Barbours at Coatesville - Auckland - Photographs of British India Ships


Chindwara at Basrah, 1963	Sirdhana at Bombay, 1963	Ellora in the Atlantic, 1962
Chindwara which is shown here was a sister ship to Carpenteria on which I spent just under a year trading from the Gulf Ports to India & Pakistan and via the Straights to Australia. We carried general and refigerated cargo with up to twelve passengers.	Sirdhana ran from India & Pakistan to the Gulf Ports on a regular basis as a passenger cargo service. Engine room conditions could be difficult due to the heat and humidity. She is shown here in Bombay with the Indian Navy aircraft carrier INS Vikrant astern.	Ellora was one of the four oil tankers in the British India fleet and is shown here approaching Philadelphia on the east coast of the United States. Note the second engineer going to check the emergency diesel in the forecastle - we dried him out later!


Devonia at Bombay, 1963	Ellora's after tankdeck, 1962	Ellora in the Gulf, 1962
Devonia as I left her in November 1963 to join Dwarka for passage to Basrah in order to join Carpenteria which was on the Gulf/Straights/Australia run. Devonia was the ex Bibby line troopship Devonshire and was converted for use as an educational cruise ship. On this occasion she had made one of her rare voyages from the UK to India.	The tankdeck of Ellora looking from aft towards the forward accommodation. The trip from accomodation to engine room along the flying bridge in heavy seas could be quite exciting. Although the the two larger tankers gave little opportunity for time in port the compensation was wives on board, longer leave and higher rates of pay. Ellora was transferred to Trident Tankers in 1963.	Ellora alongside at Mena al Ahmadi during a spell when she was on duty carrying oil from Mena to Suez for a couple of months. From a mile long jetty at Mena to an offshore platform at Suez and then back again, and again! We got our reward with a trip to Maracaibo in Venezuela and then up to Portland, Maine, unusual voyages for a B I ship.