Blue Star Gangway No.15 Spring 1978 - BlueStarLine.org

Gangway
Number 15 Spring 1978
Journal of Blue Star Line, Lamport & Holt Line,
Booth Line, and Associated Companies
Contents
1 1977 in retrospect
2 Australia Star Christening
4 News from the Gulf
4 Mrs E G George sponsors
'Starman Anglia'
5 Crusader Service Seminars
7 My years with Blue Star
8 BSSM News
9 Blue Star Line News
10 Lamport & Holt Line News
10 Liner Shipping Agencies News
11 Booth Line News
12 Profiles
14 Around the World in
twenty-three days
17 The Oxford Diving Expedition
to Cabo Frio
18 Amver Awards
19 The Ghillie-Ghillie man is back
20 Around the World by box-boat
21 A year in the hot seat
22 Twenty to Thirty Coats of Paint
23 News from Australia
24 Kiwi column
24 Springbok column
Cover: Southland Star loading at
Terminus Island, Los Angeles.
February, 1978
Correspondents
News, views, and photographs for
publication should be sent directto any
of the correspondents below, to reach
them by:
1 January for Spring issue
1 April for Summer issue
1 July for Autumn issue
1 October for Winter issue.
Whilst every effort will be made to
include all contributions submitted,
lack of space may make it necessary to
hold over the publication of some
articles until a later issue.
Australia
R Walker
Blue Star Line (Aust) Pty Ltd
Box R21
Royal Exchange Post Office
Sydney
NSW 2000
Argentine
P F McGuinness
Agencia Maritima Mundial, SA
Avenida Cordoba 653
Buenos Aires
Brazil
R J Burnett
Agencias Mundiais SA
Caixa Postal 190
Belem
F C Tate
Companhia Expresso Mercanti!
Avenida Rio Brance 25, 10 Andar
Caixa Postal 969-ZC-00
Rio de Janeiro
Middle East
W H Askew
Blue Star Line Ltd
PO Box 290
Dubai
UAE
North America
R B Tilley
Blue Star Line Ltd
Suite 2260
Three Embercadero Center
San Francisco, CA 94111
Republic of South Africa
G G H Jefferys
Blue Star Line (South Africa)
PO Box 4446
Thibault Square
Lower St Georqe's Street
Cape Town
Pty Ltd
United Kingdom
D Green
Lamport & Holt Line Ltd
Booth Steamship Company Ltd
Albion House
James Street
Liverpool L2 7PS
G E Gunner
Blue Star Ship Management Ltd
Albion House
James Street
Liverpool L27PS
M H R Foster
Liner Shipping Agencies Ltd
Benair Freight Ltd, Translode Ltd
34 Leadenhall Street
London EC3A 1AR
RA Russell
Blue Star Line Ltd
34 Leadenhall Street
London EC3A 1AR
Designed by the Design Studio
and printed in England by
John Gardner (Printers) Ltd.
New Zealand
W Smith
Blueport A.C.T. (NZ) Ltd
PO Box 192
IBM Centre
157 The Terrace
Wellington 1
Written permission must be obtained
from the Editor before any of the
articles or photographs in Gangway
are used or reproduced in any way
whatsoever.

1977
IN RETROSPECT
Our business is international and whatever
happens on the national or
international scene is more than likely
to affect our business, somewhere and
somehow. For this reason the Chairman,
Senior Managers, and myself
keep in touch with the national and
international affairs of our industry and
try to playa constructive role whenever
we can.
1977 was a year which will be
remembered in the Industry for the
inevitable wage discussions affecting
both sea staff and shore staff, by the
expected surplus capacity of the internationalshipbuildingindustrybecoming
a reality, by the increased capacity of
the Russian Merchant Marine which
has become increasingly evident on
most trade routes, and by the interpretation
and administration of the
United States' shipping laws becoming
so confused that one is never certain
whether one is operating inside or outside
the law.
Our own government, in the meantime,
has excelled itself by getting in
such a muddle over 'employee participation'
that the subject has been
relegated to the 'too difficult' file
meantime a decision which seems to
have received fairly widespread
approval.
The trading year
At the Company level all the plans
which the Chairman outlined in his
foreword to the summer edition of
Gangway are either a reality now, or
will be in 1978-which is ,how things
should be! Some of these plans are
reflected in ship deliveries. Starman
Africa joined the Starman fleet midyear,
and we were pleased in the week
before Christmas to christen Starman
Anglia and see Timaru Star after her
conversion to full refrigeration at 'A'
Berth, Victoria Dock.
We further expanded our reefer fleet
by chartering some smaller vessels,
which helped to make our overall fleet
more flexible and, hopefully, more
economic. 1977 was a good high
season in the reefer market, but the
last six months of this year were slow
and therefore disappointing, a fact
that will not have escaped the notice
of sea staff. ACT 7 joined the ACT(A)
fleet, with Blue Star Ship Management
by J G Payne
responsible for the ship's husbandry.
Both our container consortia, that is
ACT(A) and Johnson ScanStar, had a
reasonable trading year.
Our trades with South America
produced about the usual mix of
problems and frustration, but taken asa
whole the results were about average,
except for the Amazon where we
decided to stop trading with the
United States, since there was little
hope of our ever getting sufficient
cargo as a cross trader to make a
reasonable living. Liner Shipping
Agencies in the UK and Eirehad a busy
year representing Group interests,
Johnson ScanStar, Atlanticargo, and
many other outside agencies. LSA's
14 offices now employ some 300
people.
Staff changes
There will always be staff changes of
course, but 1977 tended to produce an
acceleration in staff turnover at most
levels because of government pay
restraints.We dislike government interference
in our business at any time,
even more so when it disturbs the loyal
relationships which we, as a family
company, try to establish with all our
staff.
I do not intend to mention all
changes for yet a second time, but it is
difficult to beli~ve that it is only just
over a year since Ken Churchouse
retired in New Zealand; furthermore,
David Habgood seems to have been
General Manager of Blue Star Ship
Management in Liverpool for a long,
long time-yet his appointment is only
just over a year old.
Henry Gray joined us from West
Coast Stevedoring in Liverpool towards
the end of the year and is a
welcome member of our management
team. John Nickels left Booth Line
to live in Switzerland and 'Geoffrey
Bishop returned to Liverpool after a
sojourn in Singapore. Archie Gilbert
decided to take early retirement on the
Pacific coast and we wish him well.
These changes, coupled with new
challenges, have given further opportunities
to a number of our own staff
and we were very happy to have Mike
Morse join usfrom ACT(A) to open our
office in Dubai. It has also been
rewarding to see one or two of the
sea staff accept the new challenges of
shorejobs and make a success of them.
A personal note
On a more personal note I found 1977
a year which gave a lot of satisfaction
within the Group, despite the frustrations
of the never ending problems for
the industry on the international scene,
some of which have already been
mentioned and few of which appear
to have a ready solution in sight. The
Group problems-which are few
indeed-always seem to have a
solution in sight which can be planned
for and action taken as appropriate.
More of my time is now spent
travelling-which has its advantages
and disadvantages. A glance in my
diary tells me that in 1977 I visited
Kuwait, Abadan, Bandar Shahpour,
Bandar Abbas, Dubai, Bahrain,
Dammam, Jeddah, San Francisco,
Guayaquil, Quito, Miami, Grimstad,
Bremen, Oslo, Stockholm, Paris, Hamburg,
Bremen, Rotterdam, Venice,
New York, Copenhagen, Geneva,
Montreux, Pretoria, Cape Town, Rio
de Janeiro, Manaus, Abu Dhabi,
Singapore, Sydney, Melbourne, Christchurch,
Wellington, and Los Angeles.
I visited some of these places twice or
more, plus one or two other places,
not mentioned above, for an hour or so!
In between I have been a regular
visitor to Liverpool and other places in
the UK. In all the placesvisited we have
offices, partners, and/or customers.
In conclusion may I repeat what
Mr Edmund Vestey said in 1977: 'Our
reason for being in business is to
satisfy our customers. We will only
succeed if we give them the service
they want, in the way they want it, as
economically as we can: I must add
to this that we will only succeed in
this objective if we are efficient and
profitable.
During 1977 our customers once
again proved their negotiating ability
in controlling rates of freight. To
maintain our customer service and
make profits we must, wherever we
can, make our total operation even
more efficient in 1978. Thank you all
for your contributions towards these
objectives in 1977.
1

~ustraliaStar'
Christening
· the
new building capacity.
In this very gravely distorted scene
the Common Market Commission in
Brussels is pressing the EEC shipbuilders
to cut their capacity by one
third-and it is this same Commission
which sanctions both the British
Intervention Fund as a whole and each
individual deal within it. We will, of
course, be doing everything we can
through the Government to persuade
EECto
~~:~~
adopt a different policy, but
what we are up against is typical of the
can spell life or death for
81ue Star IlJaugurates ~;;~;~~
new container service The
Australia Star, the first of a new class
of container ship, was named on 25
January 1978 by Mrs Sally Nixon, wife
of the Australian Federal Minister for
Transport, at Haverton Hill Yard of
Smiths' Dock, Middlesbrough.
The new 16,000-ton fully-cellular
vessel will inaugurate a regular container
service operated by Blue Star
Line between Australia and New
Zealand and the Gulf States of the
Middles East. A sister ship, New
Zealand Star, is being named at the
same yard in April and will operate on
the same route. Sailings will be at
monthly intervals, out of one New
Zealand port and two Australian ports
to one port in Iran and three or four
ports in the Gulf States.
The two specially designed 19-knot
container ships are equipped with the
latest navigational aids and cranes,
capable of handling 20-ft and 40-ft
containers. Each ship can carry 308
refrigerated containers and 346 general
service containers. Gas tight subdivisions
in the hold spaces will give
separate containment for groupings of
24, 60, 80, and 140 containers,
allowing carriage of a wide range of
non-compatible temperature-controlled
foodstuffs at temperatures
ranging from minus 23 degrees centigrade
to plus 12 degrees centigrade.
Mr Jim Payne, Deputy Chairman of
Blue Star Line, commented that the
ships had been specially designed with
the congestion problems of the Gulf in
mind. Consequently, they were highly
self-sufficient and able to load or discharge
at almost any port in the Gulf.
He added that Blue Star Line had
chosen the fully cellular design because
it had proved the most efficient
concept for refrigerated transportation
and offered adaptability for most
general cargo.
Speeches were made at the
Christening by Admiral Sir Anthony
Griffin, GCB, Chairman of British Shipbuilders,
and Mr Edmund Vestey,
Chairman of Blue Star Line. The text
of their addressesis reproduced below.
Also present were the Line's General
Manager for the new service, Graham
Lightfoot of BSL Australia, and the
Gulf General Manager based at Dubai,
Michael Morse.
2
nameof the game is survival and
w~ ~an't I?ok to the British taxpayer or
British shipowners to do much more
'The name of the game than they have done already-both
- _, have their own problems. No, the
IS survival
answer lies in our own hands. We are
Admiral Sir Anthony Griffin's speech all members of the same club, and
at the Christening of 'Australia Star' every time we compete amongst our-
Of course some people, -like Mr selves and try to take the mickey out
Vestey perhaps, think they own the of each other, our true opponent is
ship becausethey paid for it. The ship's laughing happily into his saki.
Master is also sometimes referred to as British Shipbuilders' strategy has
the 'Owner'-but as decently as I can been to give priority to obtaining new
I have to tell them that they can never orders so that we can stabilise a near
own the ship in the sensethat you (Mrs catastrophic situation and gain time
Nixon) do. By naming her, she is yours to sort out our fundamental problems,
for life-and if I was the ship I'd live particularly in the field of labour
happily ever after.
relations. Here the origins are at least
She will be a very fine ship, and we 100 yearsold and have resulted in deep
all confidently expect her to match up rooted and deeply felt attitudes which
to the great new trading initiative arevery hard indeed to change quickly.
which Blue Star has taken in the Gulf/ However, change they must and only
Australasia route. The Company those yards where this has happened
deserves every continuing success, al~eady,r is likely to happen very soon,
especially as it was they who placed will survive.
the order with this yard in December It's no longer a matter between we
1976, thereby saving 1500 jobs for and they. 'We' are now us-and we
nearly 18 months.
all need to act as though we were self-
It's all the more regrettable, there- employed.
fore, that we have such serious Having said all that, I wouldn't
industrial problems here as to disrupt want anyone to think that British
the building programme. However, I Shipbuilders lack confidence. We have
want to say nothing on this occasion the most versatile Shipbuilding Corto
embarrass or prejudice those who poration in the world, with the skill
are trying to sort things out on the and ability to build anything from small
spot. That's where the solution lies.The craft to VLCCs, from patrol boats to
further you get from the problems the nuclear submarines and aircraft
further you get from the solution, and carriers.
I have repeatedly represented this to We are competitive with most West
the Government. European shipyards and in certain
Having said that, no-ons should classes of ship we are competitive
ignore what is going on in the world even with the Far East. Relative to our
about us. Forces are operating there normal capacity we did better over
which will destroy all but the best of us. new orders last year than most other
The effect of world trading conditions free world countries, including Japan,
not coming up to expectations is that and many yards have full order books
the world's shipbuilding capacity is until the end of 1979.
about four times the demand.
We are trying to make a decentra-
The world order book, and our own, lised system work by concentrating on
have halved in the past eighteen broad policy and leaving its execution
months. Many yards in Europe and to the people on the spot. As part of this
even in Japan have gone bankrupt scheme we want to encourage partiand
closed. The Japanese order book cular yards to sustain or develop
at the end of 1973 stood at 63 million special relationships with their
GRT; it is now down to 12 million, and customers-and here the close liaison
much of that is due to be completed in between such a distinguished line as
the next six months. Meanwhile, the Blue Star and Smith's Dock is a most
Comecon countries and third world encouraging example for -the rest of
nations such as Korea, Taiwan, Brasil, the industry to follow. Perhaps I might
and Mexico are producing even more be allowed to make special mention of

