Temperature

[E.Martin]

Recently a temperature of 54 plus was recorded in Kuwait now that is blooming hot.
I was there many times in the fifties pair of shorts and a pair of shoes,did not do any harm

[Captain Kong]

I was Bahrain in the summer of 1954 and the temperature was over 140`f in the shade but we were working in the sun. on that day 16 Arabs died due to the heat, did 12 hours on deck that day. but being British Seamen we could take it.
Cheers
Brian

[E.Martin]

Thinking on I was at Mena Al Amadi in 1951,apparently there was trouble at Abadan so all the tankers were directed to Kuwait,we were one of 35 tankers waiting to go alongside Mena al Amadi,5 seamen from various nationalities were carried ashore dead from the heat.

[Charlie Hannah]

I was along side in Mena al Amadi when an assassination was attempted on the ruler there is a name for him but slipped the mind.We were all led down the gangway at gun point lined up on the quay while dozens of bods searched the ship.Stood there for about three hours scorching hot.

[Gulliver]

Extracts from my Cadet Log 1970 -The Persian Gulf. I noted it was late August/early September and temperatures were 45 C high, 30 C low at night,glad we had working air conditioning.

I suppose it was because of some of the tragedies you guys have described that guidelines for safe working practices were laid down by British shipping companies for crew working in the Persian Gulf.
I was still a cadet in 1970 and visited Dubai (UAE)-when it was still a dhow port of course,not like today's shimmering city in the desert;Ras-al-Khafji ,which at that time was in the Saudi Arabia-Kuwait neutral zone,before it became officially part of Saudi;Doha (Qatar),Khorramshahr and Bandar Shapour (Iran) and Kuwait.

We turned to at 0430 just before local sunrise and worked through till 1100,with a breakfast break. We still did chipping and painting in the relatively shaded accommodation decks,wrapped up in improvised Arab style head dresses,which was rather fun,especially when a real A-rab started talking to you assuming you were some kind of young good-looking fair skinned Arab boy-I kept my back well covered. We still had to assist our Indian crew with topping and lowering derricks in the heat,although I suppose other derrick positioning to the overside lighters or at the hatch were done by the dockers,who lived onboard out at our anchorage for the duration.They rigged tarps over the poop and on the lighters and funnelled what coolish air there was out at the anchorage into those spaces.
Outside water sources aboard our ship were blanked off ,water used from tanks lifted aboard from the shore gangs lighter,and 'thunderboxes ' constructed by Chippy fore and aft. Mecca time at sunset was a revelatory picture show about the Arab male anatomy for anyone so inclined,the 2nd Engineer's wife was often to be seen on the boat deck ogling or perving the gangs performing their wash down prior to facing east.There were several squeals emanating from her at the engineers' table on sausage and mash nights when she was served a particular appropriate one by her knowing steward.... I don't know what it is,but why,in my experience ,was it always 2nd Engineer's wives who were the lewdest of all the wives on board the ships I sailed in ?

Copious amounts of salt tablets were on offer throughout the ship for everyone ,but I never remember anyone applying sun protection cream like you would today,in fact we all tried our best to get a tan to take home and the browner the better. Skin cancer hadn't been invented then......

We flew home as a crew from Kuwait across the desert to Beirut (Lebanon), where it was quite sobering to see bombed out planes,both civilian and military on the airstrips,after a recent conflict ,then onto London ,again with Middle East Airlines(Air Leban )
It was rather cooler in London-and an absolute joy !

I never got back to the Gulf again,and it certainly wouldn't have made me join a tanker company. I'm not even bothered about seeing Dubai again today,although looking back through my Log I did transit stopover in the airport there once en route to Singapore.bonvoyage.jpg

[Keith Tindell]

I also never recall anyone using sun block, in fact , while painting derricks, and sat aside said derrick, i noticed by legs were starting to burn. now being young and stupid, i thought what i could put on my legs to ease the burn, and decided on Brylcream, for those of us who remember that stuff ?, well, what a pratt i was, on turning to in the afternoon, same job, looked down on my legs, and they were actually bubbling, i had started to fry. Luckily i never had to take time off, but thinking about it now makes me cringe, kt

[Captain Kong]

By Gum, Davy, you had it easy in the Gulf, A/C?? ??
A/C????, should have been on old T2 tankers in the Gulf. No A/C, Water rationed to a couple of hours a day. Missed it and no shower, No nice Ice water,
The only A/C we had was sleeping on the funnel deck at night.
You don't know your born, I say you don't know your born, lad.

[John Arton]

I also never recall anyone using sun block . Luckily i never had to take time off, but thinking about it now makes me cringe, kt

Same thing happened to me Keith in St. Croix. After a mornings cargo watch (was 3rd mate) in just shorts off to the beach for an afternoon bronzy where I met up with a bikini clad croupier off the QE2 (which was on a Caribbean cruise and anchored off). She told me my back was burning and offered to rub sun cream on it to prevent sun burn. Well who could refuse having your skin oiled by a svelte bikini clad girl. Wangled an invite to visit her on board that evening as we were not working cargo. Never got to see her again as by 1800 the effects of putting oil on a hot surface had taken effect and my back was covered in huge blisters and skin peeling off. Only thing I learnt that day was to be aware of girls in bikinis offering to oil you up LOL
rgds
JA
p.s. hottest temperature I ever encountered was 45 deg going into Dampier.

[happy daze john in oz]

Coober Pedy, Aboriginal for white mans hole in the ground, in South Oz often gets to the low 50's in summer.
Marble Bar in WA gets to 50 plus regularly.
Many places here in Oz that get beyond a safe heat, but at the same time can go below freezing at night.

[Des Taff Jenkins]

Thinking on I was at Mena Al Amadi in 1951,apparently there was trouble at Abadan so all the tankers were directed to Kuwait,we were one of 35 tankers waiting to go alongside Mena al Amadi,5 seamen from various nationalities were carried ashore dead from the heat.

Hi E. Martin
I was there around the same time B.T.C. Tanker, we were alongside a Swedish ship and the captain was walking down the gangway when he collapsed and died.
I was on the British Fern< I think the last tanker out of the Shattel arab river, when the Yanks overthrew the legit Govt and reinstalled the Shah, we had to throw the ropes off and turn in the river no tugs available, scary times as well as hot.
Cheers Des