Tanker

“ The boiler-room, forward the engine-room of the tanker, was a place of many snakelike pipes, valves, sea-plates and oily seepage from the feedtanks. The Seriphus was a converted oil-burner, having been built before crude petroleum was used for steaming purposes. Three double-end Scotch boilers made the steam that drove the tanker’s triple-expansion engine. ”

“ All of these things interest Lars. He grew up by the sea in Norway, and his people have been seamen since the days of the Vikings. But best of all he likes the clean, modern, comfortable tankers. He is not only going somewhere himself when he is on a tanker. He is also helping to carry a cargo that helps other people to go places. ”

“ Machinery pulls the whale up the ramp and onto the deck. There men with knives that look like big hockey sticks cut up the blubber and throw it into vats where the whale oil is boiled out.{49}
Hour after hour the killer boats bring in whales, sometimes forty or fifty a day—or even more! Everybody works day and night, with very little time to eat and sleep. The oil tanks in the factory ship begin to fill up. Now an ordinary tanker comes alongside. The whale oil is pumped from the factory ship to the tanker which delivers it at some big port thousands of miles away. ”

“ There’s about two million fellows that have landed here in France,
They’re scattered God and G.H.Q. know where;
By the cranes where steamers anchor, schooner, tramp, or greasy tanker,
There’s an O.D. outfit waiting just to make the cargo dance.
They are chopping in the forest, double-timing on the roads,
Putting two-ways where a single went before;
In the cabs of sweating engines, pushing, pulling double loads
When the R.T.O.’s in frenzied tones implore.
For it’s duty, solid duty with the hustling men behind,
From the P. of E.’s on up to No Man’s Land ”

“ It is evident, however, that the motor-engined oil tanker will be the order of the future, for already vessels are being built which utilize oil fuel internally—a much more economical process than burning it under boilers. ”

“ In an undermanned old tanker with a skipper like a Turk;
With a cook as larnt 'is cookin' when 'e 'ad to cook or beg,
Or go into an 'orspital to nurse a cranky leg;
And what I says I means it, and my words is plain and true,
Which is more than any sailorman will say for yer Menoo. ”

“ Merchant marine: 1,379 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 48,655,666 DWT/ 90,005,898 DWT; includes 11 passenger, 148 cargo, 26 refrigerated cargo, 18 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 42 vehicle carrier, 42 container, 4 barge carrier, 436 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 100 chemical, 63 combination ore/oil, 41 liquefied gas, 6 specialized tanker, 413 bulk, 2 multifunction large-load carrier, 26 combination bulk; note—a flag of convenience registry; all ships are foreign owned; the top four owning flags are US 17%, Hong Kong 13%, Japan 10%, and Greece 10% ”

“ The ease with which oil fuel is handled is remarkable, for vessels of the largest size—that is, those using oil instead of coal for power purposes—could replenish their stores within a few hours at any oil port. In the transport of petroleum by the modern tankers, the taking on board of a full cargo is accomplished in about a single day, thanks to the most improved means of pumping oil from the shore tanks through flexible pipes. ”

“ This gives us a total of more than one thousand four hundred ships with an approximate total deadweight tonnage of 7,000,000 now under the control of the United States Shipping Board. In round numbers and from all sources we have added to the American flag since our war against Germany began, nearly 4,500,000 tons of shipping. Our program calls for the building of 1,856 passenger, cargo and refrigerator ships and tankers, ranging from five thousand to twelve thousand tons each, with an aggregate dead-weight of thirteen million. ”

“ The heart of the processing operation is the pelagic factory ship which is nearly as large as an aircraft carrier. They are supplied by huge tankers which carry off the oil and by refrigerated ships which return the meat to port. ”

“ If both [Pg 154] tanks were filled, they would hold twenty tons water ballast. I never was master of a vessel. I was at sea as engineer only, for about three years. I am accustomed to calculate the stability of ships, and that is why I am able to say this vessel was capable of going out on the ocean without any cargo. If a number of experienced men say that forty-four tons of cargo was not sufficient for the Alert, I would contradict them. Such men know nothing of stability. I gave evidence before the Marine Board enquiry, as I do to-day, that the boat was perfectly sea-worthy. ”

“ The greatest care is taken in loading the vessel. A man with a flag is stationed on the ship’s deck, and another man with a flag is placed at the tank. The signal to start and to stop pumping is passed from one to the other. The largest vessel can be filled in about twelve hours. The balance of space between decks is used for storing coal, the ship’s fuel. When the cargo is discharged245 in Europe the tanks are filled with water ballast for the return trip. ”

“ But for three hundred thousand dollars I can go to Sweden, build a smaller vessel than the Narcissus, have her right up to date, with two-thousand-horsepower oil-burning motors in her; and the saving in space due to motor installation, with oil tanks instead of coal bunkers, will enable me to carry fully as much cargo as the Narcissus. Also, I'll burn six tons of crude oil a day to your forty tons of coal a day in the Narcissus. I'll employ eight men less in my crew, and have a cleaner, faster and better ship. The motor ship is the freighter of the future, and you know it. ”

“ With a thud and jar to clear the stiffening of a voyage's inaction, our deck winches start in to their long heave that shall only end with the closing of the hatches on a laden cargo. The barges haul alongside at the holds that are ready for stowage and loading begins. The slings of heavy billets pass regularly across the deck and disappear into the void of the open hatchways. In the swing and steady progression there seems an assurance that we shall keep the sailing date, but our energy is measured by the capacity of the larger holds. In them there is the bulk of fuel to be handled. ”

“ The work of this department, however, is so arduous while at sea that officers and men receive liberty for the entire time the ship remains in port, their places being taken by a special shore force which remains aboard until sailing day. One boiler is left untouched to supply power for the engines that work the electric and refrigerating apparatus, the pumps and the machinery used in shipping cargo, but all the others as soon as they have cooled are entered, examined and, if need be, repaired. ”

“ We never once set foot on land during our stay in port.
And the work!
We did not have to carry the bags of coal, as the rest of the crew did, from the wharf to the gangway of the vessel, as then we might have been seen; but we had to bear a hand over the hatches to shunt the bags down into the hold, into which we were afterwards sent with rakes and shovels to stow the rough lumps into odd holes and corners and make a smooth surface generally, until the brig was chock full to the deck-beams, when we couldn’t even creep in on our hands and knees to distribute the cargo further! ”

“ Steam is supplied by 13 cylindrical boilers, working at 180 ℔ pressure and fired by oil fuel only. They have accommodation for 275 first-class, 54 second-class and 800 steerage passengers, and over 8000 tons of cargo.
Special Vessels.—Many vessels are built for special and exceptional purposes, and cannot be classed with either ordinary cargo or passenger vessels. Amongst these may be included dredgers, train carrying ferry-boats, ice-breakers, surveying vessels, lightships, fishing vessels, coastguard and fishery cruisers, salvage and fire vessels, lifeboats and tugs. ”

“ The four desiderata of a modern cargo-boat are that she should have a low registered tonnage in comparison with her capacity, ample water-ballast tanks, large hatchways, and holds as free from obstruction as possible. Three or four methods are practised by builders for attaining these objects, and every builder has made modifications of them as time has shown the necessity of the changes to meet varying trade conditions. ”

“ As the tide rises, the fishing-boats get into good spirits and dance, the flagstaff hoists a bright red flag, the steamboat smokes, cranes creak, horses and carriages dangle in the air, stray passengers and luggage appear. Now, the shipping is afloat, and comes up buoyantly, to look at the wharf. Now, the carts that have come down for coals, load away as hard as they can load. Now, the steamer smokes immensely, and occasionally blows at the paddle-boxes like a vaporous whale-greatly disturbing nervous loungers. ”

“ At the present time it is the navigable depth of ports and canals, and the need of adequate dry docks, rather than the obtaining of cargoes, which are the controlling factors in the size of great ocean vessels. But the heavy interest on the capital cost of these vessels and their working expenses call for the utmost despatch in their loading and discharge, and with the simultaneous arrival of several vessels of large tonnage, the question of prompt discharge is one of great and increasing difficulty. For many modern steamers will carry 10,000 tons of cargo, and some a great deal more ”

“ The Alert’s covers had no lugs. The weight of her boiler and engines would be about one hundred and fifty tons. The weight of the water in the boiler would be twenty-three to twenty-five tons. Taking into consideration the ship’s cargo, build and trim, I do not think she was fit for a sea voyage. If she had had an after mast with a sail on, it might have helped a bit when efforts were made to bring her to the wind; but as long as she was so light foreward she would be hard to bring up, if not impossible. ”

“ A few feet from the stem there is a collision bulkhead of extraordinary strength to protect the ship, should she run “bow-on” against any obstacle—a reef, a derelict, or a vessel attempting to cross her path; next, aft of this come three compartments for steerage passengers or cargo; then two compartments for saloon passengers; then four compartments for boilers, coal bunkers, kitchens, and machinery; two more for saloon passengers; one for second-cabin passengers, and two, those farthest aft of all, for steerage passengers or cargo. ”

“ We have no cargo to discharge (having crossed in ballast trim) , but—the storms of the North Atlantic calling for a weight to make us seaworthy—we have a lading of coal sufficient to steam us back to our home port. This has all to be raised from the holds and stowed in the bunker spaces: the holds must be cleaned [221] for food-stuffs: for grain in bulk there is carpenter-work in fitting the midship boards to ensure that our cargo shall not shift. ”

“ Vessels of low speed, in which the weight of the engine is not of great importance, such as barges for use on rivers and canals, ferry-boats, small tug-boats, slow-speed cargo vessels and slow-speed oil-tank vessels, which have been fitted with engines using kerosene or paraffin, as well as oil fuels of greater specific gravity, and of higher flash-point and requiring a higher temperature for evaporation; in some cases these low-speed vessels have been fitted with engines using gas produced from anthracite coal, prepared charcoal and heavy oil. ”

“ The boat came towards us unsuspiciously, and it is easy to imagine the painful surprise of her captain when he received the brusque order:
"Stop at once and abandon your ship!"
After a moment's hesitation he complied.
We ascertained, in the usual way, that the ship's name was Trader, three thousand seven hundred tons, and that she was bound with a cargo of raw sugar to Liverpool. We sank her in a quarter of an hour, by opening her valves and applying a few bombs. Practice makes the master! ”

“ The roar and thrust and rattle of the straining winches ceases on Monday evening. We are fully stowed: even our double-bottom tanks—intended for water-ballast alone—carry a load of fuel oil to help out the difficulties of transport. The superintendent goes around with his chest thrown out and draws our attention to the state of affairs—the ship drawing but eighteen inches short of her maximum draught, and the 'tween-decks cleared and fitted. ”

“ Her water-ballast tanks can be emptied or filled as fast as the cargo is placed in her or taken out. She was built by the Doxford firm at Sunderland for a Newcastle Shipping Company.
The carrying of petroleum in bulk has spread enormously of late years in both steamers and sailing vessels specially designed for the purpose. In all such vessels the method of the subdivision of the holds into tanks is of the greatest importance, together with that of ventilation, and every builder and owner of such vessels has his own theories as to the best means to be adopted. ”

“ The story of docks and harbours, of the loading and unloading of the war freights merits a chapter of its own. To understand it you must remember that ships are of many sizes and of very varying draught. The depths of water in the ports, the tides, the quay accommodation, the provision of cranes and sorting sheds, of available railway trucks have in each case to be considered. Grain requires one type of machinery for unloading, timber another, fruit or meat yet another. ”

“ There are water barges, which supply ships with fresh water. There are dredges, seemingly for ever at work. There are glistening yachts and frowning warships. There is everything that floats rubbing elbows with everything else that floats, and yet despite the seeming confusion, the whole port is orderly, and seldom indeed are there collisions or accidents to mar the smoothness of the flow of commerce. ”