# Jebsen Memories



## k.atkinson

A subsidiary of R.S. Dagleish of Newcastle, the Watergate Steam Shipping Co. Ltd. was sold in 1969 to Lonrho, the London Investment Company and in 1974 was sold again to Kristian Jebsen (U.K.) Ltd. with management remaining in Newcastle. Kristian Jebsen Rederi purchased Tenax Steam Ship Company Ltd., early in the 1950’s from Young, Muir Ltd., to become a British subsidiary located at 9, Basinghall Street, London. It remained dormant until 1963. 1972: Restyled as Biovale Ltd. 1973: Restyled as Jebsens UK Ltd. The main google response for Tenax Steamship relates to contract law where they had sold the earlier _Brimnes _and chartered it back and the new owners terminated the charter as the funds were not on time by telex and the time received was valid not the time read.
*BOLNES – Details* (2) 1976-81, London O.N. 366314 IMO 7426227, Jebsens (UK) Ltd., Jebsen House, 53/55 High Street, Ruislip, HA4 7BL, 20094 grt, 12718 nrt, 35208dwt, 12600 bhp, Sumitomo Heavy Industries Ltd., Tamashima-Sulzer 7RND76 14000bhp at 122rpm, Aalborg boiler with exh. Gas econ. 6.5kg/cm2, CP propeller 15.5 knots. Bulk carrier with 5 x 16ton cranes with grabs. 1974 ordered Jebsen, Dillingham, Shipping Ltd., London from Nippon, Kokan KK, Shimizu (yard 351). 12/7/76 launched. 18/11/76 completed. 1979 transferred Pacnorse Shipping (UK) Ltd., 1982 transferred Birbirry Shipping Corp., Liberia. 1982 transferred Doyle Shipping Ltd., Liberia & renamed *EASTERN ALLIANCE*. 1985 transferred Eastern Alliance Ltd., (Union Steamship Company of New Zealand Ltd., as managers), Bermuda & renamed *NEW ZEALAND ALLIANCE*. 1983 transferred to Zealand Ltd., (same managers). 1984 transferred to Pacnorse Shipping Two Ltd., (Kristian Jebsens Rederi AS, managers), Philippines & renamed *GENERAL TINIO* (ON 12682-Li). 1985 Jebsens Ship Management Ltd appointed managers. 1986 sold to Roll Branch Ltd., Gibraltar, & renamed *KINDLY* (ON 366314) 1987 sold to Great City Navigation SA Panama, renamed *TRANS COMFORT* (ON 18230-PEXT). 1996 sold to Leodas Shipping SA, Panama, renamed *LEODAS*. 2000 Cavo Doro Navigation, appointed as managers, & renamed *TIGER V*. 2003 New Hope Marine, appointed as managers. 2003 Midas Shipping Navigation, Taipei, appointed as managers, & renamed *MIDAS*. 5/2003 sold to Midas Shipping Navigation, Taipei, Taiwan, (Waywiser Marine Shipping, Taipei, managers), retaining Panama flag.
*BOLNES – First Voyage* C/E Vivian S. Van-Velp Fernand, 2/E 4/5/78 Sydney to 17/8/78 Leghorn/Livorno.
I can remember little about the voyage except the chief had a small holding of which it seemed his wife did the work while he spent his time at sea. When I came to leave, Leghorn/Livorno being only 20km from Pisa and its airport we filled a few hours climbing the Leaning Tower and taking advantage of the tourist location. Prior to leaving the ship I had changed out of uniform placing my folded grey shirt with its three stripe epaulettes on top of my case. At the airport an armed uniform opened my case, saw my shirt and muttering to the other uniform “NATO” and closed it again adding a chalk mark.
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## k.atkinson

*BRIMNES – Details* (2) 1972-80, London O.N. 343245 IMO 500110858, Jebsens (UK) Ltd., Jebsen House, 53/55 High Street, Ruislip, HA4 7BL, 32300 dwt, 22901.37grt, 14767.73nrt, Kincaid-B&W 6K74EF 11600 bhp @ 120rpm, Cochran composite boiler, Geared bulk carrier 5 x 15ton cranes with grabs, 15.5 knots. Launched 2/3/72, complete 30/6/72 Lithgows (1969) Ltd., Port Glasgow (yard 1184) for Tenax Steamship Co. Ltd., London. 1972 Owners restyled as Biovale Ltd., London. 1973 Owners restyled as Kristian Jebsens (UK) Ltd., 1974 Transferred to Jebsen , Dillingham Shipping Ltd., London. Jebsens (UK) Ltd managers, London. 1980 Pacnorse Shipping (UK) Ltd., (same managers). 1980 sold to Italmare SpA, Italy renamed *MARINA DI EQUA*. 29/12/81 Whilst on a voyage from Antwerp with steel to Mobile, Alabama & other Gulf Ports, Reported, 13.55 GMT No. 1 hold open & shipping water, due to No. 1 hatch failure from heavy seas & 30’ waves during a storm. Foundered & sunk at a position 45.41N 09.54W Bay of Biscay 200 miles off the coast of France. All 30 Italian crew perished. Cargo US$2million. Shippers denied attachment 10/3/82 on Marina di Alimuri @ Norfolk.
*BRIMNES – First Voyage - *2/E 22/10/78 Perth Airport, 23/10/78 Kwinana to 7/12/78 Flushing C/E Kenneth Arthur Hadley Wilson,
After the long flight into Perth, we caught a taxi to our hotel in Kwinana which was part of Freemantle which was also part of the Perth conurbation. On the way a policeman aimed a gun at us so I slithered down into my front passenger seat until the taxi-driver explained it was a radar speed gun which I had never seen before. After a rest we went to the “Captain’s Table” a highly recommended hotel and restaurant and after a while realised at the next table were several of the existing ship’s company so we joined forces and both lots of food and drink ended up on the superintendent’s room tab. We returned with them to the ship and for a comfort break I visited my future cabin switched on the light and saw the scurrying cockroaches as I tried to drown one. I then visited the engine room and as the stairs descended to near the workshop door, I saw on one side two thirds of a generator crankshaft while on the other was the remaining third bookended by an air compressor with a hole in its side. If this had been Rotterdam, I would have headed home but after a flight to Australia there was no escape. Through more bar talk I found that the B&W engine pumped a large consumption of oil out of every plate. In an attempt to reduce this at each port in turn I re-tightened the holding down bolts, the tie-bolts, the frames and finally the plates. I did not cure it but it did reduce which was some return for the hard work. As a reward for all the hard work we sent barrels of beer both empty and those still full of Watney’s Red barrel to be replaced with the local Swan Lager which was much better both on taste and cost.
*BRIMNES – Second Voyage - *2/E 7/12/78 Flushing via 12/1 Boston via 12/2 Norfolk Va. to Tauranga/Mount Maunganui then 4/4/79 Sydney C/E W. Walls & Henry Topping, Bob 3/O, Dave R/O
Dorothy joined the ship in Flushing or Vlissingen at the Hook of Holland and we set off for Sfax in Tunisia to load salt from nearby evaporation pools after excavators scraped up a cargo. There was no possibility of rigging the gangway so a ladder was lashed to the rail halfway along the deck and when we took the wives ashore, they were preceded to guide their feet on the rungs. Some of the local women were bashing the clothes on the rocks close by the ship and the local Souk was fascinating as we were well away from tourism or health and safety. We came away with a heavy-duty Moorish cloak and fez suitable for genuine fancy dress back home.
This cargo we took to Boston and we self-discharged with our crane’s grabs. There was a difference between the ship’s draught and the depth of water so we were not quite alongside and the crane’s jib limits had to be adjusted so we could discharge until we could berth alongside. As a paid bonus we spent an hour a day in the cranes on a rota as there were no stevedores. The captain had visitors in his cabin but they stepped back from the windows as a swing from me driving the crane brought the grab too close. A local asked me what cargo we had brought to the US of A? So, I told him “We had brought salt to put on your roads and rot your cars”. Some 80 miles away was the Mystic Seaport Museum and Dorothy, 3/O Bob & R/O Dave decided to visit using the R/O’s driving licence and my credit card presented by my wife. This proved acceptable to the car hire firm and a good day was had by all except, me as I was working. This proved a useful taxi service into town and back again to _Brimnes._ In one bar a couple of men came in to collect for the I.R.A. so with the choice of donating, refusing or leaving we chose the latter before they reached us. One night we found it both sad and amusing as the lights of Boston all went out area by area until all was dark apart from _Brimnes_ as we made our own electricity and thought well of the National Grid at home.
While in Boston a coloured sailor from London had too much to drink and went berserk with an axe threatening other members of the crew. What had caused this I never out but after he was restrained the captain sent for the police who duly arrived in about five marked cars with lights and sirens. Perhaps it was a quiet night to warrant such a turnout but I was asked to meet and escort them to the captain’s cabin. By the time I arrived up several decks to his cabin, Boston’s finest were trailing behind puffing and panting obviously unfit through sitting in their cars. Our axeman was removed, his bags packed and he was sent home. A superb restaurant suggested we choose a four-and-a-half-pound lobster each from a tank at the front window and was the first and best I had ever enjoyed.
Loading in Norfolk, Virginia we made our way to New Zealand to discharge in Tauranga/Mount Maunganui in the Bay of Plenty. One day Dorothy and myself were taken to Rotorua about forty miles away where the main feature was the volcanic bubbling mud pools, hot springs and geysers where the sulphur created an aroma. The guides were local Maoris in traditional dress who advised us not to stray from the path and one geyser called Pohutu used to shoot up into the air thirty metres at regular intervals as the volcanic pressure built up. Another afternoon we were taken along the coast for the beautiful scenery and we were grateful for our various hosts for sharing their families and country with us to make our visit so memorable. One evening was spent as honorary members of the Tauranga Returned Serviceman’s Association or R.S.A. Club their equivalent of the British Legion. As honorary members we were given ties, mine now lost. They had been invited to a darts match on board _Brimnes _and surprising for them we beat them led by Stan the third engineer who led by a stick of chalk between his lips for concentration and several beers past his lips. A neutral might have surmised that our low deckheads assisted as the visitors were not used to this as a few arrows of theirs hit the deckhead. The next night we returned the fixture by visiting their club. In the main room there were about six dart boards in a line which I thought was impressive until it was pointed out that fastened to the ceiling were another twenty boards which could be lowered for use. In their own surroundings we were well beaten but while they were using modern tungsten darts and plastic flights Stan’s darts were traditional brass with cane stems and paper flights which were just as accurate. So impressed by the chalk between his lips they presented him with a box to keep him going the rest of the trip. 
Another evening a few of us were invited to someone’s house for a party so we took a couple of cases of beer to put in his garage fridge. Instead of a barbecue the kiwi speciality was a “hangi” feast which is a traditional Maori meal that is cooked by steaming food. When we arrived in the afternoon a hole had been dug in the garden with stones as a base and a fire on top was burning well. When the fire had burnt down a wet sack was placed over them. A joint of pork and one of lamb plus kumara sweet potatoes and other vegetables were wrapped in very large leaves which provided moisture and flavouring from some local plant and the packages placed in a metal basket. The whole was now covered with soil so the steam cannot escape and left for a couple of hours or so while we continued drinking and socialising. When our host decided the time was right the soil was removed and the basket lifted out to remove the joints which were now tender and succulent far more so than a roast in the oven at home.
After a ballast passage we flew home from Sydney, a long way via Singapore and Bahrain with little to recommend it especially since Dorothy was affected with DVT although we did not realise at the time.
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## k.atkinson

