…and a few more

It is said that “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”.

Just a few weeks ago, a retired university professor acquaintance expressed his long held opinion that Cunard’s Lusitania was the most beautiful ship of all time. A Cunard Senior First Officer watch keeping colleague of some decades ago recalled in his much later autobiography, a visit he made to a Netherlands Navy ship, when, whilst being entertained in the wardroom, he expressed the view to a reservist Holland America Line deck officer, that the most beautiful ships at sea were Queen Elizabeth, Nieuw Amsterdam and Royal Mail’s Andes. Add perhaps to this list, Union Steam’s Awatea of her inaugural year, another beauty of her time and long lost off North Africa’s shores, I would conclude that beauty in the eyes of the seafarer was primarily but not always a ‘generation thing’. Having paced the bridge of QE and viewed from it those Holland America and Royal Mail icons, I could hardly deny such expressed opinions.

My generation however aligned with later ships, those of the 1950’s to the late 1960s. Italia’s stunning Leonardo da Vinci reflected brilliantly white on the mirror surface of the Bay of Genoa, the grace of Portugal’s Infante dom Henrique as she made to her home berth on the Tagus, the jaw dropping elegance of Lloyd Triestino’s Galileo Galilei and her identical sister, as viewed from a traditional British cargo liner at anchor in Rose Bay, as such creations were assisted to their designated Circular Quay, Pyrmont or Woolloomoolloo berths at Sydney. Elder Dempster’s yacht like Aureol at Liverpool’s Landing Stage as seen from the decks of a Mersey ferry, or the mighty but chic S.S. France (pre her Norway years!) as she slid seawards down Southampton Water from the Western Docks. My ‘tastes’ however went beyond the auspicious but dwindling numbers of the world’s passenger liners, to focus on its cargo fleets.

Britain’s first post war attempts at streamlining our ships might be best exemplified by South American Saint Line’s St. Essylt class trio with their low profile, deeply raked funnels and long stepped down crew and passenger accommodation. Or Port Line’s 1949 built Port Brisbane (once unkindly likened by an old Bo’sun as we passed her by, whilst negotiating London’s Royal Albert Docks, to “a tart wearing too much powder and lipstick”) with her squat, raked funnel and sweepingly rounded superstructure forepart, reminiscent perhaps also of Denmark’s Ove Skou fleet of white sleekly fashion plated ships and all collectively perhaps best referred in today’s parlance as ‘OTT’. Whilst as the years passed, our British designs seemed to improve to become that little more ‘rakish’, we continued to produce a fair share of ‘Plain Janes’. Exceptions amongst many and much admired by me, were Shaw Savill & Albion’s workmanlike Carnatic class, Ben Line’s fast and quite delectable Benloyal Class quartet, Blue Star’s showmanesque reefers of which the Fairfield built Queensland Star with elegantly raked stem and flared bows, together with her oversized and appropriately emblazoned funnel, was a signature example. Acknowledgement must be made of certain mid to late 1950’s German built British flag ships, including Burnside Shipping’s, Common Brothers managed Otterburn and Woodburn pair of motor tramps. MacAndrews (and United Baltic’s counterpart) Valdes class, also out of Germany, were real little lookers. Norway and Sweden’s fleets such as numerous units of Willie Wilhelmsen’s immaculate ‘T’ boats and Johnson Line’s fast and stylishly low profile motorships are also worthy of mention. As a youth I observed every stage of the 1958-61 construction at Govan of the Harland & Wolff built Bulimba class quintet of three quarters aft 6,800 tonners for British India, each with its deeply raked fore and signal masts and hugely curved (but later downsized) foredeck bulwarks and hance plating, more than once (questionably) mooted as amongst the best looking ships to come out of the Clyde. BP’s supertankers of the day, such as the magnificent British Duchess, Shell’s smaller and comely ‘A’ class ships, with even William Cory’s Queensgarth quartet of modest but urbane ore carriers deserving of some praise. Collectively however I have been forever wont to describe applicable British built ships as ‘handsome and purposeful’ rather than necessarily ‘beautiful’. I also believe that it took the Dutch to produce what to me would qualify as pretty ships, particularly during the period mid 1950s to mid 1960s. With their fine ended hulls, curvaceously raked and flared bows, unfussy compact superstructures and conservatively raked funnels, narrowing, almost double ended style cruiser spoon sterns, all topped by characteristically tall masts and kingposts, they were invariably looked upon as deserving of ‘a turn of the head‘ on the part of the discerning seafarer.

