Document QJOByx5Z85QKvXw60Z6Vkwr4

PUBLISHED BY THE MARINE DIVISION, HUMBLE OIL & REFINING COMPANY Vol. 6, No. 5 March 5, 1964 Impressions of a Voyage to India It is a special pleasure to present this account of part of the Esso Scranton's fifth voyage to India. It was written by Bill E. Tyra, AB, whose experiences, observations and descriptions make first rate reading. He started the story on Feb. 6, the day the Scranton arrived off Suez, westbound, and mailed it on the 14th at Venice, where she discharged. She then crossed the Mediter ranean to Es Sider, Libya, (on the Gulf of Sidra, not far from Port Brega) for another cargo, left on Feb. 19 and was due at Philadelphia on March 7. A native and resident of Little Rock, Arkansas, Mr. Tyra has nearly 16 years of Deck Dept, service with the Company. (Ed.) For the benefit of others who will make the next India voyage, (yes, chances are the Scranton will make another trip) here are a few pointers and some highlights of our present one to date. To begin the trip, we had shots and vaccinations, made out allot ments and signed on before the U. S. Shipping Commissioner. (If you wish to make out an allotment to a bank, you must have a savings ac count-- you cannot make an allot ment to a checking account.) After a couple of days, the re action from the shot will make your arm hurt "like the devil" or worse. But when the soreness wears off you can relax and get ready for the Atlantic crossing and Port Said, Egypt. When you arrive at Port Said, you will anchor and/or tie up to buoys. A barge will bring out a Canal Light and two "line tender" boats will be put aboard. When the boats take the mooring lines to the buoys, they will ask for two stop pers for each line (later the stop pers will probably disappear). Now that you are "all secured" the local businessmen swarm aboard and display their wares. About the most reliable one to do business with is Billy Good, or at least that's his business name. I suppose you will want to buy a few Egyptian souvenirs first -- but better things are yet to come so don't spend all your money in Port Said. As for bartering, cigarettes have little value -- you can buy cigarettes cheaper from the Arabs than from the slop chest. If you are a camera bug, you may want to take some pictures as you transit the Canal. Our second stop was at Aden, where we stopped for bunkers -- and transistor radios. Aden is a British protectorate and is a scenic spot as well as a free port. Some of our most valuable and expensive souvenirs were purchased here. You can buy radios which cost up to and over $100 in the States for $40; binoculars, $15; tape recorders, rec ord players, watches, glassware and movie and still cameras. When we left Aden you would have thought we were a movie production com pany, as about a dozen of us bought 8mm movie equipment. Karachi Our third stop was Karachi, West Pakistan. Pakistan is divided into two unequal parts and is separated by 1,000 miles of India. It became a new state, or country, in 1947. The principal religion is Moslem. The port city of Karachi has a pop ulation of almost 2,000,000 people. The monetary unit is the Pakis tani rupee -- the official exchange is about 5 rupees for one dollar; unofficial exchange is 7 rupees for $1 and travelers checks 6.50 for $1. The president of Pakistan is Mohammed Ayub Khan, who has been a good leader for his people and his country. He has purged cor rupt and inefficient office holders, broken up the feudal land system, eliminated some of the black mar kets, tax evasion, hoarding and revolutionized education. My watch partner, Ivy Etharidge, and I were fortunate enough to be across the street from a building where the President had reportedly been to see a dentist. We saw him when he came out. There was a large crowd in the street and they showed their respect and devotion by applauding when he emerged from the building. The President gestured and acknowledged his countrymen's salutes, got in his waiting automobile and sped away. Some of the better souvenirs which may be purchased here are inlaid ivory tables and brassware. For entertainment, some of the better hotels have floor shows -- and there is a seamen's club. For sightseeing or just going to town -- there are plenty of "guides" waiting to take you (for all they can). But the thing to do is to choose your vehicle and let the driver be your guide. You have a choice of riding in a car, a scooter, or a buggy. All three have their advan