SOy .RSOF UNITED

TOWINGThis interesting article traces the history of

the United Towing Company of Hullwhose ubiquitous tugs will be familiar to many

of our sea-going readers.The company is linked to BSL through our joint venture

United Towing (Star Offshore Services) Ltd.

~Dwarfed by her tow, the tug 'Scotsman' in SOS livery, shows her mettle during a recent jacketmove in the North Sea

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The City of Hull (or more properi:_Kingston-Upon-Hull) has been one -Britain's leading ports for centuries, ~the birthplace of some of its finest seamec,Standing on the northern elbow of ~~broad Humber estuary in what was, unz;recently, the East Riding of Yorkshire,Hull can trace its heritage of seaman "':;:back to the days of Drake and Raleigh,While this pair of gentlemanly rogues

were seeking fame and fortune on -:..~Spanish Main, men from Hull sailed 0flimsy wooden craft to search for the grea;schools of whales which inhabited U:=Arctic wastes around Greenland. Wbalin:::.,however, was only one of the tradeswhich the city's prosperity was found, -Timber from Scandinavia, wool fro=:Australia, wheat from Canada: all theseand more helped to swell the seabornetraffic which rounded Spurn Point andheaded up river towards the growingcomplex of docks clustering around if!

Old Town.As trade increased dramatically during

the industrial revolution of the 18th am:19th centuries, Hull expanded andprospered. And with the ever increasingnumber of ships seeking a berth in *-~Humber ports came a proportional inin the number of grimy little tugs, eagerassist them.By the early part of this century ~

number of locally-owned tug fleets ~grown to such a degree that it was :~necessary for a Master to take his tug T'::.-

into the North Sea in the hope of ~out an incoming vessel and beatingrivals to it. When no ship was to be fo s:

tug men had little choice but toaround in the vicinity in the hopepicking up a damaged or becalmedClearly, such a situation was to no

advantage-except perhaps the Masters -incoming ships. The tugmen realised ~too much competition was in no :.;-interest, and in 1914 an attempt was -'=to rationalise the business by forming ==Hull Associated Tugowners. This 0 ~sation sought to bring some sense _.~operations by arranging towage conrr ~and the like on behalf of its meFive companies were involved in ==loosely-knit association, operating betweenthem a total of 42 tugs. Records show ~the organisation was relatively sue -

as both tug companies and shipowners wereable to make some definite financial savings.At any rate, it continued to operate well forseveral years, right up to the early 1920s,when a deteriorating situation made a totalre-appraisal necessary.

The birth of United TowingFor a start, most of the tugs in operationat that time were second-hand; Owners hadnever dared to invest heavily in new vesselsand now they were paying the price. Thegreat depression of the twenties was alsobeginning to show its grim face and some-thing had to be done quickly to improve onthe loose union of 1914. So in 1921, severalHumber-based companies, able to muster39 tugs between them, cemented theirfutures solidly together by joining forcesto form the United Towing Company.

The first priority of the new companywas to get its fleet into better shape. Theoldest tugs were sold and replaced by good,second-hand vessels, and at the same time,an ambitious new building programme wasstarted. Today there is a tendency to regarda vessel as being a bit 'long in the tooth'after 10 or 15 years, so it may come assomething of a surprise to recall that LadyBute and the paddle tug Powerful, sold byUnited Towing in 1924 and 1925 res-pectively, were both built in 1857. Butancient was giving way to modern, and bythe mid-twenties seven new vessels hadarrived from the builder's yard. Six ofthem were steam tugs, but the seventh,Motorman, became the first diesel-poweredvessel to fly the United Towing flag.

It was to be another 42 years beforeUnited Towing could boast an all-dieselfleet, years during which the company'sactivities spilled out from the Humberports to cover the globe, making vesselswith the man suffix famous in harboursfrom New York to Singapore.

As the power and size of its tugsincreased, the company became moreambitious, gradually extending its zone ofoperation to include the North Sea and theMediterranean. It was Seaman that made

company history in 1925 when the vesselundertook to tow two small steamers fromBoston in Lincolnshire across the southAtlantic to Buenos Aires, the first time thata vessel from the United Towing fleet hadundertaken such a long-range ocean tow.For her 124 days round-trip, Seamanearned the princely sum of £3,400 for herowners-less than £30 a day.

Marathon TrekThis hardly compares with the marathontrek claimed as a record for the towing andsalvage business by one of the Company'spresent Marine Superintendents, CaptainBill Hopper and the crew of Tradesman.Leaving Hull early in 1956, CaptainHopper's first tow took him to PortMoresby in New Guinea. He worked inthe China Seas for six months, and becausethe Suez crisis hampered his return, hecontinued to work all over the Far East.He came back to Hull 18 months later aftercovering a distance of 56,000 miles, morethan half of these with a tow following.

But it was the precocious little Seamanthat set the pattern, and throughout theinterwar years Masters and men from theUnited Towing fleet undertook long anddifficult journeys as a matter of routine.

The confidence and experience gainedworking in waters far away from homewas to stand them in good stead in 1939when war broke out.

As in many other spheres, Britain wasnot completely prepared. At the outbreakof war there were only five ocean-goingtugs in the whole of the country and UnitedTowing owned three of them. They,together with several smaller tugs from thecompany's fleet, were immediately requisi-tioned by the Government. Managed andcrewed by United Towing, these tugsplayed a brave and defiant part in Britain'sfight for survival. Two of them, Englishmanand Guardsman, were sunk by enemyaction-but Seaman settled that score inpart by shooting down the first four-engined German plane to meet its end inthe cold Atlantic ocean.

Throughout the war, United Towingtugs continued their operations, frequentlyrescuing stricken vessels and bringing themsafely in for repair. During these difficulttimes, United Towing management wasvery closely involved with the Admiraltyin co-ordinating the total operationalpattern of the British salvage fleet. WhenD-Day approached, the 'Men from United'were there again, helping to tow the huge

Mad dogs and Englishman ... Well, one 'Englishman'-silhouetted here against Table Mountainwhich forms a famous backcloth to the city of Cape Town

A much colder clime for the 16,000 hp Lloydsman as she goes about her fishery protection duties during the recent 'Cod War'

5

50YEARSOF UNITEDTOWING

Mulberry Harbours which were to formPort Winston at Arromanches.

By the time peace came, United Towingtug-men were the proud possessors of aGeorge Medal and many other decorationsand commendations for bravery andmeritorious service. It was a time forpicking up the pieces and the Companyset to work with a will. Several tugs builtduring the war by the Admiralty-allprefixed Empire-were bought by UnitedTowing and immediately rechristened inthe Man tradition. Their first task was toclear the Normandy beaches of the 'block-ships' and the other grim impediments ofwar, before settling down to the newchallenges of the postwar years.

Change of ownershipThe postwar period has been one oftremendous activity, years during whichthe company has grown and pospered,undertaking a massive modernisation exer-cise involving every vessel in the fleet. In1960, when control of the companychanged hands, the average age of a UnitedTowing tug was 26 years. By 1967, thenumber of diesel-powered vessels in thefleet had grown from three to 29 and thelast of the steam tugs had been sold.

Parallel with all this building activity

the name of United Towing has beenlinked with many a famous and successfulsalvage operation-like the stricken tankersMarathon, Carlantic, and Gallant Coloco-tronis. And as the size of tows has increased,so has the scope and power of the UnitedTowing fleet. In 1914, Hullman at 1800 hpwas the most powerful tug in Britain-almost insignificant when compared withUnited Towing's present flagship, Lloyds-man, a 2,000-ton ocean rover with aformidable 16,000 hp at her command.

With quarter-million ton tankers now acommonplace sight, these high-horsepowertugs have become an absolute necessity.But there are other areas where their greatstrength has been put to good use. It waslittle more than a decade ago that Britainfirst began to take an excited interest inoffshore oil and natural gas finds in theNorth Sea. The United Towing manage-ment was not slow to spot the potential, forthe huge structures which were such anecessary part of offshore exploration hadno power of their own. They had to bemoved from the builder's yard to theirlocations, or from one exploration area tothe next. Who better to handle the jobthan the powerful Men from UnitedTowing?

Well, they could and they did. Mr Cap,the first rig ever to enter the British sectorof the North Sea, was towed into historyby tugs from the United Towing fleet.Today, United Towing is still very muchinvolved in the business of offshore oil andis proud of the part it has played inpioneering many of the handlingtechniques.

In recent years the Company has been

strengthened by the addition of four netugs, specially designed for anchor handlingwork. Even now they are busy in the NorthSea flying the fiag of our joint ventureoperation, United Towing (Star OffshoreServices) Ltd. The Star Offshore ServicesSupply fleet, at present manned anoperated by United Towing, and a purpose-built mooring vessel, have added to thecompany's involvement, and a deter-mination to stay ahead of changing patteof demand has resulted in the recen;placing of a £3t million order for twopowerful new tugs, scheduled for com-pletion in 1978.

Family traditionsBut despite the organisation's rapid groand an ever-increasing level of sophisti-cation and development, United Towingstill regards itself as being very much 2

family company based on Hull. Friendli-ness and informality is the general rule an .sons still take pride in following theirfathers into service aboard the Men. Thepresent Chairman, Mr Tony Wilbraham!readily admits to setting great store b_these old family ties, strengthened b_generations of employees who have takena real and personal pleasure in theCompany's success. They will tell you thzrtheirs is a family which is second to nonewhen it comes to tug handling: whethkeeping an aggressive gunboat away fro=a British trawler in storm-force conditionsoff Iceland, towing a 300-ft high OLproduction platform, or gently easing anuclear submarine into her berth a femiles from Company headquarters over-looking the Humber.

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Schoolchildren Visit 'ACT 5'Last November, a group of pupils and staff from Oaklands School in Hounslow paid a visit to'ACT 5', then in dock at Tilbury. Miss V Gillon, the class teacher, has provided us with thefollowing account of ~n unusual outing which proved to be both educational and enjoyable.

The recent visit to the Tilbury docks bythe group from Oaklands Special Schoolwas extremely informative and interesting,not only for the pupils but also for thestaff. The party were guests of SecondOfficer S J Nichols, who had just returnedfrom a worldwide voyage in the containership ACT 5. With the assistance of hiswife and other crew members we weregiven the rare opportunity to see virtuallythe entire ship.

After being welcomed aboard, the party"as taken to the promenade deck andshown the smoke room and dining room.The pupils were fascinated to see whereMr Nichols ate his meals and were evenmore interested to see the galley where allthe cooking took place. Mr Nicholsexplained how rough the seas were at times,illustrating this point by showing thepupils bars which could be slotted alongthe top of the cookers, if necessary, to keepthe pots and pans in place. The group had

never been 'behind the scenes' on a shipbefore, and were amazed at the differencesbetween this and their homes.,<The party were then shown Mr & MrsNichols' cabin, and the adjoining bathroom,and nearby laundry. Everybody was struckby the way in which all the furniture wasattached to the walls-another big dif-ference between life on land and life atsea.

No brakesThe group then moved on to the bridge,one of the most fascinating parts of theship. Mr Nichols gave a clear explanationof what all the machinery was and how itwas used. The pupils gained a basic under-standing of automatic steering, radar,telegraphs, and VHF radio which wouldhave been impossible without the excellentfirst-hand experience given to them by thevisit. One of the things which appeared toamaze some of the team was that the ship

had no brakes! From the bridge they had. afirst class view of the giant cranes liftingsome of the 1200 containers out of the shipand were extremely curious to know whatwas in them and in which country thecargo had been loaded. Mr Nichols tookthe opportunity to explain the system oftidal locks operating in the docks.

The party moved to the deck,where theysaw the lifeboats and ship's compass andwere able to look inside the enormousfunnels or pipes, each expelling a differentwaste product. It was explained that theship's electricity was generated by steamand the pupils were shown the batterylocker which was used in emergencies.After viewing the swimming pool andgames deck, the party were taken intothe dining room and given a lovely surprisetea of cakes, biscuits, ice cream andlemonade which they enjoyed thoroughly.The children were very excited to eat theirtea in the same place as Mr Nichols ate hiswhilst circumnavigating the globe. Finally,small groups took it in turn to visit theengine room.

The group ended their visit a great dealmore knowledgeable about ship'smachinery, docks, and general geographythan any other group of similar childrencould hope to be. They are extremelygrateful to Mr and Mrs Nichols and theofficers and crew of ACT 5 and lookforward to following his next voyage withmore enthusiasm than ever.

Lamporl I Holt Line Memoriesby [im Cavanagh

Reading [im Hopner's interesting re-miniscences in the autumn 1976 issue ofGangway has renewed my even earlierrecollections of the early days of Lamport& Holt. In 1909, at the age of 18, I left asolicitor's office for employment atLamport's as a shorthand typist with aknowledge of Spanish. (Incidently, i wasnever called upon to use that knowledge!)The office then occupied the ground floorof Drury Buildings, 23 Water Street.

