In January 2007 the container ship MSC Napoli ran aground off the south coast of Devon spilling cargo on Branscombe beach. Timewatch: In Search of the Wreckers, BBC 2018
A tradition that stretched back centuries … The mysterious history of the Wreckers. ibid.
Where there are wrecks there are tales of wrecking. ibid.
Defoe: ‘A fierce and ravenous people for they are so greedy and eager for prey that they are charged with strange, bloody and cruel dealings.’ ibid.
Greek firms control the world’s largest merchant shipping fleet by tonnage, including a quarter of the world’s oil tankers. Greece with Simon Reeve II, BBC 2016
More than 100,000 vessels pass through the Strait each year. Mediterranean with Simon Reeve IV, BBC 2018
This is the story of the most advanced warship of its kind in the world. At the most dramatic time in its short history. HMS Duncan is a Royal Navy Type 45 Destroyer worth over a billion pounds, bristling with technology. But this state of the art ship is also home to 280 men and women. Warship: Life at Sea I, Channel 5 2018
Duncan’s engines are huge: they generate enough electricity to power over 18,000 homes. ibid.
The Russian warship begins shadowing Duncan. ibid.
The Royal Navy’s HMS Duncan is in the Black Sea over 3,000 miles from home … Russia’s forces controversially moved into Crimea in 2014 and defend their new territory fiercely. Warship: Life at Sea II
She’s about to face a whole new set of challenges in the Mediterranean. ibid.
Day 53 northern Mediterranean: Captain Eleanor Stack is watching the weapons team as they prepare for a special drill. Warship: Life at Sea III
‘I’ve been told to get off an to go home.’ ibid.
After six hours the re-supply is complete. ibid.
Their mission is to protect the Allied strike force from any Russian or Syrian attack. ibid.
Duncan set sail for Syria and was ordered to defend an allied strike force … Duncan’s crew are waiting nervously. Warship: Life at Sea IV
An attack helicopter has taken off from one of Russia’s warships. ibid.
After almost seven months at sea HMS Duncan is in sight of the UK. ibid.
A brand new mission: this Royal Navy Destroyer is packed with the most advanced weaponry in the world. But 260 men and women also call it home. With exclusive access, our cameras have been invited back for Duncan’s dramatic new seven-month deployment. As the crew join the fight to eradicate Isis in Iraq and Syria. Warship: Life at Sea s2e1, Channel 5 2020
It’s early March and HMS Duncan is in port. Tom Trent has just become the new captain. ibid.
Duncan’s most challenging mission to date: it will take her deep into the Mediterranean Sea … heading for the front line of the War on Terror. ibid.
Eight chefs cook round the clock to cater for the crew. ibid.
All Russian activity is being monitored deep inside the ship in Duncan’s operations room. ibid.
HMS Duncan is a one-billion-pound warship on a brand-new mission … Day 14 off the coast of Syria: it’s 6:45 a.m.: HMS Duncan is two weeks into her seven-month deployment. Warship: Life at Sea s2e2
HMS Duncan has now begun her role on Operation Inherent Resolve: an international mission to attack Isis-held territory. Her job is to enforce a ten-mile exclusion zone around the French aircraft carrier: Charles de Gaulle. Giving her jets enough space to conduct bombing runs over Syria. But two Russian warships … are also nearby. ibid.
Finding the Russian submarine is top priority. ibid.
A helicopter has come out of nowhere, and it’s flying straight at the aircraft carrier. ibid.
The first stage of Duncan’s deployment saw them team up with French allies as they launched an air assault on Isis … Day 116, off the coast of Turkey, She’s been ordered to the Black Sea … The Russians patrol the sea in large numbers … Duncan is joining Nato forces to reassure Ukraine. Warship: Life at Sea s2e3
To the Middle East: a change of plan … With British shipping threatened by Iranian forces, Duncan has been ordered to the Strait of Hormuz as soon as possible. ibid.
The crew will miss all of the English summer … It will take fifteen hours to get through the canal … ibid.
In the Gulf tensions rose as the Iranian Navy threatened British-flag tankers. And HMS Duncan was ordered to the region. Warship: Life at Sea s2e4
Megan’s trying to fix the [gushing water] problem before it threatens the engines. ibid.
HMS Duncan has arrived at her destination: at the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf … Duncan will come face to face with Iranian forces. ibid.
The helicopter can spot small Iranian vessels at range, giving Duncan vital time to react. ibid.
HMS Duncan is a billion pound warship on a brand new mission: this Royal Navy Destroyer is packed with the most advanced weaponry in the world. But 260 men and women also call it home … HMS Duncan has been off the coast of Iran for three weeks. Warship: Life at Sea s2e5
Their job is to guard British-flag tankers and to stop Iran capturing them. ibid.
After 190 days at sea HMS Duncan is about to enter the Mediterranean and begin the final leg of her journey home. ibid.
Is it worth it?
A new winter coat and shoes for the wife
And a bicycle on the boy’s birthday
It’s just a rumor that was spread around town
By the women and children
Soon we’ll be shipbuilding
Well, I ask you
The boy said, Dad, they’re going to take me to task
But I’ll be back by Christmas?
It’s just a rumor that was spread around town
Somebody said that someone got filled in
For saying that people get killed in
The result of this shipbuilding …
With all the will in the world
Diving for dear life
When we could be diving for pearls … Costello & Langer, Shipbuilding, singers Wyatt & Costello et al
Some of the hardest places to get to in the Republic of Bangladesh are the shipbreaking yards of Chittagong. Ships from all over the world are sent here to die. But not just ships. Local workers die too of severe injuries. Scrapped: The Deadly Business of Dismantling Ships in Bangladesh, RT 2015
Chittagong is the second largest city in Bangladesh. ibid.
The average wage is $3 a day. ibid.
No medical facilities. No compensation. ibid.
Up to 200 ships sail into the bay each year. ibid.
The River Clyde: Scotland’s most iconic waterway. Today it’s a bustling commercial hub. But 150 years ago this was the beating heart of an industrial revolution. And fuelling it were its shipyards. Clydebuilt: The Ships that Made the Commonwealth I: Cutty Sark, David Hayman, BBC 2019
Ablaze was one of the most iconic ships in maritime history. And the news made headlines around the world. And this is the ship: the Cutty Shark. ibid.
By the mid-1800s there were over 30 Clydeside yards making over 80% of the world’s ships. ibid.
The Suez Canal changed everything … To make matters worse, the steamers could carry almost twice as much cargo as a clipper and at half the crew costs. ibid.
Steam was now the dominant force in the tea runs. ibid.
A series of terrible voyages spanning half a decade that would become known as the hell-ship years. ibid.
Her crew had mutinied and her captain was now dead. ibid.
In her very first wool voyage in 1886 the clipper sailed from Sydney to London in 84 days … By 1888 … reaching the British capital in 73 days. ibid.
In 1884 a Clydebuilt ship headed out of Glasgow and across the Atlantic ocean to Canada to become part of something truly groundbreaking. And this is her: the Mackay-Bennett … The creation of an underwater cable network that connected Britain with her future commonwealth for the first time, and in doing so sparked a communication revolution that would change the world for ever. Clydebuilt: The Ships that Made the Commonwealth II: CS Mackay-Bennett
The men on this Scottish steamer would play a heroic and until now untold part in this tragedy. ibid.