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City of Singapore (II)

7K views 16 replies 6 participants last post by  Kingham SJ 
#1 ·
Crew Lists – City of Singapore (II)
Please add any Crew Lists or individual names and dates you may have to this thread.
Thanks and Cheers
Mike

Brief History
Launched 26 October 1950
Completed 12 March 1951
Builders A.Stephen & Sons Ltd., Linthouse, Glasgow
Engined A.Stephen & Sons Ltd., Linthouse, Glasgow
Engine Details 3 simple expansion turbine engines SR geared to one screw shaft
Sisters City of Birkenhead (I), City of Bedford (II), City of Karachi (IV)

10 November 1973 grounded Southern Africa en route Tees to Lobito
26 November 1973 refloated with only marginal damage
1975 sold to Gulf Shipping Lines Ltd., London
08 May 1975 handed over at Glasgow
Renamed United Mariner
1975 Renamed Gulf Mariner, Managers: Gulfeast Ship Management Ltd.
1977 sold to shipbreakers at Karachi
01 May 1977 arrived at Gadani Beach for demolition

European Staff On Board: 27 March 1951
Master: Thomas F. Symons

European Staff On Board: 03 October 1952
Master: TR Davies

European Staff On Board: 31 October 1955
Master: GF Sumptor

European Staff On Board: 25 June 1968
Master: H. Swinney
Chief Officer: PG Weldon
2nd Officer: N. Wigglesworth
Jnr. 2nd Officer: R. Halenen
Navigating Cadets: M. De Silva, J. Wrigley
Carpenter: M. Zalcman
Radio Officer: S. Schuster
Ch. Engineer: R. Walker
2nd Engineer: J. Cree
3rd Engineer: K. McAskill
4th Engineer: P. Clark
Junior Engineer: R. Robertson, J. Cookson
Purser / Ch. Steward: A. Barker

European Staff On Board: 16 December 1968
Master: F. Smith
Chief Officer: HM Townsend
2nd Officer: TH Boothman
Jnr. 2nd Officer: P. Dekker
Navigating Cadets: DA Bamford, JA Eardley
Carpenter: M. Zalcman
Radio Officer: MB Murphy
Ch. Engineer: L. Whiedon
2nd Engineer: AD Clark
3rd Engineer: JCL Thompson
4th Engineer: AW Ramsay
Junior Engineer: JA Hart, E. Wade
Engineer Cadets: BL Taylor, DJ Friend
Purser / Ch. Steward: RH Brown

European Staff On Board: 19 March 1969 (Coasting)
Chief Officer: ER Finch
2nd Officer: NJ Kerr
3rd Officer: AG Ishak
Carpenter: KD Theaker
Ch. Engineer: JWC Birnie
2nd Engineer: JM Hughes
3rd Engineer: GM Ferguson
Extra 3rd Engineer: C. Duffy
4th Engineer: E. Wade
Junior Engineer: M. Dillon, JA Hart
Purser / Ch. Steward: RH Brown

European Staff On Board: 15 September 1969
Master: F. Smith
Chief Officer: J. Forsyth
2nd Officer: PC Williams
3rd Officer: RC Brill
Navigating Cadets: CG Williams
Carpenter: KD Theaker
Radio Officer: TDW Price
Ch. Engineer: JM Hughes
2nd Engineer: JW King
3rd Engineer: ER Clark
4th Engineer: J. Sharples
Junior Engineer: JA Hart, L. Helm
Engineer Cadets: S. McLellan, J. Wardrope
Purser / Ch. Steward: RH Brown

European Staff On Board: 17 December 1969
Master: F. Smith
Chief Officer: J. Forsyth
2nd Officer: JS Pearsall
3rd Officer: RC Brill
Navigating Cadets: BP Johnson
Carpenter: JA Fisher
Radio Officer: E. Gregson
Ch. Engineer: JM Hughes
2nd Engineer: JW King
3rd Engineer: ER Clark
4th Engineer: PD Brown
Junior Engineer: GC Wilson, RI Burrill
Purser / Ch. Steward: RH Brown

European Staff On Board: 01 June 1970
Master: CT Heywood
Chief Officer: J. Forsyth
2nd Officer: JS Pearsall
3rd Officer: RC Brill
Navigating Cadets: DW Nelson, NP Devonport
Carpenter: AE Colley
Radio Officer: W. Degnan
Ch. Engineer: JH Cree
2nd Engineer: JW King
3rd Engineer: J. Sharples
4th Engineer: J. Burns
Junior Engineer: IM Stirling, JC Graham
Purser / Ch. Steward: RH Brown