The Company was a very prosperousone, privately owned by four partners:WaIter Holland, George Melly, ArthurCook, and Sydney Jones. There was afamily atmosphere in the office with strongUnitarian overtones. I was placed in thecorrespondence and cabling department.As airmail was then unknown (all mailgoing by sea) cabling was the only rapidmeans of communication with overseasagencies. The cost of such cablegrams wasconsiderably reduced by the use of privatecodes, specially compiled for use betweenLiverpool and each of the principal over-seas agencies.

High desksSuch was the volume of trade in those pre-

First War days that there were separatefreight departures-River Plate managedby R H Jones and Brazil by W King. Allsat at high desks facing the counter inthe main office, and I remember seeingKing, still sitting on his stool, waving awayshippers at the counter clamouring forspace.

At this time the Company was operatingthe following services: Glasgow andLiverpool to River Plate and return;Middlesbrough, Antwerp, and London toBrazil and River Plate and return; Glasgowand Liverpool to Brazil, returning via NewOrleans to London and Antwerp; betweenUK and West Coast of South America;between New York, Brazil, and River Platevia West Indies; between New York andNorth Brazil; and one vessel tradingbetween New York and Manchester.

I remember that Archimedes on hermaiden triangular voyage, UK/Brazil/NewOrleans/Antwerp in 1913 earned sufficientfreight to defray her building costs!

In 1911, Sir Owen Phillips (later tobecome Lord Kylsant) decided to addLamport & Holt to his growing shippingempire and accordingly bought out thepartners. WaIter Holland retired and

Sydney Jones went into partnership withAlfred Holt and Co (he later became SirSydney [ones, Lord Mayor of Liverpool).George Melly and Arthur Cook becameJoint Managing Directors of the newLamport & Holt Ltd, with Sir OwenPhillips as Chairman.

First ladyIn 1912, the Royal Liver Building havingbeen completed, the Company moved intopalatial offices occupying the whole ofthe western half of the first floor. Theinstallation of an internal telephoneexchange by the National Telephone Co(before the GPO took over) brought thefirst lady in to the staff as telephoneoperator.

A number of the staff, including myself,were Territorials and on the outbreak ofwar in August 1914 we were immediatelymobilised. The patriotic George Mellyguaranteed us all full salaries until wereturned. At that time everyone thoughtthe war would be over by Christmas-nevertheless, the promise was kept.

I'll end this fragment with a true story.There was a loud-voiced character in theoffice named Crosthwaite. One day MrMelly heard a lot of shouting in the outeroffice and asked his secretary what allthe noise was about. The secretary repliedthat Crosthwaite was speaking to Glasgow.'Then why the hell', said Mr Melly,'doesn't he use the telephone?'

(note: Jim Cavanagh, who retired in1956, later served as Secretary of Lamport& Holt Line).

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LAMPORT& HOLT LINENewsAppointmentP L Gillespie was appointed Manager ofthe Agency Department on 1 November1976. Laurie Gillespie first joined theDepartment in December 1974 after pre-viously serving with Liner ShippingAgency, Liverpool, and with Metric Line.

Retirement of Muriel FieldOur best wishes to Murie1 Field, SouthAmerican Freight Department shorthand-typist, who retired on 31 December.Muriel, who had previously worked withJ Russell and Co (Liverpool) Ltd, joinedBooth Steamship Co in 1972 and movedover to the joint BoothfLamport FreightGroup at the Royal Liver Building inAugust 1974.

DepartureWe also extend good wishes to ChristineFalrclough, Manifest Typist, who left uson 31 December to await the birth of herfirst child.

Muriel pictured with friends from Freightand Telex Department, at her desk inAlbion House, Liverpool

Death of George BerryIt is with deep regret that we announcethe death, on 21 October 1976, of MrGeorge Berry.George Berry was the longest-serving

Chief Engineer in the Lamport & HoltLine Fleet, having joined the Company asEngineer's Apprentice in the Fulton StreetEngine Works about 1912. After warservice in the Royal Engineers, he returnedto the Engine Works in 1919 and later that

year joined the Seagoing Staff of Lamporr' _.He made his first voyage to sea aboarPortia as 7th Engineer.Mr Berry served in several vessels in the

fleet and in 1932 was appointed 2n·Engineer of the famous cruise linerVoltaire, later becoming Chief Engineer.He then served as Chief Engineer onBalzac ; she was sunk by enemy action in1941 and Mr Berry spent the rest of thewar as a POW. In the postwar years hesailed in Byron and Lalander, finishing hislong career with service in the Booth LineDenis and Dunstan.Two members of the present BSSM staff

enjoyed the pleasure of .sailing with M.:-Berry as young 2nd Engineers-and heno doubt gave them some sound advice,They are the Chief Superintendent andDeputy Chief Superintendent Engineers,Jack Low and George Mann. GeorgeBerry is remembered by them both, andindeed by all with warm affection.

Bill Murray

PostbagHappy voyagesI am a Blue Star fan, and have madeseveral trips about the world aboard BSLships. In 1966 I travelled to England viaSouth Africa on the old New Zealand Star(the Captain was G Ferriday) and returnedon the old South Africa Star, via Suez andAustralia (Captain, Gyles Aldridge). Sheonly went as far as Brisbane, but Imanagedto find a berth back to New Zealand onCalifornia Star. The Captain was the late

·F C T Wood. Last year I journeyed toCalifornia on Hobart Star (Captain, GFerriday once again) and returned homeby the same ship, this time with CaptainDan Eckworth. 'I think that I carried out some useful

work for BSL during my voyages for,being a commercial artist, I did a lot ofsignwriting on the lifeboats and lifebuoys.The bosuns usually cleaned-up and re-painted before I did the lettering. Thiswork helped to fill the long hours at sea.On the insistence of Bob Parsons, the

then Passenger Manager, I also travelledPort Line, just to see what it would be

8

like. I sailed from Napier, NZ, on the Par.Sydney, and returned by the Port Caroline.While the Port Line ships may have had "-bit more room in the passenger accom-modation, I found the Blue Star ships 'er:superior in meals and in the bars.Bob Parsons used to let me have copies

of your excellent publication, Gangioay ;it is a very interesting and well-preparedmagazine. The Fleet List tells me whereall my mates are, so I can invite them upmy club for a drink and a chat about 0 .

times.I am enclosing a postcard which Barry

Byrne posted to me from South Ameribefore he went off to Dar-es-Salaam. ~wonder if anyone can recognise this B Lship. I think that she is the old ArandoraStar which was torpedoed in 1940.Thanks to all concerned-officers an':'

crews-who made my trips such happy ==-enjoyable experiences, and best wishall the staff in London and Liverpool.

- RJ HaggerrWelli.ngu

New Zealand

The Port of Liverpool at warI piloted many Blue Star ships befo .during, and after the war, including tnetwo-funnelled passenger vessels. I wa las;pilot aboard Arandora Star when she leE::Liverpool for the final time before faJJir~victim to an enemy torpedo.After the war I was appointed

Lamport & Holt Line and following ;f:zmerger with BSL and Booths I worked :all three companies until 1957 when Iappointed Pilots' Shoremaster.Since my retirement in 1965, I ha+e

occupied much of my time writing _

autobiography for Liverpool University sothat they may have the details oflife in thepilot service from 1923 to 1965. I havecompleted a 52,000 word manuscriptentitled 'The Port of Liverpool at War'giving chronological data of all shipsattacked, burned, sunk, destroyed, or re-floated with the assistance of the DockBoard's marine salvage staff.

As the MS stands, it is purely a historicalwork and I feel that it needs to be broughtto life with accounts from men and womenwho can say 'I was there, this is my story'.So may I use the Postbag Column to inviteanybody who has a wartime incident torelate to write to me? All contributions willbe very gratefully received.

Norman Morrison(Liverpool Pilot 1923-65)

TrollstigenLong Hey Road

Caldy-WirralMerseyside

L481LZ

'Goodbye and thank you'lorge Abossio, of Buenos Aires Office,

recently completed an 18 month secondmentto London and Liverpool.)

Just a few lines to say goodbye to allthose I didn't have a chance of seeingpersonally before leaving England and alsoto express my thanks for all the help andhospitality I received from everybody inLondon and during my short stay inLiverpool.

The trip home was really pleasant as wesat back and remembered the extraordinaryeighteen months we had spent in England.'Eighteen months to remember', my wifecalls it, for many reasons which would betoo long to enumerate. England, with itsstreets, gardens, countryside, pubs, andabove all its people and the many goodfriends we made there, will long live in ourmemories. This probably explains ourmixed feelings shortly before leaving:happy to go back home, and sad to leave acountry where so many wonderful thingshad happened to us.

From the point of view of working it wasalso a great experience, as it gave me areally good chance to see how things workat the other end. This was especially usefulat a time when so many changes weretaking place in the South Americanservices.

Our first port of call on the voyage homewas Rio. After eleven calm and peaceful

days at sea, this contact was rathershocking; the temperature was about 95°Fwhich was really unbearable in the directsun. I spent most of the morning watchingthe loading and discharging operations andat midday we enjoyed an excellent lunchashore which gave us enough strength forthe quick run to Copacabana and Ipanemain the afternoon. It was nice to meetAndrew Carr again, sporting an enviablesuntan and speaking excellent Spanish.

The next morning we arrived in Santoswhere we spent part of the time walkingaround and ended the day enjoying alovely barbecue at the English Club, as aprelude to the Argentine steaks. We arevery much obliged to D G McKenzie andM Barker of CEM's Rio de Janeiro andSantos offices for all their courtesies.

As we entered Buenos Aires, our heartsbeating with all the tension and excitementof returning home after a long absence, itwas wonderful to see relatives and friendswaving on the quay. Now after a few dayseverything is back to normal=-or almost!

jorge AbossioBuenos Aires

Argentina

Iue Star Shipsase Potato Shortage

Summer of '76 will long be rememberedfor the hot sun which shone relentlesslyand unceasingly from June to September;for unprecedented restrictions on the useof water; for the sweltering .heat oncommuter trains; for the run on colddrinks from the office coffee machine; and,believe it or not, for jacketless stockbrokersin the City of London!

But the hot dry summer with its resultantdrought caused a serious fall in agriculturalproduction, particularly of potatoes. Theshortage meant that Western Europeneeded to import large quantities-and itso happened that the potato famine herecoincided with record production in thenorth eastern states of the USA. It alsocoincided with the traditional off-seasonfor reefer ships, which operators like our-selves look towards with a certain amountof apprehension, worried by the possibilityof having to lay-up vessels until the nextpeak season.

50,000 tonsBlue Star Line were quick to seize theopportunity this situation offered and overa period of 3 months ten ships were fixedto load a total of about 50,000 tons ofpotatoes, onions, and frozen chips from avariety of ports in the Eastern USA andCanada. We even sent ships like AfricStar and New York Star up to Duluth,the eastern-most port in the Great Lakesarea.

These were the largest reefer vessels ever

to call at Duluth and they created a gooddeal of interest with the local press and TVinterviewing the crews and reporting onthis new development in exports from theport.

Freezing weatherAs with many of our reefer trampingactivities, the potato business created quitea few problems, mainly in the later stageswhen the weather began to get cold andloading had to be restricted to times whenthe temperature was above freezing point.We also had to make one or two minorstructural modifications to the ships tomeet the requirements of the SeawayAuthorities.

Ulster Star's bridge was cropped atMontreal before entering the Lakes, andthe offending protrusion was rewelded onthe way out. Her second voyage was madeeven more difficult by the extremely lowtemperatures (down to minus 24°C) whileshe was loading at Prince Edward Island inDecember. Because of the inhospitableweather the loading took 31 days and bythe time Ulster Star was ready to sail thewhole port area was covered with ice upto six inches thick. It took three and a halfdays for the ship, with the assistance ofone of the most powerful icebreakers inCanada, to reach the open sea.

Our gross earnings on these cargoesamounted to just over three million dollarswhich after deducting all our costs left uswith a small profit and just as importantly

kept ships moving at a time of the yearwhen the alternative might have been tolay them up in the river Fal.

RC Glover

1976 StaH Dinner and DanceMecca's splendid Baronial Hall, in theCity of London, was the venue for the1976 staff dinner and dance. This istraditionally the occasion for a friendlyget-together of colleagues from Blue StarLine, Liner Shipping Agencies, and otherassociated City companies.

The excellent meal (which surpassedmost people's expectations) was washeddown with liberal quantities of wine,helping to put the 300 guests into a realparty spirit so that they thronged thedance-floor until the chimes of midnight.

Comments from the guests were veryfavourable, indicating that this had beenthe best annual dinner-dance so far. Therehave even been enquiries from membersof staff wanting to reserve places at the1977 function! lENews AfloatBlue Star LineCongratulations to Captain and MrsGordon Easton on the birth of their son,Angus David, on 19 January 1977.

9

by William Bones

When I mention (as I occasionally do) thatfor two years, two months, and two days,I sailed in a vessel called 'Saxon Star',even men who are now quite senior gazeat me in astonishment-provided, ofcourse, they have not heard it all before.

