Unusual cargo

[Louis the fly]

We were in the States to load a cargo of timber in Eureka, California and Coos Bay, Oregon. Before this there was one hatch to load in Oakland. Anchored off San Francisco to prepare the hatch, working in two shifts we worked day and night chipping and scaping the loose rust, sweeping and cleaning to get the hatch as clean as possible. This took one week, the port authorities came on board and rejected it so had to start again. The second time it was accepted and we went alongside. The cargo loaded was brilliant white granules like small pebbles, I asked a couple of the shore workers what it was and got different answers. There was a lot of interest in this cargo with people standing around the hatch watching the loading, if anything blew into into the hatch, wood splinters etc. someone would jump into the hatch and remove it.
When the loading was complete we left to load the timber, all the other hatches were filled and more timber was loaded as deck cargo, we must have been well down on our marks when we sailed for Australia. Most of the timber was discharged in Sydney, then it was off to Townsville for the special cargo. Once alongside the crane driver jibbed over the ship and dropped the grab into the the sea to wash the coal dust off it. The cargo was then dumped onto the quay with the sand, dust and everything else lying there. An unusual cargo.

[j.sabourn]

A similar type of cargo and its protection Louis was China Clay. I was taken a sabbatical from the North sea in 1986 and loaded a few thousand tons of it either in Poole or Fowey forget which port now but was for Savona in Italy. The holds has to be scrupulously clean and had the same or similar inspections of same. We discharged it direct onto the dirty old quay by dirty old grabs and probably lay there for weeks. It is hard at times to figure out the different attitudes taken by shipper and receiver at times. Still never figured it out. JS

[j.sabourn]

#1. Louis believe you also worked offshore in the supply boats. Did you ever carry oil based mud ? Now there’s a one that could boggle the mind of those not known the trade. All the chemicals that one carried as cargo out to the rigs the likes of Barytes , Bentonite etc. some of which was the constituent of mud to be made on the rig seemed to slowly not become the flavour of the month, and was better to carry the mud ready made for use direct.This mud was worth more than cup for cup than petrol for your car. And after use was backloaded to go back ashore for being cleaned and reused. However it wasn’t only the mud but the tanks on the ship had to be scrupulously clean before reloading and shore cleaners had to be employed to clean the mud tanks . I posted once before about this , as the crew said they would do the job for 3000 pounds which was half the price of shore cleaners , but the owners refused saying it. Would only set a precedent which they didn’t want , so seamen once again missed out. Cheers JS

[Ivan Cloherty]

Would have been Fowey John, hated the bloody stuff, the cargo fixers in the chartering department had no idea in what was involved in sending you to load China Clay after a coal cargo, especially when you only had a 12 hour, or less, passage twixt ports. Especially when you had three large hatches full of dominoes, king and queen beams and a scarred wooden tank top ceilings (for the non seafarers the ceiling is at the bottom of the hold) and only five on deck, but somehow we nearly always managed, and on a windy day, you had a lovely white ship upon sailing, no matter what colour you were when entering port

[Lewis McColl]

Loaded China clay when I was coasting , Usually from Par in Cornwall. Sometimes we had to have the hold spotless and others a good sweep and they were happy enough. The skipper asked why one time it has to be spotless and other times clean was good enough. The answer was depends on what it is being used for and who the receiver is. China clay is used in toothpaste, cosmetics and soap industry, that is for the super clean holds. Clean holds ,It is also used in the ceramic industry use the china clay in processing numerous types of white-ware, porcelain and refractories products. I do remember it got everywhere. I used to shutdown the engine room fans and shut the skylights. The crew spent the next day washing down after loading and the same again after discharge.

[Ivan Cloherty]

Alumina was another cargo similar to China clay, but much more airborne, like talcum powder and much much more toxic, normally carried in bags, but some bright spark decided to save costs by shipping in bulk (30,000 tonnes) and discharging by grabs in China, we painted the town white, I got arrested (Supt) and taken ashore by militia, halfway through the ship got thrown out with a destroyer escort and anchored with the destroyer close by. After numerous days of negotiations we were allowed back in to complete discharge, that was one port I was glad to sail away from. Numerous court cases followed in which I had to give various statements, what the end result was I don't know, but I gave the company hell for putting me in that position. It was a trial cargo, I don't think there were anymore in bulk.

[j.sabourn]

Worked for Alcoa , running bauxite from Trinidad but never or think never Alumina apart from in ingots. JS

[Lewis McColl]

That coaster I was on the Union Jupiter, was a single hatch low air draft ship. The masts & wheelhouse could be knocked flat. Think she was about 60 metres in length.
That Alumina cargo you mentioned Ivan did it run like water when it was being loaded. I am sure we loaded it in Belgium up the Albert canal near Liege. I can remember that due to draft restrictions it was not a full load and had to be trimmed into the wings and bagged on top. Am I right in saying that on bulkers bagging on top was a common practice for a lot of cargoes? I do seem to remember on that wee coaster a lot of cargoes were bagged on top, Grain and cement being two.

[cappy]

scrap metal from oz to japan ...someone said i nicked copper and copper wire and sold it in newcastle NSW but i didnt cos there wasnt any copper wire down there....cappy

[Lewis McColl]

Cappy did someone beat you to the Degaussing gear? lol.