RMweb Premium jjb1970 Posted September 30, 2023 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 30, 2023 (edited) Sister ship of APL Singapura, the APL Lion City in Pasir Panjang yesterday, port side to the berth this time. These are quite big ships, about 17,000TEU. Edited September 30, 2023 by jjb1970 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium jjb1970 Posted September 30, 2023 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 30, 2023 More CMA-CGM ships. yesterday (APL is a subsidiary of CMA-CGM). 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Johnster Posted September 30, 2023 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 30, 2023 I have to say that box boats, unloaded or part-loaded to dispose of the floating brick silhouette, are generally very sleek and attractive vessels. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium New Haven Neil Posted September 30, 2023 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 30, 2023 On ship names, Bibby's ships were all shires (other than the 'Bridge' series of Seabridge consortium vessels we owned) in my day - it was suggested that the Worcestershire was thus named just to laugh at Americans trying to pronounce it! 3 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
62613 Posted October 1, 2023 Share Posted October 1, 2023 (edited) On 30/09/2023 at 20:55, New Haven Neil said: On ship names, Bibby's ships were all shires (other than the 'Bridge' series of Seabridge consortium vessels we owned) in my day - it was suggested that the Worcestershire was thus named just to laugh at Americans trying to pronounce it! On the naming of British Merchant ships, one thinks of Alfred Holt sitting in his hammock reading The Oddyesy (aprocryphically); or Shell naming their ships after.....shells! I think the British (RN and MN) were generally more imaginative in ship names...although it could lead to embarassment at times Edited October 2, 2023 by 62613 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Johnster Posted October 1, 2023 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 1, 2023 I was familiar with F & C Strick as a child, pre-1958 father was a relieving first officer for them, and they were a geography lesson in parts of the world one would have otherwise never heard of, the 'istans'. Some of the ship names have become proper countries since, but some are still hard to find on maps. I have a soft spot for 'Kohistan', which I went to Antwerp on when I was four, leaving from the Pool of London; I still remember Tower Bridge doing it's trick for us! Strick's recruited their crews from the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean ports, natural sailors who had cut their teeth on dhows, under sail, and could be relied on to sail the ship without orders, doing whatever was needed by instinct, but who were, it must be said, the sweepings of every bar, brothel, opium den, holding cell, and other 'interesting' establishment in the region, theivery in their minds and murder in their hearts. These pirates were kept in check by the ship's cook, who acted as Bosun (this is apparently traditional dhow practice), and was called 'Se'cunny'; don't know what that meant, cook or bosun probably. These were, traditionally with Strick's, from that well known maritime nation Afghanistan, because the crew were terrified of Afghans, with good reason... The Se'cunny on 'Kohistan' was called Ignatius, and even then I sort of knew that wasn't his real name, and like a lot of very tough men, he had a soft spot for children and kind of adopted me for the voyage. He was tall, and sitting up on his shoulders was wonderful, and I got to see parts of the ship that would have been very much off-limits without him! Dad told me this story about him some years later; he had been 2/0 at the time on 'Kohistan' and was on passage from what we called Bombay in those days to Aden, far out somewhere in the Arabian Sea. There was an altercation in the crew's quarters, and Ignatius was sent to sort the problem out. Dad was on watch, and after a while, Ignatius came up to the bridge with the information that 'Sahib, Omar Bin Yussuf has left the ship'. Dad immediately understood what was meant by this, and his blood ran cold, no mean feat in that part of the world; Ignatius, my shoulder-man, gentle giant, always laughing, had picked him up and chucked him over the side for the sharks without a second thought and got on with his day. It was understood that the crew sailed the ship and were Se'cunny's job, and white men, whose job was to steer the ship and keep the engines running, were advised to leave him to it. The stokers were Africans from Zanzibar or Dar-es-Salaam and another law unto themselves; nobody knew what went on in the forepeak or the stoke holds, but steam was kept up and it was best not to ask questions. People who trespassed down there were never seen again... Dad reported this incident to the Captain, happy to pass the buck up the line, and the captain simply informed the purser to stop the man's pay, as he had 'left the ship'. This was in the early 1950s, and illustrates how much of a different world it was back then. Omar Bin Yussuf had apparently been a long standing problem, and had stabbed another crew member with murderous intent, injuring him quite badly. Ignatius nursed him back to health. 