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ShipSim Magazine Issue 22 - June 2011 - www.shipsimmag.com 1

©ShipSim Magazine 2010

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This month’s ocean linerRMS Queen Mary

Fresh set of SSEPictures

New Real lifePictures

Solent Special

Bumper SouthamptonArticle!

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Issue 22 27th June 2011

Pictures from SSA new month and a fresh set of pictures from Ship Simulator Extremes.

Competitions PageThe usual quizzes and word searches including ‘Guess the Ship’ as well as a newword search puzzle.

The Port of SouthamptonFrom the first Roman settlers to the bustling port of today, we examine the Portof Southampton’s rich maritime history.

From the beginning to the middleWe take a look at the early port of Hamtum, and later South Hamtum and howit developed into one of England’s most important ports.

The Atlantic LinersIn this second Southampton article we examine the Atlantic liners that oncecame alongside the docks as well as look as some of the most famous.

Southampton TodayIn this third Southampton article we take a look at the port as it is today anddiscover some of the vast statistics that it boasts.

MediaMay’s POTM Winner and a selection of ShipSim pictures.

Real Life PicturesAnother month heralds a fresh selection of pictures from the maritime worldsubmitted by ShipSim Magazine readers.

Southampton TodayForum member Ralphy examines the history of ferry operator Red Funnel which

is celebrating its 150th Anniversary this year.

Exclusive VSTEP InterviewVSTEP’s Ben Borrie gives us a behind the scenes look at creating a virtualenvironment for the Ship Simulator series.

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Ship Quiz:

Q: How many ferries...A: 5

Q: Name of Hamburg ferryA: St. Pauli

Q: Hull-Rotterdam ferry..A: Pride of Rotterdam

Q: Anchor handling tugA: Fairmount Sherpa

Q: SS HovercraftA: Freedom 90

Guess the ship:

Mont. St. Michael, BrittanyFerries

Nautical Term

Aft

Near the stern of a vessel.

Word Search

Send your answers to:[email protected] or via our contact form.

Winners will be mentioned in the next issue.

Guess the Ship

Can you guess the name of this ship and who operates her?

Ship Quiz

� What was the original name of Orient Star?

� Did the Cutter first feature in SS08 or SSE?

� Name of the azimuth tractor tug?

� Name of the company that operates Red Jet 4?

� Name of the company that operates Freedom 90?

Nautical Term of the Month

Ashore

Words to look for:

Beaufort EngineChannel RiverMast SternRudderWaveBowDockNavigateSonarBridge

E S J W W Z B X C

R N O U O Z E H T

I J I N B E A O B

V U C G A N U N F

E N J M N R F S R

R W A E T E O J E

A S L V H T R U D

T X Q B I E T B D

S T E R N G V T U

E G D I R B A A R

G A G K C O D T W

H P I I K L E R E

E S E H X S N T R

L T G O E B R E N

O A D A J A L I E

H R I V H L A O Z

T B R C E T R C A

R O B P P A L E J

O A O A R A D A R

P R C Y O A G N Q

P D O F F I C E R

A L B A T R O S S

S E M E R T X E M

W O T S D A P M P

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Once a turnaround port for the great Atlantic liners ofyesteryear, Southampton continues to play host to theworld’s cruise ships as well modern day freight vessels.

From Roman settlers to Atlantic greyhounds

Wikimedia Commons



In the 1930s Southamptonwas described as the ‘gatewayto the world’ and eventhough the many liners thatonce moored alongside havesince disappeared, the Port ofSouthampton continues to beone of the most importantports on England’s southcoast.

However, like many townsand cities Southampton hadhumble beginnings as farback as Roman times whenthey built a town calledClausentum on the riverItchen around 70 AD. Thistown was abandoned whenthe Roman army left thecountry.

A new town was later built onthe opposite side of the riverin Saxon times and namedHamtum. The port handledthe export of wool and theimport of wine from France.Wool was stored in the WoolHouse which survives todayand is the home of theMaritime Museum. From the11th century the town wasknown as South Hamtum.

In the 14th and 15th centuriesshipbuilding in Southampton

began andin 1418Henry V’sflagshipHMS GraceDieu wasbuilt inSouthampt-on. In 1439it wasstruck bylightning onthe riverHamblewhere thewreck still lies. By nowSouthampton was beginningto emerge as a major port,and trade was rich withFrance and Spain. The cityalso witnessed the departureof the Mayflower as it beganits voyage across the Atlantic.

In the 16th century the port’strade with Italy ended and theport fell into decline despitestill having a coastal tradewith cargoes such as coal andtimber. However later in the16th century, Southamptonwas one of the ports fromwhich the plague enteredEngland after it had begun tospread throughout the rest ofEurope.

