# Amver



## P.Arnold (Apr 11, 2013)

May be re inventing the wheel,... thread wise.

Went to Governor’s Island, (home of Amver) 1968. Quite impressive, I thought, with two operatives handling the incoming information, including vessels having doctors etc.. The first opo would type out the info onto a hard paper card, then pass that card to the second opo, who would retype the same info, effectively overtyping the first opo.
If no error, the card was then passed to the computer and stored on, what I would describe as a curling stone type device. Any error, in the typing of info by the opo’s and it was back to the first opo.
All OBS messages sent to USA stations, the QTH’s were entered into this system.
In the event of seagoing instances, Amver could generate a SURPIC (Surface picture) of all vessels close to that incident with the appropriate on board facilities, for example a doctor.

Sailing with Shaw Saville and Blue Star across the South Pacific to Oz and NZ, Amver was quite helpful on more than one occasion.


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## sparks69 (Dec 18, 2005)

Always used AMVER where ever we were.
Not a lot of traffic on VLCC Cape runs !


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## Paul Braxton (Jul 21, 2005)

Which Savill ships were you on, I wonder? We might have crossed paths.


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## david.hopcroft (Jun 29, 2005)

We received a flag and certificate for forwarding AMVERs but sadly don't remember where they went to.

David
+


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## duncs (Sep 8, 2008)

I sent AMVERS, but I thought they were used by US to keep track of MN vessels. Same OBS msgs were used for same.



Loved photo. Two Nebulas. When I had one, I was ecstatic.


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## Varley (Oct 1, 2006)

Come on! You can blame the Federal Seascouts for many regulatory ills but failure to respond utmostly in coming to anyone's aid is not one of them.


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## P.Arnold (Apr 11, 2013)

Paul Braxton said:


> Which Savill ships were you on, I wonder? We might have crossed paths.


Hi Paul
Was only on the Delphic, from 69 to 70, last trip before she went to scrap. 
Peter


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## david.hopcroft (Jun 29, 2005)

We knew them as Eddystone EC958's, which were used for RT calls. Note the 'round thing' that we stuck a finger in and rotated to connect a call !!!

David
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## duncs (Sep 8, 2008)

david.hopcroft said:


> We knew them as Eddystone EC958's, which were used for RT calls. Note the 'round thing' that we stuck a finger in and rotated to connect a call !!!
> 
> David
> +


Sorry, David, I thought, on seeing, it was a ship station. In '72 I had my gear upgraded , from O'span and Mercury and Elettra rx's to a 'Commandant' and 'Nebula' rx. Magic!

Best rgds, D


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## duncs (Sep 8, 2008)

Varley said:


> Come on! You can blame the Federal Seascouts for many regulatory ills but failure to respond utmostly in coming to anyone's aid is not one of them.


 Failure to respond is out of order. You were an R/O yourself, you knew the score. AMVER? I know what the acronym stood for, but did they ever help in 'mutual vessel rescue'. Where were AMVER when the 'Munchen' was lost?

I stand to be corrected, I've had a few low flyers.


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## david.hopcroft (Jun 29, 2005)

I should have said that this was GKZ. The 958's replaced in-house PO built RXs and Mercury's. They were also 'magic' for us, but actually it was because they - the Mercury's and PO RX's - were not SSB.

In the Dec 1969 photo, the Ops point is the RT 2182 Distress Watch and Broadcast. The 2182 speaker is next to the dial. Those on the left of the mike are Ch16 VHF with the working channels next to them. The WT 500 watch is on the right, and behind two working psns that were 2684 and 3778 during busier times. These had Mercury RXs. The tall psn at the back was the Oil/Gas services SSB RT on 3624/3324 . (RTT was on the LSB)

David
+


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## Varley (Oct 1, 2006)

Duncan, While I would bow to your interest in that loss Wiki seems to show the distress was promptly raised and co-ordinated by LandsEndRadio I do not see what use another RCC would have been and I am sure the surpic would have been a resource of which they would have been aware and could (did?) call upon.

That is not to argue that the positioning data is not shared (and perhaps thereby subsidising the service?). Why should the honest sailor-boy be worried?

My jaundice is more set against the administration that thinks that a 40 year old jumboized vessel would ever be safe in normal trade even if it had been managed and manned by the most competent of the competent (and who is to say El Faro was not at least manned to that standard. Almost by definition I suppose I must exclude the possibility of managers fitting that bill).

So much for their regulation of their own flag vessels. Their escape from all blame in that case makes Crown immunity look like a very mild advantage taken by the State.


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## duncs (Sep 8, 2008)

Sorry, David, my post was probably too strong, for which I apologise. Blame it on the low flyer. It's just that I was a bit pissed off re 'Munchen'. GKA and other stations/DAN were superb. The MN ships/ROs were superb. Rant over.

Best rgds, D


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## duncs (Sep 8, 2008)

david.hopcroft said:


> I should have said that this was GKZ. The 958's replaced in-house PO built RXs and Mercury's. They were also 'magic' for us, but actually it was because they - the Mercury's and PO RX's - were not SSB.
> 
> In the Dec 1969 photo, the Ops point is the RT 2182 Distress Watch and Broadcast. The 2182 speaker is next to the dial. Those on the left of the mike are Ch16 VHF with the working channels next to them. The WT 500 watch is on the right, and behind two working psns that were 2684 and 3778 during busier times. These had Mercury RXs. The tall psn at the back was the Oil/Gas services SSB RT on 3624/3324 . (RTT was on the LSB)
> 
> ...