'The WHAT Star?' they ask, as thoughI had said I had sailed in Captain Cook'sEndeavour.

They are not aware, these young fellows,that at one time it was customary to nameBlue Star Line ships after Trojans andRomans, Vikings and Normans-andSaxons. It was later that ships came to bechristened after the place they would tradeto: Australia and New Zealand, Melbourne

'Saxon Star' at Durban in 1953

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and Auckland etc. With the latest shipsthe style has changed once more. I supposethe last ship to be named after a tribe (ifthat is the word) is Canadian Star.

But Saxon?The name does indeed have a fine, sea-

faring ring about it (unlike the names ofsome box boats I could mention). Whenone hears Saxon Star for the first time,the mind conjures up visions of tall masts,elaborate clipper bows with figure heads,tailboards, gilded scrolls. Yet the last shipof that name was not so ancient, really.

She was built in Belfast in 1942 as theEmpire Strength, along the lines, I havebeen told, of a prewar Bank Boat. But,

unlike the Bank Boats, she was fully-refrigerated in the modern manner. Unlikemost refrigerated ships before her, andmany built later, she did not have her cargospaces lined with brine pipes, but had thebrine pipes in the nest in separate compart-ments, with electric fans to drive the coolair through her cargo.

She had five hatches, only one tweendeck, two derricks to each hatch, and waswhat many engineers referred to as asteamship with a main propulsion diesel,for although her main engine was aHarland Band W, all her auxiliaries;steering gear, and cargo winches weredriven by steam.

At Circular Quay, Sydney, in 1954. The famous Opera House now occupies this site

_~eat little crafte was a very neat, trim-looking little

craft, of 7355 gross tons, flush decked witha raked plate stem, rounded bridge front,and full cruiser stern. Far from having tallmasts and yards, her two masts were verystumpy, and did not even carry topmasts.Over her bridge she had the wartime signal:nast known as a Christmas tree, fromwhich her flags flew bravely, if sootily, asthey were very close to the top of her squatlittle funnel. Her decks were all of steel,, ut the bridge deck and the deck below-the Captain's Deck-were covered withlack bitumastic.She hurtled around the oceans at twelve

knots on a good day, ten or eleven moreoften, eight or nine quite frequently, andalmost nothing in a strong head wind andswell, But she carried her cargoes well,and provided employment for what wouldnow seem an enormous crew, usuallyabout forty-eight men all told. Her naviga-ional gear was simple, consisting of twomagnetic compasses, an echo sounderwhich rarely worked, and a DF set ofconsiderable antiquity and doubtful relia-bility. No gyro. compass, radar, or any ofyour fancy modern gadgets.Her accommodation, however, was not

at all bad for her time, and she evenboasted an Officers' smoke room. Airconditioning was provided by round port-holes in every cabin, and at least oneelectric fan per room. The cadets' cabin,which bore over its door the rather quaintsign, 'Apprentices', was situated abovesomewhere rather hot, and as its one port-hole faced aft the cadets usually slept outon deck when in the tropics. This, ofcourse, was very healthy-until the rainscame in the middle of one's slumbers.

Pride and joyThough tiny by modern standards thiscabin was our pride and joy. When Ijoined the ship for the first time, inalford Dock, Manchester, I was the

junior cadet, and my mate went to some

pains to lay down for me the very highstandard of cleanliness that he expected meto keep it in. Though he was senior to me,he was a bit younger, and not much bigger.So after a certain amount of discussion onthe matter, the work of maintaining theseunquestionably excellent standards wasshared by us both. I remember him makinga truly magnificent job of our smallmahogany desk, which he stripped right offto the bare wood and then french-polisheduntil it looked better than new. We boughtthe french polish for it ourselves too.Our bunks were one above the other,

with blue curtains and bunklights whichwe discovered were made of copper. These,together with other bits of brass in theroom, we polished to a brilliant gleam,often in our spare time, especially beforeentertaining guests in port. The cabin floorwas composition, painted red, and Iremember a certain Chief Steward becom-ing incensed when my mate 'found' us acarpet square-but after various alter-cations we were allowed to keep it.There were no bars on that ship, no

films, no television; yet life at sea seemedto be lived at a much more communallevel than it is today. Ships spent longerat sea and longer in port then, and peopleonboard provided their own entertainment.They spent a lot of time in each other'scabins, yarning, and hobbies were indulgedin to a great degree. Socks had to be darnedin those days, and mending, together withthe ironing of whites, took a lot of one'sspare time.In those palmy days cadets were able to

supplement their princely salaries (twelvepounds a month in the second year) byearning overtime at the rate of one andsixpence an hour. Many were the happy,often hilarious, evenings spent cleaningand painting holds, repairing damagedinsulation, cleaning bilges, battening-outfor future freezer cargoes, and paintingcabins and alleyways, for formica bulk-heads were practically unheard of. Wads ofcotton waste, or a four-inch brush benton to the end of a bamboo manhelp, were

Headline going ashore from 'Saxon Star' at Tenerife in 1953

~------------------------------~--- --

much used, as paint rollers were not then in .vogue. They may have been used ashore,but not at sea. These toilsome tasks werenot considered drudgery, and we neverregarded ourselves as cheap labour. Theywere a useful form of income, usuallyundertaken in a light-hearted spirit, andsome of the yarns we heard from thesailors whilst working with them madeour hair stand on end. In addition, it waspart of our education.

Friends for lifeI mentioned the entertainment of guests.This was quite a feature of life in port, andI still think our greatest effort in thatdirection was when we entertained thewhole of the Port Curtis Sailing Club ofGladstone, Queensland, te an evening.aboard in the cadets' cabin. Cadets in thosedays were not officially allowed liquor, butthis ruling could usually be got aroundprovided discretion was used, and on thisoccasion our guests were more thangenerous. I made friends then who are stillmy friends today. The Port Curtis SailingClub had made us so welcome, and treatedus with so much kindness and hospitality,that we felt we must make an effort toreciprocate, and our party was the result.Happy days!

Saxon Star, as already mentioned, beganlife in Belfast as the Empire Strength,armed with a four-inch gun down aft andnumerous anti-aircraft guns besides. Tenyears later the guns had long gone, but themagazines for the ammunition were stillthere, as were the gunners' quarters, withnotices on the doors saying that the doormust not be shut when the vessel was in adanger zone (in case it jammed shut withthe occupants inside). All the cabin doorshad crash panels in the lower half, whichcould be easily kicked out if the occupantwere trapped within, and each cabin port-hole had a hand-rail outside, to enable aman to haul himself out if necessary.One still came across grey wartime paint

here and there, and the compasses weresurrounded by elaborate apparatus to

11

shield them from the effects of the de-gaussing gear, the purpose of which wasto protect the ship from magnetic mines.During the war she voyaged all over theworld, but she must have come throughunscathed as she is not mentioned inTaffrail's book, Blue Star Line at War(recently republished). At a time quiteearly in her career, she was involved in acollision in Port Phillip, near Melbourne,with an Australian ship called IronMonarch. I have been told that one of thelawyers engaged in the subsequent courtcase was a brother of Mr (later Sir) RobertMenzies, the distinguished AustralianPrime Minister.

Last VoyageThe Empire strength was renamed SaxonStar in 1949, the second Blue Star shipto bear the name. Unlike most others givenone of the old-fashioned names after thewar, hers was not changed, until she wassold out of the Company in 1961. Her twinsister, the Empire Castle of 1943, becamethe Gothic Star in 1946, but this was

changed to Nelson Star in 1947, and again,to Patagonia Star, in 1958. (The formerPatagonia Star reverted to her originalname of Columbia Star about this time,having been with Lamport & Holt's for aspell in the meantime as the Dryden.) Thenew owner of the old Saxon Star, D LStreet of Newport, Monmouthshire, namedher the Redbrook, and she sailed as ageneral cargo tramp under- this name until1965, when she passed to the Greeks andbecame the E Evangelia. She was wreckedin the Black Sea on 19 October 1968, whileon passage in ballast from Rijeka toContanza. She was declared a total loss.

It is surprising how many Blue Star LineMasters (as they are now) passed throughSaxon Star whilst I was with her. CaptainR J C MacDonald was her Master thewhole time; J G King and Captain W ADavidson were her Mates; Captain H KDyer and J Calabrase were her ThirdMates; Captain A Kinghorn was at onetime her Fourth Mate; Mr Outrarn and MrStubbs were her Chief Engineers. Theothers all seem to have passed away, or

launch 01 Almeria Slar, Ihe lasl 01 her Class

The last of her ClassOn 3 September 1974, Afric Star waslaunched at Smith's Dock in Middles-brough, signalling Blue Star Line's furtherexpansion into the competitive world-widerefrigerated shipping market. In themonths that followed, Afric Star wasjoined by Avelona Star, Andalucia Star,and Almeda Star-all built at Smith'sDock-and Avila Star, built in Denmark.

Finally, on 12 November 1976, AlmeriaStar was christened in Middlesbrough,the sixth and last of the new series of 'A'Class vessels. The sponsor was Mrs H ETune, wife of Blue Star Line's ChiefSuperintendent. She was escorted to the

12

dais by Mr G H Parker, Director andGeneral Manager of Smith's Dock.

ReceptionAfter the christening ceremony and a brieftour of the ship, the party transferred to theDragonara Hotel for the reception. MrParker welcomed Mrs Tune and presentedher with a white gold and diamondnecklace and a pair of diamond earings.

Mr Parker went on to say that the shipchristened today was the fifth and last of aseries delivered over a period of some 20months, the contract for the first vesselbeing placed in January 1973. The con-struction of these five ships had providedemployment for some 1500 people. They

retired, or left the Company-though BobFielding, of the Liverpool Shore Gang, waher Bosun for a while.

Though the Company's trade routes inthe early fifties were more defined thanthey are today, she visited several portoff the beaten track. Not many Blue Starships these days call at Manchester orMiddlesbrough, where she loaded. Tenerifewas the port for bunkers, and she wouldthen go out to the Cape, calling at all theports from Cape Town to Beira. In Beirashe loaded copper for Port Kembla, andusually called at the full range of Australianports, often going on to New Zealand. Wecalled at Galveston in Texas once, andsailed from Hamilton, Bermuda, oneChristmas Eve, when that fairytale townwas bright with coloured lights andChristmas trees.

But how does this nostalgic little pieceget its title? Well, in the early fifties it wasconsidered humorous to say a name back-wards-and seamen are nothing if nothumorous.

Left: 'Godmother'Mrs H E Tune,accompanied by Mr G H Parker, prepares tochristen 'Almeria Star'

Below: Moments later the champagne bottlesmashes against the side of the ship, sixth andlast of Blue Star Line's new series of 'A' Classvessels

had been pleasant to build, for unliketankers and bulk carriers, they were fittedwith four continuous decks, a featurewhich eases construction problems. 1rParker hoped that Blue Star Line woulshare the satisfaction of the builders andthat the vessels would show a handsomereturn on the company's investment.

In his reply to Mr Parker, Mr EdmunVestey thanked him for his kind remarks.He then went on to say that althoughAlmeria Star might be the last of her CIa >

the Group would maintain contact withthe yard during the coming year wiStarman 3.

W K Wishart

Solveig HunterTrumpers Cottage, Petworth to Pier 9,Brooklyn is usually for my husband.Captain T M D Hunter) a mere sixflying pills, six gins, six hour trans-atlantic flight: a commuting formula thathas worked more or less successfully formany years.

In 1976 we decided to innovate a littleon that pattern. When Ship Manager Mr

indass said, 'Hunter, Cuthbert, NewYork, 22 May,' Tom and I packed ourbags, one for the tropics and one for morearctic conditions, and got aboard a trainat Liverpool Street Station, London,bound for Moscow.

Five weeks later, having crossed three-quarters of the world, including Europe,Russia, Japan, the Pacific, and the USA,. y three trains, two ships, one ferry, fourairplanes, two rented cars, several taxis,one bus, and one rickshaw, we dulyarrived aboard Cuthbert on 22 May.

It might appear from our itinerary andthe general direction of travel that wewere badly duped by our travel advisors!That, however, was not the case. We had:ong wanted a trip on the Trans-SiberianRailroad, and that wish determined ourdirection eastward-albeit backward interms of our ultimate destination.

Mr Windass asked to be kept informedo our progress and if post got throughconsistently, BSSM was assured of theollowing:

Petworth, 13 AprilOur gorgeous neighbours, thoroughlyconvinced of our madness, have found ourdeparture for Siberia an occasion forcelebration. The only celebrant in ourtillage unaffected by this baccanal appearso be our dog, Eorpwald. He does not like

parties. He is, however, grimly andsoberly aware of our imminent act ofdesertion.

We board the 14.02 for London in onehour.

London, 14 AprilLast minute shopping at Harrods for aportable chess set and then across thestreet to spend our last evening in England

with Dutch friends in a vast apartmentoverlooking Hyde Park. The charm andambience of the evening is not likely to bematched on the Trans-Siberian. Wecontinue to revel while drinking ourmorning coffee and watching horsebackriders in the park at dawn.

