Arklow is a town in County Wicklow on the east coast of Ireland, overlooked by Ballymoyle hill. It was founded by the Vikings in the ninth century. Arklow was the site of one of the bloodiest battles of the 1798 rebellion. Its proximity to Dublin led to it becoming a commuter town with a population of 14,353 as of the 2016 census.
Irish Ferries is a maritime transport company that operates passenger and freight services on routes between Ireland, Britain and Continental Europe, including Dublin Port–Holyhead; Rosslare Europort to Pembroke as well as Dublin Port-Cherbourg and Rosslare to Cherbourg and Roscoff in France
Evergreen Marine Corporation, is a Taiwanese container transportation and shipping company headquartered in Luzhu District, Taoyuan City, Taiwan. Its principal trading routes are the Far East to North America, Central America and the Caribbean; the Far east to northern Europe and the east Mediterranean; Europe to the east coast of North America; the Far East to Australia, Mauritius, South Africa and South America; and an intra Asia service linking ports in Asia to the Middle East, Persian Gulf and the Red Sea. With over 150 container ships it is part of the Evergreen Group conglomerate of transportation firms and associated companies. Evergreen calls on 240 ports worldwide in about 80 countries, and is the fifth largest company of its type. The company's activities include: shipping, construction of containers and ships, management of ports, and engineering and real estate development. Subsidiaries and divisions include Uniglory Marine Corp. (Taiwan), Evergreen UK Ltd. (UK), and shipping company Italia Marittima S.p.A. (Italy).
P&O Ferries is a subsidiary of Dubai based company DP World that operates ferries from the United Kingdom to Ireland and Continental Europe. These were previously operated at different times as separate subsidiaries of P&O:
Irish Shipping Limited was an Irish state-owned deepsea shipping company, formed during World War II for the purpose of supplying the country's import needs. Its ships were usually named after trees. Its contribution to Irish neutrality was recognised by the government after the war. In the post-war years the company continued to operate as a commercial strategic reserve until 1984 when, as a result of taking on a series of expensive long-term time charters, it was forced into liquidation.
Seatruck Ferries is a UK-based freight-only ferry company which commenced services in 1996. It is part of the Clipper Group, a shipping company based in The Bahamas. The company operates out of four ports on the Irish Sea, including Heysham and Liverpool.
The SS Irish Oak was an Irish-operated steamship which was sunk in the North Atlantic during World War II by a German submarine.
MS Clipper Ranger is a freight ferry built in 1998, which was in service with Seatruck Ferries on the Heysham–Belfast route until the latter half of 2012. In September 2013, she was chartered to Caledonian MacBrayne for the freight service between Ullapool and Stornoway.
Merchant Brilliant is a ferry owned by Brilliant Shipping Ltd and currently in service with Norfolk Line.
The Adelaide Steamship Company was formed by a group of South Australian businessmen in 1875. Their aim was to control the transport of goods between Adelaide and Melbourne and profit from the need for an efficient and comfortable passenger service. For its first 100 years, the company's main activities were conventional shipping operations on the Australian coast, primary products, consumer cargoes and extensive passenger services.
The Irish Mercantile Marine during World War II continued essential overseas trade in the conflict, a period referred to as The Long Watch by Irish mariners.
Helliar is a ferry owned by Clipper Group and operated by Northlink Ferries. Built by Spanish shipyard Astilleros de Huelva in 1997 as Lehola for Estonian Shipping Co Ltd she has served a number of owners and operators as RR Triumph and Triumph before her sale to Clipper Group and being renamed Clipper Racer. In 2011, she was chartered to Northlink Ferries and renamed Helliar.
MS Arrow is a 7,606 GT Ro-Ro ferry built by Astilleros de Huelva SA, Huelva, Spain in 1998 as Varbola for the Estonian Shipping Company, Tallinn. During a charter to Dart Line she was renamed Dart 6, reverting to Varbola when the charter ended. In 2005, she was sold to Malta and renamed RR Arrow. In 2007, she was sold to Seatruck Ferries, Heysham and renamed Arrow. On 28 April 2014 Arrow began operating for the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company on a three-year charter. During the summer of 2014, while not required in Steam Packet Company service, the vessel was temporarily sub-chartered to operate between Jersey and Portsmouth (England). She resumed services in the Irish sea in the winter.
Irish Pine was a 5,621 GRT cargo ship which was built in 1919 for the United States Maritime Commission (USMC) and named West Hematite. She was chartered in 1941 by Irish Shipping Ltd and renamed Irish Pine. On 16 November 1942, Irish Pine was torpedoed and sunk by U-608.
Below is the timeline of maritime events during the Emergency,. This period was referred to as The Long Watch by Irish Mariners. This list is of events which affected the Irish Mercantile Marine, other ships carrying Irish exports or imports, and events near the Irish coast.
Tyrronall was a 248 GRT Coaster that was built in 1935 as the 199 GRT schooner Heimat by Flender Werke AG, Lübeck, Germany for German owners. She was seized by the Allies in May 1945, passed to the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) and was renamed Empire Contamar.
Noemijulia was a 2,489 GRT cargo ship built in 1895 as Barlby by Sir R Ropner & Sons Ltd, Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, England, for their own use. She was sold to Greece in 1926 and renamed Noemi. In 1930, she was sold to a British company and renamed Noemijulia. Questions about the manner of her operation were raised in the British Parliament in 1935, and she was attacked by Spanish Nationalist aircraft in 1937 off Cape de Creus.
MV Murell was a 319 GRT coaster that was built in 1940 as Fiddown by Goole Shipbuilding & Repairing Co Ltd, Goole, Yorkshire, United Kingdom for S Morris Ltd. In 1941, she was run down and sunk by HMS Campbelltown in the Mersey Estuary. She was salvaged in 1942, repaired and passed to the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT), renamed Empire Estuary. She was sold into merchant service in 1946 and renamed Goldfawn. A further sale in 1952 saw her renamed Creekdawn. A sale to an Irish company in 1954 saw her renamed Murell. She served until 1972, when she was scrapped.
Cymric was a British and Irish schooner, built in 1893. She joined the South American trade in the fleet of Arklow, Ireland, in 1906. She served as a British Q-ship during the First World War; she failed to sink any German U-boats, but did sink a British submarine in error.
Irish Willow was one of the few ships which maintained Irish trade during World War II.
