From "The Ardrossan & Saltcoats Herald" dated Friday 12th February 1971

There has been a considerable amount of troop movement through Ardrossan Harbour in the past week as Army units have sailed from the port to Belfast.
On Thursday of last week a squadron of the Royal Scots Greys under the command of the Duke of Kent embarked on M.V. Lion, and other parties have sailed in the past few days.

Port Report dated Friday 5th February 1971

From "The Ardrossan & Saltcoats Herald" dated Friday 5th February 1971

There have been 54 arrivals at Ardrossan Harbour this week, five of which were tankers.
The bigger ones included the "Ronabay" from Puerto Miranda with crude oil, and the "British Kestrel" from the Isle of Grain with spirit, and the "Konningswaard" from Rotterdam with fuel oil.
The "Keyser" loaded a cargo of turnings and sailed for Pasajes.

From "The Ardrossan & Saltcoats Herald" dated Friday 12th February 1971

There has been a considerable amount of troop movement through Ardrossan Harbour in the past week as Army units have sailed from the port to Belfast.
On Thursday of last week a squadron of the Royal Scots Greys under the command of the Duke of Kent embarked on M.V. Lion, and other parties have sailed in the past few days.

HMS Fortitude

From "The Ardrossan & Saltcoats Herald" dated Friday 19th February 1971

Ardrossan Town Council have agreed to give the Ardrossan Unit of the Royal Naval Auxiliary Service, Ailsa House, South Crescent, an indefinite loan of the nameplate "HMS Fortitude" which was the title of Ardrossan Harbour as a naval base during the last war.

Overview:
During World War II, Ardrossan harbour was taken over by the Admiralty, and named HMS Fortitiude.
The facilities offered by the deep water harbour meant it was a significant location in terms of shipbuilding, oil refining, and railway engineering.
Passenger services were suspended for the duration, but some ferries still continued to sail from nearby Fairlie.

Accounts of the time indicate that there were some 700 men employed at the harbour.
With 25 new ships built, including minesweepers and boom defence vessels. A large number of vessels were repaired or refitted at the facility
Said to include 49 submarines,
31 destroyers,
10 frigates, and 8 corvettes,
Plus another 359 Admiralty vessels and 288 Merchant ships.

Despite the potential target value of HMS Fortitude, the Shell-Mex refinery adjacent to the harbour, nearby Montfode Fuel Depot, and even the Nobel explosives factory along the coast at Ardeer, other than a single, ineffective, raid on the latter, there were never any air raids on the harbour or town.

It was however to witness a major sea disaster, on March 27, 1943, when an explosion on board the aircraft carrier HMS Dasher resulted in her immediate sinking in the waters between Ardrossan and Brodick, with the loss of 329 lives, from a crew of 528.

The shipyards returned to civilian operation after the war, however demand for their services was in decline, and although they survived into the 1980s, by the 1990s many of the the former docks had been infilled, and the land built on.

Port Report dated Friday 26th February 1971

From "The Ardrossan & Saltcoats Herald" dated Friday 26th February 1971

There have been 54 arrivals at Ardrossan Harbour this week, including 7 tankers.
The bigger of these were the Polystar from Liverpool with fuel oil and the Overseas Adventurer from Southampton, also with fuel oil.

From "The Ardrossan & Saltcoats Herald" dated Friday 26th February 1971

CAPT. CAMPBELL DUE HOME TODAY

Captain Ian Campbell, the 68 year old Ardrossan man who sailed to the Bahamas with his wife's uncle, 81 year old Mr. Robert Munro, of Aberdeen, in the yacht Pajova, is due to arrive at Heathrow Airport, London, at 8.50pm tonight (Friday),

From there he will fly to Glasgow but Mrs Campbell is not sure when or whether she will be there to meet him.
She has had many offers of lifts to the airport but has had no direct contact with her husband and so does not know what time he will arrive in Glasgow.
All Mrs Campbell's information has come through a business company's agent in Edinburgh.

NO PLANS

Mrs Campbell and her sister Miss Munro first heard that Mr Campbell and Mr Munro had arrived safely late on Monday night and Miss Munro said they were overcome and filled with relief. "They have done what they set out to do, just as we always thought they would, and now I expect Ian will just want a rest," she added.

The family have not planned any celebration as yet and are waiting to see how Captain Campbell feels.
Miss Munro said that although he had said he was "feeling fine" he may be terribly tired and they would wait and see.
She added that sailing was nothing new to Captain Campbell and would have been just like everyday work, but that her uncle had never done any sailing before and it was just as well that he was very strong and healthy.

Miss Munro added that they were all very proud of their uncle and Captain Campbell, but said that they had never doubted they would make it and had not worried much. "After all it was not a race," she said.

1971 Advertisment by The Canadian City Line for their service from Canada to Ceylon

Burns & Laird transport 17 Army vehicles, including Ferret Cars, on "Lion" to Belfast

From "The Ardrossan & Saltcoats Herald" dated Friday 26th March 1971

On Tuesday morning 17 vehicles with men of the Royal Scots Greys and the 3rd Carabineers boarded the mv "Lion" at Ardrossan for Belfast.
Most of the vehicles were ferret cars.

From "The Ardrossan & Saltcoats Herald" dated Friday 26th March 1971

The Irish ferry "Stena Nordica" which usually sails from Larne to Stranraer came in to Ardrossan on Tuesday night and Wednesday afternoon because of a broken ramp at Stranraer.

From "The Ardrossan & Saltcoats Herald" dated Friday 26th March 1971

The Irish ferry "Stena Nordica" which usually sails from Larne to Stranraer came in to Ardrossan on Tuesday night and Wednesday afternoon because of a broken ramp at Stranraer.

A 130-ton reactor from France, to I.C.I. Stevenston

From "The Ardrossan & Saltcoats Herald" dated Friday 6th March 1971

HEAVY LOAD

A new 130-ton reactor for I.C.I. Nobel Division Maleic Anhydride plant at Ardeer, arrived in Ardrossan Harbour on Tuesday on board the French ship s.s. "Gloria Maris."

The French-built reactor, which came from Le Havre, was unloaded on Wednesday morning on to a special trailer which transported it to Stevenston in the late afternoon, with a police escort.

The special trailer, itself weighing 150 tons, took more than an hour to reach Stevenston at its top speed of 5 miles per hour.

Unloaded, the trailer has a top speed of 15 mph, but it took two days to travel from Northallerton, Yorks, to Ardrossan.

SAMJOHN PIONEER launched at John Brown's Shipyard, Clydebank, Glasgow

The tugs FLYING FALCON, FLYING DEMON and FLYING SPRAY were in attendance for the launch

Tug FLYING FALCON attends at launch of SAMJOHN PIONEER at John Brown's Shipyard, Clydebank, Glasgow

The tugs FLYING FALCON, FLYING DEMON and FLYING SPRAY were in attendance for the launch

Tug FLYING DEMON attends at launch of SAMJOHN PIONEER at John Brown's Shipyard, Clydebank, Glasgow

The tugs FLYING FALCON, FLYING DEMON and FLYING SPRAY were in attendance for the launch

Tug FLYING SPRAY attends at launch of SAMJOHN PIONEER at John Brown's Shipyard, Clydebank, Glasgow

The tugs FLYING FALCON, FLYING DEMON and FLYING SPRAY were in attendance for the launch