Shipping Forecast - part 3
Here is the last and final report (PDF file, 387k download) from the English Heritage, National Maritime Museum and National Historic Ships Committee Partnership Project – the EHNMM Project.
Two earlier reports Shipping Forecast Part One and Part Two dealt with respectively, the Core Collection and the Designated Vessels Lists. This final report takes a wider view of the whole historic fleet. It reviews the current composition of the fleet, evaluates the designation procedures currently used by the NHSC and lists both those vessels at risk and the many recommendations made about the way forward.
At 56 pages long it is probably not for the lighthearted but does constitute the latest ideas and views of the EHNMM Project Team. It is of course based on their research over the last three years on the whole historic fleet. When considered alongside the earlier work of Dr Robert Prescott, which designed and set up the Register; it presents a clear and unequivocal picture of the UK historic fleet.
The report comes at a very important moment. The Government is about to launch its National Historic Ships Unit, which is being set up to:
“Advise the Government on policy and funding priorities for historic ships, to coordinate work within the sector to assist those directly engaged in preservation and to maintain an up to date register of the historic fleet.”
The EHNMM Project Team is extremely grateful to both English Heritage and the National Maritime Museum for sponsoring their research – they believe this research has helped to develop and strengthen the Register and make it ready for its new future.
The Team are particularly grateful though to all those historic ship custodians who have so warmly and enthusiastically welcomed them into their vessels. Large and small, static and mobile, privately owned, maintained by trusts or museums their individual commitment to their vessels has always been very impressive. The EHNMM Project Team salutes their endeavours and sincerely hopes that the three years of research have not been wasted and will help foster a brighter future for all historic ships.
John Paton
Secretary NHSC
EHNMM Project Director
The Shipping Forecast is a PDF document which can be downloaded and viewed using Acrobat Reader. If you do not have Acrobat Reader installed on your machine, you can download it here.