TANKER TRIO - Steamship Historical Society of America

PowerShipsT h e M a g a z i n e o f e n g i n e - P o w e r e d V e s s e l s f r o M T h e s T e a M s h i P h i s T o r i c a l s o c i e T y o f a M e r i c a

N u m b e r 3 1 4 • s u m m e r 2 0 2 0

also in this issue

the “sunny southern route” to europe 10

Marine propulsion to the Modern era 28

the nasa Moonfleet 38

grand celebration 46

a qe2 story 50

Union oil Tanker TrioSanSinena • Torrey Canyon • Lake PaLourde 16

H DONATE online at: www.ssjohnwbrown.org

H For information call: 410-558-0164

Visit our Ship Store at www.ssjohnwbrown.org

ExpEriENcE ThE AcTiON OF WOrlD WAr ii AFlOAT!

The SS JOhN W. BrOWN is one of the last operating survivors from the great fleet of over 2,700 war-built Liberty Ships and the last operational troopship of World War II. The ship is a maritime museum and a memorial to the shipyard workers who built, merchant mariners who sailed, and the U.S. Navy Armed Guard who defended the Liberty ships during World War II. The JohN W. BroWN is fully restored and maintained as close as possible to her World War II configuration. Visitors must be able to walk up steps to board the ship.

These exciting 6 hour day cruises include lunch, music of the 40’s, period entertainment and flybys (conditions permitting) of wartime aircraft. Tour on-board museums, crew quarters, bridge and much more. See the magnificent 140-ton triple-expansion steam engine as it powers the ship through the water.

Our 2020 cruises have been suspended but you're invited to check our website, ssjohnbrown.org, or our Facebook page for our upcoming 2021 cruise schedule and news about SS JohN W. BroWN. We need your support to keep the ship operational during this period — please support the JohN W. BroWN with an online donation or purchase from our Ship Store at ssjohnbrown.org.

Project Liberty Ship is a Baltimore based, all volunteer, nonprofit organization.

Aboard the Liberty Ship

John W. BroWn

Watch our Website

for our 2021 Cruise

Schedule

H H H H H H H H H H H H

Donate online

to Support the

John Brown

H H H H H H H H H H H

H The Ship Store is

open: T-shirts, Mugs

& More!

PowerShips summer 2020 • 3

The PiloT house . . . 4Q&a wiTh sTeaMboaT bill . . . . . 5full sTeaM ahead . . 6regionals

High Seas . . . . . . . . . . . 54Mid-Atlantic . . . . . . . . . . 57New York . . . . . . . . . . . . 59Overseas . . . . . . . . . . . . 61New England & Eastern Canada . . . . . . . 62 West Coast . . . . . . . . . . 64 Great Lakes / Seaway . . 69Southeast & Gulf Ports . 72Southwest Pacific . . . . . 75Western Rivers . . . . . . . 77TugboaTs . . . . . . . . . .80reViews . . . . . . . . . . . 83heard on The fanTail . . . . . . . . . . . . 85froM The collecTion . . . . . . . 86on The coVer: The stern of the SS sansinena, constructed by Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company . – Terry Tilton collection . aboVe: Bow section of crude oil tanker SS sansinena lies partially submerged at Berth 46 in the Port of Los Angeles after it exploded . – Ted Quackenbush photo .

This quarTerly magazine has been continuously published by The Steamship Historical Society of America since first appearing as The steamboat bill of Facts in 1940 .

The sTeamship hisTorical socieTy of america, inc., (SSHSA) was organized in 1935 as a means of bringing together those amateur and professional historians interested in the history and development of steam navigation, past and present, and incorporated in the Commonwealth of Virginia in 1950 as a tax-exempt education corporation .

in addiTion To PowerShiPS, the SSHSA produces other books and publications of marine interest, a list of which is available online and from the Warwick headquarters .

sshsa meeTings are normally held annually . Several local chapters also meet regularly .

membership in SSHSA includes subscriptions to Powerships, the Telegraph, and Ahoy! Dues are in various classes, beginning at $50 .00 for Annual Members .

for furTher deTails, write: Steamship Historical Society of America,2500 Post Road, Warwick, RI 02886

Visit our websiteswww.sshsa.orgwww.shiphistory.org

PowerShips (formerly titled Steamboat Bill) (IssN 0039-0844)—founded in 1940 by Jay Allen—is published quarterly as a cooperative effort by the steamship Historical society of America, Inc., 2500 Post road, Warwick, rI 02886, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the activities of marine historians in the field of self-propelled vessels. material for possible publication is always welcome and should be sent to the editor; Jim Pennypacker, 4 snead Ct., Palmyra, VA 22963. No remuneration can be made for such materials, and no responsibility for it is accepted, although every effort will be made for its safe handling. All contributions are subject to editing. Opinions expressed by contributors are not necessarily those of the society; the burden for accuracy rests with the contributors. Contributors represent that they are the sole author of their Work, that the Work is an original work of authorship which does not infringe on the copyright rights of others, and that the author has the unencumbered right to publish the material.Subscription to PowerShips is by membership of $50.00 (us$) per year in the steamship Historical society of America, Inc. $30 of each member’s dues goes toward receiving PowerShips. single copies of available issues may be purchased. Periodical postage paid at Warwick, rI, and additional offices. POsTmAsTer: send address changes to ssHsA, 2500 Post road, Warwick, rI 02886 usA. Phone +1 401 463 3570, fax +1 401 463 3572.No part of PowerShips may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system without written permission from the publisher.

m a N i f e S t • N u m b e r 3 1 4 • s u m m e r 2 0 2 0

PowerShipst h e m a g a z i N e o f t h e S t e a m S h i p h i S t o r i c a l S o c i e t y o f a m e r i c a

NAsA’s moonship Fleetby Eric Pearson . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

A QE2 storyby Rob Lightbody . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Grand Celebrationby Robert Engler . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

marine Propulsion to the modern eraby James Shaw . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

The sunny southern route to europeby William H . Miller . . . . . . . . 10

H DONATE online at: www.ssjohnwbrown.org

H For information call: 410-558-0164

Visit our Ship Store at www.ssjohnwbrown.org

ExpEriENcE ThE AcTiON OF WOrlD WAr ii AFlOAT!

by Terry Tilton . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Union oil Tanker Trio

PowerShips4 • summer 2020

The Pilot Houseeditor-in-chief

Jim pennypacker17 Church st., 2nd Floor, Lambertville, NJ 08530email: [email protected]: +1 610-883-7988

associate editors

peter t. eisele74 Chatham street, Chatham, NJ 07928email: [email protected] miller11321 sW 134th Avenue, miami, FL 33186email: [email protected]

contributors

William g.t. Barber ted Blank charles h. Bogart David m. Boone peter t. eisele William a. fox John a. fostik roddy Sergiades Donald leavitt James l. Shaw mark Shumaker rich turnwald Julia Winters g. Justin zizes

editorial pl anning committee

Jim pennypacker andrew cogginslaurence miller roland parent Jim Shuttleworth marifrances trivelli matthew Schulte James zatwarnicki, Jr.

art director

John goschke, Cornerstone media, Inc.email: [email protected]

advertising sales

richard l. Barwis, iV, Cornerstone media, Inc.674 Fairhaven street, Palm bay, FL 32907email: [email protected]: +1-321-220-0346

executive director & publisher

matthew S. Schulte, m.S.email: [email protected]

printing

perfection press1200 Industrial Drive, Logan, IA 51546

sshsa headquarters

2500 Post road, Warwick, rI 02886email: [email protected] Phone: +1-401-463-3570Web: www.sshsa.org, www.shiphistory.org

sshsa officers

Don leavitt, President, south ryegate, VTBarry W. eager, Vice President, berlin, mANicholas langhart, V.P./secretary, Westminster, mAeric takakjian, Acting Treasurer, Fairhaven, mA

sshsa board of directors

odd Brevik, Ormond beach, FLDouglas Bryan, Cohasset, mAandrew coggins, Jr., blacksburg, VApatrick Dacey, Glen Gardner, NJJim mcNamara, Chatham, NJlaurence miller, miami, FL William miller, Hoboken, NJDave pickering, Warwick, rItom ragan, miami beach, FLDarshell Silva, Warwick, rIterry tilton, san Diego, CA eric Wiberg, boston, mAJames zatwarnicki, Jr. Hoboken, NJ

immediate past president

mary l. payne, Wallingford, PAcopy editors & staff

Bryan lucier, membership Coordinatorastrid Drew, Archivistaimee Bachari, education & Outreach Coordinatoralissa halacy, Project Coordinatorlori Dipersio, Development Consultantmichele Berard, senior Philanthropic Advisorevan matthews, senior Advisor

PowerShips

NAsA moonships, marine Propulsion, union Oil tankers and more . . .

I’M haPPy To announce ThaT our PosTPoned ocean liner gala will now take place November 7, 2020, at the historic squantum Association in east Providence, rhode Island. The night will be a celebration of some of the biggest names in transatlantic travel: the America, the Leviathan, and the highlight of the

event, the ss United States. Tickets are $150 per person and are available now. The event will sell out, so make your reservation today.

in this issue• nasa’s Manned sPace flighT neTwork

provided tracking, telemetry and communications with manned spacecraft. During the Apollo program (1961-72) the network included five modified instrumentation ships. In NAsA’s moonship Fleet, author eric Pearson sheds light on these seaborne communication platforms and the vital coverage they provided for the Apollo missions.

• In LIves of the LIners, William miller shares the colorful recollections of the late Lewis and ruth Gordon about their frequent trips to the mediterranean in the 1950s and ’60s aboard many of the ships of the Italian Line and American export Lines.

• foLLowIng a brIef hIstory of marine propulsion, Jim shaw presents an overview of modern marine engines, including diesels, two-stroke and four-stroke, short- and long-stroke, smokeless engines, the world’s most powerful marine diesel, and a look at engines offering better fuel economy and less air pollution.

• Capt terry tILton offers a in-depth history of a trio of union Oil tankers, built in the 1950s by Newport News shipbuilding – Sansinena, Torrey Canyon and Lake Palourde . The ships would ply the route from the Persian Gulf to Los Angeles.

• robert engLer shares his dream come true. In 2018, as a volunteer helping recovery efforts after a natural gas disaster in massachusetts, he got to stay aboard the Grand Celebration, which served as a static accommodation ship for the volunteers. He offers a brief history of the ship and details his stay on board, which included meals, playing games at night, and even living through a Nor’easter.

• rob LIghtbody describes The Qe2 story, an online moderated discussion forum that he started in 2008 covering all things QE2 – each decade’s service, her construction, her design, photo gallery, etc. members of the forum include fans, authors, officers, crew, passengers and even a captain or two.

From the Pilot House Jim Pennypacker, Editor-in-Chief

articles WantedWe’re continually looking for articles for the upcoming issues of Powerships . If you would like to write an article, send me a note (editor@sshsa .org) describing your article idea and we’ll talk . In addition to articles on engine-powered ships of all kinds, we’re interested in articles on Ocean Liners, Ship Builders, Mechanical Aspects, Ship Models, Merchant Marine, Ship Preservation, Ship Interiors and Memorabilia . Of course, we welcome articles on all topics of interest to SSHSA members .


editor-in-chief

Jim pennypacker17 Church st., 2nd Floor, Lambertville, NJ 08530email: [email protected]: +1 610-883-7988

associate editors

peter t. eisele74 Chatham street, Chatham, NJ 07928email: [email protected] miller11321 sW 134th Avenue, miami, FL 33186email: [email protected]

contributors

William g.t. Barber ted Blank charles h. Bogart David m. Boone peter t. eisele William a. fox John a. fostik roddy Sergiades Donald leavitt James l. Shaw mark Shumaker rich turnwald Julia Winters g. Justin zizes

editorial pl anning committee

Jim pennypacker andrew cogginslaurence miller roland parent Jim Shuttleworth marifrances trivelli matthew Schulte James zatwarnicki, Jr.

art director

John goschke, Cornerstone media, Inc.email: [email protected]

advertising sales

richard l. Barwis, iV, Cornerstone media, Inc.674 Fairhaven street, Palm bay, FL 32907email: [email protected]: +1-321-220-0346

executive director & publisher

matthew S. Schulte, m.S.email: [email protected]

printing

perfection press1200 Industrial Drive, Logan, IA 51546

sshsa headquarters

2500 Post road, Warwick, rI 02886email: [email protected] Phone: +1-401-463-3570Web: www.sshsa.org, www.shiphistory.org

sshsa officers

Don leavitt, President, south ryegate, VTBarry W. eager, Vice President, berlin, mANicholas langhart, V.P./secretary, Westminster, mAeric takakjian, Acting Treasurer, Fairhaven, mA

sshsa board of directors

odd Brevik, Ormond beach, FLDouglas Bryan, Cohasset, mAandrew coggins, Jr., blacksburg, VApatrick Dacey, Glen Gardner, NJJim mcNamara, Chatham, NJlaurence miller, miami, FL William miller, Hoboken, NJDave pickering, Warwick, rItom ragan, miami beach, FLDarshell Silva, Warwick, rIterry tilton, san Diego, CA eric Wiberg, boston, mAJames zatwarnicki, Jr. Hoboken, NJ

immediate past president

mary l. payne, Wallingford, PAcopy editors & staff

Bryan lucier, membership Coordinatorastrid Drew, Archivistaimee Bachari, education & Outreach Coordinatoralissa halacy, Project Coordinatorlori Dipersio, Development Consultantmichele Berard, senior Philanthropic Advisorevan matthews, senior Advisor

Steamboat BillQuestions & Answers with

In the previous issue of PowerShips (#313), there was

a question regarding the Pacific coast steam schooner Redwood. Knowledgeable SShSa members wrote in with extra details about this ship’s history. many thanks to mr. george Schneider in Sonoma, california, and captain alan hugenot in San francisco.

The vessel Redwood was originally named Daisy, built in 1908 in

bandon, Oregon, by J.H. Price. Her subsequent name was Thomas H . Elliott. In the previous issue, it was unclear what became of her, but now we know that she was owned by Lowe Trading Company when on september 18, 1939, she caught fire in Humboldt bay and was a total loss. Here is a brief recount of her career, as

told in the book Ships of the Redwood Coast by mcNairn & mcmullen:

There are many who say that the steam schooner Daisy was all that her name implied; she was a conventional little job, but temperamental . One August day in 1926 Daisy, fully loaded, got tired of it all and quietly sank at her berth in China Basin, San Francisco Bay . A day or so later while her owners and crew were wondering what had got into the old girl, she suddenly popped to the surface, little the worse for her dunking . A month later she disgraced herself by plowing through the twenty-five feet of an oil wharf at the foot of Mason Street . She went on, playing tricks here and there until – by this time renamed redwood – she managed to get herself on fire off Humboldt Bay and became a total loss, her crew being rescued by the steel steamer scotia .

Q: i read where a steamship is described as “schooner or

bark rigged.” Does this mean the steamship had sails?

A: Not necessarily, but true in some cases. early steamers were not

as reliable as later ones so they were equipped with sails in case of emergency. And in some cases, the sails were used in addition or in place of the engine(s). Wind was free, coal wasn’t. Over time, steamships and steam engines became more reliable and efficient, and sails were dispensed with. However, masts were retained for a variety of purposes, as a scaffold for radio and electrical wires, or decorative flags, or for loading and unloading cargo. “schooner-or bark-rigged steamship” simply means the configuration of the masts and rigging. You can also have a “ship-or brig-rigged, etc. steamship or motor vessel” too, although the terminology is no longer much used for modern vessels.

Q: can you help me understand the terms full scantling and

shelter deck? in ship architecture? the c1-a was a shelter deck and the c1-B was a full scantling. Why would a company order one type of ship over another?

A: In a strict sense the term scantling refers to the physical dimensions of

the ship’s framing and plating material. Often you will see reference to heavier or lighter scantlings. In these cases, someone is referring to larger or smaller dimensions for the framing and plating materials used in the vessel’s construction. The term full scantling refers to the uppermost deck being fully enclosed both structurally and to the weather. The term shelter deck in its original sense

refers to a deck above the upper deck to

n USS Fomalhaut, a C1-A cargo ship . – U .S . Navy photo .

protect cargo, but in which exposure to the elements was not completely eliminated. A shelter deck fitted like this would often have openings in it, which would allow water to pass. A modern shelter deck vessel may in some cases have a raised poop, fo’c’sle and center island structure above the shelter deck level. This deck would form the top of the hull girder itself and as such would be the deck to which tonnage measurements would be made for that ship.The scantling C1-b had a heavier, stronger

structure. The main deck was the freeboard deck. On the C1-A, the freeboard deck was the second deck, where the cargo holds (watertight bulkheads) stopped. so, the cargo holds on the C1-b had a greater extension, as they were watertight to the main deck. The extra 200 tons weight of the heavier structure increased the deadweight tonnage, just over 7,800 on the steam powered C1-b, and ultimately helped increase displacement. These differences, as well as the fact

the C1-b is five feet longer than the C1-A, could make a difference in what ports or waterways a ship could access. Depending on a company’s target business or ports of call, they may prefer one vessel type over another.

Do you have a question for steamboat bill?

Just email him at . . . [email protected]


Well, This 85Th anniVersary year has turned out to be a real memorable one for

ssHsA. During this global pandemic, you, our members, friends and donors, have risen to the occasion to help us succeed. even as pretty much everything around us has been impacted by COVID-19, we have persevered. Thank you to all who continue to answer our requests for additional support.

coronavirus emergency appeal contributorsMr . Russ AllenMr . Preston B . BakerMr . Laurence V . BaldwinMs . Michele R . BerardMr . and Mrs . Charles D . BieserMs . Amy BlumeMr . Charles H . BogartMr . William BolinMr . Jerry BoydMr . Keith BrittinMr . Christopher BujaraMr . Pete BurnsMr . Kevin W . BusathMr . Richard CarriereCDR Andrew O . Coggins, Jr ., USN (Ret .)Mr . Steve CohenMr . William D . Comings, Jr .Mr . and Mrs . Louis J . CostanzaMr . Alexander D . CraryMr . Alan CullenMr . Antone DeGerliaMr . Richard Del ValleCAPT Robertson DinsmoreMs . Lori DiPersioMr . William W . DonnellMr . Joseph Dowling, Jr .

