QE2 1 - 3 April 1974 -- three boilers contaminated with oil

[Rob Lightbody]

AP News Video about the 1974 oil contamination of QE2's boilers, and the rescue by the Sea Venture

[June Ingram]

Again, Rob, these videos are absolutely fascinating !  Thank you very much for posting them !

[Boris]

Attached - A very much damaged copy of the Announcement made to the crew 03 APR 1974.

[kevinh]

Didn't get 40 seconds yesterday. In fact, I wasn't even close to my personal best. I ran 43.38, second to last (last, one of my teammates, got 43.39; it was THAT close). Problem was that, first of all, I was wearing spikes for the first time, and so since I'm still not used to them, I was slipping on the turns. Second, the weather has been interfering with how often me and the team get to practice. So, can't blame myself, right?

This seriously reminds me of the big accident QE2 had with her steam engines back in the 70s. You know, when her steam turbines went bad, she started puffing black smoke, and power went completely out causing passengers to disembark on another ship? Basically, that happened to me. At least there's always a next time, and besides, it's the 100m and 200m that I'm ultimately going for in spring. But I'm telling you, one of the things I hate more than anything is when you can't bring your best. And I wonder what that must've been like for QE2. Did such an incident happen again, by the way?

[Thomas Hypher]

Didn't get 40 seconds yesterday. In fact, I wasn't even close to my personal best. I ran 43.38, second to last (last, one of my teammates, got 43.39; it was THAT close). Problem was that, first of all, I was wearing spikes for the first time, and so since I'm still not used to them, I was slipping on the turns. Second, the weather has been interfering with how often me and the team get to practice. So, can't blame myself, right?

This seriously reminds me of the big accident QE2 had with her steam engines back in the 70s. You know, when her steam turbines went bad, she started puffing black smoke, and power went completely out causing passengers to disembark on another ship? Basically, that happened to me. At least there's always a next time, and besides, it's the 100m and 200m that I'm ultimately going for in spring. But I'm telling you, one of the things I hate more than anything is when you can't bring your best. And I wonder what that must've been like for QE2. Did such an incident happen again, by the way?

That occasion (happened in 1974) wasn’t involving the steam turbines directly. The boilers and their feed water tubes (boiler feed water has to be very pure apparently) were contaminated by fuel oil partly due to a failure of an alarm meant to warn of this happening. The whole steam power plant had to then be shut down to prevent more damage. The thick, oily, black smoke was due to the engineers trying to purge (clean out) the boilers and their feed water tubes but the ship was running out of fresh water. One boiler was more affected than the other two and significant re-tubing of the two less affected boilers had to occur even in Bermuda (where she was somewhat nearby and was towed) before permanent repairs were carried out. I do not know of another similar incident happening again.

There are topics on this forum with photos and personal accounts from crew at the time, who are also members of the forum and therefore might be able to provide more information here in this topic as they have done in the other related topics.

Good luck with your next race!

[Isabelle Prondzynski]

As you can see, I have added this latest correspondence to the topic in which this incident was discussed. Many of your questions will be answered when reading the contributions above .

[Boris]

Some newspaper cuttings on the incident.
04 APR 74 SMH: 'QE2 evacuation ...'
06 APR 74 SMH: 'As idle as a painted ship ...' (photo)

[Rob Lightbody]

Some newspaper cuttings on the incident.
04 APR 74 SMH: 'QE2 evacuation ...'
06 APR 74 SMH: 'As idle as a painted ship ...' (photo)

Thank you Boris - amazing to tie up your newspaper cuttings with this topic, 44 years later.

[Lynda Bradford]

As it was 45 years ago since the incident of 1 to 3 April 1974, I decided to read once more this very interesting topic with first hand accounts of what happened. 

The news videos interviewing passengers was particularly interesting

But what a gem to read the announcement to crew from the staff Captain (posted by Boris) that gives a wonderful insight of how the crew who were left onboard QE2, once the passengers were transferred, coped with difficult conditions.

[Maureen Kragten-Munsch]

Hi,

I have just read through all the posts on this subject and it brought back many memories, let’s face it, we broke down in the middle of the Bermuda Triangle and there were many stories going around amongst the crew.  I remember it being very hot and the transfer of the passengers to the Sea Venture caused quite a bit of upset as belongings other than one bag hag to be left on board.  As a Stewardess I had to deal with a lot of disgruntled passengers.

The crew that were left behind mostly slept on deck as there was no power so consequently no lights.  Food spoilt very quickly in the heat, if you opened a tin of ham it had to be consumed within a couple of hours.

Stewardesses did have a bonus we were allowed to sleep in the passenger cabins with a porthole.

Another bonus for all the crew was the fact that the entertainers were still on board so we had the benefit of music etc.

It was certainly a time to remember......one of many adventures on the QE2 that I will never forget
Maureen (Canada)

[Chris Thompson]

I was looking at an old Giles cartoon book today and found this relevant cartoon

[Rob Lightbody]

Oh thats FANTASTIC!

Its got it all going on - even the bellbottom trousers!  Fantastic.

[Chris Thompson]

Its got it all going on - even the bellbottom trousers!  Fantastic.

The Giles cartoons are great, very well drawn and you have to spot hidden jokes. They are also an interesting historical record as they are topical to the events of the day. I actually have most of the albums published as I've been collecting them for years.

[Lynda Bradford]

48 years ago this incident when the QE2 boilers were contaminated with oil. 

Very interested to read the posts from the start of the topic.  Beardy Rich and Ship Pro added information to help us understand what happened

Also good to read crew memories from StuM who posted his memories and and  Maureen Kragten-Munsch

But the post from Boris with the letter  from Staff Captain Ridley is a treasured piece of memorabilia that outlines the conditions for crew when passengers had left the ship. 

[Maureen Kragten-Munsch]

I was on board working as a Stewardess at this time, it was quite a fiasco with the passengers that were transferred to the Sea Venture, they obviously could NOT take all their possessions with them only hand luggage everything else had to be left behind.
Conditions on the ship were extremely hot, as a Stewardess I was lucky enough to be able to take advantage of a cabin with a porthole to sleep the majority of the crew slept on deck.  Food was a problem if a tin of ham was opened it had to be consumed immediately as no refrigeration was available.
As crew we actually had some good times as we waited for the Ocean going tugs to arrive from New York as the Entertainment Staff gave shows for us.
When we arrived in Bermuda 🇧🇲 the majority of the crew flew back to England, I decided to visit friends in Canada and that’s when I made the decision to emigrate.