The Lady was a Tramp
Early morning walkers along the Empire Bay waterfront would have seen David Forsdyke as he completes his walking routine with a sit and chat at the boat ramp. But who would have known of David’s 50 years’ service in the Merchant Navy, until recently when the quietly spoken David shared some of his experiences.
The Merchant Navy is known as the “silent service”. Merchant ships of all sizes quietly come and go. They visit ports both large and small across the world, carrying the raw materials of trade, oil and petroleum products and the manufactured goods of industry. Both in times of world conflict and economic crisis, the Merchant Navy remains an indispensable force that continues, in the background, as a low profile, but essential, service.
David Forsdyke during his Merchant Navy days.
David explained, “I joined the Merchant Navy when I was 15 and retired when 65 after being on many ships. My first ship was a lighthouse tender, servicing all the navigation lights from Brisbane to Thursday Island, then an assortment of ships carrying general cargo (before containers), bulk carriers with sugar, grain, coal, iron ore, phosphates and other horrible things. I also served on container ships, offshore support vessels, and tankers.”
One of many adventures from David’s 50 years at sea was on board the “Nivosa”. The Nivosa was 265 metres long, 140,000 tonnes crude oil tanker built to carry oil from the Persian Gulf to the refineries in Sydney and Geelong. The return trip taking about 60 days.
David continues, “I joined the Nivosa in the morning and started to familiarise myself with all her machinery, pipe work and valves. Unfortunately, the Iran/Iraq war had just started, and tankers were being attacked with missiles in the Persian Gulf. During these trips, conditions on board were tough. No fresh food, no mail, or phone calls or going ashore. At times we were running at night with no navigation lights and hiding in neutral zones. We also had to do a lot of fast talking with an Iranian gunboat that pulled up alongside the Nivosa pointing a rocket launcher at us. Those trips made life more interesting. The company was more worried about losing their ship, then the crew. For the next three years we were “tramping” two or three more trips into the Persian Gulf. I always liked “tramping” as you never knew where you would end up. Every trip was a magical mystery tour.”
A “tramp” in the maritime industry is a cargo ship which does not have a regular route. To trade, she picks up a cargo and takes it to any destination as required, and then is diverted to any port which has available cargo for ongoing transport.
During David’s 50 years as a Merchant seaman he travelled around the world many times, on a variety of ships, experiencing all the climate extremes from the heat of the Suez Canal and the Persian Gulf to snow and ice around Cape Horn in midwinter.
David served 3 years on the Nivosa, surviving Gulf Wars and Iranian gunboats.
In 2001 David retired to Empire Bay where he enjoys the daily walks, good friends and the quieter lifestyle.
By Robert Thompson