Document 5DbyOQVkp69nE58nNXLpQMVB8

PUBLISHED BY THE MARINE DIVISION, HUMBLE OIL & REFINING COMPANY - Vol. 4, No. 21 November 1, 1962 Tanker Trends. Present and Future "Except on an experimental basis, automation will not be adopted on commercial tankers merely because `it is the thing to do'. It will have to prove itself as a good investment." This conviction was expressed by Joseph Andreae, Assistant General Manager of Humble's Marine Division, in an address before the Defense Supply Association's convention in Washington, D. C. on Oct. 19. Speaking on "Trends in Tanker Transporta tion," Mr. Andreae added that the attractiveness of the automation investment is enhanced as its cost comes down and labor costs go up. "We are proceeding down this path a step at a time," he continued. "Prototypes of remote control cargo systems are in operation today. The Mari time Administration as well as many shipowner and shipbuilder groups are making significant strides forward both here and abroad." Mr. Andreae reviewed the progress that has been made toward eliminating internal corrosion through the application of zinc silicate coatings to sandblasted surfaces. As a result, he said, "it will not be necessary to provide allowances that form erly were built into a tanker to compensate for future wastage. It has been estimated that the sav ing on a 50,000-ton tanker can be about $250,000 in initial cost and 900 tons in weight, an added dividend in cargo capacity. On external corrosion, he said that cathodic protection of underwater surfaces is now generally accepted and that coatings similar to those used on interior surfaces are becoming common for use above the waterline. "Chipping and painting, one of the most distasteful of seamen's chores, may very well become a thing of the past." Concerning future tankers, Mr. Andreae listed the following points which are being investigated by owners and builders: 1. Location of bridge and quarters aft -- This provides savings in construction costs by eliminating the midship house and all the piping and other connections to it. 2. Provision of quarters for a smaller crew -- This results from reduction of work effort by reason of corrosion control, simplified machinery, decreased maintenance and tank cleaning. 3. Centralized machinery control---This will permit control over all engineroom equip ment from one platform or even from the bridge. 4. Elimination of dual boilers and auxiliary equipment which will be supplanted by more reliable single units. 5. Elimination of a significant number of cargo tank bulkheads and their attendant pipeline systems, etc. "The cumulative effect of simplification," Mr. Andreae estimated, "could reduce first cost of a ship by 20 to 25%. Operation of a simplified vessel on which crew could be reduced from the conven tional 44 men to about 30 men, together with reduced initial investment, should allow costs (in cluding capital recovery) to be about 25% below that of existing ships." In a clear and straightforward explanation, Mr. Andreae told why American tankers cannot com pete in international trade and the reason for operating ships under so-called flags of necessity. Except for the MSTS and certain aid cargoes, he said, "American Flag ships have been unable to cope with foreign competition because of basic economic realities. The rates that prevail in these trades are determined by competitive bidding in the world charter market. Business goes to who ever offers at the lowest rate. Costs for U. S. Flag vessels are simply too high to compete with foreign shipping. "The chief element of operating cost is labor; American wages are three to five, or more, times greater than other maritime nations. Add to this the construction and repair costs in U. S. yards, which are about twice those of foreign yards, and you find that there is no economic basis for using U. S. ships in foreign service. (Continued on p. 3) u< LU ip !`gl a e- jtj x to `S tiC-Z 2 u>j u^ EH k:J EXX-MOR-007786 A payroll starts with all pertinent data being put on "input forms" by Seagoing Personnel and Payroll sec tions. The forms are sent to the Humble Bldg, where Key Punch Operators Patsy Bryan (foreground) and Bobbie Robertson (left) transfer the information to punch cards. Cards are verified by Theresa Jamail (background). Ken Finnerty (right) is Coordinator for personnel and payroll work between Marine Division and Electronic Data Processing Center. How is the New Payroll System Working? This is not a suspense story so we'll give the answer right off -- bueno, tres bon, sehr gute, not too badly. Actually, the Oct. 15 payoff was only the third since the new system started so there hasn't been too much time for complaints to be heard in any great volume. Which is why we are writing this article now. Seriously, the system is working pretty well -- not perfectly -- but pretty well. The electronic computer "slips a cog" every once in a while but that is to be expected until all the wrinkles can be ironed out. There has been almost universal agree ment that the new vouchers are a big improvement. Some men have noticed that their Thrift Fund subscription number on the vouchers is not the same as the one on their identification card. The numbers should be the same except that if your card number has six figures, the voucher will have seven. The addition is a zero for the first