Mr Tune and his staff and the tremendous
help he has been to the firm.
We in British Shipbuilders salute
your enterprise, Mr Vestey, and are
determined to meet your requirements
so that you come to us. not simply
through partriotism, but because you
believe that we can produce the quality
you need, at a world competitive price,
and delivered on time.
Taking the plunge
Mr Edmund Vestey's speech at the
Christening of 'Australia Star'
I would like to add my thanks to
those of Admiral Griffin to Mrs Nixon
for so kindly coming all the way from
Australia to christen Australia Star. It
is sad indeed that it has only been a
Christening ceremony, and we have
not been able to see the ship go down
the slipway and enter the water-a
sight which has a thrill all its own and
which never fails in its magic, however
many times one sees it.
Mr and Mrs Nixon are a very special
couple, and I am delighted that Mrs
Nixon, as wife of the Australian
Minister of transport, is here as sponsor
of the new Australia Star. Mr Nixon
was in a different role when I first met
him a number of years ago as Minister
of the Interior.
I was on holiday in Scotland and
had been out deerstalking all day. I
wandered for miles and miles and as I
walked into the house longing for a
cup of tea and a large drink, the telephone
went. I picked it up and it
wanted to speak to me, so, unwisely, I
said I was me, upon which they said
'this is the Sunday Times, we want to
know what you are going to do about
this man on hunger strike in Sydney.'
I asked which man, and why he was
on hunger strike, and was told it was
all because I was being beastly to an
Aboriginal tribe in the Northern Territory
called the Gurindji. 'Why: they
asked, 'don't you give them the land
they want?'
I explained that it was not our land
to give. We were only tenants of the
Australian Government. We always
what the Government wanted, provided
we were left with a sensible,
workable lease. Next morning in the
Australian papers were headlines such
as 'VESTEYS WILL GIVE UP LAND
TO GURINDJI'-which servedto keep
a few telephone operators a bit busy.
Our Manager in Sydney said, rather
than asked, 'What have you done?'
I was going out to Australia a couple
of weeks later in any case, so I was
told that I had better go and explain
myself to the Minister, who was not
quite amused. Feeling rather like a
small schoolboy I duly arrived outside
the Minister's office in Canberra. He
listened to my tale and, unlike any
other Minister I have ever met in any
part of the world, then said, 'Right, I
think you had better leave this to me:
which I happily did.
Meantime, with ourfriends in ACTA
we had become partners in the
Australian National Line, and I hope
they have enjoyed their association
with us as much as we have ours with
them.
We are a little sad that Australia Star
is being built by Blue Star alone, as we
had hoped that the new container
trade from Australia and New Zealand
to the Persian Gulf-or, if you prefer,
the Arabian Gulf-would be an ACTA
trade. We had talks too with AN L to
see if they would come into the trade.
The result is that Blue Star is alone; but
I would not like to let this moment pass
without saying that the initiative came
from ACTA management, who did an
enormous amount of work in preparing
their recommendations to their shareholders,
and did a first class job.
Having taken the plunge, I only hope
our faith is not misplaced. We have
been greatly encouraged by the enthusiasm
for what we are doing shown by
so many Australian exporters who have
so far been denied a regular container
service to the Gulf area.
The last ship Mrs Nixon named was
five or six times the size of this one, and
she did see her in the water as a
finished ship. The bottle of champagne
was on the end of about thirty feet of
string and it was with great skill that
she broke the bottle first time. With
even more skill she then went and
spoke Swedish to the works band.
Mrs. Sally Nixon, wife of the Australian Minister with Mr. G. H. Parker, Director and General Manager of Smith's Dock
3

At least she has been spared that
today; but it is so very sad that she
has not seen her Australia Star
launched today as she and all of us
here had hoped she would.
We have grown to know and expect
so much of Smith's Dock that we had
rather taken it for granted that the new
yard they have been given to manage
would have the same attributes. Sadly,
we seem to have been wrong, but I
want to reassure all our friends in
South Bank that what has happened
in Haverton Hill in no way alters the
respect we have for them.
I hope that those members of British
Shipbuilders here will forgive me if
I say that I wish I could find a
nationalised industry that is as efficient
and successful as its private counterpart.
I hope, and like to think, that as
part of British Shipbuilders, Smith's
Dock will prove to be just that.
However, I understand that while
the present Government wage guidelines
may be guidelines for me, (though
I may have to face the consequences
if I break them), they are mandatory
instructions for your industry. This
rigid ruling, added to the time it seems
to take the Government to vet annual
pay awards, makes it almost impossible
for local management however good,
to solve the problems arising in
individual shipyards.
I say this as part-owner of a private
family company, and my cousin, who
owns the other part, is here today too.
We have seen, in so many countries
around the world, Government help
given to private companies when help
was needed and appropriate, with
good results. I am sad to see Smith's
Dock, a company with excellent
management and with the same individual
and family outlook as ourselves,
now hampered by these rigid Government
controls; but if any yard in
British Shipbuilders deserves to
succeed, it is they.
News from the Gulf
A few years ago it would have seemed building and are gradually preparing
most unlikely that we would be for the great day when the first of our
reporting from a Blue Star Line office new container ships, Australia Star,
in the Middle East. Now, owing to inaugurates the container service between
changing trades and interests, we have
New Zealand, Australia, and
an area Management Office in Dubai
in the United Arab Emirates,and this is
is the first newsletter from the Gulf.
the Gulf area. There is still much to be
done before the first ship arrives, but
the pattern is taking shape.
At present our staff consists of just In the meantime the conventional
three men. Our General Manager, ships are not ignored and we are
Mike Morse, took up residence here pleased to be able to assist when ships
in September. He is well known from call for stores or crew change. We are
his last appointment as General delighted to see familiar faces and
Manager of ACTA in London.
hope that our presence helps to make
Bill Askew transferred from Blue passing through the area more
Star Ship Management in September pleasant.
and arrived in Dubai in October to Since opening the office here we
take up the post of Operations Manager have had visits from Mr and Mrs
for the area. He was closely followed J G Payne and Ian Simpson from
by Ian Nicholls, who transferred Head Office and took great pleasure in
from Blueport ACT, Auckland Container
Terminal, to assume the post of tory. We look forward to receiving
showing them around our new terri-
Technical Manager.
many more visitors in the coming
We can report that we now have our months.
own office within our Agent's office W H Askew
Mrs EG George sponsors
'Starman Anglia'
Starman Anglia, sistership to Starman
Africa, was christened at Haverton Hill
Shipyard, Middlesbrough (managed
by Smith's Dock Co, part of British
Shipbuilders) on 21 December 1977.
The christening ceremony was performed
by Mrs Megan George, wife
of Blue Star Line's General Manager,
Mr Eric George.
The Owners were represented by
Blue Star's Deputy Chairman, Mr J
G Payne, General Manager G J
Gibson and Messrs M Reincl

Crusader
Service Seminars
In the July 1977 issue of Gangway we
reported on the arrangements being
made to operate the new containerised
service between the Pacific coast of
North America and New Zealand.
At that time the newly-formed Blue
Star Line office in San Francisco was
housed in rather cramped temporary
accommodation, awaiting a permanent
home in Suite 2260 at the Embarcadero
Center Three Building. This is a new
complex overlooking the San Francisco
Bay; Three Building can be seen in
the foreground of our picture.
Envious readers might pause awhile
and sympathise with our intrepid staff,
who remain dutifully at their airconditioned
posts on the 22nd floor,
completely disregarding the flickerings
on the Richter Scale which warn of
impending earthquakes.
We were able to move to our new
office on 18 November and on the
following morning we received our
first visitors: Mr and Mrs J G Payne,
en route from New Zealand to London.
All our staff were present, busily
employed in a race against time to
complete the folders and .manuals for
the forthcoming seminars. It was not
long before the Deputy Chairman and
Mrs Payne were hard at work on the
production line.
A very successful seminar was held
on 21 and 22 November in San
Francisco attended by some 30 delegates
representing the USA Mainland,
Canada, Hawaii and Fiji. We were also
pleased to welcome Messrs. Lambert
and McGregor from Wellington. After
an introduction to the new service
organisation, Ray Tilley explained procedures
for bookings and operations,
and aIsogave detaiIsof the conversions
being undertaken on the two ships.
This was followed by a talk from
John Forster outlining the container
control and documentation systems
se out in the manual, using a slide
projector to illustrate the various
accounting forms. Presumably as a
courtesy to the visitors from 'down
under', the majority of these pictures
firs appeared upside down, but at least
ere should be no excuse for errors
.hen completing the forms in
ellington.
The following day featured Jack
Den on who promptly divided the t",,.i7~
delega es into small groups with the ~l,_,,"-,,::-,_..;;o ••.•. ~ •.•• _
task of studying and reporting on The Embarcardero Center
5

different marketing projects. This
proved to be a novel approach,
cunningly allowing the speaker time off
whilst the audience was hard at work.
The proceedings concluded with a
review of the northbound trade by
Bill Lambert, and a closing address by
Mr Payne.
Wellington Seminar
In preparation for the New Zealand
Seminar, held in Wellington on 28 and
29 November, a small Blue Star Line
delegation together with Evan Pugh
(Overseas Shipping, Vice-President
Sales) journeyed from San Francisco
to Auckland. The sight of several
hundredweight of manuals and publicity
material immediately attracted
the attention of a senior customs
officer and we feared that a substantial
import duty was about to be levied.
Fortunately the official became immersed
in the container control section
of the manual and readily accepted
our explanation that this was compulsive
reading for all port agents in New
Zealand.
The Wellington Seminar was
attended by about 30 representatives
from all offices and was, perhaps, less
successful than its predecessor. The
dictionary defines a seminar as 'a
group of advanced students pursuing
research under a teacher.' Containerisation
is not new to Blueport
ACT (NZ) and it was soon apparent
that a fair number of the students
were extremely advanced and doing
their best to overwhelm the visiting
'teachers' !
An encouraging feature of both
Refrigerated containers arrive at Auckland to be positioned in
readiness for the northbound trade
A specially designed 40-ft flat awaits shipment from Liverpool to
Vancouver for use on the Crusader vessels
Conversion work in progress on 'Southland
Star' at Bremen
6

