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All Hands 2020-1 (UK Spring) P a g e 19

had apparently put some water in the Flume tank to ease the erratic rolls. When I was on the Benvalla we had a
flume tank and various Masters had attempted to use it but with no great success. (Flume tanks are antiroll tanks
fitted onto ships to improve their response to roll motion. They are fitted with baffles which slow the rate of water
transfer from one side of the tank to the other. The tank is designed such that a larger amount of water is trapped
on the higher side of the vessel which negates free surface effect.)
At about 1250 we took one big roll and bang the ship blacked out, alarms were sounding and nobody knew exactly
what had happened. The Chief Officer rang the engine room and was told the generators had cut out and water
was flowing over the main control panel. It transpired that the Flume tank had sprung a leak from the internal
torpedo crashing into a flange and cracking it which then leaked water onto the switchboard. Also the roll had cut
the generator out as its low level sump oil alarm detected no oil. This was the situation we were told.
We were now adrift with no engines, water too rough and too deep to anchor in, with no means of using or
deploying a sea anchor (using what? - there were no hatch boards on this ship so what else could we find in Nicolls
seamanship manual to help us?) Being light ship and in this weather launching the lifeboats would certainly be
very dangerous and jumping into the sea for a RFD life raft might be our only way out.
The Second Mate took horizontal bearings on the azimuth ring of prominent land features on the starboard side
and I was writing them down for him. We were now starting to drift astern as all way had come off the ship.
The Master, Captain Adam Addison was there wanting answers to the question of how long it would be before we
could get going again. The drift astern was increasing as the head wind caught us. Apparently the Master contacted
head office to seek information about available tugs. There were none around the corner in the Pentland Firth, the
nearest being Admiralty tugs at Faslane but they were 8 - 10 hours steaming away.

In the engine room it was all hands on deck mopping up and trying to get a generator going. Eventually the Chief
Engineer Jim Watson and his sterling men restarted a Genny and a compressor, then got all four going at a rate of
knots to pump up compressed air so we could try and turn the engine over in order to restart. The E/Room phone
was red hot and time was passing. It seemed like an eternity before the Chief reported that we had enough air to
try three turns and wanted to know if he should try now or to wait a while.
At this stage were about 2.6 miles off the rocks with no steerage way, so the Master said give it a try. I think
everyone on the ship crossed everything on them hoping for success. Boom - the first shot of air and then silence;
another boom followed by more silence. God - I prayed “Let it work this time”. Boom, bum, bum, bum! Out shot
a plume of black smoke from the funnel which instantly disappeared in the gale announcing we were up and
running again.
In the wheelhouse the telegraph was rung for slow ahead but the Chief was winding her up. We watched the revs
on the rev counter on the bulkhead climbing quickly beyond that required for slow ahead. Captain Adamson
shouted “Full ahead” which I rang and we were away. The senior ordinary seaman who was on the wheel asked
“What course sir?” and the old man replied “Just steer her into the middle of the f***ing Atlantic son”!
The Second Mate checked his gyros and Sparks, Sandy Magilvary, stood over the two radars which had pinged
into action. Observation confirmed we were safe and at last course was set for Hamburg.

Then it was questions, questions and more questions, and a telex to HQ reporting we were now safe and under
way. Whilst all this was going on up on the bridge and in the engine room in the car deck and crew alleyways it
had been pandemonium. We had four plumber/pipe fitters on board from Connell's shipyard working in the car
deck on trestles fixing pipes which had been leaking from the officers bathrooms and toilets etc. Not being
seafarers they had been frantic, almost suicidal so the Chief Steward gave them two bottles of brandy from his
private supply to calm them down.
The Chinese crew who were not on watch (engine room greasers, painters, the laundry man and possibly stewards
and cooks), were ready sitting in the main deck alley-way wearing life-jackets with packed cases at the ready!

When we arrived in Hamburg they played Scotland the Brave as we passed Brunsbüttel and when we came along-
side on Christmas day at Tollerot, our Hamburg-based Cargo Superintendent Captain Henry Masserella came on
board with our agents Menzell and Co. The story was that they had told the Master they had not expected to see
the ship or crew again!
7 The Mighty Potosi – Sourced by Martin Greenwood (GreenwoodM64)
Her Last Voyage under the German flag - an extract from the P.S.N.C. Magazine Sea Breezes published in the
South Pacific Mail 18/10/1934. Note: Sea Breezes started its life as the house magazine of The Pacific Steam