Casgliadau Arlein

¾ Port bow view of Dutch coaster FIVEL approaching the Roath Basin lock, Cardiff with a deck cargo of sawn timber, c.1936.

The 306 gross ton Dutch coaster Fivel approaching the Roath Basin lock with a deck cargo of sawn timber, c. 1937. Built at Groningen in 1936, she was typical of the small and efficient motor coasters developed during the 1930s by Dutch builders. Requiring a smaller crew as there were no stokers, and carrying oil bunkers in their double bottoms, vessels such as these posed a serious threat to the traditional steam coaster still favoured by many British owners at the time. Source: Shipping at Cardiff: Photographs from the Hansen Collection 1920-1975 by David Jenkins, 1993.