Mr . Tom DunlopMr . Alan DuttonMr . Mike EaganMr . Arnold EavesMr . and Mrs . Donald W . EberleDr . Robert EdenMr . Barry FarmanMr . and Mrs . Arthur J . FergusonMr . John David FergusonDr . Jerry FingerutMr . Michael FisherMr . Alan J . FloodMr . Carl H . FowlerMr . and Mrs . William A . FoxMr . Gary GarrenMr . Tom GemmellMr . Robert J . GoldenMr . John GoschkeMr . James GrafMr . Stephen GregoryMr . Robert M . HainesMr . Edward B . HawleyMr . Albert R . Hinckley, Jr .Mr . & Mrs . Joseph IlacquaMr . Kevin C . JohnsMr . Erik JohnsonMr . Leonard KaisalahtiCaptain Philip C . KantzMr . Timothy J . KellyMr . Robert KesslerMr . Paul KleeMs . Lisa KressbachMr . Gunstein LangsetMr . David LarsenMr . Steven LaubmeierMr . Michael LawsonMr . Clayton E . LeroueMr . Keith A . LewisMr . Holger LukasMr . Jeff MacklinRev . Armand MantiaCAPT Warren McDonald, USCGR (Ret .)Mr . Alan McKieMr . Alexander MelchertMr . W . John Miottel

Ms . Diana MoracoMrs . Harry MorganMr . John A . MorganRev . Bart R . MullerMr . Gregory MurphyMr . Brian L . NordenMr . Raisuke NumataMr . Terry O'ConnorCAPT and Mrs . Roland R . ParentMr . John PaulMr . Art PeabodyMr . Andrew PeachMr . Miles N . PeterleMr . Frederic N . PhinneyMr . Donald PomplunMr . David L . Powers, Jr .Mr . George PrinceMr . Dwight D . QuellaMr . William J . RaverMr . James RoyleMr . Robert RubinoDr . Timothy J . RunyanMr . George R . Schneider, Jr .Mr . and Mrs . Matthew S . SchulteMr . David SchulzMr . Peter Digby ScottMr . Bruce C . SeibelMr . George ShusterMr . Joel A . SlaggMr . Louis SlykerMr . Thomas E . SmithMr . John O . SnyderMr . Allen SoaresMr . Donn R . SpearMr . Edward SpinneyMr . John S .W . SpoffordMr . Jay HigginsMr . Gregory StraubMr . Kent StrobelMr . Clinton StrongMr . Mark A . ThomasMr . Craig ThompsonMr . Douglas A . TildenMr . and Mrs . Thomas K . TroyMr . Andrew Turnbull

2020, A Most Memorable Year


CAPT R .L . Van Nice, Jr . USNR (Ret .)Mr . Thomas VarneyCAPT Robert F . Wasson, Jr ., CPAMr . Hubert WickiMr . William WoodingMs . Margaret Jean WortMr . Alan YorkerMr . James J . ZabelMr . James Zatwarnicki, Jr .

the Ship history center/ Building fund DonorsMr . Alan AbramsonMr . Lawrence N . AdamsMr . James AlexandreMr . Robert K . AlspachAnonymous DonationMr . Ernest ArroyoMr . Joe AtturaLCDR . Peter E . Baci, USNR (Ret)Mr . David C . Bailey, Jr .Mr . Henry H . BaxterDr . Mark BenbowMr . D . Jordan BersonDr . Kip BodiMr . A . Pierce BoundsMr . George L . BradleyMr . Douglas E . BryanMs . Vivian Butler and Ms . Janet ButlerMr . Gabriel CaprioMr . George A . CassidyMr . Thomas C . ChadwickCDR Andrew O . Coggins, Jr ., USN (Ret .)Dr . Leon F . CohnMs . Carol CooperLCDR Paul E . CorneliusMr . William F . CosgroveMr . Carl CurtisMr . Patrick DaceyMr . John De BroskeMr . John J . DelachMr . Donald DeLucaMr . Thomas DiedrichMr . Arnold EavesMr . George EconomouMrs . Claire GadboisMr . Bernard M . GrandjanyMr . Larry GregoryMr . Charles A . Haas IIIMr . Gary HalvorsenMr . Richard Hansen

Mr . Doug HartMr . Elmer Hill

Mr . Albert R . Hinckley, Jr .Mr . Peter HorneMr . Richard A . HorvitzMr . George IlseMs . June Sherry IngramMr . Tom JordensMr . and Mrs . Michael W . JoyMr . Murray KilgourMr . Robert J . KimtisCAPT George W . KochMr . Erhard W . KoehlerMr . Richard KrugMr . Nicholas LanghartCAPT David LeechMichael and Marty LennonMr . Hugh C . MacKayMr . Gary MaehlMr . Dick MageeMr . Steven MasonMr . Stephen McClellanCAPT and Mrs . James J . McNamaraMr . John C . MehrlingMr . Charles A . Miller, IIIMr . Jeffrey A . MillerDr . Laurence and Carole MillerMr . William H . Miller Jr .Mr . John A . MorganMr . W . Andrew MorrisonRev . Bart R . MullerCAPT Andrew B . MurrayMr . Richard M . MushetCW4 (Ret .) Samuel R . OhmachtCAPT Dave PickeringRev . Donald E . PotterMr . George PrinceMr . Thomas C . Ragan

Mr . Bruce L . RichardsMr . Howard SchutterMr . Daniel J . SentillesMr . and Mrs . James W . ShuttleworthMs . Darshell SilvaMr . Donald H . SmithMr . Jerry SmithMr . and Mrs . Stephen SmithMr . Timothy D . SmithCAPT Cesare SorioCAPT Eric TakakjianCAPT Thomas F . TaylorMr . David ThomasMr . Craig ThompsonMr . Douglas A . TildenCAPT and Mrs . Terry Tilton, USN (Ret .)Mr . and Mrs . Thomas K . TroyMr . Norbert UlbrichCAPT R .L . Van Nice, Jr . USNR (Ret .)Mr . Donald B . WallaceMr . Merritt WebbMr. Robert WhitfieldMr . Eric WibergMr . Parker WilliamsonMr . John F . WitkowskiWorld Ship Society - Port of New York BranchMr . James Zatwarnicki, Jr .

eVen Though we haVe successfully sought and received increased funding for our various appeals, we still need support for general operations through contribu-tions to our summer Fund. Won’t you consider making a meaningful gift?

Kind regards,

Matthew S . Schulte, M .S .executive Director

Upcoming meetings • Annual Meeting is

Saturday, augusT 29 aT 10aM eT

• Ocean Liner Gala V is saTurday

noVeMber 7, 2020

• WSS / SSHSA Cruise on Qm2 departs deceMber 8, 2020

Please support ssHsA’s

Summer Appeal


Ocean Liner Gala V

NEW DatE! • November 7, 2020

BENEFITING SHIPHISTORY.ORG

C E L E B R a t I N G t H E U N I t E D S t a t E S L I N E S

a Fundraiser on the Water at the Historic Squantum Club

tICkEtS aRE oN SaLE NoW! $150 EaCH

Book yours today before we are sold out

Call 401-463-3570 to reserve your space or go to sshsa.org


Steamship Historical Society of America &World Ship Society - Port of New York Branch

- present -

December 8, 2020 7-night Eastbound Transatlantic Crossing

New York to Southampton aboard

Sail together on Cunard Line's Queen Mary 2, a remarkable flagship whose style and elegance are legendary.

~ For the latest pricing information and reservations ~Contact Brad Hatry at Travel Edge at 212-399-6223

or e-mail: [email protected]

Every cabin will receive up to $150 in on-board credit

Join your fellow ship enthusiasts for a holiday voyage ~ with special ship enthusiast gatherings ~

Ocean Liner Gala V

NEW DatE! • November 7, 2020

BENEFITING SHIPHISTORY.ORG


LIVES OF THE LINERS

by William H . Miller

Sunny Southern RouteThe

n Italian Line’s Vulcania at New York in the early 1950s . – Braun Bros . Collection, SSHSA Archives .


he genoa-headquarTered iTalian line had a succession of fine, very popular liners on the great Atlantic liner run. Just after World War II, the line had three well-known, prewar passenger liners, the Saturnia, Vulcania and Conte Biancamano . Quickly, in 1951, New York-based American export Lines

sprang forward with its first big liners, the very modern sisters Independence and Constitution . These were followed by a succession of newly built, extremely modern Italian liners – the Andrea Doria and Cristoforo Colombo, the Augustus and Giulio Cesare, the Leonardo da Vinci and finally, the biggest, fastest mediterranean liners of their time, the 45,900-ton, 1,775-passenger sisters Michelangelo and Raffaello .

Sunny Southern Route to europe


in The laTe ’50s, American export had hoped to add a third big liner, dubbed the Constellation, but couldn’t quite get the necessary u.s. government funding, and so the line made do with a smaller, converted passenger ship, the Atlantic .buT by The Mid-1970s, they

would all be gone – victims of overwhelming operational costs, declining revenues and, most of all, devastating airline competition. In march 1976, the struggling Leonardo da Vinci left New York’s Pier 84 and made her last passage from New York to Italy.The laTe lewis and ruth

Gordon were frequent passengers on mediterranean crossings in the 1950s and ’60s, and they recalled many of the ships. “In first class aboard the Independence and Constitution, it was quite usual to see 5- and 10-carat diamond rings at dinner. but when one woman wore a 47-carat diamond, it was called ‘vulgar’ by the others. There were always Greek shipping magnates onboard. I remember mrs. Goulandris, who wore jewels from the best shops in Paris – and most of them, it seemed, at the same time! Onboard, daily life was actually quiet, even simple. There were some evening activities, like dancing, horse-racing and films, but otherwise you sat on deck all day long with little to do. reading and writing letters were the great pastimes. In the ’50s, daytime attire in first class was like today’s evening clothes.

n (From top) The classic motor liner saturnia making a noontime departure from Pier 84 in this view from 1955. – Author’s Collection. Maiden call: In her refitted, all-white post-war style, the Conte biancamano visits Boston for the first time in 1950. – Author’s Collection. With her classic counter stern, the 683-ft. long Independence is seen on the south side of New York’s Pier 84 . The huge gas tank behind it was a West Side landmark until demolished in 1968 . – ALF Collection .


n Now painted in all-white, the Constitution is seen being docked at Pier 84 in this view dated 1964 . Behind (from top to bottom) are the empress of Canada, Homeric, Queen elizabeth, berlin and united states . – Moran Towing & Transportation Co . photo .


n (Clockwise from top left) Economy at sea: The smaller, largely tourist class Atlantic at Pier 84 . – Author’s Collection . Replacements: In the late Fifties, the normally South American-routed sisters Augustus (seen here at Naples) and Giulio Cesare were used on the New York run, temporarily replacing the Andrea Doria, which sank on July 26, 1956 . – ALF Collection . Italy’s post-war “Renaissance ships,” the sisters Andrea Doria and Cristoforo Colombo together at Genoa. – Italian Line photo. Busy day at Genoa: In this 1968 view, five passenger ships are in port together – (from top) eugenio C, Franca C, Cabo san roque, michelangelo and Constitution . – Author’s Collection .


“we also liked The iTalian line very much. The older ships, such as the Saturnia and Vulcania, which dated from the 1920s, had ‘over-the-edge’ decor, where enough is not quite enough. They were very, very ornate and very dark in tone. There were first-class staterooms on the Saturnia and Vulcania that had their own verandas, then quite a novelty. If you booked these, you rarely had to leave your cabin and never, ever had to go out on the crowded Lido Deck. On the modernized Conte Biancamano, the walls of the card and writing rooms were done in exquisite inlaid woods, all themed to card games.“iTalian line also had the best costume balls. There

were renaissance, Gypsy, baroque and Venetian creations to match. Amazingly, the Italians gave out great prizes for the very costumes they provided.“iTalian line also had the most tearful farewells,

especially at ports like messina and Palermo in sicily. It was high drama in bidding goodbyes. These farewells sometimes included three generations of a family on the pier side. Very often, these Italian immigrants traveling in tourist class aboard the Saturnia, Vulcania and, later, the Cristoforo Colombo were bound for Canada. many Italian Line crossings stopped at Halifax two or three days before reaching New York.“we also recall one other special sailing. each

year, one eastbound sailing aboard either American export or the Italian Line carried New York designers and buyers bound for the Italian fashion shows. That sailing was always known as the seventh Avenue special!”

About the Author bill Miller, an SSHSA board member, is an international authority on ocean liners and cruise ships . He has written more than 100 books on the subject: from early steamers, immigrant ships and liners at war to their fabulous interiors and about

the artifacts from them . He has written histories of such celebrated passenger ships as the united states, Queen mary, rotterdam, France, Queen elizabeth 2 and Crystal serenity . A native of Hoboken, New Jersey, Miller was named Outstanding American Maritime Scholar in 1994 and received the U .S . Maritime Preservation Award and the Ocean Liner Council’s Silver Riband Award in 2004 . He was the 2017 recipient of SSHSA’s Samuel Ward Stanton Award for Lifetime Achievement .

n (From top) Lattice-work design: The distinctive funnels of the michelangelo . – ALF Collection . Italian super liners: The michelangelo (left) and raffaello at Pier 84 in this photo dated August 1973 . – Author’s Collection . Italian Line twilight: Seen in this view from March 1973, the Leonardo da Vinci made the final Italian Line crossing in March 1976 . – Author’s Collection .


by CAPT Terry Tilton

Union oil Tanker TrioSanSinena • Torrey Canyon • Lake PaLourde


ShiPPing line owners often order ships in a set of three. many times within the set, one or more of the trio suffers a significant historical maritime tragedy, which increases the awareness

of the entire set. maritime history records a trio of ships built for White star Line - Olympic, Titanic and Britannic - two of which suffered casualties. Two of another trio - Imperator, Vaterland and Bismarck - were eventually burned out . Of a trio of smaller liners - Alcoa Cavalier, Alcoa Corsair and Alcoa Courier - one had a boiler explosion and another sank in the mississippi. Larger than the big liners, and fraught with tragedy, are the trio of tankers ordered in 1956 by the Los Angeles-based union Oil Company, also known as uNOCAL.

union oil came into being in December 1889 with the union of three oil-producing companies: Hardison & stewart, sespe and Torrey Canyon. The company’s first tanker, the 1889-built W .L . Hardison, was constructed for Hardison & stewart before the merger, when annual production output amounted to 235,000 barrels of oil. sixty years and dozens of tankers later, with production at 25 million barrels annually, the company had a severe need for new, massive tankers. hisTorians Track the lineage of the

first modern oil tanker to the 1886 Gluckauf, which had a capacity of 3,000 tons of oil in a transit from the united states to the united Kingdom. The 300-ft ship had the basic three-island profile: forecastle, midships bridge and poop deck. All the machinery was aft, well separated from the cargo

oil; pumps were in a specialized compartment. Transverse bulkheads compartmentalized the cargo tanks. The crew berthed forward and the officers in the after deckhouse.

new Union oil TankersThe union oil Tankers Took Their names, Sansinena, Torrey Canyon and Lake Palourde, from famed oil fields of union Oil, two in southern California and one in Louisiana off the Gulf of mexico. sansinena is an oil field north of Los Angeles. The Torrey Canyon oil field is located in Ventura County near the coast, north of moorpark and east of Fillmore. Lake Palourde is the huge oil field in Louisiana, discovered in 1951.newPorT news shipbuilding & Dry

Dock Company would construct the three ships. Sansinena was hull #531, Torrey Canyon was #532 and Lake Palourde

by CAPT Terry Tilton

n The SS Torrey Canyon . – Courtesy of the Los Angeles Maritime Museum .


was #533. Newport News developed its skills during a long history of tanker construction dating to 1913, delivering nearly 70 before completing Sansinena. The Three-shiP conTracT was signed

on August 20, 1956, and the keels went down just over a year later, on October 7, 1957. Sansinena would be the first completed. No less than mrs. reese Taylor, wife of the union Oil chairman, sponsored the ship. The union oil shiPs would ply the

route from the Persian Gulf (mostly Kuwait) to Los Angeles. The route would normally pass through the straits of malacca, but design mandated that the tanker be Panama Canal-capable and the beam measured 104 feet. The Tanker Trio would bring oil

to California instead of exporting California oil to other states, as union

Oil had done for decades. union Oil had moved oil up and down the Pacific Coast and west to Hawaii. but the growth of California outstripped the ability of the state to fuel the entire coast. LLoyds RegisteR recorded Sansinena as a

huge ship for the era, the total displacement and gross registered tons exceeding those of any of the passenger ships of the day. At 810 feet long and 77,000 tons displacement, she was the largest ship built in the western hemisphere. Her draft measured 42 feet, and her deadweight tonnage of 65,920 made her the biggest ship under the united states flag. The sansinena’s oil-carrying capacity

exceeded that of anything previously constructed in the united states – 478,000 barrels. The standard World War II 523-ft T2 tanker carried 141,000 barrels.

Traditional Three-island designunion oil desired an aTTracTiVe shiP. The Sansinena had a typical three-island design, with a streamlined midships and after deckhouse, and a black hull with gray on the poop deck and forecastle. Above the gray, the two deckhouses were white. The stack insignia, a large “u,” predated the orange “76” symbol. aT The uPPer (Main) deck, the amidships

deckhouse didn’t extend across the entire beam, and an open passageway allowed movement fore and aft with no watertight doors. Above the upper deck was the bridge deck with mates’ and cadets’ staterooms, radio and the ship’s office. The ship’s master enjoyed a substantial suite on the upper bridge deck, with office, lounge, stateroom and

n Other than two instances of being taken hostage to pay reparations for oil spills, Lake Palourde had an uneventful 24-year career without maritime historical consequences . – Terry Tilton collection .


