The Haunting of the LNG Taurus

LNG Taurus  Photo: Vesseltracker.com

LNG Taurus Photo: Vesseltracker.com

In honor of Halloween, here is a troubling account of a modern-day haunted ship. The LNG Taurus was one of a series of ten Moss-Rosenberg type 125,000 cubic meter Liquefied Natural Gas ships (LNG) ships built by General Dynamics in Quincy Massachusetts in the late 1970s.  The story takes a while to tell, so please bear with me.

As a liquid, natural gas is 600 times more dense than as a gas, which is why it is economical to carry by ship. The challenge is that natural gas can only be liquefied by refrigeration which means that LNG ship are essentially giant thermos bottles carrying gas liquefied at approximately −162 °C (−260 °F).  Some claim that because of the potential volatility and energy contained in the cargo, that LNG ships could be floating bombs, capable of doing significant damage to port cities if the hulls were breached.  So far, in a half century of LNG ship operations, these fears have proven unwarranted.

There have been close calls. When I heard that Robin Williams took his life in August, I was reminded of the suicide of the captain of an LNG ship which ran hard aground in a storm at the entrance of a Japanese port, many years ago.  When it must have seemed that his ship would break up, spilling its dangerous cargo with unknown but dire consequences, the captain stepped into his cabin and committed suicide with the ship’s revolver.

The ship didn’t break-up. Three days later, it had been salvaged and was in a drydock for repairs. No LNG had spilled.  From this tragic story, I have taken my “three day rule.”  When considering suicide, always wait three days. Things will likely get better.

I first heard the story of the captain’s suicide when working for a company which would take delivery of the last two of the GD LNG ships. This was all decades ago, so I couldn’t remember the name of the ship, the exact year or the port in Japan where it took place. After a quick Google search, I found that it was the LNG Taurus in 1980 and that the port was Tobata on the west coast of Japan.

In my Google search I also came across a remarkable account of sailing on the LNG Taurus.  The ship is apparently haunted.  The story is on the “Debbie Does Duluth” blog and I excerpting it with permission.

Now one thing you have to realize is that when you are the only female on a ship, you are being constantly tested. Your strength is always in question, your intelligence, your hutzpah, your sexuality, everything is under attack by your co-workers. It is a situation that will either make you hard as nails or completely insane. I believe I fall under the former, but perhaps after this story you will disagree.

So, when we were taking on stores off Singapore in the middle of the night and the bos’n told me not to take the port side tunnel when I returned to my cabin, I was immediately suspicious. The ships were 1000 foot and had a port and starboard tunnel that ran the length of the ship. This allowed you to go from the bow to the stern in the tunnel and avoid inclement weather. The tunnels followed the shape of the ship and thus you could only see a few yards ahead at any one time. They were lighted intermittently with hanging fixtures but there were always small pools of darkness to contend with.

Now, what no one on the ship knew at the time was that I had been in the port tunnel a few days earlier. I had been traveling from the bow at the end of the day and mid-way I stopped dead in my tracks. The only way to describe the feeling that was following me that day was to think back to any Hollywood action flick that has a huge ball of fire chasing the hero up an elevator shaft or through a tunnel or cave. It is big, it is bad, and it is coming for you.

There were no footsteps. There wasn’t a single crew member in the tunnel at the time. There was, however, a horrible malevolent presence that grabbed me by the gut. I had never been more afraid for my life and I had no idea why. All I could do was to run. I couldn’t turn back, I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t scream, all I could do was run.

I hit the final steps up to the hatch leading to the deck and almost lost my mind opening the dogs on the door. I stumbled out onto the deck and slammed the heavy door behind me. Looking around, I was alone. I was leaning on the door, shaking so much that I couldn’t even raise my hands to dog the door again for a few minutes. Then I asked myself, “What in the hell just happened?”

I didn’t dare bring this up to anyone. It is a very isolating experience to be in the middle of the ocean and to have such a terrifying experience and not have anyone (read “female” here) to talk to. If I would have told any of the guys they would have either laughed their heads off or they would have wanted to go down there to investigate. Neither of which I was interested in.

So, I asked the bos’n why I shouldn’t use the port tunnel and he told me very mater-of-factly that it was haunted.

Now, as any casual observer of the human animal can tell you, there is no more vehement denier than one who knows in their heart that what they are denying is, in fact, the truth. I gave him my best skeptical look and sputtered some sort of condescending noise, all the while realizing that I was in danger of shitting my pants.

The bos’n then called over the chief mate who I held in considerably higher regard. The bos’n asked the chief mate to tell me about the port tunnel.

The chief then regaled me with the tale of the former captain of the ship of whom the chief mate served under. The captain had a nasty little incident where he ran the ship aground. The Japanese coast guard were called in to investigate the incident and the captain told them everything they needed to know and all of the papers were filed and the I’s dotted. The captain then proceeded to go up to his cabin and shoot himself in the head.

Well, at least he waited until the paperwork was done…

It was the chief mate that found him and was left to, metaphorically, clean up afterwards. After that incident, there had been reports from many different crew members about places on the ship that held an incredible presence, most reports were that it was a malevolent presence. The chief mate had experienced quite a few incidences where he went up to the wheelhouse in the middle of the night when the ship was docked only to find the captain standing by the wheel. When he stopped and did a double take, the captain was gone.

“And I never, ever, go through the port tunnel…I did it once and that was enough…”He concluded.

It’s kind of funny how well I remember that conversation with the bos’n and the chief mate. I remember the lights of Singapore in the background, the smell on the air, the sound of the supply boat motoring off toward shore, and the earnestness on the face of the chief mate. I would have never believed it if I hadn’t gone through it myself but I felt my universe shift a little that night and I’ve felt the duty to remember and respect the dead from that point on.”

