a greater role in the trading activities of the country as a whole. In 1785 the Irish Parliament passed an act to deal with the town's burgeoning port. As a result, a new body was constituted: The Corporation for Preserving and Improving the Port and Harbour of Belfast, commonly called 'the Ballast Board'. The Ballast Board took over the running of the port from the Belfast Corporation. The Ballast Office was established in premises on the site of the present Customs House. Although already well established by this stage, the Port remained disadvantaged by the natural restrictions of shallow water, bends in the channel approach and inadequate quays. Most vessels were forced to lighten their loads downstream at Garmoyle before they could dock at the quays and complete their discharge. This cost importers extra handling charges and the need for additional Customs supervision. These problems, together with an increasing volume of trade, led to a new government act of 1837 under the Westminster Parliament. This reconstituted the Board and gave it powers to improve the port, through the formation of a new channel. Initial work on straightening the river commenced in 1839 and by 1841 the first bend had been eliminated. Thus, beginning the creation of what was to become known as the Victoria Channel. The Victoria Channel was completed in 1849. The Clarendon Dock opened in 1851 and the Dufferin and Spencer Docks opened in 1897. In 1847 the Belfast Harbour Act repealed previous acts and led to the formation of the Belfast Harbour Commissioners. This new body, with much wider powers, completed the second stage of the new channel two years later. From that time the Commissioners have developed and improved the Port, reclaiming land to accommodate new quays, new trades and changes in shipping and cargo-handling technology. During World War II the Port of Belfast was used by the Royal Navy as the home base for many of the ships that escorted Atlantic and Russian convoys including s of the 3rd Escort Group. is a First World War light cruiser permanently berthed in Belfast Harbour. It served as the training ship for some 130 reservists as the headquarters for the Ulster Division Royal Naval Reserve until it was decommissioned in 2011. After extensive restoration work, HMS Caroline opened to the public in June 2016 as a museum as part of the National Museum of the Royal Navy.