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ST. CLAIR

Shipbuildervessel built by Hall, Russell & Company, Limited (Aberdeen, Scotland, 1864 - 1992)

Shipownervessel built for North of Scotland & Orkney & Shetland Steam Navigation Company

Date29 December 1937

Object NamePASSENGER AND CARGO VESSEL

MediumSTEEL

ClassificationsShip

Dimensionslength 250 7/12' x breadth 38 1/12' x depth 16 3/6'
Gross Tonnage: 1637 ton

Object numberABDSHIP002444

Keywords

About MeYard: Hall, Russell & Co.
Yard Number: 742
Official Number: 165247
Subsequent Names: ST. CLAIR II (1960); ST. MAGNUS (1960-).

Fate: Scrapped by Van Heyghen Freres, Bruges, 1967.

Propulsion: Steam
Description: Passenger and cargo vessel, 2 decks, combined poop and quarterdeck 173', forecastle 63', cruiser stern

Owners:
1937: North of Scotland, Orkney and Shetland Steam Navigation Co., registered at Aberdeen.
1940-45: requisitioned by Admiralty as HMS BALDUR and took part in the British occupation of Iceland and stationed at Rekjavik as a base and accommodation ship until 10/1943: Then converted at Aberdeen to a convoy rescue ship.

Master: Captain Wm. Leask, DSC

General History:
07/01/1937:
'an outstanding feature of the construction is accommodation for 420 passengers. There are commodious first and second class dining rooms, smoke rooms and lounges. A complete Thermotank system is fitted for ventilating and heating all public rooms and cabins'.
(Shipbuilding and Shipping Record)

Routes: Leith - Aberdeen, Orkney & Shetland
ST. CLAIR was the last steamship built for the North Company and was initially its flagship. Superintending engineer during her construction was Alexander R. Smith, sole partner of Pirie and Smith, consulting engineers and ship surveyors, Aberdeen. She ran trial on 22 April 1937, and her maiden voyage 6 May 1937. A notable feature of her accommodation was that for the first time 2nd class passengers had small rooms rather than an open dormitory. In addition to passengers and cargo she carried livestock, especially in early Autumn from the islands. For example, on 8 September 1937 she was fully booked with animals, mostly from Shetland.

Prior to World War II her routes were:- in Summer (May-September) what was known as the ‘West Side’ route, Leith-Aberdeen-Stromness-Scalloway-Hillswick. In Winter she took the ‘Weekend route’, Aberdeen-Kirkwall-Lerwick, spending the weekend in Lerwick and returning to Aberdeen on Wednesday. On her return from war duty Alexander Hall and Co. worked day and night to get her ready to resume North Co. service on 19 June 1946. Thereafter she served the twice weekly direct service from Aberdeen to Lerwick until 1960. On 26 January 1949 her return from Lerwick was delayed till 4 a.m. to accommodate revellers returning from the Up -Helly- A festival. In May 1950 her master and commodore of the fleet, Capt. Donald Macmillan, retired after 35 years’ service with the Company.

In 1960 she was renamed briefly ST. CLAIR II and then ST. MAGNUS to free her name for the new ST. CLAIR (still a traditional passenger/cargo vessel, but now a motorship). Until her withdrawal in March 1967 ST. MAGNUS worked mostly the ‘Indirect service’, Leith-Aberdeen-Kirkwall- Lerwick, also relieving her successor on the direct service, Aberdeen-Lerwick.

Sources:- Gordon Donaldson (1978), Northwards by Sea (Edinburgh, Paul Harris), p. 124; Lloyd’s Register of Shipping, 1961-2;
Orkney Herald, 03/06/1937, 08/09/1937, 19/05/1938; Press and Journal, 23/04/1937, 07/06/1937, 10/11/1937, 17/01/1949, 13/05/1950, 25/03/1967; Scotsman, 03/08/1939 [All newspaper extracts accessed from British Newspaper Archive, https://britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk, 28/4/2022].

Its final voyage 30 March to 1 April 1967 was also final voyage of a North Company passenger steamship.

23/08/1966:
Its withdrawal was announced August 1966, the last steamship in the North Co. fleet. A Company spokesman said that it had come to the end of its tether and would be replaced by a cargo/livestock vessel. The traffic on its 5 months summer sailings to Orkney and Shetland did not justify the cost of a new passenger ship as air travel was becoming more popular. It had been requisitioned by the Admiralty in 1940 and re-named HMS Baldur, for a while had been an admiral’s flagship at Iceland and was later converted into a rescue ship for Atlantic convoys. (Press and Journal).

SUPPLEMENTARY REFERENCES, 26/09/22 (from newspaper cuttings in A.W. McRobb scrapbook)

Notes: 1945-56 refitted and boilers converted to oil burning.