1890 union Oil Company of California founded with

merger of three companies: Hardison & stewart Oil Co., sespe Oil Co. and Torrey Canyon Oil Co.

1898 union’s first tanker W . L . Hardison delivered by union

Iron Works, san Francisco, California

1901 Drilled world’s greatest gusher, 20-foot diameter and

200 feet high

1902 moved oil to Hawaii by sail, the bark Fullerton

1903 Discovered paleontological skeletons at La brea in Los

Angeles during oil search

1903 union steamer Whittier improved tanker prototype,

setting tanker design for 70 years

1904 union purchased Pacific Whaling (whale oil) and

converted building to a sales base

1905 Introduced a tandem tow of oil vessels to Hawaii

1906 began use of cement to plug for oil wells

1906 Achieved success in tests of union oil over coal on

british battle fleet

1909 Invested heavily in san Pedro harbor for deepwater

access

1910 Introduced first road maps on the Pacific Coast despite no

road signs

1913 built first “modern” gas station at mateo and 6th

street in Los Angeles

1920 Pioneered use of aerial oil survey techniques

1921 began mining of shale for commercial refining

1927 Introduced ethyl gas for high compression engines – 76

octane

1928 Furnished oil for the Southern Cross first transpacific flight,

from California to Australia

1935 union began use of logo “spirit of 76” (referred to

u.s. Independence, not octane)

1951 Discovered huge oil deposit at Lake Palourde, Louisiana

1957 Gulf of mexico oil platform fire on Tiger raged for 162

days

1961 Discovered first oil field in Australia

1964 Opened first service station at a major league ballfield –

Los Angeles Dodgers

1965 Amalgamated with Pure Oil company

1966 began development of THumbs (Texaco,

Humble, union, mobile, shell) project off Long beach. Wells on man-made island resembled futuristic high-rise buildings

1967 Torrey Canyon wreck off Pollard rock, united

Kingdom, on march 18

1969 santa barbara oil spill leaves no lasting environmental

damage, but begins drilling restrictions off California coast

1969 Introduced the unleaded 90-octane gas for proposed

low-compression engines

1970 Drilled first oil well in Indonesia

1974 Drilled in North sea

1976 union tanker fleet equaled 13 owned and chartered

vessels, including VLCC Coalinga

1976 Sansinena explosion in san Pedro, California, on

December 17

1976 union boasted 14,000 retail stations in 45 states

1977 union tested self-service gas stations

1980 union operated world’s largest geothermal plant,

located Northern California

1982 Lake Palourde, last of the 1958/59 trio, was taken out

of service

Union oil History 1898-1982

n Union Oil wells, Orange County, California, in 1928 . – Photo courtesy Orange County Archives .


private bath. Adjacent, two staterooms accommodated guests. These would be considered similar to basic first-class accommodations on a smaller Atlantic liner. Above the master’s quarters, the navigation/bridge deck contained the ship’s bridge, gyro, chart and radar rooms. A streamlined mast atop the deckhouse added to the modern look. The deck house aft also had passage

along the extreme beam. Located there were the engineers and crew. The chief engineers had a suite similar to but less spacious than the master’s. both officers and crew messing flanked the galley. The officers enjoyed a separate lounge and the crew had a recreation space. Above the poop on the boat deck, aft, the crew enjoyed a rare tanker feature; a 26- by 15-ft swimming pool. The size of the ship made the pool possible, a welcome addition to the long, hot passage along the lower latitudes. The 810-ft length also made for larger accommodations, all air conditioned, for the 54-man crew. Petty officers and crew shared facilities, and officers had a private toilet/shower. recognized industrial giants provided equipment for the galley and staterooms:

Hobart galley equipment and Hotpoint range, oven, fryers and grillers. simmons manufactured all the mattresses.union oil Purchased some of the

finest navigation and safety equipment available for tanker commercial service. The engineering spaces contained a large carbon dioxide extinguishing system. The cargo tanks, boiler space, forward pump room and paint lockers had steam smothering protection. The after pump room carried a water fog system for fire extinguishing. extensive saltwater firemain piping included a general service pump, a fire pump (butterworth) and an emergency fire pump. An additional fire pump could be found on the second deck. The ship had space for general cargo forward; kingposts are readily noticeable in the ship’s photo. The elecTrical generating equipment

contained twin 1,000Kw, 450-volt generators driven by the main steam pressure. An emergency diesel generator provided power in case of boiler loss and could restart the power plant. The diesel location on the boat deck protected the engine from flooding on a lower level. There were four lifeboats, two

amidships and two aft. One of the after lifeboats, with 33-person capacity, had diesel propulsion. most important, the tanker trio boasted 12 cargo tanks, further subdivided into center, port and starboard tanks, all located on the second deck.for a MassiVe shiP, the propulsion

plant seemed anemic – just 25,000 hp, equivalent to a u.s. Navy 378-ft frigate. The big tankers were 30 times the size of the 2,600-ton, single-screw escort. Twin babcock and Wilcox boilers developed steam pressure at 850 psi and 850-degree temperature, relatively high for tankers. The ship’s builders, Newport News, constructed the turbines, and DeLaval furnished the reduction gears driving a 24-ft (claimed as the world’s largest in 1958) propeller at 106 rpm. Important for tankers, the astern turbine could develop 20,000 hp at 53 rpm. steam pressure also drove the four main cargo pumps, capable of 34,000 barrels of product per hour (145 tons) at a discharge pressure of 125 psi. The water ballast pumps were of standard horizontal design. The ballast water was delivered to #4 center tank plus #5 and #7 wing tanks. sansinena Took abouT 11 months to

n The SS Torrey Canyon . – Courtesy of the Los Angeles Maritime Museum .


construct. The keel was laid October 7, 1957, and she was launched August 7, 1958, and delivered Octber 24, 1958. In quick succession, Torrey Canyon went to union Oil on January 9, 1959, and Lake Palourde on may 25. sPonsoring The Torrey Canyon was mrs.

Arthur stewart, wife of the union Oil Vice President of executive Committee. Lake Palourde had a christening by mrs. Horace C. Flanigan, wife of the union Oil company director and mother of Peter Flannigan, president of barracuda Tankers. in a financial MoVe, the ships were

owned by barracuda Tanker and leased to union Oil. barracuda Tanker had been created to control all facilities including the actual tankers, shore installations, pipelines, filling stations, office buildings, etc. The leasing of the new tankers to union Oil was more profitable than outright ownership. The ships had a Liberian registry. This

was, and is today, common. Liberia’s monetary currency is the dollar. Companies enjoyed lower labor rates and significant tax advantages by locating crews outside of the united states. Accordingly, Liberia registered more tonnage than either the united states or Great britain. monrovia, the capital of Liberia, can be seen on the stern.

Growth in Tanker SizeThe union oil Tankers followed a standard route from the oil fields in the Arabian Gulf to Los Angeles, mooring at Pier 46 in san Pedro. There would be an occasional trip to Japan when southern California inventories were high. The growth in tanker size continued rapidly, even phenomenally, in the decade 1958 to 1968. The closure of the suez Canal in 1956

confounded the tanker market. The trip from the Gulf of suez to europe went around the Cape of Good Hope, adding an additional 4,800 miles (two weeks at 13 knots) each way. The additional time at sea generated an immediate tanker shortage and increased barrel delivery pricing. This coincided with the world

economy being on a steady upswing. by 1963, over one-half of all cargo carried on the ocean was petroleum products.

a displacement doublingauToMobiles deMand oil. iTaly had 300,000 cars at the end of World War II, but 20 years later registrations were 6 million, a twentyfold increase. In the decade after the war, the number of automobiles in Germany tripled. The industrial growth and achievements in Japan were exceeded by no other nation. Oil consumption in 1957 was 16 million tons; by 1967 it approached 120 million

tons. union Oil, with three fairly new ships, decided to jumboize Lake Palourde and Torrey Canyon, extending their length from 810 to 975 feet. in 1963, the trio made 18 trips from

Kuwait to Los Angeles, delivering 8 million barrels of oil. The two jumbo ships could deliver the same amount in just 10 trips. union Oil sent the two ships to Japan for the jumbo treatment, the Torrey Canyon to sasebo Heavy Industries and the Lake Palourde to Kure shipbuilding and engineering. The year before the Torrey Canyon lengthening, sasebo completed the Nissho Maru, a

n The SS sansinena had discharged all tanks of crude oil and was taking on ballast and fuel when she exploded . Shown here before the explosion . – Courtesy of the Los Angeles Maritime Museum .


130,000-dwt tanker, the largest ship afloat at that time. The Kure shipyard achieved worldwide acclaim as the warship builder for the Japanese Navy, including the largest-ever battleship, Yamato. The shiPs increased 165 feet in length

and 21 feet in beam. The shipyards lifted the midships deckhouse intact and replaced it after the new midsection was added. The ships could no longer go through the Panama or suez Canals. The engineering plant maintained its original specifications. surPrisingly, the now 975-ft ships lost

just a knot of transit speed. The length of the trip increased from 58 to 63 days. The original capacity of 67,000 tons jumped to 115,000 tons, 470,000 barrels to 850,000. Deadweight tonnage increased to 123,000. Not even twice as long, the rebuilt ships delivered six times as much as the T2 tankers, delivering oil to Los Angeles for less than a penny per gallon. when The new Lake Palourde entered

Los Angeles harbor on April 15, 1965, she was the largest ship to enter port. Her

maximum draft increased by 8 feet to 54 feet. Dredging work on the channel accommodated the ship, but some sections had no more than 20 inches clearance. six tugs assisted in mooring the large tanker. a MonTh laTer, Torrey Canyon grounded

in the channel, but suffered no damage or spillage. Additional dredging increased the channel clearance, but it came to less than an additional foot of depth.

Torrey Canyon, an environmental disasterTwo years afTer The siMPle grounding, Torrey Canyon met a fate that had worldwide consequences. In 1966, union Oil made the ship available to charter, and british Petroleum accepted. The charter to british Petroleum appeared complex: The ship was owned by American interests, incorporated in Liberia, doing business in bermuda, leased to union Oil, crewed by Italians, and chartered to british Petroleum, which was 49-percent owned by the

british government. Torrey Canyon began a second voyage from Kuwait to britain while under this charter.loading in february 1967 at mina al

Ahmadi, Kuwait, required 15 hours, even with the gravity flow through a 40-inch pipeline at 8,000 tons per hour. The voyage under bP charter seemed routine, and the ship passed the Canary Islands on march 14 with a scheduled arrival on march 18 at milford Haven, Wales. The master laid out a course to pass the scilly Islands on the starboard side of the ship. Four days later, on saturday, just before 7 a.m., the scilly Islands appeared on radar to the port side of the ship instead of starboard. The LOrAN system, if fully operable (and properly operated), could have given data for course adjustments enroute to the scilly Islands. The tanker remained at full speed, 16 knots, and on automatic pilot. At this point there were three choices: alter course to port and put clear the scilly Islands on the starboard side; turn sharp east and clear all the scilly Islands (including seven stones) to

n In February 1967, navigating between Scilly Islands and Seven Stones reef off the coast of the United Kingdom, Torrey Canyon struck Pollard Rock and began spilling what would amount to 20 to 30 million gallons of petroleum . – Terry Tilton collection .


port, or head between the scilly Islands and seven stones. The seVen sTones are seven pinnacles

of granite, northeast of the scilly Islands, that aren’t visible at high tide. They’re responsible for countless wrecks, and are marked by a light ship first established there in 1841. During the period 1699 to 1933, 257 wrecks were recorded, including many at seven stones. inexPlicably, the master took the

nearest route and decided to pass between st. mary’s (of the scilly Islands) and the seven stones. This should have been satisfactory since the smallest distance between the northernmost island (st. martin) and seven stones was 6.5 miles. bishoPs rock became visually apparent

at 7:45 a.m. The deck watch changed at 8 a.m. and fixed the ship’s position. remaining on the pre-established course, the master actually sent the helmsman below to look for ashtrays. At 8:18, master rugiati made the decision to come left and head between the scilly Islands and seven stones, adjusting the course. The next turn was planned for about 8:40. The ship’s position was again determined at 8:38, but by a single radar range and bearing off the round Island Lighthouse on the northern island of the scillies. The fix put the ship 6.5 miles east of the lighthouse, mid-channel approaching the proposed course change. soon the navigation picture muddled and the master sent the helmsman to the starboard wing to look out for the rocks, which weren’t visible at that time of day and year. An operational fathometer would have shown the decreasing water depth. aT 8:40, the watch took another range

and bearing, but this time off the seven stones lightship, better distinguishable than any scilly Island landmarks, fixing the ship at a distance of just 5,000 yards off the seven stones. This is a rather close margin for a ship nearly 1,000 feet long with limited backing power, and it reduced maneuverability. With the helmsman out on the lookout for invisible rocks, the master switched the wheel from automatic to manual at 8:42 and

n Torrey Canyon wreck . – Terry Tilton collection .

n Eight days after the wreck, the SS Torrey Canyon broke in half . – Courtesy of the Los Angeles Maritime Museum .


turned it himself due north. The fix at 8:48 revealed the ship to be a mere 1,000 yards from the charted Pollard rock.now They were in real trouble, and the

helmsman, inside the bridge, was ordered to come hard left, but the ship didn’t respond. The master ran to the helm and noticed that the steering selector switch was in “control” instead of “manual.” This was a disengaged position for maintenance and adjustments. At 8:49 he threw the switch to manual, and the big tanker began turning to port, when she came to a sudden stop, colliding with Pollard rock at 8:50. The graniTe riPPed open the bottom

of the ship, drawing 54 feet, and oil began to spew out, 16 miles from the most popular beach resort in england. Captain rugiati ordered full speed astern, but the tanker didn’t budge. Just one hour after sighting the scilly Islands, the Torrey Canyon began to spill 20 to 30 million gallons of petroleum. by 9:15, the boilers had extinguished and the pumps were out of commission.

TwenTy-four hours after smashing the rocks, the Torrey Canyon hull dumped oil at an uncontrollable rate; the resulting slick measured 100 square miles. The spill size and damage would eventually exceed 250 square miles. alThough salVage crews expressed

pessimism that the ship could be saved, efforts were made. Air compressors were hoisted aboard to push pressurized air into the tanks; with this and an unusually high tide they hoped to float the ship off the rock. unfortunately, the rock still penetrated 12 feet into the hull. by Monday, all the gas-driven pumps

were on line, and while the list was reduced, the increase in buoyancy was negligible. Generators, also gas-driven, were brought aboard to provide light in the flooded engine room and other primary spaces.subseQuenT eVenTs could have

predicted the later Sansinena explosion. With the combination of volatile portions in the crude oil and gasoline engine fumes, a single spark would ignite the

hydrocarbons. but for the salvage of the Torrey Canyon and her remaining oil, the risk appeared acceptable.on March 21, a thunderous explosion

rocked the ship, blowing out the skylight and destroying the swimming pool. Numerous injuries accompanied the blast, with three individuals going over the side. One of the two in the water, a Dutch salvage crewman, eventually passed away, remarkably the only death in the accident. An 18-ft hole appeared through three decks. The absolute cause of the explosion has never been recorded, and speculation abounded.The shiP’s MasTer had remained aboard

after the grounding, in a vain attempt to retain a modicum of his reputation, but departed after the explosion. He had been there to “oversee” and provide assistance during the salvage. eighT days afTer the wreck, the Torrey

Canyon broke in half, parting just aft of the forward deckhouse. It was decided to bomb the wreck, opening up remaining tanks in anticipation that a significant

n The SS Lake Palourde was named after a huge oil field in Louisiana . – Courtesy of the Los Angeles Maritime Museum .


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portion of the remaining oil would be burned off. bombs, rockets and napalm, used for three days, achieved some success. The oil caMe ashore over a 140-mile

distance, from the Lizard, east of mounts bay, to Trevose Head, north of Newquay; the high concentration between the wreck and Penzance proved virtually unconquerable.The enorMiTy of this new type of

disaster, the lack of expertise and the inadequacy of the equipment weakened the resolve of government and locals to clean the mess. The insurance payout for the ship was the highest ever paid for a casualty at sea, even exceeding the Andrea Doria-Stockholm collision. After the ship went under, Lloyds estimated her lasting value at only $50,000, the value of the remaining powered lifeboat. across The channel in France,

authorities had little initial concern. soon a sheet of oil 30 miles long and five miles wide needed attention, ultimately reaching the coast of brittany on

sunday, April 9. The residents weren’t prepared, and the 40-mph winds from the northwest made things even worse. eventually France demanded reparations from barracuda Tankers. seVeral PosT-wreck inquiries found the

master at fault. The ship had two main navigational aids operating at a reduced capability. The master’s imprudent decision to pass east of the scilly Islands was criticized. The steering gear had been improperly adjusted. A lack of situational awareness and suspect navigational pictures should have mandated a major reduction in speed. The onboard volume of Sailing Directions was long outdated. This was considered one of the most serious disasters in maritime history, the largest ship ever wrecked, and Captain rugiati was stripped of his master’s license by Liberia. Many Professional mariners felt that

the punishment didn’t reach the level of the crime. The Torrey Canyon wreck was an unbelievable display of negligence in handling the responsibilities of crew

training and ship operations. They believed that this should have resulted in a more severe punishment than loss of a license.

Lake Palourde, a Convenient HostageLake PaLouRde becaMe The VicTiM of two attempts to guarantee reparations for the oil spill damage from barracuda Tankers. On July 15, 1967, Lake Palourde was arrested in singapore. Great britain sought $8 million in damages against the $17-million value of the tanker. she was bailed out three days later. france, noting the success of britain

against barracuda Tankers, attempted to re-arrest the Lake Palourde as she left port. A bailiff could serve or attach a notice to any part of the hull as she left port, heading out after the ship in a motor launch. but the launch couldn’t reach the ship before she exited territorial waters. undeterred, on April Fool’s Day, 1968, France had her seized at rotterdam until a bond of $7.6 million had been secured.


