Mersey Ferry 'Royal Iris'

Ah Mr Gradwell...
Sorry but I have just read your last and then checked my "inbox" for Private Mail which, being a relative amateur at this game, I rarely, if ever check.
Now i know who you are, your support for the usual suspects makes sense.
If nothing else I hope, as has been demonstrated by your Northern Region PSPS newsletter, I trust the "Daniel Adamson" is now on your radar a bit more than before.
I will reply to your private message- privately.
Thanks.
Dan Cross, Chairman- Daniel Adamson Preservation Society.

 

Just to add that Merseytravel have also funded the U-Boat project at Birkenhead & the aquarium & 'Spaceport' at Seacombe Ferry Terminal. If they want to raise the funds to restore 'Royal Iris' be assured they will get them from somewhere.
The ferries now in service were in a pretty bad state before their recent refurbishments, needing new bottom plating & deck plating (under the teak sheathing). Also all machinery was renewed as this was life expired & with spares non-existant.

Bob.

 

Just read on another forum that the Iris is reported as sunk at her moorings this evening, emergency services are searching for bodies, presume as standard practice. Hope no one is trapped.
Looks like the end for her now?
Quite an undignified one at that.
Dan

 

I fear that was only a matter of time - she has steadily deteriorated ever since she arrived on that mudbank

 

There is an article in the weekend edition of the 'Liverpool Echo' stating that a Wirral businessman is in negotiation with the ship's very elusive owner ,Mr James Jegede, & hopes to strike a deal to bring the 'Iris' back to the Mersey.
There is only one Wirral businessman I know of who could actually berth the ship on the Mersey without the problem of Peel Holdings stopping it. I hope it is him, although it probably isn't as I would have heard earlier.

Bob.

 

Hello folks. Just to keep you updated on the Royal Iris.

I've been visiting her since she first berthed at Woolwich in 2002. She was in poor shape then, but her deterioration has accelerated since she took on water in February. There is a genuine buyer out there, but the owner Mr James Jegede has proven quite elusive over the years.

I've set up a petition at www.royaliris.co.uk in an attempt to persuade Mr Jegede to sell her to a person or persons who wish to return her to Merseyside. The Liverpool Echo ran a piece about the petition and the following week, up pops Mr Jedege on Radio Merseyside. The interview is fascinating for all sorts of reasons. I'd be very interested to read your views after listening to it.

Here are a some shots I took of her a few weeks ago. I hope you'll consider signing the petition.

All the best,
Dave
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Good quality pics Dave, they say it all about her condition. I'm surprised the engine telegraph hasn't gone 'walkies.' Is the berth secure?

 

Thanks John. The berth is only secure in the sense that it's behind an industrial estate and requires climbing up and down a fixed ladder on the embankment wall to gain access. The low tide also acts as a deterrent. Security around the estate is minimal.

 

Update.
Thread died a death since my last post. Hoping to visit her later on today or tomorrow. I'll keep you updatedhoto:

Dave
Royal Iris Petition Page