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Hi , my father in law was a cook on board tankers in the 60s and 70s taking fuel to supply the war in Vietnam. He was going to give me a slide show and talk of his days in the merchant navy but tragically he died last month . I am just trying to find out more about this time and possible places and ships involved. He loved his time in the merchant navy and was never happier when he was on or near the sea.
Hi Robin, welcome to the site. I was on a Shell tanker running up to Saigon in 71/72. The ship was running from Singapore (Pulau Bukom) to Nha Be in the Mekong Delta we carried white oils normally aviation spirit Shell had several ships doing similar runs if my memory serves me correctly to Da Nang and Nha Trang in the south under British Flag Ships. The same company also used Dutch Flag Ships to deliver similar products to Haiphong in the North of the country I think this carried on until the Americans Mined Haiphong Harbour. I have read somewhere that Shell supplied over 50% of the oil needs to both the North and South of the country until the end of the war and unification in 75. If your Father was with Shell's Singapore based fleet there are other sites like the Helderline site which has a wealth of information on their ships and crews. If he sailed with another Tanker company if you know the name of that company or some of the ships He sailed on. Then I am sure others on this site will help you with information or point you in the right direction to find it .
ss a cadet , there were some Shell Cadets spent time carrying aviation fuel in H-Boats on that r un
Rob Page R855150 - British & Commonwealth Shipping ( 1965 - 1973 ) Gulf Oil -( 1973 - 1975 ) Sealink ( 1975 - 1986 )
Robin if your Father did work for Shell you might like to read the following book 'Fuelling The War: Revealing An Oil Company's Role In Vietnam' BY Louis Wesseling Cheers J.W.
My father Jeffery harvey also served tanker running to Vietnam I know he was on shell and bp but not ship names and dates Regards James
Maritime Operations Officer HM Coastguard
i did 6 months on Shells Hemisinus doing Singapore , Nah Trang Danang, carrying Avtur, Avcat, mogas, gas oil, two large LPG tanks on foredeck. This was in 76 when the yanks were virtually gone and protection was extremely limited. We had two instances on board involving "weapons". On the 12-4 about 1.30 in morning, the second mate calls down to E/R "can you hear gunfire? " how the feck can I hear anything down here" I replied. Well am getting the old man up as I can hear gunfire and we are well clear of Vietnamese waters. The resulting search discovered two crewmen shooting machine gun off the poop deck. Another occasion there was a fire alarm - heavy smoke in stewards alleyway, fire team in BA entered galley boys cabin to find an iron left on a plate which cracked and iron came in contact with desk top which started to smolder as it had a linoleum finish. When smoke cleared we found a live grenade on the desk which he claimed was a souvenir paperweight
Originally Posted by Robin Hinchliffe Hi , my father in law was a cook on board tankers in the 60s and 70s taking fuel to supply the war in Vietnam. He was going to give me a slide show and talk of his days in the merchant navy but tragically he died last month . I am just trying to find out more about this time and possible places and ships involved. He loved his time in the merchant navy and was never happier when he was on or near the sea. Hi Robin, sorry that your father in law has died, what was his name? I spent 6 months taking aviation fuel from Singapore to Saigon in the early seventies on the Shell Tanker Hyria. We used to be escorted up the Saigon River by gun boats and helicopters, quite an ordeal. I know a couple of the tankers were hit by mortars but without casualties as far as I am aware. On a number of occasions Viet frogram were killed before we tied up, they used to wait to try and put mines on the ship. A small boat used to circle the tankers whilst tied up chucking hand grenades over the side to stop the frogmen. We often sat out on the poop deck of a night time and watched tracers in the night skies of fighting going on. It was quite an experience. Hope this gives you something that you father in law would have experienced. Terry Jones
Originally Posted by john walker Hi Robin, welcome to the site. I was on a Shell tanker running up to Saigon in 71/72. The ship was running from Singapore (Pulau Bukom) to Nha Be in the Mekong Delta we carried white oils normally aviation spirit Shell had several ships doing similar runs if my memory serves me correctly to Da Nang and Nha Trang in the south under British Flag Ships. The same company also used Dutch Flag Ships to deliver similar products to Haiphong in the North of the country I think this carried on until the Americans Mined Haiphong Harbour. I have read somewhere that Shell supplied over 50% of the oil needs to both the North and South of the country until the end of the war and unification in 75. If your Father was with Shell's Singapore based fleet there are other sites like the Helderline site which has a wealth of information on their ships and crews. If he sailed with another Tanker company if you know the name of that company or some of the ships He sailed on. Then I am sure others on this site will help you with information or point you in the right direction to find it . Hi, I was on the Hyria, Saigon Express 1968/69...perhaps we could talk ??
Originally Posted by Tony Taylor i did 6 months on Shells Hemisinus doing Singapore , Nah Trang Danang, carrying Avtur, Avcat, mogas, gas oil, two large LPG tanks on foredeck. This was in 76 when the yanks were virtually gone and protection was extremely limited. We had two instances on board involving "weapons". On the 12-4 about 1.30 in morning, the second mate calls down to E/R "can you hear gunfire? " how the feck can I hear anything down here" I replied. Well am getting the old man up as I can hear gunfire and we are well clear of Vietnamese waters. The resulting search discovered two crewmen shooting machine gun off the poop deck. Another occasion there was a fire alarm - heavy smoke in stewards alleyway, fire team in BA entered galley boys cabin to find an iron left on a plate which cracked and iron came in contact with desk top which started to smoulder as it had a linoleum finish. When smoke cleared we found a live grenade on the desk which he claimed was a souvenir paperweight Apologies, just checked my discharge book and it was 74 not 76.
We were off the shore of VN when Saigon was abandoned 15 April 1975. We had been delivering fuel for the US Navy Brian
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