There were three shipping disasters which remain at the forefront of my memory of childhood and early youth. The Princess Victoria tragedy on the last day of January 1953. The Stockholm/Andrea Doria collision and subsequent loss of the latter off Nantucket during July 1956 and the much less well known loss of the Greek flagged and barely two years old cargo vessel Argo Delos. The latter had a few hours before, departed Glasgow when, during 22nd October 1960, just as she was about to set the first course of her great circle passage across the Western Ocean towards the Caribbean, she stranded and was later wrecked off the coast of Donegal. I keenly devoured newspaper reports of all three incidents, with the circumstances of the first two particularly well publicised and documented. Inexplicably, the third incident, that of Argo Delos, remains indelibly stamped on my mind and I can visualise some 54 years after her loss, an aerial photograph of this elegantly proportioned and attractive, indeed pretty Dutch built tramp, showing her high and dry on the rocks, topping only a few column inches’ report of her stranding, presumably thought deserving of such a modest tramp, as determined by and published in an early edition of the Scottish broadsheet The Glasgow Herald. It was only recently that I determined after so many years, to research this vessel with the curiously never forgotten name Argo Delos – the ship herself, her builder, owners, their operation and of course her loss. What eventuated was a narrative of much greater scope and scale than first envisaged, for Argo Delos was only a small part of what I believe was a much larger story concerning a significant project for the shipbuilders and an expansive development for the Greek Merchant marine. Things did not however quite work out that way for either the owners or the shipbuilders.

Here Is My Take On The Story:

By the early to mid 1950s, the Netherlands, which had been devastated by the ravages of the Second World War, were well into a comprehensive rebuilding of towns, cities and importantly their industrial base, the latter of which had naturally been looked upon by Government as the key to future prosperity. Accordingly, The Hague had initiated a programme of financial aid in the form of supplier guarantees and low interest customer financing similar to that offered by Britain’s Export Credit Guarantee Department and the United States ‘Ex-Im Bank’, whereby potential foreign prospects could be enticed to buy major capital equipment, including ships from their yards, in context, all as a means to improve Holland’s balance of payments and in the process, accumulate hard currency.

During 1955, the London based A. Lusi & Company, managing agents for a group of Greek shipping companies, had negotiated a contract for the construction of 21 essentially identical dry cargo fast motor tramps with a consortium of three Dutch shipbuilders. Of the total, 10 units were to have been built by the NV Koninklijke Maatschappij De Schelde, Flushing, Vlissingen, 8 by Nederlandsche Dok & Scheeps Maats, Amsterdam and 3 by C. van der Giessen & Zonen Scheepswerven, Krimpen, aan-den- Ijssel. Each was to be of 515’05” (loa) x 65’07” beam x 41’ moulded depth, with a mean draft of 29’ and tonnages of 7,250 gross (open shelter deck), 10,300 gross (closed), 12,000 dw and 14,750 dw respectively. Main propulsion was to be by De Schelde licence built 6 cylinder 7,800 BHP Sulzer oil engines throughout, to achieve a loaded service speed of 15.5 knots. In the event, the maximum trials speed reached by one example was 18.9 kts.

The first of the series, yard Number 291 at the De Schelde yard at Flushing, was launched on 27th July 1957 as Argo Ollandia. There followed the launch from this same yard of Argo Ellas, Argo Chios and Argo Delos, Yard Numbers 292, 293 and 294 on 5th October 1957, 8th March and 3rd May 1958 respectively, all for delivery to the Shipping Developments Corporation of Piraeus for Greek flag operation. At about the time of the launch of the fifth unit, Yard Number 149, at the subcontracted Bijker’s Yard, Gorinchem as Argo Sounion on 23rd August 1958 for transfer thereafter to De Schelde for fitting out and completion as Yard Number 295, the contracting party Mr. A. Lusi, passed away suddenly and by all accounts under somewhat unusual circumstances.

