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Asiafreighter

109K views 315 replies 64 participants last post by  John Gowers 
#1 ·
Managed by Denholm/s in Glasgow,she and her two sisters,ASIALINER and EUROLINER were a familiar sight on the Clyde in the early days of First Generation container ships in the 70s-this taken in 1973.
Gas turbine powered,they were extremely fast ships.All later sold out and over the last 5 years or so have all gone to breakers.
 

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#219 ·
Thank you both for the warm welcome and quick replies. The FT4C would make sense. The famous ferry Finnjet used two of those same engines and they were 70,000+ hp together. The acceleration must have been wild with big CP propellers. You fellas are a lucky lot to have had the experience you did! Was just doing some research on the triple diesel Container Ship Toyama. She was a real beauty and fast too, but not as exotic as the GTVs. Found interesting old catalog from a company which made reduction gears for the GTVs and they list the Euro ships as 60,000hp and both Asia ships as 70,000 which is in line with Varley's comments from a design perspective. Thanks again guys. Happy to hear from any others who care to weigh in. One can never have too much info.
 
#220 ·
I'll never forget coming out of New York in EUROLINER in'72 bound Le Havre and working up to 28 knots.

Over the VHF...

"AMBROSE PILOTS, AMBROSE PILOTS, THIS IS SEALAND GALLOWAY. WE ARE SLOWING DOWN TO THIRTY KNOTS."

I thought that Bob Sharpe was going to be physically sick!

We passed a short while later. She had come over at 37 knots I believe, burning 500 tonnes of HFO per day!
 
#221 ·
The asiafreighter had the larger turbines the Euroliner and Eurofreighter had Pratt and Whitney Turbo power FT4-12A turbines rated 30900bhp(m) (29719bhp) they were derived from the engines used on the Boeing 707.the vessels had two gs turbines totalling 59420shp driving Lips c- p propellers.Approx daily fuel consumption at 90 per cent power was 300 tons
Hope this helpsTomS
 
#225 ·
Tom, I think your fuel consumption would look more startling if you added "of paraffin".

Which was why the slops man in Rotterdam was always happy to see us until BFO! (I can't say really say "us" here as my too few trips were post introduction of BFO). What fun!

David V
 
#223 ·
Still remember leaving Le Havre on the Asiafreighter once.
Off shore wind , Norman Angus just let her drift off the berth a bit then put
her slow ahead. You could see the acceleration.

Those of us who sailed on the Seatrain ships , it sure was a lifetime experience.
 
#226 ·
Still remember leaving Le Havre on the Asiafreighter once.
Off shore wind , Norman Angus just let her drift off the berth a bit then put
her slow ahead. You could see the acceleration.

QUOTE]


The amazing thing with gas turbines is that while the acceleration is dramatic is not as damatic as much as an instant 'STOP'!

The first was when one of the gas generators on one of the ships attempted to 'digest' a small hand torch that Captain Graham dropped down the air intake at sea. I remember seeing bent and mangled bits of turbine blading scattered on the dock in Weehawken.

The second sudden stop came from the other end. EUROLINER in Le Havre, November 1972. Preparing to sail but not quite ready. Pilot was told that if we didn't move we would be delayed by a large arriving tanker. Everyone ran to stations, let go F&A... drifted off the berth as you describe above. First movement was not Dead Slow but something considerably more..... we accelerated and as we came to the first course alteration we were moving quite fast. As the ship heeled the port prop made contact with the bottom and came to an instant stop. Coninued out to the anchorage on one engine, and then made attempt to get port negine started again. Starting not a problem but the control gear was knackered. Headed for Greenock on one engine and the ship was drydocked there for about a five days before heading to New York.

I left in Greenock on arrival and flew to Bermuda on compassionate leave. My dad had passed away while we were coming over from New York and had the ship not gone into drydock I would not have been able to get leave. In those days, being a Bermuda resident, I was not entitled to any compensation for air travel between UK and Bermuda. Probably the reason why I only took leave twice in four years! I flew home and within a few days received a letter from head office requesting my cheque for about 120 pounds for my air fare and also insstructions that I should book a ticket from Bermuda to New York to rejoin the vessel. This I did, no agent to meet at at the airport or overnight hotel... spent the night at the Port Authority Bus Terminal before heading over to Weehawken in the morning. Not much fun on cadet's pay... then about 35 pounds a month. My next leave was not until March 1974. By then I was 3/O and on filmstar wages.... could live like a king!
 
