Drydock Memories

[Ken Elvy]

1974 I flew out to the gulf to join the BP tanker British Scientist, a VLCC of just under 220,000 dwt,
She had been built in Japan and was now due her first survey. Having loaded a cargo of crude oil in Mina Al Ahmedi, we proceeded to Chiba in Tokyo Bay to offload before making our way round to the Kawasaki shipyard in Sakaidi on the southern island of Shikoku. Having manoeuvred into the drydock the sea water was soon being removed and the first interesting thing to see was a number of shore workers waiting with spears in their hands ready to catch any fish that appeared as the water drained out. Settled now on blocks the ship was soon inundated with shore staff as a lot of maintenance work needed to be carried out. Everything onboard shut down so all washing, toilet facilities etc were now on shore.
Memory fades but it was something in the order of three and a half weeks now of time off work. Each morning before commencing work the whole shipyard staff lined up on the dock, music was played and for ten minutes or so they did physical exercises. Kawasaki were very good to us, they arranged coach trips into the surrounding countryside, visiting Shinto Temples and into the town of Takamatsu for shopping sprees. We were also shown around various new builds in the yard, had saki parties arranged and a couple of football matches, our rag tag team not quite being up to their expertise although because the Japanese at the time liked to "save face", they never humiliated us by scoring too many goals!
Everyone was very friendly, a part of Japan where it seemed there were not too many Westerners, being tall I was everlasting having my photo taken with small, polite Japanese people.
In all it was a very interesting experience.

[Graham Shaw]

A nice Article Ken. Like many of us here I too loved everything about Japan,except maybe the high cost of living and cost of visiting there!
Imagine a British workforce turning up 30 minutes early for a shift and having pep talks and a physical exercise programme !

Your 220,000 tonnes deadweight VLCC ,as so many of it's size,was scrapped after only a 10 year life cycle-yours,the British Scientist,in Kaohsung ,Tai-Wan in September 1981. (What a lot of razor blades and fridges she would have been made into).
They were quite an achievement in the 70's,scaling up and making sure they could safely transport those millions of barrels of oil was not cheap to operate economically ,and the main raison d'etre for them,the closure of Suez from 67-75 ,even if draft limitation wouldn't have allowed them anyway,was against them ,and necessitating a voyage via the Cape of Good Hope;draft limitations elsewhere ,like Malacca Strait or the Persian Gulf,necessitating offshore SBM facilities to be made,the storage capacity required to store it ,the oil crisis of that time,and cost of crew wages and reliefs all worked against them.The 'lucky' VLCC/ ULCC's that escaped the cutters' torches were converted into storage facilities-some of them, getting on now for 50 years old,as has happened recently, meeting with disastrous accidents ,due to lack of any subsequent proper maintenance...

[David mullins]

Of all the places I’ve been to in world, Japan seems to have some of my fondest memories too. I was never fortunate enough to have had anything quite like the treatment given to you by the shipyard company. It sounds fantastic, lucky you!!
Spent quite a bit of time there in various places in the 50s and I could never get my mind around how helpful and polite the Japanese people are despite the war atrocities I’d read about.

[Peter Copley]

Hi Ken I spent a lot of time in Japan with Runciman's tramp steamers and being on a 12-month time charter to Nippon Yusen Tokyo. I spent 6 weeks in a Yokohama dry dock following storm damage repairs inflicted by a North Pacific typhoon. The worst thing for me in the dry dock was the squat toilets. I hated having to use them. One of my memories of Japanese dock workers was how clean they were, changing out of their civilian clothing for workwear, and then after working down the holds, they showered and changed back into their clean clothing before going home, quite a contrast to some British dockers who came aboard in dirty overalls and then went home in the same dirty overalls returning next day looking like their hair and faces needed a good wash. In the 1950s 60s and 70s I was reluctant to wax lyrical about Japan to the locals in my town as many of the Lancashire Fusiliers had suffered badly as POWs under the Japanese, however, I found the Japanese to be kind and friendly, especially the girls in the bars.

