Oral history of the Malta Dockyard: Salvu Bezzina

(00:30) Saviour had a lot of relatives working there and his father influenced him a lot to join the dockyard. He also remembers when his father used to take him to the dockyard on Christmas eve for the Christmas party that were organised by trade groups. He eventually joined the shipyard in 1957, after attending one of the De La Salle dockyard classes.

(06:30) He passed the dockyard examination. He came 71st. During that time, the choice of trade depended on the order of merit, and the better placed students took the trade of Electrical fitter. His chose was the trade of engine fitter.

(07:00) His first year was spent at the training centre, he remembers Mr. Rowe, Cikku Saliba, and Pisani from Sliema. During the 2nd year he remembers Vella, who was a MUSEUM member and some others. He recounts an incident with one of his instructors.

(12:00) He remembers the incidents in 1958, and with some of his friends were playing around on a hand-pulled cart that was used in the dockyard. Sometime later they were called up and asked what they noticed during the events.

(13:30) As apprentice, he had his training in various departments related to their trade, such as the DAR (Domestic Automatic Refrigerators) and the maintenance section of the yard machinery that was managed by the Production Engineer Mr. W. E. Baird and with Angelo Zahra from Zejtun. He was involved in the numbering of yard machinery. He remembers that when Bailey took over the shipyard, they were given a letter that as from that date they would be working for Bailey.

(15:30) On completion of his apprenticeship, he was allocated to the fitter’s afloat section.  He recounts some accidents that he saw, and also the relations between the workers that were very good. The comradeship between the workers was very good.

(22:15) After sometime he was appointed as leading hand. He remembers some big projects, like the skeg of the Esso Peru, that was bent and had to be straightened and re-bored. Another big work job when they changed a complete cylinder block.

(29:15) He mentions that from his entry they were people such as Leli Formosa, Spiru Aquilina and others. He mentions that the work procedures changed over time. He mentioned as example the coupling bolts that whereas the older practice required physical force to remove coupling bolts, this eventually changed to hydraulic arrangements to release or tighten the bolts. This also applied to the propeller removal and refitting. The size of the ships also affected the work practices.