TS FALAISE HITS EAST PIER
TSS.Falaise Damaged At East Pier
One of several such incidents.
By Mick Cutler
Ouch! This is the bow of the car ferry Falaise after one of several incidents involving the East or West Piers. She also used the pier in Dieppe for 'target practice' just a couple of months after starting the car ferry service in June 1964. I was on watch in the boiler room when this collision happened. It was like an express train hitting the buffers, we were all thrown everywhere and doing head dives into the Boiler fronts. This was the second time it had happened with bow rudders having to be replaced each time. After investigation by the British Ship Research Association doing steering tests at sea, it was found that the ship had the inability to steer a required course. As a result of this, a modest increase to the rudder resolved the problem.
I'm told that she was not the easiest ship to handle at low speeds. -Andy, Editor.