figure. Our IBM machines work with seven digits and a zero is added where there are only six. One situation that will always be wrong is when an employee's status changes between the payroll cut-off date and the end of the payroll period. For the Oct. 1-15 period, the cut-off date was noon, Oct. 10. Say a man was on fleet reserve as a Messman then, sailed the next day as Wiper and on the 14th was promoted to Fireman-Watertender. Neither of these shipboard assignments would appear on the Oct. 15 voucher because they were not known at cut-off time. The Payroll Sec tion could only assume that the fleet reserve status Punched cards are "read" and sorted by a 1402 machine (not shown) which also transfers the informa tion to a magnetic tape. This tape is put on one of the tape units (background) and its information is fed into an IBM 7080 Data Processing System which does all the computing for the payroll and produces a second tape. Above is console of the 7080 with Boris Rice operating. The 7080, largest IBM unit, has an 80,000-position memory. The second tape goes into another tape unit, controlled by a smaller electronic brain, the 1401, (background) with 4,000 memory positions. This nerve center reads the tape and the impulses actuate a 1403 printer that writes the vouchers and checks. It can write up to 600 lines per minute. Here, Paul Adam looks over some checks coming out of the printer for Oct. 15 delivery to seagoing personnel. Checks go through the printer in a continuous strip the width of one check and stub. The next step is to put them through another machine which imprints the signature of E. A. Flotten, Marine Division Finance and Accounting Manager, and then separates them. ESSO FLEET NEWS is published for the seagoing em ployees of the Marine Division, Humble Oil & Refining Co.: J. D. Rogers, General Manager; Joseph Andreae, Assistant General Manager; Sydney Wire, Assistant Gen eral Manager. W. E. Gardner, Editor. Contributions and suggestions are invited and should be addressed to The Editor, Esso Fleet News, Humble Oil & Refining Co., P. 0. Box 1512, Houston 1, Texas. 3d X'v3J 3WXz U) ^____ _ EXX-MOR-007787 would continue and make the payment on that basis. However, adjustments for the actual assign ments w'ould be made on the Oct. 16-31 voucher. How does the Seagoing Payroll Section like the new system? OK, but they still have problems. For one, they try to catch assignment changes between the cut-off date and the day checks are mailed so that a check doesn't go to a ship when a seaman has just left for paid leave or vice versa. The same with mailing the vouchers. Payroll people think it would be "nice" if everyone had a 100% draw check order with the wages sent to a bank. Then checks would always be mailed to the same address regardless of whether the seaman was afloat or ashore. Maybe that dream will come true, or almost. More and more men are finding the checking account a good idea, now that personal checks can be cashed aboard ship. (Only three have "bounced" so far.) Checks also provide you with a record of w'here the money went and how fast. How FAST? RECENT RETIREMENTS wmmsi Chief Cook John A. Rose. Monday, OUct. 8 vwwas a memor- lib wA able day for Mr. Rose --- and for his shipmates aboard the Esso Jamestown. It was the day i/ja John was surprised with a re tirement gift (wallet, with legal |3l||il|:- tender) from the' officers and "* crew. And it was the day that, ' in the words of Captain Parkhurst, "John outdid himself and gave us some of the nicest roast beef we have ever tasted. It was a happy time for the crew. John was well thought of and well-remem bered wrhen he left." Bom in Brava, Cape Verde Islands, Mr. Rose came to the U. S. in 1915, worked on Boston tow boats and shipped out in colliers of the Mystic and other steamship companies. He owned a restaurant in Jersey City from 1934-41. His Com pany service, all as Chief Cook, totaled more than 15 years and was continuous from Jan. 1948. He had a special liking for the Esso Scranton, in which he sailed over four years, and the James town, his ship for the past 17 months. Retired as of Nov. 1, John plans to stay in Jersey City except for visits to friends and rela tives. "I will not go to Cape Verde," he said, "as the United States is my country. I enjoyed my years with Esso -- the best company I have ever worked for -- and also enjoyed working with the fine group of men in the fleet. Mr. Rose is married and has a daughter, Marrea Fatima, aged 12. Tanker Trends (Continued, from page 1) "But. American tanker owners have found a way to be competitive in the international tanker transportation market. By operating ships under the flags of certain friendly nations, they have been able to compete on equal terms with the ships of other major maritime nations. As you know, this arrangement has been severely criti cized on several fronts. However, these ships are competitive and, according to the American Com mittee for Flags of Necessity, make up 65% of the fleet available to our Government for use in time of war or national emergency. They are operated efficiently and without sacrifice of safety stand ards or governmental requirements. The Depart ment of Defense has supported this arrangement. "Maritime unions, however, have contended that these ships have `run away' from the U. S. Flag in order to avoid U. S. operating