Cape Town Castle Explosion

[Rod F]

Does anyone remember the engineroom explosion around 1966/7? I left her in Soton shortly before it took place. Apparently someone put the wrong oil in the air-start valve lubricators which caused the big bang. The correct stuff was green - can't recall the name of it right now.

[R58484956]

Some where on this site all the details are shown. Mods can find it.

[Steve Woodward]

A thread like this is easy to find, check the 'Engine Room' forum and run a search on Capetown Castle and you find : THIS (http://www.shipsnostalgia.com/showthread.php?t=28396&highlight=capetown+castle)
Steve

[double acting]

The green oil was a synthetic oil,(don't ask me what that means the inhouse chemist, my son, is in Australia) - non flammable. It was introduced after the Capetown Castle explosion

[wharferat]

I sailed with Ronnie Crook who was appointed to the ship a few months later as chief engineer, & I seem to recall he told me that it was something to do with freeing up sticking air start v/v's, hydraulically.
Ah, found the M Notice. If I've done it right, it should be attached.

[Rod F]

Thanks Wharferat et al - my memory for the date is obviously affected by the declination !

I have a full sectioned drawing of the "new" CT Castle if anyone is interested.

[Chris Isaac]

The attached picture is from the Company's Magazine of February 1963

[Fred Field]

As I recollect the synthetic oil was called Haugtosafe? Not quite sure of the spelling but it was a wonderful paint stripper!

[David Barton]

I f I recall correctly, the Capetown Castle was manoeuvring out of Las Palmas after taking bunkers. An air start valve stuck open on one cylinder, but as in those days mineral oil was used in the start air compressors there was an light oil carry over which lined the air start piping. The combustion heat from the cylinder ignited the oil in the air start system, and the flame carried back to the start air receivers, which caused a massive explosion. Resulting from this disaster flame traps were fitted into air start lines. The green oil mentioned was indeed Houghto-Safe, which may have been synthetic, but was an explosion proof oil. I have seen some photos of the engine-room after the explosion, and anything aluminium, like De Laval purifier covers, had completely disappeared leaving just the steel pipe-work - not a pretty sight. All the staff in the engine-room were killed I believe, and as it was standby there would have been more than the normal watch-keeping complement, except for one who was in the toilet at the time and may have lost his job because of it!

[Rod F]

It was called autosafe, a green non-flammable oil - as a junior is was my job to 'blow the cocks' and after the first time I had to go change my skivvies!