMPIRE CHLORINE for the Ministry of Transport.
The following year, 1953, she was returned to the German Government, and reverted to her original name of TRAVE with her original owners. She did not stay there for long for in 1954 she was renamed successively HYBO (Norway); HYBORG, and UNIKLOR (still Norway), this being her fourth name that year. She was to give long service as such, being fitted with a new engine in 1963, until sold to other Norwegian owners in 1978 to become the FRISNES. In 1989 she passed on again to become the HINNATANK (still Norway) and is still listed as a liquefied gas carrier at 60 years of age in this a new century and millennium.
Anyone got more
recent photos of her; or can confirm she is still in active
existence?
31.12.03: And,
indeed, she is still active and in pristine condition under her
latest renaming to MILJOTANK from 2000. I found her photo, taken
by Terje Moen at Sandnes just a year ago on 28 December 2002, at: http://www.termaloma.com/sip346.html
Terje also kindly sent me this companion
view:
26.12.04: Nice to hear recently from Ivar Rakke as
follows:
I ran into your website now, and found some pictures of M/S
Uniklor. I will like to tell you that both my father and
grandfather worked on this ship for a long period. I think I can
get you some more pictures of it if you are interested.
Best regards, Ivar Rakke, Larvik, Norway.
followed by:
I can already give you some more info on UNIKLOR, the ship was
orginally built as a canal boat, with foldable masts and a lower
wheelhouse, the original wheelhouse was there you can see the
round windows on the pictures on your site. I can also tell you
that my grandfather was onboard the boat on all the visits to
Middlesbrough during 1960 and 1961.
Another story is that on one visit to Middlesbrough, there was a
cat coming onboard the ship, my grandfather tried several times
to take back on land but when they left Middlesbrough heading
back to Norway the cat again appeared onboard, the end of this
story is that my grandfather took the cat with him home, and the
cat lived happily at their home until 1973 when it was run over
by a car.
My father have several pictures of the ship, and at least one
that is taken during one of the visits in Middlesbrough.
Thanks, Ivar, and, yes, we would
all love to see some of your pictures.
28.12.05:
And a great Christmas present to find the following two views of the UNIKLOR in
my emailbox from Ivar yesterday.
In 1957 on voyage from Norway to Amsterdam
Berthed at my home town Middlesbrough in 1960.
Yes, well, a slight quibble here! Accepting that it does show the UNIKLOR in
the River Tees, the location seems to be the Power Station on the north (Billingham,
County Durham!) side of the river. This site is between Bamlett's Wharf and
Billingham Wharves in the final approach to the Tees (Newport) Bridge. As far as
I can recall this power station became redundant when the Hartlepool Nuclear
Power Station came on stream in 1972 and lay unused for many years. About 10
years or so ago the derelict site was acquired by Able UK (of ghost ships fame)
who have used the berth for occasional scrap export cargoes, including rubble
from the power station when it was finally demolished several years ago.
Interesting to find this view showing that the UNIKLOR called at other berths in
my home port other than where I so frequently found her in Middlesbrough Dock.
Just checked Equasis to make sure this veteran, now 66 years old, is still in service as the MILJOTANK with, indeed, a change of owner and manager recorded as recently as October this year(2005).
**********
14.07.08: Ivar has sent me this photo of the MILJOTANK taken last autumn.
