Mersey memories
Mersey Shipping Since 2000, by Ian Collard
For those retired seafarers lucky enough to live at Nautilus Mariners’ Park, every day is a shipspotting day on the River Mersey. But for the rest of us, there’s Mersey Shipping Since 2000 – a picture book running the gamut of vessel types that have used ports such as Liverpool and Birkenhead in the 21st century.
Illustrated with colour photos throughout, the book features container ships, cruise ships, ferries, tugs, survey ships... indeed, any vessel that caught the eye of the photographer.
The vessel photos are captioned with their ship particulars, and there are also some longer narrative passages describing the changes to the area over the last 25 years.
Sadly, there’s no index listing the vessels covered in the book, so you’ll have to browse through the whole thing to find out if it features a ship you served on, but it’s a pleasant journey that will jog a few memories along the way.
This book is the Nautilus Book of the Month for July 2026, and will be sold at a discount in the Nautilus Bookshop throughout the month
Mersey Shipping Since 2000
By Ian Collard
Amberley, £15.99
ISBN: 978 13981 23311
Buy this book in the Nautilus Bookshop
While you're there, why not browse the rest of the titles in our unique maritime bookshop, which sells all the books reviewed on these pages.
Buy nowMore Books
Back in time to a lost era of craftsmanship
The Vanishing Age of Sail: The Illustrated Journals of Kelsick Wood, Shipbuilder by Simon Francis BrownThe Vanishing Age of Sail offers a richly textured glimpse into 19th-century maritime life through the illustrated journals of shipbuilder Kelsick Wood.
Women who went from unsung to unstoppable
Seafaring Women Through History by Jo StanleyMaritime historian Dr Jo Stanley is back with a celebration of trailblazing female mariners – blending rich historical insight with contemporary perspectives to reflect on what it means to be a woman working at sea.
Titanic connections: the other ships on the scene
The Titanic Fleet: the ships involved in the Titanic disaster By Richard M. JonesRichard Jones has explored another aspect of the sinking – the stories of 30 other vessels that were connected in some way to the famous liner.
A different perspective on Titanic's sinking
Titanic’s Lifeboats: Disaster and Survival During the Liner’s Sinking By James W. BancroftFor the true collector, Titanic’s Lifeboats presents the harrowing stories of each of the lifeboats launched on that fateful evening, drawn from the testimonies of the survivors.