The ‘Yew’ Coastal Fleet

The handsome coasters with the blue and black funnels with two central white bands of the Stewart fleet were normally engaged in the Irish Sea trades of coal, stone, iron ore, cement clinker, caustic soda, raw materials for textiles and chemicals, and peat trades. However, according to my coal shipment records from the Tyne and Wear of October 1938, they were also engaged in the East Coast coal trade to London e.g. Yewkyle of Stewarts loaded at the Lambton and Hetton drops on the south bank of the Wear. I also vividly remember in my youth seeing the coasters of this fleet regularly repairing in the two dry docks of the yard of Tyne Dock Engineering next to the South Shields ferry landing. This company should not be confused with the sailing ship fleet of John Stewart & Company of London, which was founded in 1877 and was the last British fleet to own only sailing ships when his barque William Mitchell was broken up in 1928. By 1900, steam had replaced merchant schooners trading in the brick, coal, stone, iron ore, cattle and other coastal cargoes, although some shipowners, notably Everards, clung on to coastal schooners and Thames sailing barges for many years afterwards.

John Stewart, Shipbroker

John Stewart began as a shipbroker in 1899, and became one of the leading shipbrokers operating in Glasgow in late Victorian and Edwardian times, buying and selling ships or part shares in ships for other shipowners such as William Robertson. In this respect, he purchased in 1911 the coaster Gipsy of 634 grt, built in 1899 by R. Williamson & Son at Workington with triple expansion steam engines by Ross & Duncan of Glasgow, from the Limerick Steamship Co. Ltd. She was traded for a few months and then sold on to Mann, Macneal of Glasgow and renamed Melford. Two trawlers built at North Shields, Fuchsia and Japonica, were bought in 1912 and soon sold on to new owners. Several other small coasters were bought and sold at this time e.g. the new coaster Muriel completed in 1910.

John Stewart purchased a half share on 13th May 1912 in the coaster Corundum of 1,810 dwt built by Scott & Sons of Bowling in 1899, his partner Walter Fulton of Glasgow holding the other shares. Corundum was an engines ‘midships raised quarterdeck type with three derricks on two masts for cargo handling. However, bad luck occurred for the partners as the vessel sank two years later on 17th October 1914 after a collision with a larger steamer on a voyage from South Wales to Rouen with coal. John Stewart had also managed the single ship Kismet Shipping Co. Ltd. in 1913 and its forty year old steamer Princess Alexandra of 646 grt built back in 1863 of iron by the Blackwood and Gordon yard at Port Glasgow. She was then sold at the end of 1914 to Nafi Bey of Constantinople and renamed Edirne.

John Stewart did not re-enter shipowning for some seven years and concentrated on shipbroking at his office at 82, Gordon Street in Glasgow. The small inland and sheltered waters trader Wynor of 113 grt was completed on the Forth and Clyde Canal at the McGregor and Son yard at Kirkintilloch in 1921. This yard was next door to the more famous Hay yard building Clyde ‘puffers’, but the luck of John Stewart had not yet turned and Wynor was also lost by foundering in a storm one year later. On 5th June 1923, he purchased the elderly coaster Olivine of 454 grt built 33 years earlier by Scott of Bowling for William Robertson. She was a typical raised quarterdecker built of iron and steel and was renamed Yewdale, and a second newer coaster of 593 grt was purchased soon afterwards that had been built by the Ardrossan Dockyard in 1915 as Fairmuir and she was renamed Yewglen. This was fortunate, as the first steamer Yewdale stranded on Goswick Sands near Holy Island in Northumberland on 24th July 1925 while on a voyage from Lerwick to Blyth in ballast to load coal. She was refloated and declared a constructive total loss and sold for breaking up.

Yewhill of 572 grt completed in 1914 by the Ardrossan Dockyard Ltd. in 1914 as Sportsman was purchased in 1925 and had an ‘all aft’ design. She was sold in 1937 and renamed Southport and was broken up in February 1956 at Grays in Essex after a collision with the Trinity House tender Ready in Gravesend Reach while on a voyage from Antwerp to London with corn. Two coasters were purchased in 1926 in Yewmount 833/1908 built as Hampshire by John Crown & Sons Ltd. at Sunderland, and Yewforest of 815 grt built sixteen years earlier at Greenock as Barshaw for Paton & Hendry of Glasgow. Yewbank 621/1914 ex Okehampton and built as Aberdale in 1914 by the John Fullerton yard at Paisley was purchased in 1927 to give a fleet of five coasters. These ‘Yew’ coasters were typical raised quarterdecker triple expansion steam powered coasters with bridge ‘midships, three masts including a mizzen mast behind the funnel, and three holds served by three derricks.

John Stewart then purchased six second hand steam engines manufactured by four different British engine manufacturers and planned to sell them for use in tugs, but he then ordered a series of six coasters from Scott & Sons of Bowling in which to fit the engines for delivery during 1928/31. These sister coasters of 827 grt were completed as Yewarch, Yewcroft, Yewdale, Yewpark, Yewtree and Yewvalley. They were of the archetypal raised quarterdeck design with three masts, one being a mizzen mast behind the funnel, with two derricks to work cargo from the two holds. The Master, Mate and Second Mate were housed in the ‘midships bridge, engineers and stewards aft, and the seamen and firemen in the fo’c’stle, seamen to starboard, firemen to port.