#227 ·
I think the cir***stances of I.G Grahams torch may not have been quite like Stephen's description (wasn't it during water washing or even perhaps left inside during an HSI?) - the feedback was supposed to have been that the torch did no damage, it was all down to the batteries!

Less salt is needed for the follow up (as I heard it closer to first hand). That is that he had next appeared in the engine room to show interest in a gearbox inspection. This time, with torch firmly strapped to wrist his keys fell out of his top pocket into the gearing when bending over for a better look-see.

Agency in New York? I arrived for some urgent relief (can't remember for whom or for why). No runner at JFK (?) finally got nigh****chman at Weehawken who told me Eurofreighter had been there earlier but berth now empty. Ripped off in a taxi to Penn Street Station and then took train to Norfolk. Agent there rather miffed that I had arrived without assistance.
 
#228 ·
The way I was told it was that the vessel was at sea making full speed, the covers of the intakes were off as a riding crew were fitting demisters to lower salt contamination of the blades. IC and ChEng went out to have a look. Holding on to the rail, having a look , his torch fell down the shaft, there was a bang and Seatrain needed a new gas generator.

Roddy MacKenzie was mate in EUROLINER while I was there. If he is reading this I'm sure he will confirm to refute the story. I was just a cadet at the time and the vision of a captain wrecking a main engine .......

I did not sail with IC until some years later when he was master in LOCH LOMOND. Many times we spoke about the Seatrain ships but I swear, I was smart enought to not ever ask him directly about the 'incident'!
 
#233 ·
David
You are correct I remember when I first joined the GTV,s we carried the Pratt and Whitney brain squad who were concerned about the reduced engine life due to salt if I remember it was 30 per cent less than they thought it should have been in addition to modifying the demisters they looked at different types of turbine blades ie ceramic.
You have a good memory. I served eight happy years on these ships and enjoyed every minute of it even with Big Bertha and BFO
Tom
 
#230 ·
the real story is myself and ian ross were in the plenum chamber doing an engine wash the engine was running about 1800 reves when ic stepped through the door tripped on the hose and his torch got sucked into the engine when engine washes were done you were not allowed to have anything loose or in your pockets if my memory serves me right demisters were modified after this accident brgds kev.
 
#235 ·
What a laugh with the torch and THEN the keys! I look at GT losses all the time.

Two favourites: one concerns a step ladder, the other a lump hammer.......Yes, you guessed it, left in the intake on start up! With regard to the first, my bosses immortal words were,"Well, you have a covered loss - But we aren't paying you for the bloody ladder!".

Rgds.
Dave
 
#239 ·
Kevin, Thanks.

A bit like the story about BR testing the windows on the front end of a chain by firing chickens at them through a special canon. The Americans decided to used the same method when testing their windows. The windows constantly failed in testing so they went back to BR to discover what was wrong. The reeply came back.... "Defrost the chickens."
 
#242 ·
The late Ryan O'Hare had two 'tall tales' told over some of the beers we enjoyed together:

1) He and Jimmy Holden boarded a plane having both remarked on the punishment a GG could take as evinced by two distorted compressor blades they had both noticed.

Plane took off only to make emergency landing with said engine vibrating fit to bust. On telling the pilot of the damage they had noticed they became "bloody fools" for having said nothing earlier. It was assumed that the damage was done as the engine was being shut down after the last landing.

2) at TPMS he witnessed the chicken test done with a frozen bird. The result was as the apocryphal story had it, GG all same bird - gutted.

(You must admit the temptation for all involved to know for sure what would happen must be great - it must have happend some time or even some times).
 
