METHANE PROGRESS

About

Completed 1964 as "METHANE PROGRESS" for Methane Tanker (STUK). 1981 laid-up alongside sistership Methane Princess in Fal. 9-1986 arrived Castellon Spain in tow for demolition.

IMO number
5424744
Call sign
GMYE
Construction number
1653
Tonnage
24.607 ton
Beam
25m
Length overall
189m
Year of construction
1964
Year of renaming/broken up
1986
Service for Shell
1964 to 1986
Cargo
Class
Flag state
Home port
Manager
Shipyard
Status
Photo(s)

Comments

Sailors

Name Job Period Details
Rick Jackson deck boy 1962
Willie Scott fitter 1963 to 1964 Apprentice fitter working on the methane progress on slips at Harland and Wolff, Belfast
Rick Jackson deck boy 1964
David C. Richmond 3rd engineer 1964 to 1965
Arthur R. Geake 1st officer 1964
Graham Walden 5th engineer 1964 to 1965
Paul Fairweather deck boy 1965 to 1966
Arny Lowe galley boy, steward 1965 to 1967
John Taylor cadet 1965
Robert Fulton efficient deckhand 1965
Roger Taylor 1st radio officer 1965 to 1966
Simon Reilly engineer 1966 to 1976 5th engineer, cargo officer & chief engineer
Ronald Wortley efficient deckhand 1966
Graham Darling 2 assistant steward 1966 to 1967
George Stevenson catering boy 1966
Brian Lindo 5th engineer 1967
Thomas Tom Gibb 5th engineer 1967
Ian G. Kendall 2nd cook 1967
Michael Hines 2nd engineer 1967 2nd engineer/cargo officer
John Bernard catering boy/galley boy 1967
Ernie Milligan 5th engineer 1967
Barney Boylan 2 assistant steward 1967
Jeffrey Davies 5th engineer 1967 to 1968
Jack Beaumont chief officer 1967 to 1968
Ronald Wortley efficient deckhand 1967
David Marshall junior ordinary seaman 1967
John Almond electro technical officer 1968 to 1970
Stan Riley 2nd engineer 1968
John Cumming 2nd mate 1968
Paul Hill junior ordinary seaman 1968
Ernie Milligan 5th engineer 1968 to 1969
Mike Muir 1 grade 1 seaman 1968
John Pegden assistant steward 1968
John Pritchard catering boy/galley boy 1968
Bernard Teale 5th engineer 1968 to 1974 5/e 1968; cargo officer 1974
Anonymous gp boy 1969
Christopher Benn deck boy 1969
Andre Donald Hunt deckhand 1969
Andy Crooke 5th engineer 1969 to 1970
Tom Salmon catering boy 1969
Chris Spencer extra 3rd mate 1970
David Humphreys gp 1 1970 to 1971
David Humphreys gp 1 1970
Gerry Houlihan radio officer 1970 to 1973
Martin E Mowlem boatswain (bosun/petty officer) 1970 to 1971
Terry Jones 2nd steward 1970
Ken Wells 2nd cook and baker 1970 to 1971
Thomas Malcolm ... 3rd engineer 1971 to 1972
Robert Webber 5th engineer 1971 to 1972
Ronald E Tait Orkney 2nd steward 1971
Anthony Powles gp 1 1971
John Bennett 5th engineer 1971
John Cumming extra chief officer 1971
Richard O'neill junior radio officer 1971
Christopher Lustig crew messman 1972 to 1973
Frederick Paul ... 5th engineer 1972
Stewart A. Wood 5th engineer 1972
David George deck cadet 1972
Karel Krommendijk junior radio officer 1972
Chris Spencer 2nd mate 1972
Graham Culver unknown 1972 to 1973
Ian Bishop 5th engineer 1973 to 1977
Willie Carle 2nd engineer 1973
Andy Robbins catering boy 1973
Ronald Groombridge chief engineer officer 1973 to 1974
Noel Hutton steward 1973 to 1974
Tony Rymer junior engineer 1974
Robin Spencer cadet 1974 Paid off in Arzew with appendicitis
