MV Celtic (1903)

MV Celtic is a former sailing barge which was built by Kievits & Van Reede in Papendrecht, Netherlands in 1903 for E & W Goldsmith Ltd. She is currently under restoration at Sittingbourne, Kent.

History
Celtic was used to trade around the coast of Kent and Essex, and the Thames Estuary. She was mostly involved in the brickmaking and papermaking trades. In 1941 she was requisitioned for war service and at this time was fitted with a diesel engine. She was used as a barrage balloon base at Portsmouth, later serving as the headquarters for Operation Frankton. She saw further service in Scotland after this. Postwar saw her in service in the cement trade, working between Asham Cement Works on the Rover Ouse and the Isle of Wight. In 1967 the cement works closed, and she then worked between the Isle of Wight and Shoreham by Sea or Greenhithe and was laid up at Newport in 1969. She finally ended her days working in the ballast trade in the Thames area.

Official number and code letters
Official Numbers were a forerunner to IMO Numbers.

Celtic had the UK Official Number 118314 and used the Code Letters JGMC until 1933. From 1934, her Code Letters were MKFZ