tages--the regular automobile costs the most but you have the advan tage of rolling up the windows when you are in a traffic jam and this protects you from the beggars and also keeps out the offensive odors, if you can stand the heat! Then there is the 3-wheeled scoot er, if you are the adventuresome type. It is an open vehicle and you catch all the aromas but you are usually scooting along so fast your mind is more on survival than any thing else. The scooter is the cheap- EXX-MOR-006884 est way to travel -- only 2 rupees from dock to town. I prefer the horse and buggy for sightseeing. It gives you a chance to see everything and smell everything, too. But even though it is a slow, open vehicle, you are seldom both ered by panhandlers as the driver carries a whip and shoos them away. And if you are a camera fan, a buggy trip is the only way to travel. I've got some of the most gorgeous pictures you ever saw -- I hope. There are lots of places to go sightseeing. You can take a camel ride on the desert, visit the beach, see the Pakistan Laundry with the world's largest agitator, a trip to the cemetery or a trip to the zoo. At the zoo there is an elephant that plays the harmonica -- he played "Thee of 'tis Country My" which is "My Country 'tis of Thee" backwards. He only charges one rupee which he takes in his trunk and hands to his trainer. He does several other tricks, the best of which is to chase you and twist your arm -- if you try to get away without paying. Also at the zoo you can hold a giant python that is about 20' long, or enter a lion or tiger cage for a couple of rupees. Visit Famous Camel Driver The next day, my companion (Etharidge) and I made what was to be the highlight of our Karachi visit. We paid a call on Bashir Ahmed, the camel driver who vis ited President Johnson at the LBJ ranch in 1961. Bashir's visit to the U. S. has made him world famous and fairly wealthy by Pakistani standards. He still lives in his old neighborhood, where the people are very poor (we would call it a slum area) but he is building a new house. He is still in the freight hauling business but he now owns two trucks (American gifts) and is a respected businessman. When we had our audience with Bashir Ahmed (he now has visitors by appointment) we were taken to the "village square" where we ac quired the "guest of honor" seats, while a crowd gathered around us to wait for him. Although of peas ant stock, he is rather distinguished looking and when he made his ap pearance, he was regally dressed in a Pakistani cap and long coat. We were surprised when we learned he neither speaks nor understands English. But we conversed through our guide and interpreter. He im pressed me as a man with a strong will and a good heart. And the fact that this man with such humble beginnings has become successful -- gives hopes of fulfillment to his friends and fellow countrymen. Bombay Bombay has a population of over 4,000,000, which is a pretty good crowd. During the business hours the streets are crowded with people, who overflow from the sidewalks. Some people actually live in the streets and sleep on the sidewalks and on some streets you can see whole settlements of lean-tos made of rags, straw and scraps of tin and wood, where whole families dwell. Bombay has a mixture of some of the finest new buildings (Esso Building) and the shoddiest old structures you would see anywhere. The monetary unit is the Indian rupee and the exchange is about the same as the Pakistan rupee. You have a wide choice of sou venirs, Buddhas, incense, wood and ivory carvings, inlaid tables, tailormade clothing, semi- and precious stones and Bombay horns (made in Calcutta), etc., etc. In Bombay there are lots of places to go and plenty to see -- some rather shocking. Kuwait From Bombay we went to Kuwait, on the Persian Gulf, to load for Venice, Italy. Kuwait has a popu lation of about 324,000. The princi pal city, Kuwait (pop. 90,000), has a standard of living higher than any other country in this part of the world. The monetary unit is the dinar and its ruler is the richest man, or one of the richest men, in the world. There is a seamen's club on the dock and they have a gift shop and a movie theatre. The prices in the gift shop are higher than at Aden -- so buy all your good stuff at Aden. You are allowed to go ashore if you have a special pass from the Agent and authorization of the ship's Captain. Would I sign on the Esso Scran ton for another trip to India? Quick, hand