BP T2s and deck colour

[Billy Hogg]

hi, albi. i also joined i n amsterdam jan 61 i think ? i'm applying for my seamans pouch to confirm.first stop was the azores for water then puerto la croz venezualor. according to the old hands it was the worst weather anyone could remember. regards billy.

[jimmys]

That was the thing about the T2 ships you were always short of water. Once you were over a week it was a struggle. Poor evaporators and the canvas was often out to catch rain water. It was called hydromania.
The BP green if I remember was called Buckingham. Google it up and have a look at the colour. Dark green used for garden huts and lamp posts as well as ships. International Paints did it. A lot of companies used it.
Dont quote me!!

regards
jimmy

[Pete Graham]

Thanks lads for all the additional interesting comments under the heading of T2 decks. It does seem that the T2s were regarded as absolute characters...I certainly have happy memories of them: The Esso ones, , I never sailed on a BP one .
A few hairy moments though in very severe head on weather when they creaked and groaned fit to bust. The Esso T2s were "strapped" longitudinally with heavy rivetted plates to help prevent fractures in the plating. All used to pray that they held up OK. Don't know whether BPs ( or others for that matter) were similarly reinforced

Back to deck paint.... green seems to be the one so feel happy with that.

Thanks again to everyone.

Pete

[Albert Bishop]

Green decks for the Br Tankers I was on, But don't know if it applied to their T2s
And Bill mate, You must have done about the last trip on the Hyrcania, we thought she was on her last legs in 59. Cheers Albi

[Ted Charlton]

Hi everyone,

I joined BP Tankers as a Deck Apprentice in 1959, my first ship was mv British Flag. Her colour scheme was :-

Hull - dark to medium grey with name etc in white.

Boot topping was red.

Upper works - white with a 12 inch black band around the base of the house on all decks, the exterior deckheads were a delicate shade of light green.

The main deck was a dark almost maroon red and the tank lids, pipelines and deck machinery were black,

The flying bridge supports were a ;ight grey.

This scheme was changed in about 1965/66. The hull stayed the same, the black band around the houses was done away with as were the light green deckheads. The main deck and all of the fittings were a light grey.

This scheme lasted only for about 2 years and was changed again in about 1968. The hull became black with red boottopping, the decks became green with the same green for all of the deck fittings. Also about this time most ships had their hulls shotblasted, or pressure washed at their annual drydockings and the hull painted with the new scheme using the new epoxy coatings. New ships entering service around this time were completely painted with epoxy paint. In the early 70's new buildings were given the new polymer long life antifouling coatings on the underwater parts of the hull, these wore away over time and presented a quite blotched appearance when the ship was in ballast.

I hope this helps the chap who is making the models.

Incidentally I came across a book "BP Tankers - a brief fleet history" by W J Harvey and Dr R J Solly. The book contains a comprehensive list of every vessel ever owned or directly operated by BP Shipping and its predecessors from the inception of the company up to the date of publication (2005). For each vessel there is a photograph and a brief history of the vessel - when and where built, taken into service, size, etc and for most their ultimate fate. I am nearly certain that BP Shipping Ltd will be able to supply photographs of all of their old ships from their archives. Years ago I got some from them but they have been lost along the way.

Very best wishes to all the old salts out there (Iknow - not so much of the old!!)

Ted

[John Steer]

Hi i sailed on three british tanker any t2 1951- 1958 the decks were painted with boot topping except the main deck which was painted with a mixture of old oil which usually turned out black
steer

[bob gatton]

I served on BP's Fort Stevens in 1957/58. The decks were standard BP deck colour. Red deck paint(more of an orange red really) I do recall one time we caught the edge of a Hurricane whilst on passage from Cardon to UK, when the riveted straps which had been installed on the decks to stop the welded joints completly failing. Standing on the after end of the bridge deck and watching the rivets pop out as the ship hogged and sagged in mountainous seas.
So yes! I remember red decks!!

Bob Gatton

[Graham Payne]

Hi Pete, I was on a few BP Tankers in the '60s all had "Green Decks". The "British Patrol" which could possibly have been a TR2 ?? did have a green deck, seems that when there painted green it is supposed to remind the crew of the green green grass of home ? (according to BP phsycologists) Not the "Wacky Baccy" kind of grass though.

[george johnson]

Iserved on one of the first t2the company got from the yanks. It called fort frederica that was in 1947. The american crew was still on board when we joined at swan hunters shipyard. The decks were painted with red lead. I also served on another the beecher island you couldxnt move for cockroaches.george johnson.

[Louis Makinson]

I was on British Patrol and British Prestige between '64/'67 and my recollection is a blue/grey (green??) having used the windy hammer a cupla times on both decks