We shall taxi to Liverpool Streetthrough a light, gentle drizzle. The trainto Harwich departs at 0900.

Hook of Holland, 14 AprilBless our friend Kathy emerging beautifuland breathless from the rush hour throngswaving a bottle of Gordon's gin in greetingand farewell at Liverpool Street Station.Then the carriage doors slide to a closeare now irrevocably on our way.

The five-hour crossing from Harwichwas smooth, and as uneventful as a drinkand meal in any Trust House. The Hookappeared as three distinct environmentalstrips: the sea, bordered by railway tracks,bordered by pasture where sheep grazedoverlooked by a row of light houses.

A porter in a long beige canvas coatbeckoned us towards a train. We wavedgoodbye to the sheep and got aboard-offand we to Berlin and Warsaw.

East-West Express, 15 AprilIt has taken us some time to settle intoour little compartment, the dimensions ofwhich, in contrast to ourselves, are mini-scule. In addition, we are badly encum-bered with luggage, food baskets, andbundles of bedding.

We have found one live porter aboardbut he speaks only' Polish and is fullyoccupied with a bottle. We shall have tocope with the bed rolls ourselves. Butfirst a picnic of cold lobster and white wine.You see we are doing our best to feed our-selves as we had been warned there wereno restaurant facilities between Londonand Moscow.

In spite of our housekeeping activitieswe did sleep and woke up on arrival atBerlin Zoo Station. It was hearteningfor both of us to see a US Army train and aBritish Army train on the sidings. Then thetrain started up again and we held ourbreath a little apprehensively as weapproached the Berlin Wall. We cutthrough lines of barbed wire guarded bysullen looking soldiers in boiler suits.

The day started and remained grey-both the sky and the landscape. EastGermany appeared a dispirited and sombreand strangely empty country. Polandlooked cheerier. The countryside was rich,undulating farmland, dotted with fruittrees whose branches were oddly weigheddown with bricks. Occasionally we wouldsee the decaying remains of a grandcountry house

Polish officials clambered on boardsomewhere, suddenly, and asked for ourvisas. What visas? We had only our greenRussian visas in triplicate. Never mind,another official came along with a great

deal of flourish and sold us 'Zloty' withwhich we were to buy Polish visas.

On rumbles the night.

Polish-Russian Border,16 AprilIt was morning-2 am-when we arrivedin Brest. Polish officials banged on thedoor to collect our recently purchasedPolish Visas. Then there followed into ourcompartment an agricultural officialwielding a large knife and vigorouslyslashing away at all edibles remaining inour little larder. He was followed by thecensor who ploddingly read through everyfly leaf in every book we had with us. Thencame customs who took a cursory look,kicked a few items with his boot, and wentaway to make room for the money/jewelofficial, an unattractive girl with a largeunsmiling mouth and chipped purplefingernails.

With this we had officially arrived inRussia-exhausted. But we were to beallowed very little sleep that night becauseunderneath our carriage they were busilyand loudly changing the wheels to accom-modate the different gauge Russian track.

ETA Moscow noon tomorrow.

Moscow, 18 AprilHappy Easter. It is not Easter here ofcourse. It is Sabotnik Day and all goodRussians are cleaning up their city-atimely act we think, having observed thenearly opaque glass in our hotel windowson arrival yesterday. We have been placedin the Hotel Metropole on Karl MarxSquare adjacent to the Bolshoi. Thetransfer from the train was quietly andeffectively handled by an anonymousrepresentative from Intertourist. He simplyappeared at our compartment on the trainand took us away.

After very quick baths in a very largebathtub (they had to be hurried, becauseRussian hotels do not supply plugs!) werushed on foot to explore Red Square atsunset. The streets here are very broad.Fortunately there is little traffic, so onemanages to get across" the avenue un-scathed.

St Basil's Church, now a museum, is themost fantastically conceived piece ofarchitecture we have seen since theBrighton Pavillion. Golden onion domespoke up at varying heights and the towersand turrets are all painted in startlingdesigns and colours, much as the harle-quinned joker in a pack of cards. Thethrongs of people in the Square and on thepavements appeared to be a rather sombre,stolid, and heavily-clothed mass. It was asif spring had taken them unawares.

Tonight we have tickets for the Bolshoi.The theatre has been refurbished tocelebrate its bicentenary and, except for theLenin medallion implanted into theGrecian frieze, it looks very gay andinviting. We shall have to abandon dinnertonight after last night's effort which tookfour hours to serve us roast partridge andchilled champagne.

Tomorrow the austerities of the Trans-Siberian.

13

14

H-

I . i 'f - J i fI '.' • • :i

Captions:

(A) St Basil's, Red Square

(B) The World-famous Bolshoi Theatrein Moscow

(C) 'Moscow-Vladivostock'

(D) An old house in Irkutsk with characteristicbeatifully-carved window frames .

(E) A garden scene in Tokyo

(F) A game of chess on the deck of 'Baikal'

(G) Fishing boats frozen-in on Lake Baikal

(H) The Hancock Building in Chicago

DHDE][][J

'---- __ ...-1

'---------J D

A

15

Aboard Trans-Siberian22 AprilWe've been four days aboard this electricmade-in-East Germany train which haspropelled us in a spirit of unwashedcamaraderie with our fellow Westernpassengers (Dutch, German, French,Swiss, British, and American) to this placecalled Irkutsk, roughly 4000 miles east ofAlbion House.Once piled aboard with the hundreds of

Russians with their bundles and soup potscrammed untidily into the 2nd and 3rdclass cars, and us Westerners into the 1stclass, the scene was set by our gloriousstewardess crying 'nostarovia' and bear-hugging each of us to her ample bosom.It's been 'nostarovia' all the way, beginningwith the tea from the samovar and nerve-ending champagne.Our staple diet in this land of the pro-

letariat has of necessity been champagneand caviar. The restaurant car does featurea rather elaborate menu-perhaps as manyas 150 entries-but these items are notavailable. So with our food coupons webuy more and more champagne and caviar.This diet tends to enhance the unrelieved

monotony of the view: thousands of milesof thick pine and birch forests. Occasionallywe come to a collection of wood hutshuddled together in the mud. The trainthen stops for an alloted three, five, or 15minutes, depending upon the size of theplace. Lenin greets us with outstretchedfist looming large next to each stationclock (which always runs to Moscow time I).But we passengers have no idea of the

time. We stumbled along the corridors atall hours of the day and night trying not tohear the droning music bleating throughthe ubiquitous loudspeakers. But at lastwe have arrived in Irkustk. Goodbye'nostarovia' -we are off to take a bath and,Intourist tells us, to see the world'sdeepest lake, Baikal. Sufficient motivationto get off.

Reboarded on Trans-Siberian, 24 AprilThree more days aboard the Trans-Siberian-time to reflect on Irkutsk and itsunexpected charms. There it is in EasternSiberia, and has been since the Cossacksestablished a fort there in 1661. A rathergrand city with boulevards, plazas, parks,museums, and concert halls. A city wherein good weather the people promenade

16

and smile-sometimes.Getting to Lake Baikal entailed a two-

hour drive by bus through the Taiga, thedeep forest we had seen from the trainwindow for mile after mile. Our guide,alga, spoke of the many varieties of treesin the Taiga-Iarch, aspen, etc-but I'mconvinced that in all of Russia I saw onlypine and birch, birch and pine. She said,too, that the forest was full of sable, ermine,bear, and wolf.Although it was mid-April the lake was

only now beginning to thaw. We could seethe breaking edge and watched slabs ofice slowly drifting out down river. Butfishing boats remained ice-locked in thevillage harbour.

Khabarovsk, 27 AprilKhabarovsk is an enforced stop where wechange trains for Nahodka, the touristembarkation point to Japan. We are notallowed into the port of Vladivostock.Our hotel is hideous, and much as we needa bath it is difficult to compete with thebugs living in the bath tub. After a brieftour of this relatively new city (100 yearsold) our guide said he felt sure that we hadfound it all very interesting. (He resembleda car salesman we know back in England.)We could not and did not enthusiasticallyagree.Following breakfast-juice of no identi-

fiable taste, cold fried fish garnished withbeet and cucumber, followed by pancakesstuffed with ground meat-we have beentaken back to the station, where we boardthe Trans-Siberian once again.

En route Nahodka, 28 AprilThis is a Cinderella train. We've switchedfrom Khabarovsk pumpkin to Nahodkachariot overnight! We are now riding inold world splendour-shiny brass, polishedwood, private bathroom with gleamingetched-glass mirrors, tulip glass lampshades in the corridor, and oriental carpetunderfoot.We bask in these nostalgic comforts as

the train winds and plummets- its waythrough the mountains, close to theborders of China. Through the earlymorning mist we see trees in bud andrushing, sparkling mountain streams. Andwith our tea we have been ~~ryed sweetcherry preserve in a little white- porcelaindish. .Reluctant to get off, but Nahodka lies

below.

SS Baikal, 30 AprilThrough the red-star-studded customsshed and up the gangway of the ship tothe accompaniment of a five-piece bandplaying on deck-crew member musicianswe later learned when we saw our cabinstewardess performing a tango for us ina torrid red dress. Each member of thecrew doubled as an entertainer it seemed.Second morning aboard Tom decided to

ask if professional courtesy might beextended to him as a merchant navy officerto see the bridge. The answer was politeand generous indeed: 'There will be a tourof the ship for everyone this afternoon atthree'.So captains and supernumeraries and

passengers all gathered up on the bridge,led by an English-speaking officer/guide.We actually saw more passengers than

equipment up there on the crowded bridge.Anyway, all this equipment and the crew,when not singing and dancing for us, havemanaged to get us into Yokahama harbour.We must disembark.

Yokahama, 1 MayWhen approached from the wastes ofSiberia, Japan's Westernisation mania ispositively welcoming! The traffic jams, andthe glaring neon signs, and little peoplein mini skirts and blue jeans rushing underminiature umbrellas through the narrow,crowded streets.Our hotel, the Satellite, is very twentieth

century indeed, but just around the corneris China Town where we can choose a mealfrom the tantalizing array of imitationdishes set out in the windows, preparedin plastic a la Andy Warhol. We'vescrutinized all of them, and found to ourimmense relief not one bottle of champagneand not one portion of caviar. Just lovelypressed duck, water chestnuts, butterflyshrimp, barbecued pork, and bird's nestsoup.We must eat.

Tokyo, 4 MayWe found enormous Tokyo a mereextension of Yokahama, or I suppose theother way round, as we travelled backwardsand forwards on their notorious subway. Itremains a complete mystery to me how weever got the right tickets out of the vendingmachines and ourselves on the right train,but navigationally Tom is trained and hemanaged it.This was Tokyo in the springtime: fragileladies in kimonoes languishing amongazaleas; banners and flags and paperflowers fluttering along the Ginza; every-one on holiday, including ourselves. Wewalked along the moat of the ImperialPalace enjoying its grey serenity.At the austerely grand Imperial Hotel

lovely Geisha girls brought us gin andtonic, presenting the drinks to us, en-sconced in deeply upholstered chairs,graciously like gifts. (Inflation in Japanruns a close second to Britain's, makingthese drinks a very expensive gift, how-ever!)Tom has downed his flying pills. We are

almost ready to fly the Pacific.

Hawaii, 6 MayA local strike in Tokyo delayed our take-off by five gruelling hours but eventuallywe were transported aloft on what appearedto be the midnight honeymoon special.We were surrounded by handsome youngJapanese couples holding hands andgiggling.This afternoon on Waikiki beach we saw

these couples again, immediately identifi-able as pairs by the identical colours oftheir bathing costumes.We've been intrigued for some hours

now watching the 'pedicabs' come andgo down the boulevard along the beachfront.An interesting sociological commentary

here-Orientals as passengers, driven by

\\bite Anglo-Saxon Protestants! Anotherform of transportation here is the bus ofcourse. The system is called quite simply"THE BUS', but we don't particularlywant to go any place by either pedicab orTHE BUS. Our setting at the Aloa Surfwith a direct view of Diamond Head andme great blue Pacific rollers at our feet isquire enough.

San Francisco, 10 MayIn America everyone says 'thank you, have2 good day', whenever you buy and pay forsomething. We'd just paid for breakfast. the gleaming, immaculate coffee shopin our hotel and in spite of another strike-city transport this time-we did have agood day.

We walked and taxied and ferriedaround this beautiful, self-contained,cultural city but we feel cheated by thetnmobilised trolley cars. We lunch on craband sour-dough bread, sitting under anumbrella in an open courtyard in Ghirar-Ielli Square (a renovated and revitalised

factory-warehouse, now a setting forrestaurants and boutiques).

We were greeted by the sight of anenormous Union Jack draped over a water-

front apartment when the ferryboat dockedin Sausalito across the Bay. Astern was themodest and modern skyline of SanFrancisco and abeam the Golden GateBridge. We spent the evening with friendsat Stamford University in their serenelymodern [apanese-style house-slidingdoors provided the vaguest separationbetween house and garden and pool.

