 Edmund Gardner in Canning Dock | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | MVEdmund Gardner |
| Namesake | Edmund Gardner, chairman |
| Owner | Mersey Docks and Harbour Board |
| Operator | Liverpool Pilotage Authority |
| Port of registry | Liverpool |
| Ordered | July 1951 |
| Builder | Philip and Son,Dartmouth |
| Cost | £189,230 |
| Launched | 9 July 1953 |
| Acquired | 2 December 1953 |
| Out of service | April 1981 |
| Identification |
|
| Status | Museum ship |
| General characteristics[1] | |
| Tonnage | 701 gross register tons (GRT) |
| Displacement | 768.36 tonnes |
| Length | 54.1 metres (177 ft) |
| Beam | 9.6 metres (31 ft) |
| Draught | 3.1 metres (10 ft) for'd: 3.7 metres (12 ft) aft |
| Installed power | 1280bhp |
| Propulsion | Diesel-electric: 2x 6cyl, 640bhpNational diesel engines |
| Speed | 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph) |
| Crew |
|
| Notes |
|
MVEdmund Gardner is a retiredpilot cutter built for theLiverpool Pilot Service after theSecond World War. She was decommissioned after nearly 30 years service converted to amuseum ship as part of theMerseyside Maritime Museum.
Edmund Gardner was ordered by theMersey Docks and Harbour Board in July 1951 as a replacement for the pre-war steam powered cutters which were nearing the end of their usefulness.
Edmund Gardner (cutter no.2) was one of three such vessels, each being named for a past chairman of the board. Her sister-ships wereThomas Brocklebank (cutter no.1) andArnet Robinson (cutter no.3)
Edmund Gardner was built byPhilip and Son, ofDartmouth, and was launched on 9 July 1953. She was completed and entered service on the Mersey on 2 December 1953.
Her function was to serve as a floating base for pilots guiding ships into and out of the Mersey. She would remain one week at theLiverpool Bar, followed by one week atPoint Lynas,Anglesey, and then serve one week as supply ship to the other two. While on station her function was to meet ships entering the Mersey en route to theLiverpool Docks or theManchester Ship Canal, and transfer the pilot for the transit of the waterway, or to collect pilots from outgoing vessels. During that period the Mersey was still a busy waterway; On an average day, such as 15 April 1960,Edmund Gardner met and transferred pilots for 16 ships (10 inbound and 6 outbound) in one 8-hour period.
During her 28 years of successful serviceEdmund Gardner suffered only one incident; in 1963 she was involved in a mild collision with ore carrierIron Horse, but suffered no serious damage.[2]
In April 1981Edmund Gardner was de-commissioned; in 1982 she was purchased for the museum, one of only two such ships in preservation. Today she is located in theCanning Graving Dock, across the dock from the Maritime Museum and adjacent to theMuseum of Liverpool Life.[2]
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In 2014Edmund Gardner was selected for use as a "dazzle ship", an art installation organized by theImperial War Museum's14-18 NOW project. In conjunction withLiverpool Biennial andTate Liverpool,Edmund Gardner was re-painted with a design by artistCarlos Cruz-Diez entitledInduction Chromatique à Double Fréquence, and inspired by thedazzle camouflage developed and used during theFirst World War.[3][4]
53°24′10″N2°59′37″W / 53.402665°N 2.993578°W /53.402665; -2.993578