Taking the challenge

“The image of the unnamed ship in Kirkcaldy harbour brought a challenge to identify the vessel,” emails Tayside shipping enthusiast John Aitken of Montrose. It was a nostalgic scene of a bygone era and brought to mind having cycled with two other shipping enthusiasts from Perth to Burntisland and Kirkcaldy on a midsummer Saturday in the mid-1950s.

“It was back in the days prior to the construction of the M90 and our route took us via Bridge of Earn, Glenfarg, Milnathort, Kinross, Kelty and Cowdenbeath prior to arriving at the two ports on the Firth of Forth.

“To begin with it seemed our efforts were worthwhile when we saw the smart, post-war built Danish-owned vessel London, registered at Copenhagen, berthed in Burntisland. However, the euphoria soon wore off as Kirkcaldy harbour was devoid of shipping. Returning home via Newburgh the riverside piers there too were empty.

“The question of the unidentified vessel’s name took a search of several maritime sources before I came across the possibility of the Carmarthen Coast. Built by Ardrossan Drydock & Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. in 1921 at the Ayrshire port. Laid down as the Svanfos for Oslo-based owners she was quickly re-named firstly, Langfjord then Nova, but still under the Norwegian flag.

“Coast Lines acquired her the following year operating her until the onset of the Second World War. In November 1939 she sailed from Methil, bound for London, with 1,000 tons of general cargo.

“Tragically she hit a mine three miles off East Seaham Harbour and sank with the loss of two crew members.

“The Coast Lines group, as the name suggests, ran numerous passenger and cargo services between a wide range of UK ports for many years until the upsurge in road transport put paid to coastal shipping.

“Dundee and Kirkcaldy were regular ports of call for the smart black and white liveried passenger and cargo vessels whose black funnels bore a prominent white chevron, their names ending in ‘Coast’ such as Adriatic Coast, Antrim Coast, Atlantic Coast, British Coast, Cheshire Coast, Lancashire Coast, Welsh Coast etc.”