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COPIED FitOM THE C fltL E tT IO N S In THE CENTER FOR AM ERICAN H ISTO It THE UNIVERSITY O FTFYa s a t A u s t in Vol. 5, No. 20 October 17, 1963 If We Don't Move Ahead, We Fall Behind A friend in the fleet, cleaning out an old file, came across a report listing the accidents aboard all the ships in the fleet in 1952. On top of the report someone had written: "Remember when? 64 ships only 11 years ago." Our friend's comment was that if we had those 64 American flag vessels today, "everyone would be a Skipper or Chief Engineer." We know what he means, of course, but in our opinion he's dead wrong. If we had those ships today, probably all but 9 would be laid up and we'd have only half as many Skippers and Chiefs. What were those 64 ships? Eight were new 27.000- tonners which are still operating; nine were of 13,000 tons which, to operate today would mean economic suicide. The rest were of the 16.000- ton class, mostly T2s, which are also just about out of the race today, economically speaking. Why were those ships money-makers in 1952 and money-losers in 1963? One reason was de mand. Tankers were in demand in 1952. The Korean War was on and there were a lot of for eign voyages. Foreign flag tanker owners had not yet recovered their World War II losses. To day our fleet has practically no foreign voyages (except U. S. Government cargoes) because for eign-flag vessels can be chartered for about half the U. S. cost. But the main over-riding reason why we have fewer ships today than we did in 1952 is the fierce and sometimes brutal competition that pre vails in the oil business and the oil transportation The 1 3,000-dwt. Esso Bayonne was one of the 64 ships in the fleet in 1952. Her ABs were paid $316.50 business. If management gave a 5% wage increase to employees and then raised the price of gasoline to cover it, that would be one thing. But actually, the price of gasoline, exclusive of government taxes on it, has gone DOWN 4% in the past 10 years, according to the American Petroleum In stitute. Not only that but regular grade gas now has a higher octane rating than premium grade 10 years ago. How is it possible to increase our labor cost without increasing the selling price of our product and still stay in business? And how labor costs have increased! In 1952 an AB with 3 years' service earned $356.50 per month. Today he has 10 years' service and gets $505. An Oiler with 5 years' service in 1952 got $370.50 per month; now he also earns $505. A Third Mate whose pay was $544 monthly 10 years ago now gets $867. Also, they all get 4 months paid leave a year instead of 3 which, in the case of the AB, costs the Company $2,020 instead of $1,069.50, exclusive of Thrift Fund benefits. Again we ask -- how is it possible to increase your employees' pay 40% to 50% and more while the price of one of your biggest volume products drops 4%. The answer, of course, is in more ef ficient equipment. Bigger, faster, more economical ships have been the answer so far. But they are not necessarily the only answer to the economic pressure on transportation costs. If we don't move ahead, we'll fall behind -- behind chartering costs, behind the pipelines, maybe even behind the barges. And as the old saying goes -- the devil takes the hindmost. per month base wage; 30 days' paid leave after 90 days' work; no overtime; no air conditioning. EXX-MOR-007323 A CERTIFICATE OF SAFETY, the Ma rine Division's special award for a year's operation without a lost-time personal injury accident, was pre sented to the Esso Boston for her unblemished record in 1962. Port Captain Frank L. Hooper (left center) made the presentation to Captain George E. Christiansen on Oct. 6. Left to right are: Chief Mate Julius E. Wend, Asst. Port Steward Johnny Camp, Second Mate Francis E. Salt, Asst. Port Engineer H. W. Bradbury, Captain Hooper, Crew Messman Henry Thomas, Able Seaman War ren F. Davis, Utilityman Ernest Rod riguez, Chief Engineer Aubrey G. Allen, Captain Christiansen and Util ityman Joseph M. Cruz. The Boston was the fourth ship to receive the award for 1962. As for safety this year -- the Humble fleet waz in sole possession ov first place in the National Safety Council's ocxan tankzr confess at the xnd ov July. (If"s hard to fyp wit fingxrz crost.) Esso Gloucester Aids in Two Rescues Men in the Esso Gloucester, particularly those who manned lifeboat No. 2, witnessed a gruesome tragedy on Sept. 26. "It was an experience that left them quite shaken up," Captain Edward Craw ford wrote later. "No one said very much that evening. No one ate much for supper and an un usual quiet reigned over the ship. I guess we're not so tough after all." Events leading up to the incident began about 1145 when the Gloucester was 4% hours out of Boca Grande, Fla., proceeding to Southwest Pass. A U. S. Coast Guard plane approached and re quested the vessel to aid 3 persons clinging to a life raft. The plane had marked the position with a smoke bomb. In 45 minutes the Gloucester ar rived at the scene and had No. 2 lifeboat prepared for launching. Weather was clear; wind NNE, 12 knots; sea choppy with long rolling swells. The succeeding events, as reported by Captain Crawford, were as follows: 1238 -- Coast Guard helicopter on scene . . . requested vessel to stand clear . . . helicopter took 2 survivors aboard . . . third survivor (apparent ly dead) was washed into the water. 