1] To balance income and expenditure in respect of cargo freight in FY 1967;
2] For that purpose, to construct vessels of 5,380 thousand gross tons engaged in foreign trade from FY 1964 to the middle of FY 1967;
3] Required funds are approximately \323.4 billion except those already procured;
4] As measures to execute the tonnage expansion project, it is necessary to secure yards for construction, reduce ship construction prices, review the policy on loans extended by the Japan Development Bank, and efficiently use Japanese tonnage.
These measures together with the aforementioned two laws for revitalizing the shipping industry promoted a dramatic increase in new buildings in and after the 20th planned shipbuilding.
On the other hand, in the shipbuilding community a tide of technological innovation surged and out came all at once a demand for ships which are larger in size, more specialized in structure and purpose, with higher speed, etc. As to bulk carriers, there had already been built relatively small sized ships with cargo holds surrounded by topside tanks, side frames, bilge hopper double bottom tanks and fore and aft bulkheads, but large-sized vessels with a length exceeding 200 m had yet to be built domestically in Japan. When the building tonnage dramatically increased by the 20th planned shipbuilding for 1964, the so-called multi-purpose bulk carriers, i.e., Iarge-sized bulkers capable of carrying ores with a large specific gravity such as iron ore, came to be built; and the "Bolivar Maru" was built as the first one of this type of cargo ship at the "Tokyo No.2" dockyard of the Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. (hereinafter called IHI) by an order from the Japan Line Co.,Ltd. (hereinafter called Japan Line).
The story describing the operation of the "Bolivar Maru" till the accident in question is as follows:
The "Bolivar Maru" was completed and delivered to Japan Line on September 13, 1965, and was put into service for the carriage of coal and iron ore between Japan and such countries, as the USA, Peru and Australia.
After completion of repair work attending an intermediate survey at IHI Aioi dockyard on October 18, 1968 the "Bolivar Maru" underwent a sea trial and left Aioi in ballast condition at 17:00 hours on the same day on voyage No. 25 for Tacoma via Gladstone. Since the vessel encountered Typhoon No. 21 on October 23, she continued sailing while reducing her speed as necessary and altering course variously. However, the hull motion was so severe, as she was in ballast condition, that even cooking was impossible. The heavy weather condition in this case was the severest one ever since she was put into service. The maximum wind speed reach almost 55 knots from 03:00 hours to 05:00 hours on the 23rd.
After the passing of the typhoon, cracks, including one with a length of 100 mm in the tank top plate of the fresh water tank in the vicinity of the aft engine room, were discovered and they were repaired by welding by crew members of the engine department while at sea and upon arrival at Gladstone. She left for Tacoma, where she arrived on November 19, without encountering on the leg rough weather equal to or exceeding 7 on the Beaufort scale, and completed Voyage No. 25.
