Other Vessels
The number of ‘one offs’ designs built at Berwick was indicative of the versatility and adaptability of the yard in meeting new challenges in a competitive environment. Among these was Tarway a 83’ liquid tar tanker completed in April 1958. The vessel was designed to carry a crew of three and was originally equipped with an electrically driven Albany pump capable of discharging 6,000 gallons per hour from four oil-tight cargo tanks fitted with heating coils. Powered by a Gardner 5L3 engine Tarway developed a speed of 7 knots.
Photo © K. AtkinsonIn 2006 Tarway was still operating under its original name as a dredger based on the Solent having previously been based at Teignmouth while in the ownership of Pike-Ward.
Listed in the 1959 Appendix to Lloyds Register as having been built by Fairmile at Berwick upon Tweed in 1953 is Tern-Able (Official Number 332031) , a 114 g.r.t. landing craft fitted with a bow door. The vessel was registered in Freemantle and was owned and operated by and Austalian cattle stock company, the House of Lindner Pty Ltc, until it was scrapped in 2001. This vessel was not included in any of the documents that were used to compile the yard build list. It's existence only came to light after the initial publication of this website.
Similar in design to the luxury yachts for which Fairmile became famous Elettra III was a research and demonstration vessel built for the Marconi International Marine Communication Company Ltd. Launched by Lady Radley, wife of Sir Gordon Radley the then chairman of Marconi on a snowy day in March 1962, Elettra III was designed to showcase the company’s latest marine communication and navigation equipment. Remembered by many former Berwick yard workers as ‘Electra’, Elettra III replaced Elettra II to become the latest vessel to take its name after the famous steam yacht Elettra owned by the Marchese Marconi.
Photo: © Berwick AdvertiserThe launch of the grab hopper dredger Falo in April 1967 underlined the importance of overseas markets for Fairmile. The vessel was ordered by the Board of Trade and the Crown Agents acting on behalf of the Government of Gambia. At 112' long Falo, by Berwick standards, was one of the bigger vessels to be constructed at the yard. Maximum carrying capacity was 3000 cubic feet of sand or gravel gathered via a long jib Priestman-Lyon crane. A Kelvin Type T.8 engine provided an operational speed of 8 knots.
Falo (IMO 6710918) was still in service and operated by the Gambian Government in 2005.
This lifting vessel built in 1955 was one of a number of one-off builds.
Photo: © Berwick Photo Centre
Audela returning from trials.
"The most graceful of any vessel built at the yard".
Photo: D. Redfearn CollectionThe final vessel to be built at Berwick was a 120’ three-masted 230 ton steel schooner Audela built for International Air Holdings and launched in April 1979 while the yard was in receivership. The size and lines of the vessel made a big impression with locals. The Berwick Advertiser of the 5th April 1978 described how, ‘Huge crowds watched the launching of the schooner the biggest and certainly the most graceful of any vessel built at the yard’. At the time of it's construction Audela was equipped with state-of-the-art equipment that allowed the helmsman to both steer and trim the sails using a pneumatic system operated by a pedal located under the ship's wheel.
The building of Audela was not without incident. In December 1978 the vessel's giant alloy masts that had been manufactured in France became jammed in the Shore Gate just a few yards from their final destination while being transported by trailer. Six months later, while being fitted out in the Tweed Dock, workmen had to jump clear when Audela tilted after grounding while berthed at low tide.
When trials had been completed the vessel headed to Poole, Dorset with some of the workforce onboard before heading to Cowes for sail adjustments. Thereafter the vessel operated between the United States, West Indies and the Mediterranean.
When Audela set sail in August 1979 it brought to an end shipbuilding on the River Tweed. Shortly afterwards the remaining assets of the the yard were disposed of.
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