BLOG 61 - An Abbreviated Stay on the "Ad Astra"

Marine Musings 16 – "Ad Astra" – A Very Short Tenure of 25 days only – I then get Transferred – Tenure from 31st Aug 1983 to 24th Sept 1983

Foreword: On Officers' Uniforms

Of late, when watching a few sea career oriented experiences and influencers acting as advice givers on You Tube, they generally wear Merchant Navy uniforms. While I am supportive of the fact that they are doing a pretty convincing job of bringing out the positives and negative aspects, the hazards of a sea career, I wish they, if wearing a uniform, were dressed correctly. It seems incongruous to see a full sleeve white shirt, worn with epaulettes of rank at the shoulder.

A Glimpse of Home

Chapter 1 – We Perform “Griha Pravesam” in New House – My First Son is Born - I Join “Ad Astra” at Long View, California

After my first stint as Chief Engineer on the ‘Taronga’ and a brief time to reactivate a junk in Jeddah, I was home for less than a year. Some good things happened during this period. We built a house in Thiruvanmiyur in Chennai, conducted “Griha Pravesam” – known as “House Warming” in the West – and slowly settled in, furnishing it with necessities.

On 18th August 1983, my son Amrith was born. As we were completing his naming ceremony a few days later, a particularly special ritual for us, there was a call from the Mumbai office to relieve the Chief Engineer on the ‘Ad Astra’ on an emergency basis. My son was just 11 days old when I left Chennai. Reluctantly, I agreed because of the urgency of the situation. I would have, anyway, given notice for rejoining in another ten or fifteen days.

Shipping, in general, was in a slump. When I reached the Mumbai Office for doing my medicals, signing the contract and collecting my flight ticket, there was a long queue snaking down from the first floor of the office, through the building compound and spilling into the sidewalk of the street. When entering the compound, I did not realize the queue led to my office. I walked right in.

After a rather long flight to Los Angeles, I went straight to Long View by train and boarded the ship. The Chief Engineer left in the same taxi that brought me to the ship, so the ‘handing over’ was done at the gangway. A lot of things need to be taken on trust. I had already spent more than 5 years in the Company and my reputation as an honest and no-nonsense type of person had spread. Chief Engineers who were handing over to me were very, very careful. Chief Engineers who were taking over from me were very, very relaxed. A good feeling.

Courtesy Google

Also, the 2nd Engineer was the same person who had been promoted from 3rd Engineer to 2nd Engineer on the ‘Trianon’, Thomas Manipadam. As he had been my protégé, I fully expected to see everything ship shape and so it proved.

The ‘Ad Astra’ was one of the first ships that were not Wilhelmsen owned, that was owned by a Monaco based company, which had been given to Barber Ship Management for full management.

THE SINKING OF THE ‘ARTEMIS’

The same Monaco based company had also given the ‘Artemis’ for full management. In 1980 December, I was supposed to get transferred from the ‘Taronga’ on promotion to the ‘Artemis’, but the promotion was postponed because the ‘Artemis’ sank 300 nautical miles off the coast of Japan in very bad weather. I was slated to join this ship as Chief Engineer when she reached Japan. The plan was for me to sign off the ‘Taronga’ in Kuwait, fly to Japan and take over the ‘Artemis’. Unfortunately, she sank before reaching Japan.

The ‘Artemis’ had been carrying a cargo of massive sized logs from Canada, which had been loaded into the holds and also on deck, all with supposedly strong lashings. During the storm which was raging and racing across the Pacific, waves were high, wind speeds were high. The vessel was rolling and pitching heavily. The deck lashings gave way, the logs were thrown about and broke many of the air pipes of the double bottom tanks on deck. The ventilator mushrooms of the holds were also damaged and holed. The decks were awash with water from the seas. Water entered the holds through the broken air ventilators and started filling the holds. Water started entering and filling up the double bottom ballast tanks through the broken air pipes.

The hydraulic valves for pumping out hold bilges and double bottom tanks were all on deck, adjacent to the center mast house (see sketch below) and could not be reached due to the weather and the tangle of huge logs preventing access to the mast house. The condition of the lashed logs in the holds were unknown, as nobody could get to the access booby hatches (see picture) on deck. The reality was that nothing could be done. The vessel had to be abandoned.

Please ignore the 'tween decks. Figure shown to illustrate deck or mast houses only

A typical booby hatch on deck for entering the holds

Meanwhile, another scenario was playing itself out in Japan. The Japanese Coast Guard had been informed well in advance of a possible “Mayday” situation developing on board. In a peculiar coincidence, it was the time of Christmas and New Year holidays in Japan, where everything shuts down. Barber Ship Management had a tough time to get the Coast Guard / Japanese Navy to go to the rescue of the crew members. Finally, it was because of the pressure exerted by Minami San of Chiba Marine workshop - who were doing a lot of work on all Barber vessels - that got a Navy vessel to go to the rescue.

The ship was abandoned when it was evident that she was sinking and there was no chance to save her. The crew took to the life boats and were picked up by the Japanese Navy. There was no loss of lives. The Captain was Mr. Kelkar, who had sailed with me as Chief Officer on the ‘Trianon’. The Chief Engineer was Mr. Ganapathy, 7 years my senior in DMET, with whom I had a lot to do in the coming years. He had his wife with him. It was the last time he sailed as Chief Engineer as he was taken on as Senior Superintendent in the Hong Kong office. More about him later.

