The morning call., 1894-03-04
CALLS EVERY DAY.
Captain Woodside's Bill
for Demurrage.
ASSUMING BIG PROPORTIONS.
The Expense of Fitting the British
Steamer Bawnmore for the
Oil Trade.

Principally every morning Captain
-Woodside OF the British steamship Bawn-
more, now undergoing repairs at the Union
Iron Works, calls at the counting-room OF
j. W. Grace & Co. and presents bill over
the counter for S175 for demurrage. The
amount already claimed by the captain on
account Of demnrrage foOts up TO some
thing over $4,000.
The explanation of these matutinal
visits of Captain Wocdside to the Office of
Grace 6 Co. is to be found in the contract
entered into with the owners of the Bawn-
more several months since. At that time
the iron works people eng ged to make
the necessary altera tiOns and convert the
Bawnmore into a petroleum carrying tank
steamer for the sum of S29, 600, with the
stipulation that the vessel should be
finished by January 4 last or demurrage
be paid for each day until completed.
The Bawnmore is the first vessel tn at
was ever fitted with tanks in San Fran
cisco for the purpose of carrying crude
mineral oil in bulk. and she is now under
charter TO Grace " Co. to carry petroleum
IN bulk for number Of voyages between
Talara Bay, in Peru, and this port.
The terms OF the charter are that the
chalterers agree to make all the altera-
tons In the vessel and to have her ready
for sea by January 4, CT in default pay
At tue Tal6 ni Stl0 per 0dys TO
guarantee 1850 tons (EDgliSh) of oil each
voyage, for which they agree to pay
freight At the rate of II Shillngs and six
pence (S4 20) per ton, a five days lay
being allowed in each port. They also
guaranteed that the alterations made
would not affect the vessels class at
Lloyd's, and at the expiration of the
charter party they undertake TO take out
the tanks, remove the bulkheads and re-
store the vessel to her original condition.
This charter-DaTty was duly signed and
sealed, and the Union Iron Works included
in their eontrac for alterations the coDd-
tons with res pect 10 the CHASING al IlOy d S
and for the completion of the work by the
stated time; but their figures were such a
long way out that the steamer is still I'M
finished aud it is rumOred that the repairs
Will have cost them $4,000 before she
leaves the works.
The BawGmore is being fitted with every
precau lou against accident. Altogether.
there are fourteen tanks for carrying the
oil. These have been constructed by divd-
ing the vessel into different sections with
WateT-tight or oil-tight bulkheads.
One traverse bplkhead runs fore and
aft or lon gitudinally, through the holds,
while the other bulkheads are built
athwartship. and run from side to side
transversely. Forward of the engines
there are eight tanks. four on each side,
and at the after end of the ship six tanks
three on a side; the side or skin of the
ship forms the sides of the tanks, which
run from the iron tween decks right down
to the upper plates of the double bottom.
When loaded the oil will all be below the
water level. and all danger of heating
from contact with the engines and boilers
is avoided by two bulkheads, placed about
TWO feet apart. Being built at each end of
the engine compartment, these buIkheads
form a cofferdam, which will always be
kept full of water when the vessel is OIL
.-lOada6
The Union Iron Works has done its
work very we'll, and Captain Metcalfe,
LlOyd's surveyor, expresses himself salts
fed with the job, but notwithstanding
this the BawnpOre has been crossed out
of LlOyd's registry and has lost her class,
for these marine insurance autocrats have
hard and fast rule which applies to this
case. First. they don't care about class
ing vessels that have been converted into
tank steamers for carrying Oil IN bulk. and
secondly, they never class a steamer unless
she has been converted under the eyes of
one of their chief surveyors.
So, naturally, there is considerable
trouble between the owners of the Bawn-
more and the charterers. CAPTAIN Wood
side, acting for the owners, insists upon
all the conditions of the charter being
complied with. while the ctarterers wish
him to foreg0 some of the conditions.
Messrs. Grace 81 Co. offered to make the
tanks over to the owners al the expiration
l.
the classification, but the offer was not
accepted. Negotiations are still going on
and demurrsge is still being claimed daily.
Another source of trouble is the in
sursnce, for the carriage of petroleum In
bulk is not under any circumstances wholly
unattended with danger, and explosions
and other accidents have occasionally Oc-
Cured in spite of all precautions taken.
In con siderati0n of the extra risk the un.
derwriters usually demand double rates
certainly not less than II per cent-and as
the ship is not classed the extra cost OF
covering the vessel by insurance falls upon
the cuarteTe who apparently would have
done a great deal better if they had bought
her ont and out before the alterations were
commenced.
The charter itself is a very reasonable
one, Grace & Co. getting 6O0,O00 gallons Of
crude oil carried for distance Of $3.50
miles for about 81. 200, or at the rate OF
IA cents per gallon or gallons for cents
This does not leave big thing for the
ship, as the round voyage Of Zoo mile:
will take six weeks, and the steamer can
only get freighted one way, and she viii
burn about $4,000 worth of coal during the
trip.
The principal danger in carrying oil in
bulk is in its leaking into the ballast-tankt
or bilges. The crude oil when mixed with
air generates gas which accnmulateS in
empty spaces and is highly explosive
The BawnmOre has a steam jet fitted il
each Dallast-tank 10 dispense these gases
The oil also expands and contracts TO
considerable extent, and as the tempera
ture increases and decreases this expan
sion is provided for in tank steamers by
large trunkways. which extend from the
upper deck right down into the tanks
These trunkways are filled with oil Il
compensate for the range of expansion.
The most approved method of building
tank steamers now is with the engines in
the after part of the vessel and the water
ballast carried at each end. The tanks
then extend right down to the bottom 0.
the ship and any leakage goes into the
ocean. Any of these tank steamers are
practically nnsinkable.