Document gDeXJm6on09E6e0N63O8ppkpN

PUBLISHED BY THE MARINE DIVISION, HUMBLE OIL & REFINING COMPANY Vol. 6, No. 4 February 20, 1964 Our Best Year for Safety Throwing caution to the winds, in typical McFracture fashion, J. Stumbleprone is shown rushing to congrat ulate the men in the fleet on their real fine safety achievements of 1963. There have been so many we don't quite know which to mention first. Perhaps we should start with the 4 vessels that have won the Marine Di vision's Certificate of Safety. The Esso Bangor, Esso Chester, Esso Lima and Esso Washington will receive this honor for op erating through 1963 without an accident resulting in lost time or sick leave. Special mention is due the Esso Bangor for winning this award for the second consecutive year. Next most distinguished achievement is the Esso Dallas' unique record of 2,037 accident-free days (over 5Vk years) under the National Safety Council rules. There is no official recognition for this but if she makes it through this year, she will receive a 6-year Jones F. Devlin Aw;ard, which has never been won by a Company vessel. Two ships -- the Bangor and Gloucester -- will receive 4-year Devlin awards this year and 2 others -- the Jacksonville and Jamestown -- 2-year Devlin honors. In the Safety Council's contest for ocean and coastwise tankers, men in the Humble fleet turned in their all-time best performance. Our score of 1.77 lost time accidents per million man hours (Continued on page 2) Company to Develop "Bayport" Humble revealed plans. Feb. 4, to develop 7,250 acres southeast of Houston near Galveston Bay as an industrial district half the size of Manhattan Island -- to be known as Bayport. The develop ment could eventually mean $900 million in capi tal investment and 25,000 new jobs in the area. The Company's announcement came after the Harris County Navigation District said it would i- f'T.'.S!...... ..................................... - S-.V Vf ' .-f 'r: . . - u _ "V" -i--" '* __--*H. e: 1 j '"i V'-' ` " 's'. - Map locating Bayport and artist's conception of the project. Ship channel and turning basin are at lower right, part of Clear Lake City residential area at upper left, with industrial sites between. construct a channel and port facilities to serve the area, thus assuring new industry access to the Houston Ship Channel and the sea. Humble will donate about 725 acres to the Navi gation District for the channel and port facilities which, when completed, are expected to cost $13.4 million. These will be financed by revenue bonds to be purchased by Humble, thus there will be no cost to the taxpayers. Industries purchasing tracts within the area will find roads; railroad spurs; pipeline rights of way for utilities, raw materials and products; pipeline and conveyor access to the port; an ample water supply; central industrial waste disposal system, and a central tank farm. Humble will spend an estimated $16.6 million on these support facilities. One tract of 500 acres has already been sold to Lockheed Corp. The Bayport project for heavy industry, which is expected to take 20 years to complete, is part of Humble's master plan for the development of the West Ranch property purchased by the Com pany in 1938. About 15,000 acres of this property has been sold to the Friendswood Development Co., jointly owned by Humble and Del E. Webb The portable compressed air-operated valve turner, mentioned in the Jan. 23 Fleet News, is shown here being tested aboard the Esso Washington. Chief Mate Robert J. Boxwell said that "after freeing-up and working grease into all the valves on the foredeck in one day (in our spare time) the seamen here are pretty enthusiastic about the new valve turner." In this picture, Mr. Boxwell is pointing to the revers ing switch on the air motor and has his left hand on the squeeze-type throttle. The machine is lashed off at a spool on the handle for that purpose. "We found that if is good practice to lash off the machine for valve freeing to prevent any possibility of it `getting away' from the operator." Mr. Boxwell said. In lower left is a row of smooth stainless steel nuts which are substituted for the regular valve wheel nuts to serve as a bearing point for the valve turner's driving spindle. A special wrench is provided for turning the smooth nuts. ab Frank J. Vieira Corp., for residential, commercial, and light in dustrial purposes in Clear Lake City. The balance of the original ranch includes the Clear Lake Gas Field and part of the Friendswood oil fields, both of w'hich are still producing. Esso Newark and Lexington Going to West Coast The Esso Newark (Captain Christian W. Tolfsby and Chief Engineer William L. Thievon) sailed