MOTOR SHIP (MS) “MURGASH” ON A ROUND-THE-WORLD VOYAGE IN 1968
The newly built in Japan ore carrier “Murgash” on December 18, 1967 was accepted by Captain Assen Bondzhev and Chief Engineer Bozhan Todorov on is. Innoshima. From there, on 7 January 1968 the ship, fully loaded with phosphate, set sail from to her first voyage to Australia. After unloading, the new cargo of sugar was received from the Australian ports of Bundaberg and Townsville. The ship sailed along the entire east coast of Australia, passed through the Great Barrier Reef and on 5 February headed for Scotland. After 23 days in the Indian Ocean, “Murgash” rounded the Cap of Good Hope and arrived in the port of Cape Town. After a short bunkering, she was on its way again. On 16 March arrived in the port of Greenock, Scotland, where she unloaded the sugar. Next came the most challenging leg: Greenock to Murmansk in ballast. In Murmansk, the ship was loaded with apatite and set sail for Bulgaria. On 26 April for the first time, MS “Murgash” dropped anchor in home waters. On 22 May with a cargo of wheat, the ship set sail from Varna to Brazil. The wheat was unloaded in the ports of Salvador and Rio de Janeiro, and from Paranagua and Santos corn was loaded for the Spanish port of Santander and Bilbao. This was followed by voyages to Finland, with pig iron to Philadelphia, USA, and from Norfolk with coal through the Panama Canal to Osaca, Japan.
On 15 October 1968 at 4:00 Japanese time, south from Osaka the ship “Murgash” completed its round-the world voyage. For some of the crew, including the captain, this was the secondary round-the-world voyage, while others, including the Chief Engineer, became the new members in the list of “Magellans.”
MOTOR SHIP “BUZLOUDZHA” AROUND THE WORLD IN 1968
Motor ship “Buzloudzha” was the fifth ship in the series of ore carriers built on is. Inoshima, Japan. In March 1968 she was accepted by Captain Hristo Popov and Chief Engineer Panayot Bobev and set off on her first voyage to Bulgaria. On home soil, she loaded 12 660 tons of wheat and at the beginning of June headed for Brazil. By November, she was crossing the Pacific Ocean on way to Japan, where she completed the circle of the round-the-world voyage.
“Buzloudzha” turned out to be the first Bulgarian ship visited Tasmania. Alexander Parvanov, who sailed on the ship as a second mate, recalls those days:
“We happened to be there during New Year, there were mutual introductions, even invitations to homes, mostly from the British and Germans. We even found a Bulgarian from Varna working there as a taxi driver. And in Melbourne, we met a Bulgarian sportsman. They wanted us to cook beans on the ship. They visited the ship and a pleasant atmosphere was created… ”