David Andrews 4th engineer 1974 to 1975 Palermo drydock
Arthur Roy 3rd engineer 1974 to 1975
Bob Hossack 3rd engineer 1974
Peter Clark engineer cadet 1974
Jeff Smith chief steward 1974 to 1981
John Chapman 1 4th engineer 1974
John Tarling deck cadet 1974 1st trip
Nigel Hadley radio officer 1974
Anthony Tony Jo... radio officer 1975
Lawrence Lawson... 2nd engineer 1975 to 1976
David Wilson chef kok 1975
Tony Cable radio electronics officer 1975
Ian Falconer deck cadet 1975
Richard O'neill senior radio officer 1975
Anonymous 4th engineer 1975
Colin Williamson 5th engineer 1975 to 1976
Mike Bailey engineer cadet 1975
Ian Jones 5th engineer 1976
Alasdair Maclean 5th engineer 1976
Colin Osman 3rd engineer 1976
Ian Mcjannet catering 1976 to 1977
Ronald Davies 2nd engineer 1976
Bill Watts engineer cadet 1976 1st trip
Paul Ayers able seaman 1976
Derek Jackson cargo officer 1976 to 1977
Michael F. Keenan 4th engineer 1976
Kenneth Lyon engineer 1976 engine room f/g
Martin Angus deck boy 1977
Michael Marsh 3rd engineer 1977
Guy Pracy deck cadet 1977
Erick Weston engineer cadet 1977 1st trip cadet, joined Canvey Island Jan 77, drydocked Falmouth, left Canvey Island June 77. One trip to Barcelona
Paul Stafford engineer cadet 1977 to 1978
John Pickering chef kok 1977
Arthur Davidson efficient deckhand 1977 to 1978
Paul Price radio officer 1977
Mike Brown chief steward 1978
Charles Stobbart catering offficer 1978
Anthony D Smith deck cadet 1978 to 1979
Ian Falconer 3rd mate 1978
Adrian Tuck 5th engineer 1978
Derek Cumming deck cadet 1978
Andy Mortimer apprentice engineer 1978 to 1979
Anthony Lamb catering boy/galley boy 1979
Herbie Battye chief officer 1979 to 1980
Ben Palmer 2nd mate 1979
Mike Hamer cadet 1979 to 1980
Graham Walden 2nd engineer 1979
Nick Hibbard 3rd engineer 1979
Kevin Hunter steward 1979
Ian Watson 3rd deck officer 1979
Fred Craig chef kok 1979
Christopher Lustig cook 1979
David Heron chef kok 1979
Richard Williams engineer cadet 1980
Joseph Moore 2nd engineer 1980 to 1981
Richard Paul Helliar 3rd mate 1980 to 1981
Bernard Kates radio officer 1980
Trevor Watson steward 1980
Brian Mcglinchey 2nd cook 1980
Kevin Selby 5th engineer, 4th engineer 1980 to 1981
Gordon Wright cadet 1980 1st trip
Kevin Selby 5th engineer, 4th engineer 1980 to 1981
Doug Macintyre deck cadet 1980
Ashley Barnard 3rd engineer 1980
Mark Lewis able seaman (grade 2) 1980 to 1983
John Page able seaman 1980
Bill Glaister deck cadet/3rd mate 1980
Peter Thompson able seaman 1980 to 1981
Doug Moore engineer cadet 1981
Dave Revill engineer cadet 1981
John Kirkland 5th engineer 1981
Mark W. Dottin mg 2 1981
Phil Razey deck cadet 1981
Andrew Thomas engineer cadet 1981
Mark W. Dottin motorman 1981
Mike Brown catering offficer 1981
Herbie Battye chief officer 1981
George Anderson 2nd engineer 1984 to 1985

Anecdotes

Date Visitor Anecdote
02/15/2018 - 21:26 Peter Clark

Joined the Progress as she was towed into Palermo Spring 74 with extensive rudder damage after driving onto a sandbank going astern and with a sgegless rudder, the repair was a series of disasters and took sever blissful weeks, many happy days spent on the magnificent Modello beach a bus ride away.