from New York, Feb. 14, for Punta Palmas, on Lake Maracaibo, to load a crude cargo for dis charge at the Tidewater refinery at Avon (near San Francisco), California. Then she will load heavy fuel oil at Los Angeles about March 4 for delivery at New York. The Esso Lexington (Captain Simpson W. Lo gan and Chief Engineer William W. McKay) is scheduled to follow the same route after discharg ing a cargo of West Coast fuel oil at Port Ever glades about Feb. 22, except that she will return to the Florida port instead of to New York. This will be the second West Coast voyage for the Newark in the past 6 months. Last August she loaded jet fuel at Baytown and discharged at Oakland and Stockton, Calif., on Sept. 6 and 7. Best Year for Safety (Continued from page 1) worked compares with 2.49 in 1962, when we finished in sixth place. The number of disabling injuries was reduced 39% -- from 18 in '62 to 11 last year. Just what our standing in the 1963 con test will be has not yet been reported but it looks like second place (with a little luck), or at worst third, judging from Nov. 30 standings. Contributing to this excellent record were the following 13 vessels aboard which there were no reportable accidents during the year: Esso Bangor Esso Chester Esso Dallas Esso Gettysburg Esso Gloucester Esso Jacksonville Esso Jamestown Esso Lexington Esso Lima Esso Miami Esso Scranton Esso Tampa Esso Washington Now that we're becoming accustomed to being "right up there" with the leaders of the industry -- safetywise, we need only a little more effort to be THE leader in 1964. What it takes was F.SSO 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. 0. Box 1512. Houston 1, Texas. mentioned by Assistant General Manager Sydney Wire in a speech before the 3rd Annual Florida Industrial Safety Conference and Exposition at Jacksonville on Feb. 11. Said Mr. Wire, "It takes the constant awareness and willing support of the Master, officers and every man in the crew to really produce a `safe' ship." ' TAFFRAIL TALK r' Gust Mickros (Bos'n, ret. June 1, 1962) sent this picture of his bride of 2 months and him self from Greece. He said he is feeling fine and sends his best regards to former shipmates in the fleet. His address is Misonos St., Sitia, Crete, Greece. Pumpman Vladimirus Charowsky, who had a heart attack aboard the Esso Gloucester on Jan. 11, has been under treatment at Creole's Sagrada Familia Hospital in Amuay, Venezuela. On the Gloucester's next call at Amuay, Jan. 31, Captain Crawford found Mr. Charowsky 10 lbs. lighter (he was on a strict diet), a non-smoker (no tobac co allowed him) and "wanting in the worst way to ride this ship back to Baytown". Latest word was that Mr. Charowsky hoped to be released on Feb. 18. ' Second Mate-Editor Bill Falvo is still putting out the Esso Scranton News. His issue of Jan. 25, while enroute from Bombay to Kuwait, men tions the possibility of a U. S. income tax cut due to a reduction in Indian and Pakistan Foreign Aid requirements. Seems the Scranton crewmen did considerable to bolster the native economies. The Scranton is heading for Philadelphia now (due March 6), having discharged at Venice, Feb. 14-15 and loaded another cargo at Es Sider. Libya, on the 19th. Oiler Lucio A. Oliveira is standing at the log desk of the Esso Gloucester as if it were "old stuff". Actually, it's "new stuff" because former Wiper Oliveira is on his first assignment in the higher rating. "I made Oiler allright," Lucio said, "but without the Third Asst. (Harry J. Gillway) I'd be lost. He is helping me a lot." *'1- - 8-- MY HOME TOWN JOHN J. VOIGT Sheboygan, Wisconsin "It gets cold in Sheboygan," John Voigt, Pump man in the Esso Gloucester said recently, "and it's not that dry cold you don't feel. It was 28 below zero a few weeks ago and I'm glad I wasn't there." This does not mean, though, that Sheboygan is always inhospitable. Take "Bratwurst Day" for example -- the first Saturday in August. It's an annual festival day with dancing in the streets, a 2V2 -hour parade, 16 bands, 100 floats, celebrities and 110,000 people -- more than double the nor mal population. And what food! Last year 6 tons of bratwurst (a German sausage) were eaten along with 8,000 doz. rolls, 1,000 lbs. of pickles, 1,000 lbs. of onions, cases and cases of mustard and ketchup -- and thousands of gallons of beer. Sponsored by the Junior Chamber of Commerce. Bratwurst Day was started in 1952 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the city's founding. Early inhabitants were mostly German immigrants and their influence is still apparent in the city's neat and attractive atmosphere. Sheboygan is located around the mouth of the Sheboygan