costs and standards and have robbed American seamen of their jobs. They have assumed that operation under U. S. Flag is a realistic alternative to opera tion under foreign flags. The true alternative, from a strictly commercial viewpoint, is to charter from w'holly foreign interests. In other words, the realistic alternative to ownership under foreign flags is not to own at all." The MIS-Adventures of J-SWIBVEWINE Mc FRACTURE WHEEE! This is almost as good as a Nantucket Sleigh Ride. All you need (instead of a harpooned whale) is a bit of momentum and a little disregard for a wet and slippery deck. The knot on the noggin is the mark of a real "pro." This is the way real pro McFracture did it. He was walking aft along the main deck. He slipped, fell, landed on his buttocks and, sliding in this position, also struck his head on the deck. (Good head -- no lost time.) Discussion topic -- What is the best way (or ways) to negotiate a wet and slippery deck -- assuming you don't have a pillow handy? It/; ipjU< *:i<r O05 Zu < 6 <t-- m< U LU 7* -<: >f- tZ w> 5z 0u Ux4 Ui ^ k EXX-MOR-007788 Thrift Fund Stock Purchase Pooi More than 65,000 shares of Standard Oil Com pany (N. J.) stock have been distributed to employee Thrift Fund accounts as a result of em ployees' participation in the regular schedule stock purchase option of the Thrift Plan during the third quarter of the year. Shares were distributed to employee accounts at a price per share of $52.20, which was the average cost of shares purchased for the pool during the 3-month period ending September 30. Total value of the 65,098 shares distributed to accounts was $3,398,115.60. Slightly more than 10,900 employees partici pated in the pool. The number of participants has increased slightly each quarter during the year. t ~ r . TAFFRAIL TALK * ......- Captain Bernard Roberts was hospitalized at Daytona Beach, Fla., Oct. 14-19, for the removal of a cataract from his eye. He said he "came through with flying colors" and appreciated the cards received from men in the fleet. ** * Walter W. Werner, First Assistant in the Esso Gloucester, was relieved Oct. 25 to become Ad visor}'- Engineer in the Esso Newark when she goes into Newport News for repairs about Nov. 5. In the meantime he will visit the Peabody Engi neering Co. plant in Stamford, Conn, to learn about the new oil burners to be installed in the ship as part of a Marine Testing and Improvement Program project in boiler automation. ** * William Eckert, son of Chief Steward Lester E. Eckert, of the Esso Jacksonville, has been appoint ed a representative for Lykes Bros. Steamship Co. in Yokohama, Japan. Bill was graduated from the U. S. Merchant Marine Academy (Kings Point) in 1957 and served three years in the Navy as Ensign and Lieutenant. ** * Miss Ruby R.Carlile,daughter of the late Frederick W. Carlile, has been granted a Teagle Foundation Nursing Scholarship, effective Sept. 1962. Miss Carlile is attending Northwestern State College School of Nursing at Natchitoches, La. Her father, Pumpman in the Benjamin Brew ster. was lost when the ship was torpedoed and sunk off theLouisiana coast inMay 1942. ** * Lt. Commander William J. Spinella, USCG, was a passenger aboard the Esso Florence when she sailed from Baytown Oct. 27 for New York and Albany. He has been assigned to our Marine Division for a year in order to gain first-hand experience on commercial tanker operations with a view to promoting understanding and coopera tion between industry and the Coast Guard. Commander Spinella had seven years of hull inspection and investigation work in New York and for the past two years was Executive Officer and Commanding Officer of the cutter Nemesis, based at St. Petersburg. ** * Work was started this month on an 18" pipe line to connect the American Oil Co. refinery at Texas City with the Colonial Pipeline's Houston- New York trunk line. ** * You may recall an item in this column last July about Captain Donald Swain (ret. May '60) and his strawberry and tomato plants in Iowa "that couldn't decide whether they wanted to live or not." A late innings score shows the strawberries fouling out--"I just have to learn more about it," the Captain said -- and a home run for the tomatoes --- "the Mrs. canned 35 qts. and they're still coming." "And not one worm," he added. (In contrast, ye Ed. picked at least 300 tomato worms off eight valiant plants in his first Houston vegetable-growing venture. Grrr.) OBITUARY Manuel Adega, annuitant and former Oiler in the fleet, died Oct. 11 in New York City. He was 70 years old and had been retired since Feb. 1, 1957. Born in the province of Co runa, Spain, Mr. Adega went to Cuba when he was 16 and start ed his seagoing career in 1915. He was a survivor of a Belgian ship which was sunk by gunfire in the Mediterranean in World War I but sailed safely throughout the second world w'ar in Esso tankers. He had over 18 years' service with the Company. Joseph deGroot, who retired T,..I Nov. 1, 1958 as Group Steward, w Ail died on Oct. 11 in Atlantic Highlands, N. J. Surviving are his daughter, Mrs. Audrey Taskalos and a son, David. - \ 'j Mr. deGroot -was bom in Holland and sailed in Red Star liners before joining Esso as Cook in the Montano in 1916. He served more than 20 years in the fleet as Steward and was a Group Steward on the Port Staff from Nov. 1945 until his retirement.