*SEALNES – Details* (1) 1973-83, IMO 7233577. London O.N. 358819, Jebsens (UK) Ltd., Jebsen House, 53/55 High Street, Ruislip, HA4 7BL, 12982.17 grt, 8040.47 nrt, 21916dwt 9000 bhp, Nippon, Kokan KK-SEMT Pielstick 18PC2V-400 with gearbox 3.982 ratio 9000bhp @ 518rpm, Aalborg comp. blr. Bulk carrier 5 holds & 5 x 12ton Velle type derricks, 14 knots. 24/11/1972 launched for Biovale Ltd., London. 24/2/73 completed H. Clarkson & Co.Ltd.,( Biovale Ltd., London managers). 1974 transferred to Bishopsgate Shipping Co. Ltd., (Jebsens (UK) Ltd managers) London. 1974 Transferred to Jebsen, Dillingham Shipping Ltd., (Denholm Ship Management Ltd., managers) London. 1980 transferred Pacnorse Shipping (UK) Ltd., ( Jebsens (UK) Ltd managers) London. 1981 transferred Jebsens Shipping Ltd., London. 1983 sold to Jordan National Shipping Lines Co. Ltd., ( Jebsens Ship Management Ltd managers) Jordan, renamed *AL KARAMEH* (ON 16 Aquaba, Jordan). 1986 removed from management. 1989 Jebsens Ship Management Ltd appointed managers. 1990 sold Akaki Marine Co. Ltd., (Access Shipping Ltd managers), Cyprus, renamed *KINGFISHER* reflagged Cyprus. 3/10/97 vessel demolished @ Chittagong.
*SEALNES - Voyage *2/E 17/7/79 – 27/7/79 Antwerp to Bankok via Panama Canal to 10/11 Houston Texas then Philadelphia for coal to 18/1/80 Pusan, S. Korea C/E Gordon McCoard & Ron W White. flew home Korea, Japan, Anchorage, London Heathrow.
Dorothy and I joined in Antwerp where _Sealnes_ was loading steel coils for Bankok in Thailand. There were several wives on board creating a civilised atmosphere as their presence reduced swearing and they organised activities. One toddler was on board and as the ship rolled and we hung on to something solid this child with its low centre of gravity just walked as though it was flat calm. At the mouth of the Chao Phraya River, we anchored and spent a week discharging our coils into the barges alongside while the ship took on a few passengers. Quite a few young women roamed the ship and several were taken up as “Thai Wives” much to the disapproval of the legal wives who had to share the bar seating with them. My wife thought I should complain and could not see my view of tolerance as the arrangement was only temporary. However, one passed a crewman’s possessions out of the porthole to an accomplice. As this affected the reputation of them all word was spread and after a couple of days the possessions were returned after I surmise some harsh words and punishment. Another incident of theft was prevented when a rod with hook was being used to remove items through an open porthole and success was prevented. One café was set up on the main deck mainly for the stevedores while “Huggy Bear” in the galley shut down as the Poop Deck Cafe run by Sophie, who thought her father had been a visiting Scot, offered better food. Huggy Bear, although persistently warned about the dangers of a water hose & electricity, used to set off the earth fault alarm at 06.00 until his practice caught up with him when the isolator cover hit him in the throat. There were also “bum-boats” offering souvenirs.
When our draught was shallow enough after a week, we moved upriver to moor to dolphins close to the centre of Bankok to finish discharging the steel coils and commence loading Bentonite or drilling mud for Houston. Here a regular boat was arranged to ferry us from the ship to the nearby Mariners Club and back. These boats were called “long-tails” as the propulsion was a car engine driving the propeller through a six-foot angled shaft. The facilities included a swimming pool, gift shop, bar and restaurant with an extensive tasty menu including lobster thermidor for 57p. I believe however there was one item nobody sampled called “phat prik”. From the shop we picked a wooden canteen of cutlery for six settings. They were all made of nickel-bronze with the handles of bamboo effect as I suspected that the ones with wooden handles might suffer with immersion in washing-up water.
With guidance from here guided tours could be arranged to the Temple of the Emerald Buddah in the grounds of the Grand Palace. Apart from the emerald Buddah there was an enormous reclining Buddah covered in gold leaf and intricate carving and decoration on every possible, statue, pinnacle and building. Saffron robed monks, many of them in their teens everywhere and I was told it was a form of national service being in the army or being a monk for a while. About an hour’s drive away was the Rose Garden where we rode side by side on an elephant plus watching them being washed. Other exhibitions within this park were watching silk being spun, a traditional marriage ceremony, dancing girls, cock fighting with spurs illegal for about a hundred years in Britain. There was also ritualistic sword fighting which I was enjoying until my eyes registered something dark heading my way. My body with a reflex reaction twisted to one side and a sword blade hit the seat where my back had been. Probably too stunned by my escape from damage when the man holding the hilt came for his detached blade, I accepted his apology and gave it back. With hindsight I should have held on to it or asked for a physical memento of my escape from damage. 
On the way halfway across the Pacific the stbd. turbo-rotor on our V-Pielstick failed so we were met by Superintendent Ian McBroom from Ruislip, an unasked for, makers man & new rotor at Panama Canal. As it was flat calm at anchor makers man fed the fish while we repaired turbo. The Office in its lack of wisdom had recently paired a first trip 1st Mate & Master together with the result was that the Master was trying to do both jobs & the 1st Mate had not developed the experience & confidence to express independence. This culminated about a week out from Panama. The Master had been influenced by something and visited the Bridge where the 3/O Richie Bennett suggested he went away. He accepted this suggestion and fell down the stairs instead making a mess of his visage. Instead of consulting our experienced Chief Ron White the 1st Mate asked advice from the Chief Steward with the result that a telegram was sent to the Office informing them that the “Master has suffered serious head injuries.” Neither felt able to treat the casualty so an AB, Terry Welch (squelch) who was a former fire-fighter, stitched him up as taken individually each cut was a minor injury. While the Office looked at options of diverting passenger ships or involving the U.S. Navy, they sent a super to accompany our rotor. Under questioning by the super and later the Office I pleaded ignorance of events as I was studying with headphones on. The Eng. Dept. Survived intact the wave of dismissals which followed and while “they” suspected we knew more than we were saying we had remained an efficient unit.
After we received news that my mother had cancer, Dorothy left Philadelphia escorted not in handcuffs to the plane but by a pleasant older man, a Federal Marshall while I wishing to avoid being called back too soon took a chance and _Sealnes _loaded coal for Korea. After the ship entered the Hyundai Heavy Industries Ulsan dry-dock the officers left on the 18th January 1980, travelling to nearby Busan (Pusan) where we stayed the night before going to the airport. On the back of the hotel room door was a notice apologising for the 10% surcharge to pay for the South Korean defence against the North which I thought civilised countries should not have to be handicapped with. Nearby was, the flashing lights and sounds of a hectic nightlife in which we indulged in one bar. To the airport where on boarding we were instructed to keep the blinds down during take-off so we could not see any military facilities if there were any and flew to Tokyo Airport in Japan to fly JAL via Anchorage to Heathrow.
Anchorage in Alaska for refuelling was interesting as the static from the plane had to be earthed and the arc from fingertip was both visible and painful. In the terminal was a huge polar bear exceeding seven foot and by a later visit was encased in glass as being touched was making him threadbare. My mother died seventh February after we visited and I was able to assist my father with arrangements and be with him for a short while re-sitting chief’s naval architecture completing my certificate as my mother would have wished.


