The document is part of our ongoing organisational development, detailing the history of the vessel, what we are doing now and what we hope to achieve.

1. www.ssexplorer.org
SS EXPLORER
The Future
Oct. 2017
Patrons:
• The Office of The Lord Provost
of The City of Edinburgh
• John Dunn MBE
Supporters:
• The Rotary Club of Leith
• Adam McVey
Leader of the City of Edinburgh Council
• Deidre Brock MP
• Ben Macpherson MSP
• The Salveson ex-Whalers Club
The SS Explorer today in Leith Docks
SS Explorer
Preservation
Society
Company limited by guarantee - SC156992 • Registered charity - SCO23518
SS Explorer is listed in the
National Register of Historic Vessels,
National Historic Ships UK.
www.nationalhistoricships.org.uk
“A unique survivor from
a remarkable chapter in
Scottish and UK
maritime history.”
One of our highly skilled technicians overhauling
the air start valve for the harbour generator.
The SS Explorer in the 1950s

2. Introduction
SS EXPLORER PRESERVATION SOCIETY
THE SS EXPLORER
Oct. 2017
Contents
1. Introduction and brief history
2. Commissioning, design, build and launch
3. General arrangement drawings
4. The work of the ship
5. Where she sailed
6. Life on board
7. Propulsion, power and communication
8. Conserving, restoring and adapting
SS Explorer
9. An educational and heritage resource
and the key themes for interpretation
10. The future in Leith
The Leith-registered, former Fishery Research
Vessel SS Explorer, is a survivor. She is a
little-known part of the UK’s maritime heritage
and played a crucial role in the development of
our fishing industry, our knowledge of the sea,
and its ecosystem. Created at a turning point
for marine engineering as steam gave way to
diesel, she has weathered the worst of the
fickle seas, escaped the scrapman’s torch twice,
and dodged eviction, during her 61 years thus
far. She is unique, with the fit-out of a cruise
liner of the day, laboratories that would not
have looked out of place in a university, and
the beautiful lines of a time when ships were
built with passion and hard graft.
“Halls built her up to a quality, not
down to a price, hell-bent to make
sure she exemplified the best of
British shipbuilding”
“One of the very first research
ships in the world to go to sea
with a computer”
“A quality piece of heritage”
The main purpose of this prospectus is to
provide a fully-illustrated introduction to,
and overview of, the unique historic
importance of the SS Explorer – her value as
an educational and heritage asset in the
national context, and more particularly, as a
unique part of the maritime heritage of
Leith - her port of registry. We make the case
for funding support to have the ship
dry-docked to enable urgent essential work
to be carried out on the hull. The document
then explores the potential of the restored
SS Explorer, berthed in Leith, to become a
major visitor attraction and an important
component of a wider cultural and
educational experience, centred on the
maritime history of Leith and beyond.
SS Explorer operated in the waters around
Scotland, the Barents Sea, Spitzbergen and as
far south as the south coast of Ireland. She was
built in Aberdeen and operated from there
under the direction of the Torry Fisheries
Marine Laboratory but often returned to Leith
between cruises, which typically lasted about
a month.
PROSPECTUS
SS Explorer qualifies as a truly historic ship in
her own right, worthy of preservation for
future generations. She represents a unique
example of one of the world's last
steam-powered scientific research vessels and
can claim to be at least as important in terms
of her contribution to marine and ecological
science as another steam driven research ship
of an earlier time - RRS Discovery berthed
in Dundee.
www.ssexplorer.org
The triple-expansion steam engine.
Our ship’s story began when she was launched
in June 1955. The FRV Explorer as she was then
known, built to the order of the Scottish Home
Department, was one of the last vessels to be
completed by the famous Aberdeen
shipbuilding firm of A. Hall & Co. Ltd. The hull
form was based on a deep-sea Arctic side-
trawler for service in hostile northern waters,
and the vessel contained a mixture of
traditional and modern technologies. Unusually
at that late date, her main propulsion was
provided by a triple-expansion steam engine
and an oil-fired, three furnace ‘Scotch’ boiler.
Most auxiliary systems however were electrical,
powered by on board Ruston diesel generators
- two 80 kW main generators, and one 24 kW
for use in harbour.
In her primary role as a research vessel, FRV
Explorer was fitted out to the highest of
standards to ensure the comfort of the scientists
and seamen who served on her. She was
retrofitted with an analogue computer, one of
the first civilian ships so equipped.
At sea in the 1960s
1955

