Beckett Rankine is project managing and supervising the overall restoration of Glenlee, the UK’s only remaining steel square-rigged cargo vessel.
The Tall Ship Glenlee is a historic, three-masted steel-hulled barque originally designed as a cargo vessel that was powered only by sail. Built in 1896 by Anderson Rodger & Company in Port Glasgow, Scotland, Glenlee‘s design marked the end of an era in shipbuilding as engine power took over.
The ship was built for long-distance trade, sailing around the world for 23 years under the name Glenlee and a further 20 years under the name Islamount, a name gifted by then-shipowner from Dundee, Robert Ferguson.
Glenlee was sold to Italian owners, who renamed it Clarastella and installed the first engines and a generator.
Then Glenlee was sold to the Royal Spanish Navy, spending nearly half a century as a sail training vessel under the name, Galatea. It underwent significant modernisation and modifications to its hull and superstructure, not least the accommodation and facilities for 300 naval cadets.
After falling into a poor state of repair, Glenlee was recognised for its historical significance by the Clyde Maritime Trust, who acquired Glenlee and brought the ship back to Glasgow in 1993.
Following a painstaking restoration sympathetic to its original look, Glenlee is now the only steel square-rigged cargo vessel remaining in the whole of the UK, and one of just five such Clyde-built vessels remaining in the world.
Owned by The Tall Ship Glenlee Trust, the historic vessel is now a popular floating attraction docked beside Glasgow’s Riverside Museum.
The Tall Ship Glenlee is a museum ship showcasing a part of Scotland’s maritime heritage at the Riverside Museum, Glasgow. The National Heritage Memorial Fund awarded £1.8 million towards essential repairs as part of Glenlee’s ongoing preservation efforts.
Beckett Rankine is project managing and supervising the overall restoration, focusing on interior work including surveys, specifications of works, contract management and delivery. Longer-term plans include preparations for a future drydocking, an important process in historic ship preservation.
The first phase of work, awarded to Marine Projects Scotland Ltd, was completed in 2025 and included:
The second phase of work was awarded to TS Rigging and commenced in January 2026.
It involves removing the main and mizzen masts and transporting them to their facility in Essex, where they will conduct detailed inspections and carry out a sympathetic refurbishment over the course of a few months. When the two masts return to the ship in Spring, the same process will be repeated for the foremast, as well as refurbishments to the bowsprit and figurehead.
Glenlee will also have an entirely new set of running rigging installed and its standard rigging serviced, using rare traditional skills that have been added to the Heritage Crafts endangered list.
Future conservation activities will encompass blasting, structural strengthening, deck repairs and caulking to ensure the vessel’s long-term stability and safety.
