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COHin/J F/IOM THE COLLECTIONS IN THE CENTER FOR AMERICAN HISTOK THE UNIVERSITY OF T E X A S A T A U S T IN PUBLISHED BY THE MARINE DEPARTMENT, HUMBLE OIL & REFINING COMPANY Vol. n, No. 14 July 10, 1969 Marine Dept. Christens `Mini' Tanker Esso Connecticut A Message From The General Manager T. J. Fuson Gentlemen: I think it is important to discuss with you management's thinking on such issues as the recent and current attacks on the oil industry. So let me take a minute of your time to tell you how things look to us. I am sure we are all generally familiar with the issues, and 7 will only touch on them briefly. Basically, of course, most of the criticism stems from a charge that we don't pay our fair share of the nation's taxes. On that score, we might put the whole issue in the right light by looking at one or two pretty outstanding facts. For one. the oil industry paid some $2 billion in federal, state and local taxes in 1965. S2.5 billion, in 1966. It's a lot of money no matter how you cut it. This doesn't include sales taxes and excise taxes on our products either. The direct taxes paid in 1965 amounted to 5.4 per cent of the industry's gross revenue. By comparison, all other business corporations paid taxes amounting to 4.6 joer cent of gross revenue. There is also mounting pressure to revamp our oil import program to the extent that we would become largely dependent on reserves in foreign countries which are not always politically dependable. The recent seizure of American oil properties in Peru illustrates the risk of depending on foreign petroleum resources. The loudest criticism has been aimed at the 27 Vz per cent depletion allowance. This provision was enacted in 1926 by Congress. It is de signed to help offset the high risks and expense of finding and produc ing oil--our Number One source of energy. tContinued, Page 2) The Esso Connecticut---a 30, 000 barrel "mini" tanker--has joined Humble's growing inland waterways fleet. Mrs. L. J. Wei- gle christened the vessel last week at New Haven, Conn. She is the wife of Humble's corporate sec retary. The 276-foot-long Connecticut will operate within a 100-mile radius of the company's refinery at Bayway. N.J., and marketing terminals at Oceanside, N.Y.. Hackensack. N.J., and New Haven. Driven by two 850 horsepower diesel engines, the inland waterway tanker has a top speed of 11 knots when fully loaded. Interestingly, the Connecticut has no rudder. Her steering is controlled by outboard drive units which provide increased maneuverability. Both the outboard steering units and the engines are controlled from the pilot house. An automatic monitoring system in forms the master of conditions in the engine room. Three independent cargo systems permit the loading or discharging of three grades of product simul taneously. In keeping with Humble's clean water policy, the vessel is equipped with a sewage treatment plant. The Connecticut is one of two tankers in Humble's inland water- fContinued, Page 2) Ex-Paratrooper Named Ship's Surgeon for Northwest Passage Voyage More than 100 explorers aboard the S.S. Manhattan will look to Dr. William R. Clark. Jr., for medical care during the three month voyage in the Arctic en vironment. An ex-paratrooper, the 35-year-old physician has been named ship's surgeon for the experimental voyage through the N01'thwest Passage. The epic journey--undertaken by Humble Oil & Refining Company- will test the economic feasibility of opening a commercial sea lane through the ice-choked passage. Success of the test would open a route for the transportation of crude oil by seagoing tankers from the 49th state's Arctic shores to the U.S. East coast. Humble has equipped the convert ed tanker-icebreaker with emer gency medical facilities including a five-bed hospital, an expanded med icine chest and a doctor's office and quarters. Expanded medical facili ties were installed in the ship in view of the experimental nature of the voyage, the severe environment and the large number of scientists, observers and other non-crew mem bers who will be aboard the Man hattan. The vessel--largest commer cial ship flying the stars and stripes --is slated to sail in late July. The hospital section of the ship is equipped with an x-ray machine, electrocardiograph and routine lab oratory facilities. The new facilities available to Dr. Clark should make (Continued, Page 7) EXX-MOR-007695 ESSO CONNECTICUT (Coni'd from Page V ways fleet. The 5,700 barrel Esso