A UK member of parliament from Glasgow, Scotland has joined in the effort to save the endangered historic sailing ship Falls of Clyde. MP Alison Thewliss has written to David Ige, Governor of Hawaii, in support of returning the ship to the Scotland. The four masted steel ship is currently in Honolulu, at risk of being scrapped of scuttled.

The real question is now whether the supporters in Scotland will succeed in marshaling the resources to save the ship.

Falls of Clyde is the last four-masted full-rigged iron ship and the only surviving sailing oil tanker. The ship was launched in 1878 in Port Glasgow, Scotland, for the Fall Line. She became a museum ship in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1971, but was never properly maintained. In 2008, the Bishop Museum, which had control of the ship, was preparing to tow her out sea and scuttle her. In September 2008, the Friends of Falls of Clyde, a non-profit group of volunteers, acquired the ship. Despite attempts to raise funds over the last seven years, the group has not succeeded in arranging to drydock or to begin significant repairs to the long-neglected historic ship, which has continued to deteriorate.  In June, the State of Hawaii’s Department of Transportation revoked the ship’s permit to moor at Pier 7 in Honolulu harbor and then impounded the ship in August. The State wrote: “The condition of the Falls of Clyde poses an unacceptable risk to navigation in Honolulu Harbor and a safety and security risk to harbor users.” 

MP Thewliss writes, in part:

Very sadly, I gather that authorities in Honolulu intend to sink or otherwise destroy the
ship, which is actually the last four-masted iron-hulled sailing vessel of its kind
anywhere in the world.

Although it is now in Hawaii, Falls of Clyde was actually first launched in 1878 from
the Russell yard in Port Glasgow, Scotland and it is understood that she sailed to every
continent save Antarctica.

We would like to see Falls of Clyde repatriated to Scotland and rebuilt as a community
run sail training venture on the River Clyde. The coalition of groups campaigning to
save Falls of the Clyde are already in talks with a Dutch company, Fairtransport, who
are also keen for the ship to be saved.

I seek your urgent intervention to help ensure that the ship is not destroyed or
sunk. Second to that, I would greatly welcome the opportunity to speak with you with
a view to discussing the ship’s repatriation to Scotland.