'Agalampus ' Bitter Lakes 1969

[Tim Bickerdike]

Hiello all..
Looking through my dad's stuff today I re-discovered a card from 'Agalampus' with all the 'postmarks' from the 14 ships in the Yellow Fleet. On the back it has a crew list from some time in 1969. I have attached the card so please have a look, you might be there...

Cheers
Tim Bickerdike

[Gulliver]

Hi Tim,and thanks for posting that memento of your Dad's.
I'm sure by now you're well informed about the Great Bitter Lakes Association-a unique event at a unique time!
I've always admired the following web pages:-
http://web.me.com/myronpm/Topics/html/gbla.htm
which depicts those stamps.
For further interest,some time ago I compiled a list of those ships and documented their final histories,which may be of interest to you and others:-
All the Best
Gulliver

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Trapped for eight years
In October 1967 the officers and crews of all fourteen ships met on the Melampus to found the "Great Bitter Lake Association" which would provide mutual support. In the time to come, the crew members regularly met on board their ships, organised social events, founded a yachting club and held the "Bitter Lake Olympic Games" to complement the1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City.. In time, a postal system evolved, the hand-crafted stamp of which became collectors' items around the world.
In time it was possible to reduce the number of crew members on board the ships, and in 1969 the ships were gathered into several groups to further reduce the number of crew necessary for their upkeep. In terms of the postal system, this resulted in the creation of group stamps such as the stamp bearing the name "MS Müwinikies", which derived from the ship names "Mü" (Münsterland), "wi" (Nordwind) "ni" (Nippon), "ki" (Killara) and "es" (Essayons). In 1972 the last crew members of the German ships were finally sent home, with the maintenance of the ships left to a Norwegian company.
In spring 1975 the Suez Canal was once again opened for international transport, and on May 24, 1975, the German ships Münsterland and Nordwind reached Hamburg port, cheered by more than 30,000 spectators. They were reportedly the only ships to have left the canal under their own power. For the Münsterland this was the end of a voyage to Australia which had lasted eight years, three months and five days.
　
　
　
　
　
MS AGAPENOR (UK) [detained 6.67-7.75
75 NIKOS-Greek) BU Gadani Beach 25.10.81

MS MELAMPUS (UK) [detained 6.67 -6.75
75 ANNOULA II(Greek)
BU Gadani Beach 7.11.82

MS SCOTTISH STAR (UK) [detained Suez Canal 6.67-30.5.75] - 75 KAVO YERAKAS(Greek)
BU in Spain 5.8.79 (had been laid up since purchase in 1975)
　
MS PORT INVERCARGILL(UK) Released 6.75 75 KAVO KOLONES(Greek)
BU Kaohsiung 22.8.79

SS AFRICAN GLEN (USA), shelled and sunk Bitter Lakes, Suez Canal 16.10.73 (Yom Kippur War)(trapped there since 6.67)

MS NORDWIND (West Germany) . Released 6.75 79 RODANTHI A.(Greek) - 79 CENTAURUS(Greek,then Lebanese in 82)
BU Shanghai 28.5.85
　
MS MUNSTERLAND(West Germany) Released 6.75 79 MUNSTERLANDES (Greek)
BU Fujian 3.84

MS KILLARA(Sweden) released 6.75 75HELLENIC SEAMAN (Greek) - 84 PANAMA STAR
BU Kaohsiung 30.12.86
　
MS NIPPON (Sweden)
74 MARIT (Greek ) Sold whilst still trapped- 74 HELLENIC PATRIOT - 84 TENON
BU Qinhuangdao 20.7.84

MS SINDH(France) ) 71 Sold to Norwegians.whilst trapped in Canal),renamed ESSAYONS (Norw) - Trapped to 6.75 75 BADR(Saudi Arabia)
BU 1981.
　
MS DJAKARTA (Poland) Trapped 6.67 -6.75 75 MANINA III (Greek).wrecked 36.59N/27.26E 30.3.81 in Aegean)& sank 31.3.81 [Constanta-Port Said, cement]
　
MS BOLESLAW BIERUT(Poland) trapped in Suez Canal 7.6.67-6.75] - 75 FAY III(Greek)
BU Bombay 17.2.82
MS VASSIL LEVSKY(Bulgaria)
[merchant aircraft carrier/Bulk Carrier] - 43 EMPIRE MACKENDRICK (British Gov’ment)47- GRANPOND Mediterranean & Atlantic Lines Ltd ,London
- 51 CONDOR(Pan) - 55 SALTERSGATE (Turnbull Scott(London)- 57 VASSIL LEVSKY(Bul)
BU Split 22.7.75 ; [trapped in Bitter Lakes, Suez Canal 6.67-5.75.
　
MS LEDNICE (Czechoslovakia) Trapped 6.67-7.75
89 DIYA - 92 ATLASCO PRIDE - 93 OCEAN TRADER
scuttled Vettilaikerni, Sri Lanka 9.10.94
　
A fifteenth ship, the OBSERVER(USA) was stranded in Lake Timsah.,behind rest of convoy after engine failure.
Blt.1943 as t.e.Tanker FRONT ROYAL (U.S.)[- 48 ESSO SHREVEPORT - 62 TRUSTCO - 66 Lengthened and widened & converted to bulk carrier] Renamed OBSERVER

