passports

[Keith Tindell]

Having just renewed my passport, brought to mind that fact that in all the time i was at sea, i never possessed a pasport. Now like many others on this site, i have joined ships abroad. now my mind is blank on the paper work we carried, had we signed on before leaving UK? in which case all i would have had was seamans ID card, or did we usually have our discharge book, and sign on board ship on arrival??, either way i did not have a passport. On at least one occasion we had the Chief Mate in charge of getting us there, which was a joke, as many got lost, usually in a bar some where, and turned up later. I only ever joined a ship in Europe, not further such as USA etc. Can anyone confirm how we were able to travel to these ships passportless. This would have been in the late 50`s early 60`s Regards KT

[David Williams]

Hi Keith.
As far as I can recall,all that was available was
ones ID card and your shore pass.
Dave Williams

[Ivan Cloherty]

In 50/60's my Discharge Book was my passport and accepted by such as Immigration, who stamped it in the back pages, also one usually had a letter from Federation or Owners giving ship's name which you were joining. Same with paying-off. Also carried our I.D. cards with fingerprints, but as usual most of crew had lost theirs for some reason or other.

Only place I had difficulty getting shore pass was USA because my name was IVAN, did I have any communistic tendencies, after an hours grilling I got my shore pass, wait for it ...................I was sixteen at the time, COMMUNISTIC TENDENCIES !! all my tender bits were for girls!

[Captain Kong]

When I paid off in Saudi, Ras Tannurah, I had to show my passport, of which I didnt have one. They stamped my Discharge Book taking a full page up.
I think if I had a Tesco Club Card they would have stamped that.
That was in February 1979.
I keep it in case I have to get back into Boltonistan when I have been away.
Cheers
Brian.

[robpage]

I had to have a passport with a US Visa to join the Gulf Oil ships , normally in the US , at Port Arthur or Huntingdon Beach , in those days the Visa was an all day job at the Embassy in London . It was stamped Employee of a US Company and lasted the lifetime of the passport . As fa as I knew the use of a Seaman's Card was not acceptable to US Immigration at their airports ( 1973 - 1975 _)

[happy daze john in oz]

I was lead to believe at the time, as were many of us, that the Red identity card doubled as a pssport for all British Merchant Seamen.

[robpage]

So was I , but US immigration make their own rules up , and we categorically had to have the Visa in the Passport . The company paid the expenses to go and sit in the US Embassy , so it had to be essential , because expenses were harder to get than two eggs for breakfast in Gulf Oil .

[leratty]

I always had my passport with me but I recall the wonderful B.A. passports we used to get A3 size semi rigid almost cardboard which we folded up for the pocket. Some of the detail was quite wrong, such as a Tattoo here or there. One I recall said, complexion 'sallow' I was not impressed at that could it have been the over indulgence in grog? I think also you had a new one for a new ship? I also have the ID for Cuba, Haiti, Poland not too sure what we got in the US. I still have somewhere at least one of the B.A. passports the photo is quite amusing. I do not recall what used to happen when coming into a European port & being paid off or joining, I guess our discharge book? I recall being asked at the Dutch German border when joining or paying off & on the train being asked for your passport but not what I would have haneded over? Was our ID book red, I seem to recall that? As to the union card I do not remember what that looked like. Richard

[Ivan Cloherty]

I always had my passport with me but I recall the wonderful B.A. .....

In the USA you got an "Aliens Landing Card" in the 50's. Still got mine in case we are invaded from outer space

My Identity card was green which folded into 3 and had photo and all fingerprints

[Calvin Kent]

I always managed with my red book. I even flew back to UK for my sisters birthday and back out the next day without it being queried. Joined boats in Europe, Caribbean and far east but not the States so cannot comment on there.

Regards
Calvin.