Document O3Ney6XJj6nYdRQJGO7jaOgVj

PUBLISHED BY THE MARINE DEPARTMENT. HUMBLE OIL & REFINING COMPANY Volume 12, No. 10 May 25, 1970 SS Manhattan Arctic Tests Nearing Completion The icebreaking tanker, SS Manhattan, completes ice breaking tests in Arctic waters this week and begins her re turn voyage to the U. S. East Coast. Ice conditions encountered on the current test voyage in Pond Inlet and Eclipse Sound have proved substantially dif ferent from those found in the Northwest Passage last sum mer. Ice of more uniform thickness, heavier snow cover, and less open water have pro vided ideal conditions for the testing. Minor damage was sustained in the hull at the ship's stem while backing during the tests. This area is protected in ternally by a watertight bulk head which was installed around the steering engine space in anticipation of this possibility of damage. In addition, there is an indi- Continued on page 6 CtWF.t) F/tOM THE CCJLLEf UJ ^ XH 5?' u: > I l. EXX-MOR-008128 Willard Fowler Writes Poem k Tribute To Merchant Marine Heroes Willard C. Fowler, radio of ficer aboard the Esso Miami, writes poetry and short stories. Several of his stories have won honorable mention awards in writing contests. In connec tion with National Maritime Day on May 22, he sent the following poem which he wrote in memory of merchant seamen who lost their lives on torpedoed ships and by other enemy action during World A SAFE YEAR. The officers and crew of the Esso Baltimore chalked up a War II. May 22 is observed an nually in tribute to the pa triotism and courage of offi cers and men of the cargo ships in the Victory Fleet. The date also marks the anniver sary of the sailing of the S.S. Savannah which on May 22, 1819, left Savannah, Georgia, perfect safety record in 1969 with no injuries resulting in time lost from work during the entire year. In recognition of that enviable record, a Marine Department Certificate of Safety was recently presented by A. B. Randall (right, foreground), fleet safety officer, to Captain R. A. Parkhurst, left, ship's master, at ceremonies aboard the Baltimore when she was load ing cargo April 25 at Baytown, Texas. On hand for the presentation were, from the left: Elton Cox, Lester Payne, C. F. Little, W. A. Gomez, Warren Adams, Jr., William Falvo, Silas O'Neal, W. H. Chambers, W. J. Murphy, Gene Reckling, H. F. Eddy, J. L. Hill, D. A. Hodges (port steward), R. B. Hurley, Lou Staar (asst, port captain), and Reidar Bohnhorst. bound for Liverpool, England, on what became the first suc cessful trans-oceanic crossing Big 'Supers' Lead 15 Million Barrels if Product of a steam-propelled vessel. Mr. Fowler, who sailed in the Three of the company's large day, May 20, to load nearly 1.5 merchant marine during WW supertankers arrived at Bay million barrels of products. II, lost two close friends to town Refinery within a few enemv action. hours of each other Wednes Marine representatives believe this to be a record lift for the refinery. The Esso Baton Rouge took aboard 568,000 barrels of 11 grades of clean product, such as solvents, gasoline, and heat in Mm@riarri ing oil for delivery to two ter minals in Norfolk; the Esso San Many merchant seamen sleep beneath the ever changing tide Below the green and salty highways where the great ships ride. They are not laid to rest in consecrated graves Francisco loaded 527,000 bar rels of eight grades of clean product for delivery to Hum ble's Everett Terminal; and the But are lying in the vaults of God's eternal waves. Esso Baltimore took on 362,000 All the winds of Heaven sigh a sorrowful farewell barrels of process gas oil and And somewhere from the silent depths there sounds crude for Bayway Refinery. a ghostly knell. The tankers were loaded at Seagulls cry their lamentations to the grieving sky Far from home their duty done, in unknown graves they lie. And yet the sun shines out upon the water and the land The ocean and the earth are held within God's mighty hand. They need no man's memorial, no monument of stone an average rate of 40,000 bar rels per hour. If the entire ship ment consisted of gasoline, the tankers took on enough prod uct in one hour to power an automobile around the earth They lie where they had loved to live, the sea receives its own. 1,000 times. Page 2 ESSO FLEET NEWS X < Tug Crew Battles Hudson River Ice This article may read like a rerun of the SS Manhattan's experience in Arctic waters last year: lots of ice, stuck ves sel, a call for help, and so forth. But the venture about to be related here