European Staff On Board: 01 September 1970 (Coasting)
Master: PS Morrison
Chief Officer: J. Forsyth
2nd Officer: RA Shopland
3rd Officer: CF Bolt
Carpenter: J. MacRitchie
Ch. Engineer: B. Smith
2nd Engineer: MJ Reese
4th Engineer: RE Kennell, D. Williams
Junior Engineer: WF McArdle, W. Elliot
Purser / Ch. Steward: T. Logan

European Staff On Board: 01 March 1971
Master: CT Heywood
Chief Officer: TM Grimes
2nd Officer: JS Pearsall
3rd Officer: VK Sarawagi
Navigating Cadets: TE Pennell, IC Giddings
Carpenter: DR Gunn
Radio Officer: TH Fitzgerald
Ch. Engineer: JH Cree
2nd Engineer: JW King
3rd Engineer: DW Robinson
4th Engineer: R. Taylor
Junior Engineer: B. Stones, GP Steel
Purser / Ch. Steward: H. Crompton, Snr.

European Staff On Board: 08 December 1971 (Coasting)
Master: M. Graham
Chief Officer: TM Grimes
2nd Officer: N. Leslie
3rd Officer: C. Gregory
Carpenter: T. MacTaggart
Radio Officer: GCO Cassidy
Ch. Engineer: J. Cree
2nd Engineer: SK Duncan
3rd Engineer: E. Wade
4th Engineer: JP Innes
Junior Engineer: RJ Wanless, C. Taylor
Purser / Ch. Steward: FA Rosling
Purser’s Assistant: WR Laidlaw

European Staff On Board: 04 April 1972 (Coasting)
Master: M. Graham
Chief Officer: AK Atkinson
2nd Officer: NDR Leslie
3rd Officer: C. Gregory
Carpenter: T. MacTaggart
Radio Officer: GCO Cassidy
Ch. Engineer: GW Armstrong
2nd Engineer: R. Massey
3rd Engineer: G. Ferguson
4th Engineer: J. Hart
Junior Engineer: C. Taylor, J. Kelly
Purser / Ch. Steward: FA Rosling
Purser’s Assistant: WR Laidlaw

European Staff On Board: 25 April 1973
Master: WS Coutts
Chief Officer: T. Weale
2nd Officer: S. Mortimer
3rd Officer: CP Green
Navigating Cadets: T. Anderson, R. Wickham
Carpenter: R. MacLeod
Radio Officer: J. Webster
Ch. Engineer: JH Cree
2nd Engineer: RG Massey
3rd Engineer: J. Burton
4th Engineer: JW Brown
Junior Engineer: DJ Haley
Purser / Ch. Steward: D. Dixon
 
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#3 ·
City of Singapore grounding

Dear Joe,
Many thanks for your post.
Please be so kind as to expand:-
The grounding was IIRC in 1974 at Lobito en route from Tees to South Africa. Dry docked for repairs in East London.
My information came from Duncan Haws Merchant Fleets Ellerman Lines where he states:-
1973 Jan 1: Transferred to Ellerman City Liners management. Nov. 10: Grounded Southern Africa en route Tees-Lobitos. Nov. 26: Refloated with only marginal damage
Since your post I have checked on Yahoo and Google and the only other thing I can find apart from my entry in Ship Nostalgia is:-
http://www.oocities.org/heartland/ridge/2216/text/MARITIME.TXT says:-
City of Singapore grounded Lobito Bay November 1974 and refloated
This is not the first time I have found Duncan Haws to be wrong, but it would be nice to know more!!
Thanks and Cheers
Mike
 