BACK TO THE ‘AD ASTRA’

Why am I narrating the sinking of the ‘Artemis’ in such great detail? Yes, there was a morbid curiosity about what happened to a ship that I would have joined four days later, if she had reached Japan. Also, it so happened that the ‘Ad Astra’, which I had just joined, was carrying massive logs out of Long View. Moreover, the design of the ship was similar to that of the ‘Artemis’, with the hydraulic pumps being located in the mast or deck houses and all hydraulic valves for ballast tanks and hold bilges being installed in supposedly watertight boxes on the main deck, between hatches.

The ‘Artemis’, the ‘Ad Astra’ and a third ship - on which I sailed later, all belonged to the same Monaco based company. All three ships had the same basic design flaw - all the hydraulic valves were on deck, all unapproachable in bad weather. This was not the only flaw. The hydraulic pipes for each individual hydraulic valve had to necessarily pass inside protected trays that were in the holds, which were often damaged by heavy cargo banging against the steel trays. It did not make sense. The only explanation was ‘penny wise, pound foolish decisions’.

On the third ship having the same location of equipment on the main decks, I wrote a detailed letter to the Owners about the flaw in the design of the system for hydraulic valves, its perils and (envisioned) scenarios. It only earned me a flight ticket back home.

The holds were filled with massive logs. Because wood is a light cargo, the decks and hatch covers were also loaded with logs. A make shift walkway was provided above the logs, so one can walk from the accommodation superstructure aft to the mast houses on deck – for operating hydraulic valves – and go further to the foc’sle to access the winches and windlass’.

Watch the video of the loading of a typical timber / log carrier at

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sa4OUHzinEs

The whole video is interesting. Specifically, 1.00 to 2.30 and 3.45 to 4.50 that show the loading in the holds and, later, on deck is actually frightening if you imagine the ship in heavy weather, where the scenarios conjured up can be endless. Which is what happened to the ‘Artemis’.

And now, on the ‘Ad Astra’, I was looking at the same scenario. During the first few days of sailing out, I gave this a lot of thought to see if I could come up with a plan to gain access to the hydraulic valves in the mast houses. I came to the conclusion that, in a similar situation of bad weather, timber getting loose, the air pipes breaking, the double bottoms filling up with water, we would have to take enormous and life threatening risks in order to reach the panel for remote operation of the hydraulic valves.

A Ship Loaded with Logs Courtesy sql.undercover

A Ship Loading Logs Courtesy Masterfile

Loading Logs Inside Holds Courtesy maritime executive

Logs on Deck

Log Ship in Trouble due to Shift of Cargo in Rough Seas - Courtesy Professional Mariner

Log Ship in Storm, Listing 45 degrees - Courtesy Marine Insight

There was another way, provided we knew which ballast tank was getting filled up which, again, was not possible to know as the sounding pipes to check the levels of tanks were all on deck. On later ships, apart from sounding pipes, there were level gauges that could be read off at a remote location, either in the Engine Room or in the Ship’s Office. All hydraulic valves remote operation was also from the same remote location.

For this ship, there was another way, but it should be considered high risk. The hydraulic valve itself could be accessed from the duct keel or tunnel. After disconnecting the oil pipes, a hand operated hydraulic pump could be used to open the valve from inside the duct keel. The operators of the hand pump ran the risk of getting trapped in the duct keel, were the vessel to sink during this process.

Everybody on board thought I was crazy to prepare the couplings necessary and go through a dummy run. When I explained the fate of the ‘Artemis’ they went through the dummy run with alacrity.

This was the first ship where I had unpacked and stowed away all my belongings properly into the shelves and put the empty suitcase into the baggage room on the first day itself, as I had full faith in the 2nd Engineer. I was fully under the impression that I have at least 9 months to go on this ship.

The Chief Engineer’s cabin was top class and well furnished. The accommodation was very good. The Engine Room also was in very good condition, well maintained and clean. All maintenance work was on schedule. Apart from improving the condition of cargo gear, where crane brake failures had become common, in my estimate I did not have much to do for the rest of my contract.

But, there’s many a slip ‘twixt the cup and the lip. While I was settling down for the long haul on board the ‘Ad Astra’, other forces were at play that changed the path I was to travel.

A few days before arrival Japan, I was asked to sign off in Hakata, Japan and go to Yokohama to take over as Chief Engineer on the ‘Willine Tysla’. I was about to refuse, as ‘Ad Astra’ was a good ship, when I was simultaneously asked to send a ‘Confidential Report’ about 2nd Engineer Manipadam, with a view to promoting him to Chief Engineer, taking over from me. In all fairness, if I had refused to be transferred, his promotion would have been delayed and that too on a ship which he was very familiar with.

I signed off from the ‘Ad Astra’ at Hakata, Japan on 24th Sept 1983 and joined the ‘Willine Tysla’ on the same day at Yokohama.

Rangan

===== Continued in "Marine Musings 17" - Blog 61 =====