PEANUT OIL CARGO

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIV, Issue 197, 20 August 1943, Page 3

PEANUT OIL CARGO

Merchantman From Dakar Reaches Britain DUNEDIN ENGINEER'S CHARGE N.Z.F.A. Special Correspondent Rec. 2 p.m. LONDON, Aug. 19. A merchantman fully loaded with peanut oil recently arrived in Britain. It was commanded by Senior Second-Engineer J. W. Ramsay, of Dunedin, who had the job of reconditioning it at Dakar, French West Africa. The ship was one out of eight Allied vessels which remained at Dakar after the fall of France. It was built in Germany, fitted with Diesel engines and owned by an English company. Mr. Ramsay was one of a number of Allied officers who were sent to Dakar after the Allied landing in North Africa. They were accompanied by sailors of all nationalities gathered from Freetown, Sierra Leone. Mr. Ramsay found appalling conditions in the ship, which had been used as a hotel. He lived for two weeks on tea without sugar or milk, black bread and tinned ham. He found that the French had used peanut oil instead of Diesel engine oil, with the result that the engines ware badly carbonised, while the marine growth on the ship was between 3in and Biin thick. It took three and a half months to recondition her instead of the estimated five weeks. Mr. Ramsay has not been in New Zealand for the past three years. Before going to Dakar he was in a merchantman plying between Lagos and Capetown.