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## Foca (Aug 25, 2012)

I remember in the 1970 being awarded the Amver Blue Pennant, as we had been on the plot for 12 months..that was on the "Viajero", Booth Line. We also used to do the Meteorological Reports for the Americans as well and they were always very grateful and used to supply some very useful gear


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## Larry Bennett (Aug 28, 2005)

david.hopcroft said:


> We received a flag and certificate for forwarding AMVERs but sadly don't remember where they went to.
> 
> David
> +


I've got the GKA AMVER flag and certificate in my archives. Still searching for a suitable local location to display them and other GKA artefacts and memorabilia....

Larry +


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## david.hopcroft (Jun 29, 2005)

Sorry Larry. I meant where we sent them on to. Quite likely to GKA ?

David
+


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## Ron Stringer (Mar 15, 2005)

From memory cz in the early 1960s they used to go to the AMVER co-ordination center in the New York Customs House (shared with the US Coast Guard). Remember getting an invite to visit but the date indicated was the day after we sailed. The guy who invited me was keen to show off their new office, so I guess they'd been somewhere else before that but I don't know where. 

Later they moved to Washington DC but by then I was long-time ashore.


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## P.Arnold (Apr 11, 2013)

Ron Stringer said:


> From memory cz in the early 1960s they used to go to the AMVER co-ordination center in the New York Customs House (shared with the US Coast Guard). Remember getting an invite to visit but the date indicated was the day after we sailed. The guy who invited me was keen to show off their new office, so I guess they'd been somewhere else before that but I don't know where.
> 
> Later they moved to Washington DC but by then I was long-time ashore.


Hi Ron, ref my #1 , all your details, ie coast guard etc I remember, but would the customs house been on Governors Island, as I am pretty sure that is where I went with another Booth Line R/O

Peter


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## Ron Stringer (Mar 15, 2005)

P.Arnold said:


> Hi Ron, ref my #1 , all your details, ie coast guard etc I remember, but would the customs house been on Governors Island, as I am pretty sure that is where I went with another Booth Line R/O
> 
> Peter


Pete,

The US Custom House was a very grand place, right down at the Southern tip of Manhattan, not on Governor's Island, so that didn't seem right. You raised doubts in my mind about my memory (not unusual these days) and forced me to search for AMVER on the web. Found it quite difficult because Google refused to recognise the term and insisted in showing me links to a firm called Amber - must be a good advertising client of theirs. However I persisted and eventually found *this* on Wiki.

It seems that Governor's Island is where it moved to from the US Custom House and before it moved to Washington DC.


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## howardang (Aug 3, 2008)

P.Arnold said:


> Hi Ron, ref my #1 , all your details, ie coast guard etc I remember, but would the customs house been on Governors Island, as I am pretty sure that is where I went with another Booth Line R/O
> 
> Peter


I can confirm Governor's island was where Amver HQ was in the mid/late 1960's when I was invited to pay a visit.

Howard


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## P.Arnold (Apr 11, 2013)

Thanks Ron and Howard, at least confirming that I haven’t completely lost it. As it is said, remember the right memories, but not necessarily in the right order.


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## Ron Stringer (Mar 15, 2005)

My non-visit to the US Customs House would have been late in November 1962, when we were loading on the US East Coast for Australia. We spent a week loading in Newark and made a couple of visits to the Merchant Navy Officers Club, somewhere near 42nd St. on Manhattan, travelling by bus. There we met plenty of girls, most of whom seemed to be secretaries at the UN building. 

Of course they were invited to a party aboard ship, where I became better acquainted with a very attractive young lady whose brother was some sort of engineer (IBM?) working in the AMVER Center in the US Custom House. She said that she could get me an invite to visit and see what went on there. This was only weeks after the Cuban missile crisis, we were a foreign ship in and out of East Coast ports, so I was well-involved in daily AMVER reporting procedures and was keen to up her offer. A day or so later I got a phone call from her to say that her brother had agreed to take us both on a guided tour of the Center at the weekend, when he was next on duty. Unfortunately we sailed on the Thursday or Friday and I couldn't make it. 

On a sight-seeing trip earlier in the week I had seen the Custom House building on the East side of Battery Park and was much impressed by its size and grandeur - far exceeding its namesake in Liverpool, albeit not so graceful - and had been looking forward to visiting both it and the AMVER office in such pleasant company. So I was a bit miffed to have the ship's commercial schedule thoughtlessly interfering with my world tour (fully-funded of course, courtesy of Ellerman Lines and Marconi Marine).

Oh, life could be so hard for a Radio Officer in those days. 

ps: I am advised that the correct name for the Customs House is the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House and it is on State Street, not Battery Park


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## Troppo2 (Jun 25, 2018)

I know, for a fact, that the AMVER surpic was shared with the US military and "other" US agencies...

I thus had no qualms reporting to AMVER during my adventures on a Shell VLCC in the Gulf during the Iran/Iraq war.


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## R651400 (Jun 18, 2005)

My last Greek on a regular voyage East Coast US to Far East via Panama and Pacific passed our noon QTH daily to Amver.
#24 above maybe explains why during the Cuban crisis though buzzed by the US air force we were not stopped by the large US navy patrol when carrying a deck cargo of covered US tanks intended for the Japanese Defence Force and easily mistaken for something else especially when US military hardware was generally transported by US flagged merchant ships.


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