Document 6R5R58Y6gEygMO4p69Dpre11g

PUBLISHED BY THE MARINE DEPARTMENT, HUMBLE OIL & REFINING COMPANY Vol. 11, No. 6 Classes Underway at Salveston March 20, 1969 New Program Trains Esso Fleet Seamen for AB Jobs A new two-week able seaman training program to upgrade ordi nary seamen will graduate its first class next Friday. The Marine Dept-sponsored course -- developed at the request of the Esso Seamen's Assn. -- is designed to qualify Hum ble seamen to fill an increasing number of AB vacancies in the fleet. Coast Guard officials will admin ister the Lifeboat and Able Sea men's Examination to men com pleting the course. Passing the exam will lead to promotion to able seaman and an increase in base pay and overtime rates. The training program got under way March 17 at Galveston aboard the training ship Texas Clipper, courtesy of the Texas Maritime Academy. Third Mate Michael Sharik III, course instructor, said that classroom instruction, actual prac tice in lifeboat handling, the use of fire fighting equipment and drills in rescue procedures will cover all phases of the Coast Guard require ments for qualifying as able sea man. "This is a practical, straightfor ward course that will move from theory in the classroom to actual 3rd Mate Michael Sharik III AB Course Instructor practice," Mr. Sharik said. "Every graduate will be able to demon strate his ability to tie and splice lines and handle a lifeboat to meet the written, practical and oral AB test given by the Coast Guard." The course will include some "homework" too. "There's a lot of reading to absorb during the two weeks," Mr. Sharik observed. Peri odic tests will be used to test each student's progress. "And anybody who wants some extra tutoring can get it simply by asking," he said. Two other AB courses will follow the first one back-to-back, one be ginning March 31 and the other April 14. (Continued, Page 2) Sweeping Trio of Marine Safety Awards Goes to Fleet, Gettysburg, inland Crews The Marine Dept.'s safety incen tive program has paid off in a sweeping trio of awards to men in the Humble tanker fleet and inland BANGOR RESCUES TWO OFF FLORIDA COAST No doubt the Esso Bangor was the most beautiful ship ever seen by a couple of boatmen drifting at sea in a powerless vessel off the Florida coast. Capt. H. F. Wichman sighted their smoke flare and fran tically waving flags on a south bound voyage Feb. 16. And the Bangor went to their rescue. "We reduced speed and headed over to the boat," Capt. Wichman reported. Not only had the boat lost power when an alternator burned up but also was without radio com munications. "We told them we would tow them to the Miami sea buoy," said the Bangor's master. Esso seamen pitched a towline to the happy sailors and the tanker towed their 18-foot boat toward the coast at five knots. About an hour later a Coast Guard ship took the little boat in tow and the Bangor continued its voyage to Baytown. The rescue op eration took almost two hours. waterways Baytown branch. Three major safety awards have cropped up one after the other recently as lost-time injury-producing acci dents dipped to record low levels. Safety honors went to the Esso Gettysburg for a million man-hours worked without a reportable lost time injury in 3V2 years. During that time, 401 men sailed in the ship. T. J. Fuson, general manager of the Marine Dept., recently board ed the vessel and presented an en graved plaque and letter of appre ciation to the master, Capt. Herbert J. Swift. The plaque reads: "Presented to the men of the Esso Gettysburg for their outstanding performance in working 1,000,000 man hours with out a lost time injury." Mr. Fuson told crewmen on hand for the pre sentation that "safety not only con tributes to a ship's efficiency but also to your individual welfare and good health." His letter to the ship's men said in part: "This splendid safety record run ning from June 1, 1965, to Novem ber 21, 1968, (and still going un broken) could not have been achieved without the constant vig ilance. sound judgment, prepared ness and guidance on the part of (Continued, Page 2) i L, COHIP/J FROM THE COLLECTIONS IN THE CENTER FOR AMERICAN THE UNIVERSITY OF T E X A S A T A lic r iM Safety Awards (Cont'd from Page 1) all those men who served on board during this period. I believe this record would not have been achieved without having harmoni ous cooperation between the li censed and unlicensed men. "Well done---and, again, congrat ulations!" The Gettysburg is the second ship to be awarded the million man-hour award. The Esso James town was the first. Two other awards were an nounced for the first time since the safety incentive program was launched a year ago. Men of the fleet--1127 of them --are in line for individual safety prizes for working 80 days without a single reportable lost-time injury to the National Safety Council from Dec. 5. 