DROMUS (1)

About

Completed 1938 as "DROMUS" for Anglo-Saxon. 20-8-1951 damaged by fire at Bukom. Bridge and forepart renewed. 23-8-1962 arrived Yokosuka for scrapping.

IMO number
1166560
Call sign
GJGZ
Construction number
1009
Tonnage
12.063 ton
Beam
18m
Length overall
147m
Year of construction
1938
Year of renaming/broken up
1962
Service for Shell
1938 to 1962
Cargo
Class
Flag state
Home port
Manager
Shipyard
Status
Photo(s)

Comments

Sailors

Name Job Period Details
Robert Smith 2nd officer 1942 to 1943
Denis Mazonowicz 2nd mate 1950 to 1951
David Gareth Wh... master 1952 to 1953 Boarded ship as master after fire.
David Gareth Wh... 3rd mate 1952 to 1953
Douglas M.C. Renton 3rd mate 1956
Ian Westworth 3rd mate 1958 to 1959
Donald John Ward 4th engineer 1958 to 1959
Don Ward 4th engineer 1958 to 1959
John Maulkin radio officer 1959 to 1960
Derek Empson radio officer 1960 to 1961

Anecdotes

Date Visitor Anecdote
05/20/2009 - 04:24 Denis Mazonowicz

I was transferred to the Dromus in Suez dockyard in Dec, 1951. She was there because a bulkhead in 5 starboard had come away from the hull and was scraping and flapping loose. This was fixed and we proceeded East. When Loading octane at Bukom in 1951, the last tank 7c was topped up and loading ceased. The 3rd. mate closed the valve and,on reaching the closure, there was a bang and the wheel continued to spin. The valve spindle had broken and we had no means of discharging the contents. On arrival at Colombo, a superintendent from Singapore was there to meet us with a plan of action. We commenced discharging the wing tanks, raised the hatch lid of 7c, placed boards across the coamings, put the emergency fire pump on top with the suction in 7c and discharge in 7s. When we had lowered the level to below the break,(about halfway) the Ch.Off descended the ladder, wearing a safety line, waders and the smoke helmet and carrying a large stillson heavily wrapped with rags, until reaching the break. With the stillson on the spindle, he managed to open the suction valve. A rather unpleasant operation!
All the valves were heavily corroded and often stuck in the closed position, requiring valve spanners on each side and plenty of brute force to open them. Previously I had served 2 years on the Donacilla which had the same problem as all the old ships kept on the white oil trade had. We were used to the practice of cracking open the next tank to be filled well before topping up commenced.
A few days after Dromus went into drydock in Singapore, I was transferred to the Amastra to work my passage home as I had served 22 months. Myself, 3rd.Mate and 2 apprentices swapping with our counterparts. We spent 3 weeks loading in Miri and Pladjoe before setting out for Colombo. Before leaving the Straits of Malacca, we heard of the accident on Dromus. I am sure that those sticky vaves were the cause. Quite likely the 2nd mate had not had any experience of them as Amastra was a black oil ship.