3. Commissioning, Design, Build and Launch
SS EXPLORER PRESERVATION SOCIETY
The Explorer’s vital statistics
Designed and built by
A. Hall & Co. Ltd, Aberdeen
Yard number 747
Launched 1955
Entered service 1956
Decommissioned 1984
Length overall 203 ft.
Beam 32 ft.
Loaded draft aft 17 ft.
Lightship displacement 915 tons
Fuel bunkers 270 tons
Diesel 34 tons
Fresh water 113 tons
Equipment 50 tons
Propulsion
Double-acting triple-expansion
steam engine
Boiler Scotch return tube
Fuel Diesel/fuel oil
Power 1000 ihp (746 KW)
Max speed 12 knots
Range 8000 miles
Deck officers 4
Engineering officers 4
Scientists 9
Stewards 3
Cook 1
Deck hands 12
Ship’s company 33
A unique mix of old and new
Trawl gear and winches
Launch
The SS Explorer was
launched on the 21st
June 1955 by Lady
Rachael Stuart, wife of
the then Secretary of
State for Scotland. The
ship cost £313,000 and
entered service in 1956.
“Certainty and quality were
watchwords employed at every
level of the design and build.”
Oct. 2017 www.ssexplorer.org
The trawl winch today
Lady Rachael Stuart
The Ship’s Company
The new research vessel
The steering system fitted to SS Explorer is electro-
hydraulic, the telegraphs were electric and her
navigation system was state of the art for the period
with electronic gear such as radar, direction finder,
gyro-compass and Decca Navigator sets fitted.
Accommodation
SS Explorer had very comfortable with centrally-
heated accommodation for scientists and crew.
There was a fully equiped galley and mess
room, a forward recreation room for the crew
and a spacious saloon for officers and scientists
amidships.
Steering and navigation
The officers’and scientists’saloon complete with fireplace
The officers’ and
scientists’ saloon
The Scottish Home Department
commisssioned a new ship to be built to
replace the previous Explorer. She was to have
the same name. The order went to A. Hall &
Co. Ltd, one of Aberdeen’s most famous
shipbuilding firms. The new Fisheries Research
Vessel Explorer was designed along the lines of
a deep-sea side trawler of 203ft overall and
with a beam of 32ft.
From a technical standpoint, SS Explorer is a
fascinating and unique mix of old and new
technologies from a time when the very nature
of shipbuilding in the UK was changing. For
instance, her hull is made of riveted steel of
ice-class strength for working in the exposed
waters of the north, when many ships were
beginning to use all-welded construction. Her
upperworks are aluminium though, to reduce
weight, and again riveting is used. Her large,
vertical, triple-expansion steam engine was an
anachronism, but fitted so that SS Explorer
could tow large nets at low revolutions
smoothly and efficiently - an advantage when
testing and monitoring new fishing gear design.
Trawling gear was fitted on the starboard side,
the port side originally being used only for
survey work. Heavy gallows frames and sheaves
were fitted in order that the largest size of trawl
gear could be worked. Two electric hydrographic
winches were installed on the port side and
were used in conjunction with two Kemp davits
which had depth and speed indicators. A steam
plankton winch was installed on the boat deck
aft. A steam anchor windlass was fitted on the
forecastle head. Three types of echo sounders
were included, the largest capable of sounding
to 4,500 fathoms.
Detail of hydraulic steering gear
The entire accommodation was mechanically
ventilated and the well-equipped hydrographic
fish and plankton laboratories were positioned
amidships below the bridge. There were two
refrigerated fish rooms lined and fitted out in
aluminium, one at a temperature of 30˚F, the
other at 10˚F. The deckhouse contains the
wheelhouse, captain’s cabin, chart room,
wireless room, wireless operator’s cabin, a sick
bay and a well-equipped galley.
Bosun Joe Barrie at the wheel

4. General arrangement drawings
SS EXPLORER PRESERVATION SOCIETYOct. 2017 www.ssexplorer.org
A
The SS Explorer being fitted-out at A. Hall & Co. Ltd., Aberdeen, 1955.

