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Merseyside Maritime Museum presents MV Derbyshire exhibition

Merseyside Maritime Museum presents MV Derbyshire. Search for the Truth, an exhibition on view from 7 September 2012.


MV Derbyshire lifebuoy. ©National Museums Liverpool.

MV Derbyshire (previously named MV Liverpool Bridge) was a British oil/bulk/ore (OBO) carrier built in 1976 by Swan Hunter of Newcastle and owned by Liverpool’s Bibby Line. She was the last of six Bridge Class ships built between 1971 and 1976.

On 11 July 1980, she set sail from Canada bound for Japan carrying 157,446 tons of iron ore. A few days before she was
due to arrive she was lost in the South China Sea during typhoon Orchid. All 42 crewmen and two wives perished, including 17 from Liverpool.

On 15 September a search commenced but after several days the ship was declared lost. The families were devastated and immediately began questioning how such a vast ship could disappear without a trace. To this day she remains the biggest British registered merchant ship ever to have been lost at sea.

This display tells the story of the sinking of the MV Derbyshire, subsequent investigations into its disappearance and the tireless campaign of the Derbyshire Family Association to find out the truth. – www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk