When our dear brother İlhan Özerdim shared his memory of the ship S/S Yozgat, I thought of Yozgatlı Kapt. Erol Büyükdora's older brother came.
When our dear brother, İlhan ÖZERDİM (1953 MK), shared a memory about the ship S/S YOZGAT, I immediately thought of our 1959 graduate Capt. Erol BÜYÜKDORA brother came. I knew he was from Yozgat and was working on this ship.
I immediately called brother İlhan and learned that at the time of the incident, Göbek İlhan was the second captain and Erol Büyükdora was the third captain on the ship. Then I called Erol's older brother, he said that he worked on the YOZGAT ship for 10 years, and that he was appointed as the captain of the Meriç ship after he became the 2nd captain on the ship he went as the 3rd captain.
It was a coincidence that they were both on the same ship at the same time. For this reason, the lifeboat of the Yozgat ship built by Erol brother in our museum became a part of the story.
As for our story;
İlhan Ağabey actually does not like to praise himself, but the works he has accomplished are not for everyone. I always heard that he was a very good engineer, but I did not have the chance to work on the same ship. But D.B. While working at Sea Shipping, Mk. I know you work as our inspector. My insistence on her sharing these stories eventually paid off, and this story emerged. I think it is very beautiful and a success story that should take its place in our maritime history.
İlhan Ağabey begins to explain:
S/S Yozgat adventure
In May, 1968, I returned home from working abroad. I worked on the ships of Pakistan's National Shipping Cooperation company for 1.5 years without interruption. Actually, my contract was for 2 years. But due to some family problems, I could not complete the contract. After getting my affairs in order, to return to my working life, D.B. I applied for Sea Freight. They didn't hire me.
İsmail Kaptan (Company Manager İsmail Akant) “This guy goes in and out a lot.” said and did not approve of the initiative. Right; I left in 1960 to work at Etibank. I came back in 1962. I left again in 1966, first I worked at Aygaz Anonim Şirketi for 3 months. Then I worked on Pakistani ships for 1.5 years and returned home.
The furrier shop, which is our home, turned me away from the door. Although we falter a little in our working life, our roots, even our home, D.B. Sea Shipping.
By working with shipowners and foreign ships, we actually gain knowledge, experience, skill and mastery, and we return to our home with better equipment. Looking at the event from this perspective, I think that going in and out a lot should actually be a reason for preference.
When I couldn't get into our home, I started working on the Payas tanker. I left in December 1968.
There is always a reason for all these breakups. But I do not want to go into these details in order not to prolong the article.
Sitting at home and resting in the winter has been very useful to me, I liked it. I hadn't had an opportunity like this for a long time. I was enjoying living in the void, stretching, uneventful and irresponsible, but unfortunately this reign did not last long. Someone came to the door. I recognized immediately; An employee of Maritime Transport who does the legwork. He handed me the order in his hand. They assigned me to the Yozgat ship.
“Son, you must not have come to the wrong place. I don't work in Deniz Nakliyat!!!"
“Yes sir, I know. Osman Bey (Osman Gazi Çetiner, Mk.47) is calling you. He asked you to come to the company today.”
Our brother. Whatever he says, we have to obey. Our necks are thinner than hair. I dressed. I went. “Do you have a passport?” she asked.
“There is, but I am not in the company,” I said. “You are in the company now,” he said.
S/S Yozgat has received cargo from the USA for Pakistan, but has not been able to take off from Newport News for 2-3 months, due to a boiler failure. The company is looking for solutions to get the ship off, but there is no effective result yet. In one of the meetings, Osman brother said, “We have an old employee; Ilhan Ozerdi. Only he can handle this.” He says and at the meeting it is decided to invite me to the company.
I agreed to go to the Yozgat ship, but a lot of problems arose. The salaries of my classmates working in the company were 1650 or 1675 TL (I don't remember exactly). I asked for the same amount. But the company had found a salary of 1600 TL for me. I objected. Discussions branched off. The subject was moved to the Deputy General Manager of Personnel. “We can only give you so much. If you don't like it, you know." he didn't say, he couldn't say !!!! He tried to persuade me by saying "please accept this".
"Look," I said, "if you didn't need me so much, you wouldn't have let me in through your door, let alone put me in your room and talk to me face to face. What I want is not excessive, just a wage at the level of my classmates.”
“But the regulation does not give us this opportunity. Therefore, please accept our offer and enter our company with these conditions.” said. I reluctantly accepted. If I didn't accept it, my brothers in the BOD Directorate would be very angry with me.
Another snag has popped up. I aboard 2. Eng. I was appointed as Well, the Chief Eng on the ship. A graduate of 54 (Mehmet Özdöl, our friend who died on the Amasya ship that sank in Biskay. May God have mercy on him.) I am 53. It is a reverse situation in terms of hierarchy. I said, "It doesn't matter to me, but that friend would be very restless and maybe ask him to get off the ship."
Then they told me to find a Chief Engineer and they charged me with that job, my brothers.
Nurettin brother came to my mind. (Nurettin Mükan, Mk. 48. May God have mercy on him. He passed away very early from this world. He had lung cancer. He is my dear brother whom I love very much. He is even my teacher. He taught me many tricks of this profession)
He was on a ship in Iskenderun Port. Nuri's brother was taken to Istanbul by a hasty plane, Nuri brother, who did not know the reason for being called to Istanbul, was already very angry. Naturally, he understood that there would be a change of ship. He slammed his fist on the table, shouting that he was tired of being used like a checker. He said "I'm not going anywhere" and put the last point without seeing the beginning of the point.