5. The Work of the Ship
SS EXPLORER PRESERVATION SOCIETY
“Out in the North Sea we did all
the preliminary work before we
gave permission for the
Murchison oil platform to go in.”
Staffed by marine scientists
The ship's maiden voyage was in 1956, when
she entered service with the Scottish Office.
Working under the Marine Laboratory in
Aberdeen, she continued to serve for 28 years,
greatly advancing the development of
fishing-net technology, carrying out important
hydrographic survey work and completing
research on fish stocks and plankton levels to
further our understanding of the marine
environment and its dynamics.
As befitted a Scottish Office owned vessel, she was
registered to the port of Leith, but operated
essentially from Aberdeen on behalf of the Marine
Laboratory located nearby in Torry, though she
frequently returned to Leith between cruises.
Staffed by scientists of international repute, the
results of the research carried out on the
SS Explorer included fish stock assessment,
fishing gear technology, fisheries oceanography,
plankton studies and pre-oil exploration sea
water assays. This work made a major
contribution to the management and
development of Scotland's fisheries, and to the
protection of the marine environment, at the
same time contributing to international
consideration of such matters. Among the
studies carried out on the SS Explorer was an
investigation into the relationship of
the Atlantic Conveyor ocean
current to the Gulf Stream.
Registered to the port of Leith
The careers of several scientists of international
standing were fostered on SS Explorer. Many
famous men carried out some of their finest
research onboard the vessel in some of the world’s
most inhospitable seas, including:
• Sir Cyrl Lucas, one of the most eminent marine
bioligists ever, was director of the Aberdeen Marine
Laboratory at the time the SS Explorer came into
service.
• Dr. James Fraser, writer of one of the definitive
books on plankton, Nature Adrift , sailed many
nautical miles on the ship, taking plankton and
water samples.
.
• Professor Bob Kabata, a highly-decorated Polish
war hero, graduate of the University of Aberdeen
and one of the world’s most famous parasite
experts, carried out a great deal of his work on the
SS Explorer.
• Dr. John H. Steele conducted world-class
hydrographic science on board before going on to
become director of Woods Hole Oceanographic
Institution, in America. He was also a fellow of the
Royal Society, a fellow of the American Academy of
the Arts and Sciences and was awarded the
Alexander Agassiz Medal.
• Professor Alastair MacIntyre, world-renowned
benthic (seabed) expert, regularly used Explorer for
all types of surveys.
• John Dunn MBE worked at the Aberdeen Marine
Laboratory for 49 years, sailed often on the Explorer
and was awarded his MBE for services to marine
biology and education.
Scientists of international standing
The work was of national and international
importance, including providing data to the working
groups of the Council for the Exploration of the Sea.
Further internationally important work included, for
example: her participation in the International
Geophysical Year Polar Front Survey of 1957/58
(of which SS Explorer is the only UK vessel still
afloat); studies of the exchange of water between
the North Atlantic and the Nordic Seas, which are of
fundamental importance for understanding global
and regional climate; an environmental survey
organised for 1963 by the International Commission
for the North-west Atlantic Fisheries, which ranged
from West Iceland via Greenland and Labrador to
Newfoundland; and participation in the survey of
the waters around Ekofisk Bravo following the major
‘blow-out’ in the spring of 1977.
Polar Front Survey 1957/58
Oct. 2017 www.ssexplorer.org
28 years’ service
Gulf III high speed plankton sampler.
Dr. John H. Steele water sampling.
Bob Kabata, in the fish house on Explorer.
Chemist Philip Balls, doing clean chemistry
in a laminar flow cabinet in the fish house.
“If the SS Explorer was a building there
would be a series of blue plaques
bolted to the superstructure, to celebrate
all the famous men who spent their time
on board. Some of them spent as much
time on board as they did at home !”
Scientific crew on the benthic survey for the
Murchison oil platform
Gear technologists opening an underwater
measuring device (nicknamed the Dalek).

