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1963

M.V. Cragallian

Scottish Ore Carriers

Motor cargo ship

An ore carrier on a tight circuit: Seven Islands in Canada, Almeria in Spain and Pepel in Sierra Leone, all of it into Port Talbot, Cardiff and Tees-side.

2 pictures — tap to see them

Port TalbotSeven IslandsAlmeriaPepelMiddlesbro'

1 of 9 passages

23rd August 1963 — 3rd September 1963

Port Talbot → Seven Islands

2,949 miles · 11 days at sea

TO LOAD

SAILED PORT TALBOT 8am 23rd Aug. BOUND SEVEN ISLANDS

Every passage he logged in her. Press play to follow her through, or tap a port to see every time he called there.

Log entries
20
Ports
8
Nautical miles
21,334
Days at sea
72

Her longest passage in the log ran from Pepel to Middlesbro' — 3,533 miles, 13 days at sea.

The log

20 Aug 1963 to 21 Nov 1963

August 1963

  1. 20 Aug 1963

    Signed on Port Talbot

    SIGNED ON PORT TALBOT 20th August

  2. 23 Aug 1963
    8am

    Sailed Port Talbot — bound Seven Islands

    SAILED PORT TALBOT 8am 23rd Aug. BOUND SEVEN ISLANDS

September 1963

  1. 3 Sep 1963
    3am

    Arrived Seven Islands

    TO LOAD

    ARRIVED SEVEN ISLANDS 3am 3rd SEPT TO LOAD

  2. 3 Sep 1963
    2pm

    Sailed Seven Islands — bound Port Talbot

    SAILED SEVEN ISLANDS 2pm 3rd SEPT BOUND PORT TALBOT

  3. 12 Sep 1963
    8pm

    Arrived Port Talbot

    ARRIVED PORT TALBOT 8pm 12th SEPT BERTHED TILL 4am 15th SEPT. BERTHED

  4. 18 Sep 1963
    4pm

    Sailed Port Talbot — bound Seven Islands

    SAILED PORT TALBOT 4pm 18th SEPT BOUND SEVEN ISLANDS

  5. 26 Sep 1963
    11pm

    Arrived Seven Islands

    ARRIVED SEVEN ISLANDS 11pm 26th SEPT BERTHED 9am 28th

  6. 28 Sep 1963
    1pm

    Sailed Seven Islands — bound Port Talbot

    SAILED SEVEN ISLANDS 1pm 28th SEPT BOUND PORT TALBOT

October 1963

  1. 7 Oct 1963
    9pm

    Arrived Port Talbot

    ARRIVED PORT TALBOT 9pm 7th OCT BERTHED 11am 8th

  2. 9 Oct 1963
    11pm

    Sailed Port Talbot — bound Almeria

    SAILED PORT TALBOT 11pm 9th OCT BOUND ALMERIA

  3. 14 Oct 1963
    2pm

    Arrived Almeria

    to load

    ARRIVED ALMERIA 2pm 14th Oct to load

  4. 15 Oct 1963
    7pm

    Sailed Almeria — bound Cardiff

    bound Cardiff

    SAILED ALMERIA 7pm 15th Oct bound Cardiff

  5. 20 Oct 1963
    5am

    Arrived Falmouth

    awaiting orders

    ARRIVED Falmouth Roads 5am 20th Oct awaiting orders

  6. 23 Oct 1963
    noon

    Sailed Falmouth — bound Cardiff

    bound Cardiff

    SAILED Falmouth Roads 12pm 23rd Oct bound Cardiff

  7. 24 Oct 1963
    9pm

    Arrived Cardiff

    to discharge

    ARRIVED Cardiff 9pm 24th Oct to discharge

  8. 26 Oct 1963
    2pm

    Sailed Cardiff — bound Pepel

    bound Pepel

    SAILED Cardiff 2pm 26th Oct bound Pepel

November 1963

  1. 6 Nov 1963
    10am

    Arrived Pepel

    to load

    ARRIVED Pepel 10am 6th Nov to load

  2. 7 Nov 1963
    11am

    Sailed Pepel — bound Middlesbro'

    bound Middlesbrough

    SAILED Pepel 11am 7th Nov bound Middlesbrough

  3. 20 Nov 1963
    6pm

    Arrived Middlesbro'

    to discharge

    ARRIVED Middlesbrough 6pm 20th Nov to discharge

  4. 21 Nov 1963
    6am

    Arrived Glasgow

    ARRIVED Glasgow 6am 21st Nov

What was happening

Background written by the family, not from the logbook — but it explains a good deal of what is in it.

1954–1971

No telephone, no news

There was no way to call home. Letters were sent ahead to the agent at the next port, and if the ship was diverted the mail chased her round the world for months. A man could sail knowing his wife was expecting, and learn he had a child from a telegram handed up a gangway in another hemisphere.

1954–1971

Two years was a normal voyage

Foreign-going Articles could run for up to two years, and often did. David's longest unbroken spell in this logbook runs seventeen months, from June 1960 to November 1961 aboard the Scotstoun. Leave came at the end of it, not during.

1960–1971

The ships get very much bigger

In the 1950s a large tanker carried around 16,000 tons. By the mid-1960s the new turbine tankers carried three and four times that, and they were built too big for the Suez Canal to take them fully laden. Ports had to be rebuilt to match: Europoort was dug out of the sea off Rotterdam, and Kharg Island and Khor al Amaya were built out into deep water offshore.

In the log: David moves from the 1956 Norscot to the Naess ships, and the ports change with them — Europoort, Kharg, Khor al Amaya and Ras Tanura take over the log.

1954–1971

The map keeps changing

The place names in this log are the ones David used, and many of them have since changed. Bombay is Mumbai, Madras is Chennai, Bône is Annaba, Bougie is Béjaïa, Ceylon is Sri Lanka. He sailed through the end of one world map and into another.