Orders for this fifth unit and the remaining five vessels allocated to De Schelde were promptly cancelled. The latter however made the decision to continue with the planned programme to launch and fit out the remaining vessels and place them into lay up until sold. Argo Sounion was completed during March 1959 and acquired by the Ramon de Sota (Jr) organisation when renamed Albia for tramp operations under the Liberian flag. The next example was launched by De Schelde at Flushing under the originally planned name of Argo Altis (Yard No.296) on 28th March 1959, but completed as Beniowski for Polish Ocean Lines of Gdynia, with the only visible addition to standard specification being that of two Samson posts and associated derricks located at the after end of cargo hatch #3 immediately forward of the vessel’s superstructure forepart. She was followed by another unit, Yard No. 299, launched without name at Flushing on 12th March 1960 and completed as Mauritanie during October of the year for Cie. Marocaine de Nav. of Casablanca for Moroccan flag operation. A second example for this owner was launched as Argo Afaia from the Bijker’s Yard (No. 150) on 27th June 1960 and duly passed to De Schelde for fit out to basic specification at Flushing as Yard Number 297. She was completed during December of that year and renamed Atlas.

The Lubeck based Egon Oldendorff Company purchased Bijker’s Yard number 151, launched un-named somewhat earlier than Yard No.150 (above) on 10th October 1959, when passed to “De Shelde” at Flushing for fitting out as their Yard Number 298. After completion, the vessel was laid up for a period, prior to delivery effectively ‘as is, where is’ also during December 1960 when renamed Dorthe Oldendorff.

The tenth and final unit of the original group was launched without name by De Schelde at Flushing as Yard number 300 on 16th July 1960. Prior to her completion during November of that year however, she was acquired by the Rotterdam based Erhardt & Eckers Company for their Stoomvaart Maatschippij Wijklijn (The District Line), with the only visible change to original specification being replacement of the paired Samson posts between holds #1 and #2 with a single kingpost. She was named Katwijk under the Dutch flag.

Such was the continuing interest in this class of fast tramp that further orders for the design from additional owners were secured by De Schelde. An early such order and the only example of the original design to be delivered to a British operator, the London Greeks, Mavroleon Brothers’ Halifax based Falaise Steamship Company, was Yard No.306, launched at Flushing on 27th August 1960 as Finnamore Valley. She was completed during January 1961 and delivered for initial operation under the Bermudan flag and managed by their associated London based Counties Ship Management Ltd.

She was followed by the first of three examples for the Netherland’s Stoomvart Mij. “Maas”, (Phs. van Ommeren N.V., Managers) with the confusingly out of sequence Yard number 309, launched at Flushing during 28th July 1962 and delivered during December of the year as Waardrecht. Outwardly visible changes to the standard specification included revised wheelhouse window design and deletion of heavy lift Jumbo derricks at the fore and mainmasts. In addition, the paired Samson posts between holds #1 and #2 were replaced in favour of a single kingpost. Lower powered 6 cylinder Sulzer main engines of 6,000 bhp were also installed in each, to return a service speed of 14.5 knots. The second example was Yard number 310, launched on 5th January 1963 as Wieldrecht and delivered during April 1963. The last unit for this owner was Flushing’s out of sequence Yard Number 305, launched on 21st September 1963 as Woensdrecht and completed during January 1964.

Two more units to the original design, but each with two additional samson posts set at the forepart of the midships superstructure, their forward paired samsons replaced by a single kingpost and power ratings of their Sulzer main engines reduced somewhat to achieve a required maximum service speed of 15.5 knots, were launched as Yard numbers 319 and 320 on 20th April 1963 and 14th March 1964 and completed on 31st August 1963 and July 1964 respectively. They were named Sea Coral and Sea Amber as ordered by Verder & Co., of Hong Kong for Chung Shek Enterprises Co. Ltd. for HKG flag operation. The final example of the basic design but incorporating the modifications as described for the above Hong Kong registered vessels, was Yard number 327 launched during 16th January 1965 as Guang Ming and delivered during May of the year to PRC owners, the China Overseas Shipping Company (COSCo) of Guangzhou. Her specification service speed was set to be 14 knots.