River on the west shore of Lake Michi gan, 55 miles north of Milwaukee. The name is believed to come from the Chippewa Indian's Shawb-wa-way-gun (rumbling underground) due to the river's falls 3 miles upstream. The city is famous for Wisconsin cheese, the nearby Kohler Company (plumbing fixtures) and the Vollrath plant where the first gray enamehvare in America was made. Mr. Voigt, a Sheboygan resident and native of Wisconsin, started in the fleet as Oiler in the Esso Charleston in 1943 and has been sailing as Pump man for the past 13 years. m Alfredo Valdespino, Officers' Messman in the Esso Huntington, informs us that he has satisfac torily completed the Technician of Electricity, Domestic and Commer cial course given by the Hemphill Schools, of Los Angeles. Al has nearly 7 years' service in the fleet. John D. Hall, Second Mate in the Esso Lexing ton, has a star basketball player in his son, John, Jr., 16. The younger Hall plays center on the Annapolis (Md.) High School team and in a recent game made headlines by scoring 29 of his team's 63 points. WMKm v L EXX-MOR-006890 AB !an G. Harrison An out of the ordinary Service Emblem presentation was staged Jan. 22 when Captain Ernest Palazzini, of the Esso Washington, let the "boys" of the Deck Dept, surprise Third Mate Albert J. Baptiste with his 20-Year pin. "OS Robert E. Sceroler, Jr., 21, youngest man on board, did the honors," Chief Mate Robert J. Boxwell reported, "while the rest of us wished Mr. Baptiste many more happy years." In the photo, I. to r. are: AB Sheldon S. Eaton, AB Frank J. Vieira, MM/2nd Pumpman Melvin F. Bomhoff, Mr. Sceroler, AB Michael Sharik, III, Second Mate Louis H. Staar, and Mr. Baptiste. Safety Films Get 4-Star Rating The "world premiere" showing of the films Fire Fighting Aboard Tankers and Rescue Breathing aboard Humble tankers was a huge success. Captain William Hamilton, of the Esso Bangor, and Captain Edward Crawford, of the Gloucester, reported 100% attendance, much in terest and favorable comment. "I believe some of the crew members who have not had fire fighting training gained more from the film than they would ever gain from shipboard drills," Captain Hamilton wrote. "Also, there was considerable information on rescue breathing that is not obtained from pamphlets on the subject." SERVICE EMBLEM AWARDS Leo H. Willis Chief Male May 9, 1963 Nils Vindenes First Asst. Engineer January 13, 1962 Manuel l. Cardoso Second Cook October 9, 1963 ft 10 YEARS ft Robert H. Boteler February 12, 1963 Marvin E. Day March 1, 1963 James B. Hedgepeth March 1, 1963 Jos. R. Hendershott March 14, 1963 Edw. C. Hernandez February 7, 1963 John Huntley January 13,1963 Anton A. K. Leiro February 3, 1963 Sivert S. Nygaard December 5, 1962 Robert B. Short January 10,1963 Frank J. Vieira January 26, 1963 Arthur Wahlstedt January 24,1963 Cecil E,, Walker November 30, 1962 Captain Crawford said. "The films were en thusiastically received by officers and crew* and each man, without exception, was of the opinion that the films were exceptionally beneficial and were looking forward to more safety training films in the future." The movies are now showing aboard the Esso Miami and Esso Baltimore. OBITUARY ?, John W. Balzli, 64, who retir ed Jan. 1 as Repair Inspector, died Jan. 23 in Mobile, Ala., after an illness of several months. His wife, Myrtle, sur vives. In addition to his 19 years ashore as a Repair Inspector, Mr. Balzli had over 14 years' service in the fleet. He began as Machinist in the S. B. Hunt on July 22, 1930 and soon advanced to Third Asst. Engineer. He sailed as First Asst, and Chief Engineer during World War II until his appointment as Repair Inspector on Dec. 16, 1944. John A. Waite, 80, who had over 27 years' service in the fleet, died Feb. 4 at Sailors' Snug Harbor, Staten Island, N. Y. He is survived by his wife, Elizabeth, to whom he had been married for 58 years, and a son, John, Jr. Mr. Waite's Company service was all as Chief Engineer and included both World Wars. Starting in Aug. 1917 in the J. M. Danziger, he sailed in many vessels but longest in the William Green, Elisha Walker and Beacon. His last ship before retiring on Dec. 1, 1945 was the W. S. Farish. Ellsworth A. Steadman, 76. former Head of the Employ ment Office at 5 State St., N. Y., died Jan. 25. He had lived in Hampton Bays. Long Island, since his retirement on May 1, 1952. Surviving is his wife, Helen. Born in West Virginia, Mr. k '.a --f. Steadman worked for the U. S. Shipping Board in Newport News and New' York before joining Pan Am as Sign-on Clerk in Jan. 1923. In his later capacities as a Paymaster and Shipping Master, he became well know'n to hundreds of men in the fleet.