seminars was the considerable amount
of audience participation and we
would like to thank all those concerned
in San Francisco and
Wellington for their valuable contributions.
After many months of detailed
preparatory work it is gratifying to note
the enthusiasm with which this new
container service is being received.
The inaugural southbound voyage of
Southland Star from Vancouver took
place at the end of January.
G J Gibson
FROM SAN FRANCISCO
~~ t//~aJiLeQlb
R B Tiley, Operations Manager
J A Forster, Accountant
J V Denton, Marketing and Sales
Coordination
by Archie Gilbert, who recently retired from the Company's
San Francisco office
My first business trip for Blue Star why I was not 'in the Company'. This
Line took place at the tender age of
six months when my father brought the
family to the Pacific Coast to inaugurate
the BSL North Pacific
Service. Apples were the principle
commodity of interest to Blue Star and
Seattle was the major port for the
apple-producing areas of the states of
Oregon and Washington and the
Province of British Columbia in
Canada. Apples being a seasonal crop,
the family spent the winters in Seattle
and the summers in New York, where
my father managed the Spanish Cork
Company on behalf of the Vestey
family.
Eight years later, the businesses had
advanced to the point where they each
needed year-round attention. My father
opted for the steamship business and
so the Gilbert family settled in Seattle,
my first permanent home and the town
where I received my schooling.
When war broke out in 1941 I was
attending the University of Washington
and promptly took employment in the
engineering office of Todd Shipyard in
Seattle, which was building destroyers
for the United States Navy. I am proud
to say that two of these ships were
mentioned in dispatches in the action
off Omaha Beach during the 0 Day
invasion.
I spent a period in the US Navy, but
did not see action. I was in my early
twenties when I returned to civilian life
and although attracted to the steamship
business I was reluctant to dwell
in my father's shadow. I struck out on
my own and pursued a varied career,
including two years in farming and six
years in Hollywood, manufacturing
sound motion picture cameras.
A decisive point in my life was
reached with a trip to England, during
which I was entertained at the home of
Lord Vestey. His Lordship enquired
decided me, and on my return to
Hollywood I resigned from the camera
business and returned to Seattle to
enter the Blue Star office.
Learning the business
Shortly after I began work, my father's
assistant, Clifford Greene, died of a
heart attack. Mr Ronald Vestey, then
Chairman of Blue Star, called me to
New York and suggested that I spend
six months in London learning the
business. In those days Blue Star
Head Office was in Smithfield, the
Freight Office was in Lime Street, and
the Passenger Office was in Lower
Regent Street.
Returning to the Pacific Coast, I
entered into a period of serious
training under my father. Ten years
later he retired at the age of 73 and I
was appointed General Manager of
Blue Star Line lnc. with instructions
to move the Pacific Coast Head Office
to San Francisco.
These last 15 years have been very
exciting. Major projects have included
an attempt to rationalise the services of
all the British Lines on the Pacific
Coast, which was scuttled by Furness
Withy, a strenuous and successful
effort to mechanise our operations with
containerisation, and the commencement
of our 'Viking' containerisation
scheme, in partnership with the Danes
and Swedes. We also gained the
Agency for Crusader Line in San
Francisco; the service was later taken
over in its entirety by Blue Star and we
are now in the process of containerisation.
I can look back on a most interesting
and rewarding career, during which I
made many good friends in the
Company. When I get settled into
retirement I hope to write a history of
Blue Star Line on the Pacific Coast.
7

B:I:Z 8SSM news
Much has happened on the personnel
front since the Christmas issue of
Gangway was published. Our payroll
computer hiccupped violently with the
refund of back tax in December and
almost went into convulsions sorting
out Phase2 and productivity payments.
But by the time sea staff read this all
should have been sorted out. If it hasn't
you will doubtless let us know!
Measures introduced in recent
months include improved benefits
linked to a new voucher system of
uniform allowance, the introduction of
assisted air travel for the wives of
Company contract officers, and the
confirmation of the standard tour of
duty with compensatory benefit for
those serving more than the four
months.
We have endeavoured to answer
satisfactorily numerous questions concerning
the application of these new
and improved benefits. All senior staff
in the Fleet Personnel Department are,
of course, fully conversant with them
and will be pleased to explain matters
if there are any members of sea staff
who are still not clear on these points.
Discipline at sea
During 1978 it is expected that there
will be certain changes of a quite
radical nature in the law affecting
discipline at sea. I do not propose to
go into detail here, but suffice it to
say that all of our Masters have no
attended a 1-k-day GCBS-organised
seminar to introduce them to the ne
system. In due course every UK seafarer,
officer, and rating will receive a
Code of Conduct. This Code will be
the cornerstone of the new system and
I therefore hope that all employees a
sea will 'read, learn, and inwardl
digest.'
Sad deaths
Appreciations will appear elsewhere in
this issue or in future issues for Chief
!EngineerE J Barnes, Mr WE Cox,
formerly BSL Marine Department,
Captain P Hunt, MBE, formerly
Marine Superintendent, Blue Star Line,
and Captain L Vernon, former BSL
Master.
Their deaths gave great sadness to
both shore and sea staff alike, and, on
behalf of the latter, I would like to offer
sympathy and condolences to their
relatives.
Death of Captain Leslie
Vernon
Captain Leslie Vernon, MBE, died
at the age of 68 on 5 January. He
joined Blue Star Line as a Cadet in
1926 and progressed steadily through
the ranks, reaching command in 1943.
Captain Vernon was awarded his
M BEfor outstanding seamanshipwhile
in charge of a lifeboat in bad weather in
mid-Atlantic, following the torpedoing
of Empire Star in October 1942.
In the postwar years he spent a long
period as Master of various passenger
M r F J Page celebrates
fifty years' service
On 12 December 1977 a small party
met at Albion House, Liverpool, to
celebrate with Mr F J Page, BEM,
his completion of fifty years' continuous
service with Lamport & Holt
Line and BSSM. Mr Page is now the
Ships' Stores Supervisor at Liverpool.
Mr D J Habgood welcomed
Captain F E Crebbin, Captain J E
Lenham, Captain A Braund, Mr R
Webb, Mr H Bennett, and Mr T D
Tozer chatted informally about Mr
Page's long service, recalling that he
had joined Lamports in July 1927,
remaining with the company until the
setting up of BSSM.
Fred Page set sail from Liverpool on
14 July 1927 as deck boy on board
Browning, with Captain Taylor and
Chief Officer W C Blake. He earned
£2.50 per month, although by the end
8
vessels trading from London to the
Plate. He commanded Brasil Star from
1958 to 1963 and Iberia Star from
1963 to 1965. transferring back to
Brasil Star until 1968. His final posting
before retirement in 1969 was as
Master of Paraguay Star.
All who knew, admired, and respected
Leslie Vernon will have been
greatly saddened to hear of his death.
We extend our heartfelt sympathy to
his widowand family.
Death of Mr Edward
Barnes
It is with the deepest regret that we
announce the death of Mr Edward
George Barnes, Chief Engineer, at a
hospital in Liverpool on 7 November
1977.
'Ted', as he was known to all,
joined Blue Star Line as a Junior
Engineer and was appointed to
Imperial Star in June 1937. He was
later promoted to 4th Engineer on
Auckland Star and was torpedoed off
the Irish coast in July 1940. Whilst
serving as 4th Engineer aboard Sydney
Star he was again torpedoed, this time
of the voyage he had accumulated
three hours' overtime, amounting to
12-kp!
In those days Lamport & Holt Line
was very different from today. Lord
Kylsant was Chairman, Alfred Woods
General Manager, F H Lowe Assistant
General Manager, and George Melly
(ancestor of the renowned writer and
jazz singer of the same name) had that
year completed fifty years as partner
and director. The Head Office was still
in Liver Buildings, although in that
year it was transferred to Fenchurch
Street in London. There was a fleet of
45 vessels.
In 1944 Mr Pagewas honoured with
the British Empire Medal after his ship
Delius had fought a five-day battle
with fires below deck. A German longrange
bomber had attacked the ship
whilst in convoy, destroying her bridge
and killing the Master and Second
Officer. With the Chief Officer, G
off Malta in July 1941.
Service on various vesselsfollowed,
among them Columbia Star, New
Zealand Star, and Australia Star, before
being promoted Chief Engineer 0'
Melbourne Star in May 1954. His
career as a Blue Star Chief Enginee
continued on the vessels Imperial Star,
Paraguay Star, and Argentine Star; illhealth
then intervened and Ted was
appointed Chief Relieving Engineer on
Brasilia Star.
Many other relieving positions
followed on BSL vessels and later,
following the formation of BSSM, on
Lamport & Holt and Booth Line ships.
Although Ted was dogged with illhealth
over the years, he was never
heard to complain and was always a
most charming person to know. The
comment made by all who knew him-
'he was a gentleman'-perhaps describes
him best.
At this sad time our thoughts and
condolences go to Maisie, his wife,
and Julie, his daughter.
J SLow
Senior Supt Engineer
Marshall, Mr Page helped to bring
the vessel into port. (Full details of
this action can be found in Sea
Breezes, October 1977.)
Since those days he has sailed into
quieter waters, but still works very
hard to ensure that our vessels are
properly stored for their voyages across
the world. Those attending on 12
December were privileged and glad 0
the opportunity, on behalf of all his
ship and shore colleagues, to pa
tribute to his comradeship and wis
him well in his continuing service.
Congratulations
We offer our congratulations to 2nd
Engineers T G Forster, C J Ellis,
D J Darrah, and D A Paize on their
promotions to Chief Enqineer.
M W Hornby

Captain E J Jones
Towards the end of 1977 it became
apparent that Captain E J
(Swansea) Jones would not recover
sufficiently from his illness to resume
seagoing service. He has now retired,
but continues to make progress with
his therapy treatment. He enjoys
hearing Company news and would
like to see any of his former colleagues,
should they be in the Swansea area.
Anyone contemplating a visit should
telephone Mrs Jones first on 044-
128-4214, as Captain Jones goes off
to 'school' for his speech therapy at
least once a week.
People
In January, Stan Vik was seconded
from Technical Department to Fleet
Personnel, where he now heads the
Engineer Officers Section as Assistant
Fleet Personnel Manager. Mr Vik, who,
incidentally, was one of our first
Engineer Cadets, is known to the vast
majority of our senior sea staff and is
already getting to know more Engineer
Officer Personnel as a result of ship
visits.
Also in January, David Burke
Cadet news
We have recently conducted interviews
for both Deck and Engineer
Cadets. Our interviewers have included
C Ballinghall, Chief Engineer, G
M Hildred, 2nd Engineer, Captain
R M Burns, and P J Newton. We
would also like to make mention of J
H Mockett, Chief Officer, who
assisted us with Officer Trainee interviews
earlier in the year and whom we
omitted to thank in Gangway.
We are most grateful to all these
gentlemen for their assistance. I believe
that they found the experience to be
both interesting and enjoyable,
Awards for Blue Star
cadets
Awards have recently been made to a
number of our cadets and I would
BLUE
STAB
LIIE
News
joined Fieet Personnel Department as
Cadet Training Officer, the position
originally held by Tom Crool

