Ships are given a flying visit
DRONE IS SENT TO INSPECT VESSELS IN LIMBO
VIEWED from afar, the three mystery container ships off Tynemouth’s coast have been labelled a blot on the horizon.
Now, thanks to drone footage, we can get a first close-up view of the vessels, which have become the subject of debate since The Chronicle reported how they have been moored there for weeks.
Colin Chambers, who captured the footage, has only recently bought his drone and said: “I thought ‘what can I record that people have not seen?’
“I saw The Chronicle article about the ships and thought nobody would have been out there or had a look so I got some range extenders on my remote control and sent it out there.”
The result is a chance to view in more detail what local residents have been seeing from a distance for weeks since the ships’ owner company – as yet unnamed – filed for bankruptcy.
The bulk carriers, whose crews have now left, are anchored off the piers at Tynemouth and their future remains uncertain.
Crewing agency Bernhard Schulte Ship Management (UK) Ltd, which has been hired to oversee the ships, have replacement crews on board and says the ships are in the process of being sold – but they could be here some time yet.
With no end date in sight to their stay, several local residents are fedup with the sight, one calling it “an eyesore”.
However, the ships have been found to be in a good state of repair and zooming in on footage and photographs taken by Colin reveals the figures of crewmen moving around on deck.
The 32-year-old, who works for software company Sage, said: “One friend who saw them said he did not realise there was a crew on board.”
He took a risk sending out his drone, describing how it was “getting dive-bombed by seagulls”.
He added: “They swoop at it and if one had caught the propellor it would be in the water.”
It also took skill in manoeuvring the drone 2,500 metres – a mile and a half – out to sea.
While its two antennae normally have no problem picking up signals from Colin, beyond 500 metres itis a different story.
He said: “If you want to go further you have to put on shields to bounce the signal and make it directional and I had to have the handset pointed at the drone or else I’d lose signal.”
A friend helped keep an eye on the drone through binoculars and the final results make it look as if the drone was right above one of the ships in particular.
Colin, from Howdon, North Tyneside, said: “The law states you have to be 50 metres away from a vessel or vehicle so the drone was tied to a zoom lens.
“Although it looks quite close, the images were actually recorded from further back.” Colin intends to build up a portfolio of video which he will promote on Facebook as North East Drone Photography, with links to YouTube to show it at its highest quality.
He would also like to get a commercial licence but this would cost around £1,500.
In the meantime he has the Tall Ships Regatta in Blyth in his sights for his next drone outing this weekend.