The 19th century once againallowed the port to flourishwith the import of timber andgrain as well as stone and coalfrom Scotland. The port alsohandled imports of wine andfruit from Portugal and Spain.By 1838 the amount ofvessels calling at the portnecessitated the need for adock which was opened in1843.

In the mid 1800sSouthampton began to attractthe big shipping lines. Thefirst to arrive was P&O whichcommenced services from theport in 1840, starting a longand distinguished associationwith Southampton and oceanliners.

Wikimedia Commons (geograph.org.uk)

70AD

The Romans built a smalltown on the banks of the

River Itchen.

Wikimedia Commons

1439

Henry V’s flagship GraceDieui sinks on the River

Hamble.

Wikimedia Commons

1843

P&O commence servicesout of the port of

Southampton.

Wikimedia Commons




The Atlantic LinersAfter P&Obegan servicesfromSouthamptonother major linesbegan to followsuit. In 1842 theRoyal Mail SteamPacket Companyarrived with itsships sailing toSouth Americaand the UnionLine in 1857.

In 1907 the first Trans-Atlantic company moved toSouthampton; the White StarLine. The White Star Linetook a different approach totaking passengers across theAtlantic and preferred tofocus on comfort and luxuryas opposed to speed.

By 1919 White Star’s biggestrival, Cunard arrived atSouthampton despite stillhaving its headquarters inLiverpool.

Southampton saw manyfamous ships come and goover the years, notably theTitanic on its one and onlycall at the port. Other shipsinclude the Olympic, Queen

Mary and Cunard’s Aquitania.

Throughout the 1930s theport continued to thrive andbecame known as the‘gateway to the world’.

For years the port had tokeep building new dry docksin order to keep up with thenumber of larger and largerships entering service. In1934 the Western Docks,then known as the ‘NewDocks’ opened along with theKing George V dry dockwhich was able toaccommodate the giantsQueen Mary and QueenElizabeth.

Large Atlantic liners would

moor at the Ocean Terminalwhich even had a press roomfor journalists waiting tointerview stars on theirtravels. This was laterdemolished and the site nowplays host to the new OceanTerminal built in 2009, albeiton the opposite side of thedock.

Possibly the most famousliner to be registered toSouthampton as its homeport was the Queen Elizabeth2, now in Dubai. For most ofthe ship’s career she wouldberth at the Queen ElizabethII terminal, built in 1966 inthe Eastern Docks.

1907

White Star Line move toSouthampton for their

home port.

Wikimedia Commons

1912

Titanic departs Southamptonon her ill fated maiden

voyage.

Wikimedia Commons

1966

Queen Elizabeth II cruiseterminal opens in the

Eastern Docks.

Wikimedia Commons

Queen Elizabeth 2

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Southampton TodayToday the Port ofSouthampton isthriving with allkinds of vesselscalling to unloadand has beendescribed as the‘cruise capital ofNorthernEurope’. Some ofthe world’s largestcontainershipscan be berthed atthe containerdocks and theport can boast that it has noless than four cruise terminalsable to turn around some ofthe largest cruise ships in theworld including theIndependence of the Seas andCunard’s Queen Mary 2.

Southampton handles 42million tonnes of cargoannually and is home to thesecond largest containerterminal in the UK. All in allthis accounts for roughly 7%of the UK’s sea trade.

Oil tankers of various sizescall at the Fawley oil refinerywhich handles about 28million tonnes of oil alongwith the Hamble oil refinery.

The port also has facilities tocater for the impressivenumber of container, Ro Roand bulk vessels that visit. SEach year the Ro Ro berthshandle an impressive 664,000vehicles built by some of thelargest car dealers includingFord, Toyota and Jaguar. It isalso the UK’s export centrefor Honda vehicles.

Southampton is probablymost known for being amajor cruise port handlinghundreds of cruise ship callseach year. It is the home portfor Cunard Line as well asP&O Cruises and RoyalCaribbean’s Independence ofthe Seas uses the port as its

base, berthing at the CityCruise Terminal.

In 2009 the new OceanTerminal opened and is nowthe main terminal forCarnival UK’s ships that useSouthampton as a turnaroundport including Queen Mary 2,P&O’s Oriana and the twolatest Cunard Queens.

After recently announcing anew, fifth cruise terminal aswell as the expansion ofcontainer docks toaccommodate the containerships of the future, the Portof Southampton has securedits place in the 21st century.

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Congratulations to May’s POTM Winner!

Aad the Pirate

Remember you cansend your in-gamepictures to befeatured here via ourcontact form atshipsimmag.com




Joey1

Joey1

Joey1




Joey1

Joey1




Daniel

Joey1

Joey1

Joey1




Feature Article

Operating betweenSouthampton and the Isle ofWight are the Red Funnelferries. Originally called theIsle of Wight Royal MailSteam Packet Company, RedFunnel has a history spanning150 years making it one of theoldest shipping companiesstill operating today. Sincestarting in 1861 Red Funnelhas expanded to include manydifferent services includingtowage, haulage andexcursions as well as the ferryroute that still remains today.