LAMPORT
& HOLT LINE
News
Welcome aboard
We extend a warm welcome to Frank
Westby and Betty Trayer who both
joined the staff of the Insurance and
Claims Department on 3 January.
Engagement
Wedding bells are in the offing once
again with the announcement by
Linda Worthington of our Financial
Accounts Department of her engagement
to Alan Hughes on 28 October.
Operation Toys
Once again children in Liverpool
hospitals have benefitted from the
efforts of warmhearted folk in Albion
House, Liverpool. 'Operation Toys',
masterminded by Freda Checkley of
Lamport's Agency Department, and
Joan Wentworth of Booth Line,
took off in the autumn with a raffle
throughout the building to raise funds
for dolls and toys.
The dolls were then handed over to
those endowed with knitting or sewing
talents to be dressed in a variety of
outfits. Other gifted folk contributed
handmade soft, cuddly animals. The
impressive array of toys was put on
view in the Albion House boardroom
before being parcelled-up for Christmas
Day opening by the youngsters.
The toys on di
boardroom
ouse
Death of Captain Ben
Metcalfe
It is with great regret that we record
the death of Captain Benjamin
Mitchinson Metcalfe on 14 October
1977, at the age of 69.
Ben joined the Company as a Deck
Boy in December 1924, retiring as
Commodore in December 1971 after
47 years' service. After obtaining his
2nd Mate's Certificate he was unable
to find work as an Officer for some time
and sailed as Quartermaster on the
cruise ships Voltaire and Vandyck. He
received an official commendation for
his services during the last war and
appended to this obituary is an extract
from Sea Breezes recounting some of
his experiences as 2nd Officer of
Willimantiz, when she was sunk by
enemy action in 1942. His first
command came in December 1951,
when he was appointed Master of
Sallust.
Ben Metcalfe was finally laid to
rest at Brathay Church in a lovely
setting in his beloved Lakeland, with
the sound of water running down the
hillside. Captains Crebbin and
Nylchreest represented Directors,
Management, and Staff at the funeral.
The Rev Graham Hartley made
referenceto the way he had fitted in so
well with the local community since
retiring to Skelwith, Ambleside. When
he visited Liverpool he always made a
point of calling in at Albion House in
order to keep abreast of Lamport
happenings.
Ben Metcalfe will be sorely missed
by his many friends both ashore and
afloat and we extend our deepest
sympathy to his wife and family.
Extract from 'Sea Breezes'
Action at sea, June 1942
On 24 June 1942, at 0345 hours, we
weresuddenlv attacked by asubmarine
which opened fire on the surface. First
she blew away the wireless room and
after end of the chart room, killing the
two Radio Officers. The next shot
10
demolished the 3.5 inch gun on the
poop.
I was Officer on the watch at this
time and observed the efforts of the
Captain to keep the submarine astern,
but this proved difficult because the
enemy could not be seen in ~ e
darkness, except when she fired er
armament. Eventually the ship caugh
fire amidships and, with shrap ~
flying about in all directions, Captai
Everettgave the order to abandon i.
The two starboard boat
launched successfully, bu e 0 er
two were hit, killing the 3rd Officer.
Captain Everett was taken aboard e
submarine as a prisoner and the
enemy commander furnished r
Metcalfe with a chart. He apologised
for the sinking of our ship and the
death of our shipmates and then set
off on a north-easterly course. The
raider had obviously been on patrol for
some time and was now out of
torpedoes.
After spreading the boat cover as an
awning, and rigging up another jury
sail, I discussed the situation with the
Chief Officer in the other boat. He
decided to steer due west and make
for the American coast. I had already
decided to makefor Antigua, SSW 800
miles, since I thought that trying to
cross the Gulf Stream was impossible.
My plan had the advantage of fair
winds and current and I estimated that
we would make it in ten days. The
Chief Officer was of the opinion tha
his group had a better chance of being
picked up; I wasn't, knowing that in
wartime ships were routed well away
from shipping lanes.
Steering by the stars
We steered by compass during daylight,
and when darkness fell e
steered by the stars. I rationed the men
to one eighth of a pint of water dail ,
and one meal of corn beef mixed .
crushed biscuit-all we had. During
the heat of the day the men kept under
wet
ater

Appointments
The Atlanticargo Agency of the General
Agencies Division was strengthened in
January by the appointment of .J A E
Privett as Assistant General Manager
and the transfer of D.J Baker from the
Lon.d.on Area Office to take up the
position of Commercial Manager.
Retirement of Captain
Stanley Williams.
Captain Stanley Mason Williams
retired in February after 28 years in
command. Stan Williams was born on
12 November 1914 and served his
apprenticeship with Moss Hutchinson.
He joined Lamport & Holt Line in
January 1941 as 3rd Officer on Bruyere
and was torpedoed later that year off
the coast of Sierra Leone, being
rescued after seven days in a lifeboat.
Because of his resilience he was
promoted in February 1942 to 2nd
Officer of De vis. This vessel was
torpedoed in July 1943, just before the
all.iedinyasion of Sicily. For his part in
this action Stan Williams received an
official commendation.
He served in various Lamport vessels
until his promotion to Chief Officer in
October 1946 on the East Coast
North America/North Brasil service.
He was promoted to Master in 1950.
During his early years in command
he succeeded in refloating the Booth
passenger ship, Hilary, hard aground
following the failure and loss of the
tug engaged to do the job. After the
establishment of BSSM, Captain
Williams moved from the regular
South American run and spent a while
in command on Blue Port vessels.
His last appointment, however, was
on Roland when, accompanied by Mrs
Williams he was able to say farewell
to his many friends in South America.
Retirement of Jack Smythe
Jack Smythe joined Blue Star Line
back in 1935 at the Liverpool office in
Water Street and was involved with the
service to South Africa when BSL
first joined the Conference. He remembers
those days vividly, particularly the
first sailing of Imperial Star under the
command of Captain Macfarlane.
In 1945, when Lamport & Holt Line
joined the Vestey Group, BSL per=;
sonnel moved into the Royal Liver
Building and Jack transferred to
L~mports as Freight Manager. In 1952,
With th.eexpansion of Group interests,
an office was opened in Swansea
under the title of Liner Shipping
Ag.ency Ltd. managed by Jack Smythe.
This was the first office of Liner
S.hipping-the title then being in the
Singular and not, as now, in the plural.
Pioneering work
Jack Smythe speaks with feeling of
those years in Wales: it was pioneering
work in the true sense of the word for
calling upon South Wales shippers
entailed travelling over long distances
often in bad weather.
'
In 1957 Jack returned to Lamport &
Holt, this time in London, and in the
years that followed visited the
Company's offices in Brasil, Uruguay,
and the Argentine.
In 1969 he moved to Manchester,
where he was involved in the establishment
of ScanStar at the containerbase.
When Johnson Line joined forces with
ScanStar to create Johnson ScanStar,
Jack moved into the city office of
Liner Shipping Agencies and remained
there until his retirement at the end of
1977._
To mark his retirement, the management
organised a splendid and most
successful party on board Townsville
Star. Many of Jack's friends attended
and those unable to be there sent
messagesof goodwill. Short speeches
were made by Gordon Gibson
David Barber, and Sam Britland:
and Jack was presented with a handsome,
beautifully engraved pewter
tankard.
Having helped to establish Liner
Shipping Agency in 1952, it is fitting
that Jack Smythe should retire in this
Royal Silver Jubilee year; having seen
the Company attain its own Silver
Jubilee. We all wish Jack and Mrs
Smythe long years of good health and
a very happy retirement.
We would like to close with a few
words from Jack himself:
'I do not feel that I am closing the
door tonight-rather do I think of it
as a stable door with only the bottom
half ~Iosed. The top half will always
remain open that I may keep in touch
with my friends and follow the progress
of the Company:
Belles Lettres
The article in the Winter 1976-77 issue
of 'Gangway' has unearthed this
unusual painting on porcelain of
'Bellenoch'. This photograph was sent
to us by the grand-daughter of a
Donkeyman who served aboard the
ship.
Booth line News
Honour for Director
~illiam H Grannum, Managing
Director of the Booth Steamship Co
(Barbados) Ltd since its formation in
1962, has become the first Barbadian
ever to be honoured by the Government
of Francewith the OrdreNational
de Merite, the highest distinction
available to a non-national of the
Republic.
The medal was bestowed upon him
at a ceremony which took place at his
home in Hastings, Barbados, by His
Excellency M Henri Chollet, French
Ambassador to the island. M Chollet
spoke highly of Mr Grannurn's service
as Consular Agent for France in
Barbados, a post which he has just
va~ated upon reaching the compulsory
retirement age of 70.
William Grannum has been in
shipping all his life, having joined the
shipping firm of Thom and Cameron
(l?ter.Robert Thom) on leaving school.
HIS first association with Blue Star
Line came in 1938 when Robert
Thom took on the representation.
Presentation of the blue and silver
medal was hosted by the Ambassador
and Mme Chollet. The guests included
government ministers and the
British High Commissioner.
From left to right: Mrs Audrey Shepherd, Mr Sam Britland, Mr Jack Smythe
Mrs June Crov den, Mr W A Byers '
Buenos Aires
I used to call it 'Bewnus Airs'
Until a friend protested
That anyone who ever dares
Say that should be arrested.
I called it 'Bonus Iris' then
But that provoked such la~ghter,
I vowed I never would again
Pronounce the words thereafter.
But now, at last, no more disgrace
I know just what to say.
I look the whole world in the face
And call it plain 'B.A: K SLow
11

Captain W A Sparks
William Sparks was born in Birkenhead
on 4 January 1923. From a very
early age it had been his ambition to
go to sea and on leaving elementary
school at the age of 14 he set about
fulfilling this dream. With the help and
encouragement of his father and a
family friend he joined Lamport &
Holt Line's Voltaire as a Deck Boy in
May 1937.
For the next eight years he served
asa rating with a number of companies.
In 1945, whilst serving on a Whitby
tramp, Dunsley, as an Able Seaman,
the idea of progressing to Navigating
Officer was first suggested to him by
the deck apprentices. Having left
school at a rather tender age, the
main problem was to come to terms
with the mysteries of mathematics. In
1947, after two years' hard work with
the text books, Bill Sparks presented
himself to the examiner and, he tells
us, 'surprised myself and everybody
else' by passing the 2nd Mate's Certificate
first time.
At the age of 24 he rejoined
Lamports as 3rd Officer, finally obtaining
a Master's Certificate in 1952.
He left the Company in 1953 and
spent five interesting years tramping,
receiving his first command in 1956.
He returned to Lamport & Holt in
1958 as a Chief Officer and command
followed in 1963.
Captain Sparks is married, with a
teenage family of a daughter and two
sons. Last year he and his wife
attended a Royal Garden Party at
Buckingham Palace. Bill Sparks never
leaves for a tour of duty without at
least one book of poetry, Kipling and
Masefield being his particular
favourites. In more recent years he has
become an MMSA Council member
and attends meetings whenever he is
at home.
But navigation remains his greatest
interest and he enjoys taking an active
part in the day-to-day navigation of
the ship. As he himself says 'I don't
see why the 2nd Officer should have
all the enjoyment.'
12

Mr D A Barber
David Barber is General Manager and
a Director of Lamport & Holt Line,
Liverpool. He was born on 3 December
1924 at Leeds and spent his formative
years in that city. (He reckons to
qualify as a Leeds 'Leiner") After
leaving school he enrolled as a cadet
with the Indian Army and was posted
to the 5th Royal Gurkha Rifles (Frontier
Force). He served in India, Burma, and
Japan and, for a short spell after
Indian independence in 1947, with
the 6th Gurkha Rifles during the
formation of the British Brigade of
Gurkhas in India and Malaya.
He returned to Britain in 1948 and
took one of the short business courses
provided for ex-servicemen at Leeds
College of Commerce. In the following
year he joined W Weddel 'B' Department
at West Smithfield and spent
some time as a 'runner', first for the
late E J Bowater and later for Mr R
A Vestey before moving on to Lamport
& Holt Line.
David Barber was appointed Assistant
Manager of Larnports and then
begun a long and instructive 23-year
association with' Mr W Lough -atthe
Head Office in Royal Liver Building,
Liverpool. He succeeded' Mr Lough
as Manager in 1955 and as General
Manager in 1974.
'
He married one of 'Lamport's young
ladies' and has lived happily ever
since 'over the water' in Wallasey, He
lists his leisure activities, according to
season and inclination, as reading,
pottering in the garden, gentle exploraations
of the countryside, and
occasional forays to savour the scenery
and serenity of the North Yorkshire
National Park. David Barber's wife,
Marjorie, has interests on and off the
stage with the Wallasey Amateur
Operatic Society and counts on his
support in their activities-so long as
this is strictly confined to audience
participation!