There were however two examples of a sole variant developed from the original design and ordered as a result of extenuating circumstances on the part of their British registered Kulukundis/Mavrolean owners, London & Overseas Freighters Ltd. Whilst this Company was an operator of a seemingly shrinking number of dry cargo tramps, they were also owner operators, including their Bermuda based subsidiary London & Overseas Tankers Ltd. of a growing and significant fleet of motor and steam turbine oil tankers, most of which were on time charter to a variety of entities including the RFA for the Admiralty. By 1957, business for the group was booming and as early delivery positions with shipbuilders for new tonnage were difficult to secure, they had during the year considered placing orders for 20 tankers of 40,000 dwt or more each, for delivery at the rate of two per annum from 1960 onwards. Caution however prevailed. In addition, they had acquired during that year a half share in the north east shipbuilder Austin & Pickersgill and had placed an order with them for four 16,000 dwt dry cargo ships for delivery 4-5 years hence (later cancelled). By the end of 1957 however, the tanker market in particular had collapsed and where low rates were to prevail for the next 10 or so years. This led to a deep quandary for this owner with regard to its outstanding orders for new tonnage. During 1956 and early 1957 twelve tankers were on order for the Freighter and Tanker subsidiaries. The decision was made to continue with fulfilment of the order for the first six tankers, but to negotiate cancellation and appropriate contractual exit arrangements with the two shipbuilders concerned for the remaining six. Those builders were Uddevallavarvet A/B of Sweden and the Dutch De Schelde yard at Flushing. In the event, each accepted cancellation of the applicable tankers but in exchange for the construction of 4 x 10,900 grt six hatch dry cargo vessels by the Swedes, and two 2 x 10,500 tonners by De Schelde. By agreement, the Dutch yard modified their design of the original ‘Argo’ series of tramps by elimination of the boat deck level walkway around the superstructure forepart and a slight variation to the weather deck level superstructure stanchion fashion plating design, resulting in a particularly pleasing, simple, clean lined and compact midship house on the two vessels, whilst retaining the overall dimensions of the original design. Deletion of the paired Samson posts between holds #1 and #2 in favour of a single kingpost was also called for, but retaining the heavy lift/ Jumbo derricks at the fore and mainmasts per the original design. To achieve a loaded service speed of 15.5 knots and a maximum of 17 knots, the baseline standard 7,800 bhp De Schelde licence built Sulzer main engine was specified. The first to be launched was London Banker at Bijker’s Gorechem Yard (No.169) on 1st June 1963 and transferred to De Schelde as Yard No. 317 for fitting out, completed on 4th November 1963. Next was London Advocate, launched by De Schelde at Flushing (Yard No. 318) on 20th July 1963 with delayed completion achieved on 2nd May 1964. Whilst in the ownership of London & Overseas Freighters, both vessels together with their Swedish built counterparts were to spend significant periods on time charter to U.S. based States Marine, primarily on trans-Pacific Vietnam related supply services.

Thus ended the construction of 19 vessels out of the originally intended total of 21 for Greece, the very last wholly conventional tramps to be completed by the De Schelde yard at Flushing. Collectively I judged this class to be the best looking of all ‘liner standard’ fast tramps and by far the prettiest of their era.

Beauty however, continues to remain in the eye of the beholder!

Fifteen of the original design plus the two ‘London’ ships completed full service lives with a range of owners worldwide, invariably with a corresponding number of name changes. The longest lived, Guang Ming (yard Number 327) was last observed during 1997 and as her detailed fate was unknown thereafter, she was deleted from the register as recently as 6th June 2011.