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## k.atkinson

*SURENES - Details* (1) 1973-83, IMO 7320473, London O.N. 360684, Jebsens (UK) Ltd., Jebsen House, 53/55 High Street, Ruislip, HA4 7BL, 12982.17 grt, 8045.32 nrt, 8100 bhp, 21916dwt 9000 bhp, Nippon, Kokan, Yokohama KK-SEMT Pielstick 18PC2V-400 with gearbox 3.982 ratio 9000bhp @ 518rpm, Aalborg comp. blr. 5 x 12ton Velle type derricks, 14 knots. 26/05/1973 launched by Nippon, Kokan KK, Shimizu (yard 312), Shizuoka, Japan for H. Clarkson & Co.Ltd., London. 10/8/73 completed for Jebsens (UK) Ltd., London. 1974 Transferred to Jebsen, Dillingham Shipping Ltd., (Jebsen Ship Management Ltd., managers) London. 1979 transferred Pacnorse Shipping (UK) Ltd., (Jebsens (UK) Ltd managers) London. 1980 transferred Jebsens Shipping Ltd., London. 1983 sold to Sohtorik Denizcilik Sanayi ve Ticaret AS ( Sohtorik Shipping & Trading Inc.), Turkey, renamed *MED TRANSPORTER* Turkish flag. 1998 sold for demolition.
*SURENES First Voyage - *2/E 29/7/80 flew to Perth joining ship 2/8/80 Melbourne 5/8/80 (rice) via Singapore & Haifa (zinc concentrate) to 20/10/80 Avonmouth,
On the way to Australia, we were seated either side of a little old lady on the way to visit her daughter. We involved her in “chase the lady” game of cards and she decided having a drink with us was the best way to pass the hours. Consequently, we passed over at breakfast time a tipsy mother to her daughter who looked daggers at us as we bid her goodbye at Perth Airport.
After discharging we went around the coast to Geelong near Melbourne to load rice. Compared to my previous visit to Geelong on the _Wandby_ almost ten years earlier the lamb meat and fleece processing areas were now deserted as we had to apply E.U. inspired tariffs so the trade collapsed and the Australians had to find other markets such as life sheep to Saudi Arabia. We had “Race Nights” using carrots with cocktail stick legs racing on a marked track on a white sheet. These carrot-horses were auctioned off at a quite alarming price per pound and gambling with variable odds. Movement was dictated by two three-inch cubed die thrown out of a bucket.
Having a day off in Haifa, Israel three of us chartered Carmeli Mardo a licensed tourist guide known as “Charly” with his car for a guided tour around Israel. We stopped for an orange juice at Jericho but the walls must have fallen down. The “Inn of the Good Samaritan” was what was left of the compound walls and looked down upon the Dead Sea. For a few miles the road ran along the border with Jordan which was two barbed wire fences with raked sand between to indicate intruders. Bethlehem with its Church of the Nativity approached by an open square and entered by a low doorway making the site defensible. At the end you descended into a crypt which was a cave with a star on the floor and a shelf carved into the wall. This was very believable considering the countryside we had travelled through far more than a wooden cradle in a wooden stable. The Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem was serious and depressing. The route along the “Stations of the Cross” was plausible but the Calvary Church and Church of the Holy Sepulchre where people were kissing a spot beneath an altar signifying where the cross had been was not credible. At the Wailing Wall Jews were praying and tucking messages into the gaps in the masonry but who was removing the old ones as the gaps would have quickly filled. The Israel Museum entrance 15 Shekels with the “Shrine of the Book” which housed the Dead Sea Scrolls and the “Holocaust Museum” were both educational. Jerusalem walls and Temple with Dome of the Rock King David’s tomb. Garden of Gethsemane. Passing bus stops with soldiers of both genders carrying rifles illustrated our driver’s comment that we are a country of 5 million surrounded by 50 million Arabs that hate us. The long day with so many sites visited was so well worth the cost of the taxi whatever it was.
*SURENES Second Voyage - *21/10/80 Avonmouth via Trinidad (reduced iron) to 10/12/80 Bilbao.
Before we left Avonmouth my father visiting in his camper van was utilised as we visited a food shop where on behalf of the bar I purchased several very large boxes of crisps, cards of nuts and other consumables to complement our drinking.
The streets of Trinidad were kept safe by a large pleasant policeman dressed in white pith helmet, grey shirt, black shorts and bare feet in sandals. Outside the city were fields of sugar cane, bananas and other crops I did not recognise which were taller than ours which are below knee height. A cylinder head which required machining was offered to Swan Hunter (Trinidad) Ltd. on the proviso that I visited the works and approved their capability. This was a subsidiary of the Wallsend shipyard that had been nationalised which left behind firms like this. A car came for me to be taken to their works after the head had gone ahead in a lorry. On the way back a beer was suggested which sounded like a good idea so we stopped at a shack in a small hamlet. Behind the bar area was separated by wire mesh except for a small area to pass tins through. I expected to drink it there but we returned to the car where the driver and his mate placed theirs in tooth glass holders screwed to the dash for that purpose while I sat in the back nursing mine. The empties were launched to the side of the road so mine followed and I envisioned an eventual wall on each side.

In Trinidad we loaded “reduced iron” or sponge iron is the product created by heating an iron ore at a temperature high enough to burn off its oxygen and carbon content but below iron's melting point. This leaves it capable of bursting into flames when it meets water and regains oxygen. As a dangerous cargo we did our normal testing of the hatch covers with the fire hoses but the charterer insisted on double canvas covers over the hatches like older ships. Without proper steel battens and wooden wedges, the canvas did not last long on passage before becoming shredded however the steel hatch-covers remained watertight. On reaching Bilbao the Spanish discharged this flammable cargo onto the quayside and rain puddles which produced smoke and fire. Yes, it rains a lot in Northern Spain.


