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26th August 2020, 04:08 PM
#1
Good Afternoon Shipmates Dronz Arigho here R/O
Good Afternoon Shipmates
Spent time with Nourse Line , Vessel Mutlah , Great Ship , Great facilities on board , trading UK to India Burma and all Ports between , On one homeward voyage , near Mauritius the Crank Shaft Snapped . We were towed all the way to Aden by a Federal Steam Navigation Vessel at nearly our normal speed.
On arrival at Aden we slipped the Tow and were immediately attached to a Smits Deep Sea Salvage Tug Schelde all the way to Durban where we lay for nearly 5 months whilst repairs were carried out by Dorman Long.
Happy days, happy ship and many fond memories
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26th August 2020, 04:49 PM
#2
Re: Good Afternoon Shipmates Dronz Arigho here R/O
One heck of a tow 4800nm in total when you were only 1500 nm from Durban when you broke down, but better to have 5 months in Durban rather than in Aden
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26th August 2020, 09:03 PM
#3
Re: Good Afternoon Shipmates Dronz Arigho here R/O
Having said that Ivan
I found Aden a good place even in the time that the small Wars were on, full of excitement and intrigue, while in the RAF.
But yes Durbs was a great place ,lived there a long time and worked many places there too.
Could get a bit too Hot though in the Summers and it had that as you know Humid Heat, at times one just sat still and the Perspiration dripped down you.
My Brother In Law worked for many Years (Gerald Franks) for Dorman Long there as a matter of interest!
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26th August 2020, 10:35 PM
#4
Re: Good Afternoon Shipmates Dronz Arigho here R/O
Doc, in my #2 I was really wondering about the logic of towing a vessel circa 5000nm for it to end up somewhere only 1500nm away, as the Fed Nav ship once the towline was attached was probably in that era on a Lloyds Open Form Salvage Agreement and would have been entitled to Salvage award of a percentage of value of ship and cargo and there would have been much closer ports of 'Safe Haven' than Aden, Port Louis in Mauritius, Mombasa in Kenya, all en-route just two that come to mind, and logic is to get the towed vessel to a safe haven as soon as possible, rather than risking an extended tow of thousands of miles with the possibility of losing the towed vessel on passage (bad weather etc) and thus losing any salvage compensation. The tug, if stationed in Aden would have made passage to the safe haven port and she would have been under the same 'Towage Agreement' as she would have been in picking up the tow from Aden, and that would have been an owner's (or Underwriters) agreement and not a Lloyds Open Form, as the Fed vessel already had . Just Curious, that's all, nothing more
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26th August 2020, 10:54 PM
#5
Re: Good Afternoon Shipmates Dronz Arigho here R/O
Yes indeed Ivan would agree with that Logic.
I too was just posting info on the past really LOL
Cheers
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3rd March 2021, 04:28 PM
#6
Re: Good Afternoon Shipmates Dronz Arigho here R/O
03/03/2021
1620 Local Time UK
Gentlemen,
Good afternoon and thank you for your posting's.
Perhaps I was less than diligent in not mentioning we were right in the path of a developing Cyclone . This was gathering in intensity and speed . Contact was made with Mauritius where there were two pretty hefty harbour tugs available. They refused to come out to our position until the Cyclone passed .
Yes Durban was much nearer in milage and the SAR in Durban did have some pretty beefy deep sea tugs which would have been able to provide assistance . Assistance from Durban was some 5 or 6 days steaming away whereas the Cyclone was 24/36 hours away.
I guess the Owners then be made a risk assessment , to do nothing coukd possibly result in the loss of the vessel and all hands.
We were fortunate that the FSN Co Vessel was within 12 -14 hours steaming from our position . She came over the horizon right on time , came nearby , shot a rocket with a handline attached . Within a short space of time we picked up the main tow which was a very long steel hawser . This was attached to our Anchor Chain and a long length of this paid out.. I guess there must have been at least a quarter of a mile between us if not longer. The FSN Co being a reefer vessel had a tight schedule to keep with all the Fruit - Dairy Products etc. They towed us all the way to Aden at what would have been our nearly normal cruising speed .
Up to our arrival at Aden everything had gone like clockwork .Unfortunately on the FSN Co Vessel there was some mis communication between the bridge and the engine room . Communications to let go the towing hagser were received , this instruction was subsequently carried out.
The wire hawser tow was let go from "Mutlah" and then we were informed wire hawser had wound itself tightly around the prop of the Reefer Vessel. This necessitated a visit of a Diver with Cutting Gear to free the prop of the hawser . The FSN Co vessel were delayed departing Aden for 24 hours due to the time taken to untangle the wire froim the prop.
The Tow by the tug "Schelde" down to Durban and its terms were pre-arranged through the London Office and to the best of my knowledge this was at a fixed price.
As regards "Mutlah" , within 3 hours of arriving in Aden we were being hitched up again to the Smits Towage Tug "Schelde" . We commenced our tow all the way down to Durban at a much slower leisurely speed around 6 to 7 Knots .
During the tow and abeam of the Kenya/Somalia Border we received an SOS from a Liberian Registered Vessel whose Chinese Crew had mutineed and threatened to storm the Navigation Bridge. Neither the "Schelde" nor "Mutlah"were in any position to render assistence and subsequently I contacted Mombassa Radio and they sent a Kenyan Navy Patrol Vessel to assist the Liberian Registered Vessel.
When we subsequently arrived at Durban we were berthed up near Dorman Longs facilities. We were informed that a new crankshaft had been ordered from Barclay Curle and would be sent out via Union Castle Mail Ship.
It was 3 to 4 Months before the New Crankshaft arrived. It took about another month or so to reassemble the engine and replace the deck which had to be removed in order to extract the old crankshaft and insert and install the new one., Then there were dockside trials , and sea trials before we finally set off back to Europe.
I cannot for the life of me remember the name of the FSN Co Reefer vessel reluctantly I have to admit defeat as some 40 or more years has passed since that incident and it appears the brainbox is running out of steam
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3rd March 2021, 05:12 PM
#7
Re: Good Afternoon Shipmates Dronz Arigho here R/O
Thank you Dronz, now we understand, as always have to be on the spot to learn the logic of decisions. At least you had a different trip. cheers
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4th March 2021, 01:33 AM
#8
Re: Good Afternoon Shipmates Dronz Arigho here R/O
#4 As long as they kept clear of Socotra Ivan. Think it was John Gill who was asking where Bum Island was, the Island of Socotra one could finish up in the cooking pot ,would much prefer in the lee of B.I. Much more friendly. JS
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