Fate:Hulked at Port Said 1975
　

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[Terry Wilcox]

Hi all. We had a film crew come out to the ships that were trapped in the Great Bitter Lakes. I was on the Port Invercargill twice while the war was going on. I have always wanted to see the documentary film. I know that it was the B.B.C. Does anyone know how I can view the film?? Is there a web page? Take care..... Terry

[jimmys]

I was on another Blue Flu ship and we were in Suez when the Six Day war started. The whole Middle East exploded into war in front of us. We went round the Cape to get back.
This was a very major problem for Blu Flue as they were one of the few shipping companies that carried their own insurance and with two ships and cargo stuck in the Bitter Lakes it was very costly. Breach of contract, cargo losses , demurrage, hull and engine loss. They were sold cheaply when the vessels got out.
The fact the canal shut and the vessel losses I think brought the company down prematurely. I was there for two years after that and it was never the same.

regards
jimmy

[Cath Senker]

Dear Terry, I've just joined this forum. I am a professional writer and am fascinated by the story of the ships that were trapped in the Suez Canal from 1967–75.

I really think this amazing story deserves to be known about more widely. I'm interested in writing about the experiences of people of all nationalities who spent some time on the Great Bitter Lake, and particularly the activities of the GBLA.

Would you be able to tell me more about your time on the Port Invercargill? If so, please get in touch.

Thank you very much
C Senker

[j.sabourn]

Probably the nationalization of the Suez Canal will be one of the only ones to have worked, for the Egyptians, as another post has been discussing the merits of and against. Louis it does work for some in especial cases. I was not happy to see the likes of Kielder Reservoir sold into foreign ownership. Cheers JS PS this should be in another post, so sorry to anyone it upsets. Should be in the post for electricity.

[Thomas Seel]

Dear Jimmy,
I was in Blue Flue, & was on way home when the canal closed. (Think it was the Glen Line ship "Flintshire"). I can't agree with your surmise that the loss of those two ships brought the company down. AH group was VERY "cash rich". I think it was later "miss-management" after the company went public that caused its demise. Look at the big LNG carrier "Nestor" - launched in 1977 (final cost about 60 million) & then laid up for TWELVE years - never "worked for" Blueys, then sold for a pittance - about 14 million. New management tried all sorts of "diversification" instead of playing to their strengths in the Far East, etc. Interesting book on this subject "Put Not Your Trust In Princes", by Dennis Gallagher. Final chapter takes a look at Bluey's downfall. I sailed with BF/ED/Glen from being a "middy" with them in 1965 until I left (the a 2/O) to joing Swires in 1974. I think BF was a great company to work for & to see it "go downhill" really saddened me. Cheers, Tom Seel

[Gulliver]

Hi Tom. Just to let you know,'Jimmys' (Jim Smith),an ex marine chief engineer from Glasgow (allegedly) is no longer with us,either virtually or maybe even in real life-his last post was 5 years ago.You will see he has a line through his site name on his posting which would indicate he was persona non grata on site
I can't remember now the reason why but he was a knowledgeable ,often entertaining soul if a bit cantankerous ,as indeed many C/E's were in real life aboard ship.
(I personally think he was yet another alias of a certain 'sockpuppet' who was extant on this site about the same time,and who has also now mysteriously 'disappeared'-but that is just my own suspicious cynical mind,so don't quote me on that.)
PS for those who know ,he is not to be confused with another Jim Smith ,a nice chap from Grange over Sands in South Lakes, an ex-catering department guy who sadly died a few years ago now.

Ah well,here's a BF 'chimney' for you to get steamed up about again !Blue Funnel.gif

[Cath Senker]

Here's the link for the One Show clip broadcast on 12 July about the seafarers who were trapped in the Great Bitter Lake. It's 50 mins into the programme: BBC One - The One Show, 12/07/2017

[Cath Senker]

Dear all

I have recently reprinted ‘Stranded in the Six-Day War’, including a few revisions pointed out to me by readers.

The book is about the experiences of the seafarers on board the 14 merchant ships trapped in the Suez Canal between 1967 and 1975. You can read the book blurb here: Stranded in the Six-Day War Paperback 5 June 2017: Amazon.co.uk: Cath Senker: 9781999708504: Books

It has been well received and has had some excellent reviews, including this one on Amazon by Jeremy Bowen, BBC Middle East Editor and author of Six Days: How the 1967 War Shaped the Middle East:

This is a brilliantly researched and written account of an almost forgotten incident in the 1967 Middle East war. It’s full of tasty nuggets of detail. The war stranded ships that were passing through the Suez Canal, and created a unique community of marooned seafarers. Recommended. Jeremy Bowen, August 2017

If you’d like to buy it, please send a cheque for £14.50 incl. P&P (UK only) with your postal address to:
Cath Senker
4th Floor
60 Lansdowne Place
Hove
BN3 1FG

Alternatively, you can buy it using your debit card or PayPal on my website Cath Senker

Please give me your full name and postal address.
If you are buying from outside the UK, please select the correct option, Europe or World.

Thank you very much in anticipation.

Best wishes

Cath Senker