In the morning, a foot-tour of thecampus which despite the student bomb-ings of a few years ago seemed quiet andsuitably academic now.

Tomorrow Chicago.

Chicago, 21 MayWithin the confines of the Near NorthSide, Lake Shore Drive, and NorthMichigan Avenue, this town is all glamour-from which we did not stray. Ourfriend's apartment 19 floors up on the lake'sedge afforded a view as from the bridge ofa ship. You looked out on the expanse ofLake Michigan while the rush of traffic onthe eight-lane highway below presentedmerely a vague hum.

Coffee and croissants until near middayand then a brisk walk to Michigan Avenue,lured by Bonwit Teller, I Magnin, and

Lord and Taylor, department stores whichcontrast with Moscow's GUM rather likeHarrods does with Petticoat Lane Market.

That evening we were wined and dinedin Chicago's proud new Ritz-an enormousyet muted and intimate restaurant. Every-thing printed on the menu, unlike on theTrans-Siberian, was in fact available andwhat we chose was delicious.

We savoured the food, company, andatmosphere until very late. We were thelast party to leave, reluctantly shuffling outthrough the thick, velvety carpets. On thestreet we were in the shadow of themassive Hancock Building which seemedto spread its protection and strength overus all.

Flying pills for a nightcap. TomorrowNew York City.

New York, 22 MayOne and a half hours flying time-justsufficient to admire the stewardesses' threechanges of costume and eat our lunchbefore arriving at Kennedy Airport. Tomthought he got a glimpse of Cuthbert aswe swooped in.

It's Sunday and the traffic is light. We'llbe aboard in 45 minutes.

The Carriageand Careof Cargoes

Captain DJ Thomas was invited to address the 1977 contingent of graduate trainees and, notsurprisingly, chose as his main theme the carriage and care of cargoes. His approach to thesubject is tinged with humour, but the coherence of his message will enliven interest. He leaveslittle doubt in the minds of our potential officers where the Company's future prosperity lies.Captain Thomas in no way disguises the fact that he is a firm and unrepentant supporter oftested and traditional methods and we believe that his paper, reproduced here in condensed[orm, will have appeal, even for those who can claim longstanding experience in the carriageof cargoes,

E G George

I don't know what your reasons were fordeciding to take up a life-or a part of it-21 sea, but now that you are here and

eeply involved in the business, let meexplain in the clearest terms what it allIeads to: cargo and the carrying of cargo.All. the other subjects that you study soieeply, all the navigation and seamanship,

lead down one road-the successfulloading, carriage, and discharge of cargo.

There is no other source of income in ashipping company other than freightearned by carrying someone else's goods.Although this may appear to put you inme same category as British Rail andPickfords, the analogy is accurate-we are

Common Carriers in the strictest legal:::leaning. It doesn't matter whether yourcargo is living, in the form of passengers,

omething that doesn't answer back, as:::l the case of doll's eyes and stocking tops,

frozen lamb, or 160-ton transformers.

The money earned by loading it, carryingit safely, and discharging it in good orderpays your rent and mine, pays the salariesof the hosts of employees in offices andagencies all over the world, pays stevedoresand ship chandlers and repair firms.

The only true area for learning aboutcargo is on the job and the best teacherswill be yourselves and the experience youwill gain by using your eyes and minds-coupled with a lot of hard graft.

Container shipsA mere decade ago, the container ship wasthe specialist ship and the conventionalship was the norm. But most people knewthat the container ship would quickly makegreat inroads upon the trades of the con-ventional ship, and we see the containership apparently-I say apparently-out-stripping the conventional ship in all itstraditional fields.

Our organisation operates vessels of bothkinds and will continue to do so for as farahead as we can see.

My opinion is that the container vesselwill indeed increase in numbers but thatwe will still need officers versed in the artsof carrying cargoes.

Because you never-or hardly ever-seethe insides of the boxes which have beenstuffed and stowed by someone else intothe hold of a container ship doesn't meanthat you have less to learn. Don't forgetthat the box ship evolved from theconventional vessel; without the skillsacquired in the conventional trade, thecontainer trade could never have reachedits present level of expertise. The peoplewho organise the boxes ashore and directthem into the container ships are largelydrawn from the ranks of men who learnedtheir business in the conventional field-and this is not just because they happenedto be around at the time that the new ideatook off.

In the early days there was a definiteattempt to recruit people without deepcargo skills, in the belief that these skillswere rio longer needed, but opinions navesince veered-as most of us knew theywould- and the conventionally trainedman is putting his knowledge to work,very profitably, in the new field. It is oftensaid, rather bitterly, by a lot of older people,that in a decade or so more the skillsacquired in how many years-4000? 5000?-of cargo carrying, will have been wipedout by the advent of containers. Don't youbelieve it!

As I said, we still operate conventionalships, and although the opportunities forlearning how to stow some types of loosecargoes are indeed becoming less, they arestill there. In the enormously varied tradesin which our ships operate, you could beloading a mixed general cargo on theContinent for South Africa or SouthAmerica and then picking up a load of

17

bagged rice or, sugar and then a load ofrefrigerated fruit for Russia-all in a shipthat was designed for the last-mentioned.

VarietyYou are expected to learn, in our breakbulk trades, a cargo business that can takein the reefer trade and the general tradeand the bulk trade-each of which can be afull-time speciality to men in othershipping companies. And you not onlyhave to learn three or four types of cargobusiness. You will also have to be verygood at it, because our organisation thriveson variety and it is not tied down to anyone trade for its livelihood.You are going to sea at the beginning of

another drastic change of scene, aim} tqthe change from sail to steam and, as in the19th century, the two types of carrier areworking side by side. Seamen have to learnthe old and the new, and you have to dothe same. Where are you going to fi~d allthis knowledge? Seafarers are not f veryarticulate folk on the whole but they allhave experience of something seen, done,and noted that can be put to use. You've

all got tongues in your heads and if youwant to know-s-ask!Senior officers are reluctant teachers and

probably feel that they haven't got theknack or the time to pass on the things theyknow. But they are usually tickled pink tofind someone asking for their advice. Youmay have to winkle the knowledge out butI can assure you it's there. This doesn'tmean to say that you don't need to read allabout it. There are many books aboutcargohandling, all full of good solid stuff, andit is up to you to read them and absorb theknowledge thoroughly.

Cargo gear safetyNow I want to change the subject and talkabout cargo gear. You will all know thatour vessels are fitted with cranes andderricks. It is the derricks that I want todwell on.Too many officers take cargo gear for

granted once it is rigged and set forworfing, assuming that the men who haveset it know what they are doing and thatthe gear will continue to do the job withoutfurther' attention, You will soon become

aware that the men who are working thegear in any port may have not studied thefiner points and if not properly supervisedfrom the start they are capable of somedownright dangerous practices. Even in themost enlightened ports labour will set upgear in a manner that often pleads for anaccident and sometimes it is only the goodcondition of the equipment that preventsa disaster,An accident due to failure of a piece of

derrick equipment is usually dramatic, andfrequently fatal and can often be tracedback to the general misuses of the gear.For this reason it is up to you, as officerson duty on deck, to be constantly on yourguard against the misuses of equipment. Inorder to be able to judge whether misuse istaking place, you must learn the properuse of derrick gear as soon as possible.The deck of a ship loading or discharging

cargo can be one of the most dangerousplaces to be if you do not exercise constantvigilance. You can only come to a properappreciation of whether what you see isright or wrong by gaining experience atevery opportunity .

.. ,

BRINGING THE SCOTSMj\N. HOME\

18

~ ,'.: The Flying Scotsman being liftede at Liverpool

.c:: 'e :Home and dry

S= locomotive buffs among our readers-b.o saw the account and pictures in the',,-: issue of Gangway of Lamport & HoltLine's Debrett landing a locomotive in3!!enos Aires in 1949, may well have been~ with the impression that this marked~e last occasion when one of the Group's-::esselswas singled out for this distinction.However, readers of Blue Star News, the

:: ~ runner of Gangway, will doubtless re-;;2}} the occasion in 1973 when [ohnsonScan Star charged Blue Star Line with thezesponsibility for repatriating The FlyingScotsman, which had just completed a_,000 mile tour of Canada and the Unitedrates, terminating in San Francisco.Blue Star Line scored yet another first

__,' conveying the locomotive and her twozeaders in one of their modern cellularcemainer vessels, and it may be worth;:-iQing that spacious accommodation was:_ vided for the Master without recourse

the funnel.Our pictures show the lOO-ton giant

.ocomotive coming ashore at Liverpool

.:...-.er an 8000 mile passage from Oakland,California to find a home at the new_- ional Railway Museum in York.

Then and now_~ a time when British Rail exhorts us to- , their High Speed Train at Paddingtonsavour the experience of a 100 miles-per-

hour ride to Bristol, one cannot help butreflect upon the supremacy of our designengineers in the early part of the century.The Flying Scotsman was the last of 80steam locomotives in its class, and in 1928inaugurated the first non-stop passengerservice between London and Edinburgh,achieving controlled runs of 100 miles-per-hour shortly after this event.It would be unwise to berate our present-

day railway systems without confessingthat our own cargo-handling techniquesshow little sign of advance in somerespects; the lifting and handling methodsreflected in the 1949 pictures bear anuncanny resemblance to those at Liverpoolin 1973.Starman Limited deserve praise for en-

deavouring to break us of the habit ofdefying the basic rules of gravity by in-dulging in the hazardous practice ofraising heavy objects to great heights,oftentimes with out-dated access equipment.However, perhaps some credit can be

claimed for success in tackling the man-power problem. A close look at the picturesreveals that in 1945 at Buenos Aires a 57-handed gang was needed (excluding thedog). Their efforts were matched by amere 14-handed gang at the SeaforthTerminal in 1973.

E G George

looking for ashore jobAbout a year ago, I decided to foresakethe sea and return, as I thought, tocivilisation. Pursuing this end, I finallyended up behind a desk in the PersonnelDepartment at Albion House.You will surely be familiar with the

sage remark: 'No man will be a sailor whohas contrivance enough to get himself intoa jail: for a man in jail has more freedom,better food and commonly better company'.Well, reflecting that an office is really onlya rather inefficient sort of jail, which opensits doors at 9 o'clock in the forenoon andturfs its occupants out into the cold nightair at 5 in the evening, I decided that thiswould suit me very well.In one respect, of course, life in an

office is rather like life in a ship: if some-body is unsure of his facts, or even if heknows nothing at all about the subjectunder consideration, this certainly won'tdiscourage him from expressing an opinionforcibly and at length. But there thecomparison ends. Let me give you anexample of what I mean.When I was at sea, I thought I knew-

no, I knew I knew-how a screw propellerworked. I knew the relationship betweenpower and revolutions and slip and wettedsurface area and speed, and I knew whatwas meant by all those hundred and oneother things that are the day-to-day stockin trade of your better class of reader.

Hopelessly lostNow, baffled by academic and esotericarguments about aerofoils and screws andresistance in treacle (to say nothing of finsand threads and pitches and bladefrequencies) I am hopelessly lost. The onlyanswer which seems consistent with allthe arguments and ideas on offer is toimagine that the propeller remainsstationary while the ship revolves aroundthe shaft. .Then there's another thing: the filing

system. In this place every piece of paperthat is not actually gripped in the hand iswhisked away unseen and filed in irretriev-ably secrecy. This, of course, renderspeople like myself totally dispensable.How much better was the system we all

used at sea, where everything is eitherstuffed into one big drawer, or simplydumped over the side.But, I hear you ask, was that sage

remark right? Well, as for the food, I amundecided. When I creep out for half anhour at noon, clutching tightly my preciousluncheon voucher, I think with regret ofthose other halcyon days. But then I reflectthat as for freedom, I get home every night.

George Crosthwaite

19

business in 1909 and served in it until hisdeath in 1956. The present Chairmanstarted with the Company in 1937, and hasrecently been joined by his son BruceErrington Dawson and Peter ErringtonDawson [nr.

Among the major ship owners repre-sented by the Company's Traffic Divisionare Blue Star Line, Lamport & Holt Line,Booth Steamship Co, British Common-wealth Shipping Co, Cunard Lines, DeltaSteamship Lines, Frota Amazonica, FyffesGroup, [ohnson ScanStar, Ocean Trans-port and Trading Co, and Van NieveltGoudrian.

Garland laidley- 200 years in Anglo-Portugese tradeGarland Laidley of Lisbon and Oporto, afirm whose activities embrace shippingagency work, forwarding, air cargo, travel,and insurance, have a longstanding con-nection with the Blue Star Line Group.

Garland Laidley were appointed agentsin Portugal for Lamport & Holt Line aslong ago as 1855; they have also repre-sented Booth Line since the inception ofthat Company's South American trade.The association with Blue Star Line is ofmore recent origin: the first BSL shiphandled by Garland Laidley was AndaluciaStar when she called at Lisbon in February1937.