Aroundthe
orldin
twenty-three days
by I D M Simpson
I set out on my trip on 7 November
1977, feeling glad to leave London
behind me. Winter was setting in,
random blackouts stretched out the
dark days still further, and a telephone
engineers' strike hindered our communications
with the outside world
and even disrupted BSL's internal
system. On top of all this, my flat was
without hot water, due to a fault in
the boiler.
Our departure from Heathrow was
delayed for an hour in the aftermath of
the Heathrow air traffic controllers'
strike-but in the circumstances I
suppose that we were lucky to get
away with only one hour's waiting.
At 11.15 that night, local time, we
landed in Dubai, a hot and dusty port
in the Gulf.
Our party (Mr and Mrs Payne and
myself) were efficiently whisked
through customs by a little Arab clad
in sparkling white and were then
greeted by the cheerful faces of
Michael Morse and Bill Askew.
After my first 24 hours in Dubai two
things especially impressed me. First
there was the continual sound of
motor horns at various pitches like
staccato conversation; secondly, the
rapid rate of development, with new
apartments, schools, and hotels springing
up everywhere. Perhaps this headlong
expansion is proceeding rather
too quickly for the country's good,
since the projects never seem to be
completed properly. One also feels that
with a little more organisation, wastage
(which is considerable) could be cut
down.
Trade Unions are not permitted in
Dubai and government control is
strict. The framed face of the ruler
peers down from every office wall.
Severe punishments are inflicted for
criminal acts and the system appears to
be effective, for there is never any
need to lock your car. Recently an
Asian convicted of theft in the neighbouring
Emirate of Abu Dhabi was
sentenced to have his right arm lopped
off.
14
The following day we travelled by
car down the coast to Abu Dhabi, a
two-hour journey. The road is in good
condition, but there are no wayside
facilities at all, the only landmarks
being dead camels and wrecked cars.
Whereas Dubai is the commercial
centre of the United Arab Emirates,
Abu Dhabi is the capital and perhaps
the richest city in' the domain. The
city is coming to resemble any western
metropolis, with skyscrapers and
masses of greenery-both pet likes
of the ruler. In fact there are only two
buildings in the city over 15 years old,
namely the Emir's old palace and the
prison, and a million qallons of water
are pumped into the city every week
from a nearby oasis to sustain all the
greenery.
Land of opportunity
The Gulf states are a land of boundless
opportunity and anybody is welcomed
to help development-provided that
they are prepared to work. Facilities of
all kinds are gradually being improved
and the climate is not unpleasant,
except for the months from July to
September when the heat becomes
humid and intense. However, air
conditioning is being installed everywhere.
During a recent power cut the locals
all took to their air-conditioned cars to
stay cool, resulting in an enormous
traffic jam. Besides the heat, other
disadvantages are that public transport
is nil, bar taxis, and a private car is
essential. Apartments are expensive to
rent and cannot be bought by
foreigners.
Dubai is very much geared to
progress. A new industrial town is
being built around the new port of
Mena Jebel Ali and is due to be
completed in another two years.
Facilities will include eight container
berths and seventy conventional
berths. A white elephant maybe, but
perhaps in the not too distant future
we shall see the UAE, with the help of
their oil revenues,_pr.99l,!cingmore of
their own products.
At first light the next day we set off
for our next destination, Singaporebut
first of all one or two problems had
to be overcome. I noted on leaving my
hotel that a taxi fare to the airport had
been added to my bill, but on arrival at
the airport the wretched taxi -driver
(complete with his fan belt, white robe,
and sandals) wanted his fare and not
just a tip. After some minutes of slow
English and wild gesticulation I
managed to make him and a policeman
understand my position-or at
least I thought I had.
However, as I passed through
customs I was collared by this same
policeman and instructed to follow
him outside to begin negotiations with
the taxi-driver all over again. The
situation seemed hopeless and I reluctantly
agreed to lose the fixture and
pay an additional fare.
On arrival at Singapore we were met
by David Bungard and his wife
Eliana. Dinner was taken at the Gordon
Grill in the Goodwood Park Hotel that
evening where, to my astonishment,
the room was decked in tartan, and
haggis, neaps, and tatties were included
in the menu. Many thousands
of miles away-and yet home from
home!
Singapore is dominated by its
modern skyscraper architecture. The
city is immaculate with greenery
abounding. We were lucky enough to
take lunch in a restaurant at the top of
one of the highest buildings: the
restaurant revolved once every hour
giving us a panoramic view of this
famous and beautiful port.
Life goes on at a bustling pace in the
humid heat. The roads are well laid
out and thronged with cyclists as well
as cars and buses. Commercial life
goes on for seven days a week, with
shops staying open and manned by
energetic and skilled sales staff, soliciting
customers. Bargaining is the usual
custom and prices shown on the tabs
are subject to discount in this way.
Politically and socially the country

Singapore.' lain Simpson (left) and Mrs J G Payne (right)
.'~.,.."
with David and Eliana Bungard and their deuahter
seems to be in a very sound state with
the government very much in control
of affairs. Trade unions exist, but are
moderate in their aspirations. Economically,
too, Singapore is making rapid
progress, and whilst visiting the ship
Harvest Gold, now chartered by BSL,
I was able to see the new industrial
estates, many of which are connected
with shipbuilding, repairing, and
engineering.
Whilst in Singapore we enjoyed a
Chinese-style dinner at the Shangrila,
where Mr Abraham (Assistant
Manager of Merlion) and Mr Chisholm
(Manager of Malayan Meat Co)
joined us with their wives. This
evening, and indeed our entire visit,
was expertly organised by David
Bungard.
British connections
We left the heat of Singapore in our
wake and travelled south-east to
Australia. Light rain was falling in
Sydney but soon the sun emerged,
bathing this lovely city with an
irridescent light which sparkled on the
waters of the harbour and highlighted
the pleasant combination of old and
new buildings.
I was continually reminded of
British connections by the style of
architecture, street names, and statues
of such notables as Queen Victoria and
Robbie Burns. It was a pleasure to
look around such a fine city and
Richard and Fleur Thorpe made
excellent guides.
We travelled down to Melbourne
for a luncheon at the Naval and
Military Club for meat shippers, Dairy/
Meat Board representatives, and
ACTA/BSL personnel. The atmosphere
and surroundings there are completely
English (I hope that the many
Australians present will forgive me for
this observation).
The assembled company were put
clearly in the picture about the latest
developments in BSL by Mr Payne.The
luncheon was also an opportunity to
bid adieu to Colonel Malcolm
MacArthur, who is retiring from his
post as Chairman of the Australian
Meat Board, and to thank him for his
efforts in co-ordinating the activities of
ship operators and meat shippers.
Whereas Sydney must have changed
considerably in recent years,
Melbourne has retained an old world
look and remains the financial centre
of the country. The weather there
tends to be slightly cooler and breezier
and life goes by at a slightly less hectic
pace.
Our stay in Australia was completed
by a buffet dinner at the Sydney Hilton
where we met members of the BSL
Sydney staff and their wives. It was
both a sad and a happy occasion for
it was announced by Mr Payne that
Mr Chilcott (Company Secretary) was
soon to be retiring from the Company
and that a new face, myself, would be
joining the Australian team early in
1978.
Our next port of call was Christchurch,
New Zealand, where we were
welcomed by Bob White and Peter
Spratley. Compared with the high rise
blocks of Singapore and Sydney,
Christchurch has a much lower skyline
and has much of the atmosphere of a
market town. Our short car journey to
Lyttelton could have been a drive in the
Scottish highlands, with equally beguiling
scenery. In Lyttelton we
inspected Auckland Star, under the
command of Captain Windle, and a
dinner was held that evening where
we were joined by Mr and Mrs Groves
(ex Blueport and Turnbulls) and other
friends of the Company.
The following day, at the crack of
15

dawn, we boarded a chartered light
aircraft which took us down to Timaru
for, cf"isit to Canterbury Star. We were
greeted by Peter Weith of Turnbulls,
our Agents, and later met Captain
Pitcher and Tony Smith from Sydney.
Next stop was Wellington (and back
to the tall buildings) where Gladstone
Star and ACT 7 were in harbour, under
the commands of Captain Bee, and
Captain McPhail respectively. After an
inspection of Gladstone Star, a
luncheon was held in town for the
many shipping friends of the Company.
It was my great pleasure to meet Ken
Churchouse, a man whose name has
been synonymous with BSL's New
Zealand interests for many years.
Magnificient vessel
By courtesy of the Wellington Harbour
Police we were whisked out by launch
for a visit to ACT 7, out at the anchorage.
Our guided tour was conducted
by Captain McPhail and, despite one or
two quibbles, I must admit that the
vessel is magnificient.
This was the official end of our New
Zealand visit, but before we caught
our flight from Auckland we were
treated to some further New Zealandstyle
hospitality by the Jones family
at their farm outside the city, situated
in the most beautiful rolling hill
country. It was most enjoyable and
set us up nicely for the long journey to
San Francisco which now lay ahead.
After some hassle at Los Angeles
Airport we finally arrived in San
Francisco four hours late, where we
were met by Archie Gilbert who had
been waiting patiently for those four
hours. After the relative calm of New
Zealand we now found ourselves
amidst the bustle of California. Following
a brief inspection of the new BSL
offices in the Embarcadero Building
and a meal, rest was the order of the
day.
Thanks to an excellent tour arranged
by John Forster, I managed to see
many parts of San Francisco and
experience its steep hills and wide
choice of restaurants. I was also able
to view the impressive Berkeley
University complex and will long
remember the incredible view of San
Francisco Bay at night. The friendliness
of the inhabitants is amazing, the
city offers many amenities, and the
-standard of living is high. One great
asset is the tram system, built in 1887.
There are only two circuits in operation
now, but they are both extremely
picturesque, as well as efficient and
economic.
A highlight of our stay in San
Francisco was. a cruise round the
'famous Bay. Local Blue Star employees
and their families were joined by
Gordon Gibson from London, Bill
Lambert and Alex McGregor from
'Wellington, and our own party, aboard
a motor boat chartered by Ray Tilley.
The bold skyline of the city appears
'16
Ready for take-off from Timaru: lain Simpson, Bob Whyte, Mrs J G Payne, and Peter Spratley
of Christchurch Office
even more imposing from the
surrounding waters and the tour
covered the two bridges, the Island
of Alcatraz (as foreboding as its
history), Treasure Island and Angel
Island, and the impressive container
terminal at Oakland.
After a successful Crusader Seminar
the visit was completed by a dinner
held in aid of the WCNA Crusader
Agents present. The after dinner
speeches were ably led by Chris Blom,
who is also an expert conductor of
traditional Norwegian drinking songs,
Mr and Mrs Payne left for London
on 23 November, whilst I travelled on
to the French-Canadian city of Montreal.
After a scenic flight over the
Rockies I was met by snow and nearzero
temperatures which, added to a
bus and underground strike, returned
me to reality, Despite the frequent use
of the French language there does not
appear-on the surface, at least-to be
much French influence, apart from the
occasional 'beret noir.'
Third largest city
On 25 November I moved on to
Toronto, which is a considerably more
modern city and, after New York and
Los Angeles, is the third largest city in
North America. Ontario is entirely
English-speaking and a certain anti-
Quebec feeling is apparent-a
response to the province's separatist
movement.
Temperatures here fell to minus
twelve degrees Celcius-quite a
change from Singapore! It was in
Toronto that I had my first taste of
'Canadian football' when the final of
the Grey Cup (equivalent to our Cup
Final) was televised from Montreal.
My opinion is that we are very lucky
to have games like soccer and rugby,
29 November saw me being 'trucked
out' by Keith Crocker, a local broker,
in his four-wheel drive: I was off for
my last port of call, New York. The
sheer pace of this city hits the visitor
immediately. For example, among the
jostling throng in the lobby of my
hotel were a middle-aged couple
locked in a raging argument, apparently
oblivious to the fact that they were
sharing their conflicting points of view
with the world at large. With the
continual whining of police sirens at
all hours of the day and night you get
the impression that anything can
happen in New York.
The hotel's last piece of advice for
the day is hardly designed to make you
feel comfortable. Beside your bed is a
note saying: 'Please remember to bolt
and chain your door before retiring to
ensure your privacy and security. Best
wishes for a good night's sleep: Point
noted. A taxi-driver told me the next
morning that a Brazilian had been
murdered the previous day in the hotel.
My opinion of this city did not alter on
seeing it in daylight. It is friendly, yet
unfriendly, beautiful yet ugly, exciting
and frightening at the same time.
So ended my 23-day trip around
the world which, considering the
number of places visited, had passed
off with hardly a hitch. In all ports of
call one thing that really impressed me
was the loyalty of our Blue Star
personnel. Their expertise and experience
at all levels is both astonishing
and reassuring.
To sum up these 23 magic days:
it was the trip of a lifetime.

