visit to the Island.

HMS Montrose , a British frigate berthed at Hamilton for the Remembrance Day celebrations, has just left the Island. (See photo, next page.) But yesterday the USS Simpson , an American frigate, berthed for a day's refuelling at Dockyard and on Saturday another three US warships are due to arrive.

The frigate USS Stark , is due at Dockyard for refuelling for a day and will be joined by the USS Holyburton, also a frigate, who will be staying until Sunday.

At the other end of the Island, the USS Vella Gulf , a cruiser, is due to dock at Murray's Anchorage where she will pick up crew members' families.

The families have been flown to Bermuda and will be picked up by the cruiser on Saturday, before she leaves on Sunday.

Then as soon as the US presence ends, the British arrive as two frigates, HMS Southampton and HMS Brave , stop over. They are "guard ships'' for the West Indies and HMS Brave is relieving the Southampton.

The Canadians also came in on the act when The Quest , a Canadian Forces research ship, arrived last Sunday in St. George's before leaving yesterday.

Last night the Bermuda Biological Station announced its Weatherbird II ship will be leaving on Saturday for major modifications.

She will set sail for the North Florida Shipyard, in Jacksonville, and is due to return early next January. While she is away her work will be carried out by the RV Cape Hatteras , which will arrive from Duke University, North Carolina.

Captain Scott King said: "Almost 90 percent of the work will be engineering related.

"We will be replacing the entire hydraulic system, adding a new eight ton hydraulic deck crane, an oily water separator and a marine sanitation device for waste water treatment.

"On these last two items especially we feel that the Weatherbird II will be seen as taking a leading role in protecting our environment.'' In other shipping movements, one cruise ship, the Maasdam , arrived in Hamilton recently for a one-day stay during a ten-day voyage from Lisbon, Portugal.

Container ships arrived as normal with the Somers Isle berthing on Monday morning carrying 67 containers from Florida. She also brought three boats and 52 bundles of lumber.

The Bermuda Islander arrived on schedule on Tuesday, carrying 98 containers and the Oleander also arrived on time on Monday carrying 124 containers plus 42 refrigerated containers.

Next week, the car ship, the MV Saracen Star , is due to berth with 119 cars and 63 cases of spare parts.

She is carrying Mazdas, Mitsubishis, Suzukis and Nissans as well as spares for Toyotas. The ship is en route from Bilbao, Spain, and is due to dock around November 22.

The cement ship, Islas Dos , which is carrying more than 5,000 tons of Portland Grey Cement from Venezuela, has also arrived on the Island, although she is due to leave today.

And in one other, unexpected arrival, the 191-ton Canadian crab fishing vessel, the Granchio , took refuge in St. George's after encountering heavy seas.