The LNG Taurus continued in service until around May of this year, according to reports in the press.  She is reported to be laid up in Labuan.

Comments

The Haunting of the LNG Taurus — 6 Comments

  1. When I was in college I visited the GD shipyard in Quincy and went aboard one of the vessels in the construction drydock. I wonder which one it was.

  2. Occasionally I look up my old ships on the internet. Awhile back while looking up the LNG Taurus I found a write up in “The Old Salt Blog” about the ship, “The Haunting of the LNG Taurus”.
    I am having a hard time even getting started. I read the blog again and although I can’t speak to this lady’s experience, I feel compelled to answer to parts of her story.
    First, I would like to address her experience in the deck tunnel as they were called.
    They are scary to say the least. A long passage from mid house to just forward of the number one ball with frames going to the skin of the hull, curved at either end following the shape of the hull.
    I had an experience of my own on the LNG Gemini, sister to Taurus. I was walking aft in the port tunnel and heard this grumbling and rattling. The hair on the back of my neck stood up and I was scared. It is a very weird feeling when you are part way down an 800 foot tunnel and you feel something bad is happening. Turns out it was the fire main being charged and the water rushing down the piping caused the noise and rattling. The tunnel contains all the cargo pump wiring, fire main piping, fuel oil piping, etc.
    I can sympathies with the lady but there are No Ghosts in the tunnels. The deck tunnels are just an eerie place on a huge ship. The only place that is worse is the Duct Keel, but that’s another story.
    I think the Chief Mate was just messing with the lady sailor.
    The following is my recollection of the event and opinions set forth in the blog.
    I need to set the story straight about myself. I was not on board when the grounding occurred. I was scheduled to join the ship at Tobata. The Company called and told me what happened and to stand by. After the ship was salvaged and brought to the shipyard I joined her.
    It was traumatic to say the least. The hustle and bustle of the yard kept the Captains suicide of most people’s mind and it was back to the job at hand, getting the ship back in service.
    The Grounding
    A little explanation here.
    The Japanese are meticulous about the movement of Lng Ships in their ports. Arrival demands no other large ships in transit and a Pilot brings the ship in. Not being a Deck Officer I am not sure if there were Arrival and Docking Pilots involved. In any event a pilot didn’t arrive and the Captain decided to take the ship back out. The ship was in sight of the dock, well into the harbor. On turning to go out the ship grounded. This was still within site of the dock across a large bay.
    Taurus was stuck and salvors were brought in. There were reports of water rising in some ballast tanks. It was decide by the salvors to fill the ballast tanks and set Taurus on the bottom. It was the opinion of many that this did more harm than good.
    I walked the entire length of the hull from rudder to bulbous bow and it didn’t look like a shell plate was missed. As to the water entering the ballast tanks. The shell plating of the ship is 5/8” thick in most places and where the plating rubbed a frame there were splits no more than ½” and the total on the whole bottom was maybe 6’. There was one spot amidships below the cargo control room that bowed up maybe 2’ but without any holes; it was like a giant bowl maybe 5’ in diameter.
    The Captain
    He was good man and fair. One time when I was flying to Japan he saw me and had his seat changed to sit with me. No other Captain and I flew with many ever did that.
    The Captain was career Navy and had some 30 years service before he joined the Merchant Marine. The Captains wife had died the year before and his children were grown. I mention this to establish his mindset. I believe he knew how serious this incident was, he also knew his career was over. Everyone said he was happy go lucky for 3 days before he took his life.
    I’m told he did all his paperwork, cleaned his quarters, wrote a letter to the relieving Captain and his children. When the Chief Mate found him, he was wedged between a bookcase in the corner, slouched with gun in hand. A pillow behind his head and a blanket on the floor. Considerate to the last.
    One will never know what his thinking was, could it have been Seppuku. An honor death in the eyes of the Japanese.
    I know one thing for sure, in following dealings with the Japanese, discharging cargo when the Taurus is mentioned I got blank stares or shaking of the head. It was like it never happened. The buyers who at that time paid for repairs spent some 9 million dollars to repair Taurus.
    The Chief Mate
    An able sailor and very ambitious man.
    This man is my other reason for writing about this blog, defense of the Captain was primary.
    I first met the Chief Mate in the shipyard in Quincy, Mass. When we were manning the Taurus. A group of us were in discussion one day and the subject of brown nosing came up. At the time he was 2nd mate. He made the statement “I’ll do whatever I have to get ahead”.
    Sailing on the Taurus I had occasion to deal with him regarding ships operation. In discussion he would end things with “The Captain wants”, whatever the particular thing was. My point is he took the Captains authority unto himself so to speak. He was known as the Captains boy.
    I bring this up because of what I heard in the shipyard. I was on the fourth deck and in the hall by the Captains Quarters. The Chief Mate was talking to some company people. He said ”The Captain”. I don’t know how to describe the way it was said. Never have I heard a word distance someone like that. With that one word you would think he knew never knew the man. It bothers me to this day. I guess his brown nosing paid off. After we left the ships I heard he went to Dubai or somewhere to work for an oil company. I wish him well and I’m glad we didn’t stay in touch.

  3. Thank you. I remember the box girder tunnels from the sea trails of the Lake Charles and the Louisiana, the last two ships of that series out of Quincy. Their size and the curvature around the spheres certainly could make then eerie places to be. Thank you also for the additional information on the grounding and your thoughts on the Captain.

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  5. I believe the Captain has a daughter who was handicapped or had special needs, that was apparently tough on him since his wife had passed.
    I sailed with the BR that had to clean up the mess.
    I