I never sailed with Shell but I kissed a bloke who did! Couldn't resist that.
A Chief Engineer I sailed with who had been with Shell for quite a few years told me this story, which was supposed to be a Shell legend.
The Shell "Mosquito" fleet, small tankers which ran up the Fly River in New Guinea and other unwholesome places in the '50s and early '60s, did their crew changes in Singapore. The incoming and outgoing crews were transported by passenger ships and a great time was had by all. Needless to say, with transport costs and wages, this was hugely expensive. The company decided to try a new method and sent a crew of 20 overland by train and whatnot to Singapore. This adventure was doomed to failure, not one of the 20 showed up. They definitely weren't eaten by a tiger in Raffles, nobody knows what happened to them.....!
Ever since hearing the story I've wondered if it was true or just a yarn. Anyone else heard this?
John T.
A Chief Engineer I sailed with who had been with Shell for quite a few years told me this story, which was supposed to be a Shell legend.
The Shell "Mosquito" fleet, small tankers which ran up the Fly River in New Guinea and other unwholesome places in the '50s and early '60s, did their crew changes in Singapore. The incoming and outgoing crews were transported by passenger ships and a great time was had by all. Needless to say, with transport costs and wages, this was hugely expensive. The company decided to try a new method and sent a crew of 20 overland by train and whatnot to Singapore. This adventure was doomed to failure, not one of the 20 showed up. They definitely weren't eaten by a tiger in Raffles, nobody knows what happened to them.....!
Ever since hearing the story I've wondered if it was true or just a yarn. Anyone else heard this?
John T.