Document B8d1gNL0YdM3rB5VRG8XGLypE

jW f 1 PUBLISHED BY THE MARINE DEPARTMENT, HUMBLE OIL & REFINING COMPANY Vol. 9, No. 20 October 19, 1967 SIGHTS & SOUNDINGS THIS MAKES IT OFFICIAL --M. A. Wright, Humble's Board Chairman, signs contract Oct. 9 for the con struction by Avondale Shipyards, Inc., New Orleans, of three 75,600dwt. tankers. H. Zac Carter, Presi dent of Avondale (also seated) an interested witness. Standing, I. to r., are: Chas. F. Jones, President and Director and R. H. Venn, Vice President and Director of Humble; Earl Leonard, Chief Engineer of the shipyard; Joseph Andreae, General Manager, Marine Department and Robert X. Caldwell, Technical Superintendent, Marine Dept. Until names are chosen for the new vessels they will be known as EXX-MOR-007063 Mrs. M. W. Haas pre pares to christen the Esso Garden State and, at right, Mrs. S. E. Charl ton is coached by A. Giallorenzi, Manager, N. Y. Branch Office, aboard the Esso Empire State as Mr. Charlton, son Sam, Jr. and daughter Martha observe with interest. Mrs. Haas was accomp anied by her husband and daughter Cecilia. Twin Tugboats Christened Christening ceremonies aboard the New York Harbor tugs Esso Garden State and Esso Empire State were held on Oct. 16. Mrs. M. W. Haas, wife of Humble's Vice President for Exploration, broke the champagne bottle on the forward tow ing bitt of the Garden State at 10 a.m. at Con stable Hook, Bayonne. The Sponsors and guests then had a tugboat trip across the harbor to The Battery, New York Art by Numbers By AB BILL E. TYRA Here is a little bit about another of our talented shipmates who is perhaps better known around the Fleet for his comic antics than as an up and com ing artist. AB Edwrard Philphot has been dabbling in oils since he bought a paint-by-numbers kit several years ago. These kits are a boon for beginners, or at least they were for him. If you think you might be interested in oil painting, you should buy a "numbers kit" and try your hand at it. Could be that you have some hidden talent and if not, it would still be fun. If you do buy a set, here's about what you w'ould find in the box: (1) three pre-sketched canvas covered boards divided into little spaces AB Edward Philphot, some of his art work and a cus tom-made canvas carrying case. *' v fmAB Bill E. Tyro - vStes TJ'aOF - City, where Mrs. S. E. Charlton, whose husband is Vice President for Marketing, christened the Esso Empire State. A luncheon at the Downtown Athletic Club followed. During their initial operation, the newr tugs have won high praise from their crews, the N. Y. shore staff and numerous visitors. As described in the Oct. 5 Fleet News, they have exceptional maneuverability and flexibility for docking and undocking our ships and towing barges in the Newr York area. and plots and stamped with numbers correspond ing to numbers on the tops of (2) 12 little paint bottles, (Two or three of these contain odd colors not required for your paintings.) (3) tw'o paint brushes with bristles seemingly broader than the area you will be covering. (4) one skimpy instruc tion sheet, (5) an order blank and (6) pictures of other pictures you can order. Number painting appears to be op-art at its best, or wnrst, depending upon the smearability of the brush wielder. Needless to say. Monsieur Philphot's masterpieces were almost as attractive as the paintings pictured in the paint kit brochure. After many, many off-w'atch hours striving to improve his skill, Ed decided he might as well work on some creations of his own and he no longer uses the semi-automated numbers system. He has pretty well developed his own style and is on his way to becoming a really fine artist. An outdoor man and nature lover, Ed paints wild life, animals, landscapes and seascapes. He has sold several "Philphots" to friends and ship mates to obtain more material for more paint ings to sell to friends and shipmates. ESSO FLEET NEWS is published for the seagoing em ployees of the Marine Department, Humble Oil & Refining Co.: Joseph Andreae, General Manager; Sydney Wire, Assistant General 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. Texas 77001. EXX-MOR-007064 Mr. Philphot resides in Bay Minette, Ala. (20 miles NE of Mobile) with his wife and 2 sons and is presently sailing as AB in the Esso Miami. He has 17 years' service in the Fleet. ^ i RECENT RETIREMENTS ` ~ Chief Engineer Roy E. Menzer knows what hard work is ---as a young lad he spent 6 months on road construction in Cheyenne, Wyo. That's when he decided there must be better ways to make a living and went to sea. Starting with United Fruit in 1923, Roy shipped out as OS. spent a few' years on the West Coast and then was Oiler in Morgan Line freighters. He got his Second Asst's license in 1929, sailed with Clyde-Mallory and in D. K. Ludwig's converter collier Ulysses and, on July 13. 