happened in ice laden waters closer to home than the Arctic. It also con cerns a much smaller vessel-- a tug. The scene opens early in Jan uary on the heavily iced Hud son River in upstate New York. Captain Arthur R. Moore is skillfully maneuvering the tug Esso Maryland and her two kerosine-loaded barges along the river, bound for Esso ter minals at Newburgh and Kingston. Several severe spells of subzero weather had capped the river with ice two to three feet thick. The going was rough and slow for Captain Moore and his crew, Mack Hubbard, Bob Picco, Emil Bala, and A1 Tavares. "After finally arriving at the Esso terminal in Newburgh, we pumped product out of Barge No. 29, left her there, and proceeded upriver to Kingston with Barge No. 30." Captain Moore said. "Kingston Harbor was locked in ice. It took three hours for us to ram our way to dockside where the barge was unloaded. With the empty vessel in tow, we made the run back down to Newburgh, picked up Barge 29, and head ed for New York City. About 300 yards off the dock, how ever, we had it. We stuck hard." Captain Moore went on to explain that the crew released the barges and used the tug to break up ice around them. "We were a real battering ram," he said. Ice stopped the tug dead several times, but only tempo rarily. "As we were trying to break a track to the main channel, two more tows operated by other companies appeared on the scene," Captain Moore said. "When they got about oppo site us, they stuck fast. They tried to push and pull free, but to no avail. We tried to help the head tow, but even with three tug boats we couldn't move the lead barge. At 2330, we decided to call it a day and wait for the Coast Guard in the morning." With help the next day, the other two tows were cleared and Captain Moore and his crew managed to get Esso Barge 30 into the main channel and push it down near open water. They returned for Barge 29, but it was so iced in it couldn't be budged. The Maryland again served as a battering ram, this time break ing up the ice and alternately pushing and pulling the barge to a location near her sister unit. "It took two hours to go two miles," the captain said. "We disconnected from Barge 29 and left her in care of a Coast Guard icebreaker which circled around to keep ice from reforming. We pushed Barge 30 into clear water, tied up to her, and picked up Barge 29. With the two barges made up alongside each other, we head ed downriver into open water and continued on to New York City without further trouble," the captain concluded. MMWw i Maryland crew breaks out hawser in attempt to free barge from ice. May 25, \970 Page 3 I SL EXX-MOR-008130 Marine's Best Manbunter Paul McEwan is at least half bloodhound. Ask Leslie Hen derson, DeWitt Hodges, Ernest Hardin, or a hundred others about Marine's hard-hunting personnel man in Houston. Henderson, on vacation from the fleet, had just blasted a covey of Virginia quail. Several birds flopped to the ground. Suddenly, a truck pulled off the dirt road nearby, and birds flew in all directions. The driver ran forward at a frantic pace, shouting to Henderson, "You'd better hurry back to Baltimore. Your wife says they need you at sea." A few hours later, Henderson was back in Baltimore packing. Less than 12 hours after that, he arrived in Bermuda by plane and boarded the Esso Scranton to serve as 1st assis tant engineer. Paul McEwan, with a considerable assist from Jack Bennett, then manager of the Baltimore branch office, had made another emergency replacement. It all began when Bill Ro man, 1st assistant aboard the Esso Scranton, was stricken with appendicitis, so the Europe-bound Scranton headed full-steam ahead for nearby Bermuda. The time was late Saturday evening when Mc Ewan received the news at home, so he immediately called Bennett. The drama of telephone calls, waiting, and more telephone calls, began to unfold. Bennett spent several hours trying to reach Mrs. Henderson who would know' her husband's whereabouts. Finally, he con tacted her with the urgent message. A few hours later, she Paul McEwan, after checking the fleet list of names and phone numbers, places his first phone call in what may be a round-the clock manhunt. called Bennett with the news that her husband had been reached and was on his way back. Bennett now had an idea of when Henderson would arrive in Baltimore, so he began call ing airlines for reservations to Bermuda. Airline after airline had all flights booked to the big vacation island. At long last, Bennett managed to book a