2 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bon Accord Posted October 1, 2023 Share Posted October 1, 2023 A Secunni (or Sukunni in Hindi) was a Quartermaster. Bosun's were known as a Serang. Bosun's mate - Burra Tindal Carpenter - Mistri Lamptrimmer - Kassab Sailors (AB, OS etc) - Kalassi Firemen - Ag Walla All of the above was the Hindustani used to describe native crew regardless of their actual original or religion, or I should perhaps say that was at least the pidgin version of it used universally by the Malim Sahib's (i.e. us). Strick Line were known colloquially as "Frank Strick's" after the founder and were part of the P&O empire. However as was normal for the time the parent was quite content to let the subsidiary company carry on doing their own thing with independent management, traditions, liveries etc rather than the modern fad of consolidating everything and thoroughly demoralising everyone. Unlike most other liner companies their trade was entirely one way with manufactured British/European goods to the Perishin' Gulf and it's environs, but with nothing to come back the other way as that region produced nothing except oil. So whilst a normal voyage took them out there, they would then find a suitable charter or series of charters to somehow bring the ship home to the UK. That meant they could and often did end up anywhere on the long voyage home. 2 1 3 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
62613 Posted October 2, 2023 Share Posted October 2, 2023 I'm sure in BP, the cook on the asian - crewed ships was called a Bhandary; at least the one for the crew was. They cooked legendary curries! As opposed to Stricks, I suppose BP, like the other oil companies, traded the other way round to Stricks; in ballast to the Gulf, loaded back, when they weren't engaged on other trades. One I was on seemed permanently to be trading from the Gulf to Kwinana, near Perth W.A. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium jjb1970 Posted October 2, 2023 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 2, 2023 I started out with British ratings in P&OCL and then in British Antarctic Survey, with a few Filipino's in P&OCL. When I went from BAS to Maersk it was a mix of Filipino's, Trinidadians and Brazilians depending on which ship. I found in general the Filipino's were the best of the nationalities I sailed with. They were generally laid back and gentle sorts and were pretty good at their jobs. I never sailed with British crew after ships went dry, in P&OCL days drinking at sea was prevalent and most of the human related issues on the ships were alcohol related. I didn't drink at sea and was probably in a minority in welcoming dry ships as it eliminated probably 90% of the human issues at sea. In Maersk my attitude was that I wasn't going to sniff breath, search cabins or engage in witch hunts looking for booze but equally I wasn't going to invent yarns to try and cover for people who got drunk and ended up in trouble, everyone knew the offshore vessels were 'dry'. On names, my favourites were BAS, the 'Bransfield' and 'James Clark Ross', their old tradition of naming the ships after Antarctic explorers/navigators kept names alive which would otherwise largely die. A bit like why I still have a soft spot for Virgin Trains for putting the statue of Matthew Flinders up at Euston station. I suspect I'm in a minority of not much above single figures but I hated the change to name the new boat after David Attenborough, nothing against him but he has found fame and accolades in life and I can't put making TV documentaries in the same box of achievement as the exploits of the old Antarctic explorers and navigators. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeithMacdonald Posted October 2, 2023 Share Posted October 2, 2023 1 hour ago, jjb1970 said: I hated the change to name the new boat after David Attenborough You and many others. Henry Worsley got more votes than Attenborough, but was ignored. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Worsley_(explorer) Boaty McBoatface was robbed. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-36064659 David Attenborough has achieved fame and fortune - largely by being a TV presenter and script reader. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
