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Captain Peter Roberts has a dual life. Not only is he a working skipper of a commercial ship , but also he’s a skipper of a beautiful historical steamer that is berthed in Southampton.

His ‘day’ job is as Master of the Whitchallenger, a ‘bunkering’ ship that supplies fuel to vessels all around the south coast. He must skilfullly manoevre alongside them and pump thousands of gallons of oil into their tanks.

Peter’s cargo is worth millions.

He and the crew of Whitchallenger live on board for a month at a time, and a family atmosphere prevails.

An evening meal, cooked nightly in rotation by one of the small crew, is a chance for everyone to catch up on the day’s events.

Peter likes to foster a relaxed but professional attitude on board his ship - as he jokes: "We’re all on first name terms..and my name is Captain."

Steamship dual life

When not on shift, Peter is a volunteer Master of the SS Shieldhall, a beautiful steamship built in the 1950’s. It served its working life as a sewage ship on Clydeside and on the south coast.

It now runs regular daytrips for the public on the Solent.

Peter is passionate about its preservation, alongside a host of other volunteers.

One of them describes it as ‘an allotment on the water’, where many skilled enthusiasts devote their time and energy to buffing up the brightwork and maintaining the engine room.