Sansinena explodes in San Pedrosansinena, The firsT-builT of The Trio and The one neVer jumboized, suffered a tremendous explosion on December 17, 1976, in san Pedro, California. The ship had previously run aground on February 13, 1975, with no spillage. sansinena Moored at san Pedro at 12:15 a.m. on December

16, 1976, and began to offload 20 million gallons of Indonesian light crude. bunker fuel pumping commenced at 9:25 and ballasting operations began at 5:25 p.m. Preparations were made to get the ship underway that evening at 11 p.m. for The TriP to Indonesia, the ship intended to ballast 23,000

tons. As the ballasting process approached 10,000 tons, at 8:38 p.m., a thunderous explosion rocked the ship and surrounding area. The blast was heard 40 miles away, with some windows breaking in Costa mesa and 20 miles north. The MidshiPs deckhouse blew off the ship virtually intact,

landing about 200 yards away atop a guard shack. The guard’s body was never recovered. Where it landed, the pier was penetrated 30 feet. rivets from the midships belt flew at bullet speed. most reports indicate that nine people died, three were never recovered and 46 were injured.

windows on Princess Louise shattered, scaring attendees at a Christmas party. broken glass littered Gaffey street. The Sansinena’s entire midships section disintegrated. The resulting blaze took three hours to extinguish. as wiTh oTher major catastrophes, several events combined to

cause the accident. The National Transportation safety board and the Coast Guard marine Casualty report 16732/71895 delineated many findings: all pressure vacuum relief valves and tank covers were open; flame screens were well beyond their expected lifetimes; cargo vent piping was deteriorated; inspections were inadequate; and other shortcomings. The largest contributing factor was the concentration of hydrocarbons above the main deck, usually dissipated by wind but held in place by a heavy dew. The conduct of the ballasting operations was contrary to Terminal safety Guidelines, International Oil Practices and the Tanker safety Guide (Petroleum). firsT resPonders came quickly, but the fire burned out

of control. some of the Sansinena bunkering oil burned off, but 20,000 to 30,000 barrels of the heavy fuel sank and was reportedly 18 inches deep beneath the ship. The insurance PayouT was $21.6 million; the ship itself was

valued at $7.8 million.

n SS sansinena suffered a tremendous explosion with drastic consequences on December 17, 1976, while moored in the Port of Los Angeles . – Courtesy of the Los Angeles Maritime Museum .


other Union oil Tanker losses

The loss of toRRey Canyon and sansinena were noT the only union Oil tanker casualties. Losses began with their first tanker, W .L . Hardison, which burnt out at the Ventura pier in 1889 after a mate lowered a lamp

into a tank to determine oil level. Her remaining contents were sold at auction July 8, 1889. Tanker Lyman Stewart sank in 1922 after going aground off san Francisco bay following a collision. The 422-ft Montebello, built by southwestern

shipbuilding of san Pedro, became an early World War II casualty; sunk by a Japanese submarine, I-21, just two weeks after the Pearl Harbor attack. she still lies on the bottom, six miles off san simeon. Gurney E . Newlin, (built by bethlehem, sparrows Point, 1939) sank in October, 1944, struck by a torpedo fired by U606 in the North Atlantic . L .P . St . Clair, sister to the Newlin, collided with msTs Sadao Munemori in may 20, 1951 off Vancouver Island in Puget sound.

The union oil LomPoC of 1944, a standard T2 tanker of 523-ft length (built as Jordan Valley by Kaiser, Portland), and Victor H . Kelly, caught fire on July 12, 1952, while transferring crude oil at Oleum, California. The fire began on the pier, spreading to the Kelly, which sank at the pier. While Lompoc was rebuilt, the Kelly became a total loss. The 1952 santa maRia, 530 feet long, (built by bethlehem

sparrows Point), collided with a tug/tow while headed up the Columbia river to Portland on Christmas eve, 1967, and subsequently ran aground. Later Santa Maria, while delivering oil to Alaska after the massive 1964 earthquake, caught fire after a collision just one mile from the Anchorage waterfront.

The MasTer, Captain bovone, received rebuke for his lackadaisical approach to his duties, including a complete lack of crew fire drills on the trip across the Pacific Ocean. As in the Torrey Canyon disaster, the officers failed in their responsibility to the ship, crew and surrounding civilian populations. in The harbor, the oil spill containment wasn’t completely

finished until December 28, 1976. In mid-January 1977, workers used torches to separate the bow section from the wreckage and had it towed to a Terminal Island scrapyard. berTh 46 became unusable for 16 months and never

reopened to supertankers, remaining generally unused for 40 years. It remains today as an auxiliary pier for the berthing of cruise ships on days when all berths at the Los Angeles Cruise Terminal are in use.

Lake Palourde ends ServiceafTer her arresTs in 1967, Lake Palourde had an uneventful 24-year career without maritime historical consequences. she did undergo complete mechanical alterations as a result of lessons learned from the Sansinena. barracuda Tankers steamed the ship until 1982, idling her in Portland, Oregon, until 1984, when she was towed to Taiwan and scrapped.union oil, in the meantime, had bought the Coalinga, which

carried nearly three times as much oil as Lake Palourde. The company used the Coalinga and chartered tankers to transport oil, and the notorious reputation of its earlier trio of tankers is left to history.

n SS sansinena wreck . – Terry Tilton collection .

n SS Lyman stewart, wrecked off Lands End, San Francisco, California, October 7, 1922 . – San Francisco Maritime Museum photo .

n SS montebello was an early World War II casualty, sunk by a Japanese submarine . – City of Vancouver Archives .

About the Author Captain terry tilton, USn, ret., SSHSA board member, a ship enthusiast for 50 years, has deck and engineering experience on steam, diesel, nuclear and gas turbine ships. A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, he has been underway on 200 ships and commanded the USS Peoria during Operation Desert Storm. He and his wife, Mary Pat, reside in San Diego, California.


Marine Propulsion TO THe mODerN erA


Marine Propulsion – Modern Marine Engines

Marine ProPulsion, The means of making a ship move, has become an increasingly complex segment of the maritime industry over the years as more power is squeezed from less fuel, and new environmental regulations impact acceptable engine exhaust emissions. The size and power output of

the largest marine diesels have also continued to increase, with Germany’s mAN energy solutions having developed the mAN b&W 14K98me-C7 engine, which can generate 115,000 bHP (84,280 kW) at 104 rpm, making it the most powerful marine engine to date. Like most modern marine diesels, the mAN b&W engine is considered more environmentally friendly than its predecessors in that electronic control of fuel injection and exhaust valves are used to provide lower fuel consumption and lower cylinder-oil consumption while improving emission characteristics. even cleaner is the 12X92DF engine developed by WinGD, a dual-fuel powerplant rated at 63,840 kW that can burn LNG and traditional marine fuels. However, the dry weight of these massive engines is between 2,100 tons and 2,200 tons, and their fuel requirements are tremendous. A 108,920 bHP 14-cylinder rTA96-C engine burns about 13.75 tonnes of fuel per hour or 330 tonnes per 24-hour period at a cost of $375 per tonne (if bunkered in singapore).

Marine Propulsion Through the YearsThe hisTory of Mechanical Marine ProPulsion, following centuries of reliance on sail, is relatively short. In the late 1700s, both John Fitch and James rumsey in the united states came up with designs for rudimentary steam propulsion devices based on James Watt’s steam engine of 1769. rumsey tested a small craft on the Potomac river in 1786, while Fitch followed with a larger 45-ft boat on the Delaware river in 1787. Neither was a commercial success, and it was left to robert Fulton to introduce his North River Steamboat on the Hudson river in 1807, the first commercially successful steamer. This progress was matched in europe by William symington’s towboat Charlotte Dundas on the Forth and Clyde Canal in 1802, followed by Henry bell’s passenger-carrying Comet of 1912 on the river Clyde.by 1819, the steam- and sail-powered City of Savannah was

able to make a steam-assisted crossing of the Atlantic (see

by Jim Shaw

n The wooden-hulled 56-ft by 18-ft Charlotte Dundas was completed at Grangemouth, Scotland, in 1802 and used a horizontal steam engine to move a rod and crank that turned a large paddle wheel mounted in a central upstand in the hull . – National Maritime Museum .

Marine Propulsion TO THe mODerN erA


PowerShips No. 309), followed by steam-only Cape Breton in 1833 and steamers City of Kingston, Sirius and Great Western in semi-regular service by 1838. Within another year, John ericsson had invented the first propulsion system based on the screw propeller, and the modern steam turbine was invented in 1884 by Charles Parsons, a gentleman who dramatically unveiled his new idea at the 1897 spithead naval review in england with his “speedboat” Turbinia. rudolph Diesel was inventing his “diesel” engine at the same time, the first practical operating model of which was displayed in the same year that Turbinia made its famous run.

The DieselalThough coal-Powered sTeaMers ended The age of sail in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the steam turbine and diesel engine would close the world’s final coaling stations for these early steamers by the mid-1950s.The firsT diesel engines to be placed in a ship’s hull were

three 3-cylinder engines mounted aboard the 244-ft long Vandal in 1903. This electro-mechanical arrangement made Vandal, a shallow-draft russian petroleum tanker, the world’s first motor vessel and the world’s first diesel-electric-powered ship. Within a year, sautter-Harle of Paris, which had been

granted a license by Diesel, built the first opposed-piston, reversing diesel, a four-stroke model developing 25.5 HP. This engine was installed in the 124.5-foot-long canal boat Petit Pierre, a trendsetting vessel that also boasted a variable-pitch propeller.larger Versions of the sautter-Harle diesel were then

installed in several French submarines, a military application that may have played a part in rudolph Diesel’s mysterious death. He disappeared from the cross-channel ferry Dresden in 1913, his body found floating a few days later by the Coast Guard. Ironically, only the year before, Denmark’s burmeister & Wain had delivered the Selandia to the Danish east Asiatic Company as one of the world’s first ocean-going motor ships.

Two-Stroke & Four-StrokeseLandia, a MarVel of her TiMe, was To sPark a reVoluTion in shipping and ship design, despite the lack of a proper funnel. she was powered by two four-stroke, reversible diesel engines developing 1,250 HP each at 140 rpm. Within months of Selandia’s introduction, another diesel-powered ship was completed - Hamburg sud’s 3,693gt Monte Penedo, the first vessel to be powered by two-stroke diesels. Her twin sulzer-built engines developed a combined 1,675HP at 160 rpm.

n Completed in 1894, the 104-ft by 8.5-ft coal-fired Turbinia was the world’s first steam turbine ship and also the world’s fastest vessel built to that date, with a speed of 34 .5 knots . Demonstrated at Spithead in 1897, the boat was retired in 1908 but reconstructed in the 1980s and is now on display at the Newcastle Museum of Science and Engineering in Great Britain . – Newcastle Museum of Science and Engineering photo .


A Modern Marine Diesel Engine

Modern Marine diesel engines are noT Too Much differenT froM whaT you would find in a coMMercial Truck running down the highway except in size and weight. The principle is the same, but there are some differences. marine diesels are designed to add cylinders to meet horsepower needs, and the larger engines use a crosshead to eliminate sideways pressure on the piston while it’s moving in the cylinder. The biggest engines are also large enough to be entered

for maintenance and inspection needs, and most use pistons capable of receiving injected oil for cooling purposes along with changeable cylinder liners. The photos here record the components and construction of a Wärtsilä-sulzer (now WinGD) rTA96-C diesel engine designed to propel a large container ship at better than 22 knots. (all photos courtesy of Wärtsilä)

n Installing the 16-inch-wide thin-shell bearings that will support a Wärtsilä-Sulzer RTA96-C turbocharged two-stroke engine’s 300-ton crankshaft .

n Fitting of the crankshaft in the gondola-style bedplate of a 10-cylinder Wärtsilä-Sulzer RTA96-C . The geared turning wheel at the end will mesh with the turning gear to allow rotation of the engine to any desired degree position . Note that the space for each crank throw also incorporates inspection ladders (white rungs) .

n The piston and piston rod assembly of a large two-stroke crosshead type engine . The large square “foot” at the bottom of the rod will be bolted to the top of the crosshead pin, which will ride in lubricated “slippers” or guides and connect the piston rod to the crankshaft connecting rod, thus removing sideways thrust from the cylinder bore .

n Piston rods for a Wärtsilä-Sulzer RTA96-C engine await assembly . They carry “spikes” on the top that are actually hollow tubes that will fit into holes in the bottom of the pistons and will inject oil into the pistons to help keep them from overheating .

n Pistons for a Wärtsilä-Sulzer RTA96-C engine await assembly, the bottoms showing the holes where the oil-injecting “spikes” of the piston rods will fit.

n The cylinder deck of a 10-cylinder Wärtsilä-Sulzer RTA96-C engine receiving its ductile cast-iron cylinder liners prior to the fitting of the cylinder heads .


The deVeloPMenT of these large, commercially viable engines had been preceded by another sulzer-built diesel installed in the small cargo vessel Venoge in 1904 - an engine that had to be stopped and then restarted to operate the ship in reverse. This problem was overcome a year later when the first two-stroke, direct reversible engine was built by sulzer, a four-cylinder unit producing 88.5 HP. The use of four-stroke and two-stroke engines, the power stroke taking place on every two revolutions of the crankshaft on the four-stroke model and every revolution of the crankshaft on the two-stroke model, continues down to this day, with the largest marine diesels normally being two-stroke and the smaller and faster engines normally four-stroke.

Modern DieselsalThough high-sPeed, four-sTroke diesel engines caPable of operating at 1,200 rpm and above are available on the market, they seldom see marine applications outside of the workboat, fishing and yachting sectors. much more common on large ships are medium-speed diesels operating at approximately 300 to 1,200 rpm, which are the main drivers of electrical generating sets and prime movers for large tugs, river boats and coastal vessels. The very largest engines in this category, capable of providing more than 30,000 HP (22,400 kW), are used to power ships, such as ferries and ro-ros, in which the vessel’s internal configuration would make use of tall two-stroke, low-speed crosshead engines difficult.The laTTer PowerPlanT has come to be the engine of

choice for most large commercial ships because of its power

and fuel economy. These engines, which can stand over 50ft tall and weigh more than 2,000 tons, have power outputs of more than 107,000 HP (80mW) and can operate in a range of approximately 60 rpm to 120 rpm. This low speed eliminates the need for gearing to the propeller, which higher-speed engines require, and the big diesels can also burn the cheapest fuel available, Heavy Fuel Oil or bunker C (No.6), although this requires a heated delivery system because of the oil’s high viscosity. Its use is restricted for environmental reasons unless an exhaust gas cleaning system is employed to remove contaminates. In today’s marine market, most of these large engines are built under license through mAN energy solutions, a subsidiary of the German mAN AG group that acquired burmeister & Wain (b&W) in 1980, and Winterthur Gas & Diesel Ltd, once known as sulzer and broken away from Finland’s Wärtsilä group several years ago.

World’s Most Powerful Marine Dieselin coMPeTiTion wiTh The new Man b&w 115,000 bhP engine is the 14-cylinder Wärtsilä rT-flex96C turbocharged two-stroke engine, which is capable of delivering 108,920 HP. This powerplant, used in some of the world’s largest container ships, including maersk Line’s 157,000-dwt Emma Maersk class,

n Although often noted as the world’s first large ocean-going motorship, the 1912-built sealandia, seen here berthing at Vancouver, British Columbia, in the 1930s, was actually preceded by the 1910-built tanker Vulcanus, which made use of a 6-cylinder Werkspoor diesel developing 450 bhp . – Frost Collection .


features a cylinder bore of 96cm (about 38 inches) and a stroke of 250cm (a little over 98 inches), with each of the 14 cylinders displacing 1,820 liters (111,143 cubic inches) and producing 7,780 horsepower. Full displacement of the powerplant, which is nearly 90 feet long, weighs over 2,100 tons and stands five stories high, is 1,556,002 cubic inches. Fuel consumption at maximum power setting is 0.278 lbs per hp per hour (brake specific Fuel Consumption or bsFC), while consumption at maximum economy is 0.260 lbs/hp/hour. At maximum economy, the engine exceeds 50 percent thermal efficiency, meaning that more than 50 percent of the energy in the fuel is converted to motion. This compares to most automotive engines that have bsFC figures in the 0.40-0.60 lbs/hp/hr range and a thermal efficiency of about 25 to 30 percent. even at its most efficient power setting, however, the big Wärtsilä engine consumes considerable fuel, using 270 to 330 tonnes per 24-hour period.

Short & Long Strokelike MosT Modern Marine diesels, The wärTsilä rT-flex96 engine has been developed with such parts commonality that it can be delivered in a number of cylinder variations, all using the same cylinder bore and basic engine bedplate. This holds true for Wärtsilä’s smaller rT82 engines, which feature an 82cm (32.3 inch) cylinder bore, with the C version of this powerplant featuring a stroke of 2,646 mm (104 inches). The T version has a longer stoke of 3,375 mm (133 inches). The short-

n Most ocean-going coal-fired ships were retired by the mid-1950s, but a few museum pieces still remain, including the 1953-built badger, considered the last large coal-burning steamship still operating in the United States . – Lake Michigan Carferry Service photo .

VisitUSCGC INGHAM (WHEC-35) 1936-1988

National Historic Landmark & National Memorial to Coast Guardsmen who lost their lives in combat from WWII through Viet Nam.

• Awarded two Naval Presidential Unit Citations for her service during Vietnam.

• Credited with sinking U-Boat 626 during convoy duty in the North Atlantic

• Served in Atlantic, Mediterranean and Philippine Theaters and Command Ship for the amphibious landings for General MacArthur’s return to Corregidor.

Don’t miss the opportunity to tour this ship and learn about its remarkable history.

INGHAM is located in Key West on the Truman Waterfront Park.

