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Media & Parthia. - Brocklebanks

12K views 49 replies 26 participants last post by  Tony Selman 
#1 ·
This months (March) Ships Monthly states

"T & J Brocklebank placed orders for a pair of cargoships,one to be built by John Brown and the other by Harland & Wolff, but these were taken over by Cunard White Star, which owned Brocklebank and were redesigned as Cargo Passenger Liners for its Liverpool-New York service" these became "Media" and "Parthia".


I have not seen this before and none of the books I have about Brocklebanks or Cunard mention this. It seems unususal as these ships would be too long for Kidderpore Dock, also Brocklebanks invariably had their ships built at William
Hamiltons.

I wonder if anyone else knew this about these ships? Tony Spriggins or Nobby perhaps?

Regards

Tony
 
#4 ·
Media & Parthia were certainly never built as possible Brocklebank ships they were far too big for our service. I sailed on Parthia and she was a 250 passenger vessel with a capacity for dry cargo of some 10-15000 tons. Never carried more than about 2000 because of the passenger schedule and was very unstable as a consequence. Alledged to roll on 'wet grass'.
 
#5 ·
Tony
May be confusion here with Saxonia and Ivernia which came the other way from Cunard to Brocks . Renamed as Manipur and Maipura ( I think- pretty sure about Manipur). There is also some older stories re Parthia - again not sure - losing a rudder in mid Atlantic.
Perhaps some of the older hands have more detail.
Rgds
Uisdean
 
#6 ·
Usidean ;
I took ( as 2nd Eng ) the Parthia to Hong Kong to hand over to new owners ; Western Australian Shipping in Hong Kong in 1971 . This ship was built in Dundee at the Caledon Shipyard and was known as one of the " Mickey Mouse Boats that plied between Liverpool and New York .
This is the vessel that lost its rudder mid Atlantic . Not the same size or class of vessel being discused in this thread ; these vessels under discussion were from an earlier time .

Regards Derek
 
#10 ·
End of the Media

I was working in Hong Kong from 1987-90 and had noticed a fairly large and rather the worse for wear passenger ship lying in the outer harbour. She was called Lavia and was supposedly undergoing a refit. Soon enough one of those HK accidents occurred and she was on fire, with supposedly only a watchman on board at the time. She was declared a total loss. Turned out she was the former Media 1947 and had been named Flavia in 1961 for an Italian Company before finishing up at HK. The Parthia became the Aramac, but don't know what her final end was.
 
#12 ·
I think we may have crossed lines a bit here Derek,my posting in reply to Uisdean was on the two Cunarders Saxonia and Ivernia built 1964 which were lenghthened with a new hatch and renamed on transfer to Brocks. Their two sisters were Media and Parthia(which you took to Hong Kong).

The Media and Parthia referred to in earlier postings I am aware of (immediate post war out of Browns and Harlands).

Give Alan Atack my regards next time you're in touch with him, might bump into him one of these days as I gather he stays this side of the border!

Regards, Donald
 
#15 ·
Thanks for that Donald ;\
Allan keeps very well and lives on Loch Tayside . I will be visiting him in April and may do a bit of salmon fishing . I will pass on your regards . Allan is a member but cannot partisipate as he can not get broadband in his location . Sad but thats the way it is !!
Derek
 
#13 ·
Re Media of 1947 and Parthia of 1948 -William Miller in his book British Ocean Liners - a twilight era 1960-85 says something similar as the latest Ships Monthly - I quote;- "Both intended to be Brocklebank Line freighters but redesigned for Cunard in early construction phases"
With dimensions of 531 feet x 70 feet and twin screw turbine steamers it certainly was a substantial redesign.
I wonder if the so called Brocklebank order was just a paper exercise for business reasons. I seem to recall that one of the old Brocklebank ships -
(Martand ?) was on paper owned by a Cammell Laird subsidiary company called something like North Western.
 
#33 ·
Re Media of 1947 and Parthia of 1948 -William Miller in his book British Ocean Liners - a twilight era 1960-85 says something similar as the latest Ships Monthly - I quote;- "Both intended to be Brocklebank Line freighters but redesigned for Cunard in early construction phases"
With dimensions of 531 feet x 70 feet and twin screw turbine steamers it certainly was a substantial redesign.
I wonder if the so called Brocklebank order was just a paper exercise for business reasons. I seem to recall that one of the old Brocklebank ships -
(Martand ?) was on paper owned by a Cammell Laird subsidiary company called something like North Western
.
Scythia and Samaria, both built by Cammell Lairds in 1964 were both owned by a Cammell Laird subsidiary,North Western Line(Mersey)Ltd and were placed on long term bareboat charter to Cunard.
In 1969 Cunard purchased the charter contract and immediately sold both ships to T&J Harrison, where they became Merchant and Scholar respectively.
 
#14 ·
Media

My first trip after I joined Brocks as a cadet was in September 1968 on the Media from Liverpool to New York. Did a 2nd trip. Awful weather, thrown all over the place, decided that it was not the life for me and resigned.
The cadet superintendant, lovely man but age has dimmed the name, sent me home on leave. Few weeks later offered me the brand new Luminous in Gothenburg, accepted and my seagoing career continued.


