Partula

[dgolding]

Hi all
I have noticed comments about the "dreaded tar boat" Partula, usually from the mid-60's. I was on her (Deck Apprentice, nicknamed "Zig") from Sept 60 to Jan 61, when she was still new in her first year. What was it about her that was distasteful? Any comments, recollections or contacts from shipmates would be welcome.

Regards

David Golding

[Tony Taylor]

Hi all
I have noticed comments about the "dreaded tar boat" Partula, usually from the mid-60's. I was on her (Deck Apprentice, nicknamed "Zig") from Sept 60 to Jan 61, when she was still new in her first year. What was it about her that was distasteful? Any comments, recollections or contacts from shipmates would be welcome.

Regards

David Golding

I did two trips on her, the things that were bad on her were (how long have you got).
German built, simple equipment was overdesigned and became unreliable due to complexity.
Engine room very hot, (all german ships in Shell fleet were hotter than others of same class built elsewhere).
Heating coils forever giving problems, did you never see a bitumen gusher?
On deck maintenance I had to carry a table top around to stand on to be able to stay in same place for 10 minutes, normal coir doormats were a waste of time.
Did I mention hot engine room? two big door mats one on top of the other at the manouevring station and still not able to stand still longdue to main engine steam lines running underneath the deckplates.
We had so many heating coil failures we kept the deck wet with fire hydrants cracked open full time, so when the gusher stopped the bitumen was easier to roll up and dump back into the tank.

[Mike Offord]

Hi David
I didn't sail on the Partula, but did many months on the sister ship Pallium as 2/0 during 1962-63. Frankly, I loved it and didn't understand what folk had against the tar boats.

Keeping the wing tanks for ballast only made life a lot easier - only the centre tanks for cargo. Fuel oil instead of asphalt in winter, and interesting trips up the USA east coast and Canada, and occasionally to West Africa (not so favoured). Great crew and master. Sorry to leave her.

Regards
Mike Offord

[michael hooper]

I joined the pallium on 03.04.1959 as an e.d.h was enjoying the trip until I went ashore in Portland Oregon got drunk and missed her.was in Portland for about two months doing odd jobs and being fed and housed by the seamens mission,enjoying myself.the immigration gave me 48 hours to get out of town.the consul got me on a Norwegian tanker which dumped me off in curacao.again the mission fed and housed me for I think a couple of weeks.then put me on a shell tanker(cant remember her name)as a d.b.s.arrived in the isle of grain with a small bag of belongings and a train warrant.been away just over a year.was home for about three days went before the board down the pool shipped out on the Pendennis castle a couple of days later.those were the days.

[Graham Sykes]

Hi David, I joined the Partula in December 1976, she was my first ship, I was a gally boy/pantry boy. The Partula was a great ship, however I remember the engine boys hated it because it was so hot down in the engine room, she was quite a rust bucket, full of cockroaches. We used to carry Bitumen from Curacao to Abidjan on the Ivory Coast, Lagos and Port Harcourt in Nigeria and Doula in Cameroun , we also did trips to Jamaica , and New York. I paid off in June 1976 in New York. Had some great runs ashore with my shipmates , certainly opened my eyes to life as a young lad.

[Tony Taylor]

Hi David, I joined the Partula in December 1976, she was my first ship, I was a gally boy/pantry boy. The Partula was a great ship, however I remember the engine boys hated it because it was so hot down in the engine room, she was quite a rust bucket, full of cockroaches. We used to carry Bitumen from Curacao to Abidjan on the Ivory Coast, Lagos and Port Harcourt in Nigeria and Doula in Cameroun , we also did trips to Jamaica , and New York. I paid off in June 1976 in New York. Had some great runs ashore with my shipmates , certainly opened my eyes to life as a young lad.

Graham, I joined Partula in New York, June 77. Arguably hottest engine room ever. The bright spark who designed it ran the main superheated steam pipes for the turbine ran them under the plates of the manouevering platform. Despite having two thick coir mats piled one on top of other it was so hot that you could not stand still for more than a couple of minutes,

[James Curry]

#5 So joined in December 1976 & Paid off in June 1976, any relation to Marty McFly ? Only joking obviously a typo December 1975?