CAMPAIGNERS seeking to repatriate a historic Clydebuilt ship that has been docked and decaying in Hawaii for decades fear their hopes of saving the vessel may be sinking.
The Falls of Clyde, built in 1878 at the former Russell yard in Port Glasgow, has been neglected and left to rot on the US island state for years despite determined efforts by heritage groups to return her to Scotland.
Organisers of the Save Falls of Clyde group say that a recently issued request for proposals – which includes the options of scuttling the ancient ship at sea, dismantling on-site or at a dry dock, and acquisition and removal by a third party – could prove prohibitive to their plans.
Despite winning a tender from the Hawaiian Department of Transportation in 2021, the group was blocked in its previous bid to bring the deteriorating vessel home when the agreement terms were altered and the contract was pulled.
They described the $1.45 million bond requested as a ‘bridge too far’ and said raising the money needed to complete the job would be ‘impossible’.
Ex-Gourock man David O’Neill, campaign director, told the Telegraph this week that their prospects are ‘not looking good’ and that he is now ‘doubtful’ of finding a way forward.
He said: “Unfortunately, the term of the offer places a far higher burden on third-party alternative solutions when compared to the state’s ask from ship breakers.
“The state has declared in advance that they prefer to break her in the water where she sits.
“After their fiasco last time, by adding a performance bond, they learned nothing and added a further 50 per cent bond requirement.
“This means, as an estimate, the cost to break or remove her is likely to be in the region of $4\$5m, that means an advance cash or insurance bond of $2.5m would be required before starting any part of a removal process.”
Conditions of any future deal include the requirement to preserve corals found on the hull and ensure the safety of other lifeforms in the area around the site during the removal process – adding to the burden placed on the bidders.
The sole surviving sail-driven oil tanker has been docked free of charge at Honolulu Harbor since 2008 and American authorities impounded it in 2016.
Hawaiian officials said last summer that as part of plans to redevelop the pier which currently hosts the Falls of Clyde, they would delist the vessel from its Register of Historic Places.
They said that surveys of the tall ship revealed that its structural integrity has ‘deteriorated substantially’ over the years, leading to regular work pumping water from its hull to keep it afloat.
The results of an environmental assessment, published last month, found that the ship, owned by the non-profit Friends of Falls of Clyde, is ‘severely corroded, leaking, and has lost structural and watertight integrity’.
Authorities stateside added that the four-masted, iron-hulled ship – the last remaining vessel of its kind in the world - is at risk of sinking and poses a ‘hazard to harbour operations and safety’.
A report said: “As a result of decades of corrosion and insufficient maintenance, the Falls of Clyde has deteriorated, and is now a partially flooded, heavily corroded vessel at imminent risk of structural failure and sinking.
“The ship’s physical deterioration has resulted in a substantial loss of historical and architectural integrity.
“The Falls of Clyde no longer possesses the characteristics that originally qualified it for historic status.”
Offers are due to be submitted for the ship by September 25.
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Meanwhile, the campaign group is pressing ahead with its plans to create a maritime heritage site centred around a former Royal Navy warship – with Greenock’s Custom House Quay earmarked as a potential base.
Mr O’Neill previously told the Tele of his ambition to bring back Type 21 frigate HMS Ambuscade to the UK and create jobs by building a museum space with the ship – and Falls of Clyde – as its focal points.
They recently received a letter of support from Glasgow City Council, recognising the potential benefits that the site could bring to the River Clyde, and a fully costed business case has also been prepared.
The group said they are in an ‘ongoing dialogue’ with Inverclyde Council officials over their plans.
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