ALKMAN
The ship was built in Japan as the 3rd. vessel in a series of 8 identical bulk carriers for her Greek owners.
The ALKMAN was constructed by NKK, Nippon Kokan K.K. in their Tsurumi Shipyard in Yokohama, under the hull No.: 818. The keel was laid in early 1966, the launching was in July 1966 and the delivery to the owners, Alkman Inc., Monrovia was in September 1966. The ALKMAN was registered under the Liberian flag with her home port being Monrovia (Lloyd's Register No.: 6621727, official No.: 2590, call sign: 6ZTV). The vessel was allocated for technical and commercial management to Metrofin Ltd., Zürich.
The gearless bulk carrier of Panamax size (maximum ship size to pass the locks of the Panama Canal) had a GRT of 27'985 and a NRT of 20'588 tons (Liberian tonnage). The vessel's dimensions were 226,42 m length overall, 31,15 m breadth moulded. The hull was divided into 7 cargo holds, served by 12 cargo hatches (all holds had 2 hatches, except hold No. 1 and No. 4, the cargo/ballast hold). The ship had a DWT of 58'674 mt on a summer draught of 12,399 m.
The propulsion of the ALKMAN was by one slow-speed, two-stroke, crosshead diesel engine, Sulzer, type 8RD90, made under license by Uraga, Tamashima, Japan. The 8 cylinder, turbo charged engine had an output (maximum) of 17'600 BHP at 119 RPM and was direct coupled to one solid propeller, giving a speed of about 16 knots.
Saturated steam at 10,0 kg/cm2 working pressure was generated by one cylindrical tank boiler, similar to a Scotch-boiler (capacity 5,5 tons/h). At sea steam was produced by one exhaust gas boiler. All deck machinery (windlass, mooring winches and winches for hatch cover operation) was driven by steam, which was very uneconomical, especially when the fuel prices commenced to soar later on. Depending on conditions, for example in a tidal port, where mooring lines had to be tended frequently or during adverse weather conditions, when hatches had to be opened and closed frequently, the heavy fuel consumption of the boiler in port was as high as 8 to 10 tonnes per day.
Further the steam lines on deck needed constant attention and repairs. The pipes were without lagging and corroded very rapidly, since no protective coating was on the market at these times, which gave good protection during service in port, when the pipes were hot and at sea, when the pipes were cold. The engineers and the mates experimented with all sorts of self-made mixtures, but never a real good coating could be found. The fitters therefore spent a considerable time on deck, repairing and replacing steam pipes. Sometimes during heavy weather, such as in the North Pacific, the pipes suffered additional damages from the breakers washing over the main deck.
In 1985 the ALKMAN was sold for demolition to Chinese breakers. She sailed from Yokohama for her last voyage on 26.11.1985 and arrived in a Chinese port on 01.12.1985 for demolition.