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## k.atkinson

*BRAVENES - Details* (2) 1975-82, Monrovia, O.N. 5250, IMO 7380502. Jebsens Bergen, 18642grt, 12305nrt, 35216dwt, 14000bhp, Sumitomo Heavy Industries Ltd., Tamashima–Sulzer 7RND76, CP propeller 15.5 knots. Bulk carrier with 5 x 16ton cranes with grabs. 1973 ordered Dillingham, Jebsen Shipping Corp., Liberia from 26/05/1973 launched by Nippon, Kokan KK, Shimizu (yard 340). 14/2/75 launched, 28/4/75 completed. 1981 transferred Pacnorse Shipping International Ltd., Liberia. 1982 transferred Evans Shipping Ltd., Liberia. 1984 transferred Blue Sea Maritime Corp. (Wheelock Marine Services ltd., managers), Philippines, renamed *MANILA BRAVE* (ON 227784) 1985 transferred Pacnorse Shipping Three Ltd., (Jebsens Ship Management Ltd managers), renamed *GENERAL DUQUE* then reverted to Blue Sea Maritime Corp. (same managers). 1989 Chelston Ship Management Ltd appointed as managers). 1989 sold to Bulk Partners KS., (Ugland Bulk Carriers AS, managers), Norway, renamed *VIVITA*. 1991 Ugland Rederi AS (Ugland Group) appointed as managers. 1992 sold to Resit Kalkavan Denizcilik ve Ticaret Ltd., Sirketi, Turkey, renamed *DENIZATI*. 1996 sold Denkal Denizcilik Sanayi Sirketi, (Birlesik Yatirim Gurubu Denizcilik Ticaret Ltd., managers) Turkey, renamed *BEKIR KALKAVAN*. 14/12/2000 demolition commenced at unspecified location. 5/2001 demolished L.R. supplement.
*BRAVENES – Voyage *Cap. Norvald Mikal Naas, Norwegian Officers & Spanish Crew C/E 15/7/81 Point Comfort, Houston, Texas USA, 21/7 Lake Charles LA to Hydro Aluminium, Sunndalsora, Norway to 20/8/81 Hydro Aluminium, Aardalstangen, Norway. Train to Bergen, flight to Newcastle.
Jebsens (UK) in Ruislip offered me the opportunity of a couple of trips as a relief Chief Engineer for the Bergen side which I was happy to accept. This being my first appointment as Chief Engineer I felt I should join looking the part wearing a suit and duly flew out to Houston to find the locals wearing tee-shirts and flip-flops while I sweated profusely. At Houston I was taken on to the tarmac to a smaller plane which we walked behind to access the tiny plane behind. We flew low over many properties each with its own pool till we reached Point Comfort with its remote berth. The local radio station gave out the %age chance of rain at which I suggested to the radio to look outside as it was raining. There was a nice potted plant near the berth which I thought would improve the ship’s bar.
Unlike the habit at home and on our mucky British ships it was the Norwegian courtesy where people took their shoes off before entering a cabin. It was also the courtesy that when we were socialising over a beer that if a couple broke into Norwegian another would remind them to talk in English as I was present. As I was Maschinjeff or Machine Chief so their first engineer would be our second on a British ship. Their second was going to study for his chief’s certificate and all his examinations and answers would be in English plus he would be required to write a thesis similar to a BSc. in Britain. Taking exams in a foreign language and in engineering seemed to compound the difficulty and I respected the challenges. We talked about recently introduced additives to fuel to prevent corrosion from the vanadium pentoxide deposits on exhaust valves and he thought this was appropriate subject for his thesis. I wrote to the oil company who supplied us and they responded to him with research material. To assist the engineers there were English to Norwegian technical dictionaries but I still had to assist with manuals in Japanese English. My favourite was “this part must be fastened with certainty”, a type of glue perhaps?
On arrival at Hydro Aluminium, Sunndalsora inland from Kristiansund in Norway the maintenance schedule called for a crankcase inspection and the measurement of crankshaft deflections. All was prepared and it was attempted to engage the turning gear when it was noticed that the casing was cracked. After examination I laughed as I realised that repair was beyond our facilities and would affect our safe operation so I left the other engineers to close up the engine while I phoned the office in Bergen. They organised a Metalock Engineering team to visit in our next port of Hydro Aluminium, Aardalstangen near Bergen to effect, a stitching repair with which I was very impressed being a complicated casting which I thought replacement was the only solution. On the way home after relief, I caught a train and called into Bergen Office for a debrief. Not being able to explain the casualty as interlocks would prevent any air being applied, they could offer no solution so probably thought I was to blame somehow. The rest of the journey was an easy flight from Bergen to Newcastle.
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## k.atkinson

*BESSNES - Details* 1977-84, Monrovia O.N. 6005 IMO 7426215, Jebsens Bergen, 19169grt, 12572nrt, 33750dwt, 180.02(BB) x 28.43 x 10.302 metres oa., Sumitomo Heavy Industries Ltd., Tamashima-Sulzer 7RND76, 1550mm stroke, 14000bhp at 122rpm, Aalborg boiler with exh. Gas econ. 6.5kg/cm2, CP propeller 15.5 knots. Bulk carrier with 5 x 16ton cranes with grabs. 1974 ordered Dillingham, Jebsen Shipping Corp., Liberia from Sumitomo Heavy Industries Ltd., Uraga (yard 987). 26/3/77 launched. 7/7/77 completed. 1981 transferred Pacnorse Shipping International Ltd., Liberia. 1982 transferred Elmslie Shipping Ltd., (1982 Kristian Jebsens Rederi AS, managers), Liberia. 1983 transferred Pacnorse Shipping International Ltd., (same managers). 1984 transferred to Pacnorse Shipping Seven (Pte) Ltd., (same managers), Singapore & renamed *BEAVER* (ON 382716). 1986 transferredto M. N. Campos & Co., (same managers), Singapore & renamed *GENERAL VILLA*. 1987 transferred to Philippine flag (ON 229636). 1987 sold to Asian Prosperity Lines Inc., (Acomarit Maritime Services (UK) Ltd., managers), Philippines, & renamed *AMATISTA*. 1988 sold to KS Sydship V (Ugland Marine AS, managers), & renamed *LIVANITA*. 1989 Ugland Bulk Carriers AS, appointed as managers. 1990 Ugland Rederi AS (Ugland Group), appointed as managers. 1995 sold to Trans-Pacific Shipping Co., Yangon, Union of Myanmar, (Lasco Shipping Co., Portland, Oregon, USA, managers) Liberia, & renamed *JADE PACIFIC*. 2002 sold to Jeannie Marine Corp., SA, Taipei, Taiwan, & renamed *JEANNIE III*, under Panama flag. 2004 Waywiser Marine Shipping, Taipei, appointed as managers.
*BESSNES – Voyage* Capt. Manger Mangersnes from Manger, , Norwegian Officers & Spanish Crew C/E 10/9/81 dry-dock Setubal, Lisbon Airport via Spain, Bilbao, 6/10 Maracaibo in Venezuela, Bonaire to 12/11/81 Mount Maunganui NZ, flight Perth 14/11/81 to London
After joining _Bessnes _in the dry-dock at Setubal just to the South of Lisbon and while having a few beers with the other engineers they mentioned gathering bits of broken piston rings out of the scavenge belt at the previous port. I asked which piston it was from but they did not know as no consequent maintenance was carried out. I expressed a desire to enter the scavenge belt in the morning to inspect the rings on the seven pistons and with no surprise I located the one with broken rings. Most of the dry-docks I had experience of were in England and the unions were very strict on what work the ship’s engineers could do without conflict so I approached our Superintendent and explained the situation. He gave me permission and the unit duly pulled and piston re-ringed with me pondering why an experienced Chief would have left it running the risk of further damage.
Finding it valuable to listen to the others over a drink if one broke into Norwegian another reminded them to talk in English as I was present. Normal practice for stand-by was to run two alternators instead of the single on passage but for a while it had become practice to avoid running the middle one on stand-by as it would trip. I found this curious and consulted the female radio officer as the electrician knew nothing of electronics but she knew nothing about maintenance even of her own equipment and radar faults along with other bridge equipment was left to service engineers when we reached port. One afternoon I was sat in my cabin on the deck below the Bridge reading first the Alternator manual and then the switchboard one to try and detect a cause with little success so I fired off a telegram to the makers signed Ch. Eng. The reply did little to assist and was addressed to Mr Cheng. While I was studying, I felt the engine slowing through my feet so I phoned the Bridge to ask why and they knew not so I went to the control room saw the revs falling and pressed reset. The 1st Eng. and Electrician were not even aware it had tripped and they were present talking.
The second (third) was on duty one night and failed to answer the alarm so protocol required the bridge to contact me. I answered, cleared the alarm and went to his cabin but still he would not wake so I left the alarm system on my cabin. I summoned him to attend the captain and myself in the office where I wished his reprimand to be placed in writing and any repeat might lead to dismissal which seemed to wake him up where the alarm had failed. The seating in the saloon was usually deck on one side and engine on the other, all very civil. Breakfast was similar to what I was used to with the addition of a slice of fried cod’s roe instead of black pudding. At dinner one evening the conversation turned to distilling alcohol with the addition of bought flavouring to make it gin or whisky. The captain on the _Bessnes_ was Manger Mangersness from Manger and a bit straight-laced, commented “I do not do this” to which my friend Knut the mate and the others responded “we do”. Four of us left in Mount Maunganui stopping the night in Auckland, then Sydney, Singapore, Bahrain, Heathrow and finally Newcastle. The longest journey possible and not to be repeated. Within a few months the Bergen and London deep sea fleets were being transferred or sold to other entities including Pacnorse Seven in Singapore and manned by officers and crew from the Phillipines.
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## k.atkinson

