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M.V. FERNMOOR, glass negative
3/4 port bow view of M.V. FERNMOOR at Penarth Head, c. 1936
One of the most prominent of the once-numerous Newcastle-based shipping firms was the Moor Line which had its origins in 1885 when Captain Walter Runciman bought his first steamer. By 1914, Runciman was operating a fleet of forty modern steamers. Runciman was an early proponent of motor vessels, and the 4,972 gross ton Fernmoor, built in 1936, was an example of the Doxford 'Economy' motor tramp built in some numbers in the late 1930s. The Fernmoor was lost on 5 February 1954 when she ran aground off Palawan Island in the Philippines.
Source: Shipping at Cardiff: Photographs from the Hansen Collection 1920-1975 by David Jenkins, 1993.
Cargo carrier built 1936 by William Doxford for the Runciman Steamship Co. (The Moor Line). "This is an old photo that surfaced from the early fifties . . . Full cargo of phosphate bound for Japan, (she)ran on to uncharted rock near Great Barrier Reef, and sank. All got off OK. This short history of her demise, from crew member aboard at time.