Anniversary celebrations for dry dock
10:22am Wednesday 14th May 2008
Fifty years ago in May 1958 Falmouth embraced the burgeoning super-tanker era when HRH The Duke of Edinburgh opened the newly constructed Queen Elizabeth dry-dock, the largest privately owned dry-dock in the United Kingdom at the time.
Post war Falmouth was a major tanker repair port for British Petroleum Tankers, Shell and a whole host of other well known British tanker companies. The problem for docks boss Mr H.A.J "Jack" Silley and his fellow directors was how to keep Falmouth at the forefront of the British ship repair industry with ships of 85,000 dwt being planned for existing UK oil terminals.
British Tankers and Shell had embarked on massive building programmes and for BP, Falmouth was one of its prime tanker repair ports in the UK.
The docks directors decided to embark on an ambitious plan to build a super drydock with two deep water repair berths.
Master minded by Mr Eric Underwood, civil engineer and general manager of the Falmouth Docks and Engineering Company the biggest civil engineering project in the port's history began in August 1956.
On September 4, 1958 the 28,598 ton BP tanker British Realm became the first ship to enter the dry-dock.
Just a year later the BP Tanker British Queen, the biggest tanker built in Britain at the time docked in the Queen Elizabeth drydock after her builder's trials on the Clyde. The pictures show the various stages of the dock construction.