TEXACO GREAT BRITAIN

[Nighttrucker]

TEXACO GREAT BRITAIN Fitting out at Swan's

Regards
Dave

[magoonigal]

I thought there would be a few pictures of TGB on the site but apart from one of her Stern Post these seem to be the only ones.

Texaco Overseas Tankships Ltd.
Launched 26th March 1971. Completed December 1971.
125,942 Gross. 256,489 Dwt. 15.5 Kts.

Subsequent History:


Disposal Data:

BU Kaohsiung 17.7.81, work began 10.81 [Tien Cheng Steel]

[Dennis Maccoy]

I thought I'd posted these earlier!

Under construction - 19 September 1970

Launch - 26 March 1971 - 1

Launch - 26 March 1971 - 2

[Dennis Maccoy]

Launch - 26 March 1971 - 3

Launch - 26 March 1971 - 4

Launch - 26 March 1971 - 5

[magoonigal]

Very sensible precaution keeping to the high ground! Dennis.

1133ft 6ins in length.
170ft 3ins Beam.
65ft 10ins Draught.
84ft Depth.

That Helo was getting a bit close for comfort.

[jmbrent]

Hi all, this vessel killed a few before starting her working life, in dry dock in Rotterdam the American superintendent fell through a lightening hole in the fore peak tank and was found dead after a search of the ship. After the vessel left the dockyard and proceeded to sea to continue her sea trials a cargo pump turbine exploded whilst ballasting, killing a Weirs pump service engineer who was looking after the Brotherhoods turbine while the Brotherhood reps. were working on the turbo alternator. The turbine shaft snapped and the rotor oversped and came through the casing. Shrapnel from the casing pierced the heart of the Weirs rep. it also pierced the vent trunking and lift shaft. The rotor severed sea water pipes spewing seawater int the engine room. Superheated steam took a while to be shut down and the rotor took about 10minutes to stop spinning and the vessel was rolling all over the place. When the steam cleared a little we were able to retrieve the injured and a fitters labourer was badly hurt by the spinning rotor. There were 3 injured air lifted to hospital in Hull and the vessel proceeded to the Firth of Forth to carry out repairs and it took 6 weeks before the vessel was ready to be hand over to the owners. The reason I know this much about it I was on watch in the engineroom when the cargo pump turbine exploded and I was very lucky and escaped unhurt. Micky

[Terrysummerson]

I remember drawing the General Arrangement drawing for this ship. Being so large it was impractical doing it on the normal scale of 1/8th inch to the foot so I was asked to draw it 1/16th inch to the foot. It still ended up very long and to make things more interesting they wanted the same amount of detail as the larger scale which proved demanding when drawing the cabin furniture and deck fittings.
All those who worked on the vessel were given a coin with both the new and the old Great Britain on it. Unfortunately I lent mine to be used in a Swan Hunter exhibition during the Tall Ships race and after the race Swans decided to leave the exhibition in the maritime museum on the Quayside and that's the last I saw of it.

[jmbrent]

Terry, I have a Texaco Great Britain coin still in the card somewhere in the house along with a fountain pen given to all on the delivery of the last built naval ship from the original Swan Hunter HMS Richmond. Micky

[magoonigal]

I got an HMS WESTMINSTER paper weight with a 1967 threepenny bit on ebay which is really rather nice!

Swans must have produced lots of interesting items over the years...

[pughpanther]

I was unfortunate to sail on the Texaco Great Britain. I was a first trip Engineer Cadet. I remember the turbine blades from No 4 Cargo Pump imbedded in the lift shaft! There was various witness marks from the burst turbine. The lift couldn't reach the cargo pump flat as it jammed in the shaft. It was the Construction & Repair Superintendent that lost his life in the fore peak. I sailed with the Chief Officer & 2nd Mate who removed him, so I was given all the nasty details. I've seen accounts on other web sites of the awful state this ship was in. Boiler headers with cracks, hawser pipe collars packed with scrap, free flow cargo....need I go on. My memories of the ship are not good. We suffered steam leaks bad enough that the Evaps couldn't keep up. Shell fish in the GS water system blocking the evap air eductors. Cargo system pipework that fell apart. Leaks in the fore peak...... I was taken off after she broke her back. I remember the fuss when we discharged in Pembroke. We had a collar around the vessel. The previous discharge we had a spill and put enough oil in the dock to shut down a local power station ( 4 Tonnes ?). This had been caused through a broken cargo pipe in a tank! I remember hearing in 1981 that a transverse bulk had collapsed during loading. That was the final nail in her coffin. Only ten years of service. I've served on T2s that have gone on for over forty years!
Her ESSO sisters have a similar horror stories!!!