You Can Visit …You Can Help The foundation seeks donations to continue restoration of this important vessel. Please send your tax-deductible contributions to:

USCGC INGHAM Memorial MuseumP.0. Box 186, Key West, Florida 33041 • Phone: (305)-395-9554

www.uscgcingham.org

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n Big enough to propel a loaded product tanker of approximately 50,000-dwt at a service speed of 15 knots, this B&W 6S50 six-cylinder engine develops 10,480 bhp at 122 .6 RPM while having a daily fuel consumption of just over 31 metric tons . – NASSCO photo .


stroke model, available in six- to 12-cylinder versions, can cover a power range of 21,720 kW to 54,240 kW at 87rev/min to 102 rev/min, making it a good choice for Panamax-size container ships that require a service speed of around 24 knots. The long-stroke engine, which can be built in six- to nine-cylinder models covering a power output range of 21,720 kW to 40,680 kW at 68 rev/min to 80 rev/min, is designed for shaft speeds required by large tankers in the 200,000dwt to 350,000dwt class. A step below this engine is the rT50 series, also available in multiple cylinder versions, which features power ranges from 5,800 kW to 13,280 kW and is well-suited to the needs of bulk carriers in the Handymax to Panamax size range, as well as product tankers and smaller container ships.

Smokeless EnginesThe wärTsilä rT-flex series engines rePresenT a MoVe towards providing smokeless engine operation at all ship speeds, a feature that is now much in demand because of tightening environmental regulations. exhaust stack emissions are the most notable feature of ship pollution as seen by the general public. The development of the sulzer rT-flex system, which incorporates common-rail fuel injection, along with integral electronic control, began in 1993 and was first applied to a full-scale research engine

in 1998. The first series-built engine, a sulzer 6rT-flex58T-b of 11,275 kW (15,120 HP), was installed in the self-discharging bulk carrier Gypsum Centennial in 2001.The “coMMon rail,” long used in smaller diesels, is actually a

tube that can carry fuel under very high pressure (up to 2,000 bar) to computer-controlled injector valves. It does away with the older distributor-type injection pump and several other mechanical components. superior combustion performance is achieved by maintaining the fuel injection pressure at the optimum level across the engine speed range. In addition, a selective shutoff of single injectors and optimized exhaust valve timing is available to help keep smoke emissions below the visible limit, even at very low engine speeds. Valve actuation is also electronically controlled, doing away with the need for a mechanical camshaft and gear.mAN b&W and other diesel manufacturers have similar

systems, but the trade-off in these more environmentally friendly engines is in engine construction cost and the more sophisticated maintenance requirements.

n The 14-cylinder Wärtsilä RT-flex96C turbocharged two-stroke engine, which is capable of delivering 108,920 hp, is able to propel a fully loaded 170,800-gt container ship at a speed of better than 25 knots . – Wärtsilä/WinGD photo .

n The cruise ship Athini laid up in Eleusis Bay on July 16, 1986 . – Peter J . Fitzpatrick photo .


More Fuel Economy - Less Air Pollutionin The conTinuing deVeloPMenT of The Marine diesel, two goals now reign supreme: better fuel economy and less air pollution. space utilization is also a factor, with shipowners wanting minimal interference with revenue-earning spaces and higher-horsepower engines that can be used to replace older engines without enlarging the original machinery space. This is seeing more compact diesels developed, as well as a move by more owners towards electro-mechanical propulsion. This uses diesel/generating sets placed almost anywhere in the ship that are connected to the motorized propulsion units, such as Azipods, by electrical cables. such a system, using four Wartsila 16V46 common rail diesels, each with a maximum continuous output of 22,840 bhp (16,800 kW) at 514 rev/min, is used to power the Queen Mary 2 in conjunction with two Ge Lm2500 gas turbine-generator sets and mermaid propulsion pods. This combined diesel and gas turbine, or CODAG system, provides a total of 157,000hp and a top speed of better than 30 knots.

The IMo 2020 Mandatelooking Toward a cleaner fuTure, The inTernaTional maritime Organization (ImO) instituted new regulations limiting the sulfur content of bunker fuel to 0.5 percent at the start of this year, a reduction of over 80 percent from previous levels. This is part of the organization’s commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, particularly CO2, in the world’s merchant fleet by at least 50 percent over the next three decades when compared to 2008 baseline figures. most commercial ships have been burning Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) since the 1960s because it is the cheapest fuel on the market, with around 180 million tonnes consumed annually at a price of around $350 per tonne. However, its use in certain areas has been limited over the past decade following the establishment of emission Control Areas (eCAs) in North America, Northern europe, Antarctica and, to a certain extent, the Arctic. To meet the eCA regulations, and more recent ImO mandates, ship operators have been following three basic paths: switching to low-sulphur fuel but at a higher cost (roughly $200 more than HFO per ton); continuing to use high-sulphur fuel but installing “scrubbers” to clean the exhaust; or using a cleaner alternative fuel, such as liquefied natural gas (LNG), which requires engine modifications and the installation of large cryogenic fuel tanks.

n Cunard’s Queen mary 2 is powered by four Wärtsilä diesel engines, supplemented by two GE LM2500 gas turbines, with a total output of 118 MW and powering four 20-MW Mermaid-podded propulsion units, two fixed and two azimuthing, with each pod incorporating an electric AC motor that directly drives a fixed-pitch propeller. – Cunard photo.


Alternative Energy Sourcesa nuMber of auxiliary ProPulsion and fuel-saVing deVices - such as Flettner rotors, fuel cells, solar cells, batteries, kites and sails - are also being employed to cut down on fuel use and emissions. In addition, several companies have been testing the potential use of such “clean” fuels as alcohol, biomethane, hydrogen and ammonia. The ImO’s energy efficiency Design Index (eeDI), which indicates the energy efficiency of a ship in terms of CO2 per tonne-mile at a specific draft and speed, is requiring ships completed since 2015 to achieve certain efficiency targets. A similar indexing method, eeXI, is now being examined for older vessels.beyond hardware, ship operators are also looking at

operational refinements, including slow-speed steaming and the possibility of limiting the maximum main engine power of each type of vessel. Lloyd’s register has even suggested that nuclear power be reconsidered, as it is a “zero-emission” solution that does not emit any sOx, NOx, CO2 or particulates. The London-based classification society notes that nuclear energy is millions of times more power-dense than fossil fuels and all other alternative fuel options being considered, and is the only “proven solution” currently available that is capable of replacing fossil fuels in almost all marine applications. According to Lloyds, there have been around 700 nuclear reactors operational at sea since the mid-1950s, and about 100 are in operation today, largely in naval vessels.

n The world’s only operating nuclear-powered commercial vessel, Russia’s 38,226-gt sevmorput, was returned to service in 2016 to carry supplies and material across the Northern Sea Route . – Rosatom photo .

About the Author sshsa MeMber JiM shaw, Powerships’ West Coast Regional Editor, obtained his U .S . Merchant Mariner’s Document in 1966 and has been writing about ships internationally since 1976 . A former diesel mechanic, he maintains a strong interest in all engines, from the smallest Cummins to the largest MAN B&W, and all horsepower ratings in between .

Railway & Locomotive Historical Society1/4 Page Square CMYKSSHSA PowerShips Spring 2019

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NASA’s Moonship Fleet by Eric Pearson


asa’s Manned sPace flighT Network provided tracking, telemetry and communications with manned spacecraft, starting with Project mercury and continuing with the Gemini, Apollo and skylab programs.

The network during the Apollo program consisted of land stations in the united states and six foreign countries, as well as five modified instrumentation ships. missions prior to Apollo employed instrumentation ships focusing on spacecraft in low earth orbit, but Apollo required support for deep-space missions. It was necessary that the Apollo instrumentation ships, also called moonships, have the same equipment as the ground network stations and be closely integrated into network operations. Apollo Ship Acquisition & Procurement in The early 1960s, nasa and The deParTMenT of defense did a study to see whether the instrumentation ships that were being used for the Atlantic missile range could support Apollo. The DOD concluded that the existing ships could meet NAsA’s needs, but their assumptions were based on an incomplete knowledge of the requirements. NAsA Deputy Administrator Dr. robert seamens pushed back in a letter to the DOD dated January 21, 1963, arguing that the space agency needed ships equipped with improved traffic communication lines and larger dish antennas that could track and communicate with spacecraft at lunar distances out of radar range. None of the instrumentation ships at the time had these capabilities. A special committee with representatives from NAsA, the Air Force and the Navy was formed to study the problem, and after much discussion it was agreed to augment the instrumentation fleet with the addition of three converted ships (named the 19-class ships) and the upgrading of two existing ships (named the 6-class ships). All were World War II-era vessels. The DOD would have custody of and accountability for all of the instrumentation ships in the national inventory, but support for the Apollo program was a top priority. The Congressional budget for fiscal years 1964 and 1965 included $121.7 million for the Apollo ship program, which included the acquisition of three ships (from existing T-2 tanker hulls) and the modification of two existing Victory-class instrumentation ships. This would bring the total instrumentation fleet for use by NAsA and the DOD to 12 ships. Congress readily approved the spending because time was critical in order to place Americans on the moon before the end of the decade. NAsA historian robert Launius noted that “the expenses were all about the Cold War, there’s no other way to explain it otherwise ... Nothing else could open up the treasury for that kind of expenditure [for the Apollo program].”1

The naVy esTablished the Instrumentation ship Project Office, where they would be in charge, with the usAF and NAsA as deputies. General Dynamics was selected as the prime contractor to modify the ships. The Navy originally named the 19-class ships after cities with no connection to the space program, until NAsA engineer earl Hilburn suggested using the names from the agency’s first space projects. The Navy agreed and the names were changed.

The 19-Class ShipsThe Three 19-class shiPs were The usns VanguaRd, usns Redstone, and the usNs Mercury. They were World War II T-2 tankers modified to accommodate instrumentation systems, support equipment, storage and personnel. This included adding a 72-ft midsection to accommodate the high-tech equipment. They carried “325 tons of instrumentation, enough electronic hardware to fill a football field.”2

The TeleMeTry sysTeMs were able to handle hundreds of channels of information, including data on both the spacecrafts’ performance and the astronauts’ health. The onboard

n The mission san Fernando under tow entering the Quincy, Massachusetts, shipyard for conversion to a Missile Range Instrumentation Ship . – U .S . Air Force photo from Patrick AFB archives .

n mission san Fernando in dry dock at Quincy . Her bow section was separated for construction of a new mid-section . – U .S . Air Force photo from Patrick AFB archives .


computers compensated for the ships’ motions by providing pointing and aiming data for the radar antennas. The navigation system could track stars by day or night and could read maps of the ocean floor. each of the 19-class ships carried a crew of “17 officers, 71 crew members, and 122 technical personnel including the NAsA Flight Controllers.”3 The vessels were all sister ships built by marine ship Corporation in sausalito, California, and were of the mission buenaventura class of fleet oilers (Type T2-se-A2) built for the Navy during World War II. All three ships (ss Mission San Fernando, ss Mission De Pala and ss Mission San Juan) were named after spanish missions along California’s el Camino real.The ss mission san FeRnando was launched on November

25, 1943. she delivered fuel in the Pacific, for which she was awarded the battle efficiency Award twice and the National Defense service medal. she was chartered by union Oil after the war and transferred to the msTs as the usNs Mission San Fernando until 1955, when she was laid up in in the Olympia, Washington, reserve fleet. Her conversion as an instrumentation tracking ship began on september 28, 1964, at the General Dynamics shipbuilding Division in Quincy, massachusetts, and she was completed as the usNs Muscle Shoals until she was renamed in February 1966 as the usNs Vanguard (T-AGm-19). The “T-AGm” acronym stood for missile range instrumentation ships that tracked rockets beyond the range of shore-based tracking facilities.

The ss mission de PaLa was launched on February 28, 1944, and also delivered fuel in the Pacific during World War II. she was laid up in the mobile, Alabama, reserve fleet after the war and briefly activated by the Navy as the usNs Mission De Pala (TAO114), after which she was placed in the Orange, Texas, reserve fleet. she was reinstated with the msTs, carrying fuel during the Korean War, and laid up in the James river, Virginia, reserve fleet in 1955. she was activated by the Navy for charter with marine Transport Lines until 1958, when she was situated again in the Orange, Texas, reserve fleet. she was reacquired by the Navy on september 19, 1964, for modification by General Dynamics and named the Johnstown until she was renamed Redstone after her

Existing T-2 Tanker

Modified Instrumentation Ship

n T-AGM-19 Class Hull Modification . – From NASA Handbook for Apollo Instrumentation Ships manual .

n USNS redstone (T-AGM-20) under way at Pearl Harbor, circa 1966-68 . – U .S . Navy photo .


transformation was complete on september 1, 1965.The ss mission san Juan was launched on October 14, 1943,

and supplied fuel overseas while under charter to the Deconhill shipping Company. she was laid up in the mobile, Alabama, reserve fleet after the war and acquired by the Navy in 1947. she was transferred to the msTs as the usNs Mission San Juan (T-AO-126) during the Korean War, after which she was laid up in the beaumont, Texas, reserve fleet. On October 28, 1964, she was transferred to General Dynamics for instrumentation ship conversion and named the usNs Flagstaff. she was renamed the usNs Mercury (T-AGm-21) after her transformation on september 16, 1965, and began transferring communications between Gemini astronauts and Cape Kennedy. she returned to Quincy in 1967 to have upgraded satellite terminals installed for the Apollo program.

The 6-Class ShipsThe Two 6-class shiPs were The usns WateRtoWn (T-AGm-6) and the usNs Huntsville (T-AGm-7). These were modified World War II Victory ships that supported the Apollo flights on reentry. each of the ships during an Apollo mission had “14 officers, 56 crewmen, and 72 technical personnel including the NAsA Flight Controllers.”4 The 6-class ships were outfitted for $20 million apiece.The WateRtoWn was originally the Victory ship ss Niantic

Victory, built by the Oregon shipbuilding Corporation in Portland, Oregon, and launched on April 25, 1944. she sailed

for the American-Hawaiian steamship Line beginning in 1944, supplying cargo in the Pacific. From November 1946 until 1948, the Waterman steamship Company operated the ship under the marshall Plan, after which she was laid up in the Wilmington, North Carolina, reserve fleet. she was chartered in 1950 by the union sulphur and Oil Company to supply cargo during the Korean War. The Pope and Talbot steamship Company controlled the ship from 1955 until the Isbrandtsen Company took her over in 1956. In 1958 she was laid up in the suisun bay, benecia, California, reserve fleet. In August 1960 she was converted to an instrumentation ship by the Navy and renamed usNs Watertown (T-AGm-6). she served NAsA and the Air Force as a mobile communications platform in the Pacific, recording data from missiles, satellites and manned spacecraft.The HuntsViLLe was built by Oregon shipbuilding

Corporation and launched on April 13, 1945, as the ss Knox Victory and chartered by the Olympic steamship Company. In 1958, she was laid up at the Olympia, Washington, reserve fleet until 1960, when she was renamed usNs Huntsville (T-AGm-7) after being converted to an instrumentation ship. she supported special projects in the Pacific until 1965, when she had additional modifications made at the Avondale shipyards in Westwego, Louisiana, which were completed in October 1966. The Huntsville and Watertown were both originally used to support the mercury space program in 1962 and modified later to support the Apollo program.

n USNS Watertown (T-AGM-6) at sea, March 27, 1962 . – U .S . Naval History and Heritage Command photo .


Supporting the Apollo Space MissionshoMe PorTs for The MoonshiPs were PorT canaVeral, Florida, and Port Hueneme, California. The food aboard was considered very good, and the ships visited exotic ports of call, such as Honolulu, bermuda, Pago-Pago and Naha, Japan. The marine crews were msTs personnel, while the technical crews were DOD contractors. International Telephone and Telegraph Corporation’s service associate, Federal electric Corporation, was awarded a $2 million contract to provide technical contractor personnel who maintained the electronic equipment aboard the moonships. The flight controllers were all NAsA personnel, and their specific missions determined the lengths of their assignments, usually five weeks. separate quarters were provided for the officers and crew, technical personnel and flight controllers. The personnel onboard became like family despite their diverse work backgrounds. Three brothers on the Vanguard (Nicolas, Leonard and Vince Arends) were Navy veterans and employed by the bendix Corporation to serve together to monitor the ship’s navigation and communications system. all of The shiPs were air conditioned in the manned and

instrumented spaces, and equipped with fresh water-distilling equipment, stabilization systems to decrease rolling, emergency generators, internal communication systems, and cooling systems for electronic equipment. An Apollo ships Operational

readiness Force was created to insure that the moonships were always ready to support the mission. each ship had an AsOrF project officer onboard who took corrective action for any problems and was on call 24/7 once the mission began. The 19-class and 6-class ships all had Operations Control

Centers that coordinated the onboard instrumentation systems, providing single-point control reporting with the National range Network. This included trajectory data displayed on plotting boards and height recorders displaying a target’s position in Cartesian coordinates, which were determined by a computer from radar data or orbital parameters. in addiTion To The occs, the 19-class ships had mission

Control Centers, which monitored shipboard instrumentation status, spacecraft data and any communication between the NAsA Network and the spacecraft. Flight controllers manned consoles in the mCC for Command Communications, Vehicle monitoring, maintenance and Operations, Aeromedical monitoring, and Flight Dynamics. The flight controller in charge of Command Communications (also known as the command communicator) determined the status of the spacecraft and astronauts and forwarded all flight data to the network. The command communicator received instructions from the network and, in the event of a communication links failure, was responsible “for choosing and initiating the spacecraft commands necessary for the success of the mission and the well-being of the astronauts.”5

n 19-Class Operations Control Center . – From NASA Handbook for Apollo Instrumentation Ships manual .


