‘She’s still a star’: Ex-Hull trawler still fishing 50 years after city dock closed

HARDY: The St Benedict, sailing in the Cook Strait under her new name of Will Watch. Picture credit: Sealord Group

Now & Then, a column by Angus Young

They don’t build them like that any more – the remarkable tale of one of the last remaining Hull trawlers still at sea

A former Hull trawler is still fishing half a century after being among the last to leave St Andrew’s Dock before it closed to shipping.

The 50th anniversary of the closure of what was once home to the world’s largest deep-water fishing fleet later this year will once again throw the spotlight on the still derelict site and its uncertain future.

The industry’s move to Albert Dock in 1975 to better serve a new generation of freezer trawlers signalled the end of 92 years of fishing activity at St Andrew’s Dock.

However, it also coincided with the declaration by Iceland of a 200-mile fishing limit, the outbreak of the last Cod War and a decline in the industry from which it never recovered.

As the Hull fleet slowly shrank, many trawlers ended up being scrapped while others were eventually sold with some being converted for new uses.

One the last to depart the city was St Benedict.

The state-of-the-art stern freezer trawler was built in Glasgow in 1973 for the Hull fishing company Thomas Hamling.

Costing £1.5m, she was the first UK trawler to be fitted with equipment allowing the crew to haul one trawl and shoot another straight away.

In 1974 the vessel was chartered by the Ministry of Agriculture to undertake an exploratory voyage in the North East Atlantic to catch blue whiting.

The trip was organised against the background of continuing uncertainty over the future supply of traditional white fish because of the issues around Iceland’s territorial waters.

LIVING HISTORY: Bill Healey, vessel manager at Sealord Group, with Will Watch at her current home in Mauritius. Picture credit: Sealord Group

Hambling’s successful tender for the charter underlined St Benedict’s capabilities but the results from the trip were inconclusive.

With a fishroom capacity of 700 tonnes, a total catch of just 67 tonnes was recorded over nine days of fishing.  

Despite her attributes, the eventual collapse of Hull’s fishing industry left St Benedict laid up in William Wright Dock for several years. For a while, under new Moroccan ownership, she was unable to secure a fishing licence.

Eventually in 1986 three Hull trawlers – Arctic Galliard, Arctic Buccaneer and St Benedict –  headed for New Zealand under new ownership.

Onboard Arctic Galliard was Bill Healey, now vessel manager for the New Zealand-based Sealord Group.

SURVIVOR: Will Watch, which was built in Glasgow in 1973. Picture credit: Sealord Group

Remarkably, St Benedict – now named Will Watch – is still at sea and still fishes as part of the Sealord fleet.

“I was on the Arctic Galliard, a Boyd Line ship, that came to New Zealand with her sister ship Arctic Buccaneer, so I’m familiar with Hessle Road and St Andrews Dock,” said Bill.

“St Benedict arrived after these ships for Sealord and there were another two vessels from the Humber that turned up here later, one was called the Giljanes which was from Grimsby and the Cordella from Hull which I think was a Marr ship.

“St Benedict was delivered to Nelson by a New Zealand crew. I remember it arrived with a Land Rover or two on the deck and a hold full of old motorbikes.”

Under its new name, Will Watch initially fished for deep-sea perch off the New Zealand coast before fishing out of South Africa and Namibia. At the turn of the century she moved to Mauritius where she has fished ever since.

‘SHE JUST KEEPS GOING’: Will Watch, which makes five trips a year. Picture credit: Sealord Group

Bill said: “The vessel still has the British Polar engine which was the last one to come out of the factory in 1973 although parts are extremely hard to find.

“We stripped down a few engines and sent bits to Mauritius for a few years but always had a worry. Then we found a whole heap of parts in Australia in a museum.

“We stripped those out and sent them to Mauritius but unfortunately our storage shed was hit by lightning and destroyed by fire along with all our precious engine parts.

“The engineers for this vessel are a special breed, no fancy stuff. It’s all nuts and bolts and hands-on just to keep the old girl going.

“We are still building engine parts for her, such as piston liners and supercharger pistons. Thankfully, modern technology allows us to build some of these bits.”

PIONEER: Will Watch, which under her original name of St Benedict was the first UK trawler able to haul one trawl and shoot another straight away. Picture credit: Sealord Group

These days, the trawler operates for United Fame Investments which is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Sealord group. Its crew includes eight Kiwis and 36 Filipinos.

“The ship does five trips a year lasting up to ninety days,” said Bill.

“She always has been and still is a stellar performer. She is getting old and tired but she just keeps going.

“We expect to replace her in the next two years or so, not because we want to but because she is just at the end of her long and illustrious life.

“I believe she is the last remaining trawler of her type from the Humber area still operating.

NEGLECT: St Andrew’s Dock today. It was once home to the largest deep-water fishing fleet in the world

“I’ve had a few conversations about her with people on a ship spotters’ website with one old gent telling me he was the chief engineer on its maiden voyage. They all like to hear about her.

“I’ve also visited Hull a number of times over the years to catch up with old friends. Sadly, there are not many of them left now.”

Meanwhile, back at St Andrew’s Dock it’s still not clear what lies ahead for the place where an estimated 6,000 men sailed from only to lose their lives at sea.

It's a perfect example of what half a century of slow but steady urban dereliction looks like.

The real tragedy is that despite the handful of wrecked remaining empty buildings, the graffiti and the overgrown dock itself, this place still holds a special place in many peoples’ hearts.

All that marks this almost unimaginable loss of life is a small memorial on the dock bullnose, still regularly covered with flowers and messages of love.

IN URGENT NEED OF INVESTMENT: St Andrew’s Dock

Aside from the recent installation of higher flood defences by the Environment Agency, there’s been no discernable positive activity there in decades.

Much of that is down to the mixed ownership of the site. Without any shared vision or grand plan for the dock, it’s just being left to what nature throws at it.

A compulsory purchase order covering the whole site seems the most obvious solution, although legislation covering CPOs requires feasible development proposals to be in place. As yet, there are none.

CPOs also require the city council to submit one. Historically, the authority has always steered clear of any direct hands-on involvement at the site.

The sticking point in coming up with a big new plan for the dock is, of course, the money needed to turn it into a reality.

Despite its appeal as a waterfront location, it’s going to take someone with very deep pockets, steely determination and a lot of imagination to reverse the decline of the last 50 years and build something Hull can be proud of once again.

We live in hope.