1934. joined the Esso Fleet as Fireman in the W. H. Libby. Mr. Menzer w'as soon sailing as Third Asst, and during the later 1930s, as Second and First Asst. He was First in the Esso New Orleans (I) in June 1941 and remained with her when she was taken over by the Navy and converted into the baby flat-top Chenango. He also served in another escort carrier and in the light cruiser Miami. Returning to the Company in Jan. 1946, Mr. Menzer had his first Chief Engr's berth in the Esso Concord 3 months later. He was promoted to Chief in Jan. 1955, sailing regularly in the Esso Everett, Esso Chester and, for the past 4 years, the Esso Baltimore. Now', Mr. Menzer is prepared to enjoy the fruits of 33 years of credited service, including the Special Sea Service Supplement. His only immediate plans after retirement Oct. 1 are to improve (?) Mrs. Menzer's landscaping of their 3 lots in Wilmington, N. C. Esso Scranton, Dallas, Miami Going Offshore It's hardly a month since we told you about high charter rates, tankers in short supply and that we are not chartering our vessels out. Now we are chartering out even though rates are still high and tankers are generally short. A revision in our supply requirements and some inwardoutward charter juggling are the reasons. First to go offshore is the Esso Scranton, sailing from Baytown about Oct. 21 with a cargo of lube oils for Fawdey, England; Antwerp, Belgium, and Rotterdam, Holland. Next, and about the same time, w'ill be the Dallas with gasoline for Los Angeles and San Francisco. The Esso Miami has been chartered to MSTS to deliver jet fuel from "one or more U. S. Gulf ports" to Europe (probably Rota, Spain) loading next week. THEN (circa 1934) . . . This is the good ship Suderoy llll, a whale catcher, and the man near the wicked-looking harpoon gun is Rolf Hallesen, the gunner. For 7 years in the late 1920s and early '30s Rolf sailed from his native Norway to the Antarctic on 6-month whaling expeditions -- all highly successful. The whale catcher was one of 6 similar vessels that worked with the factory ship Suderoy, where whales were processed for oil, meat, bone and fertilizer. Catcher ships were about 130' long, steam propelled (diesels' noise scared the whales) and built with a high bow, and cutaway forefoot for easy turning. You can see the catwalk from bridge to gun and ratlines to a crow's nest high up the foremast, where the lookout could sing out "Thar she blows" -- in Norwegian, of course. AB Rolf Hallesen j AND NOW . . . Mr. Hallesen is AB in the Esso Jamestown and has 16 years' service in the Fleet. He and his wife Frieda have an attractive home on an acre of land in Mt. Marion, N. Y., 7 miles north of Kingston. A Jones F. Devlin Award, for operaf- is presented to the Esso Scranfon on ing 2 years (1965 and 1966) with- her arrival at Baltimore, Sept. 23. out a reportable lost-time accident, She had just returned from a 4- month voyage to India via Cape of Good Hope both ways. L. to r. are: Chief Engr. Robert D. Cain; OS Jose Silva,- Steve M. English, Repair Superintendent; E. E. Claypoole, Manager, Baltimore Branch Office; OS James R. Sharp; A. Levan, Baltimore Office; Captain Robert H. Stotts; P. J. McEwan, Head, Seagoing Personnel Section; RO Samuel R. Moore, MM/2P Fran cis L. Picou; First Asst. Sylvester Wueller, and Chief Mate Neo H. Robinson. ------- - TAFFRAIL TALK - ~ Captain Harold Martin has accepted a 1-year assignment in Aruba, effective Oct. 16, as Marine Specialist with Lago Oil & Transport Co. Captain C. P. Sperl (Esso Lexington) has been named Assistant Port Captain at the New York Branch Office during Captain Martin's absence. Mercedes Renteria, Oiler in the Esso Dallas, thinks he may be the youngest grandfather in the Fleet. His son's wife, Mrs. Bobby Renteria, of Baytown, gave birth to 7-lb. 12-oz. Bobby, Jr. on Sept. 23. Mercedes' age? -- it's just twice his Company service, which is 2114 years. Deborah C. Oliveira, daughter of Chief Steward Leopold Oli veira, Jr. (Esso Gettysburg), graduated from St. Peter's School of Nursing, Albany, N. Y. in August. Debbie received honors for her work in mater nity care and is now working in that dept, at St. Peter's. She had a Teagle Nursing Scholarship Lester A. Dutcher, who sailed as AB and Third Mate in the Fleet from 1950 to '55 (with time out for Korean War service) and worked ashore in Marine Operations until Sept. 1960, is now an Associate Professor of Marine Transpor- SERVICE EMBLEM AWARDS jBp 20 YEARS tation and Acting Director of the recently estab lished Office of Continuing Education at State University of New York Maritime College. i i OBITUARY Captain Wesley F. Besse, 75, a Group Captain in the Port of New York Office when he re tired 1014 years ago, died Sept. 30. He had been living in Lincroft, N. J. Captain Besse had notable merchant marine and Navy ca reers. A graduate of the Massa chusetts Nautical School, he went to sea in un licensed ratings in 1911 and joined the Esso Fleet as Third Mate in the El Capitan on July 26, 1916. He had active duty in the Navy from 1918 to 1920 and was the Navy's Port Director at Houston with rank of Commander during World War II. Between wars Captain Besse advanced to Master, starting with the Livingston Roe in Dec. 1930 and continuing in this capacity aboard the Esso Rich mond. in 1945. He was a Group Captain from Sept. 1951 until his retirement with 3714 years' service on March 1, 1957. Bertinius Osmundsen. 74, former Third, Second and First Asst. Engineer in the Fleet and a resident of Leonia. N. J., died Sept. 22. Surviving are his wife and daughter. A native or Norway. Mr. Osmundsen had a 48-year sea going career, beginning as a coal passer at age 17. He came to this country in 1911, worked in tugs and various merchant ves sels and advanced to Chief Engineer with Isbrandtsen. More than half of his 10 years of Com pany service was in the Esso Bethlehem. He re tired on Dec. 1, 1957. William M. Galloway Chief Mate April 7, 1966 Antonio J. Fernandes Chef August 18, 1967 Herman E. Eller Messman September 10, 1967