The early unManned Apollo missions, which started in 1961, were designed to test the capabilities of the saturn rocket boosters, the spacecraft and the communications network. There were several communication ships that supported these early flights, such as the usNs Rose Knot, usNs Coastal Sentry and usNs Wheeling, before the upgraded moonships became available. The Rose Knot and Coastal Sentry were built as C1-m-AV1-class cargo ships and the Wheeling as a VC2-s-AP3-class (Victory) cargo ship. Their participation in NAsA’s race to the moon ended before the Apollo 6 unmanned mission. The aPollo 4 sPacecrafT was launched on November 9,

1967, and was supported by the Vanguard as a tracking and communication platform in the mid-Atlantic. The Redstone and Watertown made their initial appearances in January 1968 supporting the Apollo 5 mission, with the Redstone stationed in the Atlantic and the Watertown in the Pacific. They duplicated their roles during Apollo 6, which was launched in April 1968. The 19-class ships played a significant role in tracking the Apollo 7 mission, which was the first flight to carry a crew into space after the 1967 Apollo 1 fire that killed three astronauts. The Vanguard was stationed near the bahamas, about 1,000 miles from Cape Kennedy, to assist the spacecraft’s orbital insertion, while the Redstone was positioned in the Pacific, about 3,000 miles south of Vandenberg Air Force base in California. The Mercury was situated 180 miles east of Formosa in the Pacific. all of The shiPs were in voice communication with the

astronauts and controlled data to and from the spacecraft whenever its path was in range. The data included pressure and temperature readings inside the capsule, its position in space and the astronauts’ respiration, heart beats and temperature. This information was received and sent with the assistance of satellite communication systems that included the moonships’

n 6-Class Operations Control Center . – From NASA Handbook for Apollo Instrumentation Ships manual .

n 19-Class Mission Control Center . – From NASA Handbook for Apollo Instrumentation Ships manual .


30-ft dish antennas that communicated with the NAsA network. The 6-class Huntsville was stationed approximately 1,200 miles west of Los Angeles and was used to cover the “de-orbit burn phase of re-entry” as well as “unified s-band telemetry receive and record and astronaut-ground voice remoting.”6

The aPollo 8 Mission, launched on December 21, 1968, was the first mission to take astronauts in an orbital mission around the moon and the first to use the three-stage saturn V rocket. The Christmas eve flight around the moon established the critical role that the moonships played in tracking the spacecraft up to 11,000 miles away from earth, filling in the monitoring blanks before one of the three powerful land stations took over to follow the flight to the moon and back. These land stations (located in barstow, California; madrid, spain; and Canberra, Australia) were part of the Deep space Network, which could communicate with the spacecraft. The Vanguard confirmed that Apollo 8 had reached the correct velocity and elevation into an earth orbit. The Mercury, stationed in the Pacific, provided information on the spacecraft’s translunar injection burn that sent the astronauts to the moon. NAsA’s public affairs officer in Houston stated, “This is Apollo Control, 2 hours and 42 minutes into the flight ... We are now waiting, which we should have in about 2 minutes, [for communications] through the good ship Mercury. It is entirely appropriate that the ship Mercury should be the relay point for this historic burn, which is planned

for in about 6 minutes. Flight director has just advised we should stand by to receive Mercury data and that’s precisely what we are doing.”7 several minutes later, Apollo Control confirmed that data received from the Mercury looked good to send the spacecraft to the moon. The Redstone and Huntsville provided

reentry support when Apollo 8 returned from orbiting the moon. NAsA’s mission control stated: “recoVery is adVising the flight director

of their good status and has good weather out there. They [moonships] are on station. The route of flight, in case you are not looking at a map, will be over northeast China, Peking, and over Tokyo, then we start a southeasterly slant. The ship Redstone is parked at 24 degrees north, 169 degrees

east. The next listening point will be the ship Huntsville, tracking the ship 172 west, 12 degrees north, and the landing point just a few hundred miles southeast of there at 165 west, approximately 8 north.”8 Mission conTrol reported a short

time later, “Now one of the range ships is reporting a radar contact. The first communication was extremely broken up, but the two words that did come through were ‘looking good.’ Another one of the flight controllers here in the control center heard the crew mention, something like ‘a real fire ball.’ We estimate here we are about one minute to drogue deploy.”9

aPollo 9 was another step forward to qualify the lunar module for lunar orbital operations. NAsA’s tracking ships “collected five tons of data during the ten-day mission, which is equivalent to the data collected from approximately 100 ballistic launches supported by the Air Force Western Test range.”10 The spacecraft was launched on march 13, 1969, and utilized the Redstone, Huntsville and Mercury in the Pacific, while the Vanguard was stationed in the Atlantic to serve primarily as a tracking ship before being moved to serve as a backup recovery ship. The primary objectives of the mission were to demonstrate the rendezvous and docking procedures and simulate the events for a lunar landing

n Apollo Tracking Ship USNS Vanguard (T-AGM-19.) – U .S . Navy photo .


mission. The spacecraft was launched on may 26, 1969, with the Redstone, Huntsville, and Mercury still positioned in the Pacific and the Vanguard in the Atlantic in her dual role of tracking and recovery ship.The VanguaRd played a vital role in

the historic Apollo 11 moon landing by “guiding the insertion of the spacecraft into its parking orbit 100 miles above the Atlantic. Had the mission been aborted during the insertion phase, the Vanguard would have issued the abort command to the astronauts and monitored the spacecraft’s descent trajectory.”11 The moonships were needed since the insertion phase could have taken place anywhere over the Atlantic, Indian or Pacific Oceans. The Mercury was positioned between the Australian and Hawaiian land stations, while the Redstone was stationed in the Pacific near the equator. All three ships relayed a constant flow of data to Houston mission Control while Apollo 11 was in earth orbit. NAsA used this information to fire the saturn 4b rocket that would put the spacecraft into a translunar trajectory. Data on the spacecraft from the ships “was relayed to Houston over several communications systems that included code and high-speed computer data transmissions that decoded and analyzed pulsed telemetry signals.”12 NAsA released the Redstone, Mercury and Huntsville after the Apollo 11 mission, keeping the Vanguard on station in the Atlantic for the remaining Apollo flights as a secondary tracking station. The space agency declared that the success in the previous flights made it possible to reduce the number of tracking areas.

End of an EraThe Vanguard conTinued To suPPorT NAsA with the skylab program and the Apollo-soyuz Test project, after which she became involved in testing equipment on Navy submarines. she “steamed over 250,000 miles in support of POseIDON and TrIDeNT I navigation subsystems and in development of the TrIDeNT

II navigation subsystem before being placed in the James river reserve fleet in 1999.”13 she was scrapped in 2013 by marine metal Ltd in brownsville, Texas.The Redstone returned to the

eastern Test range to participate in various missile projects. In April 1983, she supported NAsA’s space shuttle program by tracking the two solid fuel rocket boosters, released during the maiden flight of the Challenger orbiter in mission sTs-6, two minutes after being launched at Cape Kennedy. she was stricken from the Navy register on December 7, 1993, and sold for scrap on January 30, 1995. The meRCuRy was sold on June

23, 1970, to the matson Navigation Company and converted as a bulk carrier renamed the ss Kopaa. she was sold again in 1981 to the California and Hawaii sugar Company, after which she was scrapped in Taiwan in October 1984. The WateRtoWn was released by

NAsA in the fall of 1968, after which she was modified as a Western Test range tracking ship supporting rocket launches in the Pacific. she was struck from the Navy register on February 16, 1972, and placed in the suisun bay, California, reserve fleet. On may 23, 1974, she was sold to the Dongkuk steel mill Company and scrapped in Pusan, south Korea. The HuntsViLLe supported Apollo

missions from 1968 to 1969 and later supported the Western Test range under the control of the Air Force space

and missile Test Center until being deactivated in 1973. The reasons given for her deactivation were the $1 million savings per year and the lack of current ship support requirements. she was struck from the Navy register and sold for scrape on July 17, 1975, to the National metal and steel Corporation.nasa’s MoonshiPs played an integral

part in the manned space flight tracking network. both classes of ships made the Apollo spacecrafts’ undertaking possible, from launch to recovery, with their unique seaborne tracking and monitoring capability.

About the Authorsshsa MeMber eric Pearson is a retired computer programmer with over 35 years’ experience working as a contractor at the Johnson

Spacecraft Center supporting NASA’s financial and aircraft division operations . In addition to three bachelor degrees, Mr . Pearson received a master’s degree in history from the University of Houston/Clear Lake in 2014 . Mr . Pearson’s interest in steamships comes from his father, who sailed as captain with American Export Lines and Lykes Brothers before becoming a Houston Ship Channel Pilot .


On sePTeMber 13, 2018, a natural gas pipeline in the Andover/Lawrence area of massachusetts was over-

pressurized, resulting in damage to over 10,000 homes and businesses. Local and national gas utilities were called on to help. my company, Pse&G of New Jersey, was one of them, and I volunteered to help for three weeks. ruMors began circulaTing, as they

always do, that we would be staying in fleabag hotels, an old hospital ship or maybe even an old cruise ship. sure, I thought, I’ll believe it when I see it. Well, I saw it, and it was the Grand Celebration of bahama Paradise Cruise Line. A dream come true! I’ve read

many articles in Steamboat Bill and PowerShips by ssHsA members about their experiences on different voyages, but never one about staying on a static accommodation ship, so I decided to share my experience with you.

Ship historybuilT in MalMo, sweden, as Celebration for Carnival Cruises, the ship entered service in 1987. Powered by twin diesel engines, the 47,262-ton, 733-ft Celebration is capable of 21.7 knots and carries a crew of 670, with room for 1,496 passengers. In 2008, the ship was transferred to Carnival subsidiary Iberocruceros Cruises and renamed Grand Celebration. Costa Cruises was supposed to purchase her in 2014, but the deal wasn’t completed and she was acquired by her current owner at that time.

life onboardThe shiP was docked in a coMMercial part of boston. The parking area for us was a blustery quarter-mile walk or shuttle ride. No cozy, covered gangway welcomed us aboard, only a steep, aluminum access platform. We entered on deck five and were issued photo IDs and a cabin. mine was e-197 on deck seven. The cabin was clean and adequately

furnished, but it was inside and felt a bit confining. As I walked about the ship, I was amazed at how well-maintained and clean she was for a 32-year-old vessel. Chances to see an early-1980s-style cruise ship in such good condition will soon be history. our day sTarTed at 5 a.m. with a

buffet-style breakfast in the Ocean View

Grand Celebration by Robert Engler • photos by the author


n (Left top, middle, and bottom) Grand Celebration docked in Boston as seen on our arrival day . (Above) Our cabin, E-197, was an inside cabin on deck seven .


n (Clockwise from above .) Author at the helm . All passageways and the entrance area were covered with plastic sheeting . Liner paintings surround the upper walls of the Grand Celebration’s Helm Lounge . A model of the ocean liner SS bremen, launched in 1929, in Grand Celebration’s Helm Lounge .


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buffet on deck 10. before leaving the ship, we could pick up a hot lunch bag to take to our work location. We would arrive back at the ship between 6 and 7 p.m., change into clean clothes and head up to the stellar Prime restaurant on deck eight. Again, it was buffet style, with uniformed waiters cleaning up after us and serving soft drinks and coffee. afTer dinner we were free to do what

we pleased. There was pool, darts and air hockey in the Crows Nest sports bar, and there always seemed to be a poker game or chess game going in the Helm Lounge. A live band played in the encore Lounge on the weekends, and the spa was open to us (for a fee), along with the ship’s store. staff Captain maribel Kurdy explained to me that the ship sailed without passengers from Florida, taking three days to reach boston. The dancers for the show were left behind. The decision not to get a liquor license resulted in the bar staff being flown home. sitting in the lounge one night listening to the band lament about not having any alcohol reminded me of what it might have been like on the Leviathan during Prohibition.while i was aboard ship, the east

Coast was hit with a Nor’easter. The

captain, as a precaution, kept the main engines idling for two days, giving us a cozy vibrating mattress to sleep on. The downside of the storm was the exit in the morning from a toasty warm ship to a 30-mph sleety, rainy and icy gangway. Was this how it was for those having to exit the Dorchester or Wilhelm Gustloff when they were torpedoed?we could leaVe The shiP to visit

boston any time after work, but I chose not to. I would roam about the ship and admire the woodwork and craftsmanship from a different time. Of special interest to me was the Helm Lounge, which had 20 to 30 paintings of ocean liners. Along one side were models of the Normandie, Bremen, Olympic and Mauretania, as well as ocean liner collectibles under glass. iT was sTrange to see everyone dressed

in blue work clothes and boots instead of shorts, bathing suits and sandals. There were no happy couples strolling the decks, only lonely workers trying to find good cell phone reception to talk to their families. even on a crowded ship, it can get lonely. i was usually in My cabin by 9 p.m.

and in bed by 9:30, a far cry from staying up late on a real cruise. The novelty wore off after four or five days and the ship was just a place to shower,

eat and sleep. It was as if the ship was on life support, with plastic covering the carpets and large furniture; she was waiting to come alive. seeing The shiP this way won’t deter

me from taking a cruise on her. The crew strived to make it a happy ship, even though she wasn’t cruising. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me that money couldn’t buy.

About the Author an sshsa MeMber since 1972, bob engler has had a lifelong interest in passenger ships . For the past 32 years,

he has worked for Public Service Electric and Gas (PSEG) of New Jersey in the gas service department . He is also a member of the Loyalty Masonic Lodge and the Kenilworth Historical Society . Bob and his wife Susan reside in Kenilworth, NJ with their dog Gracie . Bob can be reached via email at cptbob58@gmail .com

n Coming back to the Grand Celebration in the evening .


My Qe2 sTory sTarTs wiTh My faTher David, who worked for the famous John brown engineering, the scottish marine engineering and shipbuilding company located in Clydebank. He was a steam and gas turbine engineer, specializing in

the revolutionary Pametrada design that the QE2 used. Jbe had the shipbuilding contract to support her turbines, and

my father was responsible for the work until the turbines were removed in 1986. This work took him all over the world, and in 1987 he was able to take his family with him on the post-rebuild trials. It was his last trip and my first. my time on board QE2 as a 14-year-old stays with me to this day.i followed Qe2 closely for the next two decades, although

I didn’t travel on her again until 2007 and 2008, just before her retirement. It was at this point that I was told to “get over her and move on” by a member of a popular cruise website, which irritated me no end. This wasn’t just any old ship retiring, this was the world-famous QE2, and I wasn’t about to stop caring about her now!i sTarTed an online moderated discussion forum, The Qe2

story, that same day, laying out the main sections that are still there today – one for each decade of service, one for her construction, one for her design and so on. I invited some online QE2 friends to join me in the empty forum; they not only came, they told their friends and the forum took off quickly. These friends, and some new friends, make up the international volunteer

moderation team to which the forum owes much of its success over the years.in laTe 2009,

our efforts to correct fake news about what was happening with QE2 in Dubai hadn’t gone unnoticed. I was given all-areas access for three full days by the ship’s team in Dubai, and I was the only “passenger” on board. This led to news coverage, including bbC TV and radio, and national newspapers. I was persuaded to create a DVD from my footage, and our group found itself on the contact lists for news organizations for future QE2 stories.buT The foruM wasn’T abouT the ship’s retirement – it was

A QE2 Story by Rob Lightbody

n (Above) The author aboard Qe2 in the North Sea on the “shakedown cruise” in April 1987 . (Below) Rob aboard Qe2 in 2008 .

n Queen elizabeth 2 at Ocean Terminal in New York in 1981 . – SSHSA Archives, Braun Bros . Collection Collection .

ShipYear2019

of the


about creating a friendly place for anyone interested in QE2 to record their memories or ask questions about her. Word of mouth brought new members, including authors, officers, crew, passengers and even a captain or two. The quality of the contributions and content posted on the forum was far higher than anticipated, and we became a reference resource, the go-to place for people researching QE2.This high-QualiTy conTenT, along with our clarity and light

moderation, differentiate our forum from the myriad QE2-related Facebook groups that have been created since our forum started. We’re indexed by search engines, and many QE2-related searches land straight at our door.Qe2 had always broughT people together, and now the

forum took on this role. We organized weekends on the paddle steamer Waverley so that friendships made on the forum became real and lasting. In the following years, we had gatherings on other ships, in Liverpool’s Cunard building, and in southampton. We also organized a sold-out 50th anniversary conference in Clydebank, with an international audience of well over 200 in attendance.oTher sPin-offs from the forum include our monthly

newsletter and photo competitions, annual calendar and QE2 jigsaws that we share with each other – just like people did on board QE2.The Qe2 sTory is run entirely by volunteers using donations

from the members. membership is free, and once you log in there’s no advertising. see for yourself at www.theqe2story.com.

The QE2 Storyand WebsiteThe place to be for all things QE2

The QE2 Story, launched in January 2009, has accumulated extensive primary sources and the recollections of many with connections to QE2.

Members of the Forum include those who built her, captains, engineers, and othes who worked aboard; those who travelled on her; and those who viewed her from afar.

Membership in The Forum is free. Please join us.

www.theqe2story.com

n The Queen’s Grill onboard the Qe2 in April 2018 . – Oskar Liam Fjellstedt photo


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Mr. Daniel L. McCoyMr. Alexander MelchertMr. William H. Miller Jr.Mr. W. John MiottelMr. John A. MorganRev. Bart R. MullerMr. William G. MullerMr. Mark J. NemergutMr. Robert NewellMr. Carl R. NoldMr. Brian L. NordenMr. Harry OlsenCAPT Dick PalmerMs. Mary L. PayneMr. Art PeabodyMr. Richard G. PelleyMs. Kathy PollardMr. Donald PomplunMr. David L. Powers, Jr.Mr. Dwight D. QuellaMr. Robert Rubino

Dr. Timothy J. RunyanMr. Richard ScaranoSchneider Electric North American FoundationMr. David SchulzMr. Theodore W. ScullMr. Daniel J. SentillesMr. Tom Sepe & Ms. Deb AikenMr. Howard SmartCAPT Cesare SorioMr. Edward SpinneyMr. Alan StoverMr. Kent StrobelMr. Michael TattoliMr. & Mrs. Thomas K. TroyCAPT R.L. Van Nice, Jr. USNR (Ret.)Mr. Eric WibergMr. James Zatwarnicki Jr. & Mr. Michael Richmond

Mr. Charles T. AndrewsAnonymousMr. James BerwindMr. Douglas E. BryanCDR Andrew O. Coggins, Jr., USN (Ret.)