02/15/2017 - 01:19 Geoff Gill

My late brother, Peter Gill, served as 2nd Radio Officer on the Methane Progress in the mid 1960s, sailing from Canvey Island to Arzew in Tunisia. The ship was his first assignment from Marconi Marine after leaving college. Years later he retired to Cornwall and was surprised to find the ship one day, laid up on the Fal.

07/14/2015 - 00:31 Scott Edwards

My father, Senior Surveyor for the American Bureau of Shipping, supervised the building of the Pogress and Pioneer, while we lived in Belfast from 1862 to 1964. What made this experience so unique was that these two methane LNG carriers, were the first ever built. Roger Holland Edwards, went on to be the Princapal Surveyor of Great Britian and Ireland. He also supervised the building of the two largest funnels ever built on a ship, the SS United States.

09/03/2014 - 00:38 Jerry Evans

HI GUYS, I'll never ever forget my time on
The Methane Progress
I WAS SO SHY AND INTROVERTED
BUT THE GUYS KNEW THAT AND THEY WERE
GREAT WITH ME
WELL ID LOVE TO HEAR FROM ANY OF YOU
AGAIN ONE I REMEMBER IN PARTICULAR
IAN IRVINE MY FRIEND
AND ANOTHER GUY WHO ACRUALLY FED
SEAGULLS FROM THE AFT OF THE
SHIP
I REALLY MISS YOU GUYS AND THOSE DAYS
CANVEY ISLAND DISCOS
THANKS FOR GREAT MEMORIES
I JOINED THE GRENADIER GUARDS IN 1977
I am now an Elvis presley impersonator
I have been since 1983
IT WOULD BE VERY NICE TO HEAR FROM
YOU ESPECIALLY YOU IAN
I NOW GO BY THE NAME OF GED
YOU CAN RING ME ALSO IF YOU WISH
TO ON MY MOBILE
07957-4040-19
Regards

GED

02/01/2012 - 22:08 Kenneth Lyon

Hi to all methane progress crew.

I was working way back in 1976 down below as F/G

The ship herself was so clean could have eaten breakfast off engine room deck. I had cabin 1 port side. If I remember correctly engine crew port side and deck crew starbord side.

The only real problem with that ship was being so restricted on arrival in arzew, as most that were there at the time will remember we were not allowed off the ship which made all eventually get tired of the boring situation of 5 days out overnight turnaround and five days back. Guys just kept coming and going.

We had a great galley and good food, always snacks left over in fridge if you fancied a snack in the evening with your can of tennants.

Looking at photos of methane progress now its hard to believe its more than 35 years ago and now she is long gone.

KEN LYON

08/08/2009 - 22:31 Martin Angus

my first trip to sea as a deck boy fresh from gravesend sea school

05/09/2009 - 22:37 John Bernard

I HAD A PRITTY GOOD TIME ON THE PROGRESS SAILING FROM CANVEY ISLAND TWO ALGERS IE NORTH AFRICA BACK AND FORTH ONE TIME WE WHERE ESCORTTED OUT BY THE RUSSAINS A WARSHIP ON EATHER SIDE OF US. EAVEYTHING TURNED OUT OK SHELL TANKERS WAS A PRITTY GOOD COMPANY TWO BE WITH.IWAS ON MV AMASTRA. MV ASPERELA. MV VIRTAGAS

12/23/2008 - 22:04 Brian Lindo

During 1967 the Methane Progress and the Methane Princess were stopped from going to Arzew due to hostilities in the Middle East. It was decided that both vessels would go into Tilbury for drydock. There was good rapport between both crews of both ships. I remember going to a pub called the Haystack where a steward from the Princess used to do a Shirley Bassey drag act, he used to perform with a guy called Stella. Did a good steak in the Lobster Pot pub as well. Anyone remember this period on the Progress/Princess, would be great to here from you.

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