John Stewart & Company (Shipping) Ltd

The Stewart coaster fleet of eleven vessels proudly flew their red houseflag during the Depression years of the 1930s with a white ‘S’ on a blue diamond surrounded by a white border. John Stewart & Co.(Shipping) Ltd. was set up in 1934, but the founder died two years later after a period of ill health, and the fleet was then sold to Ian MacFarlane and Edgar MacFarlane of Glasgow, who had previously operated steamers in the Clyde passenger trade. Yewkyle of 824 grt was purchased in 1936, having been built in 1917 by the Bartram yard at Sunderland as Ennistown. A new Yewmount of 859 grt was completed in 1939 by the Bowling yard of Scott & Sons and fitted with a five cylinder 2SCSA Atlas Diesel engine. The fleet was fortunate during World War II in that only three coasters out of a fleet of ten ships were lost to enemy action:-

Yewdale – At Dunkirk on 30th September 1944 with 900 troops onboard she was bombed by Stukas destroying her wheelhouse, hull damaged in several places, steam pipes fractured, but she reached Deal by steering from the aft position and saved her troops. Vessel damaged beyond repair. The captain was killed and four men injured.

Yewkyle – On 17th August 1940 she was damaged by bombs off Milford Haven, towed to Cardiff and broken up at the end of the war.

Yewforest – On 19th November, 1942, was torpedoed by a German E-boat eleven miles from the Eddystone Lighthouse while on a voyage from Hull to

Empire Beacon of 872 grt was completed in November 1941 at the Bowling yard of Scott & Sons and had a short career under John Stewart management, as she struck a mine and sank six nautical miles off St. Ann’s Head, Milford Haven on 5th April 1942 while on a voyage from Cardiff to Belfast. Three war replacements were Empire Fencroft of the ‘Tudor Queen’ class, purchased in 1946 and renamed Yewforest and later sold to Onesimus Dorey of Guernsey in 1954 and renamed Perelle. The others were only owned for a year as Yewhill, having been completed in 1911 as Rudmore by S. P. Austin Ltd. and sold in 1946, and the motor coaster Yewbranch of 972 grt built in 1937 at Burntisland, which became Devon Coast in 1947 and later Windsor Queen. A new coaster was completed in 1949 as the bridge ‘midships engines aft Yewdale of 987 grt from the Port Glasgow yard of James Lamont & Co. Ltd., tightly squeezed next to the tower of Newark Castle. Yewmount of 1939 had been sold in 1947 to become Saxon Queen of Queenship Navigation Ltd., leaving a post-war fleet of eight Stewart coasters.

Yewpark was sold in 1952 to John S. Monks Ltd. of Liverpool and renamed Crestville, sister Yewvalley foundered in 1953, and Yewcroft of 1929 ran aground and was wrecked at Treverne in Mounts Bay on 8th July 1956. The last sister of this sextet was sold at the end of 1956 to Hugh Craig & Co. Ltd of Belfast and renamed Craigantlet. The coal trade to Northern France was very important with back cargoes of cement from the Thames to the Northern coalfields. Four new Lamont built near sisters of Yewdale were built for this trade and the east coast coal trade during the 1950s in Yewglen in 1952, Yewmount in 1955, Yewhill in 1957 and Yewforest in 1958 on the same dimensions of 222 feet by 34 feet. However, Yewhill and Yewforest were given an ‘all aft’ design of raised quarterdecker with two masts. The ‘Yew’ coasters were also always repaired at Lamont’s Port Glasgow and Greenock repair yards. The former Goole built Friargate of 945 grt completed in 1946 for the Hull Gates Shipping Co. Ltd. was purchased in 1960 and renamed Yewcroft and was traded for five years. The German coaster Hinrich Sieghold of 967 grt was also purchased in 1960, she had been built three years earlier at Bremerhaven, and was renamed Yewhill. The Joseph Constantine of Middlesbrough coaster Avonwood of 1,596 grt built by Hall, Russell & Co. Ltd. in 1944, was also purchased in 1960 and renamed Yewpark.

These purchases replaced Yewtree of 1928, which arrived for breaking up at Blyth in April 1960, and Yewglen of 1952, which grounded on 29th February 1960 on Ebb’s Neuk rocks at Beadnell in North Northumberland. The crew were able to walk ashore to safety, and even though one thousand tonnes of cement, lime and French chalk were removed from the wreck she could not be refloated. Some pieces of her mangled steel can still be seen today on the rocks at Beadnell. The next purchase in 1964 came from Dublin in Irish Fern of 1,114 grt completed ten years earlier by the Liffey Dockyard at Dublin for Irish Shipping Ltd. Irish Fern was one of two colliers completed during 1952/54 for Irish Shipping Ltd., both raised quarterdeckers with two derricks serving two holds, Irish Heather being the other collier. Irish Fern was renamed Yewtree and was traded for ten years by Stewarts. A fleet of six coasters was traded during 1969, but Yewdale of 1949 was sold at the end of that year and renamed Sanaga, and was wrecked on 28th March 1971 off Pointe des Chats to the southeast of Ile de Groix while on a voyage from Plymouth to St. Nazaire in ballast.