flight for Henderson. By this time, Henderson still hadn't returned to Baltimore. He missed the flight. Shortly after his scheduled flight left for Bermuda, Hen derson was back in Baltimore packing. Bennett made another reservation quickly, and Hen derson was bound for Bermuda shortly before noon on Monday morning. As a result of the great manhunt effort. Leslie Henderson was on the Esso Scranton 12 minutes before she was scheduled to depart frr Europe. Bill Roman had come out of surgery only a few hours before. As a big part of his job, Paul McEwan must find emergency replacements whenever an\rthing happens to men at sea. He keeps a long list of day and night numbers for the crews of all ships in the fleet. When the unexpected happens, whether it comes during office hours, in the middle of the night, on a holiday or a weekend, he is prepared to go into action. On another occasion, port steward DeWitt Hodges, on business in San Pedro, Califor nia, had to be reached on an important matter. It was six o'clock in the morning, so Mc Ewan phoned the motel where Hodges had spent the night. There was no answer from the room. On the spur of the moment, McEwan decided to run a quick check of eating places in the motel area. A few minutes later, he located Hodges at the "Hobby Knobby" diner and the important message was de livered. However, DeWitt Hodges has never quite fig ured how someone in Houston knew he was at the "Hobby Knobby" at six in the morning. During some 35 years with Page 4 ESSO FLEET NEWS the Marine Department, the experienced manhunter has re placed hundreds of men in emergency situations. Although he used two completely differ ent approaches to track down Henderson and Hodges, he has many techniques. On a Saturday afternoon during the Manhattan's his tory-making voyage in 1969, he had to put a quick tracer on a relative to locate Ernest Har din, needed as a pumpman on the Manhattan. The job was vital. It required an experi enced pumpman to assist in the operation and maintenance of the vessel's roll system. This system transfers ballast from one side of the ship to the other so she has enough roll ing motion to help break free of ice. Hardin's home is the tiny village of Flagpond, deep in Tennessee. It was a major task to reach the town by phone be cause the call was routed through so many exchanges. As fate would have it, there was no one home. But a small place like Flagpond offers an ad vantage because everyone knows everyone else. McEwan managed to contact another Hardin, Ernest's sister-in-law. She located the pumpman and passed on the news. Moving Hardin more than 4,000 miles from deep Tennes see to the Arctic was quite a problem. Through a battery of phone calls for airline reserva tions and split-second timing, Hardin flew from Memphis, Tennessee to Chicago to Se attle, then on to Fairbanks, Alaska, and finally from there on a charter flight to Resolute Island in the Arctic where a helicopter from the Manhattan carried him to the vessel. To Paul McEwan, it's all part of his day by day job. But it helps keep the fleet moving along the sea-lanes. May 25, 1970 He's An Economics Officer Now Lawrence J. Rogers, who most recently served as second mate aboard the Esso Chester, on May 11 began a new career ashore. He currently is work ing as an economic analyst in Marine headquarters, short range economics and planning section. A 1968 graduate of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, Rogers is among the first of the new young junior officers says. When such opportunities occur, junior officers who have indicated an interest in shore assignments will be considered. "We try to match interests of junior officers with the vari ous opportunities which arise," Mr. McNeil pointed out. Last summer, for example, seven junior officers with the fleet served in temporary posi tions ashore at Baytown, Baton Rouge, and in headquarters traffic and operations. Humble Tankers In Offshore Service Esso Boston--Arrived Istanbul, Turkey, on May 22. Will start discharging wheat about June 5. Operation will take about 20 days. .. ----------- rr--"t--l -e - 4, ^-ariSrSaaffart Larry Rogers totals a long series of figures for his analysis work. with the fleet to elect to pur sue a career ashore. Duty ashore is not entirely new to Larry. Since graduation at Kings Point in 1968, he spent four months in the Baytown branch office on transportation allocation work, and during the summer of 1969, he worked six weeks in the Baton Rouge branch office. Additional opportunities for