SAN GASPAR (1)

About

Completed 1921 as "SAN GASPAR" for Eagle Oil. 18-7-1942 torpedoed off Trinidad and was repaired. 23-2-1954 arrived at Osaka for scrapping.

IMO number
1146148
Call sign
GFPK
Construction number
869
Tonnage
12.910 ton
Beam
19m
Length overall
147m
Year of construction
1921
Year of renaming/broken up
1954
Service for Shell
1921 to 1954
Cargo
Class
Flag state
Home port
Manager
Shipyard
Status
Photo(s)

Comments

Sailors

Name Job Period Details
Sandie Marshall mate 1929 to 1930
George C Turnbull cadet 1940 cadet then apprentice
D.k. Blyth master 1942
Harold Holderness steward 1943 to 1945
Geoffrey Matthews Royal Navy dems rating (gunner) 1943 to 1945 I belive that my father George Matthews served on the San Gaspar during WW2 as a dems gun layer.
Desmond Doyle 3rd officer 1945
Jack May junior engineer 1948 to 1949
Eric Bennett senior ordinary seaman 1949 to 1950
Roy French catering boy/galley boy 1951 to 1952
Desmond Doyle 2nd officer 1951
Colin Allen catering boy 1952 to 1953
Alan Leathard able seaman 1953 to 1954
Anthony William... deck apprentice 1954

Anecdotes

Date Visitor Anecdote
01/13/2017 - 18:03 Roy French

I WAS AT THE SEA TRAINING SCHOOL SHARPNESS FOR ABOUT 3 MONTHS, BEFORE JOINING
THE SANGASPER 1,SHE WAS DOCKED IN SOUTH SHIELDS, WE SAILED ON THE 7 MAY 1951,
AND ARRIVED BACK IN SOUTH SHEILDS ON THE 17 MAY 1952.
OUR 1ST PORT OF CALL WAS IN THE WEST INDIES.
OUR NEXT CALL WAS IN SOUTH AMERICA ,I REMEMBER WE STEAMED THE TANKS OUT AND THEN
WE COLLECTED CLEAN WATER IN THE AMAZON AND FILLED THE TANKS WITH THE WATER,
WE TOOK THE WATER TO ARUBA THE DUTCH WEST UNDIES , THEY DID NOT HAVE CLEAN WATER.
AFTER THAT WE COLLECTED OIL AGAIN ON OUR BACK IN CURACO DUTCH WEST INDIES .
I WAS ONLY 15 YRS OLD , AND IT MADE A MAN OF ME.
I WAS THE CATERING BOY BUT I HAD TO TAKE PLACE OF THE SECOND COOK WHO TOOK POORLY
AND I HAD TO TAKE HIS PLACE, I HAD TO BAKE ALL THE BREAD EVERY DAY .

12/31/2016 - 09:36 Desmond Doyle

18/7/42 - Torpedoed off Trinidad and was repaired. 23/2/54 - Arrived at Osaka for scrapping.

11/27/2012 - 00:22 Robert Tillier

My first ship leaving the sea school. Sign on in mill dam pool office November 19 62 as galley boy. Paid of in Rotterdam 18 months later hell of an experience

02/22/2011 - 14:41 David Read

I did two trips on the San Gasper. First in 1961/62 as Third Mate then again in 64/65 as Second Mate. It was in November of 64, in Rotterdam, that her name was changed to Vertagus. There was a bar in Buenos Aires, Tanker Joe's, a real Eagle Oil man who was very upset about these name changes. See the book "Salt in the Blood" - A young man's obsession with the sea. A good read about a first tripper with Shell.

02/28/2010 - 15:50 Anthony William...

I joined the San Gaspar at Punta Cardon in December 1953. I had been transferred from the San Valeno which was birthed next to the Gaspar. They had no apprentices and needed some cheap labour. It turned this was a stroke of good fortune as the Gaspar, old slow and leaking oil, had been sold to the Japanese for scrap. We now had a long voyage to Japan at a top speed of 7 knots.

During the voyage and to make it as pleasant as possible the 1st mate allowed us to cut up the windsails and chippy constructed a canvas swimming pool on the foredeck. Many hours were spent messing around in our new found, somewhat leaky, pool.

As maintenance of the ship was pointless we also spent time playing deck cricket. Eventually arriving in Osaka in February of '54. Here a bit of class distinction appeared as the ship's officers were assigned to western style hotels in downtown Osaka. The sailors and firemen went to Japanese style hotels a bit further out.

After a few days Eagle Oil made some novel travel arrangements for us all. It was decided that we would all fly home on a Dokata Flymaster owned and staffed by KLM. The aircraft would stop each night at a convenient location and the whole journey would take 4 days. I can still remember my amazement at the hustle and bustle of Calcutta as we made our way to the Grand Hotel. The waiters treated us all like lords and I gained a lifelong love of curry!

My memories of the crew have faded with the years but I do remember Geoffory Shakespear, the 2nd mate, who kept a fatherly eye on me among the fleshpots of Osaka! If anybody out there was on the ship I would love to hear from them.