After a surge of holidaymakers heading to the islandwith cars Red Funnel decidedto concentrate on the ferryservice so therefore thetowage company was sold toallow the upgrading of thecurrent fleet. A year after thesale in 2003 Red Jet 4 wasintroduced on the WestCowes – Southampton routewhich increased the High-speed fleet to 4crafts. Anotherupgrade that theyapproved was the

expansion of the threeRapture class car ferries; theupgrade added an upper cardeck and a mid-section whichincreased the length by 10metres, overall the expansionadded an extra 60% to thetotal vehicle capacity.

Currently Red Funneloperates a fleet of 3 vehicleferries: Red Eagle, RedOsprey and Red Falcon. Theyalso operate 3 high-speedcraft, Red Jet 3, 4 and 5. TheRapture’s are powered by twoFD340 Watsila diesel engineswhich power Voith-Schneiderpropellers, Voiths are wellknown for theirmanoeuvrability ensuringsafety at low speeds and when

docking.

With a top speed of 14 knotsthe crossing across the Solenttakes approximately 1 hour tocomplete, while this is thelongest crossing timecompared to the competitorsit is the most successful andprofitable route. With a topspeed of 42 knots Red Jet 4can complete the same routein a much more respectable20 minutes.

Each year Red Funnel Ferriesoperates 37,000 crossingscovering more than 450,000miles over the 13 mile stretchof water in which they travel.

Since 1861 Red Funnel ferries have transported people fromSouthampton to the Isle of Wight. Forum member Ralphylooks at the company in more detail...

Name Type* SpeedRed Eagle Vehicle 14knRed Falcon Vehicle 14knRed Osprey Vehicle 14knRed Jet 3 Cat 38knRed Jet 4 Cat 38knRed Jet 5 Cat 38kn* Cat stands for Catamaran




VSTEP Interview

Firstly, how do you decidewhich environment to pick?

We don't follow a set processfor choosing newenvironments but thefollowing criteria play amajor role in deciding whatmakes the cut : Gameplaypotential, number ofcustomers likely to have aninterest, attractiveness, fame,complexity and size.

What is the general processfor creating an environmentfor ShipSim?

The environment creationprocess is very complex –Here is a brief and greatlysimplified overview :

Take around 1500 photosfrom water and landCreate 100 or so keylandmark buildings fromphotosCreate 100 or so genericbuildings (typical houses,apartments, offices,warehouses etc.representative of the stylefound in area).Trace environmentoutline from ascanned/digitalmap/chartand convertto mesh.

Use elevation data to displacemesh (creating accurateterrain topology)Use satellite imagery to cutroads and other materialboundaries into terrain (parks,concrete areas etc. )Apply terrain texturesExport terrain and buildingsto game enginePlace all buildings, vegetation,objects.

From start to finish, what isthe general time frame forbuilding an environment?

From 4 to 12 weeksdepending on size andcomplexity.

The Solent is a largeenvironment featuring twomajor ports as well as theIsle of Wight. Howmuch research and pictureswere necessary for 3Dmodels to be madeaccurately?

Quality photos are key toaccuracy and the quality ofthe 3D models

which use textures deriveddirectly from the photos. Wemanaged to take all thephotos of the Solentenvironment within one (verylong!) day. We took trips onthe various ferries betweenSouthampton, Cowes,Portsmouth and Ryde andalso took many photos fromland at each of theselocations. In addition to thephotos we used Satelliteimagery to make sure all thebuildings and vegetation wereplaced accurately. Seachartswere used to ensure that theseabed is accurate. A DEM(digital elevation model) wasused create terrain topology.

When producing such largevirtual environments, howimportant was thecooperation oflocal port authorities?

Fortunately not important asdealing with port authoritiescan be a very slow andbureaucratic process! We areable to gather all necessarynautical data from publiclyavailable sources.

Continued on next page...

The Solent environment is home to many ferries as well as aport of call to countless number of cruise ships and cargovessels. VSTEP’s Ben Borrie tells us more about making aShipSim environment.




VSTEP InterviewHow is the workshared amongstthe modellerswhen buildingan environment?

Much of themodelling work isoutsourced butthe integrationwork and quite alot of the moretechnicalenvironmentmodelling is donein-house.

When planning anenvironment, do youapproach shippingcompanies involved withthe area to requestpermission for their vesselsto be included too (such asRed Funnel)?