young junior officers to take shore posts are anticipated. "Our present planning indi cates similar opportunities will arise in the future for young junior officers to pursue ca reers ashore," Administrative Manager E. W. McNeil, Jr., Esso Florence--Scheduled to arrive U.S. East Coast from San Vicente, Chile, early in June for coastwise service replacing Esso Huntington. Huntington will be out of service for about four weeks undergoing repairs. Enco Gloucester--To start load ing grain at Portland, Ore gon, late in May for delivery to Chittagong, East Pakistan. Esso Houston--Enroute from Geelong, Australia, to arrive in Persian Gulf about June 6 for charter service. Esso Jamestown--Will begin loading grain at Houston about June 9 for delivery to Calcutta, India. Esso Seattle--Transporting pe troleum products under charter to MSTS. Scheduled to leave Chimu Wan, Okina wa, about May 25 for Carib bean area. Page 5 Continued from page 1 cation that further minor dam age has occurred in the ship's hull at the afterpeak, a small compartment at the sternpost used for storage of fresh water. The fresh water storage tank is not essential to the vessel's operation. The Manhattan is equipped to distill its own fresh water needs. Both dam aged areas are in a part of the ship's hull that had not been replaced with high-t-ensile steel. "We do not consider the damage of major significance. It presented no threat to the safety of the ship's crew and no danger of pollution," said Arthur Smith, master of the Manhattan. Crew Gives Food T1 O Eskimos When crewmen aboard the Manhattan learned that hunting in the Pond Inlet area has been poor this year, causing a short age of meat in the village, they came up with more than 4,000 pounds of food which they gave to the nearly 150 Eskimos living there. In addition to ample sup plies of beef, pork, and chicken, they sent ashore fresh and frozen eggs, fresh fruit and vegetables, and canned whole milk and fruit juices. The food was transferred to the village by both helicopter and snowmobile. Every house and hut in Pond Inlet received an equal share of the food, ex cept the meat which is being distributed by the village ad ministrator on the basis of need. Inhabitants of the village also believe the Manhattan's visit might improve their food sup ply in another way. The break up of ice by the ship reportedly improves seal hunting, the prime source of food in the area. SS Manhattan Log Latest reports from Bluenose (SS Manhattan) to Tiger (Ma rine Department headquarters in the Houston Office) until Fleet News presstime folloiv: 5/12/70--Noon position 72-47N 76-29W. Temperature four de grees wind SSE at 12 knots. Conducted two ram tests in five feet plus ice prior to pro ceeding into thicker ice ahead. Laid out track for tests with 25-foot markers to supplement other distance and velocity measurements. 5/13/70---Noon position 72-48N 76-36W. Temperature 13 de grees wind SSE at 8 knots. Moving toward six foot test area enroute to Eclipse Sound and making rather slow prog ress. Worked almost through general ridged area including floes of second year ice. 5/14/70--Noon position 72-47N 76-54W. Temperature 13 de grees wind SE at 20 knots. Conducted two ramming tests in six foot ice. Will interpret data tomorrow AM and decide on need for further ram at this location. Have changed draft of ship to estimated 45 feet 4 inches and will conduct future tests at this new displacement. Pond Inlet inhabitants paying daily visits via skidoo to take advantage of unusual influx of buying tourists. Believe traders aboard finding it difficult to settle at other than Eskimo predetermined prices but at lighter draft can now take on additional ballast in form of soapstone carvings. 5/15/70--Noon position 72-47N 76-54W. Temperature 16 de grees wind NE at 16 knots. Holding this position for as sessment of data needs and re con of Eclipse Sound ice thick nesses. 5/16/70--Noon position same. Temperature ten degrees wind NNE at 20 knots. Ice recon of Eclipse Sound shows minimum ice thicknesses to be four feet in only one test site with ma jority of ice being five to six feet thick. Because of good agreement of data collected on three rams in six foot ice here Captain Arthur Smith, left, and two ice-party members check a chart aboard the Manhattan to determine location where tests will be made. Page 6 ESSO FLEET NEWS have decided to return to en trance of Pond Inlet for re maining three and four foot ice tests required to round out data needs. Also accepted chal lenge of Pond Inlet Eskimos for skidoo derby in cup race this evening. 