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The story of the Ship bell of the "Esso Chile"
Beppe Allievi wrote to me :
I have come across a ship bell that is engraved with Esso Chile and 1957. Please see attached picture.
Do you think that the bell looks authentic? You have probably seen quite a few on the ships that you sailed on,
so I wanted to hear what you thought…
Also I do not believe that Esso Chile tanker would be of any interest to make duplicates or fake ones.
I am thinking of trying to buy it, but wanted to see what you thought.
Ship bell of the "Esso Chile".
I ( AAV ) wrote him the following :
I think this is the real one.
As you have said, I also do not believe that it would be of any interest to make duplicates or fake ones.
As I can see it is in excellent condition. I hope you can buy it.
Beppe Allievi wrote to me later :
Regarding the bell, it is a bit of a strange story, as the bell is at a police department office in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
The detective who wrote to me said that they had it there since 1998 or 1999 and he has no idea how it got there.
Recently he must have researched it and came up to my site, found my e-mail address and wrote to me.
A few minutes ago he told me that if I pay for shipment he will send it to me, as he thinks that it
belong with someone who has a connection with the ship! So very nice of him, I am very happy!!
In the end, I was able to obtain the Esso Chile bell, and I did not even have to buy it. It was at a police station in South Carolina.
They saw that my father was a Captain on it, so they contacted me and then decided to send the bell to me.
They were very nice about it, and things like this make me feel a little better about the world we live in…
The people who donated the bell to me where Vant Abercrombie and Paul Sheets of the North Myrtle
Beach Police department.
Attached my picture with the bell of the Esso Chile.
Guiseppe ( Beppe ) Allievi with the ship bell.
Note :
Guiseppe Allievi is the son of Captan Alberto Allievi, who sailed as a master on the "Esso Chile" and other Esso ships.
Captain Alberto Allievi (middle) and other officers (unkown) on board the "Esso Venezia".
( All photos from collection Beppe Allievi )