me the pencil U "Hardly More Than a T2," He Said! The Esso Boston received an honorable mention in these columns a few issues ago for loading 47,688 tons (354,724 bbls.) of heating oil at Baton Rouge, the largest cargo we have ever taken out of that port. Comes now a dispatch from an Esso Balti morean (who shall herein remain nameless) who says -- "Will you- tell the Esso Boston that they aren't lifting much more than a T2. This last trip (Harbor Island, Feb. 17) we lifted 376,570 bbls. of Sweden and Southwest Texas crude with butane added. Yes indeed, 48,012 gross tons. Howr's that?" We can answer that question. That's highly commendable and we compliment the Esso Balti more's complement, particularly Captain Thomas K. Lawton and Chief Mate Allan J. Kessler. But before our Esso Baltimore friend crows too much or someone in the Boston blows a gasket, we hasten to announce that the latter vessel has an other claim to being "the greatest". At Baton Rouge on Feb. 18-19, the Boston crammed 4 grades of gasoline and some heating and diesel oil totaling 47,763 tons into her tanks. That tonnage didn't top the Baltimore's but the volume of 407,313 bbls. did. The latter figure is pressing mighty close to the ship's maximum cubic capacity of 417,840 bbls., considering the necessary allowance for expansion. So, a curtain call also for Captain George E. Christiansen and Chief Mate Julius E. Wend, of the Esso Boston. ESSO FLEET NEWS is published for the seagoing em ployees of the Marine Division, 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. O. Box 1512, Houston 1, Texas >"1 RECENT RETIREMENTS Chief Engineer Harry R. Peck. "I don't know what I'm going to do when I retire," Mr. Peck said just before his last trip in the Esso Gettysburg, "but I know a few things I'm not go ing to do. I am not going to sit in a rocking chair, I'm too chicken - hearted to hunt and I've had about enough of the sea." "Enough of the sea" for Mr. Peck means about 44 years. His career goes back to 1916 when he shipped out of Hartford. Conn, (where he was born 65 years ago) as a coal passer in the SS Hartford. He sailed in many other Long Island Sound steamers as oiler and watertender before going offshore in 1921. That year and the next were bad for U. S. shipping and Harry more than once had a night's lodging for a nickel -- riding the New York subways. "I went with Pan Am (the Harold Walker) on Jan. 2, 1923," Mr. Peck recalled, "but got off in July to work at the Remington Arms plant in Bridgeport, Conn." He went back to Pan Am in 1929 as Jr. Engineer in the R. G. Stewart and was in that ship 4 years. He had his first Chief's berth in the Geo. H. Jones in April 1937 and was pro moted to that rank in June 1941. Mr. Peck sailed throughout World War II, serving in 5 vessels in addition to the Paul H. Harwood, in which he was Chief for 2 wartime years and 2 postwar years. Subsequently he had charge of the engineroom of the Esso Shreveport for 7 years, the Bridgeport for 3% and lastly, the Gettysburg. Retiring March 1 as the fleet's senior Chief Engineer, Mr. Peck has 34 years of service to his credit -- and only 5 days of sick leave. Although he and his wife, Lydia, have lived in Jamaica, N. Y. for 20 years or more, they are now in Old Lyme, Conn., the town where Harry's father, grandfather and great grandfather lived. Theophilus A. Bodden, senior Pumpman in the fleet, retired Feb. 1 with more than 36 years of credited service. Born in Grand Cayman Is v&m land, B.W. I., Mr. Bodden worked as a carpenter after high school and was an AB in several schooners and a Mobile Bar pilot boat in the early 1920s. His first tanker was the Herbert G. Wylie, in 1925. He sailed as AB, Carpenter and Pumpman in that 6,650- H. W. Bradbury Lighter Gangway Here are two views of the "new look" in gangways--slimmer and lighter. This one was put aboard the Esso Balti more last month for testing and evaluation. It weighs 560 lbs., com pared to over 1,000 lbs. for the old one, and is 6" narrower. It has the new type cleats to give safer footing in vertical and horizontal positions and walkway surfaces are covered with skidproofing. Wheels instead of a roller on the outboard end provide more stability. tonner under Pan-Am and Esso house flags for over 7 years. He was promoted to Pumpman in March 1934 (the Livingston Roe) and continued in that rating until his retirement. His service was all seagoing except for 8 years (1941-49) when he was a Pumpman at Bayonne. Mr. Bodden