Two units of the class, both constructed essentially to the original design standard, suffered premature demise, with the first loss, number four in the series (Yard no 294), Argo Delos, as referenced earlier, sustained when she ran aground on rocks near Inishtrahull, some 48 nautical miles W x N of the Mull of Kintyre. During 12th October 1960 she had arrived on the Clyde, inbound from Shanghai via Rotterdam with a consignment of soya beans destined for Glasgow, where she moored port side to at Meadowside’s berth # 3. On completion of discharge, she was positioned to and canted at the Prince’s Dock basin into the largest of Govan’s three adjacent drydocks during 19th October for hull cleaning and fresh antifouling. She departed Glasgow on 21st October in freshening wind conditions, outbound in ballast to Cuba, where she was to load a cargo of sugar for China. Later in the day, she rounded the Mull of Kintyre where she encountered gale force 8 to severe gale force 9 winds. Early in the morning of Saturday 22nd October, in storm conditions and heavy seas, Argo Delos struck and became stranded upon the Torr Beg Rocks, east of Inishtrahull. The Portrush and Arranmore Lifeboats together with the Glasgow registered 593 grt 1943 built War Standard Deep Sea tug Metinda III (ex Empire Jean) and the RN frigate HMS Leopard responded to the ship’s mayday call. The Portrush Lifeboat later successfully evacuated 14 crew members before sustaining significant damage herself against the hull of the stricken vessel. A further 15 crew were airlifted off by R.N.A.S Eglinton based helicopters, for transfer to HMS Leopard. RN Officers reported that Argo Delos appeared firmly held by her bow on the rocks and with it acting as a fulcrum, in the prevailing strong easterlies she later slewed to port, pounding on the rocks beneath her aft sections, breaching shell plating, sustaining severe damage to propeller and rudder and flooding the engine room. Seven crew members opted to remain aboard her overnight but were taken off the following morning. Later in the day however, the Master and his radio operator returned to the vessel to secure the owner’s interests. On the latter’s instructions to abandon her, they were finally airlifted off during 25th October, with Captain Halamantas, in time honoured tradition, the last to leave his ship. The 1943 built 775grt Admiralty Rescue type salvage tug Dispenser arrived off Inishtrahull during 1st November with a view, following patch repairs, to refloat Argo Delos. This plan was thwarted later in the day however when the bow section broke off just abaft the collision bulkhead and sank. The following day, the stern section was pulled clear of Tor Beg but whilst under tow for beaching at Culdaff Bay and as a consequence of a deepening area of low pressure, fast moving to the North East, she encountered gale force westerlies and rising seas, developed a list, thereby forcing Dispenser to abandon her charge. What remained of Argo Delos now lies in over 40 metres of water approximately 6 nm NNE of Culdaff Bay, south east of Malin Head.

At the time of her loss and for more than a week later, particularly atrocious weather with high winds and significant rainfall had flayed and deluged the UK country wide, resulting in many related incidents. The newly completed Fleming & Ferguson Paisley built 1,066 ton twin screw bucket dredger Ajoy was proceeding upriver on the Clyde following builders and acceptance trials for her owners, the Calcutta Port Commissioners, when she collided with the Renfrew passenger ferry and slowly sank, mercifully without casualties. The moored ferry was effectively undamaged and sustained no injury to passengers or crew. The dredger was later refloated and repairs completed during March 1961, preparatory to final delivery to India. On the east coast, the Craggs & Jenkins Ltd., Hull Gates Shipping Co. 410 grt coaster Humbergate was driven ashore and stranded off Spurn Head, but later pulled off by two tugs. Another Hull based coaster, the 1938 Belgian built 544 grt Lesrix, the subject of an extensive air and sea search in the English Channel during the course of the week, was last spotted in heavy seas some 15 nm west of St Catherine’s Point on 31st October whilst on a voyage to the North Cornish coast port of Hayle. She later disappeared, presumed lost with all hands. Numerous accounts of coastal and river flooding were reported as far north as Aberdeenshire during the course of that week of extreme weather.

The second casualty of the subject tramp series, was Yard no. 299, the ex Moroccan flag Mauritanie of 1960. Following one earlier transfer of ownership, she had subsequently been acquired by the Kolandia Maritime Corporation Ltd. of Piraeus during 1979 and renamed Sunrise. On 13th June 1980 she foundered off the entrance to the Indian port city of Bombay (Mumbai), whilst on voyage from Japan to Dammam with a cargo of bagged cement.

So concludes the story of what could be defined as a quasi standard class of tramp ships, whilst functional, of a particularly elegant design. With such qualities however, could they perhaps also be acknowledged as the last of a generation of Holland’s prettiest ships? This, prior to a world full of purely utilitarian Standard Designs of so called Liberty Ship Replacements? Most certainly!

Special thanks are accorded to the undernoted for assistance in the preparation of this article:

The Ballast Trust for Lloyds Register of Shipping assistance, the Mitchell Library, Glasgow for access to “The Glasgow Herald” archives, Damen Shipyards for provision of “De Schelde” related illustrated ship listings, the Research Department of AP (Associated Press), London in sourcing original photographic and report material on the stranding of Argo Delos, the Belfast Telegraph for kind permission to publish copyright Argo Delos photographs, the Met Office National Meteorological Archives for October/November 1960 weather data.