YOUR RESPONSES

Ken Thompson - May '08
I was the Medic on Sea Quest from 1975 & had many happy years not only with Sea Quest but other units which foillowed namely Sea Explorer & Ocean Ben Loyal. Harry (The fist) was the Toolpusher along with Billy Howe.

I am still working offshore (part time for BP) on the Miller platform.

Ronnie Lewis - February '08
I worked as an Apprentice Electrician on both the Sea & the Myrina.
I worked as a Liner Off from the Third Year of my Apprenticeship & had the pleasure of working under a Foreman called Tommy Dowdie.
Tommy was a tremendous help to me during my fledling years as an Electrician & also a well known Electrician during that period Frankie Gallagher. I have always said that the apprenticeship I received in Harlands has stood me in good stead during the rest of my working life.
I left Harlands when my apprenticeship was completed, going into the Merchant Navy for 6 years, unable to settle in Belfast owing to what was going on around me I moved to Glasgow, were I started working in Govan Shipbuilders as a Chargehand /Liner Off Eleectrican, my Harlnds Apprenticeship doing me proud, I became the Outfit Planning Manager, I have since left & formed my own Planning Company which gives me a very good standard of living.
I put this all down to my Belfast upbringing & the work ethic which I was given by Tommy Dowdie, Frankie Gallagher & the other people I had the honour to work with in the Best Shipbuilders of it's time

Willie Scott - February '08

Hi Guys
I was in my third year as a fitter on the Myrina piping up double bottoms and fitting ship-side valves Left December 1966 to join P & O Tankers known then as Trident Tankers as Junior engineer. Joined MV Orama in Portland Main as 15th engineer!

Terry Youngs - May '07
I was also a Paxman engineer and went out to the sea Quest on a number of occasions, I also supervised the engine overhauls in the shipyard in Holland when see was having a refit.

ROGER BARNES ( MARINE ENGINEER RETD ) - Apr '07
I commissioned the "paxman" engines on "sea quest" @ h&w Belfast in 1966 & along with various co engineers carried out numerous duties off hull 68 miles approx & Aberdeen 168 miles approx. I completed a period over 6 months & a BP representative presented me with a "sea quest" tie which I still have today!

Paul King - Mar '07
I was a Comex diver on the Seaquest 1974 - 1976. We used to use scuba dive. Bill Howe was a toolpusher who went to Qatar

Denis Johnston - Nov '06
I can remember vividly the launch of the Myrina. I was an apprentice in Short Bros at the time - which shared the Queens Island site with H&W - and we were given a special break to go and watch. We were all lined up along the dockside and just after the ship was launched into the middle of the river the ship slowly started to drift sideways until it was towering over us. I was sure that it was going to tip over as it seemed to be so top heavy and high in the water. It smashed a boat to pieces as it hit the dockside. The boat was not especially small as I recall - perhaps 20 ft or so. However by this time we were all running just in case it would topple over us.

Graham Holden - Nov '06
On 1st January 1976 the Myrina was berthed at Tranmere on the River Mersey discharging a cargo of crude oil. Winds of 100knots struck the area over a very short time span around 9pm and the Myrina broke free. 14 mooring lines parted and all the oil discharge hoses burst. Half the crew were ashore celebrating New Year. I worked in the Marine Dept of the Mersey Docks and Harbour Co at the time and it was my misfortune to be on call that night. Despite the Master's attempts to steam into the hurricane the Myrina grounded on the south end of Pluckington Bank on a falling tide. She hogged and broke her main deck steam line. The following morning at about 6am I was one of a group of port officials, including a Pilot, who boarded the Myrina for the refloating. The deck was covered in crude oil and the wind was still force 8 making boarding by pilot ladder a very hazardous exercise. About 6 or 8 tugs made fast and eventually the ship was brought under control as she refloated. We steamed out of the Mersey and west to Anglesey were I disembarked at Point Lynas several hours later. I believe Myrina subsequently proceeded to drydock on the continent.

Ian Anderson - Oct '06
Ian Anderson Watchstander Sedco135 c (Sea Quest) 1977-jan 1980 You are correct with your date, the 135c ended her days on 17/01/80 while working for Texaco in Warri Nigeria, and I like Dennis agree that it was the best rig I ever worked on in thirteen years offshore for Sedco. The SeaQuest Made North Sea History by discovering the Montrose Field. The first commercial find in the UK sector and later the massive Forties Field.

Alan Fagg - Aug '06
I work in the oil industry and have just bought an Airfix plastic model of the Sea Quest, which must have been originally sold 1967-70 - (instructions make no mention of North Sea or Forties.

