Operation Joint Warrior 28/3/14

More ships arrived today to take part in the first Joint Warrior exercise of 2014.

Today's highlight was the arrival the US contingent, five of which went to Faslane with a sixth ship anchoring off Roseneath.

The last arrival of the day was the Danish Thetis class frigate, HDMS Triton.

CG72 USS Vella Gulf escorted by a police rib

Arleigh Burke class destroyer DDG95 USS James E William

FFG58 USS Samuel B Roberts escorted by SERCO tugs

CCG55 USS Leyte Gulf, a Ticonderoga class guided missile cruiser

DDG67 USS Cole, the second Arleigh Burke destroyer to arrive

Danish Thetis class frigate F358 HDMS Triton

L3007, RFA Lyme Bay anchored off Kilcreggan

DDG71 USS Ross anchored in the Clyde

Operation Joint Warrior 27/3/14

The first of the 2014 Joint Warrior exercises takes placed over the next two weeks.

Warships from the participating navies are on their way to the exercise.

Most of the ships are expected to gather in the Clyde, with the first of them already here.

An early trip to Rhu for HMS Bulwark's arrival was followed by a couple of pictures of HMS Kent and the Dutch frigate HNLMS Van Speijk anchored off Greenock.

L15 HMS Bulwark approaching Rhu narrows

L15 HMS Bulwark

Aft deck of HMS Bulwark

F78 HMS Kent at anchor off Greenock

Frigate F828 HNLMS Van Speijk of the Royal Netherlands Navy

Argyll Flyer

I took a run down to Gourock for a change of scenery. Argyll Flyer presented an opportunity for a couple of pictures as she crossed the Clyde.

The Argyll hills aren't yet ready to shrug off their covering of winter snow but the nights are starting to lengthen and we are now past the spring equinox.

Bianco Venture

Bulk carrier Bianco Venture passing Greenock on her way to Shieldhall Quay in Glasgow with a cargo of animal feed.

A trip up-river

With the hope of seeing Renfrew's bascule bridge open, we took a trip last Sunday morning, but when we got there, there was no sign of activity.

After waiting around for a while we learned that plans had changed and that the bridge would be staying down.

The day was not wasted as another opportunity arose for us to get some pictures of dredging work taking place slightly further up the River Cart.

At one time the River Cart was dredged regularly as the river had shipyards as far up as Paisley. That industry is long gone, but the river is sometimes used by barges bringing finished goods from the manufacturing units in the background.

This is  apparently the first time in around twenty years that this section of the river has been cleared.

On our way back down the road we stopped at Erskine Bridge to see the bulker Graig Rotterdam making her way up to Glasgow.

 

Cape Elise

After an eventful journey, bulk carrier Cape Elise has come to Greenock where she is expected to undergo repairs to damage caused in the winter storms.

She lost some of her control systems and had to be towed from off the west coast of Ireland to Hunterston where her cargo was unloaded before making her way to Greenock

Some of the damage can be seen on the rear of her superstructure and the railings around her deck.