On 12 April 2010 The Falkland Islands issued a set of 4 stamps to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the return of the SS GREAT BRITAIN to England. The 27p value shows her sitting on the pontoon MULUS III alongside the quay at Port Stanley. Outboard is the West German tug VARIUS II.
VARIUS II
Built as the stern trawler KAP DAN in 1963 by H C Sulcken Sohn of Hamburg for Cranzer Fischdampfer AG of West Germany. She was one of 4 sister ships.
In 1969 she and 2 of her sister ships were sold by the liquidators of Cranzer Fischdampfer AG. to Ulrich Harms. She was converted into a tug for salvage work and renamed VARIUS II.
In 1971 the 3 vessels were sold to Hanseatische Hochseefischerei AG. Still under the West German flag VARIUS II was renamed ARCTURUS N.
In 1981 ARCTURUS N was sold to Cia Naviera Pankarine SA of Panama and renamed ARCTURUS II. In 1983 she was renamed ATLAS V. In 1985, listed as a stern trawler once more, she was sold to Navalsider SrL of Naples, where she had been lying under arrest for some time, to be broken up. Work commenced 15/12/1985.
GRT: 724; NRT: 274.
Dimensions 66.6 x 10.24 x 4.446
Engine: Oil 4SA 8Cy 400 x 580, built by Klockner – Humboldt - Deutz
Probably her most famous salvage job was the return of the GREAT BRITIAN to England.
The salvage operation, made possible by several large donations, including one from Sir Jack Hayward, and the late Sir Paul Getty, was organised by 'the SS Great Britain Project', a group chaired by Richard Goold-Adams. Ewan Corlett conducted a naval architect's survey on the ship, reporting that in his opinion the ship could be refloated. A submersible pontoon, Mulus III, was chartered in February 1970. A German tug, Varius II, was chartered, reaching Port Stanley on March 25. By April 13, after some concern about a crack in the hull, the ship was mounted successfully on the pontoon and the following day the tug, pontoon and the SS Great Britain sailed to Port Stanley harbour for preparations for the transatlantic voyage. The voyage (code name "Voyage 47") began on April 24, stopped in Montevideo from May 2 to May 6 for inspection, then across the Atlantic, arriving at Barry Docks, west of Cardiff on June 22. ("Voyage 47" was chosen as the code name because it was on her 47th voyage from Penarth, in 1886, during a tempest that SS Great Britain had sought for shelter in the Falklands.[38]) Bristol-based tugs then took over and towed the ship, still on its pontoon, to Avonmouth Docks.
The ship was then taken off the pontoon, in preparation for her re-entry into Bristol, now truly afloat. On Saturday 5 July, amidst considerable media interest, the ship was towed up the River Avon to Bristol. Perhaps the most memorable moment for the crowds that lined the final few miles was her passage under the Clifton Suspension Bridge, another Brunel design. She then waited a further two weeks in the Cumberland Basin, until a high enough tide occurred that would get her back through the locks to Bristol's Floating Harbour, back to her birthplace, the dry dock in the Great Western Dockyard in which she had been built (now a grade II listed building, it had been disused since bomb damage during World War II).
Sources: Wikipedia.
Lloyd's Registers: 1965; 1969/70; 1978/79.
Marine News: 1969; 1971; 1982; 1983; 1985.
http://www.falklandstamps.com/index.php ... Itemid=121
Peter Crichton