1968, to Feb. 23, 1969. The Baytown branch of inland waterways has been named win ner of the first inter-branch safety contest. The 24 men who man the inland equipment qualified for the honor by working from start to fin ish of 1968 without any reportable lost-time injuries. Letters of con gratulations from management have gone out to them and an engraved plaque will be presented to W. W. Cottle, branch manager. Individual safety awards will be selected by eligible employees from a brochure offering an assortment of 24 prizes such as portable elec tric jig saws, camera kits, radios and other valuables. A. B. Randall, Jr., fleet safety officer, said that catalog brochures and selection cards have been mailed to eligible men on the Esso Gettysburg and to the Baytown inland boatmen. Similar material will be sent to those men who helped achieve the 80-day record. The triple - header series of awards, Mr. Fuson observed, proves that the Marine Dept.'s year-old safety incentive program is worth its salt. "It takes a concerted effort on everybody's part to run a safe ship," he said. "Safety is no acci dent." GETTYSBURG officers, crew and shore side personnel on hand for presen tation of a plaque by T. J. Fuson, general manager of the Marine Dept., in recognition of a million man-hours worked without a reportable lost time injury are from left (front row) Oiler Mercedes Renteria, Messman Thomas I. McMenamy, Chief Engr. Theodore C. Woodard, Mr. T. J. Fuson, Capt. Herbert J. Swift; (back row) Utility Man Teodoro Martinez, 2nd Engr. Antonio S. Rose, Asst. Port Engr. Albert Fellows, Baytown Branch Manager W. W. Cottle, Mr. Herman Teller, Steward Daniel G. Fernandes, Pumpman Roy G. Stanley, Chief Cook Eduardo Oliveira, 2nd Cook Albert E. Russell, Messman Robert Edwards, Cadet Scott Summers, Safety Officer A. B. Randall, Jr., and Chief Mate Jean S. Brower. AB Training (Cont'd from Page 1} "AB vacancies do exist and we prefer to fill them from within," said Paul McEwan, head of Sea going Personnel. "Plans are to ac cept 12 students in each course. It's a good opportunity for an ordinary seaman to upgrade himself in a short time." Students are quartered at a hotel near the Texas Clipper. Humble pays their expenses and provides books, paper, pens and other study materials. Seamen taking the course remain on the pay roll with full wages. Requests to enroll in the course should be routed through officer supervisors. Applicants must be at least 19 years old and able to pass a color sense examination. Three years' sea service on deck is re quired to obtain an unlimited AB certificate, or one year for a lim ited certificate. Limited certificates are upgraded automatically to un limited when the required sea serv ice is fulfilled. Mr. Sharik brings to the class room 17 years' experience in the Humble fleet. He signed on in 1952 as a messman and moved up to or dinary seaman, able seaman and third mate. Mike also assisted for four years in the training of Esso lifeboat racing crews and was cox swain in boats that won the World Championship International Life boat Races two years consecutively. Before joining the fleet, he served in the U.S. Navy for four years. ESSO FLEET NEWS is published for the seagoing em ployees of the Marine Department. Humble Oil & Refining Co.; T. J. Fuson, General Manager: Sydney Wire, Assistant General Manager. Jim Pitts, Editor Contributions and suggestions are invited and should be addressed to The Editor, Esso Fleet News, Humble Oil & Refining Co., P. O. Box 1512, Houston, Texas 77001. WORDS OF THE WISE He who allows his clay to pass by without prac ticing generosity and enjoying life's pleasures is like a blacksmith's bellows--he breathes but does not live. Sanskrit Proverb. S. S. MANHATTAN Humble's Manhattan Project Moves Ahead at Full Throttle As Engineers Modify Tanker. Northwest Passage Challenger No Cream Puff Manhattan Gaining 9000 Tons, More Length for Historic Voyage The S.S. Manhattan -- biggest tanker flying the American flag -- has been cut into four pieces to speed up plans to make her bigger, heavier and as "iceworthy" as any commercial vessel in the world. She is being prepared for a voyage through the Northwest Passage. Tentatively the historical jour ney is set for mid-July. Opening up the Northwest Passage to com mercial shipping would provide a route for transporting oil from Alaska's North Slope--where Hum ble is developing sizable leases--to refineries on the East Coast. The bigger-than-life job of re working the massive Manhattan is going on in three shipyards -- Ches ter, Pa., Newport News, Va., and Mobile, Ala. At Chester the stern is being strengthened internally and and a double skin is being added. A new icebreaking bow will be fit ted onto the ship there also. The forward section including the No. 1 cargo tank is at Newport News while the midship section is at Mobile, Ala. A heavy steel ice belt is one of the major engineer ing aids that will help the ship break her way through the North west Passage. The belt will be fit ted along the hull from the bow to the engine room section. A. D. Mookhoek. Humble Arctic Task Force technical coordinator, ex plained that the belt is sloped at ten degrees, making an angle "to facilitate breaking the ice under tension rather than