1968 11 HK View of Kowloon Peninsula

Wanchai reclamation already started. On the (reclaimed) peninsula behind Caine House, Fenwick Pier seems to be under construction.

Ships in the harbour 1968

Zoom in for a look at shipping operations in Hong Kong just before containerisation changed the scene in the 1970s.

From the right

At Holt’s Wharf are two Priam Class vessels. Delivered between 1966 and 1967 the class consisted of eight ships spit equally between Holt’s two subsidiaries - the Glen Line (red funnel) and China Mutual S.N. Co. Ltd. (blue funnel). In 1973 the Glen Line ships were transferred to China Mutual S.N. Co. Ltd gaining a new name and funnel colour. Although of modern design these fast conventional cargo ships were already obsolete and the last vessels in the class were sold off in 1982. From 1978 to 1982 two of the class could still be seen in Hong Kong harbour having been bought by Swire’s China Navigation for their New Zealand service – KWANGSI and KWEICHOW. A further four Priam class vessels were sold to Orient Overseas Line and converted into container ships.

Across to the left at Ocean Terminal

           south side wharf from right to left:

• Either CHANGSHA (1949 - 69) or TAIYUAN (1949 – 72) two passenger vessels built by Scotts’ S.B. & Eng. Co. Ltd. Greenock for China Navigation’s Australia trade.
• A States Line Colorado Class general cargo vessel  - one of five fast steam turbine ships built in the late 1960s. States Line went bankrupt in December 1978.

           north side wharf from right to left:

• A SEACO (Ab Svenska Ostasiatiska Kompaniet) cargo vessel. A class of four motor vessels built by Eriksberg of Gothenburg Sweden. HONDO 1966, HOKKAIDO 1966, HAKONE 1967, HIRADO 1967
• A Wilhelmsen Line cargo ship probably one of five built 1960 – 61 for the Norwegian company named TRICOLOR / TROJA, TOLEDO, TONSBERG, TRIANON, TARN.

           at the furthest wharf

• a Nedlloyd vessel – likely to be one of several ships built in the early 1960s with names like SERVAASKERK, SIMONSKERK, SPAARNEKERK .

In the foreground sailing towards the eastern end of the harbour is the motor vessel FERNCLIFF built in 1955 by Eriksberg of Gothenberg Sweden for the Norwegian company Fearnley & Eger. She was sold to Indonesian owners in 1974 and broken up in Spain in 1979 after a collision.

Ferncliff (1).jpg, by Talbot-Booth's Merchant Ships 1978

Talbot-Booth’s Merchant Ships 1978 and subsequent editions of Jane’s Merchant Ships are useful aids to ship identification for this period. Profiles can then be cross checked with images on the interrnet.

Regards degahkg