In the past, brother Nuri, Chief Engineer, and I worked for a long time on the Yozgat ship as second to him. By creating a very harmonious environment in terms of both professional, work and social aspects, we sailed around Yozgat quietly on the seas. So we knew each other very well. I tried very hard, I begged a lot to persuade him, but he did not get over his anger and said "Okay, I'm coming". If we were together, things would have been easier on the ship, which has already been very problematic (Yozgat is the most damaged ship among 4 Victory). Did not come. So the whole load was on my back.
We hit the road with a 1943 graduate, a Chief Engineer named Ömer Mutlu. Servet Yuca (Mk. 54), who had come as an Inspector 3-4 days before we joined the ship, was also on the ship. When we joined the ship, Inspector Servet Yuca kept his stay short and returned to Turkey a few days later.
Due to the long flight and time difference, I was able to recover in only 1-2 days and started to deal with the works in the engine room. There was a retired 4th officer and a shift engineer Turgut Şentürk (Mk. 67) on board as an engine officer. I'm not counting the 4th officer, but it is a great chance for me to have my brother Turgut on board. Thanks to the devoted work together, the long and troubled voyage was completed.
My first job was to concentrate on the vital boiler repair. The first thing that struck my mind was why the repair company, which could not be successful in repairing the boiler for a long time, such as 2-3 months, applied to the factory that manufactures the boilers and asked for an expert to solve the problem? Did he have an incompetence complex? Moreover, Babcock & Wilcox, the producer of boilers, is a very well-known company in America with factories everywhere.
I would like to briefly inform the reader about the boiler without going into too much technical detail; There are 10-12 (I don't remember exactly) vertically positioned headers to which the steam producing water pipes in the boiler are connected, at the bottom 10 cm. in diameter and 18 cm. They are connected to each other by short pipes called nipples in length.
The fault is water leaking from the places where these pipes are connected to the pipes with machineto. The repairer company brings the pipes made of chrome-nickel in his workshop and connects them with machineto. When the work is finished, water is taken into the boiler and a pressure test of 33-35 atm is made. (The working pressure of the boiler is 30 atm.) There is no water leakage from the pipes, no water leakage. The job is successful.
The next day, the boiler is brought to the working position and a fire is set to keep the steam. (Fayrap is being done.) Slowly, the boiler heats up and the steam pressure starts to rise slightly. AAA what is that? All the pipes are pouring water like a fountain. Technically, the reason for this has never been investigated. Only the above process is repeated by the company for 2.5-3 months.
When I got involved and started researching, they were upset with me. The job was given to them, so he doesn't want anyone outside the company to get involved. Well, brother, the ship has been waiting for the repair to be concluded for 3 months; how long will it wait? This question revealed the full weight of the work; When??!!!
I continued my research and work secretly from them without contradicting the company. They finished their work that day in the evening, put signs everywhere, closed the doors and left. I opened the covers without disturbing the signs and continued my investigations. The horizontal heder is placed on two L-shaped carrier brackets at both ends. The vertical edge of the L appears to be in a position to prevent the heder from sliding further forward. There is only a 3mm gap in between, which is filled with rust and filth.
I filled the 3mm gap well in order to prevent the heder from playing with a completely reverse logic and wrong idea (because if it plays, the pipes will miss). To get the job done, I plucked a piece from a saw blade and inserted it firmly into the gap. I closed the boiler caps as the repairers left.
They came in the morning. We all set fire to the cauldron. The result is the same. The pipes whistled again. As usual, the workers went to their workshops to wait for the boiler to cool and to make new pipes. When the cauldron had cooled, I opened the lids and examined the gap that I had tightly filled. When I saw the negative projection of the saw blade that I inserted into the vertical cheek of the bracket, I clearly saw that a great deal of pressure had acted on it. I was very surprised. That's when my coin dropped. I finally understood that the gap of 3-4 mm should be clean and empty and the horizontal head should be able to move freely.
The next day the workers arrived. They began to equip the newly made pipes. The head of the team, who is also the boss, reacted to my meddling in their business. First I calmed him down. Then I technically explained the situation. “Now it will be your last work here and we will start using the cauldron tomorrow.” I gave the man a guarantee.
Everything happened as I said.
I said a short technical explanation, but it seems to be too long. I couldn't. Forgive me.
I'll just make a very short final statement and close this issue; The horizontal pipes, 3-4 meters long, which produce steam connected to the vertical pipes, naturally lengthen when they see the fire and push the vertical pipes forward. If the horizontal heder below keeps up with this millimetric movement of the vertical heads, there is no problem. But if he can't keep up, the tubules get twitchy and start leaking. It's that simple. In fact, the reason for the failure in the boiler is that the gap of 3 mm is filled with rust and solidified dirt over time.
Thus, the lovely S/S Yozgat, which could not leave the port for a long period of 3 months, was put to sea within a week.
He made his way to Karachi, Pakistan, navigating his nose.
Since the adventure of the long journey is also the subject of a separate article, I will end this memory here for now.