On the 6th January 2012 an emergency effort to pump water out of the Royal Yacht Britannia was rectified the list it developed while being moved to be repainted.
The yacht was tilting on its starboard side after developing a leak in a door seal. I spoke to an official the next day who confirmed it was 14 degrees.
The leak was discovered when officials noticed the ship was tilting and went to alter ballast levels, to bring the leak and ballast back under control. Four fire engines and two units from Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service. Hawick Fire Service were also called to the Britannia with a high-volume pump on what they said was an emergency call. It took around 20 fire fighters six hours to pump the water from Britannia which then allowed her to continue her journey slightly later than planned to the neighbouring Imperial Dry Dock, Leith, for work to be carried out.
Britannia Trust Chief executive Bob Downie said: "When we were removing the final mooring ropes this morning the ship moved several degrees to starboard. "This meant that new access watertight doors to our pontoons were below the water level. There has been a leak in the seals on those doors which was accentuating the list. Because we have had limited shore power we asked the fire brigade to provide us with some assistance in correcting the ship's ballast. This has caused a delay in the process.”
He added: "Moving the yacht obviously took longer than expected after suffering a setback but it is now mission complete. It all went smoothly once the water was pumped off the boat and it started to move. So, all's well that ends well."
There was no other damage to the yacht, which travelled more than a million miles during her career and has a top speed of 22.5 knots. It was the first time the yacht has been moved from its berth in Edinburgh in almost 14 years. The ship is due to reopen to the public on 1 February after a thorough survey and repainting of her hull, funnel and masts and a cost of around £100,000.
Work began on the ship at John Brown's shipyard in Clydebank in June 1952 and was launched in April 1953. During her career, she conveyed the Queen, other members of the Royal family and dignitaries on almost 968 official voyages. She travelled 1,087,623 nautical miles, calling at more than 600 ports in 135 countries. The Queen publicly shed a tear at her decommissioning ceremony in December 1997 after Tony Blair’s Labour government refused to replace her.
On 11 December 1997 Britannia was decommissioned and became a visitor attraction in Edinburgh after the city bid to become her new home.
Last year was one of the attraction's busiest years with more than 275,000 visitors, a 12% increase on the previous year.
She is seen here starting her list:
