The next additions to the Irish Shipping Limited fleet were the four sister ships which were ordered from Upper Clyde Shipbuilders Ltd, in the autumn of 1970, the biggest single order for ships ever placed by the company. Unfortunately, the financial crisis which developed at the yard created major problems and cast serious doubts on the ultimate delivery of the vessels when the Glasgow firm went into liquidation.

The four ships, of 26,000 tons deadweight each, were specifically designed for the carriage of bulk lumber, ore, grain, woodpulp and other bulk cargoes. They were due for delivery in late 1972 and early 1973. The problems at the Upper Clyde yard resulted in the involvement of the British Department of Trade and Industry together with the workers at the shipyard in attempting to prevent the loss of the considerable number of orders, which had been placed with the yard, and the consequent loss of jobs in the Glasgow area. On 14th October, 1971, the Chairman of Irish Shipping Limited, Mr. Perry Greer, and senior management held a meeting in London with the Chairman of the British Department of Trade and Industry and Sir John Eden, the British Minister for Trade. The meeting eventually resulted in guarantees from the British Government in respect of the necessary work to complete the building and delivery of the four vessels as already contracted. Happily, the ships were duly built and delivered to the company.

The vessel was delivered to the company on 1st February, 1973, and she sailed from Glasgow in ballast on her maiden voyage with Capt. Thomas Byrne as Master and Michael J. Byrne as Chief Engineer. Her Chief Officer on that voyage to New Orleans was James Kelly and, although the vessel arrived at her loading port on 17th February, 1973, she was delayed due to congestion. There were fifty bulk carriers at anchor awaiting berths to load grain for Russia and China under contracts agreed at that time with the United States Government. Eventually, the Irish Pine loaded her grain cargo and arrived at her discharge port of Hamburg on 19th March, 1973. Her subsequent trading brought the vessel to Tampa, Pointe Noire in the Congo, Durban, Nigata and Sagata in Japan, Vancouver and through the Panama Canal to Port Everglades, Florida.

Sadly, while the vessel was berthed at Dunkirk on 16th August, 1973, Capt. Michael Doyle of Arklow, Co. Wicklow, (Pictured Left), collapsed on board the ship and died almost immediately. Capt. Doyle had only taken up his appointment as Master of the Irish Pine at Dunkirk and his untimely death shocked his many friends afloat and ashore. Michael was a very popular ship's Officer and his passing created a tragic loss for his wife, Ann, and their three daughters. He had joined the company in 1956 and served on various Irish Shipping vessels over the years. He had been on stand-by during the building of the Irish Star and spent some time in Head Office at that time.

The Irish Pine made a number of voyages from British Columbia bringing forest products to U.K. and European Continental ports and carried mainly steel on the outward passages. In early 1975, the vessel loaded steel in Japan for discharge at Buenos Aires and Santa Fe , then sailing eastwards round the Cape of Good Hope.

On her next voyage she loaded manganese ore at Pointe Noire in the Congo for Tachibana and Mitsushima in Japan. For those voyages, Capt. T. Byrne (Pictured right), was Master of the vessel. The Irish Pine paid her first visit to Dublin when she arrived at her home port on 12th May 1976, with a cargo of lumber from British Columbia. She completed discharge at London and Esbjerg, Denmark, before loading steel at Antwerp and Middlesborough for Long Beach, California.

The vessel made her second call to Dublin when she arrived to discharge a part cargo of forest products from British Columbia in mid-August, 1978. She was back in Dublin again on 24th May, 1979, with a further consignment of Canadian timber. In December, 1979, she discharged a cargo of fertilizer at Lien Yun Chiang, China from Constantza, Rumania.

The Irish Pine made two further calls to Dublin. The first in August, 1980, when she discharged coal from Corpus Christi, Texas and in March, 1982, when she unloaded timber from Vancouver. Following two voyages to Far Eastern ports in Indonesia and Japan, the vessel returned to European ports and,on her final voyage for the company, she loaded a cargo of alumina at Port Kaiser, Jamaica for Holyhead where she completed discharge on 26th April, 1983. Master of the ship on that voyage was Capt. Bob McMahon, her Chief Engineer was R. Tennent and G. Burns was Chief Officer.

The third Irish Pine was sold to Martria Maratima S.A. of Panama and was renamed Siganto A.S. Subsequently, the vessel came into Greek ownership under Maltese registry and renamed Christinaki. Sadly, on 3rd February, 1994, the Christinaki was lost whilst on passage from Liverpool to Vera Cruz, Mexico, with a cargo of pig iron. The vessel sank 250 miles west of the Irish coast after taking in water due to the loss of a hatch cover. All twenty-six of her Greek and Filipino crewmembers were lost in the accident.

The second Irish Maple (Pictured above) was the next of the Govan built ships to be launched on 24th October, 1972, with Mrs. Barnes, wife of Irish Shipping Director, Dermot Barnes, as sponsor. The 26,091 tons deadweight vessel was delivered to the company on 28th March, 1973, and her port of registry was Dublin. On her maiden voyage from Glasgow to Antwerp, she was commanded by Capt. Michael O'Dwyer, with John Morgan (Pictured right) as Chief Engineer and her Chief Officer was Charles Mahon.

For her first transatlantic voyage, the Irish Maple loaded steel at Antwerp for Los Angeles and Portland, Oregon. The port authorities at both ports presented Capt. O'Dwyer with special plaques to mark the first visit of the new ship to their respective cities. On her return voyage, the vessel loaded lumber at Vancouver for Cardiff and Bremen where she completed discharge on 9th July, 1973. She then loaded steel at Antwerp for Long Beach, California and, on her return voyage, she brought wood products from Vancouver to Cardiff, Bremen and Antwerp. Her next voyage was from Tampa, Florida to Vizagapatnam, India with a cargo of phosphates.

Subsequent voyages brought the vessel to Japan, New Zealand, Western Australia and back to the U.K. and European continental ports. In early 1976, the Irish Maple completed a round-the-world series of voyages from Bilbao in Spain to Kaohsiung, Taiwan, thence to Long Beach, California for bunkers before going through the Panama Canal to her discharge ports of Norfolk and Charleston on the east coast of the United States. She then made a return voyage to Japan before eventually loading lumber in British Columbia for Antwerp and Esbjerg, Denmark, where she completed discharge at the end of August.

The Irish Maple made her first call to her home port of Dublin on 27th September, 1979, with a cargo of forest products from British Columbia. It was to be her only visit to an Irish port. Capt. B. Reilly was Master of the vessel on that visit and was relieved at Dublin by Capt. T. Hughes. Chief Engineer was Peter Bardon and Chief Officer was James Whyte. The ship completed discharge at Rotterdam and then loaded steel at Antwerp for U.S. east coast ports.

In November, 1980, the vessel loaded sugar at Townsville in Queensland, Australia for Houston, Texas and, following discharge of her cargo, she loaded grain for Norway. Her subsequent trading brought the ship to the Indian port of Cuddalore on the Bay of Bengal with fertilizer from European ports and to several ports in the Philippines and Malayasia where she loaded timber and general cargo for the French port of Sete and for Liverpool. In February 1983, the Irish Maple loaded forest products in Alaska as well as in British Columbia for U.K. and European ports.

The vessel continued trading mainly on the Europe to west coast U.S. and Canadian routes until Irish Shipping Limited was put into the liquidation process in November, 1984, following which she was sold by the Liquidator.

The third of the Govan built ships was launched on 19th January, 1973, and became the third company vessel to be named Irish Oak (Pictured above) . The sponsor was Mrs. Jones, wife of Irish Shipping Director, Gerard Jones. The vessel was registered at Dublin and had a deadweight of 26,091 tons. She was delivered to the company on 25th May, 1973, and sailed on her maiden voyage from Glasgow to Antwerp where she loaded steel for Los Angeles and Oakwood, California. Master on her maiden voyage was Capt. T. Hughes, her Chief Engineer was Michael Curley and her Chief Officer was Howard Fiddler.

On completing discharge at Oakwood, the Irish Oak loaded lumber at Vancouver for Cardiff, Bremen and Antwerp. On her second outward passage, she sailed for Houston, Texas, where she loaded 25,000 tons of grain for Japanese ports. She subsequently loaded a cargo of bauxite at Bintan, south of Singapore, for Tomakomai, Japan. Following discharge at the Japanese port, she sailed in ballast for west coast United States ports to load lumber for European ports. In July, 1974, she loaded phosphates at Tampa, Florida, for Vizagapatnam, calling at Durban for bunkers en route. In September, 1975, the ship was time chartered to Sovfracht of Russia for a period of twelve to fifteen months and loaded her first cargo for Russian ports at New Orleans and discharged at Leningrad in early December, 1975.

When the ship was loading grain at Baltimore on 11th April, 1976, her Chief Engineer, Michael Joseph Byrne, one of the best known Officers in the company, died on board the vessel. His unexpected death came as a great shock to his many friends on the seagoing and shore based staff in Irish Shipping Limited. Michael, who was survived by his wife and two daughters, had joined the ship at Istanbul on 22nd March to relieve Brian Larkin as Chief Engineer on the Irish Oak. The vessel was then on her final voyage for her Russian charterers. He had joined Irish Shipping in October, 1941, and had served on many of the company's ships over his thirty-five years' service.

The ship loaded grain at Mobile, Alabama for Riga, Latvia where she completed discharge at the end of October, 1976, and subsequently went on charter to Northwood Mills of Canada. Over the following two years, the Irish Oak traded to ports in El Salvador, Brazil and Japan. She became the first Irish Shipping vessel to visit the Chinese port of Tientsin on the Yellow Sea. At this port, which is ice-bound for three months of the year, she discharged a cargo of fertilizer from Le Havre, France and completed in mid-August, 1978. She then loaded general cargo at Port Kelang, Malaysia and Kaohsiung, Taiwan for Hamburg, Rotterdam and Boulogne.

The Irish Oak made her first call to her home port of Dublin on 21st February, 1980, with a cargo of coal from Hampton Roads and was delayed for a week due to a labour dispute at the port. She eventually completed discharge and sailed on 16th March for Dunkirk to load steel for U.S. ports. The vessel traded to ports in the Far East and North Africa as well as in Canada and the United States during 1981 and early 1982. She was eventually sold in July, 1982, to Vantage Navigation Corporation of Liberia. On her final voyage for the company from Rotterdam to drydock at South Shields, where she was handed over to her new owners, Capt. Michael O'Dwyer was Master of the Irish Oak.

The fourth ship built for the company at Govan was the Irish Larch which was launched at the Glasgow yard on 3rd April, 1973, and was sponsored by Mrs. Reihill, wife of Irish Shipping Director, Frank Reihill. The vessel had a deadweight of 26,061 tons and was also registered at Dublin. She was the third company ship to bear the name and was delivered to Irish Shipping Limited on 12th July, 1973. She sailed from Govan on her maiden voyage to the River Plate in ballast to load grain for Japan. She was under the command of Capt. J. Gleeson with W. D. McCarthy as Chief Engineer and her Chief Officer was Edward Greevy.

On completing discharge, the vessel loaded limestone at Susaki, Japan for Australian ports and returned to Mitzushima, Japan with a cargo of pig iron from Kwinana, Western Australia. She then sailed in ballast to British Columbia where she loaded lumber for Cardiff, Antwerp and Bremen. In August, 1974, the Irish Larch became the first of the four Govan-built ships to call to their home port when she arrived at Dublin with lumber from British Columbia. Unfortunately, she was delayed by a pilots' strike at the port and had to anchor in Dublin Bay for a few days prior to berthing. It was a most unusual sight for us in Head Office at Strand Road, Sandymount, to gaze across the Bay and see this fine vessel lying at anchor. Happily, the strike was soon resolved and the ship duly completed discharge and sailed from Dublin on 25th August in ballast for Antwerp. Capt. W. D. Garvey was Master of the vessel for that visit, her Chief Engineer was M. J. Byrne and T. O'Connor was Chief Officer.

The Irish Larch continued to trade mainly from U.K. and European ports to British Columbia bringing steel on the westward passage and returning with forest products. In July, 1975, she loaded phosphates at Tampa for Vizagapatnam and sailed round the Cape of Good Hope calling at Durban for bunkers. She then began a three years' time charter for the Broken Hill Pty. Company of Australia and loaded iron ore at the Indian port for discharge at Wakayama, Japan. She took on bunkers at Singapore on the eastward passage and then loaded limestone at Susaki for discharge at Whyalla, Southern Australia. Following discharge at Whyalla, the vessel made a number of voyages between Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong before loading iron ore at Groote Eylandt in the Gulf of Carpentaria, Northern Australia for Portland, Oregon. She continued to trade to and from Australian ports to ports in the United States, Indonesia, Taiwan, Manila, Hong Kong and Singapore. During her extended sojourn in Australia and in Far Eastern waters, a relief crew was sent to the vessel at Hong Kong in February 1977, as well as having many changes in personnel at other points on her itinerary.

The Irish Larch drydocked at Singapore in early August, 1978, and subsequently loaded general cargo at Inchon and Pusan in Korea; at Kaohsiung, Taiwan and at Hong Kong for discharge at Rotterdam, Antwerp, Hamburg and Newport, Monmouthshire. She then made two round voyages between U.K. and European continental ports and ports in British Columbia and on the west coast of the United States before loading grain at Mobile, Alabama for discharge at Bushire in Iran where she completed discharge in mid-July, 1979. The vessel made two further calls at Dublin with forest products from British Columbia in June, 1981, and January, 1982. The vessel was sold to Prosolotachos Maratime Ltd. of Monrovia. She was delivered to her new owners on 5th November, 1983, and was renamed Constantia. Master of the Irish Larch on her final voyage from Hong Kong to Singapore in October, 1983, was Capt. P. Kehoe of Wexford.

