I want to do something new....

[maltonmanor]

When I was active in pulling together data for the game back in 2002/2003, I pushed RDK for two things.

One was that a true 'liner' type game be set up. Frankly, running around picking up containers like it was parcel charters is completely unrealistic. So the game is full of all these realistic little pieces, but the concept of how the freight moves is totally wrong. I think a "liner" type game should be put into the "charter" type game. Most big steamship lines today have a liner, tanker, bulk, chemical, and charter division. But the way each on of them is run is totally different.

My second suggestion was to move the date back so that we could explore more maritime history.

I have been away for 2.5 years, and am sad to see that neither of these things have been looked into. I still really like the game and despite my profile, I am a Platinum Level member. I just think that the game could be so much more.
_________________
A ship in port is safe, but that's not what ships are built for.

[mooringman]

hi maltonmanor,i just saw that you worked for abitibi price.one of my former vessels in old times the MV"Florence Schröder" was sailing in time charter for abitibi price carrying newsprint from botwood,stephenville and chandler to purfllet and blyth(UK) and hamburg and one trip to alexandria(US).it was from 1978 to 1979 almost two years and the trip back from europe to canada in ballast across the north atlantic was sometimes a "hellride".the vessel was abt. 10000tdw,singledecker with only 1300 tdw ballastwater,less as the modern coasters in these days.we loaded the newsprintreels with own derricks in "anchorage slings". sometimes we had paper reels on all four hatches on deck,mostly in the winter time covered with three layers tarpaulines.my shortest trip westbound was in dec. 78 from blyth to botwood in abt. 5 days with easterly winds through the pentland firth,the longest trip 1 month earlier from blyth to botwood was 17 days and we took each low on the north atlantic....
bye the way our agent in botwood was montreal shipping(mr. D.Butt).brgds mooringman

[maltonmanor]

Mooringman,

It is a small world. I remember Denis Butt. I actually worked for Montreal Shipping for 6 years, but I was with the Abitibi-Price International Division, which was wholly owned by Montreal Shipping. I remember seeing some plans for MV"Florence Schröder", although that vessel had been returned by the time I got there. If I remember correctly, we had 5 vessels on a bareboat charter. I can only remember two of them off hand, they were Abtibi Camilla and Abitibi Clairborne. They were purpose-built vessels for Abitibi. I worked in the operations department working out vessel rotations, negotiating bunkers, arranging stevedores etc. By the time I joined in 1989, they were not doing much business in the UK, and what little there was we booked in containers. We were doing a lot of business into Venezuela, Colombia, Costa Rica; as well as into the Mediterranean.

I agree, in the winter especially, the North Atlantic can be a pretty scary place, and Botwood & Stephenville, Newfoundland not much better.
I remember working as a port agent for a small products tanker coming out of Marseille. By the time they hit Montreal, every inch of that ship was coated in an 8" layer of ice. If they did not spend every waking hour chipping away at it, the ship would eventually have rolled. Even the Captain had to admit that with the low freeboard of this little tanker, the ship was really not safe on the North Atlantic. He even said there were moments when he was quite fearful. Like so many men whose lives are tied to the sea, he wife eventually left him and he died of pneumonia in a French hospital, very much alone. I was great friends with him and still miss him. I love the shipping industry, but am grateful that I hold a shore-job.

Real good to meet you Mooringman!!!

All the best,

Brad
_________________
A ship in port is safe, but that's not what ships are built for.

[mooringman]

hi again maltonmanor ,thanks for the quick response.as far as i see you were with abitibi later.but i remember the chartervessels after us too.the abitibi vessels were built in bremen under special advise from abitibi and they were in long time charter.i saw the vessels very often.as far as i remember they were four vessels ,i don't remember the names in the moment,but i can find out.
i know mr. denis butt as well,but i ment his father Dorm Butt,he is dead already.my wife knows them all,she is from botwood.guess we had to much waiting time in the port due to rain and snow....
normally we needed 96 hours to complete the vessel in botwood,but the longest time we stayed there were 17 days,the cargo was not ready.we were to early....and then the snowstorms came in january 1979.
by the way,i think i know a bit more abt. vessels as abt. computers. brgds mooringman

[maltonmanor]

I seem to recall Denis telling me that his father had also worked for Montreal Shipping. They now call the company Montship actually.

Well, if you were spending all of that time in Botwood, it is no wonder you married a Newfoundlander. They are great people. My family first immigrated to Newfoundland in the 1760's. It was my grandfather who left in the early 1920's and settled in Ontario, where I now live. I have loved ships since I was a young boy and ended up in the shipping business. It was years after that I learned my family were all sailors in the early days and all hailed from Newfoundland. It must be in the blood!!

Give my respects to your wife.

Best regards,

Brad
_________________
A ship in port is safe, but that's not what ships are built for.

[niknekman]

hi maltonmanor,
a friend of me worked on ABITIBI CONCORD and ABITIBI MACADO in the early 80s.
Since then he is looking for pictures of that ships. Maybe you still have some and probably like to share them ?

Feel free to mail them to niknekman@gmx.de

I would be pleased to forward them to him.

Greetings from Hamburg / germany

[mooringman]

it should be possible to find pictures of the abitibi vessels via google in the net.couple of weeks ago i saw pictures,but i can't remember the links.by the way,i just got the information from mr. butt in botwood,abitibi consolidated (as it is called now) is working together with spliethoff vessels from amsterdam.abitibi will merge with bowaters soon and then it is the 3rd greatest newsprint maker in the world.

[rdklein]

[Bearsie]