Feet wetting incident

[David mullins]

Following a couple of weeks break at home after a 2 year jag on the “ MV British Monarch” trading between Japan, Aussie, NZ and the Guano islands of Nauru and Ocean Island I’d had enough deep sea at least for a while so I opted for a a nice little coaster which would provide much needed time at home.
I joined the Coast Lines ship MV Denbigh Coast at Permona dock in Salford.
She was an old timer with radial davits and really cramped accommodation.
She was on a regular run with general cargo between Manchester and Belfast spending every weekend in Permona. Just what I needed for some normal shore life and a regular lady friend.
After clearing Eastham locks in the Mersey we navigated seaward to the Bar lightship. The weather was fair with a nor-westerly running at about 3 to 4. Vis was was 10 miles+.
After clearing the Bar we set course for Belfast and the Skipper relieved me and took over the watch, which coastal skippers did in the 60s.( perhaps they still do, I don’t know)
I went below to the galley and had a cuppa with the cook when I suddenly remembered I’d left my all weather Canadian parka on the bridge.
Nipping back up to the bridge and grabbing my coat I noticed a cargo ship about one point off the starboard bow coming towards us with a feather in her mouth. I leaned against the bridge window and chatted to the skipper waiting for the other ship to pass on our starboard side. I remember the skipper telling me there was a Vesper scooter in number 2 (hold) which was for his daughter as a present for getting a place in university.
The other ship was the 10000 ton MV Irish Maple bound for Liverpool and our passing distance, I estimated would be about 200 yards or so. Bit close I thought, the skipper knows what he’s doing.
The skipper ordered“ nothing to starboard” to the helmsman on the wheel behind us, who repeated the order back to him.
The Maple was about 1000 yards off our starboard bow when I noticed a worrying drift of our bow to starboard. “Port 10” the skipper shouted to the man on the wheel. The swing to starboard increased alarmingly and I looked behind at the helmsman and the rudder indicator and to my horror he’d applied the wheel hard over to starboard. In desperation I ran over to the wheel and pushing the guy aside spun the wheel hard over to port at the same time relating what I was doing to the skipper.
Through the bridge windows I watched in shock as the bow of the Maple struck us just aft of the focsle head on the port side ripping the complete bow section off the Denbigh Coast and forcing her over 90 degrees on her starboard side. The bow was pushed under as the Maple rode completely over the foredeck.
I slid sideways down the 2 companionways on the port side from the bridge deck towards the boat deck. The bosun was already there and it was obvious a lifeboat launch was out of the question so we desperately tried to release an inflatable life raft from its brackets, but try as we might it wouldn’t budge, probably due to the extreme deck angle.
I saw the chief engineer climbing up from the engine room muttering effing hell, effing hell and jumping straight into the sea leaving the engine still running at full ahead.
The forward part of the ship was now well below the surface with the stern starting to raise itself above the water.
It was about 2230hr and in the darkness I glanced around for a life jacket or life belt and unable to see either I pulled myself over the bulwark and slid down the port side of the ship into the sea.
After the initial shock of the cold water I realised I was in imminent danger from the prop which was somehow still spinning and thrashing the surface with an almighty sound. The action of the half immersed propeller was causing the stern to move sideways and towards me. I swam like I’ve never swam before and fortunately out of range of the prop.
Initially I could hear other crew members in the sea shouting to each other, although in the dark we couldn’t see where each was.
It was just a matter of running in the sea to stay afloat and it became more difficult as one descended down a wave into a trough with gravity forcing one’s head below the surface. As time passed the calling to each other ceased and I tried several times to call without reply. Thoughts went through my mind that the others had drowned and I wondered how long I’d last. Apparently, the tide and currents created the increased distance between ourselves.
I seemed to have been in the water all night and anticipated dawn on the horizon.
I suddenly saw a silvery shimmer of light from over my shoulder on the tops of the waves and turning around saw a searchlight in the distance sweeping from left to right across the sea.
My heart leapt as I felt the possibility of rescue. “Over here” I screamed as loud as I could, “over here, over here.” I tried waving at the same time but the weight of my arms above water pushed my head below the surface.
The searchlight seemed to be getting closer and the sweep passed over my head several times before finally settling on me.
Several minutes later a pilot boat ships cutter pulled up alongside me.
I was so exhausted I couldn’t even grab the gunwale of the boat.
My voice had completely gone hoarse with shouting but I managed to repeatedly gurgle “thank you”.
The time was just after midnight and I had been picked up by the Liverpool Pilot Boat Arnett Robinson who was en route from her pilot boat station at Point Linus in Anglesey to Liverpool when she picked up the Mayday signal from the MV Irish Maple.
After a short leave at home to replace all my lost gear, I went back deep sea having had enough of the coast.

