Orient City (3)

Comments from the forum - 4

Most of us joined in Hong Kong and we were on charter to a Japanese Company. We finished discharge in Japan and as we were out of line for the next load we were sent to Russia to load coal (what an experience). We had to show our passports every time we went ashore and the Russians were so slow that the seaman's bus did not always wait. On completing we had guards on the dock fore and aft as well as the gangway to stop us jumping ship.
We discharged in Japan and then loaded General cargo for Durban and South America.
Whilst in Durban I as 2nd Mate went ashore with Stewart Johnson (RSL Family) who was referred to as "Smersh". He had a fall in a night club on Point Road and was now "Scarface" and until his death swore that I pushed him'
We departed about 1800 hrs and when I was woken for M\the Midnight watch found that we were heading back to Durban as the bottom ends were grinding badly. We had 5 weeks in Durban whilst a Norwegian outfit ground the shafts and repaired the engines.
An ex RSL hand took us all to a Film premier but the longer we stayed in Durban and money ran low they moved us further and further from the town. Captain was Don Jack, C/O was Ray/Tom McNulty, and I think 3/O was Phil Deschamps. Can't remember the Engineers. Any Engineer remember this incident as it was about a year before the mishap in mid Atlantic. Peter J Bloomfield. Posted on forum 10 July 2012.

I paid off the Orient in Hong Kong when you joined. I was 3/E with a New Zealander as C/E and Jackie Chatten as 2/E. The voyage was a total nightmare as far as the engine room went.
I was carrying out the boiler and jacket water tests. Early in the voyage I reported to the C/E the the Chlorides were high in the M.E jacket water and was told that he would look into it. I checked the distillate coming out of the distiller and that was high in chlorides, this I reported to the C/E. There tubes leaking in the distiller stack an attempt was made to plug the leaking tubes without much success too many tubes had failed.
At this time the packing in the water transition elbows in the crankcase were failing allowing the water to contaminate the Lub. oil.
A new distiller tube stack was made with tube stock we had available and pure H2O was again produced and run down to the Jacket water reserve tank. I expected that the Main Engine Jacket System would be drained and flushed through, but that was not to be. The jacket water service tank was just kept topped up with the pure water and sawdust was added to the service tank to stop up the pinholes that were appearing in the water service piping in the crankcase. I spent quite some time in the crankcase with a ball penned hammer peening over the pinholes.
Eventually,one of the cylinder jackets failed and a temporary repair was made with "Belzona".
All this time Potassium Bichromate water treatment was being added, causing the jacket water to become very acid.
The Lub oil purifier could not cope with the amount of water that was entering the crankcase so the main L.O. charge was becoming emulsified.
You were very lucky to get as far as you did before the bearings completely failed.
I must admit that when I left the ship was the only time that I seriously considered leaving the sea.
I hope I haven't bored the Deckies. Tex Graham-Russell. Posted on forum 10 July 2012.

The final voyage with RSL (April 72) was discharging at Botleck (Rotterdam) and then being sold to become Alexander A S.
The final voyage initially started by being strike bound in Liverpool (Oct/Nov 71) for three weeks, TV pictures were still doing the rounds several years later every time there was a Dockers Strike (even at the new Waverly terminal)  since I guess the footage of the Orient City's bow looming out off Hutchison Dock over the road was just too good to discard.
Staff list: DLG Jones (Cap), CJ Brazier (C/O), PM Baverstock (2/O), RM Bayley (3/O), PA Ward (D/C), IH Woolley (D/C), AD Slade (D/C), DSH Thomson (R/O), CG Macey (JR/O), WH McCallum (C/E), C Gateshill (2/E), RJ Mountfield (3/E), PJ Morris (4/E), ST Davies (J/E), G Cook (J/E), MR Green (E/C), Elect MB Tawn, JT Jones (C/Stwd). David Thomson. E-mailed 30th October 2013.

Disclaimer: The statements on this page are the views of the person who posted them on the forum. The events took place many years ago and in most cases rely on those people's memories, and so we cannot guarantee the accuracy although every effort is made to check it.

Orient City. Page [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]
Memories from RSL staff. Page No. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]