Deadlock

34

Jumbo jets were still flying into Hamburg Airport – each carrying a number of American passengers bound for the cruise liner Adenauer. The stately 50,000-ton ship with its twin squat funnels dwarfed the dock where a steady stream of taxis and limousines deposited men, women and children eager to start the great adventure.

Unlike other cruise liners plying the world the Adenauer was not one class. It had been designed on the model of pre-World War Two transatlantic leviathans. There was de-luxe class – with the most expensively furnished staterooms afloat. Below came first class. Below that second class. Each level had its own restaurant and was sealed off from other classes.

Texas millionaires, wearing Stetson hats, stood by the rails, watching the other passengers file aboard. The Captain had informed his First Officer there was even some of the 'quiet' money from Philadelphia. From these he'd chosen those honoured to sit at his table.

And even when the majestic queen of the seas sailed from Hamburg down the Elbe she would not yet have taken aboard her full complement of passengers. She would heave to in the North Sea to pick up from lighters further passengers. From Rotterdam.

The 500,000-ton tanker, Cayman Conqueror, fully loaded with oil for Europe, had left behind the balmy winds blowing off the shores of Africa. She was now proceeding north off the coast of France, heading for the English Channel.

Her master, Homer Grivas, had been warned he would arrive at the moment the Adenauer would be lying offshore, taking aboard passengers. It would take some skilful manoeuvring to bring his giant vessel into port but he was confident there would be no problem. He would make Europort at the agreed ETA.

Twenty miles astern of the Cayman Conqueror the 350,000-ton tanker, Easter Island, also proceeded on a steady course for the English Channel. Its master, Captain Williams, had given orders to keep a sharp lookout on the sophisticated radar system.

He had been informed not only about the Adenauer but also of the presence of the Conqueror sailing ahead of his vessel. It was important that the distance between the two tankers should not dose any further. Apart from that he was quite confident all would be routine. Europort could handle an incredible number of large ships.

Captain Luigi Salvi, skipper of the 10,000-ton freighter Otranto, out from Genoa, was sweating with anxiety. His radar operator had the Easter Island clearly on his 'scope, moving ponderously ahead of his own ship. He knew he'd have to keep 'in line' – allow the tanker to pass up the channel first, but this would mean late arrival, a fact he'd already reported to the Dutch authorities.

The trick was to stay as close to the tanker as regulations permitted, to cut down the delayed arrival to the minimum. He was carrying a cargo which bore a penalty clause for every hour of the delay.

On top of that, the Otranto was equipped to carry ten passengers, one of whom was a director of the line with his wife. The woman expected constant attention. Salvi was therefore constantly moving from his seat at the dinner table to check with the radar operator. He mopped sweat from his forehead. Keep cool, he told himself, you will only arrive at Europort a few hours late. Then he remembered that damned cruise ship, the Adenauer. This trip would require all his seamanship.

Trailing behind the Otranto three large container ships up from Africa steamed across the oil-like sea, leaving astern three fan-shaped wakes. Visibility was excellent at this point and their masters could see each other's vessels. They carried soya bean meal and were racing to be first to offload. Their three masters were equally annoyed by the presence dead ahead of the Otranto. If nothing changed it would be up to the harbour master at Europort to decide which would come ashore first.

The British Sealink ferry service was in normal operation plying between Harwich and the Hook of Holland – the port downriver from Rotterdam and opposite Europort.

The number of passengers varied with each ferry. But it never fell below two hundred souls. Often a ferry would be crammed with up to three hundred passengers. Sealink continued its shuttle, going about its lawful occasions.