Fuel Oil is a prototype of the new "mini" tanker. The Connecticut re places the Esso Hudson, a 45-yearold 17.000 barrel vessel, and a num ber of chartered barges. The latest addition to the inland fleet was constructed by Ingalls Iron Works in Decatur, Ala. Follow ing her delivery, she logged 3,200 miles on her maiden voyage from Decatur to New York harbor. To the Humble deep sea crew that sailed the Connecticut to New York it was something like getting out of a Mack truck to drive a Volkswagen. "But she's just like the Esso Houston except for her outboard steering gear," said her first skipper, Capt. Marshall Price. The Connecticut was loaded with a cargo of 20,000 barrels of diesel fuel. "We took her from Decatur up the Tennessee River, down the Ohio and into the Mississippi and out to the Gulf," he said. "She rolled a lit tle in 14 foot swells but otherwise handled very well. I think she's a nice little ship." Capt. Price also reported that the Russians showed an interest in the Connecticut as she passed off the coast of Virginia. "A Russian trawl er came within a half mile of us and looked her over pretty good," he said. "I think they mistook the rams on the deck for rocket launch ers." The rams are designed to sup port hoses during loading and dis charging. "We enjoyed the voyage very much and even did a little fishing along the way," said Capt. Price. "No. we didn't catch a thing." MESSAGE FROM THE GENERAL MANAGER (Coni1d from Page V When a wildcatter drills a well in search of a new field, for instance, his chance of producing any oil or gas is only one in nine. The chance of opening a new field productive enough to be considered a commer cial success is about one out of 48. The need for an incentive in the face of these odds is obvious. The loss or reduction of the de pletion rate would prompt many drilling operators to invest their funds in less risky ventures at a. time ichen the industry needs more capital to seek out new reserves to meet increasing demands. And our national reserves have been declin ing in recent years. In 1965. for example, we had in the United States 12 per cent of the free world's reserves. Today we have 10 per cent. We believe, how ever, that with the recent discovery of huge oil reserves in Alaska this picture is certain to improve. But it is very doubtful that we would have undertaken the risks of wildcatting in the high-cost Alaskan en vironment without the incentive provided by the 27 Vz per cent de pletion allowance. You can stick out your neck only so far. The facts would seem to speak for themselves. Unfortunately, they don't. You've got to get up and shout or you won't be heard. You have to tell it like it is. No one voice--riot even a large company's--can do it all. We all need to speak up. If each and every one of us takes an interest in these issues, we will at least be heard. And really that, is all we ask --just to be heard. The facts stand on their own feet. How do we get a fair hearing? Well, we can write our congres sional representatives in the House and the Senate. As voters, we can. be heard. I personally urge each of you to let your Congressman know of your interest. I hope I have given you a fair idea of our concern over these issues and how important they are to our industry. In future editions of the Fleet News, I will from time to time touch on other matters important to all of us. Humble's New 276-foof-long Inland Waterways "Mini" Tanker. ESSO FLEET NEWS is published every other Thursday for the sea going employees of the Marine De partment, 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. ESSO LIMA RESCUES BOAT The Esso Lima recently cooper ated with the Coast Guard in the rescue of a boat off Florida's At lantic coast. Capt. Charles Parker, master, reported that 2nd Mate Robert Armstrong sighted the small boat in apparent distress about 4Vz miles east of Deerfield Beach, Fla. The Lima notified the Coast Guard and stood by until a rescue ship arrived. The boat had had en gine trouble. The Esso Fleet ship was bound from Port Everglades, Fla. to Jacksonville. Fla., when the disabled craft was sighted June 4. MANHATTAN SAILS JULY 31 The S.S. Manhattan is scheduled to set sail July 31. Officers and crew members have already begun reporting for duty aboard the tanker-icebreaker for the voyage through the Northwest Passage to Alaska. The tentative schedule calls for river trials sometime between July 22 and 25. All crew members with the exception of the steward's de partment will be aboard for