1242 -- Airplane requested vessel to pick up third survivor or body. 1243 -- No. 2 lifeboat aw'ay with 8 Deck Dept, men* and Chief Mate Ralph F. Mazzucco in charge. "I am extremely sorry to report," Captain Craw ford wrote, "that before our lifeboat could get to the third person, it was attacked by sharks, tom apart, pulled out of its lifejacket and disappeared. *Able Seamen Hilmar Eidsvaag, Vincent McCaffrey, Michele Messina, Sivert S. Nygaard and Frank J. Vieira and Ordinary Seamen Clyde C. Fluitt, Jr., Ro berto Garcia and Jose Silva. Lifejacket and so-called life raft retrieved. Raft was actually the roof of cabin cruiser Ev-Ann.''' The Gloucester stood by until 1442 when the salvaged material was turned over to the cutter Nemesis. "It was learned later from radio reports," Cap tain Crawford said, "that the person attacked by the sharks was Mrs. James Dumas and that the boat, Ev-Ann, with Mr. and Mrs. Dumas and another man (Kenneth Crosby) aboard, was char tered out of Tampa Bay." Newspapers reported that the cruiser had hit or been hit by something on the evening of Sept. 24 and had been carried approx. 82 miles out to sea in the northeast gale. Mrs. Dumas, who was 7 months' pregnant, had died the following night. "The entire crew of this vessel cooperated fully during this operation," Captain Crawford con cluded. "I would like to commend particularly Chief Mate Mazzucco and the lifeboatmen for their excellent handling of the No. 2 lifeboat in choppy seas." The Ev-Ann episode was the second rescue mis sion for the Gloucester in as many days. And strangely, both occurred within a 9-imle area about 100 miles west of Boca Grande. On the morning of Sept. 25, while making for Boca Grande, a boat apparently in distress was sighted about 10 miles off. Investigation found it to be a 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. st/; O< derrick barge with no one aboard. The Coast Guard at St. _ Petersburg requested the vessel to contact the tug Commodore, which had lost the barge in heavy seas. The tug was raised, tracked on the radar, given her position and the position of the derrick. They were about 30 miles apart. The commander of the Seventh Coast Guard District at Miami sent a radiogram expressing appreciation of the Gloucester's report of the drift ing barge and assistance to the Ev-Ann survivors. "These actions were in line with the highest tra ditions of the sea," the radiogram concluded. Bob Williams is Back Robert T. Williams, Jr. re turned to the Marine Division Oct. 1 as a Sr. Project Engineer. He will work on corrosion con trol, marine research and tech nical problems. Mr. Williams received a BS degree in electrical engineering from Manhattan College in 1952, spent 3 years in the Navy and joined the Com pany in Dec. 1955. He was in the Repair and Operations depts. until 1961, except for a 15month nuclear training course in connection with the NS Savannah. For the past 2 years he has been a Technical Adviser in the Jersey Company's Transportation Coordination Dept. Last Tied-Up Ships Sold The Esso Binghamton and Esso Hartford have been sold, the former to Marine Corporation and the latter to Hudson Waterways Corp. It is believ ed that the Binghamton will be equipped with a new forebody and the Hartford will be traded in to the Government for a dry cargo ship. Both of the 16,000-ton tankers have been in tie-up at Jacksonville for 5 years. OBITUARY Third Mate Alton J. Ross, who has been on sick leave for the past 5 months, died Oct. 10 in Staten Island. He was 55 years old and is survived by his wife, Helen; daughter, Judith, 17 and son, Garry, 8. Mr. Ross was bom in North Carolina and lived in Jersey City. He had 23 years' service in the fleet, sailing intermittently from 1930 to 1942 and continuously from 1949. His daughter started nurses training at the Jersey City Medical Center in Sept., under a Teagle Scholarship. An unceremonious thumb on a button put the world's biggest products pipeline in operation last month. Colonial will have a 1,600-mile main line and 1,000 miles of branches. Pholo courtesy The Oil & Gas Journal Colonial Pipeline Starts Up The first batch of gasoline--100,000 bbls.