Jascon 27
IMO : 8636180
Build : 1979 by Gotaverken Finnboda A/B – Göteborg in Sweden, nr 409 as Balder Scapa
Me and my colleagues sometimes joke that being at sea is the same as being in prison, except with less luxury & privileges…..Well: here is the ugly truth: This exuberantly painted accommodation barge used to be a prison and when the living conditions were judged too harsh she was sold to an offshore company for the housing of offshore-workers.
She has been used (among other things): as a troop and workmen accommodation in the Falkland Islands, as a Drug Rehab Centre and moored on the Hudson River and (as said before) as Britains first and last floating prison. Nowadays she is used as an offshore accommodation barge. I personally wouldn’t wanna set foot on it!
And offcourse she is as ugly as sin, I rather not have to work close to her as well!
WWW.UGLYSHIPS.COM 
Certainly not “Britains first & last floating prison”. The UK has been using floating prisons certainly since the wars with France in the 18th century.
Hey all, the J27 might be an ugly barge, but it has been totally renewed and has nothing left of a prison, how do I know that, cause I was part of the team, supervising and organizing the modification.
I could mention some of the goodies it has, but hey why don’t you have a look on the sea Trucks website.
But it does look ugly.
I am really fascinated by this ship, in fact I am trying to research its history and collect images. If you have any stories about it or images of it that you would be willing to share I would be really interested and grateful to hear from you. I am an artist and university researcher/lecturer, and I hope to produce some kind of publication or exhibition about this ship in the future.
I think it looks better after my paint job! (untill the rust returns). How are you doing Albert?
Hey Stephen,
You mean the time you was painting over the rust, while being filmed by national tv 🙂
hows it going mate, I am all ok, working the Jascon 25.
Mike , email me and will see what I still have from the 27
albert.vdrhoek@gmail.com
Hi Albert, Did you get my email message a while ago? Would be very grateful if you have anything on Jascon 27 – stories or images. Am thinking I will start making a film about this barge in the near future. Cheers! Mike
Also hi Stephen, I would be interested to hear about your paint job! – or anything about your connection with Jascon 27? Cheers, Mike
When my memory is right, whe, that is the Netherlands, had one or two of these aswell, in Amsterdam, but they where put to other work aftyer a short while.
hey mike if it helps it used to also be the bibby resolution, it also has a sister ship, but due to moving i am not sure where all the paperwork on this is 🙂 ATM
Thanks very much Emma, yeah I’m aware of this. I have discovered a lot of amazing stories about this vessel now in fact!! If you are local to Portland, I am hoping to tell the story of this ship in an art event at the end of Aug or start of Sept 2012, as part of b-side arts festival. Cheers, Mike
I ‘lived’ on it for 4 months back in 85
I had the pleasure of being an Engineer on it whilst it was in the Falklands, it was the best bit of accommodation around. Full size, undercover sports arena and 2 Swimming pools.
Vacuum sewage system which was a constant pain, but it also made lots and lots of lovely water, the local water in the Falklands was browner than the Beer and they both had the same effect!!
Spent a lot of time in the workshop making Bells, Ashtrays and Umbrella stands out of spent 105 Field Shells. Ahh they were the days 🙂
I was a prisoner on her when she was docked on Weymouth. Loved it and fortunate for me I was located to the outer cell left from hmp Winchester in 2001 after a police escort from arbroath scotland trailed back to Southampton via back of a dug box AKA riot van.. anyway the ride was not luxurious I’ll tell you. I got to perth city tayside scotland as the inner wheel arches got bent in somehow and I was rocking the van. Anyway bad mistake a smaller van was now my several hundred miles to my destination. Ass was numb. Lay on remand 9months later I was acquitted on a few charges other than the driving offences I was sentenced to 10 months in hmp winchester 23 hour lock up if u never had a job but i had a wee 2inck black & white analogue telly. 2 to a cell and craig david walking awai and 7 days was constant done my heed in most of the time,anyways I played my cards right and got on the bus to the Caribbean ( in comparison to hmp Winchester ) it was just that. Never liked football on a stick till I got there. Gym was great food was better the cells were ensuite lol. Loved it we used to get them plastic pi bowls and cover up the air extractor hole with it then blast the shower on full steam and voala you have a sauna. They’d leave the end hall doors open in the summer and lock the grill gates. Air was good. Exercise to the outside yard was good as you get the odd rock with other boats coming in so getting onto solid ground felt crazy but after awhile I got used to it. I was in for around 4 months was released back to Southampton which was of absolutely useless as I was apprehended in arbroath angus which was where I lived at the time. I was free and my journey home was just beginning. But man…. there were some fruit cakes in that place. I was on the bus out with them.
Did I just tell the world this?
I thought I was emailing a closed review.
I would love to see how she looks in 2020.
Thanks for sending your story. Interesting to hear from the other side of the bars. I was involved after the Home Office finished with her as a prison and sold it. I had a team on board who ripped out all the flammable timber that the Home Office fitted and turned her back into an accommodation barge, seaworthy to IMO Standards. (International Maritime Organisation safety standards for fire fighting, watertight sub-division etc)
Yep. You told the world!
The last that I saw of Jascon 27 was when she was towed out of Portland to act as an accommodation barge for oil drilling crews off the coast of West Africa. That must have been at least ten years ago, maybe 12.
Hi Geo Moses: Thanks for sharing, if you want I can delete your story.
Additionally: I did a quick google to try and find recent pictures of the Jascon 27 but I can’t seem to find any from later than 2010, on which she basically looks the same.
I believe she is in Onne at these co-ordinates
4.679107984738413, 7.161302443075787
Thanks for the update. That is certainly her