*SHARPNES – HITTEEN - Details* (1) 19732-83, IMO 7306075, London O.N. 358926, Jebsens (UK) Ltd., Jebsen House, 53/55 High Street, Ruislip, HA4 7BL, 12982.17 grt, 8045.32 nrt, 8100 bhp, 21916dwt 9000 bhp, Nippon, Kokan, Yokohama KK-SEMT Pielstick 18PC2V-400 with gearbox 3.982 ratio 9000bhp @ 518rpm @ 14 knots. Aalborg comp. blr. Geared bulk carrier 5 holds & 5 x 12ton Velle type derricks with grabs. 26/02/1973 launched by Nippon, Kokan KK, Shimizu (yard 308), Shizuoka, Japan for H. Clarkson & Co.Ltd., London. 25/5/1973 completed for Jebsens (UK) Ltd., London. 1974 Transferred to Jebsen, Dillingham Shipping Ltd., (Jebsen Ship Management Ltd., managers) London. 1979 transferred Pacnorse Shipping (UK) Ltd.,( Jebsens (UK) Ltd managers) London. 1981 transferred Jebsens Shipping Ltd., London. 1983 sold to Jordan National Shipping Lines Co. Ltd., Jordan ( Jebsens Ship Management Ltd managers), renamed *HITTEEN* (ON 15 IMO 500115992) Aquaba, Jordan. 1986 removed from management. 1989 Jebsens Ship Management Ltd appointed managers. 18/10/90 sold Danton Shipping Ltd., Malta renamed *ECUADOR* (ON 2555). 18/7/94 sold Ecuador Shipping Co. Ltd., (Goldenport Ship Management Ltd managers), Malta, renamed *ISIDORA*. 29/11/95 sold Eurobulker V Shipping Ltd., Honduras, renamed *EUROBULKER V* (O.N. L-0356325). 7/1997 Ilias Shipping Corp., appointed managers & Malta flag closed. 22/10/98 Arrived Piraeus. 2001 Sold unspecified buyers, renamed *MED GENERAL* under Sao Tome & Principe flag (small island in Gulf of Guinea, Africa). Nov.2005 demolition deal reported.
*SHARPNES – HITTEEN – Second Voyage* (_Sharpnes_), Jebsens Ship Management Ltd., Jebsen House, 215 Vauxhall Bridge Road, London SW1V 1EJ. 2/E 13/7/83 Hamburg (fertiliser) via Yangtse Kiang (River), Jiangsu Province of China, Vancouver (sulphur) to 28/11/83 Chittagong.
King Hussein of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan was on the bulkhead of the saloon in place of the Queen’s portrait as the port of registry had changed to Aquaba with the Jordanian flag replacing the Red Duster so we saluted him with a pork chop.
We took our cargo of fertiliser from Hamburg to the Yangtse Kiang (River) in China’s Jiangsu (Kiangsu) Province in the vicinity of Suzhou although near Shanghai is easier to find on a map. Meal with company and shop
Our cargo of yellow powder i.e., sulphur was loaded in Vancouver on the West coast of Canada for Chittagong in Bangladesh on the coast of the Bay of Bengal, a cargo which now you could not give away. Anchored off Chittagong the radio reception was very bad so to reach Portishead Radio Station we had to relay via other company vessels. Off the mouth of the river leading to Chittagong we could see a ship which appeared inland according to our charts. This turned out to be the Clan Alpine which on 31st October 1960 while on voyage from Glasgow to Chittagong with general cargo, the vessel was caught in a cyclone while anchored off Chittagong. Driven from her moorings she was left high and dry in paddy fields at Skonai Chori, 11 miles N.N. W. of the entrance to the Kharnapuli River. The vessel was declared a constructive total loss, and the cargo was discharged into lorries. On February 14th 1961 she was sold to East Bengal Trading Corporation Ltd. and broken up as she lay. Twenty-two years later she was still recognisable so progress was slow. As I was being relieved while still at anchor an immigration officer came out to the ship and met me in my cabin where he asked for cigarettes. I told our Captain who shrugged and gave me a carton to pay the extortion no doubt booking it on expenses as O.C.S., on company service. We might pontificate in the West about the evils of bribery and corruption but this is how the rest of the world operates. Sitting next to me on the shore-going launch this official informed me that England is a fine country and he would like to live there. I told him that next time I met the Home Secretary I would tell him but I am still waiting to meet him. In the dock area there were a row of about twenty white United Nations UNICEF lorries which looked familiar. On asking I was told they were the same ones I had seen on the _Wandby_ twelve years earlier but no one had paid the baksheesh to get them out of the docks. So much for charity! Instead of the airport as I was expecting I was taken by the ship’s agent to an hotel in its own grounds while he kept my passport. I later found out the hotel manager and he were related which explained the delay and instead of being safely in the air and out of the country a civil insurrection started as the BBC World Service referred to it. The BBC informed me that there were minor disturbances and the military had fired blanks which was in contrast to our hotel guest intelligence service. We came out of the swimming pool and headed inside as a mob walked past the main gate with an obviously dead body being carried lying on a door. Another Brit was there building a lighthouse and phoned his foreman who told him a couple of policemen had been thrown off a bridge. A couple of nurses from the W.H.O. also had contacts and between us we accounted for nine killed. The upset locals had no grievance with foreigners so I went to the nearby agent’s office to find it closed and of course my passport locked inside. After a couple of days another resident managed to organise with official permission a coach to the airport for those adventurous enough to wish to leave. On the road to the airport each roundabout was guarded by the army then the air force and I was able to note that the ammunition had pointed ends denoting live rounds rather than blanks. Luckily, we were not stopped and arrived at the airport where I was able to buy a flight ticket to London using my credit card and grateful that its limit was sufficient. I asked later for it to be increased just in case of future incidents. I flew and presented my red Seaman’s Card at immigration in Heathrow and explained the situation but there were no problems. I phoned the office and explained all what had happened and asked for my passport to be returned.


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## k.atkinson

*BULKNES - Details* (1) 1970-84, London ON 339174, IMO 7013757, Jebsens Ship Management Ltd., Jebsen House, 215 Vauxhall Bridge Road, London SW1V 1EJ. 21546dwt, 13234.61grt, 7952.50nrt, 2x8-cyl 4SCSA Helsingor-B&W 8S45HU geared to single CP propeller 8800bhp, 14.75knots. Geared bulk carrier, 6 holds & 6 Velle type derricks. Built 5/6/70 Scotts Shipbuilding of Greenock for Tenax Steamship Ltd., London. Owners restyled as Biovale Ltd., London. 1973 Owners restyled as Jebsens (UK) Ltd., 1974 Transferred to Jebsen , Dillingham Shipping Ltd., London. 1975 transferred to Suntana Shipping Ltd., Jebsens (UK) Ltd managers, London. 1978 Shipping Corporation of New Zealand Ltd., appointed as managers. (Jebsen's Bulknes at Tiwai Wharf, Bluff, New Zealand, when she was the dedicated alumina ship from Gladstone to Bluff. She had a mixed New Zealand and Australian crew and, as seen here, on the port side of her funnel had a Kiwi, and on the starboard side a kangaroo.1983 Jebsens (UK) Ltd appointed as managers. 1983 transferred to Jebsens Bulknes Ltd., (Jebsens S.M. Ltd., managers), London. 1984 sold in Tangiers 4/12/84 to Sougerka Maritime Co. Ltd., Greece & renamed *KAPETAN ANTONIS*, Panama flag (ON 13077-Li). 1985 sold Julianae Shipping Corp., Panama. 4/1987 sold to Metropolitana Oriental SA, Panama & renamed *CAPTAIN FRANK*. 1988 *VALDORA*. 1989 Marimed Shipping Ltd., appointed as managers. 1991 sold to Transbulk Shipping Ltd., (Illyas Investments SA, Karachi, managers), renamed *ALDORA*. 1992 sold to Java SA, (Goldbeam Int. Ltd., Hong Kong, managers), renamed *EXCELLUS*. Panama flag (ON13077-PEXT). 26/2/93 Panama flag closed – vessel sold to non-trading buyers for demolition. 1998 reported to Lloyd’s Register trading as *ZHONG HAI*, Vietnam register. 5/2005 still listed in LR without owner, manager or flag. 
*BULKNES - First Voyage - *2/E 24/4/84 Le Havre via 5/6 Philadelphia Pa, Boston Ma to Barcelona & 24/7/84 Seville.
Bulknes having been on the Australian/New Zealand Coast for so long carrying Alumina from Gladstone near Brisbane to Bluff in the South of South Island with mixed local manning it had officers, petty officers and crew bars instead of our normal two. We stripped the wood panelling from one to see scurrying cockroaches. With twin medium speed engines each with its own alternator and clutch to a single gearbox, shaft and propeller the switchboard in three sections was complicated. When I had worked out how to run on Port or Starboard or both engines with their alternators or separate diesel-alternators supplying electricity I wrote out a series of instructions for the others to follow to avoid blackouts or similar disasters. The arrangement was flexible but like nothing I had met before. Passing down the Channel after Le Havre we picked up a racing pigeon who did not return to his loft as we took it to Philadelphia.
After Philadelphia in July1984 I think we loaded scrap cars in Boston to take to Seville in Spain and at this berth there was a hydraulic press for compressing scrap cars at the site and also a shredder which tore the metal into strips. As there was no work over the week-end I hired a car to explore New England including the states of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. While heading up the I93 road I took a break at Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire to have a MacDonalds the only café I have seen with a berth for boats as a drive-thru. There was also a well populated beach. After a brief visit into Vermont, I headed east to Bangor and South to the Portland Head Lighthouse in Cape Elizabeth on the coast of Maine. This is the oldest lighthouse in Maine being commissioned by George Washington and built in 1791. Moving down the coast to York Harbor as I was born in York and back to Boston via New Hampshire. On the Sunday I headed South exploring Stourbridge old village in Massachusetts which is a large living history museum set in about 1800. The historical parts of Hartford in Connecticut followed by crossing the bridge and visiting the maritime parts of Rhode Island and back towards Boston. Another evening we went to see Boston Red Sox play baseball at their home of Fenway Park occupying several hours, more than seemed necessary. I went close to but not aboard the USS Constitution often referred to as Old Ironsides. After HMS Victory which was thirty years older and one of ours, I was not impressed with a Yankee boat.
Taking our pile of scrap to Barcelona the opportunity presented itself to go to a bullfight.
*BULKNES - Second Voyage - *2/E 26/10/84 Port Cartier to 4/12/84 Tangier & ship sold.
Port Cartier, Quebec Province on the St Lawrence River in Canada. After discharging in Tangier in Morocco we remained tied up with a skeleton crew while buyers looked and Greeks bought. The Mate sold old mooring ropes and I sold scrap metal and paint after all we were just making the ship tidy. The Moroccan currency not being a lot of use outside Morocco was used for purchasing items of Arab dress and other souvenirs. After a couple of weeks, we handed over and I came home with a fan and two radios which are still in use as previous crews had bought them and we were not going to supply the Greeks with home comforts.
Google Image Result for http://www.clydeships.co.uk/files/201312202032200.bulknes%20-%201970.jpg
Google Image Result for http://www.clydeships.co.uk/files/201306281744010.bulknes.jpg
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## k.atkinson

