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Article: Sailing with BP

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    Sailing with BP

    8 Comments by Peter Pemberton Published on 21st August 2019 02:37 PM
    I joined the SS Rogue River in September 1957, my first ship, as a navigating apprentice with BP. The ship was in dry dock in Cardiff for a couple of weeks before we sailed to Kuwait via the Suez Canal.
    After loading Crude oil we set course for Buenos Aires with a stop in Durban for water and bunkers.The transit from Durban across the southern Atlantic was quite an experience.
    The ship was a wartime T2 tanker, and although it had strengthening H girders built into both sides of the deck you could see the cable that went from the bow, to the two masts sag and go taught as we went through the heavy seas. On arrival we anchored in the estuary of the River Plate in front on the city of Montevideo awaiting the pilot. I was on the bridge while we travelled up the river, and was amused that the pilot gave instructions using some sunken ships as reference points. We reached our destination and anchored off the small town of Ensenada, which is about 30 miles away fro the city of Buenos aires There we had to discharge part of our cargo into lighters before we could enter a channel for the main discharge. Our second mate got furious when he saw a worker on the lighter barge smoking. On the opposite side of the channel to where we moored was a large slaughter house, and throughout the time we were there a continuous line of cattle was walked up a ramp until the top where a man stood on a platform with a sledge hammer, a gruesome scene.
    We did two more voyages to Buenos Aires and then after loading a cargo of crude we sailed to Philadelphia. From there we went to Punta Cardon in Venezuela and loaded crude for Europe. We thought that we were headed to Scandinavia and the engineers spent a lot of effort to get the tanks heating system working. In the Bay of Biscay we received orders to discharge in Loch Long, Scotland and pay off the crew.=

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    Default Re: Sailing with BP

    Hi Peter,
    I was a 1955 BP Engineering Apprentice, have been running a BP website for almost 20 years ( located over 1000 ex BP seagoing personnel), including a database of 4200 BP Navigating Apprentices. Never heard of you before and would like to connect privately but not too sure how to through this website.
    I know a few people who sailed Rogue river in 1957 , but both left in August. One of my close friends joined her as EA 7th Sept 1958 , but I guess you had left her by then.

    Graham Wallace

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    Default Re: Sailing with BP

    joined the rogue river Swansea 1952 Swansea to freemantle 28day fuel oil first ship deep water regards graham jones

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    Default Re: Sailing with BP

    Quote Originally Posted by Graham Wallace View Post
    Hi Peter,
    I was a 1955 BP Engineering Apprentice, have been running a BP website for almost 20 years ( located over 1000 ex BP seagoing personnel), including a database of 4200 BP Navigating Apprentices. Never heard of you before and would like to connect privately but not too sure how to through this website.
    I know a few people who sailed Rogue river in 1957 , but both left in August. One of my close friends joined her as EA 7th Sept 1958 , but I guess you had left her by then.

    Graham Wallace
    My late father R V Humble, was an engineer, started in 1941 on the "British Faith"and had many ship's, by 1950 he was a Chief Engineer, on the Cottonwood Creek, Rogue River, Chisholm Trail,
    British Glory, Vivien Louise, Huntsland, Huntsfield, Huntsmore and ended up in 1971 on the Westward Ho, as a small boy of 4 I was on the Vivien Louise in 1954 the captain was a Captain Flowers.
    And I have many photo,s , those were the days.

    Rowland Humble ex RN

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    Thumbs up Re: Sailing with BP

    Quote Originally Posted by graham wallace View Post
    hi peter,
    i was a 1955 bp engineering apprentice, have been running a bp website for almost 20 years ( located over 1000 ex bp seagoing personnel), including a database of 4200 bp navigating apprentices. Never heard of you before and would like to connect privately but not too sure how to through this website.
    I know a few people who sailed rogue river in 1957 , but both left in august. One of my close friends joined her as ea 7th sept 1958 , but i guess you had left her by then.

    Graham wallace
    hello--please advise of your website--sailed bp--clyde prospector and british triumph--thanks --don.

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    Default Re: Sailing with BP

    Only ever did one voyage with BP.
    Maiden voyage of the British Hawthorn, sailed out of Sunderland on a voyage taking lube oil to Sweden.
    Ended up with a Hernia from loading ships stores and when she got orders for deep sea the skipper would not let me continue, bad health risk he said.
    Happy daze John in Oz.

    Life is too short to blend in.

    John Strange R737787
    World Traveller

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    Default Re: Sailing with BP

    Quote Originally Posted by Graham Wallace View Post
    Hi Peter,
    I was a 1955 BP Engineering Apprentice, have been running a BP website for almost 20 years ( located over 1000 ex BP seagoing personnel), including a database of 4200 BP Navigating Apprentices. Never heard of you before and would like to connect privately but not too sure how to through this website.
    I know a few people who sailed Rogue river in 1957 , but both left in August. One of my close friends joined her as EA 7th Sept 1958 , but I guess you had left her by then.

    Graham Wallace
    Hi Graham
    I was a BP NAVIGATING APPRENTICE FROM 62 TO 66 would certainly like to access your website.
    Regards Alan Lawson

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    Default Re: Sailing with BP

    Try this Link Alan
    Cheers



    BP Marine Engineering Apprentices
    Senior Site Moderator-Member and Friend of this Website

    R697530

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    Default Re: Sailing with BP

    Quote Originally Posted by Graham Wallace View Post
    Hi Peter,
    I was a 1955 BP Engineering Apprentice, have been running a BP website for almost 20 years ( located over 1000 ex BP seagoing personnel), including a database of 4200 BP Navigating Apprentices. Never heard of you before and would like to connect privately but not too sure how to through this website.
    I know a few people who sailed Rogue river in 1957 , but both left in August. One of my close friends joined her as EA 7th Sept 1958 , but I guess you had left her by then.

    Graham Wallace
    Hi Graham,

    My mother passed away recently in Ireland and when I was going through her things, I came across a letter that was posted from Egypt in December 1958. The return address is "4th Engineer, SS Rogue River, c/o BP Tanker Co.". It is very difficult to make out the name of the sender but it looks like B. Monds. Does this name mean anything to you? I would love to find out who the sender was.

    I have attached a photo of the return address on the back of the letter.

    Thanks in Advance for your help.

    Last edited by Doc Vernon; 11th December 2019 at 09:26 PM.

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