As I have noted several times – and entirely from the shipspotter’s point of view, let me stress – it can be a grey old scene at Falmouth Docks these days, with the now staple diet of long-stay RFA vessels and little else to catch the eye for weeks on end.
As if to prove that it need not be boredom all the way, though, there was an incident – “scandal,” even - 35 years ago that propelled one such vessel into the national media spotlight.
It made it onto the front page, no less, of the Daily Mirror in September, 1989, and here’s how the Falmouth Packet began its own take on that:--
“The security scandal rocking Falmouth Docks this week is being fully investigated by the Ministry of Defence.”
Reporter Ron Carroll, who, shall we say, had a flare for the dramatic, wrote: “It follows revelations in a national newspaper that an explosives expert with a conviction for assault was hired along with another man to guard a Navy tanker.
“The Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessel Gold Rover is here for a £3 million refit and its arrival two months ago put the Docks on ‘amber’ alert.
“The front page Daily Mirror article alleged that the man – a painter and decorator with no knowledge of security – was hired by Armtrac Security Services of Perranporth, which advertises ‘fully trained guards’ in the Yellow Pages.
“The 31-year-old, who has a shot firer’s certificate for underground tin mine blasting, was given a pass and an Armtrac tie to go with a pair of trousers he had borrowed, and had apparently picked up a security pass before starting work, according to the Mirror.
“After completing his first 12-hour shift the day after the Deal bombing (when the IRA killed 11 Royal Marines – MT), he spoke out to the newspaper about how easy-going procedures were.
“’I was supposed to be checking people boarding the ship, but no-one had done any proper checks on me. I could have put a bomb anywhere. I was able to go all over the ship,’ he said.”
Ron’s report said the MoD would not comment specifically, except to say that the two men concerned had been employed “purely as an additional eyes and ears for the RFA ship’s crew, who are trained.”
Armtrac had been recruited by Falmouth-based shipping agents G C Fox & Co, who acted as agents for the MoD but refused to comment.
Docks managing director Tom Duncan described the Mirror report as “erroneous” and added: “Why should it worry us? We are not a nuclear establishment. Our involvement is with ship repair. There will be no clampdown on security at the gate; security will be maintained.”
Docks’ Landmark Year For Contracts
In more familiar reportage, the same issue of the Packet reported that the Docks had chalked up a notable first for itself with the winning of its third RFA refit contract in one year.
Valued at £1.8 million, this was for the 49,000-ton support tanker Oakleaf, and followed in the wake of the Gold Rover, which was one of the yard’s biggest post-war contracts, and one other, unnamed RFA vessel whose refit was worth £2 million.
Shiprepair commercial manager David Duckham said: “The latest contract confirms 1989 as the yard’s busiest-ever in this decade, adding: “It adds up to the biggest vote of confidence the yard has ever received.
“It’s a further demonstration that key customers have faith in Falmouth’s ability to handle work of the highest quality, at an acceptable price and within a rigid timetable.”
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