the trials. < o L2U |Ctl V |Ino. Z<J a: h Ux LX] x F> wz p "} u> r- 2 io i i EXX-MOR-007696 50 %^ecit'5 at Sea EXX-MOR-007697 CCWIF.I) FROM THE COLLECTIONS IN THE CENTER FOR AMERICA THE UNIVERSITY O F T p Y a s a t a h c t im The man who has been with the Esso Fleet like the Gulf Stream and the winds that sweep the seas be came a sailor at the age of 14. It was in 1918 that Harold Griffiths took leave of the Island of Barba dos in the British West Indies. Cap tain Cook. Captain Bligh and other great seamen of whom he had read becknneH him *3 ^ Jjfo on the high seas. And so he set sail in the .4. McIntyre, a British schooner hauling lumber on routes that touched North America, South America and South Africa. He was never to return to his island home. "It was four on and four off in those days," recalls Captain Grif fiths. "And there was a saying that you ate when you were asked and slept when you were dead." But neither ominous adages nor "serv ings" of lime juice and vinegar to ward off scurvy weakened the youthful sailor's strong ties with the sea. mmSB&SfP 1 Such trials of early seamanship were of little consequence to a lad who spent many an hour swaying in the winds 90 feet above deck in the ship's rigging. "High up in the sails you cared little about what you were going to eat, but only held on for life and pride and hoped to keep down the last meal," laughs Captain Griffiths 50 years later. Able Seaman Harold Griffiths was 18 months in the A, McIntyre when he boarded the San Ramon, a 25-passenger steamer that plough ed the waters from Mexico to New Orleans. "She was primitive and old and the first steamer I had sailed in," he remembers. Captain Griffiths will never for get that the San Ramon was also a banana boat. "By golly, how could I forget it," he smiles. "We ate banana pie plain, banana cream pie, fried bananas, boiled bananas, banana fritters and just plain bananas. And as you might expect of sailors, we had a banana eating contest one day. The winner was an American who beat out a Nor wegian by 24 to 19 bananas." The horizons on the Gulf of Mex ico were hardly wide enough to contain Harold Griffiths' ambitions to range over the seas. In 1920 he sailed in a freighter that took him to Norway, England, Scotland and Ireland. It was not an uneventful voyage. "We used sand for ballast and re turning to America our water sup ply became mixed with our bal last," says Captain Griffiths. "The sand shifted to one side and the ship w'as soon listing at 38 degrees. Everybody began shoveling sand and we soon had some unexpected help. A badly frightened stowaway came out of hiding and shoveled for his life. He turned out to be the cook's brother-in-law. We finally corrected the list but we were all scared for a while." Returning to the U.S., Captain Griffiths worked on towboats and sailed in other vessels until he joined what is now the Esso Fleet in March, 1922. He went aboard the William G. Warden as an able sea man. During his early years in the fleet, he made many intercoastal voyages. One of the longest was from New York to San Pedro, Calif. By today's standards, loading opera tions were primitive and make-shift. "We docked at San Pedro at a lumber yard and dragged cheap rubber hoses through the yard to the ship and pumped the oil aboard," he says. By 1923 Harold Griffiths was bos'n in the S. V. Harkness. And while he sailed, he also studied for a third mate's license. By June, 1926, he was a third mate. Two years later he moved up to second mate. He sailed as first mate in August, 1930, and early in 1934 he was master of the W. L. Steed. His 35 years as a master is almost cer tainly a record. During those years he spent al most all his time at sea. Evidently he was a busy man when he did come ashore. "I got my New York pilot's license, my master's license and marriage license during one leave in New York," he recalls. In the early years of World War II, Captain Griffiths sailed what WSpteijS-Si . Capt. Griffiths and Chief Mate Christensen aboard the Baltimore on one of the master's last voyages under the Esso oval. He sailed 35 of his 47 years in the fleet as master. I kj l,... EXX-MOR-007698 --$ HHlaster Storyteller Captain Griffiths' famous and emphatic sense of humor is caught here as he tells a story about a nine year old girl who boarded the Esso Baltimore once when the ship was open to the public. "The mate had just said to me, `All we need now is for some one to climb up the smokestack.' So ... -f ..." : N i'* r I looked up . . . and glory be There she was! :3tps. rfj >. No taller than this ft' nr, - 'If? lil'J. ! 