# Water,Water,Everywhere But None to Drink



## John Rogers (May 11, 2004)

Before Aruba and Curacao built water processing plants Tankers would take water to the waterless islands and discharge and return with oil. Anyone ever on a tanker that did this.
John.


----------



## thunderd (Apr 18, 2005)

Not really but I was on a ship once that delivered 84,000 cases of whisky to the US, does that help?


----------



## John Rogers (May 11, 2004)

Yes I remember that ship and the dozen or so cases that went missing from the inventory.
John


----------



## thunderd (Apr 18, 2005)

They say the insurance company would only cover 80,000 ???


----------



## John Rogers (May 11, 2004)

Im told there are a few bottles buried around the gardens in Tassi.
John.


----------



## Chris Field (Apr 3, 2005)

I remember as an apprentice on City of London in Glasgow having to supervise loading of some hundreds of cartons of Scotch into the specials locker- despite the apparent hard work done by the local wharfies (they all seemed to be puffing and panting) many of them (i.e. the cartons) were found to be empty on arrival at cape Town, AND the padlocks were in place all the trip! Whta on earth could have happened to all tose bottles?


----------



## gus warner (Jan 13, 2006)

Hello John, happy New Year, yes I was on the Shell Tanker "Tomocyclus" and we picked up a cargo of oil from Curacao for Newark and Cypress in the Bronx and then we went up the Hudson as far as Kingston, where you hit fresh water, and it took an overnight stay to open the sea valves and fill the tanks. It was then back to Willemstad. The next time we did this was in december and there were ice floes coming down the Hudson and we were told to get out ASAP or we would be iced in until March. There were liturately dozen of ships in mothballs anchored in a few places along the river and I wonder if this is still done.


----------



## John Rogers (May 11, 2004)

Thanks Gus for confirming the water to the islands, a lot of people did not know about the tankers doing that, and a Happy New Year to you.
John.


----------



## Ian (Mar 27, 2004)

*Free nector*



Chris Field said:


> I remember as an apprentice on City of London in Glasgow having to supervise loading of some hundreds of cartons of Scotch into the specials locker- despite the apparent hard work done by the local wharfies (they all seemed to be puffing and panting) many of them (i.e. the cartons) were found to be empty on arrival at cape Town, AND the padlocks were in place all the trip! Whta on earth could have happened to all tose bottles?


Well Chris my late father was a glasgow docker and when the whisky ships were loading which was pretty regular before containers took over he and the rest of hiss buddies were never sober so i suspect he was on that ship for sure but i know for sure the truck drivers would help themselves as well and the dockers woild turn a blind(drunk)eye so some of those ships must have been very short on arrivall but its a known fact drivers could help themselves at certain docks eg.
glasgow-yes
liverpool-yes
bikinhead-no
grangemouth-no
contaners for greenock or elsewhere hole drilled in bottom of box iron bar punched through catch in bucket with clean cloth for filter oh those were the days hic hic
Bobby(Glasgow)


----------



## Peter4447 (Jan 26, 2006)

John Rogers said:


> Before Aruba and Curacao built water processing plants Tankers would take water to the waterless islands and discharge and return with oil. Anyone ever on a tanker that did this.
> John.


Hi John
I seem to remember that around 1963 when I was stationed in Gibraltar we had a tanker deliver what I believe was a cargo of fresh water. If memory serves me right it was the 'Naess Lion'. Not sure if this was because of 'problems' with Spain at the time or because there was insufficient rain. Perhaps someone can confirm this was the cargo please.
Peter4447(Thumb)


----------



## Mac (Apr 26, 2005)

I had a friend who was with Eagle Oil in the fifties and he told me it was normal practice for ships returning from discharging in Argentine and Brazilian ports after discharging products loaded in Curacao to enter into the mouth of the Amazon until the water was almost fresh and fill up clean empty cargo tanks for dicharge in Curacao. I believe this water was used as boiler feed water only since the Island had sufficient for domestic use.


----------



## trotterdotpom (Apr 29, 2005)

I recall arriving at Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean on 'Cape Clear' with a few hatches full of water from Japan (about 1972). The local radio station, audible about 8 hours from the island, was announcing our arrival with great glee - they must have been getting pretty desparate! Luckily we only drifted off for a couple of days before berthing - sometimes it was weeks.

The way things are going in Queensland, we may soon be scouring the horizon for ships carrying water too!

John T.


----------



## Mike lawrence (Oct 29, 2006)

John Rogers said:


> Before Aruba and Curacao built water processing plants Tankers would take water to the waterless islands and discharge and return with oil. Anyone ever on a tanker that did this.
> John.


Hi John. Yeah I was on the Esso Stockholm 56/57 and we had been over to the West coast USA and on the way back topped up with water in the Panama Canal we also had a swimming party. It's along way down when you jump from the main deck off a light 18000 tonner. She was in those days what was called a supertanker. We delivered the water to Aruba. Which brings up another point did anyone else do the run between Venusuela and Aruba. (about 4 hrs steaming). ESSO I found were a good company. Used to sign 12 month articles for the American coast and receive an extra £12 a month, also a Panamanian discharge book to run alongside your British one. Mike


----------



## stan mayes (Jul 22, 2006)

Yes Mike - I was in SAN ROBERTO eleven month trip, 28 cargoes of fuel oil from Curacao and Aruba to many ports in the Caribbean.During September 1949 we made 6 trips to San Lorenzo and Bachaquero on " mosquito run " crude oil for Curacao ,7 hours between ports...Entering Maracaibo Lake we sailed through clouds of mosquitoes....As there was a bar at entrance we could only take half cargo..In later years the bar was cleared for larger ships...


----------

