Larne Harbour's
History
Larne Harbour
Larne is steeped in maritime history, mainly
because its potential as a safe haven for ships was recognised in ancient
times. The first written reference occurred at the time of the Roman Empire around 205BC
when it was reported by Emperor Serverus that a galley had sheltered in Larne Lough.
The Greeks too had knowledge of the area with Larne and Islandmagee being noted
by the great geographer Ptolemy in the second century AD.
The Vikings also used Larne as one of their
outposts, the name Olderfleet, synonymous with the harbour area because of the
name of the ruined 12th century castle at the harbour, was descended from the
name of a Norse king. Rampaging was also on the mind of another early
visitor, Robert the Bruce,
when he landed at Larne with 6000 warriors
in 1315.
In the 18th century Larne became a major
steamer port for emigrants moving from Ireland to America, the State Line being
one of the major shipping lines involved in the trade. Regular imports of
flax and tobacco from the new world were handled at Larne, coming in on the
steamer's return journey. Coal imports were a major feature at the port
from the 17th century and these continued until the 1970's, later
moving to the nearby Bank Quay, to the south west of the main harbour berths.
It was in the 1872 that the historic link between Larne and Stranraer was started by the
Larne and Stranraer steamboat company. They managed to secure the mail
contract by virtue of the newly completed railway line from Belfast, finished in
1862 and a narrow gauge line to Ballymena completed in 1878. The route grew from strength to
strength fending off the claim of the Portpatrick to Donaghadee
route. New vessels were built and Larne to Stranraer became the
established route between Northern Ireland and Scotland.
An early picture of the harbour around 1890. To the
left is a State Line steamer at the North End
berth. The State Line provided a passenger and cargo service to New
York. At the Middle berth is a barque unloading
general cargo, both the North End and the Middle
Berth eventually became Chaine Quay. To the
right is the paddle steamer Princess Beatrice moored at the mail
berth, which is now MacKean Quay. Princess
Beatrice was the second "Princess" steamer to be specially built
for the Larne to Stranraer route. The Princess naming tradition remained right up until
1980 when the last Princess, Galloway Princess was introduced. Note
the railway to the mail berth crosses the main access road to the harbour.
Photo: D McIntyre Collection
Under the management of James Chaine the
harbour prospered. The British Aluminium Company established a smelter at
Larne, this ensured a regular stream of imported
bauxite and coal and exported alumina to Loch Levan for processing into
aluminium. The red ferrite oxide residues from the smelting process
were dumped in settling ponds at the harbour, their red colouring earning that area
of the harbour the nickname Redlands.
A navigation chart for Larne Harbour from the 2nd World War,
with Chaine Tower marked to the North. The 5 quays at Larne during this
time are: The War Department Quay at the north end, which became
Continental Quay. The North
End and Middle Quays both used at the time to discharge coal and wood pulp
were later
redeveloped and combined to became the Stranraer berth for many years. The
Mail Berth
with the rail lines running up to it is now MacKean Quay. The quay furthest
south is Olderfleet Quay which is little used now except for the occasional
small coaster. Curran Quay is yet to be built and was constructed on
reclaimed land south of Olderfleet Quay. The Islandmagee ferry slip is to
the east of the lough and the old harbour office is adjacent to the Middle
Quay.
William Agnew collection
Always the centre of innovation Larne,
together with Stranraer, became the first ports in the UK with dedicated roll-on
roll-off ramps in 1938, beating Dover by over 10 years. These ramps could
provide a link between ship and shore for lorries and cars at any state of the
tide. They were built to serve the first
purpose built ro-ro car ferry in Britain, the Princess Victoria (III)
which entered service in the summer of 1939. The ramps were put to good use during the
war as the redundant Dover train ferries were able to use them to ferry many tons of
heavy military plant to and from the British mainland. These train ferries
prior to the war had run into fixed tide docks at Dover and Dunkirk.
Cars driving off the Hampton Ferry at the mail berth
ramp in the 1950's. After redevelopment in the late 80's this berth was renamed MacKean
Quay.
Photo William Agnew
After the war Larne became one of the main
players in the ensuing ro-ro revolution. The Atlantic Steam Navigation
Company using initially ex-tank landing craft and later purpose built tonnage
commenced service to Preston in May 1948, later moving to Cairnryan in July 1973. P&O Ferrymasters, marketed as Pandoro, commenced ro-ro
operations in 1975, replacing the lift on container service that had previously
operated.
A busy view of Larne in the 1960s after the south end reclamation
that allowed Curran, Phoenix
and Castle Quays to be built. On the left
two container ships are berthed at Castle and Phoenix
Quays. At Curran Quay is the Larne to Preston
vessel Bardic Ferry of the Transport Ferry Service. Another
container ship is on Olderfleet Quay and by the
funnel markings both this ship and the one at Phoenix
Quay appear to be Transport Ferry Service container ships. Next, on
the extreme right, is the Stena Nordica manoeuvring at the Mail
berth. Extensive coal stockpiles can be seen at the Middle
Berth right next to the passenger terminal, I wonder if today's Health and
Safety Rules would permit this to happen now? In the background the
extensive network of settling ponds is now Redlands Industrial Estate.
Photo: D McIntyre collection.
Following the loss of the Princess Victoria
(fourth named) in 1953, the Stranraer service faced certain closure, but it was
given once last chance in 1961 with the new
Caledonian Princess. The new ferry proved such a success that new ships
were required as the traffic levels expanded beyond all belief leaving the
Caledonian Princess unable to cope. The Stranraer route carried the bulk of the
traffic passing through the port until the
decision of the present operators of the route, Stena Line, to switch the
service to Belfast in 1995.
An excellent aerial view of Larne Harbour taken in
the late 1980's. P&O's second named Ionic
Ferry is loading at Continental Quay, Sealink British Ferries' Galloway
Princess is at Chaine Quay, Pandoro's Puma
is at lay up on MacKean Quay and another Sealink ship, the Darnia is laid
up at Curran Quay. Picture from the Larne harbour port hand book
The port, now owned by P&O, boasts up to
40 arrivals and departures a day to 3 ports and is regarded as one of the best
equipped ro-ro ports in
Ireland.
An extensive book was written about
the port by Alf McCreary called A Vintage Port: Larne and its
people. It is highly recommended.
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