Ship Photos 3

Ship No. 581              Anax

Ship No. 582             Diamantis Pateris

Ship No. 583             Master George

Ship No. 584             Cydonia

Ship No. 585             Baluchistan

Ship No. 587             New York City

Ship No. 588             Baron Ogilvy

Ship No. 589             Baron Berwick

Ship No. 592                Seistan

At 9.35pm on the evening of February 19th 1958 the 7,440 ton British cargo vessel "Seistan" blew up in a shattering explosion in the Bahrain Explosives anchorage at Sitra. The explosion killed 57 people consisting of ships crew, stevedores and a tug crew alongside.
The vessel had been carrying a mixed cargo which included cases of Toe Puff, a substance described in the "Dangerous Cargoes aboard Ships" listing as; 'Several layers of fabric impregnated with cellulose nitrate solvent, rosin and dye. Liable to spontaneous combustion. To be packed in hermetically sealed tins and packed in wooden cases and to be stowed away from inflammable cargo and not in the same hold as explosives.'
Two cases of this material had been stowed in No. 5 hold which also contained 156 tons of commercial explosive consisting of Geophex and gelatine together with cases of safety fuses and detonators.
On 17th February 1958 as the vessel was entering the Arabian Gulf, via the Mediteranean and Red Sea, smoke was seen issuing from a deck ventilator in the vicinity of No. 5 hold. The hold was immediately filled with steam to smother any flames. The steam smothering continued until 5.30 am on 18th February when the vessel anchored at Sitra where it was decided to discharge the explosives. Some 75 tons were subsequently discharged and steam smothering resumed.
During the day the vessel was moved closer to the port. That evening, February 19th 1958, a glow was observed in the vicinity of No. 5 hold. Minutes later, at 9.35pm, a vast explosion blew the vessel in two - leaving a huge pall of smoke rising into the night sky.
'The shock wave from the explosion was felt in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. In Awali, the cinema screen shook like jelly. The ship's stern was completely shattered, the after part of the main deck being wrapped over the superstructure as if it were the top of a sardine can'. [ From 'The Islander' newspaper, published by BAPCO]. What remained of the vessel caught fire and sank by the stern in 40 feet of water leaving the bow and foredeck above the surface.
The explosion killed Captain Chappel, almost the entire Indian crew in the after part of the vessel and five crew members of a tug alongside. There were 18 survivors. [ From articles written by Kevin Patience and published in the Gulf Daily News.]
Three victims of the Seistan disaster remain in the cemetery.

Ship No. 607                Photinia

As a cable-layer