[John Banfield]

I have a memory of hydrostatic releases for the life rafts arriving onboard mid seventies. The release replaced the senhouse slip on the life raft securing strap.

[Gerard Fisher]

JS,

On a tangent to your account, I worked on the design of Piper Bravo, the replacement for the Alpha. The design was at the offices of Brown & Root in Colliers Wood, London. The disaster was never far away from the thoughts of everyone on the project, especially as on the wall in every office was a field plan in which the wreck of the Alpha was depicted as a jagged stump rising out of the sea, half a mile away from the Bravo.

The North Sea can be hellish place as I can attest from my seafaring days and from my experience during the six month installation period I spent on another platform.

[Terry Calpin]

#3 Graham there is a chance , but not a fact that the Irish Maple nay have been a sistership to the Irish Elm before she had name changes and finished up as the Glendalough .Harley Mullion bought two ships so the story went , the ex Irish Elm which I was on , and another one for another son. The one I worked for his initials were RD the same as on the funnel. The other ship I don’t know the name of but about 69/70 ish she was arrested in Montreal , for non payment of bills owing , sold and the crew got first settlement of their wages as per maritime law. They were a yugoslav crew at the time. I remember hearing the story second hand and only added to my woes on the heap of rubbish I was on, as getting money out of the ship was like getting teeth out of a hen. And hadn’t been paid allotment wise for 3 months. Like most ships if don’t know too much about the owners , youse pays your money and takes your chances . Cheers JS
PS Do you have the name of the master of the coaster at the time of the collision .? My fertile brain the only fertility I have left is trying to put old photographs into frames to see if they fit. JS

My mother was frolm South Shields, we went visit them as we now live in York, they lived very Near Red heads, My cousin went down to the Launch Of The Irish pine that was on Aud;the 9th 1948,in them days we could follow the after it had gone down the slip way, well the bottle of shampane Didn't break, so one dockers picked it up and through it at the Ship on its way down the slipway, and smashed it on the ship, well my cousin, took the lable of the bottle after about 50 years he gave it to me, he was never in the Merchant navy, And I was. and as Im typing this I have it in a frame on top of my compter. and it's Sill here after all these years the Irish Pine ended its life it loaded a full cargo of Bitumem, but the heaters broke, she went to the breakers with her cargo still in the holds

[Steve Singleton]

Hi David,
An interesting and rather scary tale of survival. I checked the Denbigh Coast out on shipspotting.com .... a very small vessel. You were very lucky indeed.
The Irish Maple was massive by comparison. (Also can be seen on shipspotting.com )
Just a small detail though... I think you mean Pomona Docks in Salford...not "Pormona". They have had a very interesting history over the years since the MSC was built.
(At one time, in the 70's, I think, there was even an aeroplane situated there as a nightclub!) A Google search will show more; as will a brief search on YouTube /Martin Zero I think.
Again....Big Thumbs up for your survival! Stay Well. Cheers.

[Calum Macleod]

Where did you get Clive from...

[James Domleo]

This immediately took me back to early 1961.On tanker MV Blyth Adventurer we had just dropped the Anglesey Point Linus pilot off en route to Falmouth from Ellsmere Port and the master went below and left me to carry on.It was 2200 and a southwesterly was blowing hard.I noticed a white light on the starboard bow for about a second and then it disappeared.I could see nothing on the radar due to sea clutter due to wave height.After a few minutes it re appeared very close on the same bearing.I immediately shouted hard a starboard to the helmsman and suddenly the deck lights came on on a fishing boat passing across my bows,then passing closely down my port side. From the bridge wing I could see several angry fishermen shouting and waving their fists at me. Unlike David’s ,my helmsman was on the ball that night.
Jim Domleo
R610307