6. Where she sailed
SS EXPLORER PRESERVATION SOCIETY
The SS Explorer worked in all the traditional Scottish
fishing grounds, as well as travelling further afield to
the waters off Iceland, Spitzbergen, and the Barents
Sea. The furthest south she operated was the
Porcupine Bank off south-west Ireland.
In the early ‘70s, on returning from a voyage in
Icelandic waters, the SS Explorer ran into severe
storm conditions and while heading into the storm,
a large sea broke over the bow and a wall of green
water struck the bridge with such force that it stove
in the bridge superstructure, breaking all the glass
windows and flooding the bridge. The ship
shuddered with such an impact but thankfully even
with all the extra weight of water on the deck she
rose in time to ride over the following wave.
The stunned crew had the presence of mind to keep
the SS Explorer’s head into the wind.
On another occasion the propeller was damaged in
ice in the waters around Greenland and the bent
blade made contact with the rudder stalk on every
revolution. She returned to port on low revs having
clunked and clicked for several hundred miles and the
crew suffering several sleepless nights.
From Spitzbergen (Svalbard) in the north
to Southern Ireland in the south
Surviving a storm off Iceland
“I would have gone
anywhere in her
and indeed did so”
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Oct. 2017 www.ssexplorer.org
Moored, Thorshaven Faroe
The fishing mate
plotting a course
SS Explorer arriving in harbour
Aberdeen and north east coast chart
The Wheelhouse
Main deck
In rough weather
A conjoint programme with the Fisheries
Laboratory, Lowestoft, and others, involved
SS Explorer in a number of cruises to the
Barents Sea and Spitzbergen while working
on the development of an improved Arctic
trawl.
Voyage Plan 1976
Viking
North Utsire
South Utsire
Fisher
Cromarty
Forties
Forth
Tyne
Dogger
German Bight
Fastnet
Irish Sea
Shannon
Rockall
Malin
Hebrides
Bailey
Fair Isle
Faroes
S E Iceland
Humber
Thames
Dover
Wight
Plymouth
Biscay
Trafalgar
Fitzroy
Sole
Lundy

7. Life on Board
SS EXPLORER PRESERVATION SOCIETY
“I count myself a very lucky
man to have sailed and worked
on this unique ship. Walking
around her, even as she lies
quietly in a backwater of Leith
Docks, evokes some very
powerful memories of exciting
marine science, famous
scientists, and some of life’s –
and the North-east of
Scotland’s – real characters.”
“One young man came to us
courtesy of a borstal but turned
out to be a very, very good crew
member and subsequently went
on to college, then to university,
and subsequently went on to be
a scientist”
“At one point the Explorer had its
own dog, which belonged to the
oldest member of the crew.
New members of staff and new
scientists joining the ship had to
be taken aft and introduced to
the dog who was convinced the
ship belonged to it. If it didn’t
know you and you hadn’t been
introduced I swear it would have
had your leg off.”
“When I first stood on the bridge, with its
immaculate mahogany floor gratings and
looked out at the foredeck, I remarked to my
colleague, whom I thought was standing
beside me: “That’s absolutely huge.” A voice
behind me boomed out: “Aye, laddie, and
it’s sight shorter in a Force 12! ” This was the
much-feared but consummate master of the
ship, Captain Baxter, who had come out of
his cabin, just behind the bridge, to see who
was in his wheelhouse.“
Oct. 2017 www.ssexplorer.org
Captain John Gillian
Raymond Pratt, engineer, in the white boiler suit,
with greaser and fireman
Boilers with second engineer in
white and fireman
“Our very substantial Eddystone
Radio could pick up any channel
anywhere.”
” The ‘blackhand gang’, the
engine room crew, lived in the
forward cabins, the officers
and scientists amidship, and
rest of the crew aft”
Ship’s cook
Dr. Basil Parrish and staff relaxing
(The Eddystone radio in the background)
First officer and scientists at afernoon tea
‘Last haul’ celebrations in the fish house
The ship’s dog with the oldest and the
youngest members of the crew