Ian Jackson
 
#17 ·
My first trip after I joined Brocks as a cadet was in September 1968 on the Media from Liverpool to New York. Did a 2nd trip. Awful weather, thrown all over the place, decided that it was not the life for me and resigned.
The cadet superintendant, lovely man but age has dimmed the name, sent me home on leave. Few weeks later offered me the brand new Luminous in Gothenburg, accepted and my seagoing career continued.


Ian Jackson
At that time G. (probably George) Harrison was Brocklebank Crew Department Manager. Seem to remember he was in charge of the apprentices.

Eric Walter
 
#16 ·
I took the Parthia ( Mickey mouse version built at the Caledon in Dundee ) to Hong Kong in May through June 1971 . Another member of our site was a mate on the trip .
After signing off I flew to Tokyo and a taxi ride to Kobe to join Maihar . The ship had not arrived and I was put in a hotel for the night . Aftrer coming out of the shower I put on the news and was astounded to see the Parthia on the rocks ! She had brocken loose from her repair berth and suffered major damage .
I have tried time and again to find this Typhoon but cannot ! The time frame would be between 5th July and 8 th July 1971 .

I did see her again on the Aussie coast up in Darwin I think when I was on the Moss Tankers ( most likley the Luminous ) .
Can't remember her new name at that time but met some of the crew who said she was a great ship to sail on .


Derek
 
#18 · (Edited)
George Harrison was in charge of apprentices all the time I was sprog, '64 to '68 and for a little while after. Phil Brand was put in charge of Cadets as they later called them and was certainly in the chair late '70s. I can't recall if there was anyone in between. Perchance Tony Sprigings is the man who could tell us.
 
#19 · (Edited)
Sensible man coming to live in Gods own country Derek! Can understand not having broadband.I was on dial up at my Lewis house and it was a waste of time (and money) but have broadband now,magic!Got on well with Allan,stood by with him on the Maskeliya here in Glasgow (he took over from Bill Beeby,another gentleman) doing her 12 year survey and I think he'd just been promoted to chief.Then again on Mahsud of course.Donald.
 
#21 ·
Tony ;
I dont think I ever told you before but Phil Brand ; Yegg Thomas and J Watson Ross were all buddies of my late father ,

Phil nearly fired myself and 4 other 5th Engineers on the Masirah when in Smiths or Greythorpes drydock in Boro " .
The issue was do do with the duty mess and we were put on board by the company as there was an agreement with the unions that ships crew could work in drydock . We were up to our oxters in boiler work and there was little time to clean up for lunch so we used the duty mess which he was opposed too .
I think the main reason he was going to fire us was more to do with our attitude to authority than the actual incident of the mess .

I related the story to my father later and got a real bollicking from him also !!!

Kind regards Derek

PS Will see Allan Atack in April and will pass on our correspondance .
 
#22 ·
Derek,Thanks for that. I can understand Phil doing just that. He was a stickler for conformity. I t was sad that he had to come ashore because of a nervous breakdown brought on by the sad loss of his son in a swimming accident. He and I were great pals after he came ashore and his widow,Joan,still keeps in touch. She lives in the West Country now.
 
#23 ·
There is a model of the Media in the Liverpool Maritime museum with a story that she and the Parthia were the first Cunarders to be built after the war and intended for the Atlantic they were withdrawn in the early 60's due to the intorduction of big time air travel. Bearing in mind Brocks joined up wiyh Cunard in the 40's it may well have been a "paper exercise" at the time.
 
#25 ·
I remember the incident but have forgotten the detail. I think Alan Bull was the Master at the time. She was one of the small, squared -off hold ships built for the Liverpool/New York trade. Specifically to carry palletised cargo. They lasted about five years and were succeeded by the Atlantic Causeway and Conveyor.
 
#26 ·
Correcting letter.

There's a letter, in April's edition of SM, from a Peter Newall (Member of SN?) in which he corrects the erroneous story of "Media" and "Parthia" being, originally, Brocklebank ships.

The main platform of his letter being that these two ships "were a key element" of Cunard's postwar construction plan. Salaams, Phil(Hippy)
 
#36 · (Edited)
Alan ?-----

-----was, I believe, Chief Steward on "Parthia" when she lost her rudder and, when he joined us on "Atlantic Causeway", told us the most horrendous part of the escapade was, in his words, "Absolute Hell when the "Ballentines" ran out!".

I may be wrong on the name of the grog but I think it was "Ballentines".

WHAT a character though-------like so many from those halcyon days of unlimited "ethanol"!

How dreary it must be going to sea now with all hands being treated like children re. the amount of ale they are allowed!

The ships, I believe, even have breathalyser-officers who can boot you off the ship if he considers you are too "Brahms and Liszt"!!!

Poor old "Case-a-day-Kelly", Tommy Jones, "Pritch", Ernie Prevost, "Pem", etc. etc. wouldn't stand a chance in this modern, antiseptic, "Merch". (Moi? Drink? O-o-o-o-h-----------as if(Thumb)).

Funny, though, despite the huge amounts of Tennents we put away the ships were in, (usually), good shape, (I'm saying nowt about my own bête noir----"Matheran"!!!!), and managed to cross the various Sea's and Ocean's to get to the various ports we had to call at without any bother.

E-e-e-e-h----them were t' days! Phil(Hippy)
 
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