‘Cam Cheetah’ and ‘Cam Leopard’ at Grimsby in 1991.

From the original negative. The photo was taken at the ‘Cam Jetty’ at No. 3 Fish Dock.

‘Cam Cheetah’ Built as ‘Ross Cheetah’ GY.614 in 1959 by Cochrane & Sons Ltd., Selby for Yorkshire Trawlers Ltd., Grimsby. She was subsequently operated by a number of owners. In 1985, Cam Shipping Co. Ltd. of Grimsby had her converted to an oil rig support ship (at Lowestoft).

In June 1992, it was declared by the oil industry that ex-trawlers were no longer suitable as oil rig support vessels and all such vessels were laid-up. In 1993, she was re-converted to a trawler for Pescasada S. C., La Coruña, Spain (Panama registration). (In June 1993, her Grimsby registration was closed.) In August 1998, she was sold to the Quasar Shipping Corporation, Panama and still retained the name ‘Cam Cheetah’.

In December 2000, ‘Cam Cheetah’ was registered in the island of São Tomé, Africa and her Panama registration was closed. She was named ‘Rio Congo’. In January 2001, she was sold to nearby Lomé, the capital of Togo, in West Africa.

In May 2010, her registration was closed and ‘Rio Congo’ was broken up in Santander, Spain in the same year.

‘Cam Leopard’ Built as ‘Ross Leopard’ GY.491 in 1957 by Cochrane & Sons Ltd., Selby for Derwent Trawlers Ltd., Grimsby. She had a number of owners and Cam Shipping Co. Ltd. of Grimsby converted her to an oil rig support ship in 1985. In 1992, she was converted to night club, berthed at the Albert Embankment, London. (She was operated at Ross Leopard Ltd. by owners Andrew Standring, Jeremy Clinton and Toby Flitton.) In September 2002, she was towed to a temporary mooring by Battersea Railway Bridge. By 2003, she was a floating nightclub in Ostend. She was moored here for several years. In 2008, she was laid-up at Ostend. Broken up at Ghent, Belgium in 2010.

Two of the twelve famous ‘Cat Boats’!