The 'Erika Bojen'

 

My mural of the 'Erika Bojen' cargo ship was one of my earlier paintings on the East Pier, which I completed in the mid-1980s. She was built in 1978 by Jansen Schiffswerft Leer in Germany and was capable of carrying 1500 tons of cargo fully loaded.

To those in the shipping industry or to shipspotters like myself, long low ships like this one were known as LADs or Low Air Draught ships. They were capable  of transiting European rivers for trading and could go under bridges, once they lowered their masts.

The 'Erika Bojen' visited Wicklow Port on several occasions during the mid-1980s with cargoes of briquettes which, thanks to German technology, were an alternative smokeless fuel commonly used at the time instead of smokey coal.

This type of cargo was regularly imported by the Wicklow Corn Company which was founded in 1920 and was located opposite the graveyard at Rathnew. It originally consisted of a number of companies trading in oil and alternative fuels. Later, it became Stafford Clarke Retail Solid Fuels and, sadly, the company's eventual closure had a detrimental impact for local employment and import trading.

On 25th April 1992, the Erika Bojen' vessel was stranded on a sandbank on exiting the Portugeese harbour or bar of Figueira Da Foz as a result of engine failure during heavy seas. Fortunately, there was no loss of life or serious injuries.

Subsequently, she was abandoned and put up for sale "as lies". She was later bought by a local company, Translinagote Limited, and was eventually broken up.

Here below is a picture of the bow of the ship in a sunken condition, which is courtesy of Mr. Joao Viana and Shipspotting.com. 

In deciding to paint a mural of her, I was very much attracted by her distinctive colour scheme of black, red and yellow. The mural has proved very popular with children who view her on the pier.