E OXFORD DIVING
·XPEDITION TO CABO FRIO
angst those sailing aboard Romney
mid-July 1977 from Liverpool to
io De Janeiro were two members of
e Oxford Diving Expedition from
. erpool to Cabo Frio. The leader,
artin Whittle, had lived in Brasil for
ten years and possesses a good
. orking knowledge of the language,
and the other passenger, Bill Watts,
as extensive experience in photographic
techniques. The Expedition,
financially aided and approved by the
'oyal Geographical Society, also included
Miss Astrid Milner and Miss
Christine Maggs.
All four members are now back in
Britain and Bill Watts has kindly sent
us the following report for Gangway:
It all began in the Summer of 1976
hen Martin Whittle was invited by a
Brasilian admiral to bring a group of
diving biologists to his project at Cabo
Frio and study the effects of the upelling
there. (What an upwelling is
isn't important at this juncture; suffice
it to say that it is a rare enough
phenomenon to justify a trip of 8000
miles to study it.)
So, in the following year, Martin and
three carefully chosen colleagues set
about organising an expedition.
Amongst many other letters, Martin
wrote to Blue Star asking for. help in
shipping our equipment to Brasil. In
his reply Mr Payne kindly offered us
two working passages on Blue Star
ships.
By this stage (early summer) it had
become apparent that our funds would
not run to four return air tickets, so
we were extremely grateful for the
offer. After a short correspondence
with Captain A J Braund it was
decided that the two boys (or men,
after being on deck) would travel by
sea and that the girls would fly.
We had a good trip out with plenty
of things to occupy ourselves. Besides
discovering what 'soo-qee-inq' meant,
there were many other excitements,
such as getting lost in Las Palmas,
knowing -that ships don't wait for
people. We both managed to escape
the barbaric rites of King Neptune
when crossing the equator. I claimed
that I had crossed it when coming to
England by ship from my birthplace.
Indonesia-a claim which I later
established to be true.
We first saw Cabo Frio Island at
midnight, a few hours before getting
into Rio. It would have been nice to
see it for the first time in bright sun,
surrounded by a placid sea, just to
ease our minds a little. However, our
introduction was a rather ominous
23"-1'
"
2'
49
_
49,/
.........
i
38
M
Ponta, dos Fer-r-eir-oa
49
M 39
shape looming out of the darkness.
The first glimpse of Rio wasn't much
better since it was covered in fog. I
could just make out Sugar Loaf on the
radar screen.
We left for Cabo the next day,
leaving the bulk of our equipment in
customs to be sorted out after the
weekend. This was the last we saw of
the crates for three weeks, We were
warmly welcomed by the people in the
project and given a great deal of
valuable assistance. A boat and driver
were put at our disposal, as well as a
lab. We stayed in dormitories connected
to a certain 'Hotel Ressurgencia
(Hotel Upwelling) run by
Projecto Cabo Frio for its guests and
employees.
University of the Sea
As can be guessed from the name of
the hotel, the project is mainly concerned
with the upwelling. Upwelling
is the process by which cold, deep
water that is rich in nutrients comes to
the surface; the main aim of the project
is to utilise this in any way possible.
Some schemes include making ice
(in great demand from the fishing
industry for transport) using the cold
water. The high concentration of
nutrients is employed in culturing
algae, used to feed marine animals.
There are also people engaged in
biological research not related to the
upwelling phenomenon and the
eventual aim is to establish a 'University
of the Sea'.
At the end of our third week in
Brasil our equipment was finally
released from customs and we were
able to start doing some of the things
that we said we would do in our
prospectus. This included general calc
lecting of specimens, taking photo-
17
4L
35
35
M
30
5
29
57
51:1"
59'
z'

graphs, and making a detailed survey
of a few sites.
Our day was more or less totally
filled with preparation for and recovery
from a dive, which at the most would
last an hour. It is not an exceptionally
efficient method of research. After we
had recovered-a process which entailed
washing the equipment, taking
a shower, and eating-we might or
might not go back to the lab to sort out
all the samples that had been brought
up that day.
The animal and plant life to be seen
at the depths we were diving to (down
to 25 metres) was quite beautiful. The
predominant specie that we found was
the jewel anemone; clusters covered
the rock faces in brightly coloured
patches. There were also many sea
urchins which the unfortunate diver
got swept onto at times, depositing
nests of spines under the skin. Despite
all the old seadoq tales of sharks recounted
to us with glea on Romney,
there were none to be seen.
Martin enjoyed a very pleasant
return voyage aboard Raeburn and we
are now trying to put our results into
some sort of meaningful order. All in
all it was a most rewarding trip and we
are most grateful to Blue Star for
making it possible.
Amver
Award
The majority of our seagoing personnel
arefamiliar with Amver, the Automated
Mutual-assistance Vessel Rescue
system.
Basically the system operates as
follows. After completing a questionnaire
regarding radio watch schedules
and available medical and communication
facilities, a vessel forwards a
simple passage plot to the Amver
Centre in New York and this information
is fed into a computer. Periodic
position adjustments and reports are
sent free of charge through any of
approximately 70 cooperating radio
stations throughout the world.
Through this computerised system
for search and rescue the Coast
Guards are able to forecast and
identify the names, locations, and
facilities of merchant vessels near an
emergency.
To demonstrate their appreciation of
the support given to this international
lifesaving programme the US Coast
Guards make an annual award of blue
Amver pennants and Certificates of
Recognition to ships qualifying for
such an award for the first time, and a
gold pennant to those vessels which
have qualified for an award for five
consecutive years. During 1976 New
Zealand Star gained her first award,
California Star her third award, and
Columbia Star her fourth award.
Captain T D Brewster of 'Columbia Star receives his vessel's pennant from Rear Admiral Raymond H Wood, US Coast Guerds, at a ceremony
at the US Embassy in London
18

y Eddie Oakes
~
=- ~ead slow as we took the two
_ _~ard-one ataciturn European
. the other a shirtsleeved
. ith a more flamboyant style
~-- eaded into Port Said.
--:c - l thought on coming aboard
;} a reversal of time honoured
u the 'dirty postcard' trade.
au any Penthouses, Playayfairs
?' they asked the Mate.
go see if other officers have
- cabin?'
as e approached the channel
= in 0 the port, with a sunken
::0=-. er yellow goalpost derricks
- isted, forming the end of the
'~-'-'-"'-er, the little group on the
thinking back a decade and
other passagesof the Canal.
asn't improved with age:
I .,.... ...•' ••-"'.J Captain Jones.
aye the people: grunted the
o obviously was not on the
- terms with the pilots. He had
since leaving Genoa, thinkrays
to keep the ship secure
e inevitable invasion of the
men with their travelling
ot 'souvenirs', ranging from
ic 0 the downright tawdry.
=
- is passenger there were
of wartime days, and also of
- armed and abortive Port Said
__ :0 by the Anqlo- French force
4 ::=-. oday most of the wreckage
as been cleared, although the
area has business-like flak
--=.. ••••.•'••s mounted to deter any lowflying
Israeli jets. However, the offshore
smells were the same as we all
remembered.
Eager hawkers
After the Agent had come aboard, the
Mate made sure that the gangway was
quickly lifted out of reach of the bumboat
men. For an hour they circledin
motor launches now-frustrated.
But when the Agent called-in his
launch he was virtually swept aside
by the rush of eager hawkers up the
gangway and into the ship.
The more experienced quickly set up
shop-as it happened, right outside
the Mate's cabin, which caused an
explosion when he came down from
the bridge. One flourished a rather
grubby sheet of Blue Star Line headed
notepaper containing a 'certificate' that
one 'Jock McLean' had shown himself
at all times 'to be well behaved when
aboard ship.'
The wives, most of them visiting the
Canal Zone for the first time, were
soon trying to 'bargain'. The purser,
an old hand with the traders of Port
Said, was not impressed. 'Not even a
filthy postcard: he remarked. 'It's all
,just rubbish.'
Cleverly constructed small tables
and stools, a little rough in their finish,
produced the most spirited bargaining.
Nobody wanted the large bags of
roasted peanuts, the kilos of Turkish
Delight, or the tinselly toys.
Gradually, the bum-boat men drifted
away to try other ships in the assembling
convoy as they moored nearby,
ready for the early morning start southward.
But the Ghillie-Ghillie Man
stayed on board, first to give his street
magician's show to the crew, then to
come up after dinner and sit crosslegged
on the floor near the bar in the
Officers' lounge, his audience all
around him and literally breathing
down his neck from above and
behind.
He was a quiet, hawk-faced man,
wearing a neat grey suit and speaking
excellent English, Quickly the Ghillie-
Ghillie Man summed up his audience.
He drew the Master's t l-vear-olo son,
Nigel, down beside him to 'help' with
card tricks, then gradually brought in
others.
His smooth patter was climaxed by
the repeated 'ghillie-ghillie-ghillie' as
each trick was expertly performed, and
the audience visibly warmed to an
unusually good performance. Then
came the moment the old hands had
been waiting for: Mike, the burly 3rd
Engineer, looked genuinely embarrassed
as the magician's deft fingers
drew not one, but three live baby
chickens from his shirt.
Shock of her life
Brenda, the 2nd Engineer's pretty wife,
got the shock of her life when, with a
whispered 'do you mind?' she felt the
agile fingers toss a chicken into the top
of her blouse, then drop another in as
he produced the first one, There were
delighted roars from that part of the
audience out of reach -of the Ghillie-
Ghillie Man's flickering, long-fingered
hands.
'It was horrible when I felt him do
it-but now I can see the funny side:
she confessed later. 'I wanted to go
all modest, but he didn't give rne.timel'
'The best show I've seen for a:long
time', was a comment that summed up
the general view, and the tribute, was
generous when the inevitable
collection came.
ACT 1 was moving again at 2 am,
near the middle of the 18-ship convoy.
Sun-up revealed that the northern end
of the Canal at least is still the frontline
of a war: the defensive positions
were fully-manned and the guns in
place.
The Egyptian radio, relayed loudly by
a harbour tug, had been full of
President Sadat's peace-making
mission to Jerusalem, then about to
take place. But here there seemed
little relaxation.
EI Oantara had obviously taken a
bashing. Across Lake Timsah more
distance made Ismalia seem like its
old self. But the north bank, where the
Israelis had built their fortified line
-had 'largely been cleared, although
there were hints of minefields along
deserted stretches.
By 11 am, ACT 1 was stopped on
the southern side of the Great Bitter
Lake, where Scottish Star had _once
lain rusting for so long, as we waited
19