1-1' Her head this high over the top. came to be known as the unsinkable J. A. Mowinckcl. On a voyage in the summer of 1942. he was ordered by the Coast Guard to take cover behind a submarine net at Cape Hatteras off the U. S. Atlantic coast. The ship lay at anchor there for 11 days--during which time the crew got some lifeboat training that was soon to pay off in a big way. "During those 11 days we had a great time rowing around the little islands and running lifeboat races,'' the captain smiles. "At noon we would go ashore to have a picnic and we'd chase wild horses through the countryside. It was good fun and at the same time we learned to handle lifeboats like experts." Later in the summer on July 15, 1942, the J. A. Mowinckel under Captain Griffiths' command was sailing in a convoy southbound My God! I couldn't believe my eyes. along the U. S. Atlantic coast when she took a torpedo in her stern. As the ship began to list, he beached the vessel to keep her from sinking in deep water. Inadvertently, the J. A. Mowinckel entered a U. S. minefield and suffered a second ex plosion. The crew abandoned ship taking their wounded and dead with them. "We weren't the first ship hit but we made it ashore long before the others because of our lifeboat train ing on the previous voyage." he says. Next day Captain Griffiths and some of his crew returned to the ship and found her stores of food in good condition. "We took it ashore and fed up to 300 men, many of them Navy personnel, salvage crews and survivors of ships at tacked in the convoy." Work began almost at once to ....... ii- Nearly had a heart attack, I did. salvage the J. A. Mowinckel and on July 21 she was afloat again. But luck was not with her. Early the next morning she struck another mine and incurred additional dam age. Furthermore, during the sal vage operation--in which Captain Griffiths took part--a tug also hit a mine and sank almost immediate ly. Despite her unfortunate encoun ters with a German torpedo and two U. S. mines, the J. .4. Mowinckel was towed to Hampton Roads, Va., and finally to New York where per manent repairs were completed. During the remainder of the war. Captain Griffiths sailed in the F. Q. Barstow, the Glenpooi, the Esso Dover and the Esso Annapolis. "I was in the Esso Annapolis bound to South America when I heard the news that the war had ended," he remembers. .to !x !O< cj ; LU { i? O 3 t-- >UJ ul] 5r h? t3 uJ U Xr-S Eu EXX-MOR-007699 COPIFD FROM THE COLLECTIONS IN THE CENTER FOR AMERICAN HiSTOH THE UNIVERSITY OF TEX AS A T a i k t i m During his 47 years with the Esso Fleet, Captain Griffiths commanded the Esso Jamestown, the Esso Lex ington and the Esso Baltimore on their maiden voyages. He was mas ter of the Baltimore from her launching until his retirement. And because Humble's senior mariner sailed her, the Esso Baltimore has been, in the minds of Esso sailors, the fleet's Flag Ship. "I have more clothes aboard this ship than I do at home," he said on one of his last voyages in the Balti more. "I have sailed in this ship longer than any other in my career. What do I like about her? She's comfortable, handles well and . . . oh, she's like a home to me." Asked what he liked most about life at sea, Captain Griffiths replied, "Every voyage is an adventure. For all the ships I've sailed and all the voyages I have made, no two have ever been the same. Above all, of course, it is the men that I have sailed with who have made the years so rewarding." Before he left the Baltimore for the last time, the officers and crew' of his ship gave him a going away dinner, a clock-barometer desk set, a 30 by 40 inch color photograph of the Esso Baltimore, three novels of the sea, two magazine subscriptions and sang, "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow." Captain Griffiths was guest of honor at a farewell luncheon in Houston given by the Marine Dept, and attended by Morgan Davis, re tired chairman of Humble's board of directors and husband of the lady who christened the Esso Baltimore; T. J. Fuson, Marine Dept, general manager; Sydney Wire, assistant general manager, and a flock of friends who have known the Com modore for many years. Captain Griffiths is living with his wife, Loretta, and a daughter, Eileen, a registered nurse, in Deer field Beach on the Florida coast. It's not far--as the sea gulls fly--from the Gulf Stream, Dry Tortugas, the buoy off Currituck Beach or the Esso Fleet. P ! Photographs