*FIRMNES – Details *1979-88, Monrovia, Liberia ON 6461, IMO 7805382, callsign VHHF, Jebsens Ship Management Ltd., Jebsen House, 215 Vauxhall Bridge Road, London SW1V 1EJ., 8116.00grt, 5104.00nrt, 12374dwt, ice class, 6000bhp @ 13.75knots, call sign D5NA. Bulk carrier with 3 holds, 15ton & twin 25ton cranes with grabs (can work in tandem to lift 50 tons). Nippon, Kokan KK-Pielstick 12PC2-2V-400 with gearbox. 5/12/78 launched by Nippon, Kokan KK, Shimizu, Shizouka Prefecture (yard 380) for Kristian Jebsens Rederi AS, Liberia. 20/3/79 completed for Baltic Venus Transport Ltd., (Jebsens (UK) Ltd., managers) Liberia. 1988 Transferred to Long Beach Shipping Corp., (Chelston S.M. Ltd., managers) Philippines, & renamed *FURUNES*. 1990 Jebsens Ship Management (Bergen) AS, appointed managers. 1991 transferred Liberian flag. 1992 transferred to A.J. Shipping Ltd., (same managers), Norway (ON N-01196). 1994 transferred Panama flag. 1995 sold to Wide Source Maritime Inc., (Aboitiz, Jebsens Ship Management, appointed managers) Philippines. 1997 sold to Aboitiz, Jebsens Far East Shipping SA, (W.G.& A. Jebsens Shipping Corp. Inc., managers), Philippines. 1998 sold to AJFE Cement Carrier 1 Inc.,(Aboitiz, Jebsen Bulk Transport Corp., managers), converted into a self-unloading bulk cement carrier, & renamed *ALCEM* *CALACA* (ON MNLD010162). 2002 sold to Emblem Shipping Pty Ltd, Brisbane, (Cementco Shipping Inc., Brisbane, managers), under the Australian flag while working the coast. *ALCEM* *CALACA* under Panama flag. 16/06/2011 Alang, India for scrapping. Alcem or Kristian Gerhard Jebsen Cement of Singapore.
*FIRMNES – Voyage *2/E 3/1/85 Rotterdam via 31/1 West Palm Beach to 21/3/85 Rotterdam.
We took our ice class ship from Rotterdam just after New Year of 1985 to Newcastle, New Brunswick in Canada. Newcastle was the Shire town of Northumberland County just as nearby to my home is Newcastle which is the town for the County of Northumberland in England. Moving upriver we passed fishermen who had driven onto the ice in a 4x4 vehicle drilled a hole in the ice and sat next to it with a line into the water. As if that did not seem risky enough, they were closer to our passing ship than the river bank. As we shoved through pack ice the feeling was of being asleep and someone shaking you by the shoulder trying to wake you. When we got close to the Pilot Boat we stopped and waited for the pilot to walk across the ice and climb aboard. An ice-breaker had to chew up the sheet ice ahead in the river and so we could push through to the berth as the sea was frozen two feet thick and the temperature was -25deg.C and with the wind chill it was -40deg.C. We had been issued with thermal underwear, boiler-suits and jackets and with the ship being ice-class it had a pipe tunnel each side so you could access the ballast and bilge valves before meeting at the foscle without going on deck. All this did not help when a hatch cover control cable was run over and cut in two and I had to splice the cable and seal it in a resin torpedo to repair it on the cold open deck without the benefit of gloves as it was fiddly. As the weather was fine and clear and Newcastle was only a small village, we used to frequent the Royal Canadian Legion Club not very far away. The local TV channel was found to show ice curling at morning smoko, at lunch time and afternoon smoko. We completed loading and the pilot duly arrived by taxi for our outward passage through the ice to the Atlantic Ocean. Instead of walking, boat or taxi the pilot left this time by helicopter from a convenient hatch cover.
Having brought gypsum rock from Spain on previous trips to this factory in Norway it was interesting to collect the finished product of a full cargo of plaster board for West Palm Beach in Florida followed by Port Canaveral on the South side of the waterway. I suppose with the tornadoes in the area there are a lot of houses to rebuild each year. With the rocket launch site about three miles to the North although we were in a prime location although there were no launches scheduled. One of us hired a car and we set off to the nearby Kennedy Space Centre in the guise of tourists. This held some returned spacecraft and some duplicates for training. To our eyes the construction and instrumentation were very crude which indicated how quickly technology had developed. The Imax cinema with its special effects gave the feeling of being part of a launch.
Following discharge, we were sent to the other side of Florida to Tampa/St Petersburg. Just ahead was a drive-in cinema which although there was no sound, we could watch the screen. Once loaded we went to Rotterdam where I left the ship and left the sea for a job ashore.
Within a few months of being chief in 1981 at thirty-one years the Bergen and London deep sea fleets were being transferred or sold to other entities including Pacnorse Seven in Singapore and manned by officers and crew from the Phillipines. This left mainly the smaller ships and although mainly manned by chief, second and motorman I took a drop in pay to go on paired manning which meant equal sea time to leave. Observing the decline in British ships I realised that I would have to get a job ashore or go foreign flag to work tax free. Approaching the age of thirty-five and realising that opportunities declined sharply in shore employment I started looking. While on leave I applied for a job but after the interview the decision was to be made after my leave was up which made me realise that it was necessary to leave the sea and then get a job. In 1985 I resigned from my contract with Jebsens and was returned to the Shipping Federation where they quickly found me a job but whatever it was this did not suit my plans so after keeping out of contact was made redundant. “Friends” thought my redundancy would be £40,000 like the miners but I think it was £2,500 as service before 21 years did not count and there was a cap on earnings. From a cat and dog shelter a plaintive young collie found me as its new owner so I called it Joker as the joker in the pack dictating my future. After about a year ashore I became a surveyor and about a year after that _Ringnes _came into Blyth. When I went to visit although it was three years since I was last on board, I was greeted by three people by name who assumed I had re-joined. This illustrated what I liked best about the small company aspect of the merchant navy it was just one big family of cousins who most of the time got on well but that family as I expected would soon be breaking up.
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## k.atkinson