Red Funnel and Hover Travelwere very enthusiastic andhelpful when we approachedthem about adding theirvessels to the game. However,some other shippingcompanies are more hesitantto give permission for theirvessels being used in "newmedia". They take quite someconvincing and we end upwith long talks with their legaldepartment. Theyhave thishuge fearof theirvesselsbeingabusedin agame(probably the reason

why the cars in the GTAgames are unbranded as well).When we show them themthe quality of our game andthe fact that we are a hardcoresimulation game, they aremore likely to agree. But therewill always beshipping companiesthat remain veryhesitant when theyhear the word "game" or"simulator".

Whenbuilding aport do youseekadvice andguidance

from prominent figures,such asHarbour Masters and portofficials?

This can happen when weneed a missing piece ofinformation, but quite often,all necessary information ispublicly available (charts,photos and satellite imageryetc. ) so we can go right aheadwith building theenvironment.

Some environments havebeen expanded over time,are there any plans toexpand/ improvethe Solent too?

We don't have anyplans but wehave discussed

expanding itto includethe entireIsle Of

Wight,perhaps this

will happen atsome point in the future.




Ocean Liners

The RMS Queen Mary is aclassic ocean liner that wasoperated by, and initially theflagship of the Cunard Line(Cunard-White Star), that sailedthe North Atlantic between 1936and 1967.

She was constructed by the JohnBrown & Company shipyard inClydebank, Scotland, with workbeginning late in December1930. Prior to being named shewas known simply as Hull 534.

Due to a worldwide economiccrisis (the Great Depression)construction was halted a yearlater, in December 1931. Afterdebate, the British Governmentprovided Cunard with a loan tocomplete construction of theQueen Mary, which also fundedconstruction of the RMS QueenElizabeth. Building of the QueenMary resumed on April 3rd, 1934.The Queen Mary was launchedby the Queen on 26thSeptember, 1934. The Queenand Royal family members alsowent to Southampton to inspectthe finished ocean liner in May1936.Luxurious throughout, theQueen Mary offered an indoorswimming pool, salon, ship'slibrary, children's nursery,outdoor tennis court, and evena ship's kennel. Woods fromdifferent regions of the BritishEmpire were used in her publicrooms and staterooms, some nolonger in existence.

However, the RMS Queen Marywas the world’s fastest liner

capturing the Blue Ribandultimately from the Normandieuntil the arrival of the SS UnitedStates in 1952.

During World War II the RMSQueen Mary was painted greyand transported troops fromAustralia to Africa across theIndian Ocean, often with asmany as 15,000 troops in a singlevoyage.

British Prime Minister WinstonChurchill also travelled acrossthe Atlantic on her several times.

In an incident off the Irish Coaston the 2nd October 1942, theQueen Mary sliced through theHMS Curacoa, one of her escortships, with a loss of 239 lives.

After the war the ship wasreturned to service, butultimately retired by Cunard.

The RMS Queen Mary wasconverted to a tourist attraction,hotel, museum and event facilityand is located in Long Beach,California.

Welcome to the Ocean Liners page, produced in association with OceanLiners.com. Thismonth we’re going to Scotland to examine one of Cunard’s most famous liners, Queen Mary.

Queen Mary FactsHistory of the Queen Mary

Built: 1930

Builder: John Brown Clydebank

Length: 310.7m

Beam: 36m

Speed: 28.6kn (service)

Fate: Hotel in Long Beach, California

Timeline:

1930: Laid down.

1934: Launched

1936: Maiden voyage

1942: Collided with HMS Curacoa

1942: December - carried 16,082 troops

1967: Steamed to Long Beach

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Editor/ Creator: ShipAddict

Monthly contributors:

Chitch, OceanLiners.com

Written contributions:

OceanLiners.com, Ralphy

Pictorial contributions:

Daniel, Jordan, Joey1

Other contributors:

-

Special thanks to:

Frank_VSTEP, Swenson

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All articles and images property of theirrespective owners. No content from this

magazine may be copied without permissionfrom the owners.

Issue 23 will be available from the 25th July 2011

Name Link Description

Great Lakes www.boatnerd.com Great lakes.

Panama Canal www.panamacanal.com Panama Canal site.

Marine Traffic AIS www.marinetraffic.com/ais Vessel tracker.

Professional Mariner www.professionalmariner.com Maritime magazine.

Ships Monthly www.shipsmonthly.com Maritime magazine.

Maritime News www.marinelink.com Maritime magazine.

Marine Log www.marinelog.com Maritime magazine.

Baird Maritime www.bairdmaritime.com Online news.

Marine Link www.marinelink.com Maritime magazine.

Thank you to Chitch for compiling this set of maritime links.

§ Calling all marinersIf you work at sea and would like totell us about your work or take partin an interview we would love to hearfrom you. If interested send amessage via shipsimmag.com or adirect email [email protected].

Magazine feedbackDon’t forget you can send us yourSSM Feedback by going toshipsimmag.com/contactus

Check out Issue 23 for all the old SSM favourites including:

� Wardroom

� Competitions Page

� Ocean Liners page

� Vessel in Focus

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