It was in 1776 that the young ThomasGarland first set up business in Lisbon.He was an active banker and also pioneeredthe bacalhau trade, becoming the soledistributor for the cod fished off theNewfoundland seas.

At the same time he developed theexport side of the business by shippingwines, mainly Port from the Douro region,as well as exporting salt, cork, and textiles.The import side of the business handledmainly coal, meat, grain and general cargothrough the representation of variousforeign ship owners. Henry Laidley cameout from England to join the staff in 1835and when he was taken into partnershipin 1841 the firm's name was changed toGarland, Laidley & Co.

Throughout the 19f4 and 20th centuriesthe firm's business continued to develop,especially in the shipping world, andoffices were opened in Oporto and Figueirada Foz. During this period the bacalhautrade had prospered and by now Garland,Laidley & Co were the largest distributorsin Portugal.

The Ship ManagerThe swing door opens, and the ShipManager strides into the office, clutchingthe dreaded sheet of paper. 1 see himimmediately and the attack starts-thestomach churns, hands tremble, the heart-beat quickens, legs go weak, and sweatbreaks out on my forehead, as he continueshis inexorable march towards me.

My mind races into overdrive-what hasgone wrong now? Don't say those Britishratings have commandeered the ship againand converted It into the only 1O,000-tonfloating nightclub and gambling casino inthe Pacific. Or, even worse, are the Chinesestill celebrating their New Year in themiddle of June?

He strides on, coming nearer and nearer.There is hope-perhaps only a slight hope,but hope all the same-that if he turnssharp left it will mean Alan or Bill willreceive the full weight of his wrath; if heswings across to the right, then Mike willbe doing battle with him; either way 1 amoff the hook. But no, he still comes on,

20

The Company todayToday Garland Laidley has its head officein Lisbon, occupying large premises inthe heart of the shipping area of Cais doSodre, with branch offices in Oporto andagents in all the main port areas of thecountry. There are no longer anymembers of the Garland or Laidleyfamilies connected with the Company. Thepresent Chairman is Peter ErringtonDawson, whose grandfather left NorthShields at the age of 16 and started work asa clerk with Garland Laidley in 1867. Hisson, Alfred Errington Dawson, entered the

The Garland Laidley Buildingin Lisbon, overlooking the riverside

clutching that piece of paper. Perhaps thephone will ring before he gets to me, or theceiling fall in, )or the world end. Everymoment he gets closer and it is obviousthat he is not going to turn left or swingright.

Breaking pointAgain the mind races, dredging up allmanner of total disasters, crisis and doom.My nerves are now at breaking point, 1begin to curse all Masters and seniorofficers. Why don't they keep theirproblems to themselves? Why bother us... me? What are we supposed to do 5000miles away from the scene! Why can't theysort out their own shambles? Why bringus into it? More importantly, why involveme?

He arrives at last in front of my desk,towering over me as 1 quiver with fear. 1slump in the chair waiting for the inevitablebeginning to the conversation: '1 have hada letter from the Master of the . . . . . . . . .'

1don't want to know! 1don't want to hear!Why doesn't the floor open up beneath meor, even better, him? There is a dullthudding noise in my head and 1am readyto believe anything. The hands are nowuncontrollable, my stomach is in the backof my throat, the room is slowly beginningto revolve ...

'He says that there are no problems onboard. Everyone has settled in very well,and he hasn't sailed with a better bunch ofratings for a long time. Just thought I'dlet you know'.

The room reverts to an even keel, thestomach settles down to where it shouldbe, the legs feel as though they will nowbear my weight. 1 can even pick up mybiro and force a weak smile. 1 had gotthrough the day without anything goingwrong and without being hammered.Tomorrow is another day, but at leasttoday is going to be fine, and perhaps ShipManagers are fine after all.

R CLee

•Snatches

lory withcood hallI trick

Five-a-side footballAvAEF

_"1 :rre--a-side football match took place at----eSobell Stadium, Finsbury Park, North

don on Friday 3 December, 1976. Theteams were from Liner Shipping

_""-5-enciesLtd and Anglo European Foods=-.:cl. SS Shippers).

ick-off was at 6.45 pm. LSA were-;2yi.ng a team for the first time, and

.enced some difficulty in coordinating_ at the start. They soon found them-: ',es 1-0 down through a goal scored by_ ~ck Glennon in the eighth minute._-O.::::.F took the initiative, and continued to:---e the pressure on LSA, gaining a penalty

in the fourteenth minute after Pauldard had encroached upon his ownry area. Patrick Glennon shot thelow and hard to the left hand side of

:::e net, to achieve his second goal of the~ch. LSA fought back, and just missed

. g when Chris Economou hit the post--= me last minute of the first half.Half time score: AEF 2 LSA 0Paul Roach of LSA kicked off for the

d half. The LSA squad were now in_ .::.a:ermined mood, scoring their first goal_ the thirteenth minute when Chris-= omou took a throw-in near the AEF:;=lty area. The ball found Dave Fisher~o flicked it into the net with a neat.. - ooter._ A were now on the offensive. Some

--=- it interchanging passes between Paulidard and Paul Roach brought the ballagain to Dave Fisher who levelled

=e score with another left foot shot. AEF- unred an attack, but could not get past----e LSA goalkeeper, David Mizen, whoas in outstanding form.

ith three minutes to go, Chrisomou took command of the ball in hishalf, and made a marathon run,

.ering the full length of the pitch. Dave:- er took the pass and then slammed the--=---- home, gaining a hat trick and giving- .-\ a 3-2 lead. Despite constantzarassment in the last minutes, Paul Roach-=- Paul Goddard managed to hold off_~ attack, ensuring an LSA victory.:inal score: AEF 2 LSA 3

Walker, Patrick Glennon, Tomon, Bill Clarke, David Salter, Mike~ y (Sub).

zvid Mizen, Paul Goddard, Paul Roach,

"- e Fisher, Chris Economou.

Department 01 Trade MerchantShipping Notice No. 1684EXAMINATIONS IN THE YEAR COMMENCING 1 SEPTEMBER 1977 FORCERTIFICATES OF COMPETENCY AS:

MASTER (FOREIGN-GOING)FIRST MATE (FOREIGN-GOING)SECOND MATE (FOREIGN-GOING)

SECOND CLASS ENGINEERMASTER (HOME TRADE)MATE (HOME TRADE)

Notice to Shipowners, Masters, Officers and Seamen in the Merchant Navy, andNautical and Marine Engineering SchoolsPattern of Examinations in the Year Beginning 1 September 1977

Month Week Commencing Master! 2nd 1st Class 2nd Class Master HTMonday 1st Mate Mate Engineer Engineer and

Mate HT

September 1 5th X2 12th3 19th X4 26th

October I 3rd X2 lOth X3 17th X4 24th X

November 1 31st X(October)

2 7th X3 14th4 21st X5 28th X

December 1 5th X2 12th X X3 19th X4 26th

January 1 2nd1978 2 9th

3 16th X4 23rd X

February '1 30th X(January)

2 6th X3 13th X4 20th5 27th X

March 1 6th X2 13th X3 20th X4 27th X

April 1 3rd X2 10th X3 17th X4 24th

May 1 1st X2 8th X3 15th X4 22nd X5 29th X

June 1 5th X2 12th X X3 19th X4 26th X

July 1 3rd X2 10th X3 17th X X4 24th X

Notes:(a) It is usual to attribute weeks commencing 30th or 31st to the following month. In the year

beginning 1st September 1977 the 30th falls on a Monday on 30th January 1978 and the31st falls on a Monday on 31st October 1977.

(b) Where examinations are affected by Bank Holidays they will run at the nearest possible dates.

21

News tromAustralia

PeopleRex McCashney, of ACT A Melbourne,has transferred to the Marketing Division.His duties in the operational side atMelbourne are now being handled byDoug Fletcher.

Stan Jackson, who has attended to theday-to-day operation of the Eastern Tradesoperated by Austasia and Guan Guan,left us on 21 January to take up a positionin Armidale, a country town in the northof New South Wales. We wish Stan thevery best in his new endeavour.

Doug Whyte recently spent severalweeks in hospital. He is now fully re-covered.

Christmas retirementsAt the end of 1976, four of our colleagues-Zillah Blair, Doreen Dargan, Patricia

Mullins, and David Wills on-retiredfrom the Company.

Zillah has been operating our telephoneswitchboard since early 1955, whilstDoreen, having served continuously withPort Line (since 1950) and Joint CargoServices, joined us as head accountingmachine operator in 1973. Pat has beenoperating the filing system and David themailing system. They also joined us fromJoint Cargo Services.

At our office Christmas party, GrahamLightfoot paid tribute to their valuedservice to the Company, and all four werepresented with farewell gifts from themanagement and staff. They will be sadlymissed by their colleagues, and we wishthem many happy years and the best ofhealth for their retirements.

Zillah Blair (left), Pat Mullins, Doreen Dargan, and David Wills on,photographed at the office Christmas party

SYDNEYGateway to AustraliaThe city of Sydney, capital of the State ofNew South Wales, is served by two ports.The main port is Sydney Harbour, in Portjackson, known as the Port of Sydney, onthe shores of which the city was established.Ten kilometres to the south of the metro-politan area lies the port of Botany Baywhich handles petroleum and chemicals.

DiscoveryBotany Bay was discovered by CaptainCook during his voyage along Australia'seast coast in 1770. The explorer describedit as 'a capacious, safe, and commodiousharbour'. He first named it Stingray'sHarbour, but later renamed it Botany Baybecause of the unique plants found by thebotanists Joseph Banks and Dr DanielSolander. The two botonists foundhundreds of plants completely new to themas well as species similar to those found inSouth Wales, Great Britain. From this

22

David Willson (right), on behalf of the four retirees, responds to GrahamLightfoot's tribute

observation came the name of the newterritory-New South Wales.

Travelling further northwards, CaptainCook sighted a bay or harbour in whichthere appeared to be good anchorage. Henamed it Port [ackson, after GeorgeJackson, a secretary at the admiralty.

First settlementBotany Bay was originally intended as thesite of the first settlement. CaptainPhillip, however, was disappointed withthe location because of the sandy terrainand lack of fresh water.

He determined to find a more suitablesite and setting out with a small party fromBotany Bay he found and explored PortJackson. On 26 January 1788, the FirstFleet was brought round into Port Jacksonand landed at Sydney Cove. This date isnow known as Australia day and celebratedas a public holiday.

The Port of Sydne~ todaySydney is one of Australia's leading portsin volume of trade, handling 20 million

tonnes of cargo every year. The almostlandlocked deep water harbour providesexcellent shelter for shipping. Its averagewidth is slightly less than 1.5 kilometres,and although it OI1Jyextends 21 kilometresinland it has 245 kilometres of foreshorebordering the various arms, and manysheltered bays. The harbour covers a totalarea of 54.4 square kilometres.

Famous landmarksThe north and south sides of this city ofthree million inhabitants are linked by thefamous Sydney Harbour Bridge, officiallyopened on 19 March 1932. The bridge hasa total length of 4 4 kilometres (includingapproaches) and a width of 48.8 metres.The length of arch span between thepylons is 503 metres, the highest pointbeing 134 metres above the water.

Another 'more recently built landmarkwhich now enhances the beauty of the

. harbour is the Sydney Opera House. Thiscontroversial building was opened on 20October 1973 by Queen Elizabeth, accom-panied by the Duke of Edinburgh.

ipping facilities~ number .of commercial vessels using-= ?Ort during the year 1975-76 was,_=_"xirnately 3000, with a total gross

aze of 31 million tonnes. Principal"'_~-Lagoe is conveniently and centrally

within six or eight kilometres of:=.e sea and within 1.6 kilometres of the= of the city.~mufage facilities in the port cater for_ type of sea trade: container, unit,- oil, coal, timber, grain, and the

tional packages of general cargo.-=-::"erecent completion of two container

coupled with the three already inz- 'on, has lifted Sydney into the front-=- 0: international container ports.

Botany Bay~ Port of Sydney and Botany Bay serve

the rapidly expanding industrial and com-mercial requirements of the City ofSydney.To date Botany Bay has been used

solely for the handling of petroleum andchemicals. Its development for other bulk,container, and general cargoes will probablytake place in the not too distant future.

