The MV SCOT EXPLORER

My mural on the East Pier of the cargo ship, the MV SCOT EXPLORER in late December 2019 has an interesting back-story.

The vessel was built in the Royal Bodewes Shipyard in The Netherlands and launched in October 2019. She was delivered in December of that year to its owner, Scotline Limited in Romford, sailing under the UK flag. She was 90 meters length and 15 meters beam.

Yet when I commenced my mural in September 2019, my original plan was to paint her sister Scotline cargo ship, the MV SCOT CARRIER Progress on my 'CARRIER' work was hampered by prolonged bad weather, however. Truth be told, I had an unlucky feeling about the vessel's name.

Then in late December, I was informed by the local Conway Port Agency that the SCOT EXPLORER was scheduled to make her maiden voyage arriving in Wicklow harbour in a few days time.

As the CARRIER and the EXPLORER shared a similar design, barring the latter's enclosed wheelhouse, I succeeded in restructuring my mural over a period of two hectic afternoons just in time for the EXPLORER's arrival to Wicklow Town carrying packet timber from Varberg, Sweden. 

The crew of the vessel were delighted to see the completed mural in honour of their vessel on the pier wall when they disembarked. 

However, privately, I was unhappy with the scale and perspective of the EXPLORER's accommodation block in my mural and, unbeknown to most, I adjusted this to my satisfaction some eight months later.

In December 2021, the SCOT CARRIER was involved in a fatal collision with a Danish-registered split hopper barge, the KARIN HOG, off the south coast of Sweden in which two crew members of the barge tragically lost their lives.

The SCOT EXPLORER was also involved in a collison on 24 December 2023 with a gas carrier vessel, the HAPPY FALCON, north west of Thyboran, Denmark. Thankfully, on this occasion, there were no injuries, no hull damage above the waterline to either of the vessels, and no pollution.