Mr. William W. DonnellMr. Barry W. EagerMr. & Mrs. Arthur J. FergusonMr. Nicholas LanghartMr. Keith A. LewisCAPT & Mrs. James J. McNamaraDr. Laurence and Carole Miller

CAPT & Mrs. Roland R. ParentCAPT Dave PickeringMr. Richard RabbettMr. Stephen S. RobertsDr. Victor H. RubinoMr. John S.W. SpoffordMr. Clinton Strong

CAPT Eric TakakjianMr. Craig ThompsonCAPT & Mrs. Terry Tilton, USN (Ret.)Mr. Joseph B. WhiteMr. Peregrine WhiteWorld Ship Society - Port of New York Branch

AnonymousMr. Patrick DaceyMs. Kathy Farnsworth & Mr. John TeichmoellerMr. Thomas C. Ragan

Mr. & Mrs. James W. ShuttleworthMr. & Mrs. Stephen SmithMr. Douglas A. Tilden & Ms. Teresa Keller

Friend (Up to $100)

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Benefactor ($5,000+)

The Dibner Charitable Trust of Massachusetts

Mr. Don Leavitt

The Posner Foundation of Pittsburgh

Thanks to All Who Continue to Support SSHSA June 18, 2020

n Portrait of an officer aboard a Fall River Line vessel. – William Warren Collection, SSHSA Archives .


The FellowShip League consists of SSHSA benefactors and members who elect to remember our

organization in their final estate plans. This enables us to perpetuate their legacy of giving and support and potentially provide significant tax benefits for one’s estate. There are many ways in which to plan and leave a legacy gift that meets the needs of both you and your family:

• Appreciated securities/property

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• Life insurance policies or retirement accounts that name the Society as the beneficiary

• Real or personal property

• Stocks and other securities

• A collection of art or ephemera offered to and accepted by the SSHSA Collections Committee, along with funding to perpetuate its care

To discuss planning your gift contact Matthew Schulte at [email protected] or (401)463-3570.

The FellowShip League

People Making a Difference

n Passengers enjoy the sea breezes upon comfortable steamer lounge chairs on perhaps the promenade deck of an unidentified liner. C 1915 From a hand-colored magic lantern glass slide, SSHSA Archives .

If the SSHSA is already part of your estate plans, thank you! Please let us know so we can add your name to The FellowShip League.


royal caribbean canceled all cruises scheduled to operate from singapore on the Quantum of the Seas during the first two weeks of February. The company’s China-based Spectrum of the Seas has been repositioned to Australia. Celebrity Cruises has also canceled Celebrity Millennium a) Millennium’s Asian cruises. It has been repositioned to Los Angeles for a series of cruises from there that were scheduled to begin march 20. ncl’s noRWegian Jade, on a roundtrip

cruise from Thailand to Vietnam, was denied entry into Vietnamese ports despite not having called recently at China, Hong Kong or macau, nor carrying any passengers or crew from those places. Norwegian Jade passengers got to enjoy five consecutive days at sea before their ship finished its cruise.Two cMV Vessels, Columbus a) Fairmajesty

b) Star Princess c) Arcadia d) Ocean Village e) Pacific Pearl and Astor a) Astor (ii) b) Fedor Dostoevskiy, were turned away from Tonga because the island had closed its ports to cruise ships. The ships diverted to Fiji instead.by the time you read the next issue of

Powerships, there will probably be even more fallout from this disease.

orders for New Ships Keep coming

Msc cruises has Placed an order with France’s Chantiers de

l’Atlantique for two additional 205,000-grt World-class ships. The 5,264-passenger ships will be delivered in 2025 and 2027. They also have announced plans for the development of two additional ship classes, one that will consist of at least four ships and another that will be wind-assisted. The ship orders and memorandum of understanding have a total value of $7 billion. PonanT, the new parent company

of Paul Gauguin Cruises, has signed a contract with Norwegian shipyard Vard to build two new eco-friendly, hybrid-electric ships for the south Pacific-based brand, slated for delivery in 2022.The Vessels will each accommodate

230 passengers and measure about 11,000 gross tons. They’ll sail in the south Pacific.each shiP will have enough battery

capacity for smokeless operation in ports and in environmentally sensitive areas. They will also be designed to optimize energy consumption, reduce underwater noise and

coViD-19 impacts cruise industry

The sPread of The coronaVirus that causes COVID-19 beyond

China had a negative impact on the cruise industry. The bad publicity began when 3,711 passengers and crew aboard the Diamond Princess were quarantined following its arrival at Yokohama, Japan, on February 4. Passengers were required to remain in their cabins, where they were served meals by the crew in what turned out to be a futile attempt to contain the virus. During the 14-day ordeal, over 621 individuals contracted the disease, which resulted in the deaths of at least six. Passengers were finally evacuated from the ship on February 19.The 1,455 Passengers and 802 crew on

the February 1 voyage of Westerdam found themselves stranded at sea after regional officials in Thailand, bangkok, Japan, the Philippines and Guam refused the ship permission to dock. The ship was finally allowed to disembark its passengers in the Cambodian port of sihanoukville on February 13. There reportedly were no suspected cases of the virus on board. All Westerdam cruises were canceled through march 14. WoRLd dReam was released from

quarantine on February 5. Hong Kong health authorities were able to quickly test the 3,600 persons on board. Three passengers on the ship’s January 19–24 cruise had been found to have the virus, resulting in the brief quarantine. World Dream has since been laid up.

RegionalsShipping News from Points Around the Compass

n World Dream . (See “COVID-19 Impacts Cruise Industry”) – Arno Redenius photo


improve waste management. According to Vard, a division of Fincantieri, the ships will qualify for the Cleanship super label, as assigned by bureau Veritas, an independent certification body.

havila Voyages orders four

Norway’s haVila Voyages has transferred its order for all four

vessels to Turkish shipbuilder Tergar after spain’s barreras encountered financial problems. The four ships will be named Havila Capella, Havila Castor, Havila Polaris and Havila Pollux. They will measure 402 ft by 72 ft and be able to carry 640 passengers. The quartette will be powered by a hybrid LNG and battery system.

New cruise line announces inaugural

Cruise newcoMer aTlas ocean Voyages has released itineraries for

its first ship, World Navigator, which makes its debut July 17, 2021, in europe.The WoRLd naVigatoR is currently under

construction at WestseA shipyard at Viana do Castelo, Portugal. The $80-million ship is part of a six-ship fleet planned by mystic Cruises and will be operated under terms of a charter by Atlas. The ship will be flagged in Portugal. WoRLd naVigatoR is the third vessel in

the planned fleet of mystic Cruises that will include the sister ships World Explorer (2019), World Voyager (2020), World Traveller (2022), World Adventurer (2023) and World Seeker (2024). The first two ships have already been jointly chartered by Nicko Cruises/Quark expeditions.The line, which brands itself as an

all-inclusive “luxe adventure” experience, detailed an inaugural season of 10 different itineraries ranging in length from seven to 15 days and visiting a total of 66 unique ports of call throughout the Holy Land, mediterranean and black sea.The 413-fT World Navigator will

accommodate 198 passengers in 98 all-oceanview staterooms and suites, most of which will have a private veranda. Atlas Ocean Voyages plans to include all gratuities, beverages and at least one

complimentary shore excursion in its fares.The 9,300-grT World Navigator’s inaugural

cruise was scheduled to depart on July 17, 2021, from Valletta, malta, to Athens (Piraeus), Greece, with ports of call including Zakynthos, Katakolon, elafonisos, Chania, sitia, rhodes and mykonos, Greece, along with Noto (syracuse), Italy, and ephesus (Kusadasi), Turkey.oTher iTineraries will include seven-

night mediterranean voyages sailing during september 2021 and a 17-night transatlantic crossing departing Lisbon, Portugal, on October 4, 2021, and concluding in rio de Janeiro.

emerald moves to the oceans

EMerald waTerways will add ocean cruises to its portfolio when it accepts

delivery of the 100-passenger Emerald Azzurra in July 2021. The 309-ft vessel is currently under construction at Halong shipbuilding in Ha Long City, Vietnam. Itineraries will feature mediterranean, Adriatic Coast and red sea ports.

retirement announced

CMV announced ThaT 2020 will see the end of the charter of Astoria a)

Stockholm b) Volkerfreundschaft c) Fridjof Nansen d) Surriento e) Italia f) Italia Prima g) Valtur Prima h) Carib i) Athena j) Azzores . With two newer, larger vessels joining the fleet next year, they’ll have no further use for the chartered Astoria beyond this season. The ship will also sail a short season of cruises for rivages du monte during the summer. It’s not yet known, as far as I can see, which vessel rivages du monte will use for its own

cruise program from 2021, although there had been talk of them getting their own ship for a full season. The french Press is reporting that

rivages du monte will use World Explorer of nicko cruises. This makes roughly the third company operating this ship within approximately two years of delivery – Nicko, Quark and rivages, with sister vessels operating for Atlas Ocean.

Funchal for Sale

ReMeMber The Plan for FunCHaL To become a beach party boat? Well

it’s dead and the people who bought her at auction are now planning to sell her. One must assume that the breakers will be her final destination in view of her age and small size.

Delayed Deliveries

WindsTar cruises has canceled 20 sailings on Star Breeze a) Seabourn

Spirit, Star Pride a) Seabourn Pride, and Star Legend a) Royal Viking Queen b) Queen Odyssey c) Seabourn Legend because of construction delays that followed the discovery of asbestos during the ships’ renovation. windsTar sTaTed that the asbestos was

found in the engine room and mechanical spaces on the ships, which are being renovated at Fincantieri’s Palermo, Italy, shipyard. The material was found primarily in gaskets used in a limited number of valves and pumps and related insulation. The cruise line says it took air samples aboard the ships and found no traces of the substance elsewhere.reMoVal of the material will delay Star

Breeze’s completion from February 14 to

n Astoria departing Tallinn in 2016 . (See “Retirement Announced”) – Pjotr Mahhonin photo .


may 4, 2020, when it will begin sailing in Latin America and the West Coast. It will also affect the schedules for Star Legend and Star Pride, which will now complete their renovations on August 30 and November 29, 2020, respectively.The $250-Million renovations will

add 50 suites, two new restaurants, a new pool with an expanded, enhanced deck area, a spa and fitness center, and new bathrooms in all suites. Windstar is also replacing engines to increase fuel efficiency, which led to the discovery of the asbestos.

top of formBottom of form

CarniVal has cancelled The firsT eight sailings of its new ship Mardi

Gras because of shipyard delays. The line is now scheduled to take delivery in late October, with its first sailing leaving Port Canaveral on November 14.The inaugural sailings, which were

scheduled to start August 31, included european, transatlantic and New York-based itineraries and four Port Canaveral itineraries.The cruise line said delays were

announced by the meyer Turku shipyard in Finland, where the 180,000-gt ship is under construction. using LNG for power instead of diesel requires special pressurized steel tanks to keep the gas in its liquid state. For safety reasons,

the tanks must be surrounded by void space, requiring twice as much room inside the ship as tanks for diesel fuel. The Mardi Gras is being fitted with three steel LNG tanks and four Caterpillar engines. updating the tanks, piping and bunkering is the greatest challenge in designing LNG ships. The shipyard blames the delay on design complexity, trouble with coordinating subcontractors and the size of the ship. when iT debuTs, the 5,200-passenger

ship will be the largest vessel in the Carnival Cruise Line fleet. It will boast the first roller coaster and first emeril Lagasse restaurant at sea, and feature six themed zones, including the French Quarter, summer Landing, Grand Central and the ultimate Playground.

Name announced

Virgin Voyages will naMe iTs second ship Valiant Lady. The

2,770-passenger ship will debut at barcelona in may 2021. The vessel will offer three- and seven-day itineraries with an overnight in Ibiza followed by calls at spanish, French and Italian ports plus monaco.

christenings

GaMe show hosT Vanna whiTe christened Carnival Panorama at

Long beach, California, on December 10. The Panorama is the first vessel

Carnival has deployed to the West Coast in 20 years and is the third and last Vista-class ship.in a cereMony that highlighted

female empowerment onboard regent seven seas’ newest vessel, model and entrepreneur Christie brinkley christened Seven Seas Splendor. The ceremony took place at miami on February 21.oscar-winning acTress Penelope

Cruz served as godmother for Costa Smeralda at Triesta on February 21. The 5,224-passenger vessel entered service in December and is among the first major cruise ships to be powered by liquefied natural gas.silVersea cruises has named

renowned Italian wine producer Gaia Gaja as godmother to Silver Moon, which launches in August. Gaja will officially name the ship at a ceremony in Trieste on August 5, 2020.

contract canceled

seadreaM yachT club has droPPed its plans for a new luxury expedition

ship. The Sea Dream Innovation, which would have been the line’s first new build, had been scheduled for delivery in september 2021. seaDream is pursuing other new-build opportunities.

Ocean Victory to cruise to alaska

VicTory cruise lines’ new oCean Victory will offer a series of 12- and

13-day cruises between Vancouver and sitka, Alaska, when the ship debuts in 2021. The 200-passenger vessel is currently under construction.iTineraries will include misty Fjords

National monument, stikine river Wilderness, the Waterfall Coast and Frederick sound.

casualties

Two carniVal shiPs were inVolVed in a collision December 20 while in

Cozumel, mexico. The stern of Carnival Glory struck the bow of moored Carnival Legend while maneuvering into the pier

n star breeze in Lisbon . (See “Delayed Deliveries,” page 55) – Windstar Cruises photo .


maraD marine highways grants

Following The coMMenceMenT of the new year, the u.s. Department

of Transportation’s maritime Administration announced the recipients of over $7.5 million in grants for nine marine Highway projects, three of which will be in south Carolina and Virginia.The first project of note involves

both Florida and south Carolina and will support the improvement of the Fernandina express container barge service, which operates between the Port of Fernandina (located on Florida’s northeast coast, not far from the Georgia-Florida state line) and the Port of Charleston, south Carolina. The grant is being sponsored by the Ocean Highway and Port Authority of Nassau County (Florida) and will be used to assist in the procurement of handling equipment essential for loading and unloading. The amount awarded for this project is $1,291,800.

in Virginia, the James river expansion Project was awarded $189,840. This project, backed by the Port of Virginia, is intended for the “purchase of equipment in support of the existing James river expansion Project on m-64.” The equipment is intended to assist in the efficiency of the richmond marine Terminal’s barge service.

n A crane for the Port of Virginia loads up containers for the marine highway barge service . (See “MARAD Marine Highways Grants”) – Port of Virginia photo .

ahead of the docked ship. six people on Carnival Glory were hospitalized with minor injuries from the incident; all were treated and released. No one on Carnival Legend was injured. both ships were able to continue their cruises and sailed for their respective homeports of New Orleans and Tampa on December 22. The damage appeared to have primarily happened at the stern of the Glory, where the Platinum restaurant, the vessel’s main dining venue, is located. The ship left Cozumel after a delay while a canvas patch was fitted over the damage.The career of Orient Explorer a) PCE-

833 b) Hms Kilham beC-7 c) Sognefjord d) Orion e) Orion II has come to an end after 76 years of service. built by Pullman standard Car Company of Chicago, Illinois, in 1943 as a patrol craft escort, she was converted into a Norwegian coastal passenger ship, serving in that capacity until sold to Finnish owners in 1987. by 1996, the 185-ft ship had been repositioned to Langkawai for use as a dive charter cruise ship named Orient Explorer. Although she may never have actually sailed in this role, she remained at anchor off Kota Kinabalu, malaysia, with a full crew. recently advertised by sensi backpackers Hostel as a floating accommodation ship for backpackers, she ran aground against sharp rocks off Kota Kinabalu during a storm in september 2019. resting with a list to starboard, this veteran’s career is over and she is now at the mercy of pounding seas.holland aMerica’s Nieuw Amsterdam

was forced to cancel its February 1 seven-day cruise to permit replacement of one of the ship’s two propulsion pods. The work was completed at Grand bahama shipyard in time to permit the February 8 cruise to sail as scheduled. The pod problem actually began in December and forced the cancellation of another cruise.

n Write peter t. eisele at 74 Chatham Street, Chatham, NJ 07928 or highseased@aol .com

STEAM-POWERED STERNWHEELER

With Chief’s retirement, well- loved steamboat is looking for a new home! Lambertville NJ

Current COI; 40 pass incl crew 1970, rebuilt 2004

Scotch Mar. Boiler re-tubed ‘17 Twin 4HP Steam Engines $65,000 negotiable Contact: [email protected] c (609) 414-3676


lasTly, the Wallops Island m-95 Intermodal barge service, also in Virginia, was granted $96,425. This grant is to be used for improvements including “a new trestle and combination dock/ramp to support the loading and unloading of barges and research vessels at the mid-Atlantic regional spaceport.”oTher granTs were awarded to ongoing

projects in Kentucky, Louisiana, michigan, Oregon, Texas and Washington state. These improvement projects as a whole are important in the continuing endeavor to “relieve landside congestion.” For specifics about each project,

a complete list can be found on marineLink.com.

port of Baltimore News

The PorT of balTiMore recenTly announced that royal Caribbean’s

Enchantment of the Seas will return to the city in April 2021. It will be a replacement for the current baltimore-based Grandeur of the Seas. The Enchantment of the Seas will offer year-round cruises to the bahamas, bermuda and the Caribbean. There will be fall voyages to Canada and New england. In 2019, 218,849 passengers sailed on 94 cruises aboard the Carnival Pride and Grandeur of the Seas.anoTher iniTiaTiVe aims to expand

the Howard street rail Tunnel. That project is expected to boost the Port of baltimore’s capability to handle

intermodal double-stack trains. Once the project is completed, in three to four years, 100,000 more containers will be carried annually. Plans are also underway to renovate an unused fruit pier for suitable storage space for the continually increasing number of automobiles and other cargo arriving at the port.

port of philadelphia News

A new, sTaTe-of-The-arT faciliTy for containerized auto shipping

opened on December 6, 2019, near Philadelphia’s Packer Avenue marine Terminal. Freight forwarder CFr and logistics provider GWsI created the center to serve high-volume exporters buying vehicles in bulk at

auto auctions around the united states. The two companies anticipate shipping thousands of containers through the first year of operation and ramping up significantly over time.

port Newark News

RecenTly, The PorT of new york and New Jersey Authority

announced that its seven-year expansion plan at the Port Newark container terminal is almost done. It will enhance the terminal’s capacity by 80 percent to 2.15 million Teus.

american cruise lines News

On february 26, aMerican cruise Lines announced that it will launch

two additional modern riverboats for the 2021 season. Construction is already underway at Chesapeake shipbuilding in salisbury, maryland. The American Jazz is set to join the new class of riverboats later in 2020. The additional two vessels, as yet unnamed, will be of similar design. The flagship of the ACL modern riverboat class, American Song, debuted in 2018, and the American Harmony debuted in 2019.

n Write John fostik (PA, NJ, DE,MD) at jafostik@verizon .net or Julia Winters (DC, VA, NC, SC)at jwinters889@gmail .com

n enchantment of the seas will return to Baltimore in 2021 . (See “Port of Baltimore News”) – Royal Caribbean International photo .

n American Jazz immediately after its launch by Chesapeake Shipbuilding into Maryland’s Wicomico River . (See “American Cruise Lines News”) – American Cruise Lines photo .