[j.sabourn]

#4 What year was that Peter , I was 11 years with Runcimans , however the last time I was in a Japanese shipyard was in Yokohama in a mitsibushi yard for one of their shipbuilds , for a guarantee docking which was nearly 2 years late in happening. However can second the good welcome we received from their work force. The ship in itself this case belonged to Chowgule Shipping and was if remember correctly in 1968. Runcimans was 1953 to 1964. JS

PS Runcimans ships I was on.... Avonmoor, Brockleymoor , Dartmouth, Exmoor, Glenmoor, Hazelmoor, Jedmoor. The Brockleymoor had a lascar crew. And an earlier gaffe by our exalted press was when they took photos from aircraft showing what they described as women on deck they being seamen in their national dress of course ,they have continued with the gaffes through all the years since then when anything that floats is described by them incorrectly , time they went to the Boulevarde or South Shields for the beginners course. Cheers JS

[Peter Copley]

Hi JS I was with Runcimans of Newcastle for just over 2 years 1960 - 1963. Cragmoor and Dartmoor. I was on the time charter 12 months 1967 - 1968. With NYT We traded general cargo between Pacific ports and Japan. I enjoyed working for Runcimans, circumnavigating the world 3 times, with Captain Tommy Rowe, the best skipper I have had the privilege to work with. regards PC.

[j.sabourn]

Believe Cappy May of been on the Cragmoor about the same time as yourself , if he hasn’t fallen asleep by now he will know, in 63 /64 Moor Line left Pilgrim Street and moved to Anchor Line offices in Scotland and believe they were registered on the stock market as Runciman Shipping. During the time you mention I was on the Exmoor and the Jedmoor Knew Tommy Rowe he used to carry two sets of boxing gloves for any arguments a well thought of Master.. I got Shanghaied when home about 72 to go back with them on a new Exmoor , the personell Officer a mr. Davies driving down from Scotland to get there before Chapman’s had time to pull his fishing line in. however is never wise to go back where once you swam with the big fish as everyone thought you were after their job , so left after 1 Red Sea trip delivering handouts to the starving in Somalia . Maybe I have the Pers. managers name wrong , the other has slipped my memory at the moment , know he was the one there in 1953 but think he may have changed in 1972. All water under the bridge now in any case just talking about dead men. All the best JS
Just read your post again you say primary you were there 60/63 then later 67/68 on time charter is that with Runcimans as well ? JS...

[cappy]

Believe Cappy May of been on the Cragmoor about the same time as yourself , if he hasn’t fallen asleep by now he will know, in 63 /64 Moor Line left Pilgrim Street and moved to Anchor Line offices in Scotland and believe they were registered on the stock market as Runciman Shipping.
Just read your post again you say primary you were there 60/63 then later 67/68 on time charter is that with Runcimans as well ? JS...

was in the cragmoor 16 12 57.....avonmoor12 4 59......7 months craggy about two in avonmoor joined her in wallaroo.R683532

[Peter Copley]

#7 Hi JS. No the ship was the Greek registered MV Eugenie S Embiricos - Embiricos Line. For a while, we traded with Nakhodka Russia then USSR. Four trips in all. I enjoyed going there, going ashore, looking like Michellin men, loaded up with goodies from Japan, items you couldn't get for love nor money in Russia, then, like a magician's flourish, producing the nylons, lipsticks and other luxury items to the delight of the squealing Russian girls, who unlike the Japanese girls were tall, blonde and blue-eyed. Reminiscent of the GIs coming to England in 1942 flashing gum and nylons to our girls. PC

[James Curry]

Did many dockings in Japan , Singapore , Bahrain , Portugal and Dubai Ferrol in Spain. Japan always impressed me, as for Dubai, well very good at a hull scrub and paint job but less said about the rest of it the better. I worked for MAK so would do main engine/ generator rebuilds. Only thing that did annoy me about the Japanese if I was doing a from bed plate rebuild the Japs would be all over you like a rash taking photos of this ,that and wahatever took their fancy.