Opening the sea cocks

[j.sabourn]

When you read passages like that in books or see in movies, it makes one think of how shore workers view shipping in general. Almost as bad as the Captain marrying people. How many have been asked what do you do at night, a lot still think you drop the anchor and everyone goes to bed. However re the Title of this thread was thinking back to a Ch.Eng. I sailed with years ago who told me a story of a ship being Hi jacked off one of the Southern Irish ports, and believe this must be the only time it ever happened. So hoping someone maybe able to verify or not. What I can remember ship was carrying coal from Blyth to Southern Ireland. Anchored off the port. Boarded by hooded armed men and sent ashore in the commandeered pilot cutter as couldnt get the lifeboat engine to start. This was late on a Saturday night. He was taken below into E.R. and asked where the best place to set the charges for blowing off ships side valves to sink the vessel. He said it gave him pleasure telling him, as was not very enamoured with the ship. However the Master and all the crew finished up at the Local dance ashore, the Chief reckoned that one of the shore wallahs was buying them drinks all night and he suspected he was one of the IRA who boarded, but as they were masked at the time couldnt be 100 percent sure. The master on phoning the owners and telling them what had happened at first wasnt believed, as could hear the music in the background, and were told to get back to ship or they were all fired. Anyhow the charges went off and ship dutifully sank. However it touched bottom before being submerged and was later salvaged. The way the story was told to me was very funny and I could see the comical side to it. I never read anything in papers about this, but probably at the time I was away on long voyages. Anyone have any memories of this occurence. Cheers John Sabourn.

[Captain Kong]

I do remember a coaster being hijacked by IRA and explosives detonated, But unfortunately cannot remember when or where., Maybe somewhere on google.?
Brian.

[Captain Kong]

I found this on WIKIPEDIA
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Attacks on shipping in Lough Foyle (1981–1982)From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Attacks on shipping in Lough Foyle
Part of The Troubles

The coaster Nellie M after the bombing
Location Lough Foyle, off County Londonderry
Date 6 February 1981
23 February 1982
Target 2 cargo ships
2,000 BRT
Weapon(s) 2 pilot boats
4 explosive charges
Deaths none
Injured none
Perpetrator Provisional Irish Republican Army
Motive To hinder British shipping around Derry
The Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) carried out two bomb attacks against British coal ships in February 1981 and February 1982 at Lough Foyle, a large inlet between County Londonderry, in Northern Ireland and County Donegal, in the Republic of Ireland. Both vessels were sunk, but their crews reached the coastline safely in lifeboats.

[edit] Early attacks on shippingThere had been a number of attacks on small vessels by the IRA before 1981. On April 1971, a Royal Navy survey launch was blown up at the port of Baltimore, in the Irish Republic. The boat, the Stork, was towed out to sea and destroyed by an explosive device before dawn, while the crew was ashore.[1] Another British boat, the Puffin, received minor damaged in the same action.[2] Both launches were attached to HMS Hecate.[3]

Between February and October 1972 the Provisional IRA North Antrim Brigade carried out two bombings against sand barges at Lough Neagh. Two IRA members were killed by the premature explosion of one of the devices, while two of the barges were sunk in a second incident, with a loss of £80,000.[4][5] These barges were probably the Lough Neagh and the Ballyginniff.[6]

The killing of Lord Mountbatten and three other persons at Mullaghmore, County Sligo, took place when they were on board Mountbatten's fishing boat, the Shadow V, on August 27 1979.[7]

[edit] The backgroundThe declared IRA's aim was to disrupt the maritime traffic out and from the Londonderry Port, on the east bank of the lough. They also intended to force British and Irish authorities to deploy security guards on board the merchant ships.[8] The IRA claimed that they regarded the ships as "commercial targets".[9]

On the British side, the Bird class patrol boats HMS Cygnet and HMS Kingfisher were already assigned by the Royal Navy to protect the waterways of the province. Their mission was to prevent the smuggling of weapons from the Republic.[10] These warships were often shot at by the IRA, especially from Carlingford Lough.[10] The Cygnet narrowly avoided two .50 rounds fired by a sniper in South Armagh.[11]

[edit] Sinking of the Nellie M
The coaster Nellie M in 1974The Nellie M was a coaster ship of 782 BRT, launched in 1972 at Yorkshire. She was owned by S. William Coe & Co. Ltd. of Liverpool at the time of the attack, which took place on 6 February 1981. The vessel was at anchor barely 300 yards (270 m) from the Republic’s shore, awaiting for proceeding up the river. The coal ship had departed from Liverpool with a cargo valued at £ 1 million.[12]

A team of 12 IRA men, meanwhile, had hijacked a pilot boat at a pier on Moville, on the northwest bank of the inlet. Five of the group remained watching on shore, while another seven members of the ASU, carrying two high explosive charges, forced the skipper to take them to the British coal ship. Once on board, the cell informed her captain about their intentions and ordered him to gather the crew and to get his men into the lifeboat. Four IRA members supervised the evacuation. At the same time, three others planted the charges in the engine room. The hijacked motor launch then took in tow the lifeboat, leaving her adrift close to the eastern shore, and headed back for Moville. As the lifeboat reached the beach, the first explosion shook the Nellie M. Huge flames, visible from several miles away, engulfed her bridge. A second blast, some hours later, blew up the bulkheads and the ship began to sink. The morning after, her stern was submerged. The hull was raised in 1982.[13]

[edit] Sinking of the St. BedanThe next year, the IRA was able to repeat the same operation against another British coal ship, the St. Bedan, bound from Glasgow to Derry. The 1,250 BRT Bedan, built in Clyde and also launched in 1972, was owned by J & A Gardner & Co. Ltd. of Glasgow.[14] On February 23 1982, the ship was at anchor off Derry, awaiting the tide to proceed upstream.