for the northbound convoy to come
through from Suez. By 2 pm there were
some 56 ships of all sizes, shapes, and
ages in sight.
It was slow ahead again, promoted
now to second place behind a Russian
ship, as we entered the southern half
of the Canal. A big tanker filled the
channel behind us. In this area the
widening of the Canal is in full swing,
with Japanese dredgers at work and a
labour-intensive exercise with hundreds
of fellaheen in progress on the
shore.
The new retaining wall, being built
by Egyptain masons with crushed
stone, matches exactly the wall of the
old canal, now being broken down as
the sand behind it is cleared away.
Little changes in Egypt.
By 5 45 pm battered Port Tewfik
was sliding past in the gathering dusk.
It had taken us only 15 hours for the
100 miles passage, instead of the
usual 18. As we dropped our Canal
pilot and came up to full speed, the
Russian ship was soon behind us.
However, ACT 1 was well in the lead
as she surged down the Gulf of Suez
towards the Red Sea.
(Eddie Oakes was a passenger
aboard 'ACT l ' on a recent voyage to
Australia).
Around the World
bybox-boat
by Deck Cadet A R Baragwanath
Even through the almost opaque allows the rattle of crockery and the
window of a railway carriage, my second steward's directions to be
first sight of ACT 7 gave me some clearly audible at each meal. The
impression of her great size. She was, engineer's alarm, even in the public
of course,the object of my journey, and rooms, emits a shriek that can almost
I confess to having felt a certain shatter glass and is unpleasant in the
excitement that was lacking when extreme. Taken individually these may
joining other ships. This was to be my seem petty matters, but being constant
first trip on a container ship and she irritants their existence becomes more
was by far the largest, fastest, and prominent as time passes.
newest ship I had been on. She would We left Suez as the fourth ship in
also be full, no doubt, of a great deal the southbound convoy. Immediately
of sophisticated equipment-who ahead of us was a large Japanese
could fail to be impressed? container ship reputedly capable of
The true size of ACT 7 cannot be 26 knots. By the time we had worked
fully appreciated until. one is faced up to full speed she was two miles
with the problem of carrying a couple ahead of us and it was a long time
of suitcases up the accommodation before we were seen to be closing the
ladder-the same ladder which, later gap. It took about two hours to
in the trip, was to induce attacks of finally overtake the Japanese, but the
vertigo in at least two people and leave sense of pride in the ship was obvious
countless others breathless at the top, amongst the spectators who crowded
Fortunately, having reached the ac- her side.
commodation, the lift makes further Fremantle was the first Australian
ascent much easier.
port of call and we were accompanied
My cabin struck me as being of there by several ships of the United
adequate size, comfortable, and smart States Navy along with over 5000
-a great contrast to the more Spartan American sailors. The next port of call
surroundings I had become accus- was Melbourne, and then on to
tomed to. However, there was little Sydney.
time for a gentle settling-in for, Our stay in Sydney threatened to be
straight after dinner, and half-an-hour the most eventful period of the trip as
after first setting foot on board, a wad we were due to load a large consignof
flow sheets was thrust at me and I ment of uranium. The mining and
started my first cargo watch. The trip export of uranium is a controversial
had be.gun.
subject in Australia and demonstrators
Good and bad points
had already tried to disrupt the loading
of ACT 3, which was taking uranium
The ship sailed for Zeebrugge, Liver- to Canada.After their failure to prevent
pool, and then Genoa. As the trip or even significantly delay the loading,
progressed, first impressions were the 'Friends of the Earth'were expected
modified as good and bad points were to mount a considerable assault upon
noticed. There is very little vibration at ACT 7. Consequently the police mainsea
and the noise of the main engine tained a constant watch over the docks,
does not intrude upon life in the even to the extent of having a police
accommodation. However, the posi- launch patrol the harbour.
tion of the crew's bar on the third deck
means disturbed sleep for those who
Anticlimax
must live directly above or below it. The 34 containers of uranium arrived
The absence of a pantry separating in the early hours of the morning,
the· galley from the dining saloon witnessed by about 20 demonstrators
20
who, in the face of overwhelming
police numbers, staged a candlelight
procession outside the docks. After the
violent scenes that had been anticipated
it was rather an anticlimax to
find the uranium safely on board with
scarcely a murmur of protest.
As we left the Australian coast and
headed for Auckland the voyage had
fallen well behind schedule after delays
at each port. A few days spent at
anchor off Auckland started some
lighthearted speculation about the
prospect of spending Christmas at sea.
A fortnight spent at Wellington at the
mercy of strike-minded wharfies
pushed the ETA at Tilbury back
dangerously close to Christmas. However,
at this stage all was not lost for
if all went smoothly at Port Chalmers,
if we averaged 24 knots all the way
home, and if we transitted Panama in
12 hours, we would arrive at Tilbury
late on 23 December. Then, if reliefs
were available and the trains were
running, Christmas at home was a
possibility.
Port Chalmers let us down. Cargo
work progressed very smoothly, the
failure of one compressor .cast doubt
upon our sailing, but a weekend tug
strike finally settled the matter: Christmas
would be spent in the Channel.
Cold turkey indeed.
Most of the time at sea I spent on
watch, and now that I could see the
initially awe-inspiring array of 'electrickery'
in action it inevitably lost
some of its mystique. While in port,
apart from working cargo, there were
frequently visitors to be shown around
the ship. This necessitated a fairly
good general knowledge of the vessel
and a quick brain to answer some of the
more probing questions.
From a personal point of view, the
black spot of the voyage was undoubtedly
the week spent stripping
oil-saturated insulation from a hot and
cramped cooling space. The total haul
was sufficient to completely fill the
Bedford truck sent to collect it.
At the risk of being considered a
'box-boat man' I would say that I
especially looked forward to this trip on
a container ship as a chance to dispel
some of the myths surrounding them.
I shall certainly not be dismayed if, at
some time in the future, I am sent to
join a container ship-particularly if
she is ACT 7.

year inthe hot seat
- by Sam Britland
appointed Manager of Lamport &
Line in Manchester in July 1959
it was part of my duties to attend
e monthly meetings of the
anchester Steamship Owners
ociation. Lamport & Holt had been
embers of the Association for many
ears as they were amongst the first
ersof the port. Inevitably, as I learned
ore about the work of the Associa-
'on, I became increasingly interested,
:: d some twelve years ago I was
- ected to the Executive Committee.
The Ship Canal and the main docks
:: anchester were opened in January
#894. The owners are the Manchester
ip Canal Company, together with the
of Manchester, which provided a
reat deal of the finance for the project
a d is represented on the Board by the
_ord Mayor and a number of
uncillors.
The Port Authority has the right to
ovide all the port services, such as
gs, dock labour etc, the licensing of
ilots, and authorisation of other
companies to provide services such as
ry docks.
Trepidation
The Manchester Steamship Owners
ssociation came into being in the
ear that the Canal opened and
amongst the early Chairmen are numbered
a great many who came to
Manchester and with their energy
and expertise helped to establish the
port in those early and difficult
days.
Through my membership of the
Executive Committee, I had grown to
appreciate the efforts that successive
Chairmen had put into the job, and it
was with some trepidation (but a
great deal of satisfaction) that I
accepted the invitation to become
Chairman in 1977.
I was told that I would be taking
OVEra very 'hot seat', as the year was
likely to be a most trying one. However,
one cannot pick and choose, so I took
up my post and began to preparefor the
Association's Annual Dinner, which
is always the first event of the Chairman's
year. I was the first Vestey Group
employee to occupy the position and I
must say that I received all the support
and encouragement I could wish fer.
Mr J G Payne, Mr D A Barber, and
a number of my colleagues came along,
and a most convivial evening it proved
to be.
In addition to the Executive Committee
of the Association there are
several others, dealing with pilotage,
. shore labour and so on. The Executive
Committee meet the Canal Company
to discuss all increases in costs. For
example, the last meeting discussed
proposed increases in the costs of
Towage, Ship Dues, and Canal Tolls
on goods. Whilst these days increases
may at times appear to be imposed
willy nilly, I believe that the continued
pressure that the Association brings to
bear does have an effect and the
Port Authority is able to produce
statistics to justify their proposals.
Busy year
I have attended several meetings of the
Pilotage Committee, which is perhaps
the busiest, dealing as it does with
accidents to vessels, the appointment
of pilots in the port, and fees. This
year has been a particularly busy one,
because the port's pilotage arrangements
are being brought moreinto line
with other ports', ready for the introduction
of the new National Pilotage
Scheme later in 1978.
This is just a brief outline of the
duties of the Chairman in routine
matters. There are also the other 'oneoff'
problems which concern him,
such as the recent strikes of checkers
and lockgate men which seriously
disrupted the port for four weeks and
which caused the Association great
worries,
On the lighter side, the Chairman
receives invitations to some very
pleasant social events, such as the
Annual Lunch of the Manchester
Branch of the Institute of Freight
Forwarders. By tradition, the Chairman
makes a short speech on behalf
of the guests, many of whom are
personal friends.
My wife and I were guests of the
Local Consular Association at their
Annual Banquet last November, but
the Annual Dinner of the General
Council of British Shipping at
Grosvenor House is the most outstanding
occasion in the Chairman's
calendar.A glittering, splendid occasion
-and particularly so in the Council's
centenary year.
My year of office ended in February
and I look back on it with great pleasure
and pride and with my grateful thanks
to the Management for their support
during the year. I hope that I have
contributed something useful to the
Association and wish my successor a
similar happy year.
. 21

,
by Eddie Oakes
Like all radio officers since Marconi's
men, he is known on ACT 1, as he has
been on all other Blue Star Line ships,
as 'Sparks'. But Douglas Owen is
better known to his present and
former shipmates, and to a large
number of ship lovers around the
world, as a skilled builder of model
ships.
Douglas has been Radio Officer
aboard ACT 2, and then ACT 1, for
seven years now. He has also served
on Melbourne Star, Brasil Star, and
Sydney Star. 'Although I'm not actually
employed by the Company, I feel like
a member of the Blue Star family; he
says.
During those past seven years this
quietly-spoken Welshman from Barry
has completed superb scale models of
Melbourne Star, Sydney Star, Hobart
Star, Townsville Star, Montevideo
Star, Auckland Star, Tasmania Star,
Brasil Star, Uruguay Star, Almeda Star,
Africa Star, ACT 2, and ACT 1.
During the latest voyage of ACT 1
around the world, 'Sparks' has completed
a model of the Company's big
new containership, ACT 7, at the same
time working on another, smaller,
model for Blue Star's Agent at
Zeebrugge, who already owns Owen
models of ACT 1 and Hobart Star.
'They have all been made on a scale
of one-sixteenth-of-an-inch to a foot,
from the original shipyard plans of the
ships; he explains. 'I've also made
some larger models on a scale of oneeighth-of-an-inch
to a foot.'
Douglas Owen's model of ACT 2
was aboard ACT 1 on the outward
voyage to Australia, bound for the
Maritime Museum in Brisbane which
already possesses Owen-built models
of Auckland Star, Brisbane Star, and
Port Brisbane. 'The museum there is
run by a surgeon who is a shiplover,'
Douglas explains. 'He wants me to do
a model of the old Ellerman ship, City
of Brisbane, but I will need either the
22
original plans of her or some good
photographs before I can do it:
Honoured around the
world
How did he begin this hobby, which
now plays such a big part in his life, at
seaaswell ason land, and hasgiven his
work honoured places in maritime
museums and shipping offices around
the world, from Australia and New
Zealand, to South Africa, South
America, The United States, Britain,
and Europe?
'It all started when I first went to sea
as a radio operator 18 years ago; he
recalls. '1 was bored, with nothing to
do for much of the time whilst serving
on the China coast. I had always been
interested in woodwork and doing
jobs around the house when I was at
home.
'Over the years I've accumulated a
fine collection of tools-drills and
knives and small files-and I always
have a supply of mill plywood with me
aboard ship:
The only problem, apart from the
painstaking attention to detail required
in model making, is the vibration which
Douglas
Owen's model of 'Brasil Star'
occurs when a containership is travelling
at full speed-as it tends to do
for most of the time. As he cuts tiny
pieces of fusewire, dips them in thick
paint, and fits them to form a ship's
rail, held together only by the paint
itself, 'Sparks' adjusts philosophically
to the annoying movements.
Employed by the International
Marine Radio Company of Croydon,
Douglas Owen works two watches a
day aboard ACT 1, from 8 am to noon,
and from 4 pm to 8 pm as a rule. He
devotes about five hours a day to his
modelling, with an hour in the early
morning, up to three hours in the
afternoon, and then a further four in
the evening when he comes off watch.
'It takes around four weeks to
complete a model, about 140 hours.
When I started making them it used
to take me about 240 hours; he says.
Many of those hours are spent in
putting the finishing touches to the
models, for 'Sparks' is not content
merely with sanding down the wood
and adding a coat of paint.
'After I have rubbed it down properly
I put on twenty to thirty coats of paint
to finish it off properly.'