J K Doherty

Below: An aerial view of Sydney. The whitesail-roofs of the Opera House can be seen inthe bottom left hand corner. In the background.to the south of the city, is Botany Bay(photo courtesy Maritime Services Board of NSW)

Right: 'Montivideo Star' and 'Auckland Star' .in Sydney Harbour(photo courtesy Maritime Services Board of NSW)

,

-ngbok column

Visitors

Mr E H Vestey paid a brief VISIt toPretoria and Cape Town in October.Mr J G Payne and Mr R C Glover,

together with Mrs Glover, visited CapeTown in October for discussions with thePerishable Products Export Control Boardand Deciduous Fruit Board, about arrange-ments for next years' deciduous fruitloadings. Mr Glover later visited Pretoria,accompanied by Mr G G H Jeft"erys,tosee the Citrus Exchange about their 1977business.Mr &Mrs A G Cooper visited Durban

towards the end of February to spend a

couple of months with their friends Jeanand Cecil Crocker. Since Mr Cooperretired as Purser/Catering Officer a fewyears ago, he and his wife have paid anannual visit to the Crockers. Cecil is withDurban Agents, Freight Services ShipsAgency Company Limited, and he hasbeen associated with Blue Star Agencywork for nearly thirty years. His uncle wasa Master with Blue Star Line.

WelcomeWe are pleased to welcome Mrs MaureenWeeden who joined our Freight Depart-ment in November.

23

Kiwi columnRetirement of Mr K HChurchouseOn 31 December Mr K H Churchouseretired from the position of GeneralManager of Blue Star Port Lines Manage-ment Limited, having served Blue StarLine interests for a period of 42 years.

Mr Churchouse joined the ThamesStevedoring company in London in 1934,and two years later became PersonalAssistant to the General Manager of BlueStar Line Limited. In 1938 he was trans-ferred to New Zealand as AssistantManager; during the war he served in theNew Zealand Navy and on his demobilisa-tion was appointed Manager of Blue StarLine Limited.

In 1969 the managements of Blue StarLine and Port Line Limited amalgamated,and Mr Churchouse was appointed GeneralManager of the new company, Blue StarPort Lines Management Limited. Aroundthe same time he was appointed to theposition of chairman of the new containerdevelopment company then being set upunder the now familiar name of Associated

I Container Transportation (NZ) Limited.At the request of the London Board ofDirectors, Mr Churchouse delayed hisretirement for one year so that he couldassist in the formation of Blueport ACT(NZ) Limited during 1976 (see Gangwayno 10). Mr K H Churchouse

24

Farewell dinnerA farewell dinner was held in Wellingtonon 20 December so that senior colleaguesand their wives could pay tribute to MrChurchouse, and despite the drop inattendance caused by a freak torrentialrain storm which cut the city of Wellingtonoff from its suburbs, the warmth of thosepresent was such as to ensure that thespirit of the occasion was not lost.

Mr R C Whyte, General Manager ofBlueport ACT (NZ) presented MrChurchouse with an engraved silver tray.In his reply, Mr Churchouse outlined thesequence of events leading up to the latestdevelopments in our organisation andexpressed his confidence in the future ofour operations.

At the staff Christmas party, held on 23December, a magnificent rug was presentedto Mr Churchouse by Mr Whyte, on behalfof all staff members.

Mrs Churchouse, who has always beenheld in the highest esteem and who hasgiven her husband the fullest support overthe years, was thanked and farewelled bythe wives of senior members of Wellingtonstaff at a luncheon held on 7 December.

The Churchouses retire to theirWaikanae home where, we understand,their intention is to garden, fish, playbowls, and look after some 'minor businessinterests'. We all wish them the long andhappy retirement they so richly deserve.

Retirement of Mr A WApperleyWe also record the retirement of MrA W Apperley on 31 December after 48years with the Company.

A true New Zealander, Mr Apperley isthe grandson of pioneering families. Hestarted work in 1928 at Nelson NZ Limited,Tomaona Office, moving up through theranks of the meat industry until beingtransferred to the shipping department setup to' deal with Blue Star Line vesselsloading in Napier.

In 1945 he took over the managementof Nelsons' Napier Office and on 1 January1950, when Blue Star Line NZ openedNapier Branch, he was appointed asManager. In 1969, on the amalgamation ofBlue Star Line and Port Line, he becamethe Napier Manager of the new jointCompany. During his long career, MrApperley has taken a v.ery active part in thelocal shipping scene and is currently a

News from IheAmazonChristmas PartyThis year's Christmas Party, held on 16December, was for the first time a 'family'affair, held at home. We decided tocombine both office and workshop partiesinto one and as we were rather dis-appointed last year with the service of oneof the local restaurants, we opted for anoutside 'barbecue' at our sports centre. It

member of the Hawkes Bay HarbourBoard.

At a farewell dinner held in Napier, andattended by Mr K H Churchouse andMr R C Whyte, Mr Apperley waspresented with a grandmother clock as atoken of appareciation from his manycolleagues throughout New Zealand.

We trust Mr and Mrs Apperley willenjoy a very long and well-earned retire-ment. Mr A W Apperley

Christmas partyA Christmas party was held on 23December at the overseas passengerterminal at Wellington for all members ofthe newly-amalgamated company, Blue-port ACT (NZ), together with theirpartners. A very enjoyable time was had byall and tribute must be paid to the SocialCommittee for the efficient way in whichthey organised this successful event.

Unusual cargoRecently Fremantle Star carried an out-rigger canoe, the Taratai, from Fiji toWellington for exhibition in the NewZealand National Museum. This canoe wasbuilt from hand-hewn timbers lashedtogether with string made from the husksof coconuts.

The canoe was sailed by a NewZealander, Jim Siers, from Tarawa in theGilbert Islands to Fiji, a distance of some1500 miles, in order to prove that long-distance migration of Polynesians waspossible in such hand-built craft.

BirthsCongratulations to Ross Durham ofAuckland (2nd officer, Fremantle Star) andhis wife Lyn, on the birth of their daughter,Lisa Marie, on 2 pecember.

turned out a great success, and during theevening a number of presents were raffledand distributed.

New Manaus OfficeWe recently moved our Manaus Office tothe dizzy heights of the 15th floor of the'Manaus Shopping Centre'. The recordsshow that we occupied our old buildingfor 75 years, and while we feel sorry tobreak a tradition we are enjoying our newsurroundings. The new office has beenplanned to meet our requirements, withcentral air-conditioning-and we canassure any visitor a superb view of thewaterfront. We hope to show some photo-

of the office in the next issue of

tulate Sr Gilberto Sena- ~ _Department) and wife on the birth

Gil Douglas, on 17 September,

orstly enjoyed two visits from Mr

Nickels. His second visit was to attend theNBA Freight Conference PrincipalsMeeting which took place at the TropicalHotel, Manaus. It is the first time aconference of this nature has been heldin the North of Brasil, and Manaus hasalready been chosen as the venue forIAFC-Inter American Freight Con-ference-Principals Meeting next year,

Mr & Mrs David Habgood visited usin November and spent a day in both

Belem and Manaus on their way north. Itis a pity time did not permit them to see alittle more of the Amazon. However, wehope they will come and see us againsometime.

rts news_ ::..e-a-side football team have conti-- :0 train hard and a number of- _ matches have been played. Two

in particular against Alban ~werer:::.:=::;_gh)y enjoyed by all, and though we

rh by a comfortable margin, Alban" that despite (understandable) lackpractice, they had plenty of talent.

tae first game, the visitors kindly" us aboard for snacks and drinks_ unded off a very pleasant evening.satisfied with just a five-a-side, we

·..c:~zu -0 field a regular team and enter a,:::J::;:en":ti'onrun by one of the local news-

The competition is called 'Cam-,;e=<=o de Peladas' which unfortunately.:r.~::o;:translate. However, it is interesting

much that the participants have to_ ::zefoot or in plimsols; otherwise the

are the same and the games are~=-==rlby qualified men.

e won our first game 6-1, which__ =0 . us with considerable enthusiasm.

-- y the initial success went to our. for we have since played three moreand lost 1-9, 2-3, and 1-2

'-""'~""ely. Nevertheless, moral is still7"">d what is more important we havecongratulated by the organisers for

manship and. discipline on the

tball report.a.I..lTC1U' V Agencias Mundiais

- owing report has been extractede sports page of the prestigeousSunday Companion and House

~..d.. Under the headline 'Alban..:...-.:::c..:.-=.::S on local ground,' the columnist

- -;go do Onca writes:~ visiting squad of the British ship

came to grief last night against oneer local sides, Agencias Mundiais.a limited capacity crowd, amongst

Pe1e, Tostao, and Silvio Santosticeable by their absence, the

_ showed aU the qualities one hasexpect from representatives of that

_ sporting nation. Contrast their=.!iry in arriving ready to play, some

es before the advertised kick-off. with the local side's 30 minutes late~ ~thereby missing some of the best

football of the evening). During.:.txlSelm·LI1g-upperiod, their old British

s: adventure showed through asafter player cheerfully scaled the" wire enclosure to recover balls-. into the near-jungle outside the

From the kick-off, the game was played at avery fast pace which, on a hot evening,boded ill for the visitors. But they stuckto their task, and inspired by some brilliantgoalkeeping from Roger Swift (proudlywearing the emblem of 'Newcastle Brown' .on his jersey-what strange names theseBritish teams have!) they managed to closean exciting first half trailing by just onegoal.Unfortunately Alban's team had given

of their best, and early in the second half ~~ ?the locals broke through. Despite a fine I ~goal by Mackereth, the locals ran out . rwinners 7-1. A fine game, played in good "temper, which made Captain Matthews' f;;' )denial, after the game, that these menwere from his ship so hard to understand;or was it this famous British sense of .'humour once again?The party which the Captain hosted on

board Alban after the game, to which theopposition and their wives were invited,was a very happy affair. Despite thelanguage barrier (which was soon breachedanyway) it was a most enjoyable evening,well worth repeating in the future. From

Right: The Agencias Mundiais barefoot soccerteamBelow: The Amazon Port of Obidos with theriver at high water. Obidos is situated halfwaybetween Belem and Manaus at one of thenarrowest points of the Amazon. Booth Line

. ships call regularly to load Brasil nuts

Newcastle Brown the number of enquiries about English-Portuguese dictionaries and phrasebooksI'm sure it will be!(Translated by AllanJones, Electrician)

25

-

FLEET·LI TBlue Slar" lineAFRIC ALMEDA ALMERIA AMERICA ANDALUCIA AUCKLANDSTAR STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR

Captain W T Pitcher FP McGuckin N D T johnson D T MacKillop P A Stevens A W KinghornChief Officer I H Mockett I A H Gray H N Owen G S Copley K.D Pykett I A MacMartin2nd Officer A I Norman K Wadia A I Brown I A Saunders M A Frascr M S Clare3rd Officer N J Hamer I S Black K Lumby C J Robilliard K M Chester S P HarrisonDeck Cadets M T Gaudion C I Furness T G Lopes P B Dixon RC Green

ROwen C R Parker R M SelfTrainee Officers HR Wells N M BowerRadio Officer I Ramsey E Carr M S Greatorex I Cully NE Scott F HuggettChief Engineer Officer G Owens A Curry F McKrnzie D Russell D Brown J Stables2nd Engineer Officer I Roby P Button E F White A Pender D Milligan J Mclntyre3rd Engineer Officer C Haddock E I Green N A Cornford D Peck H Stringer D Hamilton

I Morecraft W Gilroy4th Engineer Officer K Alexander D K Smith M Marinovic L Taylor, MS Scott

B Gibbs5th Engineer Officer R Stennett D K Cameron K E Alien CS Pickard I Halacziewitz M Cryan6th Engineer Officer R T WoodJunior Engineer Officer I Thorpe

D CoilsEngineer Cadet I Blake A D Frost I D Blackstan

P McArdleChief Refrig. Engineer Officer D Dalton G Roebuck R Puddicombe D Scammell D Boyd W Lauahlin2nd Refrig. Engineer Officer L S Bell C SherrifChief Electrical Officer I Walton D Curry K Gates I Mulhall J Parry2nd Electrical Officer G HorrocksPurser/Catering Officer R Barnett G Lucas A Snowden W Bishop J Burns M BrownCarpenter R Horsewcll C Thomas F Spencer L Laing M GattBosun C Forde I Dadd N McKenzie E Richardson W CruickshankMechanic R Stecle

N GreenDonkeyman B Clissold I McLennan J O'Riordan J 1\1cGivern M McLaughlan2nd Steward A Gregory R Savin A O'Keefe K Wetherill M WillsChief Cook , R Buss I Wee I Mayoz I Donaghue P Kelly

AVELONA AVILA BRASILlA BUENOS AIRES CALIFORNIA CANTERBURYSTAR STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR

Captain I G Reeve J G King E GBee R M Burns D M McPhail P DanielChief Officer R G Murch D A Ganderton C Bufton I R Webber M K MacGilray I S Gee2nd Officer I H Meyrick K L Holden I P Spencer S M Kabir ID Peake SI Martland3rd Officer @D Brown BM Campbell M A Barker L C Ridgeon D P Cross R V BarbooramDeck Cadet D I Schultz P D Chadwick C R Bartleet A I Delaney P BaldingTrainee Officers I A Simpson MP Harris K G Warmisham SMack B RCondonRadio Officer R S Routledge D A Ward I Redfearn G Martin D F O'Halloran I HigganbothamChief Engineer Officer E Welch F C Inskip CA Nixon R G Taylor K Wardle I I Ritchie2nd Engineer Officer MS Bowen A Gough G Mintern W Grierson B I Wilson NCobb3rd Engineer Officer A LWise S D Meech' I Iones RAHills K Doxford W Mullen4th Engineer Officer G S Holmes A Cockram I Beckton S Barren S Ramsden P W Blathwayt5th Engineer Officer P Turnbull K Wallace A Stooks S Mason D Coe I Charlton

