SEA SHELL NAMES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27081, 16 May 1949, Page 4

SEA SHELL NAMES

PETROLEUM COMPANY’S FLEET

NERITOPSIS AT DUNEDIN All the ships of the Anglo-Saxon Petroleum Company's fleet are named after sea shells. This accounts for the unusual name —Neritopsis—of the tanker, which arrived in Dunedin early on Saturday afternoon with a shipment from Singapore and Miri, North West Borneo, for the Shell Oil Company. In a glass encasement in the saloon of the vessel is a Neritopsis shell, and inscribed on the accompanying brass plate are the words:—“ Neritopsis Radula Linne: This shell is fr'om Mauritius. At first sight one would think it a form of Nerita, but it is of different texture.” A modern vessel, the Neritopsis was built about three years ago for the Anglo-Saxon Petroleum Company and was the last ship of her particular class to be built for the company. The class was a special war one, known as the N Class. It was built to conform with the minimum requirements, oi’, more simply, was constructed to run efficiently with the least amount of work involved. All tankers built at that time, or in the preceding few years, had to conform with Government regulations. Altogther the tanker carried 3,374,787 gallons of motor spirit, kerosene and Diesel gas oil from Singapore and Miri. The bulk of the shipment was made up of spirit. This was in two different grades, light Iranian gasolene and heavy Miri gasolene. These two grades are blended in the ship, as circumstances dictate,, in correct proportions and are pumped ashore. Just under two-thirds of the shipment was discharged at Lyttelton before the tanker came to Dunedin to complete. The spirit was pumped ashore at Duendin at the rate of about 250 tons an hour. This is only about half the rate of discharge in a port such as Melbourne, where the maximum rate is about 500 tons an hour. The discharge is governed by the size of the pipes and by what pressure the oil can be pumped into the tanks.