Oral history of the Malta Dockyard: John Iles

(00:30) He had 4 siblings in his family (his other siblings were all overseas) his father rewarded him with a vacation for being able to enter the dockyard hence he was not able to start at the dockyard with his colleagues who passed the exam as well. 

(02:00) The first year was done in the training centre where they had training on every trade within the dockyard, lasting a few weeks each trade. After the first year, he had three trades he could choose from, either mechanical, electrical, or steelwork. He chose steelwork-within the first year, after getting lessons in a particular trade, they had to do a small test, as to be referenced with his choice when it came to choosing a trade, certifying that he can go ahead with the chosen trade.

(03:30) In his second year, he started his training in the shops-boilershop, plate shop, pre-fab shop and smithery (haddieda). Then in the third year, they were assigned on board, where they did some time with shipwrights and the boiler makers-there he again had to choose between the two, and depending on the assessment he was able to go for that trade - where he chose to become a boiler maker afloat. 

(05:00) Boilermakers is basically steelwork, but the section is allocated to the engineering division because the boiler is part of the propulsion system of a ship.

 

(05:15) In their fourth year, they are sent with an established tradesman, working together on various works within the dockyard.

 

(05:30) Although they had a 5-year apprenticeship if they get City & Guilds certificate, they were able to deduct a year from their apprenticeship. 

(06:45) In 1970, he took his first pay after finishing his apprenticeship of four years, where he joined his gang under the chargeman Felix Cassar known as Gino. 

(07:30) He spent 8 years as a boilermaker, which was hard work as he had to work in hot conditions and confined spaces but he was very passionate about his job. 

(08:00) After 8 years, there was an internal vacancy for recorders, which he applied for and got accepted as a substitute, so he started his day with the recorders and if there was no work for him, he would go back to boiler making. Although, he did not stay as a substitute for long since the number of employees in the dockyard had increased.

 

Entering the dockyard-Trades (From approval to the departure of a vessel) 

(09:15) The recorders’ job was that of manning the clock, hence they had to go to work half an hour earlier, to collect the manhours (the hours worked by each employee). The recorder is allocated to a particular department, he is handed the chargeman’s log book/diary where he writes what each of his team members is doing throughout his workday and compiles a daily return, and sends it to the data processing department-he did this job for around five years.  

Entering the dockyard-Trades (From approval to the departure of a vessel) 

(10:00) In the last one and a half years as a recorder, he worked in the Marsa Power Station where dockyard workers were installing two turbines. There were about 100 people from different trades working there. While he was working as a recorder there, since he was very interested in the work they were doing there, he broadened his knowledge of engineering. 

(12:45) Due to the use of technology, there was no need for around 50 recorders hence they were re-evaluated to choose who fits the position best. At the same time, he had already applied for the position of shiprepair accounts assistant-where they compile the invoices of the work being done on a project. After all, he was not chosen for the position of shiprepair accounts assistant but became an estimator.

(15:30) He goes back to when he worked in the Marsa Power Station, he recalls that there was an estimator (Kola Farrugia), whose job was to go to where the equipment used for the turbine operation, in Safi, to make quotations, since they had an agreement with EneMalta to record the spending as the work progressed. 

Entering the dockyard-Trades (From approval to the departure of a vessel) 

(17:45) He recalls estimators like Tony Degray and Tony Caruana who took care of the industrial projects.  As an estimator of the boilermakers, one of the jobs he was involved with was the estimate of the hospitals’ boilers. There he used to meet the engineer, where he had to provide them with what the work will include and how much it will cost. Before it is officially given to the organization, it had to be approved or adjusted to compete with other private companies.  After approval, it is then released in the government gazette, which made him feel proud seeing what he had written on the gazette. 

(19:45) He used to travel abroad for work, to inspect the work in order to do the estimate. When eventually the work was awarded and completed, with a good recovery, he always felt a sense of satisfaction and pride in his work.

Education-Projects 

(20:15) Highlights throughout his work as a boilermaker, working on a passenger ship’s domestic boiler for example laundry and heating. 

There was a section of this furnace where the cylinder and sphere meet, which was a welded construction with sharp edges, and due to the fire and steam, the material started to form cracks. They suggested forging some kind of a saddle/horns metal sheet (using the same principle of a ship’s hawse pipe (kubija), since welding the cracks were not going to fix it. The surveyor was from the board of trade, due to the class of the ship, who tried hard to condemn this boiler. To test it, the surveyor wanted to give it double test pressure, which is not frequently done on a boiler. During the procedure of the double test pressure, this surveyor started hitting the boiler’s welding with huge force using a sledgehammer. John remembers the surveyor saying ‘this bloody thing won’t leak’. This particular vessel came into the dockyard frequently for repairs and he used to ask the engineer about this particular boiler a lot, which to his satisfaction, they were always good reviews. 

(25:30) After being an estimator for five years, he became a shiprepair manager, with an estimator colleague of his.

 

(29:45) After 2 years as a trainee he became a shiprepair manager and the last vessel he worked on while still in training was the Lepeta, which was the super-tanker from Shell, where there he had the opportunity to train with shiprepair managers from this particular vessel.  

(31:30) After six months as a ship manager, his general manager wanted him to supervise the boiler workers and pipe workers. After he asked his previous supervisor (Tony Degray) and the person he had to replace (Cikku), to see how to proceed, they told him how he was one of the top candidates for the position, so he took the position, as a departmental manager. This was around 1991.

(34:30) He remembers some major works. Re-tubing of a boiler of a Brazilian petroleum vessel, overhauling of a water tube boiler with welding of the tubes, which had a good recovery. Workers had to work day and night on the project and the final testing of the boiler went very well.

Education-Interesting training and skills 

(36:15) The departments he was responsible for (together with Lino Vassallo & Freddie Galea)-Boiler makers, pipe workers & welder burners with the engineering department.

He remembers bringing a specialised welding instructor, from Foster-Wheele power products, to deliver a 5-week course. In coordination with the education department to include also their instructors, as well as shop welders, to benefit the whole dockyard and not just one department. 

(38:45) High-pressure work that still brings him satisfaction was the Marsa power station. Another constructor was using inferior material for the pipe work and the EneMalta gave the work to the dockyard, for renewal. A lot of the work was done, which needed a very good welding procedure, the majority was done well on the first try, which for him is something he was extremely proud of.

(44:45) After a while, he was then again transferred to a shiprepair manager where he went to Argentina for a Norwegian cruise line. He spent the last three years as a ship manager.