Video Containerships Volume 3
The video starts with footage of the Peninsular Bay sailing down the Elbe from Hamburg through ice with the banks of the river covered in snow. We see the famous Welcome Point - Schulauer Fährhaus hotel and restaurant, and then the departure of the river pilot at Cuxhaven. The next scene consists of rather dramatic shots of the Peninsular Bay ploughing through rough seas in the Bay of Biscay (followed by a charming shot of a small bird sheltering on the bridge after the storm!)
We then see Peninsular Bay cruising through the Suez Canal, followed by some footage of the vessel stopped in the Indian Ocean while engine repairs are carried out. The shots that follows cover some of the marine and avian wildlife that were encountered on the voyage, including a fantastic clip of sunfish. The BBC Nature unit and David Attenborough couldn't have done better!
The Peninsular Bay is then shown arriving in Hong Kong at night. That port call included a period in dry-dock for maintenance and Captain Welch managed to capture some fascinating footage of the work underway. A containership literally laid bare...
"Voyages on Later Vessels to 1998"
This is video number 3 in the series produced by Captain Joe Welch, and like the two that preceded it uses film footage that he took during his time on board. The subject of this video, which is around 35mins in length, is Captain Welch's voyages on the large, Panamax vessel Peninsular Bay.
After Hong Kong the ship sails for Kobe. This was the first arrival of a containership in the port since the horrendous earthquake in January 1995, and repairs are still very much underway. The Japanese ports of Kobe, Nagoya, Tokyo and Yokahama follow, and we then see the Peninsular Bay again in very heavy weather as she sails through typhoon waters.
The footage on the return home includes passing the Oriental Bay headed east, passage through the Red Sea and then some particularly beautiful shots of the transit through Suez (passing the Repulse Bay and Kowloon Bay).
Back in European waters we see the Peninsular Bay in Antwerp and then a return to Hamburg. The departure from the German port was Captain Welch's last transit of the Elbe before his retirement from the sea and the video contains a particularly poignant scene as the ship passes the Welcome Point. The ship's horn is sounded as the master waves his farewell.
While the video clips from the two earlier videos were perfectly fine, the more modern camera equipment used here has produced even better footage. As before, we see a voyage from beginning to end and the sub-titles help guide the viewer through each scene. All in all, yet another excellent video which will be of interest to ex-sea staff and those who want to know what life was like on these third-generation containerships as they plied their trade from Europe to the Far East and back.
A copy of Volume 3 - Voyages on later Vessels can be purchased direct from Captain Welch for £10.00, (including UK post & packing). If you wish to order a copy then please email jcwelch2@btinternet.com, providing your name and address. The price will then be confirmed, along with the payment arrangements.
FEBRUARY 2023 UPDATE!
The videos have previously been offered in DVD form but with many people no longer having access to a suitable DVD player, Captain Welch has decided to switch to using USB/memory sticks. The price of £10 per video with all profits going to the Mission to Seafarers charity remains unchanged.
As of 01/02/2023 Joe advises that nearly £2,000 has been donated to the Mission.
As with the earlier videos, after deduction of production and postage costs all profits from sales are being donated to the Missions to Seafarers
Other videos in the containership series that are also available for purchase from Captain Welch are:
Vol 1 - The early days of containerisation
Vol 2 - The Far East voyages
Updated 03/02/2023