The National Union of Seamen had agreed in 1967 to ‘general purpose’ manning on board ships, ratings were trained to work both on deck and in the engine room, thus helping coastal shipowners with their frequent calls in port. The final pair of sister Stewart coasters were purchased from Christian Salvesen of Leith in April and August of 1971 as Tolsta and Laksa of 1,323 grt. Thus, a fleet of seven coasters was being traded during the early part of 1974 when the decision was taken by the owning MacFarlane family to dispose of the fleet. This was done in intervals throughout the year with some going to Coe Metcalf Coasters of Liverpool, e.g. Yewhill of 1957 became Silverthorn. Yewmount of 1956 was sold to Greek owners and renamed Elias and traded until broken up at Perama in July 1985. Two small coasters had also been managed before closure for W.E. Dowds of Newport in the former Osborn & Wallis sisters of Brandon and Colston of 586 grt completed in the mid 1950s by the Bristol yard of Charles Hill & Sons Ltd.

The problems faced by the British coastal shipping industry in post-war years were twofold, firstly the concentration of tonnage into powerful groupings such as the Coast Lines conglomerate, Everards and James Fisher of Barrow, and secondly the huge competition from the large motor coaster fleets of Holland and Germany. This was a major bone of contention with British coastal shipowners in that whereas the Dutch and German ships had free access to cargoes between British ports, British coasters were denied this on the Continent. No cargoes could be carried between Hamburg and Le Havre by British coasters for example. Finally in 1988, action was taken and the British Government agreed to bar foreign coasters from UK cabotage trades until the EEC agreed to open up their coastal routes to free competition. The EEC had previously been warned that Britain would take unilateral action if no progress was achieved. The British Government has powers to take action under the 1988 legislation to prevent foreign ships engaging in its coastal trades if the foreign companies have not established offices in the UK including the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. Most shipping experts likened this ‘to closing the stable door after the horse had bolted’.

The MacFarlane family that owned the John Stewart fleet operated typically small British coaster fleets and found it almost impossible to secure enough cargoes from the competition. In this respect, the MacFarlanes entered into a working relationship in April 1971 with another Clydeside coaster fleet, the coal, scrap metal and steel for shipyards fleet of P. MacCallum & Sons Ltd. of Greenock. The MacCallum fleet had a red funnel with a black top and two central thin black bands and owned seven coasters of Ard Coasters Ltd in 1922, transferred from investors Lang and Fulton when they sold their fleet in 1919. After World War II, two of these old timers dating from 1919 were still being operated, Ardgryfe, later broken up at Preston in December 1959, and Ardgantock, later sold in 1955 and renamed Kylecastle and broken up at Barrow in April 1958. Three new motor coasters were then ordered from the yard of James Lamont & Company at Port Glasgow for delivery as Ardglen of 1,338 dwt in 1953 and the similar sized Ardgarry in 1957 and Ardgarvel in 1965. Unfortunately, Ardgarry was lost with all hands in 1962 while on a voyage from Swansea to Rouen with coal.

Mr. G.E.W. MacFarlane of Stewarts and Robin Fulton of MacCallums then linked their fleets by a chartering agreement to secure more cargoes in April 1971. The fixing of cargoes for Ardglen and Ardgarvel was authorized in the Stewart office. Robin Fulton was based in the Stewart office, where he was jointly responsible for chartering, and also explored new avenues in the coastal trades such as ro-ro and heavy lift cargoes. The Stewart-MacCallum agreement ran for a year until terminated on 25th April 1972. The last MacCallum coaster, Ardgarvel, suffered continual engine problems during 1974 including piston replacements and extensive tailshaft repairs. Bunker fuel prices had rocketed after the Opec oil price rises, and Ardgarvel was sold later in 1974 on 28th November to Henry W. Peabody Grain Ltd., London and was renamed Balmerino. She went on to trade until September 2001 when she was broken up at Aliaga under the name of Laila H. Peter MacCallum & Sons Ltd. then diversified and operated successfully for ten years as steel stockists, their original trade in iron plates for shipbuilding had begun from around 1855. In 1984, it merged with Lang & Fulton Ltd., its former shipowning associate that was liquidated in 1924, to become Lang & Fulton ., industrial equipment agents selling steel fencing for factory security perimeters.

John Stewart & Company (Shipping) Ltd. was acquired by Carita Investments Ltd., Dumfries in 1979, but continued to trade under its Stewart name until it was dissolved on 19th December 1991. The only surviving vessels of the Stewart fleet at the beginning of this millennium were Yewarch of 1957 owned in Greece as Kris, Yewhill of 1957 owned in Paraguay as Chaco Boreal, and Yewkyle of 1960 built as Laksa owned in Lebanon as Noor Aldin. None are left afloat today, bur their long careers are testament to the strength of construction of these vessels in that they were still afloat after fifty years of service, trading far from where they were intended to trade, but of course where there is very much less competition.