by compres sion." It prevents the pressure of tons of ice the ship will encounter from pushing against the hull at a 90 degree angle. When the Manhattan has been put together again, she will have gained some 9000 tons in weight and grown noticeably in length and breadth. Here are the husky lady's vital statistics after alterations (original dimensions in parenthe sis): overall length, 1005'6" (940'6">; breadth, 155' (132'); depth, 67'6" (same), and draft 52' (50'4V4"). She's no cream puff. lift- Marine Dept. General Manager T. J. Fuson presents a gold watch and other mementos to retiring Esso Fleet News ''Able" Editor Bill Gardner, who served as the fleet's salty wordsmith for over 19 years. After hail and farewell ceremonies, Bill was honored by colleagues at a luncheon. He lives in Houston with his wife, plays golf, puffs his familiar pipe, and looks forward to visiting Esso seamen now and then at Baytown. mmmtm RECENT RETIREMENTS tti Third Mate George W. Ver- Fireman-Watertender Charles lander is operating a 57-acre oyster farm and devoting more G. Freeman's last voyage with time to studying the stock mar the fleet was in the Esso New ket since his disability retire B York before retiring March 1. He had almost 21 years with the company. Prior to joining the fleet he served in the Pa cific with the Navy in the U.S.S. North Carolina. Mr. Freeman first sailed with the company in the Esso Scranton ment March 1. He joined the company in December, 1949, as able seaman in the Esso Lin den. George began his life as a seaman in the State of Virginia in 1939. He wras second mate in the S.S. Albert P. Rider in 1945 when she was running w'ithout lights at night under Navy orders as fireman-watertender on April 29, a1n9d48c. ollided with a blacked-out Brazilian freighter. He is originally from Melbeta. Nebraska, and The other ship went down with no loss of life. now' lives in Baytown. Texas. Since retirement, he has been employed as a mechanic for a coastal maintenance firm. Mr. Freeman spends some of his leisure hours enjoying his favorite hobby, pho tography. George and his wife. Cornelia, plan to move from Baltimore to his hometown. Weems. Vir ginia. w'here "the country air is fresh and I can raise a garden and sit on the docks talking with old friends." In farewell, he said, "I have enjoyed the years with the fleet and all the men I have Pumpman Per S. Esten, who worked with, both aboard ship and on shore." began his seagoing career as coal passer in 1931. retired March 1 after 21 years' service in the Esso fleet. He sailed in ships from his native Norway from 1931 to 1938. worked as an outside machinist for a ship builder in Oslo during World : jCa&L Pumpman Edward Derry signed on as messnian in the Esso Cumberland on April 22. 1947, and retired March 1. Eight months after joining the fleet, he sailed in the Esso Everett as second pump man. And in December. 1950, Mr. Derry w'as promoted to pumpman aboard the Concord. His last ship was the Esso New York. War II. and went to sea again in 1945 as motorman in Nor wegian ships. Mr. Esten also attended engineer's Mr. Derry was born in Bocki. Poland. He lives with his wife. Ethel, in Oakland Park. Florida. school at Oslo. He worked in Brooklyn before join ing the fleet in the Esso Charlotte as oiler Dec. 22, 1947. His last ship was the Dallas. Mr. Esten is "thinking of making a trip back to the old country and uo to my hometown, Tromso. in the land of the midnight sun." Tromso is cele brating its 175th anniversary this year. In the meantime, his plans include "gardening, fishing, bowling and bridge." Mr. Fsten has two children: Eric. 16, and Robert. 14. He lives in St. Peters burg, Florida. Stamps Shore-Up Dept's '68 `Losses' The Marine Department went "in the hole" last year by 12 cents w'hen Mrs. H. J. Ottmann in Watertown. Wisconsin, mailed two letters to her husband. Third Asst. Engr. How'ard Ottmann. The letters w'ere short 12 cents postage, w'hich the Department shelled out before sending them to Mr. Ottmann aboard ship. But . . . Mrs. Ottmann -- bless her thoughtful soul -- sent tw'o 6 cent stamps and a bouquet of thanks to "whomever it may concern." She explained Oiler James P. Donovan joined the company on that "I'm in too big a hurry to weigh my letters" April 2. 1947. and sailed as w'iper in the Wallace before mailing them. "I do appreciate it," she E. Pratt. He retired March 1 with more than 21 w'rote. years' service in the fleet. During his career, Mr. Donovan also w'ent to sea as storekeeper and fire man-watertender. He first sailed as an oiler in 1950 in the Esso Bridgeport. His last ship was the Florence. We think the Marine Department would have stayed afloat even without the two stamps she sent. But her words of thanks are priceless. The Marine Department will continue to see that the mail goes through to the Fleet. And if it costs an A native New Yorker. Mr. Donovan and his extra 6 cents now and then, Mrs. Ottmann's kind w'ife, Margaret, live on Staten Island, New' York. ness makes it even more worth the effort. < u U4 Sr iu i EXX-MOR-007738