*R is for Rock Dodger*​*RINGNES – Details *1975-85 London, O.N. 365929, IMO 7341697. Jebsens (UK) Ltd., Jebsen House, 53/55 High Street, Ruislip, HA4 7BL. Gearless bulk carrier, 2 holds. 5790dwt, 2286.60 nett, 3644.57 grt, Crossley Premier Engines Ltd.- SEMT Pielstick 9PC2L-400 mk.2, 4stroke direct reversing engine. GEC single reduction gearbox & fixed pitch propeller, 4500bhp @ 14 knots. 3x Dorman 6 QTCWZ aux. with 200kw alternator. 25/7/75 launched Appledore Shipbuilders Ltd., Appledore (yard AS106) for Elco Leasing Ltd., (Jebsens (UK) Ltd managers), London. 30/9/75 completed. 1984 Jebsens S.M. Ltd., appointed managers. 1985 sold Green Light Shipping Corp., Panama, renamed *SANDNES* (ON14704-85). 1987 transferred Philippine flag, Jebsens S.M. AS (JSMA), managers. 1989 Jebsens S.M. (Bergen) AS appointed managers. 1991 transferred Panama flag. 1992 transferred Meridian Bulk Carriers Ltd., renamed *RINGNES* & transferred Cyprus flag (ON 709584). 1993 sold to Corrientes Bulk Carriers Ltd., (Seaplan Shipping Ltd., managers), Cyprus & renamed *MARMON*. 1995 sold to Meridian Bulk Carriers Ltd., (Thorstone Ship Management Ltd., managers), Cyprus. 1997 sold to Bergen Tug & Salvage AS, Norway & renamed *CHARLIE B*. 1997 sold to Vegas Investments Group Inc., Portugal, (MAR), & renamed *FRANCESCA B*. Nov.2000 renamed *SIDER WIND*, registered Madeira, Portugal (Italtech Srl, managers). 6/2/03 demolition commenced at Aliaga.
*RINGNES – First Voyage*, 2/E 5/9/78 Mongstad, Norway. Russia 11/9/78 – 13/9/78 to 3/10/78 Aalborg, Denmark. C/E John Sharples.
The time spent on _Ringnes, Rocknes & Rollnes _were a blur except for a few examples as sometimes it was a port a day and that could be a small hamlet with a conveyor belt at the head of a small fjord. The scenery was wonderful and it was possible to go along big stretches of the coast keeping between the islands and fjords. I regret not keeping a small diary of places visited even if not of events. Many incidents I am unable to attribute to which ship or even when or where. Typical is a barbecue sited just outside the bar door in a snow storm with sausages rolling off the grid. Wally Breckenridge the mate is memorable for making me a small monkey’s fist key ring which I still use. I have a large glass marked Ringnes as it is a brand of tasty Norwegian beer. For a small ship my cabin was the equal of many larger ships although not as comfortable when rock and rolling at sea. My cabin was on the starboard side beneath the masters facing forward with the 1st mates across the corridor on the port side beneath the chief engineers. Aft of my cabin was the staircase and right aft was the bar which was handy so I kept little drink in my fridge. When being duty dog a box with a green light was on the bulkhead opposite my bunk would stare unblinking at my slumber. On a normal morning after waking up I would sit in my chair looking outside while consuming a glass of juice and a bowl of cornflakes. Approaching eight I would go down two decks past the officer’s saloon to the galley, make a fresh bacon bun, past the crew mess to enter the next door into the engine room drop down another flight along the platform into the control room to consume my bun hopefully in peace.
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*ROLLNES – Details* 1974-85 London ON 366050, IMO 7366013. Jebsens (UK) Ltd., Jebsen House, 53/55 High Street, Ruislip, HA4 7BL, Gearless bulk carrier, 2 holds. 5,993dwt, 2296.60 nett, 3644.57 grt. Crossley Premier Engines Ltd.- SEMT Pielstick 9PC2L-400 mk.2, 4stroke direct reversing engine. GEC single reduction gearbox & fixed pitch propeller, 4500bhp @ 14 knots. 3x Dorman 6 QTCWZ aux. with 200kw alternator. 17/01/76 launched Appledore Shipbuilders Ltd., Appledore (yard AS108) for Hambros Bank Ltd., (Jebsens (UK) Ltd managers), London. 01/03/76 completed. 1983 transferred to Jebsens (UK) Ltd., (Jebsens S.M. Ltd., managers). 1988 transferred Altnacraig Shipping Plc. 1989 Chelston SM Ltd., appointed as managers. 1991 transferred to Baltimore Shipping Co. SA,( Jebsens S.M. (Bergen) AS appointed managers), Panama (ON 20878-Li). 5/1996 sold to Pan Journey Shipping Co. Ltd., (Donnelly S.M. Ltd., managers), Cyprus (ON710834). 2000 Tordenskjold Marine Gdynia Sp.z.o.o., appointed managers. Jan. 2001 sold to Franklin Shipping AS,Nassau, Bahamas (same managers), Norway, retaining flag. 19/02/2002 whilst in a position 60.08N 05.17E on a ballast voyage from Odda to Slovaag, suffered an engine room fire that spread to her accommodation. The fire was extinguished and she arrived in tow at Bergen, next day. She was later reported lying at Aagotnes near Bergen, and to be sold for demolition. 6/2003 sold to Esper Kanafi, North Korea and renamed *AMIR AHMAD* reg Wonsan. May 2006 Esper Kanafi, Batumi, Georgia still *AMIR AHMAD*. May 2012 sold to Laurven Maritime Services, Tartous, Syria & managed same. Renamed *ELMA *registered Zanzibar, Tanzania. 26/2/2013 scrapping Aliaga, India.
*ROLLNES - *2/E 17/03/81 Brevik via 21/4 Philadelphia PA (3-week strike) via Pentland Firth, Norway to Lisbon & Bilbao then 03/06/81 Immingham.
Flying out to Oslo and taxi to Brevik led me to the _Rollnes _on the 17th March 1981 where it was discharging and then onto Dordrecht where we loaded for Philadelphia on the Delaware River in Pennsyvania. Being spring-time it was decided that instead of Northern Europe we would journey to USA and up a creek near Philadelphia as there was a three-week strike. Nearby was a shopping centre which we visited with the aid of our lifeboat and one store had animal traps of the spring loaded take your fingers off type. One of our sailors, a great grandson of General Booth the, salvationist was a big lad but physically weak and could not open and set these traps which were probably illegal in Britain. As we had no use for the traps, we went into a Tandy outlet and bought C.B. radios and remote-control cars which we raced along the corridors. This ship had rugby post masts at the foscle to which some wit had fastened a no-entry sign as though we were about to enter a one-way street.
The centre of Lisbon was easily reached from the berth for a few hours pretending to be a tourist taking in the Belem Tower, a small fortification jutting out into the narrow entrance to the harbour and the nearby monument to the explorers. A ride on one tram took me through narrow streets and up a tunnel to a high point where I could see over the harbour to the statue of Christ high up on the other side. Further into the harbour was a man on a horse statue looking over the harbour on the open side of a large square with arches on three sides containing many cafes which seemed to be a meeting place for locals. 
As the galley extraction fan had ceased to work as the insulation was down due to an application of sea water, I removed it to await an opportunity to either replace or rewind the motor. I had heard of washing the salt out so a day in a bucket followed by baking in the galley oven and amazingly the resistance of the windings was restored so I assembled and replaced it in position to working order so I was quite pleased with myself.
The berth at Bilbao was at a quayside in the river where lunchtime was a visit across a rail line, across a road and into a nearby café for refreshment which I thought very civilised. When Immingham was reached on the 3rd of June 1981 I went on leave.
*RINGNES – Second Voyage*, Capt. M.J. Meyer, C/O A.J. Montgomerie, 2/O R. Bailey, C/E D.M. Thomas, 2/E K. Atkinson, Ck/Stwd P. Reynolds 4/2/82 Blexen Roads, Bremerhaven via Bremen, Trondheim, Kirkenes, North Cape, Teesport (green casting sand) to 10/3/82 Hamburg.
*RINGNES – Second Voyage*.
This time I joined _Ringnes _at Blexen Roads across the River Weser from Bremerhaven on the 4th February 1982.
While at Terneuzen in Holland on the 23rd February 1982 the cook had been drinking and making a noise from the galley during dinner following a conversation with the captain. After dinner we dispersed and I was talking to the bosun and motorman when the cook approached swearing at me then took a swing so I hit him and lowered him to the deck. Assistance came but he would not be restrained and continued with his threats leading to the River Police removing him and his sending home.
We went around the North Cape to Kirkenes almost into Russia and met the “sheriff” who had multiple hats as he had multiple functions in this small port remote from the rest of civilisation. One berth in Norway was almost in the garden of a house where they came down to the water’s edge. Pack ice up fjords snow on deck conveyor belt out of the mountain waterfalls from top edge of fjord small area flat land at head for village and factory. Other places visited included Bremen, Trondheim and a cargo of green casting sand to Teesport before leaving on the 10th March 1982 in Hamburg.
While on leave the Falklands War started and friends asked would I be going down there to which I replied “I do not think they would want thousands of tons of rock delivered”.
*==================================*​*ROCKNES - Details*, 1975-85 London ON 365992, IMO 7341702, Jebsens (UK) Ltd., Jebsen House, 53/55 High Street, Ruislip, HA4 7BL, Gearless bulk carrier, 2 holds. 5790dwt, 2296.60 nett, 3644.57 grt. Crossley Premier Engines Ltd.- SEMT Pielstick 9PC2L-400 mk.2, 4stroke direct reversing engine. GEC single reduction gearbox & fixed pitch propeller, 4500bhp @ 14 knots. 3x Dorman 6 QTCWZ aux. with 200kw alternator. 01/11/75 launched Appledore Shipbuilders Ltd., Appledore (yard AS107) for Elco Leasing Ltd., (Jebsens (UK) Ltd managers), London. 06/12/75 completed. 1983 transferred to Jebsens (UK) Ltd., (Jebsens S.M. Ltd., managers). 1988 transferred Altnacraig Shipping Plc. 1989 Chelston SM Ltd., appointed as managers. 1990 transferred to Corrientes Bulk Carriers Ltd., ( Thorstone Ship Management Ltd., managers), Cyprus (ON709044). 1992 Jebsens S.M. (Bergen) AS appointed managers. 1993 Seaplan Shipping Ltd., appointed managers & renamed *ALEXIS*. 1998 sold to Alcamer Shipping Co. Ltd., (Wilson S.M. AS (Bergen), managers). 1999 sold to Short Sea Ltd., (same managers), Malta & renamed *ROCKNES*. 2002 renamed *WILSON MO* Malta flag. 2/2004 transferred to Wilson Shipowning AS, Bergen, (same managers), retaining Malta flag. 24/11/2009 renamed *JUHAYNNA* Moldavan flag. 2011 renamed *ALI K *retaining Moldavan flag. 9/5/2013 @ Tripoli.
*ROCKNES – First Voyage *2/E 25/4/82 Caen to 2/7/82 Dublin. Capt. Trevor Lee, C/O Enri, C/E Kenneth Arthur Hadley Wilson
I joined _Rocknes _in Caen on the 25th April 1982 and eventually went to dry-dock. Before entering the Tyne to North Shields, we spent the evening anchored just between Seaton Sluice and Whitley Bay which was disconcerting knowing I was only about four miles from home as the seagull flies but I would have to wait. About mid-June we moved into the dry-dock at Smiths in North Shields. Being so close to home once the ship was secure in dry-dock, I caught a taxi home and returned with my own car. Instead of living on board, Ken and Rae Wilson stayed with me in Cramlington with the evenings spent in the Village Club. The aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious which was built by Swan Hunter and launched 1st December 1978 completed fitting out and sailed from the Tyne 18th June 1982 with a fine view between our twin funnels from the rear facing windows on the bridge of the _Rocknes._

