HYRIA

About

Completed 1954 as "HYRIA" for STUK. 1962 fitted with two deck tanks to carry LPG. 8-4-1974 and 3-1-1975 damaged by mines at Nha Be Saigon. 2-8-1975 arrived Kaohsiung for scrap.

IMO number
5157676
Call sign
GSDP
Construction number
1074
Tonnage
19.112 ton
Beam
21m
Length overall
169m
Year of construction
1954
Year of renaming/broken up
1975
Service for Shell
1954 to 1975
Cargo
Class
Flag state
Home port
Manager
Shipyard
Status
Photo(s)

Comments

Sailors

Name Job Period Details
John Stanley Do... able seaman
Tony Mason deck apprentice 1954 to 1955
Bruce Devlin 3rd engineer 1954 to 1955
Tom Roberts senior ordinary seaman 1955 to 1956
Donald Wood 4th engineer 1955 to 1956
Barrie E. Dakers Bas apprentice engineer 1956 to 1957
Ken Weir galley boy 1956 to 1957
Robert James Allen senior deck apprentice 1956
Arthur Darlison 5th engineer 1956 to 1957
John Vaughton 5th engineer 1956 to 1957
Tony West deck apprentice 1958 to 1960
Daniel Rutherford chef kok 1958 to 1959
Mike Evans 5th engineer 1958 to 1959
Alan Moore efficient deckhand 1958 to 1959
Captain Roderic... 3rd officer 1959 to 1960
Barry Williams assistant steward 1959
Alistair Montgomery 5th engineer 1959
Colin Mclean deck apprentice 1959 to 1960
David Rayfield deck apprentice 1960
William Bill Coppard 4th engineer 1960 to 1961
Herbert Owen Thomas 4th engineer 1961 to 1962
Alan R Harwood radio officer 1961 to 1962
Michael Thompson steward 1961
Doug Aus Wilson 5th engineer 1961 to 1963
wilka 3/O 1963
Brian Tony Withers 2nd mate 1963
Iain Moffatt 2nd engineer 1963 to 1964
Kenneth Harding 5th engineer 1964 to 1965
Kok Chong Yip deck cadet 1965 to 1966
John Raddings 5th engineer 1965
Brinley Charles Ford 3rd engineer 1965 to 1966
Peter Crotty extra 2nd engineer 1965 steam time
John Kirtley 5th engineer 1966 to 1967
John Humble 5th engineer 1967
Gordon Kent 3rd officer 1967 to 1969
Fred Ravenscroft 2nd cook 1967
Edward Twisaday steward 1967
Dave Hone steward 1967 to 1968
Mikekilmartin senior radio officer 1967 to 1968
Peter A. Cross radio officer 1967 to 1968
Owen Smith assistant steward 1967 to 1968
Michael Howley radio officer 1967 to 1968
Peter David Wil... crew messman 1968 to 1969
Allen Hill 5th engineer 1968 to 1969
John Jones 5th engineer 1968
William Nicol 1 chef kok 1968 to 1970
Graham Wheeler radio officer 1968
Alan F. Dedman fireman 1968
Thomas Orr Graden 5th engineer 1968
Stefan Laing apprentice engineer 1969 to 1975
Herbie A. Battye 3rd officer 1969
Thomas Orr Graden 5th engineer 1969 to 1970
Mike Fred Fryer fireman 1969
Phil Furness ea 1969 to 1970
Alan Jones Alan... 2nd cook 1969 to 1970
David Atkinson radio officer 1970 to 1971
Nicholas Woodley engineer cadet 1970 when Jeff died
Geoff Henderson apprentice engineer 1970 Replaced Jeff 1970
Richard Driver assistant steward 1970 to 1971
Paul Snook catering boy/galley boy 1970
Brian Dickson cadet 1970 to 1971 Also there when Jeff was electrocuted.
Steve Lee Eng Apprentice 1970 Jan 1970 - Aug 1970. Other Eng Apps; Bob Grant, Nick Woodley, and Jeff who sadly died. Geoff Henderson (the Sunderland Football Fan!!)
Anthony Tony Jo... radio officer 1970
Tony Cable radio officer 1970 1st trip sole
Allen Hill 4th engineer 1970 to 1971 Tthere when ea Jeff Kestrel died
Brian John Wright 5th engineer 1971
James D. Jim Auton 2nd engineer 1971
Roger Phillips 3rd engineer 1971 just got 2nd ticket joined as 3e. was on board when ltc caught fire in saigon
Ken Hart chief engineer 1971
Steven Bussey galley boy 1971 1st trip
Alan Rees catering boy 1971
John Veitch chief officer 1971 to 1972
Steven Bussey catering boy/galley boy 1971 to 1972
Michael Errington catering boy/galley boy 1971
Martin Murdoch engineer cadet 1971 2nd trip
David Laird cadet 1971 to 1972
Geoff Akehurst deck apprentice 1972 to 1973
Chris Johnson navigation cadet 1972
Mike Connor engineer cadet 1972
Terry Jones 2nd steward 1972 to 1973
Michael Hines chief engineer 1972 to 1973
Geoff Murby efficient deckhand 1972 to 1973
Lawrence Lawson... 2nd engineer 1972
Robert Carswell radio officer 1972 to 1973
Richard Robb senior ordinary seaman 1972 to 1973
Lloyd A Brown galley boy 1972 to 1973 in the galley
Paul Christophe... 5th engineer 1973
Clive Wintle assistant steward 1973
David Starr 3rd mate 1973
David Beeston 3rd engineer 1973 to 1974
Joseph Moore 4th engineer 1973
Peter Stevens 1 deck cadet 1973 to 1974
Eric Phillips captain (commanding officer) 1973
Geoff Murby efficient deckhand 1973 to 1974
Shaun Heffernan 5th engineer 1973
Richard Robb efficient deckhand 1973
Keith D Ellison... JOS Junior Ordinary Seaman 1974 to 1975 Visiting Vietnam during the War
Steve Hardy deck cadet 1974 to 1975
Ronald Greig captain (commanding officer) 1974 to 1975 my late father was captain
Mike Ewart 2nd engineer 1974
Richard Whing navigation cadet 1974
Sean Burns 3rd mate 1974
Gordon Robertson 5th engineer 1974 to 1975
Philip Longton ... 2nd engineer 1974 to 1975
Brian Blythe deck cadet 1974 to 1975
David Miles assistant steward 1974
Colin McBain navigation cadet 1975 Last trip of Hyria, beached in Kaohsiung. Joined Singapore ( Strange feeling to see sandbag walls on bridge wings). Loading avtur for Vietnam. River closed in Vietnam before we sailed from Pulau Bukom. Captain was Ralph Cod.
Richard Entwistle 3rd engineer 1975
Michael J. Mcghee deck cadet 1975

