Not pictured on the Tyne, but a big Tyne repair job. The United States Line’s American Commander at Southampton in August 1966. As Pioneer Commander, she came to grief by grounding off Orkney in August 1977. She suffered extensive bottom damage over at least a third of the ship’s length and was docked at Wallsend for examination and repair. Wallsend Drydocks asked Wallsend Yard to support them by fabrication of replacement structure and I recall plodging about in a mixture of sea water and FFO in the dock bottom, with the Wallsend Shipyard Fab Shop Manager, whilst assessing the size of the job. The damage was such that it was necessary to replace a lot of double bottom structure which was done in the form of complete units – shell, internals and tank top – in the largest sizes that the dry dock cranes could handle and that could be manoeuvred in the dock. If my memory is reliable I think we fabricated two or three hundred tons of new units. I didn’t see any of the work carried out in the dock but it was clearly a very clever piece of work by Wallsend DD to remove all the damaged structure and replace with new units over such a large area of the ship whilst maintaining alignment of the ship and its machinery. It also provided a handy input of work to the Wallsend Fab Shop. American Commander had been completed in 1963 and was not broken up until 2012 after having spent many years as part of the US reserve merchant fleet.

I can remember walking through the drydocks, over the dock gates, when she was in for the work Dennis describes. You could tell that she had still been leaking oil when she came in the dock and as the dock was then closed and the "water" pumped out all the sides of the dock were covered in black oily sludge as the water level dropped. You could still see the tide mark years later.

No doubt suitable PPE would be provided, but I doubt it.

A boiler suit, hard hat, and wellies (with steel toecaps!) as I recollect!

And suitable washing facilities to wash the oil out of the boiler suit, when the lads slipped on the oil sludge.

In the Gas Board you got a Donkey Jacket as well...........Work Boots were a subsidised extra.

I got a pair of Tuf Boots, turned up in the yard and was politly told to "B.....er Off" and get those boots dirty before you come out with my Gang!!

Happy Days.