Aberdeen Maritime Museum

Aberdeen Maritime Museum is situated on Shiprow next to the harbour, a short walk downhill from the Tolbooth museum on Union Street.

For Images on Mobile swipe right

The museum gives information on Aberdeen shipbuilding from 1811, and the North Sea Oil and Gas Industry that began from 1970 in the Aberdeen area waters.

The harbour is now fenced off for security. You can however take a Boat Tour around the Harbour.

The Aberdeen Maritime Museum can be visited throughout the year free of charge. Postcode: AB11 5BY

Click On Map for area Attractions

The image top is of the front of the three buildings that make up the Museum with Provost Ross's house right, former Trinity Congregational Church left, and the new section of the Museum with a glass front in the middle. Large Image.

Provost Ross's House was built in 1593, second oldest building in Aberdeen after Provost Skene's House built in 1545. The Aberdeen Maritime Museum was opened here in 1984.

Aberdeen Maritime History

1136 - Fishing and Trading from Aberdeen Harbour is first recorded when King David I of Scotland granted the Bishops of Aberdeen the right to charge ships using the harbour.

1811 - recorded shipbuilding begins with almost 3,000 ships built in Aberdeen up to 1990.

1960s - fishing trawlers would be lined up all along the vast harbour by the 1 mile long Fish Market. Image.

Peterhead 31 miles north is now the main fishing port in Scotland, with only a few vessels still using Aberdeen.

1959 - Gas was discovered in the Netherlands waters.

1965 - Gas was discovered off the east coast of England.

1970 - BP discovered the massive Forties Oil Field in the North Sea, 110 miles east of Aberdeen.

The Oil was supposed to run out by the 1990s as only about 30% of the oil from a field could be extracted at that time. New techniques developed in the North Sea such as slant drilling and using pressure, allows up to 60% of the oil to be taken from each well.

1992 - the last shipbuilders, Hall, Russell & Co. Ltd. closed. This firm built many fishing vessels, whaling ships, and cargo steamers. Fishing out of Aberdeen was a huge business from the 1890s.

During the two World Wars, they built minesweepers, corvettes, frigates and more. The last large vessel built at Aberdeen was the St. Helena, a 6,700 ton cargo and passenger vessel. Aberdeen Shipbuilding.

1990s? - Aberdeen Harbour is fenced off for security.

1999 - Oil production in the North Sea peeked at 2.6 million barrels per day.

2002 - the 110,000 tonne platform named Maureen was the first large structure to be decommissioned.

2008 - 97% of Oil used in the UK came from the North Sea.

2017 - production begins on Aberdeen Bay Wind Farm with 11 massive Turbines, 2 miles off the coast at Aberdeen.

2018 July - Power is produced from the Wind Farm claimed to be enough to power around 79,000 homes.

The Wind Farm created more revenue from ships using Aberdeen Harbour.

2018 - Oil production is around 1.6 million barrels per day.

2018 - with new fields found and new ways to extract more Oil from each well, an estimated 10 billion barrels of Oil are left in the North Sea that can be extracted. 43 billion barrels have been extracted over the previous 40 years.