Gangway No.1 Spring 1976 - BlueStarLine.org

A Ions
of UK Irade
for ISS
johnson ScanStar took rime off on 15
January [0 celebrate its onc millionth [On
carried to and from UK ports with a party
in the restaurant of Liverpool's Holiday
Inn. As Mr Payne remarked in his welcome
to the Lord Mayor of Liverpool and the
180 other guests, it was a family affair in
the BSL and Lamport & Helt Line
tradition, with wives, daughters, and giclfriends
joining in the celebration.
Bur the evening's star in every sense was
Blue Star Line's containership Columbia
Star, which discharged the millionth ton
at Liverpool's storm-swept Royal Seaforth
Terminal on the night of 2 January.
Photographs taken during that call, as well
as colour phmographs of the ship were on
display, but they were eclipsed by a large
and striking oil painting of Columbia Star
in stormy seas, which became a focal point
for both hosts and guests. The picture is
the most recent work of Gordon Ellis, the
Liverpool marine artist, and was borrowed
for the evening from a local gallery.
johnson ScanStar's General Manager,
Goran W'inberg, and the Marketing
Manager, Goran Ohlander, had come
across from Stockholm for the party, while
Mr Payne represented Blue Star Line, a
JSS shareholder, together with the Johnson
Line of Stockholm and the East Asiatic
Company of Copenhagen. Gordon Gibson,
General Manager of the UK General
Agency for j SS, was supported by Ron
Dunon and j im Lowe and the marketing
team from Liverpool. jane Goodlass and
Linda \Vorthingron added their charm and
distributive skills with flowers and
chocolates.
Which Ship?
This interesting old photograph was taken
by G H Tucker in the summer of 1936.
Once you've put a name to the ship, try
guessing the location; the lighters may
provide a clue. Answer on page 16.
The milJiOlllh IO" is Im/oaded from Columbia Star at Seaforth
Top of the docks
Mr \Vinberg pointed out that johnson
ScanStar began its service on 1 May 1972,
just one day before the opening of Royal
Sea forth terminal. Since then 173 calls had
been made there by JSS ships. He went on
to praise the service offered at Liverpool:
'Since we are a multi-port operator, we
can compare Sea forth with several other
ports in Europe and the UK. We have
concluded that facilities at Seaforth are
excellent, absolutely at the tOP of the list, '
Mr Winberg ended with the prediction that
'\Ve will be back to celebrate our second
million in a much shorter period of time.'
Mr John \Vilkinson, representing the
British Shippers' Council, and Mr Owen
Doyle, the Lord Mayor, both paid tribute
to the excellent service provided for
Merseyside and the North \Vest by
Johnson ScanStar, and particularly to the
Company's policy of direct calls, which
suited their customers,
Before supervising the draw for prizes
by the Lady Mayoress, Mr Payne
congratulated Mr \Vinberg, on behalf of
the shareholding lines, for running what
was not only a well-organised and happy
service but a successful one.
He then told a cautionary talc about the
young man from Liverpool's Nautical
Catering College who had made and iced
the large cake in the form of a containership
for the parry. Unfortunately, Mr
Payne pointed out, he hadn't got the flags
right, 'He was sent to sea yesterday!'