TWINKLING STAR KY347
MERCHANT VENTURER M49
As TWINKLING STAR
John Stevenson Collection
Official No: 140845 Port Number and Year: 18th in Peterhead,1920 (PD ? )
1st in Kirkaldy,1932 (KY347)
3rd in Milford, 1956
Description: Admiralty Steel Drifter; steam screw, coal burning. Ketch rigged: mizzen.
Crew: 10 men
Registered in Milford: 10 May 1956
Built: 1920, by Browns Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Hull
Tonnage: 95.24 grt 40.16 net.
Length / breadth / depth (feet): 86.2 / 18.5 / 9.2
Engine: T 3-Cyl. 42.4 nhp. 9.5 kts. Engine by Pollitz & Wigzell, Sowerby Bridge; boiler by Clayton Sons & Co., Leeds
Owners:
Renamed TWINKLING STAR PD ?
1920: Owner unknown
As KY347
1932: Adam Steam Fishing Co., Kirkaldy
Mar 1949: A. C. Mitchell Bros., Docks, Milford
Renamed MERCHANT VENTURER M49
10 May 1956: Merchants (Milford Haven), Docks, Milford
Manager: Frederick Walter Goffin, 93 Observatory Ave., Hakin
Landed at Milford: As TWINKLING STAR: 8 Mar 1949 - 27 May 1955
As MERCHANT VENTURER: 22 Jun 1956 - 19 Apr 1959
Skippers:
Notes: 16 Jul 1920: Completed as Admiralty steel drifter CHIMERA (Admy.no. 4146).
21 Sep1920: Sold to Fishery Board of Scotland, and renamed J. R. MITCHELL
Sep 1939: Requisitioned as TWINKLING STAR and converted to a boom defence vessel
Oct 1945: Returned to owners.
Cert. Cancelled & Milford Registry Closed: 23 Feb 1960. Vessel broken up at Newport.
Accidents and Incidents
From the West Wales Guardian of Friday 6th January 1956:
Within the next three weeks two more tied-up trawlers will be at sea again. They are the Merchants Ltd. vessels Genius and Twinkling Star, and both are now undergoing a refit by the Dry Dock Company. Through the good offices of the Milford Docks Company, capital has been found to revive the company, and it is hoped that these two sailings will be a milestone on the way to more important development.
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FELL INTO DOCKFrom the West Wales Guardian of Friday 22nd August 1958:
PROMPT MILFORD RESCUE
Prompt action by a member of the crew of a Milford trawler probably saved the life of a fisherman who fell into Milford Docks last Thursday night.
At about 9.30 Deckhand James Bowie, of the trawler Dicketta, was trying to get aboard what he thought was his ship alongside the "coaling" wall.
His boat had been moved, however, and the ship he was trying to board was the Merchant Venturer, which is similar in appearance.
Unluckily he plunged some distance into the dark waters of the dock.
Luckily Mr. R. H. Wilson, trimmer on the Merchant Venturer, heard his cry and the splash and rushed on deck. He was able to get Mr. Bowie aboard and made him comfortable for the night.
Mr. Bowie was little the worse for his immersion. Fortunately he did not strike the side of the ship in falling.
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From the West Wales Guardian of Friday 19th January 1960:
Three Milford trawlers left this week for the breaker's yard. Last Friday the Cleopatra (Westward) left for breaking up at Cork, in charge of Skipper Tom Salter. On Tuesday the Milford King (Milford Fisheries) was taken by Skipper Reggie High to Newport, and on Wednesday the Merchant Venturer (Merchants Ltd.) left in charge of Skipper Tom Bartlett on her way to Newport.
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