lives in North Miami, Fla., likes boating and fishing and plans to visit relatives in Grand Cayman in the near future. He and his wife, Lillias, have a son, Ashby, 23. WORDS OF THE WISE v, " -t We are all manufacturers -- making good, mak ing trouble or making excuses, -- H. V. Adolt *** You may not have saved a lot of money in your life, but if you have saved a lot of heartaches for other folks, you are a pretty rich man. -- Seth Parker - ' TAFFRAIL TALK -- < Port Captain Frank L. Hooper underwent an "ulcerectomy" on Feb. 22. He is recovering nicely but will be on the inactive list for a few more weeks. Filling in for him at the office is Captain S. V. Gardner, from Baton Rouge. *** Captain Charles L. Hosch is now a Port Captain with the Tanker Dept, of Esso International, Inc., in New York. Captain Hosch returned to the U. S. last July after 4 years as Harbor Expediter at Aruba. Previously he had 19 years of seagoing and shore service with the Company. EXX-MOR-006886 Wilder I. Robbins, MM/2nd Pumpman in the Esso Florence, says he sent Christmas cards to about 30 radio stations he listens to at sea -- from KOA in Denver to WRKD in Rockland, Maine. He enclosed a note of appreciation for the "happy listening" he enjoyed and wished them all pros perity for the New Year and "Happy Motoring". He received many replies and one man, Dave Lamson, of Rockland, said he started sailing with Esso in 1923. "It just shows," Mr. Robbins said, "that a little effort can produce a tremendous amount of good will." * ** FOUND -- Man's wrist watch aboard the Esso Boston, by Chief Steward Pieter DeVaal. Owner '' ' * - v.^* - w ^ v',- J The MIS-Adventures of j.sTu*ib\Ep#one FRACTURE The curtain rises. The> scene is amidships. J. Stumbleprone is helping to prepare for tank cleaning. While lifting a Coppus blower over the sill of a watertight door he feels a stab of pain. From offstage comes the strains of "Mac, the knife is back ..." Seriously, it is almost impossible for one man to lift a heavy object such as a Coppus blower over a watertight door sill without puttting his back under tremendous strain. This IS a 2-man operation and even then special care should be taken. Our spinal columns are just not designed for heavy lifting (or lowering) in a bent position. m 1 1 may claim the watch by writing to Mr. DeVaal at 301 Kelly Lane, Baytown, Texas, giving proper description and approximate date lost. More Take-Home Pay ort the Way -- Tax Cuts and Wage Adjustments The new Federal income tax law will mean an immediate reduction in withholding taxes for em ployees. Starting with the mid-March payoff, the withholding tax rate will be cut from 18% to 14%. As an example of how the new tax is calculated, suppose your gross earnings for the March 1-15 period were $284. A deduction of $28 is allowed for each exemption; if you have three, that would be $84. The withholding tax rate of 14% on the $200 balance would be $28 instead of $36 at the former 18% rate. Thus your take-home pay would be $16 per month more. Another note of cheer coming to unlicensed men this month (provided ESA members ratify the proposed labor agreement amendment and the Company is so notified on March 10) will be the pay increases due from Sept. 1 and higher overtime pay from Jan. 10. Payroll people tell us they expect to send separate checks for the wage adjustment directly to employees about mid March. The additional overtime pay will be in cluded in the regular March 31 pay checks. With holding taxes on these earnings will also be at the 14% rate instead of 18%. However, a word of caution. Company tax offi cials point out that, in general, the new law decreases withholding rates more than it decreases tax liability. As a result, many employees who have found themselves entitled to a tax refund when figuring their returns under the old law may find they owe more taxes than have been withheld under the new law. This might be avoided by filing a new W-4 Form claiming fewer exemptions than you are entitled to. ~ , OBITUARY mmmmmmmm Frank H. McCoy, 69, retired Officer's Messman, died Feb. 14 in New York City, where he had lived all his life. He is survived by his niece, Miss Gertrude E. Clark. Mr. McCoy had 16 years of credited Company service when he retired on March 1, 1959. He joined the fleet in July 1941 and sailed throughout World War II in 5 vessels, making South Ameri can, coastwise, transatlantic and Pacific voyages. He was also a U. S. Navy veteran of World War I.