[David mullins;397215]Following a couple of weeks break at home after a 2 year jag on the “ MV British Monarch” trading between Japan, Aussie, NZ and the Guano islands of Nauru and Ocean Island I’d had enough deep sea at least for a while so I opted for a a nice little coaster which would provide much needed time at home.
I joined the Coast Lines ship MV Denbigh Coast at Permona dock in Salford.
She was an old timer with radial davits and really cramped accommodation.
She was on a regular run with general cargo between Manchester and Belfast spending every weekend in Permona. Just what I needed for some normal shore life and a regular lady friend.
After clearing Eastham locks in the Mersey we navigated seaward to the Bar lightship. The weather was fair with a nor-westerly running at about 3 to 4. Vis was was 10 miles+.
After clearing the Bar we set course for Belfast and the Skipper relieved me and took over the watch, which coastal skippers did in the 60s.( perhaps they still do, I don’t know)
I went below to the galley and had a cuppa with the cook when I suddenly remembered I’d left my all weather Canadian parka on the bridge.
Nipping back up to the bridge and grabbing my coat I noticed a cargo ship about one point off the starboard bow coming towards us with a feather in her mouth. I leaned against the bridge window and chatted to the skipper waiting for the other ship to pass on our starboard side. I remember the skipper telling me there was a Vesper scooter in number 2 (hold) which was for his daughter as a present for getting a place in university.
The other ship was the 10000 ton MV Irish Maple bound for Liverpool and our passing distance, I estimated would be about 200 yards or so. Bit close I thought, the skipper knows what he’s doing.
The skipper ordered“ nothing to starboard” to the helmsman on the wheel behind us, who repeated the order back to him.
The Maple was about 1000 yards off our starboard bow when I noticed a worrying drift of our bow to starboard. “Port 10” the skipper shouted to the man on the wheel. The swing to starboard increased alarmingly and I looked behind at the helmsman and the rudder indicator and to my horror he’d applied the wheel hard over to starboard. In desperation I ran over to the wheel and pushing the guy aside spun the wheel hard over to port at the same time relating what I was doing to the skipper.
Through the bridge windows I watched in shock as the bow of the Maple struck us just aft of the focsle head on the port side ripping the complete bow section off the Denbigh Coast and forcing her over 90 degrees on her starboard side. The bow was pushed under as the Maple rode completely over the foredeck.
I slid sideways down the 2 companionways on the port side from the bridge deck towards the boat deck. The bosun was already there and it was obvious a lifeboat launch was out of the question so we desperately tried to release an inflatable life raft from its brackets, but try as we might it wouldn’t budge, probably due to the extreme deck angle.
I saw the chief engineer climbing up from the engine room muttering effing hell, effing hell and jumping straight into the sea leaving the engine still running at full ahead.
The forward part of the ship was now well below the surface with the stern starting to raise itself above the water.
It was about 2230hr and in the darkness I glanced around for a life jacket or life belt and unable to see either I pulled myself over the bulwark and slid down the port side of the ship into the sea.
After the initial shock of the cold water I realised I was in imminent danger from the prop which was somehow still spinning and thrashing the surface with an almighty sound. The action of the half immersed propeller was causing the stern to move sideways and towards me. I swam like I’ve never swam before and fortunately out of range of the prop.
Initially I could hear other crew members in the sea shouting to each other, although in the dark we couldn’t see where each was.
It was just a matter of running in the sea to stay afloat and it became more difficult as one descended down a wave into a trough with gravity forcing one’s head below the surface. As time passed the calling to each other ceased and I tried several times to call without reply. Thoughts went through my mind that the others had drowned and I wondered how long I’d last. Apparently, the tide and currents created the increased distance between ourselves.
I seemed to have been in the water all night and anticipated dawn on the horizon.
I suddenly saw a silvery shimmer of light from over my shoulder on the tops of the waves and turning around saw a searchlight in the distance sweeping from left to right across the sea.
My heart leapt as I felt the possibility of rescue. “Over here” I screamed as loud as I could, “over here, over here.” I tried waving at the same time but the weight of my arms above water pushed my head below the surface.
The searchlight seemed to be getting closer and the sweep passed over my head several times before finally settling on me.
Several minutes later a pilot boat ships cutter pulled up alongside me.
I was so exhausted I couldn’t even grab the gunwale of the boat.
My voice had completely gone hoarse with shouting but I managed to repeatedly gurgle “thank you”.
The time was just after midnight and I had been picked up by the Liverpool Pilot Boat Arnett Robinson who was en route from her pilot boat station at Point Linus in Anglesey to Liverpool when she picked up the Mayday signal from the MV Irish Maple.
After a short leave at home to replace all my lost gear, I went back deep sea having had enough of the coast.[/QUOTE]

[j.sabourn]

#23 Just glancing through some of these now old posts Gerard . Should have mentioned that was the first time I had worked at the Alpha. Had passed it many times on the way to other installations. Everyone I spoke to re the Alpha before her ceasure of life always remarked and myself noticed as well every time passed , that she never appeared to stand upright that is vertical at 90 degrees to sea level. She always seemed to have a list. Think most put this down to a mirage of sorts. Hope the Bravo doesn’t have the same optical illusion. As regards the stump sticking out of the sea as a grim reminder I have the same picture as the one on the BBC account . However I had
the dubious privilege of dodging all those bits missing by trying to dodge them as they broke away and on a 4 knot flat out ship was more luck than anything else. Did Brown and Root do all the construction work or was a lot parcelled out to other contractors ?. For example which offshore company got the contract for putting the actual platform on site ? My feelings are that it may of been Smitt Lioyd as they seemed always to have the more powerful and up to date towing facilities . Cheers JS

[Gerard Fisher]

JS,

They did the entire platform: drill rig, topsides and jacket. This was unusual and I guess the insurers just wanted a simple solution that did not involve multiple design companies. At the time Brown & Root were probably the only one of about three companies with the manpower and expertise for handling a North Sea installation of this size.