Ships Monthly – August 2018

62 •^ Summer 2018 •^ http://www.shipsmonthly.com

CHARTROOM

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hamen and

pompey power

The interesting article about Hamen

(ex-Pompey Power) mentions the

installation of electric winches

and fluorescent lighting on her

when she was built and also on her

sister, Pompey Light. However, the

significance of this was not explained.

These ships belonged to Portsmouth

City Council, who also owned the

city’s coal-fired power station. In

their earlier voyages they displayed

the city’s handsome coat of arms on

their funnels until, on nationalisation,

this was changed to the dull BEA and

then CEGB lettering.

It was specified that all auxiliary

power and lighting was to be provided

at 415-volt a/c by two Bellis and Morcom

compound steam motors driving BTH

alternators, and a shoreside power

cubicle was built alongside the wet

dock in the coalyard at the power

station so that the ships’ boilers

could be shut down during cargo

discharge. The comparatively recent

upsurge in ‘cold ironing’, shore-to-

ship power supply, was used in 1949.

It was also used by Union-Castle

Line by their 3 a/c ships Transvaal,

Southampton and Good Hope

Castles, at both of their dedicated

berths in Southampton in 1965.

The Pompey ships were not

powered by quadruple-expansion

steam engines (as stated in the

text) but by NEM triple-expansion

units (as stated in the inset details).

These were small versions of the very

efficient reheat design, with poppet

valves on the HP and IP cylinders.

The Stephenson link gear for

reversing was powered by a Brown’s

steam/hydraulic ram rather than the

usual single-cylinder steam engine.

This size of engine used turned and

polished steel front columns.

Engine lubrication was automatic

at 78 points by a battery of Kirkhams

lubricators operated from the engine

cross heads. The two NEM coal-

fired scotch boilers had patented

superheaters in the back ends of

the combustion chambers. All deck

machinery was a/c motor-powered, as

was the steering gear. Macgregor single-

pull steel hatches were fitted and the

bridge equipment included a radar, gyro

compass and ship-to-shore telephone.

These were no ordinary colliers.

Having served an apprenticeship

at the NEM Sunderland, and helped

assemble the ships’ main engines,

I joined Pompey Light in May 1952

during university summer recess

and served as third engineer and

electrician for 14 voyages between

the north-east coal ports and

Portsmouth, with the occasional trip

to Southampton gasworks.

After graduating, I applied for a

job with OTUK (Caltex UK), and at my

interview in their London office I was

asked by the senior Superintendent

Engineer if I knew anything about

a/c power, given that they were very

proud to include 28 T2 turbo-electric

tankers in their fleet. I explained that

my last ship was a/c, but as she was a

small collier I was told I was mistaken.

But Lloyds Register was sent for

and I was proved right, and so I was

appointed to the job I wanted.

Henry C. Aitken, Norwich

Trip in a troopship

I very much enjoyed the article on

the French liner Pasteur (SM, May). It

reminded me of a trip I made as a boy

in late 1950 in the British troopship

Empire Trooper from Singapore to

Southampton. Going north through the

Suez Canal, we encountered Pasteur as

she headed south, but she was aground

on the eastern side of the canal.

The upper decks of each ship were

thick with men in uniform, and I am

sure you can imagine the noise as

good-humoured ribaldry was hurled

between the two lots of servicemen.

We inched very slowly and carefully

past the stranded ship and I recall she

seemed very big indeed. Her funnel

seemed to dwarf us. Thank you very

much for the continuing quality and

value provided by your magazine

Martin W. Young

Fareham, Hampshire

people per lifeboat

Regarding the passenger and crew

numbers on the new mega cruise ship

Symphony of the Seas (SM, June), it

works out at a total of 8,800 people

on board. Looking at the lifeboats,

it seems that there are nine on each

side, in other words a total of 18.

Doing my sums, that works out at

an average of 488 passengers per

lifeboat. Is this really correct?

Mervyn B. Short

Derby

Registered at home

The article about US trade to Hawaii

(SM, June) states that ships which

operate between two American ports

must be built, registered and crewed

in the USA. I must say I am very

much in favour of this, and if it works

for them then why would it not be

possible for it to work elsewhere?

Tony Green

Sharpness

Floating Causeways

I was surprised that a caption in the

article Mission Supporters (SM, June,

p.57) should claim that ‘Mexi floats’

(sic) were carried by US navy vessels.

Mexeflotes (note the correct spelling)

were British-designed motorised

rafts whose name originates from

MEXE, the Military Engineering and

Experimental Establishment. It seems

more likely that the rafts shown were

in fact Floating Causeways (FC),

a subsystem of the US Modular

Causeway System (MCS).

Ian Moignard

Jersey

Pompey Power

 Symphony of the Seas at Marseille in April - but has she got enough

lifeboats for the large number of people she carries? Darren HolDaway