9th May 2011 / 3:53pm
One of the country's most important historic steam ships may be granted a stay of execution, thanks to a handful of enthusiasts and the generosity of the public. Last year, the SS Shieldhall was facing the breaker's yard, with a massive shortfall in funding. But an emergency appeal launched in January of this year means that this beautiful heritage ship may now get the go ahead to sail for another two years.
The 55 year-old SS Shieldhall, based at the Port of Southampton, is the largest remaining sea-going steamship in the UK and the last fully operational coastal passenger / cargo steamer in Europe. But budget cuts have meant that grants are no longer routinely available to fund maintenance work on heritage ships. Registered charity, The Solent Steam Packet, launched its fundraising effort last November to pay for the ship's 'MOT' in May 2011. Without this she couldn't continue to sail and would be at risk of being scrapped.
The cost of the inspection was expected to top £80,000, including fuel costs alone from Southampton to Falmouth of £15,000. The future was looking bleak but following a string of fundraising events – from book sales to gala dinners – a total of £69,000 has been raised and there is optimism that the remaining £11,000 will be raised by the time that the ship is dry-docked in May.
Once the dry-dock period has been completed, Shieldhall will begin her summer excursion programme based in the sheltered waters of The Solent. The first are on the 4th and 5th June, with others to follow later that month. More details of this programme are available at www.ss-shieldhall.co.uk
Captain Peter Roberts, Master, SS Shieldhall, said: “Ninety percent of the money raised has come from private donations, which means that we have an awful lot of people to thank! Without such generosity, there's no doubt that we would have had to scrap this lovely old steamship and we owe our supporters a great deal.”
SS Shieldhall is one of a small number of vessels forming the UK’s National Historic Ships Fleet and was named an official ‘Flagship’ in 2009. As such she's been officially recognised as being of pre-eminent national or regional importance. But the responsibility of keeping her afloat has fallen to a small number of unpaid volunteers who have struggled against budget cuts and rising fuel costs.
Managing Director, Graham Mackenzie, commented: “Our biggest disappointment is that the marine industry, by and large, has ignored our appeal for help, with just two smaller companies making donations. It appears that philanthropy is not a factor in this sector anymore, which is a sad reflection on our great maritime trading nation.” At a recent interview on BBC Radio Solent, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the famous round the world yachtsman and mariner commented that Shieldhall is “a classic example of the steamers that made Britain the major trading nation that we are”. Sir Robin also expressed his disappointment for the lack of support from the marine industry.
By way of comparison, English Heritage is planning to spend over £11million on property maintenance this year and The National Trust recently spent over £166million on routine property running costs, according to the last available figures.