I have also worked in Nigeria, and can remember hearing about a drilling rig that hit a shallow gas pocket, caught fire and sunk - with few or no fatalities. I wonder if this was the Sea Quest. The story was that the Fire dept of Shell in Port Harcourt had a broken radio message of a fire, so they sent 2 firemen in a helicopter to go and find out the situation, apparently 2 guys turned up at the helipad with extinguishers, once the aircraft had lifted off 200 ft up or so, they could see the flames 40 miles away, so they decided to land again - job done - they knew the situation - a bit bigger then 2 extinguishers could handle :-(.

Anyway my question - does anybody know when the Sea Quest caught fire? I have been able to find only one reference on a French Website "Sedco 135-c Nigeria 17/jan/1980" would this be correct?

Dennis O'Mara (Barge Engineer/Offshore Installation Manager) - Feb 06
Found your site by accident. I worked on the Sedco 135 "C" formerly known as the Sea Quest. The rig was originally built as the 135 "C" before BP purchased the rig.

I helped to tow the rig from the North Sea to Spain for a refit. We then towed the rig to Warri (Nigeria) were she spent her final years prior to destruction in a blow out and subsequent scuttling in 3,000 meteres of water off the West Coast of Africa.

One of the best rigs I worked on in 23 years offshore. Unfortunatley BP spent very little money on mantenance and she was sorry to say in a poor state when we towed her from the North Sea. She did however find the Forties oil-field and did a great deals for BP.

Christian Pahl - November '05
With great pleasure I found three photos of the making of Myrina on this page. The tanker sailed under German flag and the crew was also predominantly German. In 1973, aged 25, I as the ship's radio operator was lucky to be able to take my wife on board with me for six months. The journey took us from Hamburg via Cape Town through the Strait of Hormuz to Abu Dhabi, back to Le Havre, followed by Forcados/Nigeria and finally Rotterdam. I have posted a series of photos of this trip on the following website:

http://spaces.msn.com/members/DSTG/

Unfortunately I have no information about the end of this ship.

Many thanks to Gordon Bannister who kindly made the photos available to me in higher resolution.

Kenneth Friar - August '05
I joined BP in 1972 and was sent out to the Sea Quest as a Roustabout, I have many happy and scary memories of that time. We of course discovered the Forties Field. After spending a number of years as a Rig Superintendent, I have now retired.

Pat Mackell - May '05
I was a 15 year old message boy in the main drawing office. One of my jobs was to take the drawings of the Sea Quest to various copying offices. I carried these top secret plans in a locked tin cylinder much like a golf bag. The BP representative was a gruff John Wayne like cigar smoking american. Then the plans went missing. There was consternation amoung the staff.

The Yank went balistic chewing on the end of his cigar. I was in his sights as the last person to see the plans therefore chief suspect. He ranted and raved demanding I be sacked. I was on the verge of tears. However my immediate manager Tommy Mather (a Barry Fitzgerald lookalike from Newry) peered over his glasses at the purple faced American towering above us and said, "Now get a hold of yourself there's people watching. Here have a wee polo mint it will settle your stomach." Cool as a cucumber he systematically searched each office and found the plans where they ad been mislaid by a senior manager. I always think of him when I hear the words Sea Quest.

Patrick H. - May 2004
Yes I was at the launch of Myrina. I was 17 and had got a place on the VIP stand by dint of buying 5 shares in H&W (Cost me all of 40 bob if memory serves). There was an accident with a small boat and some shipyard workers were injured that day. I still have the newspaper cuttings. It seems that a gust of wind caught the Myrina so that the tugs did not get hold of her properly. All I saw of that was that they used a rocket to fire the rope across to the tugs. Foolishly my eye was glued to my camera's viewfinder instead of really experiencing the event!

This was not only the largest ship to be launched down a slipway at Belfast, but set a world record at the time. Later another tanker was launched the same way, I think on the Tyne, but there can have been few others larger, as all the yards were going over to building-docks instead of slips for the big ships.

Gusty Winds: "I may be totally mistaken as I was only 8 at the time but I am sure the Myrina was the vessel my dad took me to see launched. He worked for Belfast Ropeworks who made a lot of ropes for Harlands.

If I am correct it was the largest (and last?) ship to be launched down a slipway at Harlands and when she went, she hit a small boat out in the lough which deflected her just enough to stop her grounding on the other side. I would love to know if my memory is correct. "

Newutopia: "One of the slips in the east yard had to be extended to accommodate the mighty Myrina~ and indeed she was the largest ship @ that time built on a slip~I am also proud to say i had the privilege of welding the name on one side of the forward end~ the name was punched out with a centre punch then a run of weld~then painted. Lovely memories"

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