LOBITO PALM / LOBITO PAL / MINOA / PERUVIAN TRADER / RICHMOND / EURCO C

LOBITO PALM WAS REGISTERED IN LONDON AND HAD A GROSS TONNAGE OF 2706.SHE HAD BEEN BUILT IN NEWCASTLE BY SWAN HUNTER & WIGHAM RICHARDSON LTD. SHE WAS ENGAGED BY HER OWNERS, PALM LINE ON THE U.K TO WEST AFRICA RUN. HER RADIO CALL SIGN WAS ' GHDF'.THE JOBS ON A LOT OF THE PALM LINE SHIPS WERE SCARCE TO GET, AS MOST HAD 'REGULAR' R/O'S ONBOARD I.E THEY WORKED FOR MARCONI, BUT ALWAYS RETURNED TO THE SAME VESSEL,TAKING THE OCCASIONAL TRIP OF, A CUSHY NUMBER IF YOU COULD GET IT AS A TRIP DOWN TO WEST AFRICA ONLY WORKED OUT AT ABOUT SIX WEEKS. I WAS WAITING TO DO MY D.T.I RADAR MAINTENANCE COURSE SO WAS JUST FILLING IN TIME AND DIDN'T WANT TO DO TO LONG A TRIP AND BE IN A POSITION WHERE I COULDN'T GET BACK TO DO THE COURSE, WHICH WAS WHY I WAS ON LOBITO PALM, AS IT TURNED OUT THE COURSE GOT CANCELLED ON ME ANYWAY, AND I HAD TO DO ANOTHER 'SHORT' TRIP ON 'ESSO PURFLEET'  WHILE AWAITING MY TURN TO GO TO COLLEGE, WHICH IN A WAY WAS A GREAT PITY BECAUSE THE CAPTAIN HAD ASKED ME TO RETURN NEXT TRIP, THE BEST COMPLIMENT A CAPTAIN COULD GIVE HIS R/O, BUT I WAS KEEN TO DO MY RADAR COURSE SO DECLINED THE OFFER, WHICH WAS LUCKY FOR THE OLD GUY WHOSE REGULAR SHIP IT WAS AS HE WOULD HAVE HAD TO TAKE POT LUCK WITH WHAT HIS NEXT SHIP WAS GOING TO BE, IF I HAD TAKEN THE OFFER UP. ON THE TRIP I DID ON LOBITO PALM WE STOPPED AT FREETOWN TO TAKE ON THE USUAL KROO BOYS AND THEN WENT DOWN TO SAN PEDRO AND ABIDJAN ON THE IVORY COAST,THEN TO TAKORADI , COTONOU, LAGOS AND PORT HARCOURT.WE RETURNED TO THE U.K VIA FREETOWN AND DROPPING THE KROO BOYS OF RETURNED  BACK UP TO TILBURY.WE HAD QUITE A LOT OF FREE TIME IN PORT AND VISITED OTHER SHIPS, RETURNED THE FAVOUR AND IT WAS REALLY A VERY PLEASANT TRIP. PALM LINE HAD BEEN FOUNDED IN ABOUT 1849, BY 1986 THE COMPANY HAD ALL BUT FINISHED TRADING AND THE FOLLOWING YEAR IT WAS SOLD. LOBITO PALM WAS SOLD IN 1979 TO ROSSPORT LINES CO OF CYPRUS AND RE-NAMED LOBITO PAL. SHE THEN UNDER WENT A SUCCESSION OF NEW OWNERS AND NAME CHANGES BEFORE SHE WAS FINALLY BROKEN UP IN CHITTIGONG IN 1984.