#4 ·
Dear Joe,
Many thanks for your post.
Please be so kind as to expand:-
The grounding was IIRC in 1974 at Lobito en route from Tees to South Africa. Dry docked for repairs in East London.
My information came from Duncan Haws Merchant Fleets Ellerman Lines where he states:-
1973 Jan 1: Transferred to Ellerman City Liners management. Nov. 10: Grounded Southern Africa en route Tees-Lobitos. Nov. 26: Refloated with only marginal damage
Since your post I have checked on Yahoo and Google and the only other thing I can find apart from my entry in Ship Nostalgia is:-
http://www.oocities.org/heartland/ridge/2216/text/MARITIME.TXT says:-
City of Singapore grounded Lobito Bay November 1974 and refloated
This is not the first time I have found Duncan Haws to be wrong, but it would be nice to know more!!
Thanks and Cheers
Mike
I was the Superintendent who went to the casualty so I should be able to tell more detail than I can actually remember - but it was >40 years and lots of "stuff" has happened in my life since then!
My memory has it that she was aground for more than 16 days but perhaps it just seemed like it because the Angolan Civil War was well under way at this time and it wasn't a lot of fun being almost completely shut off from the rest of the world whilst trying to get equipment in and get things done. Our agents in Lobito were terrific in such difficult cir***stances - such as there was lots of cargo to discharge and very few lighters available AND there were some expensive race horses on board that had to be dealt with.
Between us we managed to hijack a passing salvage tug, the Svitzer (funny how that sort of detail sticks!), that was towing a floating fish processing plant. In the event it wasn't a great help as they had stripped most of her salvage gear off her for this tow job but unfortunately I didn't discover this until after the skipper was given lots of Dollars and booze! In the event, the vessel more or less refloated herself on what passed for a high tide there after she had been lightened.
I'm not so sure about the "marginal damage "! No.1 & 2 DBs were open to the sea but fortunately the bagged cargo in No1 & 2 lower hold had got wet from leaking rivets and then set when we stemmed the leaks so we ended up with the equivalent of a big cement box on the tank tops. Because of this we decide to sail the vessel of S. Africa during a spell of forecast good weather.
I think it was Maurice Hartley who came out to take over the ship and he asked me if I wanted to sail with him. I said no, I rather get home to my new daughter and he was quite happy with that.
I well remember standing on the quay very early in the morning waving them off - I decision I was soon to regret as I discovered too late that the Civil War was going to make getting out of the country very difficult. But that is a separate story!
 
#12 ·
...... I think the salvage tug was owned by Svitzer rather than that being the name of the tug and IIRC the salvage was done under a Lloyd's Open Form. ........ to Beira for discharge.
Strangely I had worried about the Svitzer as I thought I had that right but it was >40 years ago and assumed I was wrong after all. But maybe not? The salvage tug Svitzer towed the Cornish City from Aden to Bombay after an engine room fire in 1962 ( See Engine room explosions thread #6 ) My memory, for what it's worth, is that she was towing a floating fish processing plant to Aden when we got her to come into Lobito. On delivery of the tow she was to be stationed in the Red Sea / Gulf area. Now this opens another (false?) memory; when the City of Colombo broke her crankshaft in 1969 there was talk of the Svitzer towing us to Bahrain but it the event it was the Smit tug Loire that turned up.
 
#13 ·
Strangely I had worried about the Svitzer as I thought I had that right but it was >40 years ago and assumed I was wrong after all. But maybe not? The salvage tug Svitzer towed the Cornish City from Aden to Bombay after an engine room fire in 1962 ( See Engine room explosions thread #6 ) My memory, for what it's worth, is that she was towing a floating fish processing plant to Aden when we got her to come into Lobito. On delivery of the tow she was to be stationed in the Red Sea / Gulf area. Now this opens another (false?) memory; when the City of Colombo broke her crankshaft in 1969 there was talk of the Svitzer towing us to Bahrain but it the event it was the Smit tug Loire that turned up.
Svitzer are a large Danish towage / salvage company, in the same way Ellerman ships were called "City of -------" Svitzer name their tugs "Svitzer -------" e.g. "Svitzer Maimon".

As you say it was about over 40 years ago and I can't remember the name of the tug however I think you are correct in that it was towing a barge / fish processing plant and she diverted to Lobito to assist the Singapore. She was a Danish tug and therefore probably owned by Svitzer and probably called "Svitzer Something". I think it unlikely her name was simply "Svitzer"
 
#6 ·
I recall we took the boiler feed water pump off the tug and used it to pump fuel oil from the DBs by welding a gate valve to the tank top, drilling through the valve and through fhe tank top. I clearly remember withdrawing the drill expecting a column of fuel oil but in the event it trickled out and only deposting a little oil on the tank top befkre the valve was shut.
 
#11 ·
Thanks for that . Amazing how slective memory can become with time. There are bits of that saga that i remember as if yesterday & others are a complete blank. I clearly remember waving you off early in the morning as you set off for the Cape having turned down Maurice's offer to go with you. That turned out to be a bad call as it took me for ever to get home. About 4 years later I met one of the women from the Lobito agents office in Copenhagen airport. Small world.
 
#15 ·
We must have sailed together Willie, I paid off in Avonmouth on 18th April 1975, a couple of days after everyone else. I had done the coast before the voyage, the grounding voyage and was then told on return to Avonmouth I was "required for coasting duties". I spit my dummy out when told there was no relief for me on return to Avonmouth and ended up leaving a couple of days after everone else. Jack Burton was 3rd Eng on the voyage, from Bolton if I recall correctly.
 
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