Three members of the crew greasing the wire falls on the port lifeboat davits on board the tanker Malwa (1961) in Suez Bay. The photographer is standing on the port side of the boat deck looking forward towards the bridge wing. One crewman is greasing the wire falls while another is greasing the aft davit pulley. A man in white overalls is working at the top of the forward davit. A yellow and black striped flag (possibly the international signal flag "G" indicating a pilot is required) and an anchor ball are hoisted at the signal halyards above the bridge. The ship's name plate is displayed on the side of the navigating bridge in the background.

This is Slide 54 of a lecture given by Captain Henry P. Bird detailing his service as Senior Second Officer and Navigator on board the tanker Malwa (1961), owned by the P&O Group, from 14 November 1963 to 9 March 1964. The lecture consists of 75 slides.