ws Irom
slralia
- ee Company Secretaries, past and
zresent, pictured at the Christmas party.
eft to right) G H Chilcott (just retired),
G Middleton (1934 onwards), and J C
hi (the present Secretary)
Old friends together again: Blue Star pensioners pictured at the Christmas party (standing, left
to right) D Willson, H Dean, A Gregory, E J Brady, H Thornpsett, A Long, D Dargan, Z Blair,
and L Macintosh (seated, left to right) W A Craig, F N Riley, G H Chilcott, W G Middleton,
and S Turner
The event of the year
The annual Christmas party was held in
the office on 23 December and we
were pleased to welcome a number of
retired Blue Star people, including
Bert Dean, former General Manager;
Allan Craig, Manager for Queensland;
Jack Gregory, Assistant
Manager; Alex Long, Marketing;
Guy Middleton, Secretary; Stuart
Turner, Stevedoring Manager; and
Joyce Wright, private secretary.
Also present were retired Masters
F N Riley and H Thompsett, and
Chief Engineers E J Bardy and L
Macintosh. All those present voted
this the event of the year.
David and Yum Yum and
Cheri and Cuddles ...
concluded
Auckland Star arrived in Sydney on
21 October with one of the most
unusual groups of passengers ever
seen in the port-the four African
elephants featured in the last issue of
Gangway.
Unloading of the giant beasts at
No 10 Darling Harbour went without
a hitch and Auckland Star sailed for
Melbourne later that day. After a 30-
day quarantine period at Taronga Zoo
the rare animals (there has been only
one African elephant in Australia
previously) were despatched to the
new Western Plains Zoo at Dubbo.
African Elephants in their native habitat
taken by G G H Jefferys
Retirement of Geoffrey
Chilcott
G H Chilcott retired at the end of
January after more than 40 years'
service with Blue Star Line and Joint
Cargo Services.
Geoffrey started as an office boy in
the Sydney Office and after service
with the AI F in World War II progressed
through most departments. He was
appointed Company Secretary upon
the demise of Joint Cargo Services in
1973.
Geoff and his wife Barbara are both
keen golfers and in future will be
spending a good part of each week at
Massey Park Golf Club.
We wish them both a long and
happy retirement.
Retirement of Doug White
D L Whyte retired from the Sydney
Office on 31 October, after 23 years'
service with the Company.
Doug was mainly involved in
Accounts work, but in later years his
duties also included providoring.
Unfortunately Doug suffered a
serious illness in the last few months
before his retirement. However,
although he will always need to take
good care of himself in the future, the
relaxed atmosphere at Port Macquarie,
300 miles north of Sydney, will no
doubt be just what the doctor ordered.
Mercy mission
Rapid communications are taken very
much for granted these days. However,
Mr T Thornton, Chief Refrigerating
Engineer on Queensland Star will
probably agree that this is one aspect
of the modern world that is well
worthwhile.
Queensland Star was proceeding
from Chittagong to Tauranga on 4
January when Captain Findlay telegraphed
that Mr Thornton had suffered
a badly broken arm and that he
proposed to call at Carnarvon, Western
Australia, the following morning for
help.
Carnarvon, a town some 500 miles
north of Fremantle had not, asfar as we
know, been visited by a Blue Star
vessel before. Our Fremantle Agents
were alerted and found that assistance
was indeed available at Carnarvon,
although Queensland Star would have
to stand some three miles off, while
the patient was transferred ashore by
launch.
We are relieved to hear that Mr
Thornton was disembarked safely and
admitted to Carnarvon Regional Hospital
during the morning of 5 January,
while Queensland Star was on her way
to New Zealand within the hour.
23

Kiwi column
'Gladstone Star'
firefighting exercises
Last autumn, whilst Gladstone Star
was lying in Wellington awaiting a
cargo home, the Wellington Fire
Brigade asked if they might make use
of her for a series of firefighting
exercises involving as many members
of their Brigade as possible. This
request was, of course, granted, for
the more we know about firefighting
on ships, the better.
The exercises took the form of visits
to the ship, so that as many members
of the Brigade as possible could gain
an impression of a typical ship's layout.
The exercisesinvolved fighting imaginary
fires within the ship, using real
equipment. The ship's Officers and
Crew took part and learnt a great deal
about the best way of containing and
putting out fires, and cooperating with
shore-based fire brigades in the event
of a fire breaking out while in port.
In all firefighting, time is of the
essence. Time wasted or saved can
mean the difference between life and
death, and saving or losing a ship and
her cargo-so we are sure that the
instruction gained has been highly
beneficial. Although one always hopes
devoutly that fire will not break out on
one's own ship, it is wise to be well
practised and prepared if the worst
should happen.
At the reception: Alison and Peter with their guests (top row, left to right) Peter Suckling,
Colin .Elms, Ceptein Owen Mrs Owen, (Middle row, left to right) Bill Carrig, Robyn Carrig,
C Cteire.Elms, Ian Reay, Warren Denton Mrs Duell, Captain Duell, Tina Neenan
Ship and shore wedding
On 19 November 1977 a colourful and
enjoyable ceremony took place, resulting
in a further 'mating' of ship and
shore personnel. The couple joined in
wedlock were Chief Officer Peter
'Masterman' Stacy and Miss
This fine Lego model of ACT 7 was built
by nine-year-old Andrew Renton, son of
I M Renton Blueport ACT Terminal
Engineer in Port Chalmers
Alison O'Sullivan, former secretary
with Blueport, Wellington.
Amongst the large crowd were a fair
sprinkling of shipmates and Blueport
ACT shore friends. The O'Sullivan
family did the guests proud by providing
an excellent buffet lunch and a
steady flow of liquid refreshment.
Volley ball champ
Ati Lamsan, who works in the mail
room at our Wellington Head Office,
is a member of the Champion New
Zealand volley ball team. He has
played two tests for his country and
hopes to represent New Zealand
against Australia in 1978.
Captain Bee is 'rescued' from 'Gladstone Star' by Snorkel fire rescue appliance
Springbok column
Welcome to Chris Childs who recently
arrived in Capetown aboard
Townsville Star to join our staff.
Before leaving the UK Chris was
Assistant Operations Manager with
Star Offshore Services Marine in
Aberdeen. Chris's wife will be joining
him in Cape Town in the near future.
24

anagement responsibilities within the Group Shipping Companies
EdmlUld
Vestey
Chairman - Blue Star Une ltd.
Blue Star Ship anaqement ltd,
Booth Steamship Company L d..
Lamport &Ho tine .
,J G Payne
Deputy
Chairman - Blue Star ne
Blue Star Ship Ma _Sffi$l1
Booth Steamship Couspen
Lamport & oil t..iIE
o A B-arber
Location
Uverpool
D Barraclouqh Bulk centers and spe.cia!it.' ;-re==:S London
G.J Gibson Blue Sial New ZeelandtF~i

There are
184 good reasons
for booking with us
Our 184 helpful and experienced staff are waiting to answer your travel enquiries and make your
bookings at the 41 different locations listed below:
ASHTON-U-L YNE
BCA Travel, 16 Staveleigh Way.
Tel: 061-3307439/7430
AYLESBURY
Blue Star Travel, 12 Market Square
Tel: 02963747
BIRMINGHAM
BCA Travel, 30 Paradise SI.
Tel: 021-6438271
Blue Star Travel, 2270 Coventry Rd ..
Sheldon. Tel: 021-7425151
BLACKBURN
Blue Star Travel. 35 Church SI.
Tel: 025456200
BRISTOL
Blue Star Travel. 17 Union SI.
Tel. 0272 294057
BURGESS HILL
Blue Star Travel. 4 Church Rd.
Tel: 044462861
BURTON-ON-TRENT
BCA Travel. 17 SI. Modwe ns Walk
Tel: 0283 67761
BURY
BCA Travel. 9 The Mall
Tel: 061-7648523
CHEAM
Fairways Travel. 45 Station Way.
Tel: 01-6420012
CHELTENHAM
BCA Travel. 27 Winchcombe SI.
Tel: 0242 29372
CHORLEY
BCA Travel. 36 Market St.
Tel: 02572 2516
CRAMLINGTON
Blue Star Travel. 17 Dudley Court.
Tel. 067071,6421
CREWE
BCA Travel. 64 Market St..
Tel: 027056411
GILLINGHAM
Blue Star Travel. 148 High St.
Tel: 063454065
GLOUCESTER
BCA Travel. 10 Westgate SI.
Tel: 045231231
HUDDERSFIELD .
BCA Travel. 99 New St.
Tel: 048434151
HULL
Blue Star Travel. 89 Paragon SI.
Tel: 048226981
KINGSTON ON THAMES
Fairways Travel. 37 Fife Rd.
Tel: 01-5462257
KNUTSFORD
BCA Travel. 44 King SI.
Tel: 056552163/53245
LEEDS
BCA Travel. 4 Holt Park District Cen.
Tel: 0532 610011
LIVERPOOL
Blue Star Travel. 18 Castle St.
Tel:051-2360411
LONDON
Blue Star Travel, 29/33 Osborn St.
EI. Tel: 01-2474425
Blue Star Travel. Albion House.
Leadenhall St. EC3. Tel. 01-4806785
Blue Star Travel. 71174 Mark Lane.
EC3. Tel: 01-4806531
Blue Star Travel, 273 New Cross Rd ..
SEI4. Tel: 01-692)471/8849
Olley Travel. 12/14 Warwick Way.
SWI Tel: 01-8284171
MANCHESTER
BCA Travel. 71 Deansgate
Tel: 061-832 7891
NEW MALDEN
Fairways Travel. 121 High St.
Tel: 01-9429405
REI GATE
Fairways Travel. 61 High St.
Tel: 0737248383
RUGBY
BCA Travel. 9 Church St.
Tel: 078873249173240
RUSTINGTON
BCA Travel. Churchill Court
112 The Street. Tel: 09062 73655
SOLIHULL
BCA Travel. 517 Poplar Rd.
Tel: 021-7054941
SOUTHWICK
BCA Travel. 2 Southwick Square.
Tel: 0273594374
SUTTON
Blue Star Travel. 5 High St.
Tel: 01-642 8182
Derwent Travel. 156 Epsom Rd.
Tel: 01-3370011
WAKEFIELD
BCA Travel. 2a Bullring.
Tel: 0924 72175
WARRINGTON
BCA Travel. 5 Buttermarket SI.
Tel: 092536991
WORCESTER
BCA Travel. 101 High St.
Tel: 090525030125044
WORTHING
Southern Travel. Teville GMe.
Tel: 090335101/36121
YORK
BCA Travel. 1 Davygate Centre.
Tel: 090456892
BlueSt:ar
~avel
Incorporating:
BCA Travel, Olley Travel,
Derwent Travel, and
Fairways Travel.
Officially appointed agents for all Airlines, Holiday Companies, and British Rail.
A BLUE STAR LEISURE COMPANY