5/17/70--Noon position same. Temperature 20 degrees wind W at 23 knots. Will make turn around starting at 0600 for Pond Inlet entrance for final tests. Will test on continuous basis to that location after working through general ridged area immediately east of present location. Tests will focus on clogged channel, ma neuvering, and frictional re sistance. Manhattan represen tatives were soundly defeated by Pond Inlet Eskimos in ski doo derby. Some think we should have conducted fuel in spection in view of speed at which Eskimos moved. 5/18/70--Noon position 72-47N 76-23W. Temperature 10 de grees wind W at 9 knots. Spent full day testing in four-foot ice completing total of 15 tests. Since still in four-foot ice area on way to Eclipse Sound, plan repeat tests tomorrow likely working into three-foot area by tomorrow night. Feel it may be desirable to hold position one day later this week to al low technical team to assess re sults again before departing this almost ideal test area of homogeneous ice. The mighty Manhattan tests snow-covered ice not far from Pond Inlet. This picture, taken straight down starboard side of ship, shows large slabs of ice breaking off as Manhattan plows through. 5/19/70--Noon position 72-47N 76-02W. Temperature 15 de grees wind N at 18 knots. Con tinued tests in four-foot ice. Friday will suspend operations to check astern turbines and condenser tubing and baffles as preventive measure only. Will also construct cement box around hull fracture with wat ertight bulkhead aft of steer ing gear and conduct assess ment of three- and four-foot ice test results using Saturday and possibly Sunday to rough out remaining voids in data. May 25, 1970 Page 7 jt/J ;X i i COPIf-U FROM THE COLLECTIONS IN THE CENTER FOR AMERICAN THE UNIVERSITY OFTPYAS a t a iic t im H Marital Status Has Changed, Be Sure To Fill Out New Forms Just married? Divorced? Re cently become a widow or wi dower? If your marital status has changed, it's important that you fill out new forms to desig nate the beneficiary who, when you die, should receive pro ceeds from your Group Life Insurance, Annuity Plan (if you contributed), and Thrift Plan. You may even want to keep the same beneficiary as before, but the new forms should still be completed to designate the intended receiver of benefits. Then there will be no doubt about your intended benefic iary, and he or she will receive needed funds in the shortest possible time. If you're an annuitant with a marital change, you should follow the same procedure as above to make sure your in tended beneficiary receives any SAFETY WINNER--R. C. Curtis, general manager of the Marine Department, left, presents Al Giallorenzi, manager of the New York branch office, with a plaque awarded to the winner of the Marine Department inter-branch safety contest for the best Inland Waterways safety record during 1969. The plaque has been hung in the waiting room at the Port of New York office. amounts which may be pay able under the Group Life In surance or Annuity plans. Forms for making changes may be obtained by writing Ed Fischer, Employee Relations, Marine Department, Humble Oil & Refining Company, P. O. Box 2180, Houston, Texas 77001. L Service Awards 20 YEARS Clifford Benedict Radio Officer April 21, 1970 luis A. Bericochea Messman January 27, 1970 Alfredo Del Toro Utility Man March 18, 1970 Hilmar Eidsvaag Able Seaman February 16, 1970 Able Seaman May 1, 1970 Able Seaman March 29, 1970 FRIENDS OF Cecil M. Tebo, bargeman on Esso Barge No. 22, gath ered at a luncheon in Norfolk, Virginia, recently, to congratulate him on his 30th anniversary of service. He received a watch and service emblem. From the left are Captain Claude Chapman of the Esso Virginia; the guest of honor himself, Cecil Tebo; Don Sears, opera tions assistant at Paulsboro, New Jersey; Ed Claypool, manager of the Baltimore Marine branch office; Captain Archie O'Neal of the Esso Virginia, and Harry Boyce, operations assistant at Norfolk. Page 8 Bernard Malkowski Able Seaman February 2, 1970 William A. Prewitt Oiler July 3, 1970 ESSO FLEET NEWS is published every other Monday for active and retired employees of the Marine Department, Humble Oil & Refining Co.; Russell C. Curtis, General Manager; Sydney Wire. Assistant Genera! Manager. GENE LEGLER. Editor Contributions and suggestions are invited and should be addressed to the Editor. ESSO FLEET NEWS. Humble Oil & Refining Co., P. 0. Box 2180. Room 4193. Houston, Texas 77001. ESSO FLEET NEWS