B N Murphy M NicholsonJunior Engineer Officer A R Healy K Gladman

I DyasEngineer Cadet P Pearson R Hossack

P SimpsonChief Refrig. Engineer Officer W Davis C Salters LP Noble A Scott HRowe2nd Refrig. Engineer Officer T ThorntonChief Electrical Officer I E Pocock ER Cowie I Runcie D Smith I Hind D Barber2nd Electrical Officer T Marshall D ShortPurser/Catering Officer P Wareham R Bartlett I Speers A Pears on CHind S DasturCarpenter C Donnelly R Robson R Surtees I KiIleenBosun R Grist D Shepherd KKarle C Burton I MooreMechanic S Yip PAllen A Dale

H SkujaDonkeyrnan P jones A Musgrave M Hodder A Fox W Dunbar2nd Steward W Firbank C Young R Haley A McFadyen I RogersonChief Cook P Czyprynka V Coker C Lorne H Blair E Bolton

COLUMBIA FREMANTLE GLADSTONE HALIFAX HOBART MONTREALSTAR STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR

Captain DNewlin D S Gilmour S M Williams PWHunt D I Eckworth R BrownbillChief Officer C [ackson A R Redclift D MacKinnon M R Hardheat J M Rendle CRMundy2nd Officer A L Hurrell NB Meek R I Middleton RP Ruegg CA F Ledsam R A Hampshire3rd Officer I H Venables D G Turner E Buick R J Tucker E A BarrimondDeck Cadets B G Stockdale H H Trompert NI Brierley L M Colam A Littleton WE Burke

N Mollkin D I DawsonTrainee Officers PC Mitchell C I Holmes B Henshaw I G Sheard I M AyreRadio Officer N McClean E Connell D Miller A Murphy lAbel D WardChief Engineer Officer B Lewis P Smith I E Lineham R Coult I Guild A A Garnett2nd Engineer Officer A Wilkinson H W Callins P A Peters en G K Wilson CEllis S Astorina3rd Engineer Officer C F Simpson H .jepperson P Kennerley I Frost D R Plester P A Dickinson4th Engineer Officer R Langford M W Sturdy W Evans D Price B Kilgcur J G Doherty5th Engineer Officer L A Matusiewicz D Chisholm C R Thumwood R Hickey D Rogerson D R Heath6th Eng-irreer- Officer G Douglas S DriverJunior Erigfneer- Officer K O'Shea DC Fox D R WainwrightEngineer Cadet A G Smith

L HughesChief Refrig. Engineer Officer D Littlewood J Edgar J Santi K Champ D T WhenrayChief Electrical Officer S Poore B Nelson I Leech HE Eastharn ID Cog don I Lang2nd Electrical Officer D Houldsworth J T BrigharnPurser/Catering Officer R Draper I Hooper E Weihs T Heffernan H Plummer L McKinleyCarpenter D Ieffrey B MillsBosun G Chorlton .TSpinks D McKinnonMechanic B Powis I Irvine F Page

R Patt-ickDonkeyman A McCormack K Swift I Skeldon2nd Steward I Ginnity J Roberts HLimChief Cook P Marcar I Banks P Hall

26

NEW YORK NEW ZEALAND ROCKHAMP- SOUTHLAND TIMARU TOWNSVILLESTAR STAR TON STAR STAR STAR STARR A Young W A Wilson P Mathews G H Stubbings H DWindle DA Van Der MerwP Hurlock T H Lloyd-Tones R D Henderson M F Chinn AS Whittard J K WilkinsonD H Smith J R Moxon RH Foden R J Smith A OsmanM J Haines G Thorburn D Leech S J F Cutler T M Kershaw CJ HalltJ G Kay CH Prior-Willeard I Gater A Parker T V Noble D Darlington

M J Bower TA LoweOfficers MA Knight RE Tallis A Campbell

EM MoffattG Barnes C Scrimshaw S Ashbrook S Ringer \VI T Ashley R GreavesP Lunt OH jones D A Norris L SPawn R Craig F FrechPEarl T P Holley J Partridge A J Kemp M 0 Hart R AshleyP Catchpole R W Banks R W Taylor J R Cron G Curry P McMahonD Iackson P Os borne I Turner KOstle P Holgate W HutchisonDJ Hall A Dunbar PC Jennings G H Rawlings M J Calvard P SeatonR Knox

T Cakebread o J Bennett W TrickettD McPhee D A Aashton J A Devlin

W Bernard G Goffe J Standheld M GeevesD GWilson Tobutt D McGregor R Bushell B McArdle D Sellers

V FarrarAD Stamper

J Humble T Bristow W Milligan A Rice B Bowler P RattiganP Holdroyd FAllenA MacGaskill D Pull enJ McCleary ,D RcbertsNMorrison R BolstridgeJ Hodgson P MorganK Mawson D Vary

TROJAN TUSCAN ULSTER ACT I ACT IV ACT VSTAR STAR STARI C MacKintosh J Hutton J C Harris W A Davidson E A Sparks E J jonerC E Elms G R Henderson J W Botrwood A R P Geels RWG"y N J BarrG J Rawding A M W Boyes T C Kelsey M Watson BC Penrose TV DaymondP Richards RC Page I J Sheffield A D Smith C P R Clarke C D Waddingham

P Dawson E Van Proojie R F Callaghan L Mitchell .RJ Gill D Stratford

D Turney I BLuffC Godden J Lodge J N McConnell D Owen ACT Roskilly CW WhiteWO Sharples AT Bramley P Ballingall D Bentley D Bourne C Purser

A Carr (ex. Chf.)Officer P W Bodden D Hamilton T Fleetwood E G Rae AS Newell C A WalkerOfficer G J Holland A V H Gulvin T Somerville J M cClafferty I C Towers M A Richard

MJWilmotT W Mahon WH Tan K Chicken

Officer P K Bowden G Drury CH Hunter E S EdwardsOfficer D R Severn A S Watt G Blackford A E Davies J R Taylor

Ez:gineer Officer I Maronovic J AplinCadet A G Brown

00'. Engineer Officer C R Parry J E Sergeant T S Roberts J Bonner J E Taylor J S MullettE!ettrical Officer E G Gibbs T LD Horne J Massey P Hoyland MO'Niel R Stevens

G ClarkeL McQuillan B Murnane

P Filmer W A Harper P Simpson D Reid R Sibson J PorterD StewartI Ross WWattsP Hoar R BurnsK AdamsHoward P ChaprnanF Holdroyd P Coil insG Serrano J Freeman

~~~~(~~~tfficer::lIaI!::El=ttical Officer

Canring Officer

Booth lineALBANN F SharpP F LambG N SteedmanM J WalkerG SmithR HollandT McLaughlinD Latham

D SmithRA SwiftA JonesR Ward

CLEMENTJ AtkinsBA ChowdrayC LunnF J HansenD McNaughtonWDunnS RadfordRHaig

D Marsden

CUTHBERTJ D IgoeJ W CubbonC M NazimRC LauderC J JonesA BarrettE CarnegieG WalkdenGM Copsey

CYRILD A NorrisJ M Jarrett

PM Moore

M RussellH HoogensonJ Ousey

GWadeW Deary

D BourneRHowell

K E Brookes~Bage

27

lamporl I Hall lineRAEBURN ROLAND ROMNEY RONSARD

Captain J 0 White J K Schofield R K Bilton J I JonesChief Officer I L Moist A Milligan B Luke D J Jones2nd Officer M Moorhouse T J Riley D P Marsh3rd Officer IMaxwell B George PM Ashton D M NicholsonDeck Cadet J Clayton J Grayson

D P AshtonTrainee Officers A W Weaver'Radio Officer F Blythe M Stokes M Blout R ProleChief Engineer Officer AA Kelly T D Scott B Pugh N Pearson2nd Engineer Officer J J Thompson S Gormley H B Ong T Crammen3rd Engineer Officer J Kitney S Muldowney C Bailey D Darrah4th Engineer Officer RHVic B Boettger R Frost5th Engineer Officer P Anderson R F Thompson J Sponswick NO GrieveJunior Engineer Officer P McWhirter A Plummer J Husband P Williams

G Cooper D P Sheehan W B Jenkins RA FlynnEngineer Cadet G Cowan J Warren P MickleburghChief Refrig. Engineer Officer C WheelerChief Electrical Officer P Alderson E Morris FE Thomas M DaviesPurser/Catering Officer G Burghall R Cook R Taylor A McKinleyCarpenter J Richardson M Todd E Sorrell R GilmourBosun A Winter W Greener D Crowley P HarkinMechanicDunkeyrrran J Sasinski J Ryan M McKeown R Hughes2nd Steward H Burrows P Dyer J Henderson M SavageChief Cook R Edwards P Cully L 0 K Hau P Cully

Slarman lineSTARMANP \V HutchinsonD BarnicoatW F HughesGB Pole

B VickersG HarrisonI DowntonDB Geekie

R K Thomas

J MooreV DrezinsN Williarns

J Foo

Appointments as at 31H January 1977. Thd list does not include officers on other duties or on leave.

ENGINEER OFFICERS

to Masterto Masterto Second Officerto Second Officerto Third Officerto Third Officerto Third Officerto Third Officer

Recent PromotionsF FrechC PurserM A OliverA PenderG K PedderJ M KitneyJ OvseyE I GreenR W Parker.TF M FtostD F PeckJ V FentonA V H GulvinC W BaileyG J HollandR M FrostWE AdlardB W GibbsI B McCallK G AlexanderG S HolmesP K BowdenA CockrarnKOstleS BarronD PriceC CorterJ G DohertyB BoettgerJ R BecktonR T CzachurE W McFarlaneI H TurnerCH HunterD W RogersonC R ThurowoodJ R TaylorA RichardsonD PriceNO GrieveG H RawlingsCS PickerolP J CraddockA MasonD R CarneronD A CoeA S WattJ CharltonR HickeyPC JenningsA E DaviesR S S WilkieG G SaltersP J DruryID CogdonK J GatesD W BarberD A SmithS G Astorina

Fleet Personnel NewsDECK OFFICERSRecent PromotionsJ C HarrisP DanielM MoorhouseC E GibsonG G D PoleJ V SlomanPM AshtonM Griffiths

Certificates ObtainedC E Gibson First Mate's CertificateRC Page Second Mate's CertificateBM Campbell Second Mate's CertificateG G D Pole Second Mate's CertificateR J Tucker Second Mate's CertificateI S G Black Second Mate's CertificateJ V Sloman Second Mate's CertificateM Griffiths Second Mate's Certificate

Joined CompanyJ MarshA Peeters

Third OfficerThird Officer

Returned to CompanyD S Fforde Chief Officer

Certificate LeaveP J NewtonM J LockeM B RobertsPE TannW I LangM J PowerM G D SharifJ Sarat KuroarRC CorfieldD G MaidmentT P GreenA G MilnerJ E ClaytonPM BielawskiR J SmithPR MaudsleyG S HartR S DownieP J MiltonN ShilhtoLP De LezametaPH HardingRHillW J K CoplandM R AtkinsonB NewberryN A WrightPM Ashton

28

MasterMasterMasterMasterMasterMasterMasterFirst MateFirst MateFirst MateFirst MateFirst MateFirst MateFirst MateFirst MateFirst MateFirst MateFirst MateFirst MateFirst MateFirst MateFirst MateFirst MateSecond MaleSecond MateSecond MateSecond MaleSecond Ma"

1<' Chief Engineerto Chief Engineerto Second Engineerto Second Engineerto Second Engineerto Third Engineerto Third Engineerto Third Engineerto Third Engineerto Third Engineerto Third Engineerto Third Engineerto Third Engineerto Third Engineerto Third Engineerto Third Engineerto Third Engineerto Third Engineerto Third Engineerto Fourth Engineerto Fourth Engineerto Fourth Engineerto Fourth Engineerto Fourth Engineerto Fourth Engineerto Fourth Engineerto Fourth Engineerto Fourth Engineerto Fourth Engineerto Eourth Engineerto Fourth Engineerto Fourth Engineerto Fourth Engineerto Fourth Engineerto Fifth Engineerto Fifth: Engineer10 Fifth Engineerto FIfth Engineerto FIfth Engineerto Fifth Engineerto Fifth Engineerto Fifth Engineerto Frith Engineerto Fifth Engineerto Fifth Engineerto FIfth Engineerto FIfth Engineerto Fifth Engineerto Fifth Engineerto Fifth Engineerto Fifth Engineerto Fifth Engineerto Chief Refrig: Engineerto Chief Refrig: Engineerto First Electricianto First Electricianto First Electricianto First Electricianto Second Electrician