Anecdotes

Date Visitor Anecdote
10/22/2020 - 06:23 Colin McBain

I joined , Paulo Bukum,Singers early 1975 .She was loading Avtur for Vietnam but that was cancelled due to events in Vietnam. Think it was same time we ended up taking that load to Kobe, Japan.
I awoke to alarms in accommodation amidships. went out facing aft in time to see some Chinese crew legging it ashore! Aya Aye summats up!
Turned out we were taking on fuel, pipe burst in engine toom and caught fire. Took a while but we got it under control.
Bit scary being on an Aviation fuelled bomb!

11/15/2017 - 19:39 Ken Weir

I joined the Hyria in Stanlow. It was my first trip. I did nine months. Then went on the Zaphon.

11/15/2017 - 19:37 Ken Weir

I joined the Zaphon in wallsend on Tyne. On maiden voyage. Galley boy. Head cook John Roberts. I worked with him again at Clatterbridge hospital. Second cook was Billy Weir, no relation.

01/26/2017 - 17:24 David Hone

Joined the Hyria in September 1967 as assistant steward with a full crowd in Singapore when we took over from a Chinese crew. We'd flown in at about 5.00pm and immediately joined the ship and the we sailed for Hong Kong about a hour later. Felt sorry for the watch keepers, jet-lagged and working...not nice. All we did for 6 months was Singapore - Saigon - Singapore - Hong Kong, double money on the Saigon leg. She was a very happy ship when I was in her, good crowd and a lot of fun ashore. We were alongside at Nha Be on the night of the Tet offensive...bangs and flashes everywhere but, with the innocence of youth, a lot of the crowd werer sat on the poop deck, swilling Tiger beer and watching the action. We came off the berth next day and spent a few days anchored in the river until the convoys started again. We were at Nha Be on Christmas Day so we actually celebrated Christmas on the 27th. on the trip back to Singapore. Paid off in Yokohama drydock, spent a night in Tokyo (What a night!) and flew home with SAS via Anchorage and over the North Pole to Copenhagen and then changed for Heathrow. Happy Days & fond memories.

06/02/2015 - 23:20 David Miles

Was on board when she was mined in Saigon Quite scary at the time but sailed back to Singapore and put up in hotel (station hotel) while in dry dock for repairs

07/24/2013 - 21:15 Richard Robb

back in 72 73 watched a shell tanker on paula bukom island loose control and went alongside cutting hoses off another shell tanker that was about to load for nga bay that was the only scary moment i had doing the mekong run

02/26/2013 - 22:56 Geoff Murby

loved this ship had a great year on her was on board when a ship tied up behind us went up in flames in sigon a great happy ship [ mainly due to all the weed smoked on her ]

05/13/2011 - 05:59 Mike Evans

She was my first ship as an ex Anglo Saxon engineer apprentice
THIS WAS 1958 In those days she was known as THE HELL SHIP HYRIA because of the number of engineers she had killed, mainly apparently because of turbo alternator explosions.
I was there when the extra 2nd ( Jim Meeriles) got very badly scolded, also one Chief Engineer got burnt when he was flashing up the boiler, she waqs still a hell ship then.
I learnt what it was to be an engineer there.

03/05/2011 - 16:10 Chris Johnson

Joined at Keppel drydock,Singapore 7.2.1972.Had great adventures running between Hong Kong,Saigon and Singapore.Extra pay for trips to Saigon.Left from Singapore 6.6.1972.

01/05/2009 - 21:27 Mike Ewart

Joined Hyria or as she was known in those days the "Saigon Flyer" with my wife in September 1974 was just settling in when was taken off with an emergency appendectomy in Singapore end of October 1974.