from Mrs. Harold Griffiths' family album show her husband as a teen-age seaman (above left) and at age 24. Below, Chief Mate Bertram O. Christen sen and Capt. Griffiths with color picture of Esso Balti more and clock-barometer desk set given by ship's officers and crew at retirement dinner on commodore's final voyage. T. J. Fuson, general manager of the Ma rine Dept., presents to Humble's senior sailor a bro chure on retirement benefits, an album of photos and an Esso Fleet flag. EXX-MOR-007700 SHIP'S SURGEON fConf'c/ from Page 7J it possible for him to provide medi cal care for the entire crew and other personnel throughout the long period of isolation. He will hold regular "sick call" hours on a daily basis, explain pre cautions to help prevent frost bite and conduct a physical fitness pro gram. (Exercise equipment, games and other athletic pastimes are also expected to help keep up morale during the long journey.) He will also examine men returning to the ship from ice testing expeditions to insure against frost bite. Additional medical resources will be available to Dr. Clark aboard either the U.S. or Canadian ice breakers which will accompany the Manhattan on the historic voyage. In the event of catastrophic illness or injury requiring extensive treat ment, patients could be evacuated by either of two helicopters sta tioned aboard the ship for ice recon naissance purposes to local air strips for relay to regular hospital facili ties. Preparations for the voyage were made at Humble's Houston head quarters by Dr. C. Hunter Mont gomery. assistant medical director. "There are no corner drug stores in the desolate Arctic, so we are stor ing a large quantity as well as a large variety of drugs in the Man hattan." he said. "We also enlarged the ship's medical capabilities by adding x-ray facilities, fracture ma terials, an electrocardiograph and oxygen. We are not anticipating a need for all the capability we are providing, but it's good medicine to be prepared for as many problems as you can imagine.'' Dr, Montgomery has prepared himself by obtaining a staff officer's surgeon certificate. "I'm not sailing MJk sasessSK-: SHORESIDE SAILOR 3rd Asst. Engineer James Keane (right) of Long Island reviews records with Paul J. McEwan, head of Seagoing Personnel. Jim, a 1968 graduate of the State University of New York Maritime College at Ft. Schuyler, is on a temporary training assignment at Humble headquarters in Houston. Mr. Keane will return to sea duty in the near future. with Dr. Clark but I may visit the Manhattan during her voyage, and also I will be available as a back up man," explained the Humble staff physician. It was also Dr. Montgomery's job to select the physician for the expe dition. Dr. Clark was selected for the assignment from more than two dozen highly qualified applicants. "We were looking for a physician with extensive surgical as well as medical experience, and Dr. Clark met these and other requirements," Dr. Montgomery said. Dr. Clark has been a resident in surgery at Albany Medical Center Hospital. Albany, New York, since 1965. Previously, in 1960. he took a straight medical internship at Uni versity Hospital and Hillman Clinic in Birmingham, Alabama. From 1963 to 1965. he served as a flight sur geon, U.S. Army, during which time he served in Korea. After playing a key role in the 500-year-old dream to open the Northwest Passage to commercial shipping. Dr. Clark plans to begin his practice in Baraga, Michigan, his native state. TAFFRA1L TALK BLOOD DONORS Three seamen in the Esso Gettysburg recently donated replacement blood for Capt. Robert E. Evans, who retired six years ago. Third Assistant Engineer Henry L. Manning. Ordinary Seaman Gary .1. May and Utility Man John Gardner. Jr. responded to Capt. Evans' request for blood dona tions when the Gettysburg was in Baltimore. The retired master recently underwent major surgery at a Baltimore hospital. SAFETY SUGGESTION Before he retired 10 days ago. Capt. Harold Grif fiths of the Esso Baltimore suggested ". . . if more interest might not he stimulated in safety if the Fleet News carried some sort of bulletin or nota tion as to the number of days since a lost time acci dent as most refineries and plants do." T. .1. Fuson. Marine Dept, general manager, agreed with Capt. Griffiths' idea. And beginning with this issue, a notice will be published on the last page indicating the date of the last reportable accident in the fleet. (Continued Next Page) ix !u< ;t2u II ^O "< pGJC H< UJ 2< UX % P