8. Power, Propulsion and Communications
SS EXPLORER PRESERVATION SOCIETY
“It’s a time capsule of
everything that was good in
shipbuilding in Scotland back
in the day of scientific
enterprise, initiative, and
world-leading science”
The main engine
The jewel in SS Explorer’s crown is her main engine.
The triple expansion steam engine is one of the last
remaining UK examples of the marine type still in its
original context. It is rated at 1000 ihp and could
push the ship through the seas at a quoted speed of
12 knots, as well as operate for long periods of time
at smooth, low revolutions – ideal for trawling. Her
large fuel-oil tanks, gave SS Explorer a range of up to
8000 nautical miles. She could be pushed beyond
her stated design speed if provoked though. We
have been told of a race between her and some
diesel boats on the return to Aberdeen from a
research trip, when 19 knots was indicated as SS
Explorer beat them home, singing with the
vibrations from the main engine the whole way.
The boiler is a triple-furnace, fuel-oil fired ‘Scotch’
type which delivered steam at 225psi. This boiler
also provided the steam for the main and aft
plankton winches, as well as the anchor windlass on
the bow.
“There were scientific
advantages to the vessel being
steam-powered, as she was
remarkably quiet and smooth, a
great bonus when trying to make
scientific measurements.”
SS Explorer was fitted with a computer to help
analyse the research data. In the 1950s this was
cutting edge stuff because up to this point all
computers were on land, not out at sea where the
experiments were being done. Although the
analogue computer took up an entire room and
only had the power of your average modern digital
pocket calculator, it paved the way for other ships
to fit their own systems and greatly advanced
maritime research. Other equipment installed
aboard measured data from the engine, propeller,
hydrographic survey gear and the trawl lines.
Electrical power
In a concession to developing technologies, all
auxiliary pumps such as the boiler feed,
circulating and fuel pumps, are electrically driven
rather than being powered by steam from the
boiler as would normally be expected. Following
the era in which SS Explorer was built, many
ships were fully diesel driven and the need for
such auxiliaries vanished. It would be safe to suggest
that the engineering set-up of SS Explorer is
therefore unique.
A Ruston 4VRH and two large Ruston 6VPH engines,
which may be familiar to railway enthusiasts, provide
the bulk of the electrical power.
The two mains generators each produced 80kw at
220v DC and the auxiliary harbour set produces
24kw at 220v DC. An AC system was fitted for the
extensive lab equipment and it was generated by an
alternator set near the bow. It was also
possible to connect SS Explorer to a
shore mains supply.
The telegraphs were electric and
navigation was state of the art for the
period with electronic gear such as
radar, direction finder, gyro-compass
and Decca Navigator sets fitted.
A fully electric intercom system was
installed alongside the more
traditional voice tubes. Many Bakelite
phones remain in place and still work.
Communications
Oct. 2017 www.ssexplorer.org
The computer
The boiler
Siemens mechanical engine
room telegraph
The main engine
Wheelhouse voice tube Electrical switch gear

9. SS EXPLORER PRESERVATION SOCIETY
The SS Explorer Preservation Society is actively
working to secure the future of the ship. To do
that, we are aiming to give her back a purpose
and make her an integral part of Leith and its
community. We want the ship to become an
educational resource, an asset for youth
engagement and an interactive heritage
attraction, alive with all the noise, smells and
atmosphere of a ship at sea, as well as the
history of the yard and people that built her.
Opportunities will be created for participation
in the arts by presenting SS Explorer as a filming
and drawing location, and as an exhibition
space.
Working to secure the future of the ship
To bring SS Explorer through the first phase of
restoration, the ship and the SS Explorer
Preservation Society, need the following:
• Funds of about £200,000 to dry dock the
ship, clean the hull back to the metal, repaint
the hull and carry out a complete technical
survey of the condition of the vessel.
The results of the technical survey would
indicate how much further restoration is
needed, and what further funding is required.
• Funds of about £125,000 to adapt the
interior, insert the ship into the context of Leith
and Scotland’s maritime history and heritage,
and make her available as an educational
resource and visitor attraction.
• New board members with relevant expertise
and experience in areas including finance, fund
raising, marketing, interpretation and project
management.
• A permanent publicly-accessible berth. As
the ship is currently berthed in Leith, this would
be the most appropriate, favoured and practical
place for a new berth, if one could be found.
The essentials of the ship are still in place –
for example, the propulsion system from fuel
bunkers to propeller is intact. Some other
aspects have been affected by time and are in
need of restoration.
The immediate task for the Society is to have
the ship’s hull cleaned off and coated to
stabilise it. Whilst the ship is in dry dock, other
work could be carried out to secure the
integrity of the hull and a thorough technical
survey made.
Thereafter, the Society will be working on the
premise that the ship can take on the role of an
iconic platform for illustrating aspects of:
• Scottish ship building and engineering
• Steam propulsion
• Deep-sea trawling and its hazards
• Marine science and ecology
• Fisheries research
• Navigation in Arctic Seas (during the Cold War)
• SS Explorer’s own story
All these themes – brought to life within the
sights, sounds and smells of the ship and sea –
will make for a highly atmospheric visitor
experience. Other uses such as a small events
venue, an educational ‘learn away’
resource etc. are envisaged.
What the SS Explorer Preservation
Society needs now.
Immediate tasks
Conserving, Restoring and Adapting the Explorer
Oct. 2017 www.ssexplorer.org
Engine room
Anchor windlass
The fish lab

