A personal, historical anecdote

By Cainnech Ó Sullibhain

Our ship the M/V Ganges (London Registry) had just left the port of Tsamkong, China after unloading general cargo, when we were ordered by our head office in London, England to proceed to Cairns, Queensland, Australia. We had just made it to the South China Sea to discover that we did not have enough fuel to proceed. The master of the ship was a young man who, at 23 years of age, received the MBE from King George VI for saving the lives of his life boat crew after their ship was sunk by a German U-boat in the mid Atlantic in 1942.

The London office of James Nourse Ltd. had ordered the M/V Ganges to proceed to Tarakan, in the Indonesian province of Kalimantan (Borneo), unaware that Indonesian forces were at war with Britain in North Borneo. It was June 1963, and the war had begun by Indonesian troops invading British North Borneo, in a war they called “Konfrontation.” We arrived at Tarakan, Kalimantan totally oblivious to these events. British troops and Gurkhas of the British army along with the Australians were fighting against the Indonesian army in the jungles. The M/V Ganges dropped anchor and got in touch with the local Indonesian shipping agents, who told us that it would be a couple of days before the oil barge would arrive in Tarakan. Thus we waited. Three days later, a Dutch Catholic priest happened to be talking to one of the mates, and was told by the priest, “Get your ship out of here immediately, because the local authorities have sent for the Indonesian navy to capture you. There is war going on between Britain and Indonesia in the jungles of British North Borneo, called Konfrontation, and this is a great opportunity for the Indonesians to take you prisoners of war.”

The M/V Ganges weighed anchor very quietly and left Tarakan without informing the Indonesian authorities of our departure that same night. The master, Flogger Newell by name, said that while we did not have enough fuel on board to reach Australia, we had a chance of at least getting to the Australian coast, because it was by far better to take that chance than become prisoners of war in Indonesia. Thus we headed straight for the Halmahera Sea, which meant uncharted waters because of the many undersea volcanoes there that kept erupting every few minutes and could well sink the M/V Ganges without a moments notice. Besides, who were we to argue, when our lives were at risk by staying in Indonesian waters? Thus the M/V Ganges sailed through the night into uncharted waters, hoping for the best. We just made it to the coast off Cairns, Queensland, Australia and sent a message that we needed an ocean-going tug to take us into port. They very next day, the local Radio Stations had news about our ship escaping from the Indonesian Navy and reaching Australia. Indeed, it was a time for all of us on board to remember that we had really been taken into in harms way and had made it out safely.