#243 ·
Found this the crew list fom the Eurofreighter,s first voyage on BFO you might remember some of the names
Tom Sutherland Master. Alan Paterson c/o Charles Black 2/o Chris Walmsley 3/o Ed Collins ECO Gary Roberts 2nd RO Willie Purnell ch/Eng. Colin Booth 2nd Eng Gerry Morrison 3rd Eng Dave Wood 3rd Eng Robert Johnston Deck Cadet Jeremy Meek Eng Cadet Angus McAskill CPO Finlay Maclean PO Malcolm Macaulay GP1 Gerry Wardl GP1 Murdo Mackenzie GP1 Murdo Morrison GP1 John Macleod GP1 Michael Kelly GP1 Alex Cameron GP1 John Costa Cat Off Frank Love Cook Bob Bryce Stwd Mat Cherri Stwd John Glencross cat boy Campbell Millet cat boy Dave Anderson Seatrain Engineer.
It was a voyage to remember engine room fire and we lost both engines
TomS
 
#257 ·
Roddy, One engine and, every now and again, the Paxman? Not much electrickery for a healthy 736KW thruster anyway and might even have been an interlock(would have to have been in the thruster controls, the drawings for which I didn't 'inherit' and sadly memory now increasingly more write-only). David V

(Ridiculous to still have Hull 420's MSB drawing let alone to have it laid out at panel 4!)
 
#258 ·
True, but with one shaft alternator running with the diesel, there would then be enough?

But as I said, the thruster was pretty useless unless you were all but stopped, and we hadn't been taught then that they were much more effective when the ship was moving astern.

They were a big help in locks - Liverpool for example, and also for 'springing' the stern off on sailing.

Yard Nos. 419/420 Asialiner and Asiafreighter?
 
#262 ·
I remember that quite well, we were berthed waiting to leave on another - perhaps Asiafreighter.

To be picky, though it was doubtless a Paxman, did the label not say English Electric?

From memory, it didn't quite burst into flames, but blew an exhaust gasket, causing it to blow dense smoke into the Engine Room.

The Chief (Alec Young?) opened the Engine Room door, saw the extent of the smoke, concluded they could not get in, shut down the diesel I suppose, and released the CO2.

However, both main engines were kept running as usual, and the shaft gennies were on line, so she berthed quite normally as soon as we sailed.

I remember it was a public holiday weekend, maybe Easter. Even before we sailed, Nick Constantis was rounding up men and refilling facilities, ready to get the 96? bottles off and recharged.

From what we heard he was entirely successful and she sailed on time - bottles out, ashore, refilled, refitted all in about 24 hours. American can do at its best!

Re the Diesel Alternators, at first they used to run them during Standbyes, but because the shaft generators were on too they were on very light load and rattling themselves to bits.

The procedure was then modified and they were test started before End of Passage and then shut down ready for action if required, before being put on line at FWE.

That is how I remember it anyway - Particulars Believed Correct But Not Guaranteed!
 
#261 ·
I confirm what Roddy says the bow thruster was pretty useless and vey unreliable you could never ever depend on it.
Both Charleston at the bridge and Wilmington NC could be very scary found using the escort tug on the shoulder pretty effective in these ports. As long as you had both engines the the ships were pretty manoeuvrable and could be a joy to handle,it was a different ball game after Big Bertha was fitted at slow speeds the larger prop put a bit of a drag on the ship and you had to constantly compensate for this when manoeuvring
 
#264 ·
Sorry K they were labelled English Electric according to my notes. As far as I know and I stand to be corrected, they were built in same factory, but Paxman's as fitted to Naess Parkgate etc. were for for marine use and English Electric nameplate were for use in diesel trains, how the GTV's got railway ones don't know but maybe that is why they were nightmares
 
#265 ·
I read a newspaper article not that long ago. We understood (didn't we?) that their record on BR was good (a track record, sorry) and that we were misusing them in some way. Evidently the railways were being told exactly the same thing in reverse and that they were no more reliable on wheels than when on plates "They have a perfectly good reputation at sea it's something you are doing with them".
 
#268 ·
No Paxman built engine fitted in a locomotive was a success on British Railways.
They were all diabolical and none survived more than ten years.

However.The Valenta engine fitted into the HST power cars was undoubtedly highly successful. They have almost all been replaced by a modern MTU machine.

English Electrics on the other hand were highly successful. Class 40s and 50s a testament to this and also the smaller 20s still in use today fifty years old. There is still a small army of shunters with EE engines fitted.

regards

Malky
 
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