The second Irish Rowan (Pictured below), the first of only two ships ever built for the company outside the U.K. and Ireland, was launched at the Hayashikane Shipyard, Shimonoseki, Japan, on 8th July, 1976, by Mrs. Reihill, wife of Frank Reihill, Director of Irish Shipping Limited. Mrs. Reihill had also sponsored the Irish Larch and was the only sponsor to act in that capacity for two of the company's ships.

The Irish Rowan had a deadweight of 27,532 tons and was registered at Dublin. She was delivered to the company on 15th October, 1976, and sailed on her maiden voyage to Wakayama to load steel pipes for discharge at Basrah in the Persian Gulf. She was under charter to the German firm of Marine Transport Overseas Inc. and was commanded by Capt. James Caird on her maiden voyage. Her Chief Engineer was Brian Larkin and Hugh McGowan was her Chief Officer. Having completed discharge of her cargo at Basrah, the vessel loaded sugar at Guimaras Island in the Phillipines for Burnside in the Gulf of Mexico, on behalf of Japanese charterers. She arrived at her discharge port on 19th January, 1977, and subsequently loaded grain at Brownsville, Texas for Hakata, Japan, where she arrived on 13th March.

In June, 1977, Commodore James A. Caird took over command of the Irish Rowan from Capt. Howard Fiddler at Nantes where the ship was discharging part of her cargo of forest products from British Columbian ports. Commodore Caird had been appointed Commodore of the Irish Shipping fleet on 24th May, 1977. At the end of November, 1977, the vessel visited the port of Bougainville, Solomon Islands in the South Pacific to load copper concentrates for discharge at Hamburg and Antwerp. The vessel paid her first and only visit to Dublin on 19th February, 1981, to discharge part of her cargo of grain and timber from British Columbia. On her next voyage, she loaded fertilizer for Marmagoa in India. She continued trading world-wide over the following three years and was still part of the company's fleet in November, 1984, when a provisional liquidator was appointed by the courts. The Irish Rowan was eventually sold by the liquidator in 1985 and was renamed Maravic which was subsequently changed to Pan Victoria and later to Agia Philothei and registered at Piraeus, Greece.

The second ship built for Irish Shipping Limited at the Hayashikane Shipyard at Shimonoseki was the fourth Irish Cedar which was launched on 15th October, 1976, and was sponsored by Mrs. McGovern, wife of J. Niall McGovern, the company's Secretary. The vessel had a deadweight of 27,532 tons and was registered at Dublin. She was delivered to the company on 15th January, 1977, and sailed for Inchon, the port for the South Korean capital, Seoul. Capt. Bob McMahon was Master of the ship on her maiden voyage, Liam Sherringham was Chief Engineer and Garvan Kyne was Chief Officer.

The Irish Cedar had an eventful start to her trading career. On her maiden voyage, she loaded rail cars at Inchon for discharge at Surabaya in Java and her second voyage was on the same route with another cargo of rail cars. She then sailed in ballast from Surabaya for Townsville on the east coast of Queensland, Australia. Soon after leaving Java, the Master, Capt. McMahon, received a radio message requesting him to go to the assistance of the Hong Kong Surety which had run aground off Flores Island, east of Java. Capt. McMahon responded to the call and remained standing by the stricken vessel until a relief vessel arrived five days later and then, on 8th March, resumed the voyage to Townsville
where she loaded iron ore for London and Antwerp.

The Irish Cedar (Pictured above) traded to Japan, Mexico, Honduras, Haiti, British Columbia, France and east to Shanghai, Singapore and the Chinese ports of Tsingtao and Hsinkang over the following two years. In October, 1980, the vessel was back in Shimonoseki for a short while undergoing repairs in drydock at the yard where she was built.

Over the next three years, the ship traded to ports in India, Malaysia, the Persian Gulf, South Africa, the United States, Canada and Europe. In March, 1983, she discharged general cargo from Port Elizabeth and Durban at Thessaloniki in Greece. The Irish Cedar called at the Chinese port of Dalien, to discharge phosphates from Tampa and at Quinhuandao to load coal for Nagasaki and Matsushima in Japan. She then made a second voyage from Quinhuangdao with coal for Japan and discharged at Ube on her second visit. Following discharge at Ube, she sailed in ballast for Vancouver to load sulphur for Tunisia where she completed discharge in mid-July.

The Irish Cedar was sold by the liquidator of Irish Shipping Limited in 1985 and the vessel was renamed Father. Up to the year 2000, the ship had five further changes of name to Andreas, Bardis, Lazaros, Mighty and Kuchula. The last name was under Maltese registry.