p* sis. > "Z. CO UaJ ! Q W us K k EXX-MOR-007701 COF/FI) FROM THE CCJELECTIONS IN THE CENTER FOR AMERICAN HISTOK THE UNIVERSITY OF T E X A S A T A U S T IN TAFFRAIL TALK (Continued) Keeping up with the next 30 years will be easy for Chief Engineer Theodore Woodard (left) now that he owns a new gold watch presented to him on the occa sion of his 30th year of service in the Esso Fleet. T. J. Fuson, general manager of the Marine Dept., pre sented the timepiece with congratulations from Humble. Last lost time injury in the Esso Fleet reportable to the National Safety Council occurred MAY 8 m RECENT RETIREMENTS f --J Able Seaman Peter J. Jablonski made his last voyage in the Esso Huntington prior to his July 1 re tirement. He had nearly 22 years' service. Mr. Jablonski worked for Federal Shipyards in Kearney, N.J., from 1931 to 1945. He went to sea then as ship's carpenter in the Aiken Victory for the Delta Line until he joined the Esso Fleet _ in 1947. He first sailed in the Esso Augusta. By 1953 he was bos'n in the Esso Wilmington. Mr. Jablonski lives in Iselin. N.J., with his wife. Margaret. He has two grandchildren, Jeffrey, 11, and Kevin. 9. And his plans are to "keep up with the two boys' activities" and catch up on his fishing. Pumpman Michael Bujno sailed in Esso ships for al most 27 years before his retirement ten days ago. He joined the company when he boarded the Esso Aruba in 1942. Mr. Bujno was wiper in the Esso Providence when she took a 250-pound bomb in her No. 9 port main tank and was also damaged by a near miss that occurred during four attacks launched in a 212-hour period against the port city of Augusta, Sicily, on Aug. 24. 1943. Later he sailed as fireman-watertender, store keeper and pumpman. His last ship was the Esso Lexington. Prior to joining the Esso Fleet. Mr. Bujno was em ployed by the Rheem Manufacturing Co. at Newark, N.J. A native of Pennsylvania, he is now living in Jack son, Mich. He has a daughter, Linda, 15. Mr. Bujno plans to spend a lot of time fishing and gardening. Radio Officer Harry L. Fendt be gan his 23 year career with Hum ble as an electrician early in 1946. He retired July 1. Mr. Fendt first sailed in the Esso Aruba. An avid amateur radio operator, he became radio officer in the Esso Annapolis in 1959. In 1956 he played a key role in getting a life-saving drug flown from the U.S. to the Belgian ' Congo (now Republic of the Congo) when he picked up an appeal via his home radio station for the medi cine. Prior to joining Humble. Mr. Fendt was employed as an electrician by Bethlehem Steel Shipyard on Staten Island. He has a son, Ronald, 38. "Due to the fact that I am being retired with a permanent dis ability. I have no plans except to carry on with my amateur radio hobby," Mr. Fendt says. He lives in Great Kills, Staten Island. . ' ' > r \.f' ~ rP> F" : S-5V . ' . "* ' " y F if Able Seaman Ivy E. Etharidge is doing some fishing and "playing with my two grandchildren" since his retirement July 1. He is living in New Orleans where he worked for the Delta Shipyard as a ship fitter from 1942 to 1943. Later he "sailed in various ships" for several years prior to joining Humble in the Esso Sues:. He last sailed in the Esso Huntington. He had more than 17 years' service with the Esso Fleet when he retired. Mt. Etharidge has two children. Robert. 23, and Mrs. Ileen Kelley, 22. "I'm going to take life easy now," he says. DEATHS Jose M. Lopes died of a heart attack June 5 in New Bedford, Mass., at the age of 61. He retired as second cook because of a disability in Sept., 1965. after almost 17 years' service. His first ship in the fleet was the Esso Parkersburg, in which he sailed as utilityman on March 7. 1948. During his career in the Esso Fleet he had a few assignments as messman and two years as chief cook but. for the most part, sailed as second cook. Mr. Lopes is survived by his wife. Rosa, of New Bed ford. His stepson. Marcelino J. Gomes, also of New Bedford, is an oiler in the fleet. Thomas E. Buchanan died at his ' home in Hillside. N.J.. June 10. He , had not sailed since leaving the Esso Bangor last July because of ,f disability. Mr. Buchanan. 53, was - ;. , j,. . a long-time boatswain in the Esso i Fleet. He began his 25 year career `` 1 with the company as an able sea man in the John D. Archbold in Oct., 1943. His first assignment as bos'n was in the Esso Hartford in 1946. Mr. Buchanan is survived by his widow, Rita, and three children, James. 12: Thomas, 18. and Richard, 21, residing in Hillside. 4 EXX-MOR-007702