10. An Educational and Heritage Resource
SS EXPLORER PRESERVATION SOCIETY
We propose to take things forward on the
premise that the restored SS Explorer will
become:
• A living scientific, historical and educational
resource, which can be aligned to the
Curriculum for Excellence, enabling schools to
add an engaging and unique perspective to the
outcomes and experiences required by the CfE.
• A visitor attraction which complements and
adds depth, and a fresh new experience, to
Leith's existing tourist attractions.
Key themes for interpretation
The story of the SS Explorer provides
visitors and educators with a tangible
route into a wide range of knowledge and
human experience, much of which can be
linked to the national curriculum.
Many of the themes have a continuing
relevance today and a natural reach into
contemporary issues, including
sustainable fishing, global marine
ecology and climate science.
The Society and their education advisors will
consult with local head teachers, and potential
partner organisations such as the Scottish
Fisheries Musem, and the Aberdeen Maritime
Museum, regarding the interpretation and
presentation of the themes opposite (and
others which may emerge) – to create an
engaging and rewarding visit to the restored
ship. We shall seek the views of the community
of Leith and tourism specialists on how best to
make the most of the ship and its story – to
appeal, and be of value to, the widest range of
schools, community and tourist audiences.
Early use and development
of computers for scientific
work–on board a research ship.
Maritime history.
Ship design and construction. Yards, skills,
economics, the Scottish east coast fishing fleet.
Human stories, Leith and Aberdeen. Harbours,
navigation, communications.
Trawling and the design of
deep-sea fishing gear.
Experiments and testing of trawl gear using
pioneering methods to monitor performace in use.
( See A Trawler investigates video)
Working a deep sea trawler – life
on board.
Skills, hazards, hardships, weather and ice.
Ship’s crew – their skills and stories. Risks and
rewards. Experiences in foreign ports and waters.
Recreation, food and drink. Anecdotes
Scientific investigation, survey
and monitoring of fish stocks.
Instrumentation, experiments, analyses.
International co-operation.
Oct. 2017 www.ssexplorer.org
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We shall use the spaces in the ship to create
study facilities and exhibition spaces – bringing
the ship alive with sound, projection, film,
graphic and interactive displays. Using digital
media we can take the story of the ship to the
places she sailed, and evoke and
recount the experiences of the
individuals who lived and
worked on-board.
Using the space on-board.
Seamanship and navigation in Arctic
and northern waters.
Experiences, weather, wildlife, risks, anecdotes,
Cold War encounters.
The Explorer’s own story.
Geographic, climatic
and hydrographic
understanding of the
Arctic, North Sea and
North Atlantic waters.
Working with international teams of marine
scientists to increase understanding of the effects
of ocean currents on weather and marine life.
Explorer outward bound from the Clyde to Rockall
Explorer deploying a towed transducer for fish stock analysis
Fish stocks, currents, sea temperatures,
plankton, parasites, and the sea bed. Effects of oil
exploration and extraction.
Marine engineering and Scottish
industrial heritage.
Ship design and construction in the mid 20th
century. Physical and mechanical principles –
thermal science, propulsion, fuels, pressure,
controls, transmission, electrical generation,
and more.
Examining specimens in the fish lab.
Sorting the catch on the main deck
Marine ecology

11. The SS Explorer’s future in Leith?
SS EXPLORER PRESERVATION SOCIETY
The SS Explorer is berthed in Leith with
great thanks to Forth Ports Ltd, who have
been a stalwart supporter of the
SS Explorer Preservation Society.
A publicly-accessible, permanent berth in
Leith Docks.
The SS Explorer
can become a key component
of Leith’s further development
as a tourist destination,
including the possibility of a
Maritime Heritage Trail linked
to the proposed Leith Trust
‘String of Pearls’concept.
Following completion of the essential
works to the hull: making the ship wind
and water tight; further restoration and
adaption of the ship for visitor access and
educational use; the final permanent berth
favoured for the SS Explorer is a
publicly-accessible location in Leith .
This would give :
• Visibility as a landmark attraction.
• Public accessibility for visitors, educational
and special interest groups, events and volunteer
activities.
• The possibility of modest quayside
accommodation offering visitor reception,
exhibition space and facilities.
There is an area of the dock which is publicly
accessible and already used more as an amenity
than a commercial dock – with the Vine Trust, Tom
Dunn floating conference facility, together with a
possible future floating boutique hotel.
The Alexandra Dry Dock, Prince of Wales Dock and
Victoria Swing Bridge are all in the same area of
the port. This area is a good example of a
traditional port, with many traditional and historic
features, to which the presence of the restored
SS Explorer would add interest and value.
The ship, in this position, would also complement
the development of any future maritime museum,
focussed on Leith’s rich maritime history, planned
for this part of the dock.
Oct. 2017 www.ssexplorer.org
A possible future publicly-accessible berth
for the restored SS Explorer, adapted for
public access as an educational resource
and visitor attraction?
A
B
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