SS ''Bekulan'' was the third ship of the seven B-class

oil tanker An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk cargo, bulk transport of petroleum, oil or its products. There are two basic types of oil tankers: crude tankers and product tankers. Crude tankers move large quant ...

s. She was previously known as ''Gari''. She is named after the bekulan, a species of fish found in

Brunei Brunei, officially Brunei Darussalam, is a country in Southeast Asia, situated on the northern coast of the island of Borneo. Apart from its coastline on the South China Sea, it is completely surrounded by the Malaysian state of Sarawak, with ...

and

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

Development

B-class

s were built by

Chantiers de l'Atlantique Chantiers de l'Atlantique is a shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, Saint-Nazaire, France. It is one of the world's largest shipyards, constructing a wide range of commercial, naval, and passenger ships. It is located near Nantes, at the mouth of the Loire, ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in 1972 to 1975. They served

Gaz de France Gaz de France (GDF) was a French company which produced, transported and sold natural gas around the world, especially in France, its main market. The company was also particularly active in Belgium, the United Kingdom, Germany, and other Europea ...

for around 14 years, the B-class vessels were acquired and delivered to BST in December 1986. Previously referred to as the G-class vessels chartered under Shell Tankers United Kingdom (STUK). They continued to provide reliable service to the company and its client especially BLNG. Four out of the seven BST vessels are crewed by a full

an crew with the exception of senior management; a feat yet to be achieved but not impossible. All B-class vessels have an average cargo capacity of and are certified with the 'Green Passport' for the safe carriage of all hazardous materials on board. All B-class oil tankers were taken out of service in 2011. They are all steam powered.

Construction and career

SS ''Gari'' was ordered in 1972 and completed in 1973. The vessel entered service in 1973 and was taken out of service to be sold in 1986. In August 1980, off

Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, ''Gari'' received a distress call from a Soviet Russian . The crew of ''Gari'' moved to the and assist the submarine. The submarine ran into problem with its engine and was dead in the water. The Russian Embassy in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

expressed its thanks to the crew of ''Gari''. In 1986, Brunei Shell acquired ''Gari'' and renamed her ''Bekulan''. Throughout her career she routinely traveled between Brunei and Japan carrying oil. On 7 April 2011, ''Bekulan'' was delivered to Jiangyin Ship Recycling,

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

for

scrapping Scrap consists of Recycling, recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap can have Waste valorization, mone ...

Gallery

File:Gari-telegrams2.jpg, Two telegrams to SS ''Gari'' regarding the incident in August 1980 aiding a Soviet submarine in distress. File:Gari-paper1.jpg, Newspaper/magazine clipping covering the incident in August 1980 when a Soviet submarine was aided by SS ''Gari'', relaying the words of the Russian Naval Attache in thanks to the crew. File:Gari-paper3.jpg File:Gari-paper2.jpg File:Gari-tanker2.jpg

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gari Ships of Brunei Ships built in France 1972 ships