-- started moving through the 36" Colonial Pipeline on Sept. 16. Just a push of a button in Houston got the product underway for Greensboro, N. C., a distance of 1,047 miles. However, when a re mote control system is completed, dispatching will be from the pipeline headquarters in Atlanta. Gasoline was pumped into the line at a rate of 8,600 bph. but will be stepped up to 20,000 bph. later. It will require 7 million bbls. of pro ducts (worth about $30 million) to fill the Houston-Greensboro section of the line. By next spring it is expected to be extended to Linden, N. J. l| The MIS-Adventures of | J.sTu/WB\E?j?ONE M FRACTURE |j Mac here is demonstrating one of his variaH tions on the theme of the former Broadway play ! "Hit the Deck". It's a simple procedure -- easy || as falling off a log, so-to-speak. Just carelessly |j slap a wrench on a valve wheel, give it a sudden | jerk, and there you are. Beginners might start by opening valves that are tightly closed. But an I expert like J. Stumbleprone can pancake when closing a valve. The sport is petering out though. || More and more valves are being fitted with TefH Ion soft seats and you don't put a wheel wrench ff on soft seated valves. I SL L EXX-MOR-007325 COHirU FROM THE CCJbLEf TIONS IN THE CENTER FOR AMERICAN HiSTOR THE UNI VEKS1TY OF TEXAS a t A u s t in "To See Ourselves os Others See Us" You know the expression "can't see the forest for the trees". It applies to ourselves sometimes. We are so close to the routine of our daily lives, we can't see ourselves long-range. But here's a fellow who can. He's far enough removed from the fleet to get a good perspective. You'll like his letter (and honestly, we didn't put him up to it). Dear Sir: In 1956 I started my seagoing career with Esso and although I am no longer an employee, I still feel a strong bond with the men of the fleet. I was straight out of high school and as green as could be. But thanks to the understanding, patience and good-naturedness of the men, my short time SERVICE EMBLEM AWARDS it 30 YEARS # Svafar Steffenjen Chief Engineer May 16, 1963 Fernando Tirado Fireman-Watertender November 26, 1962 20 YEARS * Arthur W. Smith Master March 15, 1962 Edward Wilson Chief Steward January 10, 1963 Alex. M. McDonnell Able Seaman February 9, 1963 it 10 YEARS ^ Dennis Armand May 28, 1959 William E. Bailey Jan. 27, 1960 Thomas A. Barden Oct. 4, 1960 Carl E. Brooks, Jr. April 1, 1961 Richard A. Brower June 26, 1960 Charles A. Bujal Nov. 21, 1960 Jean H. Carlson Dec. 5, 1960 Frank E. Caroros May 16, 1961 Raymond R. Darby March 2, 1961 Clarence Day, Jr. March 6, 1961 Joseph E. Duzant April 30, 1961 Hilmar Eidsvaag March 16, 1960 Sylvester l. Felty July 10, 1960 Ariel Gomez Jan. 2, 1961 Lawrence Gonsalves Jan. 30, 1961 Wesley S. Grant March 23, 1961 Earl Hankins, Jr. Dec. 30, 1960 Arthur L. Hatchett Feb. 7, 1961 Raymond C. lollar May 21, 1961 Daniel Lopes May 3, 1961 Bernard Malkowski Feb. 1, 1960 Albert Mucci Feb. 3, 1959 John Olivo Feb. 6, 1961 Howard J. Ottmann March 13, 1961 Francisco I. Ravara Oct. 19, 1958 James O. Sims, Jr. April 16, 1961 Richard K. Surgocinski March 27, 1960 Simplicio J. Tirol July 27, I960 Willard Walsh Nov. 15, 1960 Melvin F. White May 12, 1960 with the fleet was an experience I'll always cherish. I left the Company on an educational leave of absence during 1961 and started as a full time student with New York University. Through a stroke of good luck I was offered a teaching assistantship. At that time, with many regrets, I resigned from the fleet. Since then my duties with the school have been expanded. I am now teaching, doing basic research, fabricating a laser system, and taking my own classes in chemistry. One of the greatest pleasures I enjoy is reading the Fleet News.. For in those moments I am re associated with all my friends; Joe, Russell, Fred and a host of others. I wish to thank them for mak ing my time at sea enjoyable and rewarding. I grew while I was at sea; not only physically but mentally and morally as well. Wherever I go I'll always hold the men of the fleet in the highest regard for they are real men. Before I close I would like to express my thanks to the men of the shore staff for all they have done for me. From the time of my first employment to my educational leave, they did nothing but help, encourage and inspire me. Yours very sincerely, (signed) Louis C. Simon Assistant, Department of Science and Mathematics Education Mr. Simon joined the fleet in June 1956 after attending the New York City schoolship John W. Brown. He sailed as Messman and Ordinary Seaman for 2 years and had 4 years of mili Louis C. Simon tary service before his educa tional leave and resignation. TAFFRA1L TALK John M. Wittman. former Third Asst, in the fleet and now with the Tanker Dept, of Esso In ternational, Inc., is going to Japan as a construc tion superviser on three 66,000-dwt. tankers. Two of the vessels will be diesel driven and one steam propelled. *** Chief Engineer John A. Waite (ret. Dec. 1945) is in Sailors' Snug Harbor, Staten Island, N. Y. and doubtless would be cheered to receive a note from former shipmates. Humble Benefit Plan statements (this is some thing new) will he sent to Thrift Plan addresses of member employees in about 2 weeks. The ma chine-processed statements will contain informa tion on disability benefits, life insurance and figures from which you can estimate your retire ment income from Company plans. It will also show the amount you have contributed to annui ties, including interest. An article in the Humble News for Oct. gives more complete information on the statements. I & I EXX-MOR-007326