Twenty Years Before the Antenna Mast

Trip: Thirteen

Call Sign:

Company: Shell Tankers

Specs: 21875 GRT 12500SHP

Rank: R/E/O

Joined: Tilbury 20/9/73

Departed: Canvey Island16/12/73

The ship was an experimental Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) tanker carrying Methane and running between Arzew in Morocco and Canvey Island near Southend. It carried its cargo at around minus 150 degrees Centigrade and at atmospheric pressure. The round trip took around 12 days, twice passing through two busy bottlenecks, the English Channel and the straits of Gibraltar. (These were the reasons why the ship was chosen as a test bed for the Marconi Predictor Radar). The gas was piped from the gas field, then liquefied at Arzew in a huge refrigeration and storage plant. It was then pumped to the ship through heavily insulated pipes. At Canvey Island we pumped the gas ashore with our own pumps into huge underground and insulated tanks. There it was stored prior to being distributed.

This was a relatively high tech ship using the Methane boil-off as additional fuel for the main engine via a compressor. There was no refrigeration plant, the boil off took heat from the tanks and kept them cold. We lost around 10 percent of our cargo on the run, but this was planned for. The ship was steam turbine powered instead of a diesel engine, as the easiest (and most economical) way to use the cargo boil off was by burning it in our boiler. This supplemented the normal heavy oil fuel and reduced the oil consumption very considerably. Ancillary equipment consisted of a Data logger (Ex Battersea power station), a comprehensive system of temperature monitors, a gas analyzer and Coaxial pipelines with Nitrogen outside, Methane inside. The Nitrogen was carried as liquid, in a huge tank like a vacuum flask carried in the bow. It was refilled once a trip by road tanker at Canvey. (One spill on the steel deck caused a hole through 3 decks! The steel shattering like 'thin glass' due to the ultra cold temperatures). The gas analyzer would check for any hydrocarbon impurities in the Nitrogen circulating in the outside jacket and thus check for leaks. All those measurements, plus tank temperatures, pressures, flow rates etc were automatically recorded by the data logger.

The tanks were stainless steel with thick Balsa wood insulation between the tank and the steel bulkhead of the tank space. The Chief Officer and a cadet, looking for cold spots made the ballast space inspections (between the steel tank bulkhead and the outer hull). If they saw a frost spot the temperature of it was measured and a log kept. If the temperature dropped below about minus 10 degrees then the ballast space must be flooded to keep the steel "warm" and prevent any cracking or fracturing due to the normal stresses of the ship. Steel becomes brittle and loses its tensile strength when very cold

During one of these inspections, a walkie-talkie was dropped, falling into a sea water-filled section of tank. These radios were an essential communications medium on board so after fishing it out an apprentice was sent to bring it to me. The salt water had caused the battery to short circuit, and the thing was almost cooking. I must admit I was very doubtful I could get it to work again, but it was worth a try. I cleaned the battery and obtained several buckets of distilled water from the engine room. I then let the radio soak in them until all traces of salt were gone. I cleaned up the corroded bits on the circuit board and power switch then carefully dried out the insides on deck in the hot sun. No one was more surprised than I was when: after re-assembly, replacing the battery and switching on, it worked!

The ship boasted very comfortable accommodation. It was built as a floating test-bed by Shell and money had not been skimped. Also, due to our regular return to Canvey Island, we even had draft English beer in the bar! The Predictor radar however was very temperamental. At the time it was one of the first self-plotting Radar's, and in its way quite advanced. Radar video data was stored on a sort of videotape, on an endless loop in a cassette. The scanner azimuth information was also carefully stored and synchronized with the radar echoes, so that a continuous picture could be built up of the last 6 minutes. The cassette contained just enough tape for 6 minutes of data to be stored before being overwritten. Due to its continual use, the tape had a limited life, and had to be replaced. After a change in tape manufacturer, static electricity build up caused the tape to jam and mangle up within the cassette. The old cassettes were fine, but the new ones never worked for long. The only cure was to "steam" the radar transceiver with the bridge kettle to disperse the static! This caused no end of funny comments from the bridge watch officers. It was also of course not to be recommended as a permanent solution. The days of "steam radio" were long gone!

I then left Marconi to join CP Ships. The reason was that Marconi wanted me to be a permanent Shell man, and go on their new large gas carriers running between Japan and Brunei. I got a reasonable bonus for being with Shell, but this particular run was highly boring, with almost no free time in port and I would have had to do 6 month trips. I refused saying I wanted to do a Department of Trade radar course so I could go on different ships. In turn they refused to send me on a radar course as I had taken a company course (Not recognized outside of Marconi). As I was one of their Predictor stars it was thought I should stay on Predictor fitted ships. It was not an amicable parting, as Marconi accused me of taking another of their Radio Officers with me (The Radio Officer on the Methane Progress: the sister ship). I had mentioned to him that I was leaving as we often had contacts on the radio. I also told him the pay rates I was offered, but he made his own mind up! After all it was no secret.

There followed a 3-month DOT Radar course at Bristol Polytechnic paid by C.P. (A condition of my joining) after which I joined CP Ships seagoing staff as an Electronics Officer. In this capacity, I would be responsible for all electronic equipment on the ship, as well as the normal radio communications. This meant considerable duties in the engine room as well as the bridge.

Some of the other reasons for joining CP were that they paid considerably more and the length of trips were generally not more than 4 months. I was also given Senior Officer and Head of Department status. This enabled me to bring my wife with me (if I had been married) and put me in a higher pay bracket.

A world-wide Relief scheme was being used where officers joined and were flown home from any suitable port. The ships generally had 6 month running articles, which often meant we joined half way through their period, and were expected to re-sign when the articles had to be renewed. With very few exceptions we did, though it was theoretically possible to ask to be sent home on expiry of the old articles.