This time the IRA boarding party was composed of 12 members. The attack was again launched from the pilot boat based at Moville, and after the explosions, the cargo vessel sank on her starboard side in some 15 meters of water.[15] She was raised and scrapped by November 1982.[14] The lifeboat with the crewmembers was towed in the same way that in the case of Nellie M.[16]

[edit] Aftermath
The RFA Fort Victoria, which was crippled by the IRA shortly after her launching in 1990 near Belfast.One of the unexpected consequences triggered by the bombings was the debate in the Oireachtas about the dispute with the United Kingdom on the legal jurisdiction over the waterways in Northern Ireland.[17] [18] Indeed, the salvage of the Nellie M was conducted by an Irish company, and her wreckage was sold to an Irish ship owner, who refurbished the ship under the name of Ellie. The coal ship was subsequently bought by several companies. She was lengthened by seven meters and renamed Trimix . Since 2000 she is managed by a Colombian company after being rechristened Dove.[12] The St. Bedan was instead declared a constructive total loss and scrapped at Liverpool.[14]

The Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force increased their patrols in Northern Ireland waters following the attacks.[19]

A bigger naval target was hit by the IRA several years later (1990), when an unknown number of its members managed to board the RFA Fort Victoria at anchor near Belfast, shortly after her launching. They planted two large bombs in her engine room. One of the devices exploded, damaging her considerably; the second one was successfully defused.[20]

[Captain Kong]

Here is a photo of Nellie M.

[Captain Kong]

We had a few incidents when I was running to Ireland and Northern Ireland.
I had a cargo of 15,000 tons of Av Gas, for the Military Airport, at Moscow Barracks in Belfast. We tied up to No 1 Jetty, and connected, the Valve ashore was jammed and then sheared off, we could not discharge, so we moved to No 2 Jetty, as we finished mooring , No1 Blew up. Lucky or what. It would have taken out the whole of Belfast with that cargo.
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I was on leave fortunately, In Cork, some young ladies went back to the ship with the Sailors, The night Watchman and the crowd were engaged for a couple of hours and then when they had gone it was discovered that all the Walkie Talkies including the Battery Chargers had all disapeared.. There was hell to play over that. It was guessed that the IRA had taken them using the girls as decoys.
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Brian.

[j.sabourn]

Thanks Brian. At the time he told me I was working in the N.Sea. That is one instant of where the average non seafarer would find it hard to comprehend. The way I was told the story was very funny. Previous to the boarding they had all been watching a Walport movie about terrorism, so when the chief was getting ready to turn in and the bursting into his cabin he thought it was one of the sailors having him on, told him to eff off, took some time for him to be convinced it wasnt. They were all put into the ships lifeboat but couldnt start the engine so the IRA members came back in the pilot cutter for them and I beleive towed them ashore or took them onboard. Thanks for finding. Cheers John Sabourn

[j.sabourn]

Brian I did 3 swings working out of Fenit at the entrance to the Shannon, as were the Supply and Anchor handler for the something 101 will remember the something later. Fenit was a little fishing port and could only get out on the top of the tide and just lay in the mud otherwise. The population of Fenit could not have been more than 2 or 3 hundred. However there were I believe 9 pubs, but were told to keep clear of 3 of them as were frequented by IRA members. We got all the scandal in the village about how the butcher had run off with someones wife and all the goings on of village life. I will always remember the Rig was 100 N.M. due west of Fenit in the North Atlantic. So who knows thats where th next oil find maybe. A very enjoyable time ashore especially when you knew the ship could only sail at specific times. Cheers and thanks Brian John Sabourn.

[Captain Kong]

Another time I was in New Ross, IR
I went into the pub a couple of hundred yards up the river bank. I sat at the bar with a pint of Guiness when on the TV News it was announced that the Bobby Sands Hunger Strike was over. The crowd in the pub went berserk, I thought bijeezus, I am in the wrong pub. I buried my head into my glass just as the door opened and two big fellas walked in, with a bucket. "We are collecting for the Boys up North ", one said to me. being a coward, I said, in my very best Irish accent, "They `er doing a grand job" and dropped a handful of change into the bucket. They moved onto the rest of the crowd in there. I legged it through the door and down the river bank to the ship. I dont think I would have got out of there alive if they knew I was English.
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. In Cork one time, in 1982, I went ashore to the City centre at lunch time, dressed in suit and tie, smart. We went into six different hotels, asked for a pint, the response in each of them was the same. "Sorry sor, I cannot serve you", `why not? we said, " Take my advice and puk off". We got a pint in the bar at the gate. it was full of Russians, Dagos and all kinds so we were OK.
I couldnt careless if I never saw Ireland again.

[robpage]

You probably asked for Guiness Brian , Cork is a Murphy's Town , They probably thought you was a Dubliner !! . I did a lot of business over there in teh late 1980's and 1990's and found Cork and County Cork a very welcoming place , the only time I felt very uncomfortable was when the MD of a company I was dealing with gave me a bottle of Black Bushmills , and I thanked him for his gift of United Kingdom produce , on the Bushmills produced for the Republic it said Product of Ireland ( The Island of Ireland ) and ommitted to mention that it is distilled in Antrim which is in the UK . He was visibly uopset as Bushmills was his favourite chaser to Murphys , brewed in Cork . The next trip he presented me with a bottle of Middleton's distilled in Cork , and the finest Whiskey I have ever tasted

[Captain Kong]

Thanks for that Rob, I was thinking it was because the Black and Tans burned Cork.
The worst whiskey I ever got bevied on was Paddy Whiskey, I had a night in a Hotel at Dublin Airport waiting for a flight to Shannon, so I must have emptied the bottle and I was sick as a dog next day, jazus I was as rough as a badgers bum.
Cheers
Brian.