billbedford Posted October 2, 2023 Share Posted October 2, 2023 Look, crews are (allegedly) not needed on ships any more: The men visible in the video must be there in case the computer decides to go to Shanghai instead of Yokosuka. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeithMacdonald Posted October 2, 2023 Share Posted October 2, 2023 14 minutes ago, billbedford said: Look, crews are (allegedly) not needed on ships any more: "Unmanned Surface Vessel Ranger Arrives at Yokosuka, Japan" Perhaps it's an all-female crew? 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium figworthy Posted October 2, 2023 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 2, 2023 Going back a few (!) years. A couple of shots of the Empress of Scotland. Not sure where they were taken, suggestions welcome. Adrian 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeithMacdonald Posted October 2, 2023 Share Posted October 2, 2023 16 minutes ago, figworthy said: A couple of shots of the Empress of Scotland. Not sure where they were taken, suggestions welcome. Not sure where it was, but the red and white on the funnels means it was during its Canadian Pacific era, 1942-1957. It lost one funnel during a refit in 1958. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Empress_of_Japan_(1929) 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium figworthy Posted October 2, 2023 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 2, 2023 14 minutes ago, KeithMacdonald said: Not sure where it was, but the red and white on the funnels means it was during its Canadian Pacific era, 1942-1957. It lost one funnel during a refit in 1958. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Empress_of_Japan_(1929) The pictures would have been taken towards the end of that period. Adrian 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeithMacdonald Posted October 2, 2023 Share Posted October 2, 2023 47 minutes ago, figworthy said: The pictures would have been taken towards the end of that period. Is it New York port? The steel lattice piers in this picture look similar to yours. https://www.shipsnostalgia.com/media/port-of-new-york-1960.375851/ 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
billbedford Posted October 2, 2023 Share Posted October 2, 2023 8 hours ago, KeithMacdonald said: "Unmanned Surface Vessel Ranger Arrives at Yokosuka, Japan" Perhaps it's an all-female crew? If that is true the one shown handling the mooring ropes seems to be particularly butch. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
davknigh Posted October 3, 2023 Share Posted October 3, 2023 4 hours ago, figworthy said: Going back a few (!) years. A couple of shots of the Empress of Scotland. Not sure where they were taken, suggestions welcome. Adrian I’m not positive but it could be Montreal. Cheers, David 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bon Accord Posted October 3, 2023 Share Posted October 3, 2023 12 hours ago, figworthy said: Going back a few (!) years. A couple of shots of the Empress of Scotland. Not sure where they were taken, suggestions welcome. Adrian Definitely Montreal, King Edward Basin I think. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeithMacdonald Posted October 3, 2023 Share Posted October 3, 2023 2 hours ago, Bon Accord said: Definitely Montreal, King Edward Basin I think. You nailed it. https://www.cruisehive.com/port-montreal-set-welcome-four-new-luxury-ships-2016-season/11435 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
davknigh Posted October 3, 2023 Share Posted October 3, 2023 4 hours ago, KeithMacdonald said: You nailed it. https://www.cruisehive.com/port-montreal-set-welcome-four-new-luxury-ships-2016-season/11435 Funny thing about the shot. I arrived at that dock back in 1956 on the Empress of Britain and then went by train to Toronto. Some 60+ years later I was in Montreal visiting the Old Port area and came upon the dock and immediately recognized the place even though I had only been there the once. They were selling crafts instead of disembarking passengers that last time. Cheers, David 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium figworthy Posted October 3, 2023 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 3, 2023 9 hours ago, Bon Accord said: Definitely Montreal, King Edward Basin I think. 17 hours ago, davknigh said: I’m not positive but it could be Montreal. Cheers, David Thanks. Montreal would make sense as Dad (who took the pictures) was on the Manchester - Montreal run for a while. Adrian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
62613 Posted October 4, 2023 Share Posted October 4, 2023 20 hours ago, figworthy said: Thanks. Montreal would make sense as Dad (who took the pictures) was on the Manchester - Montreal run for a while. Adrian Manchester Liners? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium figworthy Posted October 4, 2023 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 4, 2023 3 hours ago, 62613 said: Manchester Liners? Yes. Adrian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Train Posted October 4, 2023 Share Posted October 4, 2023 On 30/09/2023 at 19:40, The Johnster said: I have to say that box boats, unloaded or part-loaded to dispose of the floating brick silhouette, are generally very sleek and attractive vessels. The Maersk E series ships especially so. 4 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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