When I left 2nd July 1982 in Dublin after the previous evening exploring the city and tasting the difference between locally produced Guinness and that exported to England it was short direct flight home to Newcastle.
* 
ROCKNES – Second Voyage *2/E 10/9/82 Stornoway on passage from USA to Rostock in East Germany, Gdansk in Poland, Norway to 15/12/82 Norrkoping, Stockholm.
On passage from USA to Rostock in East Germany the cook who came from behind the “Iron Curtain” and was at risk of arrest asked to be sent home before arrival so the office also sent the R/O and myself out. By a small plane from Newcastle and an even smaller one we arrived in a wet Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis and were booked into the Cabarfeidh Hotel for the Tuesday night. We met after dinner in the bar and socialised with the locals until two in the morning when we left them and retired. Later that morning at five on the 10th September 1982 we were woken and boarded a fishing boat with the Harbour Master/Immigration Officer/Customs Officer to clear the landing crew. I commented on the local’s drinking habits to be told that was nothing you should see the weekend.
Rostock was typical of a Russian satellite country with brutalist architecture, sparsely filled dusty shops and churches repurposed as a state building. Gdansk in Poland where we probably loaded coal was the same and one state outlet selling Polish crystal glass was dusty, poorly lit and with staff who did not care if I bought anything. While ashore one evening the chief lost his wallet containing bank cards, driving licence and other things necessary at home. We sympathised with the loss of money but thought the other items should have been left on board. From discharge in Norway, we went to Norrkoping near Stockholm probably loading iron ore from where I went home on the 15th December 1982.
*===============================*​*RINGNES – Third Voyage*, 2/E 16/3/83 Newport near Cardiff in South Wales to 15/5/83 Porsgrun near Oslo in Norway. Bayonne Cathedral, Calais
Within a few months of being chief in 1981 at thirty-one years the Bergen and London deep sea fleets were being transferred or sold to other entities including Pacnorse Seven in Singapore and manned by officers and crew from the Phillipines. This left mainly the smaller ships and although mainly manned by chief, second and motorman I took a drop in pay to go on paired manning which meant equal sea time to leave. Observing the decline in British ships I realised that I would have to get a job ashore or go foreign flag to work tax free. Approaching the age of thirty-five and realising that opportunities declined sharply in shore employment I started looking. While on leave I applied for a job but after the interview the decision was to be made after my leave was up which made me realise that it was necessary to leave the sea and then get a job. In 1985 I resigned from my contract with Jebsens and was returned to the Shipping Federation where they quickly found me a job but whatever it was this did not suit my plans so after keeping out of contact was made redundant. “Friends” thought my redundancy would be £40,000 like the miners but I think it was £2,500 as service before 21 years did not count and there was a cap on earnings. From a cat and dog shelter a plaintive young collie found me as it’s new owner so I called it Joker as the joker in the pack dictating my future. After about a year ashore I became a surveyor and about a year after that _Ringnes _came into Blyth. When I went to visit although it was three years since I was last on board, I was greeted by three people by name who assumed I had re-joined. This illustrated what I liked best about the small company aspect of the merchant navy it was just one big family of cousins who most of the time got on well but that family as I expected would soon be breaking up.


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## tunatownshipwreck

Great stories, thank you.


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## jmcg

Yes, Jebsens were a good outfit. I had an eventful 8 1/2 months on Binsnes.
Will take some time to read all bur read all I will

Thanks for sharing your memories with us.

BW
J


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## BillH

The World Ship Society Ltd., in 2005, published a book "Jebsens; A Group History".. A4 case bound laminated board cover, 224 illustrated pages included vessels careers up to 2004.

ISBN 0-9543310-6-0


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## BillH

In the aforementioned publication, it states, as extracted " The initial two vessels were delivered to the Norwegian parent company as BRUNES and BERNES, on schedule, in 1962. Those names commenced a long line of bulk vessels with names starting with the letter "B", reportedly B = bulk. The third was delivered as BRIMNES, in 1963. She however was placed in the ownership of the British subsidiary Tenax Steam Ship Company Ltd., who where located at 9, Basinghall Street, London. That Company had been owned by Norwegian interests Odfjell Rederi, Bergen and was taken over by Kristian Jebsens Rederi AS majority owner in partnership with AS Investa". 
It however does not state a date of acquisition, nor does it mention Young.Muir


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## lakercapt

Interesting reading as I too sailed for Jebsens and they were the best company I worked for when I lived in the UK.
The Ringnes was my last ship and I had many interesting trips on her.
When we were in Bergen Attle Jebsen used to come down and have a coffee with us. I contracted the local brewery and ordered 50 cases of beer to be delivered to the ship. What was the name they asked Ringnes I told them. No the brewery is this name I was told. Yes and also the name of the ship. We got the beer and lots of goodies for advertising !!! .


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## lakercapt

On the same ship we had a new chief engineer come on board and he was new to the company as well. He had had a trying journey to join and we sailed as soon as he boarded. We had bad weather and he was bedridden for a couple of days. Good weather brought him to life and he called for the second engineer to come to see him. Davie came to his cabin and walked in. I want to see how the other engineers are. Davie replied I am OK and as I have been on the bell for the last few days it's your turn now and switched the panel in his cabin. Wait a minute was the C/E response what are you doing. This is an unmanned engine room and I have been looking after it while you were in your bed so now it's your turn to look after it. Poor fellow was to say the least a little upset as he had no idea of an UMER. There were only two engineers and one engine room rating. He was away at the next port.


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## taffe65

lakercapt said:


> Interesting reading as I too sailed for Jebsens and they were the best company I worked for when I lived in the UK.
> The Ringnes was my last ship and I had many interesting trips on her.
> When we were in Bergen Attle Jebsen used to come down and have a coffee with us. I contracted the local brewery and ordered 50 cases of beer to be delivered to the ship. What was the name they asked Ringnes I told them. No the brewery is this name I was told. Yes and also the name of the ship. We got the beer and lots of goodies for advertising !!! .


Hope you shared the tee shirts out.


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## taffe65

lakercapt said:


> On the same ship we had a new chief engineer come on board and he was new to the company as well. He had had a trying journey to join and we sailed as soon as he boarded. We had bad weather and he was bedridden for a couple of days. Good weather brought him to life and he called for the second engineer to come to see him. Davie came to his cabin and walked in. I want to see how the other engineers are. Davie replied I am OK and as I have been on the bell for the last few days it's your turn now and switched the panel in his cabin. Wait a minute was the C/E response what are you doing. This is an unmanned engine room and I have been looking after it while you were in your bed so now it's your turn to look after it. Poor fellow was to say the least a little upset as he had no idea of an UMER. There were only two engineers and one engine room rating. He was away at the next port.


UMS came as a shock to lot of seagoing engineers (many who had been to sea for years) .I still recall standing outside engineers changing room looking down into the "pit" stark bollocko naked (had my boots on and shifter in hand), too late to go back to cabin luckily I had a spare boiler suit stowed behind switchboard. Blind panic in thinking I,d cause the cow (general alarm) to go off sure added spice to the job.


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## Pilot mac

UMS was the beginning of the end for me. As a Second Mate coming off watch at 0400 a big part of my social life was drinking with the third engineer over breakfast. UMS killed that .


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