New york harbor News

WarM TeMPeraTures during The winter months dominated the

talk of the harbor during January and February. a Tragic accidenT that involved

sandy Hook Pilot Dennis sherwood occurred while he was trying to board Maersk Kensington in December at 4:30 a.m. Trying to climb a ship’s boarding ladder from the pilot boat, Captain sherwood, a 35-year veteran with sHP, fell backward onto the pilot boat. usCG and FDNY marine and NYPD marine departments responded. It was a big loss for our New York maritime community and our condolences go out to his family and sHP colleagues. sandy hook PiloT’s newest vessel

acquisition, Maine Responder, will be renamed New York . The vessel has been in Caddell Dry Dock in staten Island for the last several months with retrofits and upgrades, including the traditional black-painted hull.

souTh sTreeT seaPorT museum’s 1885 sloop Pioneer had engine difficulties toward the end of last season and couldn’t operate. In mid-December, she was towed up the Hudson to scarano boatbuilders in Albany to get a new engine. The tug Frances towed the Pioneer alongside some empty trap rock barges. Pier 40, once the home of The Holland

America Line, and Pier 97, once home of the Cunard Line, both on the Hudson river, are having piling work done. Pier 76, the old home of the united

states Lines and now owned by New

York state/Hudson river Park, recently has been operated by New York City as a car impound lot. The city has been given notice to find another place for its cars or be charged $3 million a year for rent. The ciTy of bayonne, New Jersey,

will be getting a new ferry service this september operated by seastreak. bayonne’s city council adopted a 10-year, $2.6-million lease with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey at the military Ocean Terminal for 65,000 square feet of land. A new $1.6-million ferry terminal will be constructed on the south side of the military Ocean Terminal. south Amboy has indicated that there will be additional service from there as well. The new york ciTy economic

Development Corporation has chosen a fast-ferry terminal site for the new NYC Ferry service that will run from staten Island to battery Park City and on to Pier 79 at West 39th street on the Hudson river. The new terminal will be erected Just to the west of the staten Island Ferry Terminal on the Kill Van Kull. It was determined that both the existing staten Island Ferry Terminal and the new fast-ferry operation cannot coexist because of harbor safety issues. The fare for the new service will be $2.75 per ride.

n NY Waterway’s betsy ross. (See “New York Harbor News”) – G . Justin Zizes, Jr ., photo .

n Statue Cruises’ miss Liberty, in service since 1966 . (See “New York Harbor News”) – G . Justin Zizes, Jr ., photo .


The new coney island NYC Ferry service is exploring a possible landing site on the Coney Island Creek at bayview Avenue and West 33rd st. Dredging will have to be done in order to get ferry service into the proposed landing in 2021.The PorTal norTh bridge on the

Hackensack river, which Amtrak trains have crossed for service into Penn station for the last 109 years, has been approved for replacement by the Federal Transit Administration. ny waTerways’ Betsy Ross had an

engine room fire on January 30 and turned into the Navy Pier on staten Island as a safe place to land. NYFD responded along with the u.s. Coast Guard. No passengers were aboard at the time. The u.s. arMy corPs of engineers

has suspended a key study on storm protection for the City of New York.The forMer lighTshiP Barnegat, which

was built in 1904 at Camden’s New York shipyard and served until 1967, is lying idle and in disrepair at the Pyne Poynt marina in Camden, New Jersey, on the Delaware river.The graVesend Marina in brooklyn is

closing at the beginning of April, and 50 boats will have to relocate.sTaTue cruises’ Miss Liberty was

spotted going up to Feeney’s shipyard in Kingston, New York, for dry docking. Miss Liberty has been in continuous service at the statue of Liberty for 66 years.

The ProPeller club of New York and New Jersey hosted, with the American P&I Club, usCG sector Captain Jason Tama in early January for a presentation on New York Harbor today.

long island News

The greaT lakes dredge iLLinois and its support vessels are pumping

sand on West Hampton bay beach where the washover across Dune road occurred. This is a $10.7-million project. The lasT ParT of dredging Fire Island

from seaview to the east has been put on hold because of a project on mar-a-Lago in Florida. The long island Oyster bay National

Wildlife refuge has been renamed after

Congressman Lester Wolff.Tiana life saVing sTaTion in

east Quogue, built in 1912, is being renovated by the town of southampton at a cost of $3.2 million. Tiana was run by an all African-American crew from 1942 to 1947.a sag harbor-To-Greenport water

taxi/ferry service was in discussion but has been put on hold until 2021. sag Harbor is fixing its town dock and, during the construction, a piece of rail was found by the construction crew that traces back to 1908, when railcars brought coal and water to the steamships that left from sag Harbor.

Upstate News

There are fiVe lighThouses in upstate New York that are bed and

breakfasts: braddock Point Lighthouse, saugerties Lighthouse, Tibbetts Point Lighthouse, selkirk Lighthouse and Thirty mile Point Lighthouse.Peekskill, new york, has received a

state grant of $2 million to reconstruct the Fleishmann Pier. The town hopes to attract tour boats to the 487-ft pier.

n Write g. Justin zizes, Jr. at 147 East 37th Street, New York, New York10016 or justinzizes@gmail .com

n Pioneer at South Street Seaport, Pier 16 . (See “New York Harbor News,” page 59) – G . Justin Zizes photo .

n NYC Ferry’s Ocean Queen rocketstar . – G . Justin Zizes photo .


Wide impacts from coronavirus

As The coronaVirus PandeMic swePT europe, its ferry operators were

not immune to severe disruptions. many passenger services quickly switched to freight-only mode, while others were temporarily suspended or had their frequency drastically reduced.sTena line also permanently closed

its passenger-heavy route between Oslo, Norway, and Frederikshavn, Denmark, which had been operated by the 1981-built Stena Saga a) Silvia Regina b) Stena Britannica. In Italy, the Grandi Navi Veloci ferry Splendid was chartered by the government to serve as a floating hospital in Genoa. Other temporarily redundant vessels have either been laid up or sent to the shipyard for maintenance work.

moby & tirrenia Bankrupt

AT Press TiMe, and in The MidsT of the coronavirus outbreak in Italy,

Italian regulators seized the assets of the Onoranto family-owned moby Lines and Tirrenia, quickly shutting down both

operations. more details on this will be covered in future Overseas Columns.

Brittany ferries purchases condor ferries

French oPeraTor briTTany ferries, together with an investment group,

purchased the Channel Islands operator Condor Ferries in march 2020. Condor Ferries operates conventional, high-speed and freight-only ferries connecting the united Kingdom and France with Guernsey and Jersey in the Channel Islands. The companies share port facilities in Portsmouth and st. malo, and it’s likely that closer cooperation

will be seen in areas such as sales and marketing and procurement. The overall route structure is unlikely to change.

construction Begins on MySTAR

A VirTual sTeel cuTTing cereMony for the new Tallink ferry MySTAR

took place on April 6 at the rauma Yard in Finland. The latest cruise ferry for the very busy Helsinki-to-Tallinn route, MySTAR is scheduled to enter service in January 2022. she’ll carry up to 2,800 passengers at speeds of up to 27 knots, and will have a dual LNG/diesel fuel system.

n Ferry MS stena saga in Frederikshavn in 2019 . (See “Wide Impacts from Coronavirus”) – Bahnfrend photo .

n Illustration of Tallink Shuttle mysTAr . (See “Construction Begins on MySTAR”) – Tallink Grupp photo .


Japanese ferry for Stena

sTena line affiliaTe sTena roro took delivery in march of the

2003-built Japanese ferry Yamato from owners Hankyu Ferry. renamed Stena Nova, she’ll be sent to europe for reconstruction into a passenger ferry, available for charter or deployment within the stena network in late 2020.

end of the line

One of The lasT classic ferries remaining in Greece, the

1976-built Vitsentzos Kornaros a) Viking Viscount b) Pride of Winchester, was sold for scrapping in February. Owned by ANeK Lines affiliate LANe Lines, she last operated in 2017 on the company’s lifeline service connecting Crete with the Peloponnesian peninsula. she suffered serious engine damage in June 2017 and has been laid up since.

n Write ted Blank at 1576 Grotto Street North, St Paul, MN 55117 or tedblank@hotmail .com

n Hankyu Ferry’s Yamato . (See “Japanese Ferry for Stena”) – Hashi photo .

New power for old ferry

As change is ineViTable, and as the impact of the global heating

crisis deepens, it’s not surprising that most industries worldwide are beginning to change and move with the times, including shipping. What may be surprising is that change is now coming to historic vessels.iT was announced in January that

the 1908-built Sabino a) Tourist ferry, America’s oldest regularly operating coal-fired steamboat, will soon undergo a conversion to electric propulsion. using batteries, the new electrical power plant will be fitted over the driveshaft, while the vessel’s current steam engine will remain for occasional use.The wooden-hulled ferry’s sea-

keeping qualities will be unaffected, since battery weight will substitute for coal, says her owner, the mystic seaport museum of mystic, Connecticut.chris gasiorek, the museum’s

watercraft preservation and programs vice president, said the new arrangement was the result of the increasing difficulty of securing licensed steam engineers who meet Coast Guard requirements. Increasing concern from local residents regarding smoke and soot from the Sabino added fuel to the fire, prompting the propulsion change.using a Ton of coal per day, while

operating three to four days a week, the 74-passenger Sabino makes three trips daily during warm weather months, cruising the mystic river. Converting the Sabino to electric power would allow her to operate seven days a week without requiring a licensed engineer, thus allowing more people to enjoy riding a historic steamboat. Currently, Sabino carries approximately 33,000 passengers annually.

n Condor Ferries’ Condor express catamaran car ferry passes through Poole Harbor . The ship carries 750 passengers and 180 cars and operates between the English South Coast, France and the Channel Islands . (See “Brittany Ferrries Purchases Condor Ferrries,” page 61) – Adrian Pingstone photo .


There’s no cosT esTiMaTe or date yet for the conversion of the 57-ft craft, which attained National Historic Landmark status in 1992.in 2017, the Sabino finished a two-

and-a-half year, $1 million restoration, which included a new boiler for her original Paine compound two-cylinder steam engine.builT by the W. Irving Adams

shipyard in east boothbay, maine, Sabino spent most of her career ferrying passengers and cargo between maine towns and islands before joining the museum in 1974.

Ship to lose Diesel engines

AnoTher Vessel undergoing a green overhaul is Vermont’s largest

cruise ship, the 140-ft Spirit of Ethan Allen III. In time for the 2020 cruising season, the popular Lake Champlain ship will undergo an engine transplant to reduce its environmental impact.The VerMonT Department of

environmental Conservation Diesel emissions reduction program announced in January that it had awarded $268,073 to ship owner mesa Leasing Ltd. to replace the vessel’s four heavily polluting, unregulated diesel engines. Funded by the environmental Protection Agency, it’s the program’s largest grant to date.

The new Power PlanT for the ship, which is based in burlington, Vermont’s largest city, will eliminate an estimated 457 tons of diesel emissions, including 437 tons of carbon dioxide, 17 tons of nitrogen oxide and other greenhouse gases. The new engines, whose specifications weren’t yet available, were scheduled to be in place by may 1.

Windmills help Ship industry

In a siMilar enVironMenTal Vein, offshore wind generation (windmills)

is expected to increase considerably in the years to come, even though current u.s. offshore wind power accounts

for a minuscule 30 mW of generation (five 6-mW turbines off block Island, rhode Island).This growTh will result in both new

ship construction and conversion of existing vessels into offshore service vessels to service these turbines. The OsVs will include cable-laying and other sub-sea servicing ships, as well as a new category of guard or watch vessels to oversee security as the electrical grid becomes increasingly dependent on offshore wind.as ParT of This Trend, blount boats of

Warren, rhode Island, will be delivering two crew transfer vessels later this year for east Coast wind projects. The two multi-million-dollar, state-of-the-art Chartwell 24 CTVs were ordered by America’s only offshore wind farm support company, Atlantic Wind Transfers.These u.s.-flagged, Jones Act-

compliant vessels will be modified from their original british design to conform with u.s. environmental regulations and operational conditions. This includes complying with legislation to protect the migratory route of the endangered right whale off the north-eastern seaboard, with a specially adapted 65-ft hull.in 2016, blounT boaTs built the

first u.s.-flagged, offshore-wind CTV, Atlantic Pioneer, for Atlantic Wind Transfers to service block Island.

n The new state-of-the-art USCGC richard snyder . (See “New Patrol Boats for Boston,” page 64) – Roddy Sergiades photo .

n Postcard showing the sabino on the Mystic River, Connecticut . (See “New Power for Old Ferry,” page 62) – Author’s collection .

ShipYear2008

of the


New patrol Boats for Boston

sTaTe-of-The-arT shiPPing is also coming to boston. In late February,

the u.s. Coast Guard sent its latest fast-response cutter patrol boat, usCGC Richard Snyder, from North Carolina to temporarily assist the massachusetts port for three weeks.The new Vessels, which can reach 28

knots, withstand eight-foot waves and remain up to five days at sea, are part of an approximately $1.23-billion program to supply 58 cutters nationwide.in 2022, boston will permanently

receive six of these 154-ft patrol boats to replace its aging 1980s fleet. They’ll enforce fishing regulations and carry out search and rescue, among other duties.all Vessels of the new fleet will be

named after heroic vets. The first two boston cutters will be named after 9/11 first responders Vincent Danz (NYPD) and Jeffrey Palazzo (NYFD), who died at Ground Zero. both were Coast Guard reserve petty officers.The coasT guard currently operates

36 fast-response cutters nationwide.

New training Ship for mma

The Maine MariTiMe acadeMy now only needs the president’s signature

to secure $300 million to build a new training ship to replace its aging Castine, maine-based Ts State of Maine. Authored by republican senator susan Collins of maine last December, a transportation, housing and urban development bill that includes funding for the new vessel was passed by the u.s. senate.senaTor collins said the new ship will

be a critical asset for the mmA. “This training ship is absolutely essential to many of the graduates of mmA because they need a certain number of days at sea to prepare them for going into the Coast Guard, the merchant marine, or the Navy. Those are three major areas that employ the graduates of mmA. The current training vessel is really showing its age and it’s shortly going to reach the end of its useful life, and that’s why it was so important to be able to secure this funding.”she added that the ship’s design has

been established, but has no completion date has been set.

Special thanks to Edward Ryan for helping with this column .

n Write roddy Sergiades at 15 Brown St ., Port Hope, Ontario, L1A 3C8 Canada, or aquitania@eagle .ca

n Soon to be replaced, Maine Maritime Academy’s aging TS state of maine training ship at port in Castine, Maine . (See “New Training Ship for MMA”) – Bruce C . Cooper photo .

alaSKaloss of Scandies Rose

The dangers of crab fishing off the Alaskan coast have

been well documented by the reality television series “Deadliest Catch” for many years. This past winter, the reality was brought home by the loss of the crab fishing vessel Scandies Rose, along with five of its crew, off the Alaska Peninsula. The 1978-built vessel sank quickly on New Year’s eve night after taking on a severe list that allowed only two crewmembers, Dean Gribble and John Lawler, to escape. The ship’s captain, Gary Cobban Jr., was able to get off a mayday signal, which was picked up by usCG Air station Kodiak, but he and four others perished in the incident. gribble and lawler managed to

put on their survival suits and were picked up later that night by a Coast Guard helicopter after its crew noticed a blinking light on one of two life rafts that popped to the surface after the vessel went down. A Coast Guard rescue swimmer who was lowered to get both men into lifting harnesses said they were severely hypothermic and could barely move in the -4 degrees brought about by wind gusts of up to 57 mph. a Marine board of Investigation has

been launched to determine the cause of the loss, but it’s known that Scandies Rose was carrying a large number of crab pots on deck and that the icing of these pots can rapidly lead to a loss of vessel stability. such icing has been cited as a factor in several previous crab boat disappearances, including the 110-foot Destination, which went down off Alaska with her entire crew in 2017.


alaska tankers change owners

subsidiaries of TaMPa, florida-based Overseas shipholding Group

have entered into agreements with bP Oil shipping Company usA and bP AmI Leasing to purchase the u.s.-flagged crude carriers Alaskan Frontier, Alaskan Explorer, Alaskan Navigator and Alaskan Legend, currently being operated by the Alaska Tanker Company. The 193,050-dwt ships will be bareboat chartered back to the Alaska Tanker Company, which, in turn, will enter into back-to-back time charters for each of the vessels with bP exploration (Alaska) Inc. At the same time, the Overseas shipholding Group will acquire all shares of the Alaska Tanker Company to give it 100-percent ownership of the company.

BritiSh colUmBiaV2V Vacations Shuts Down

V2V VacaTions, The ausTralian-owned firm that started a high-

speed passenger ferry service between downtown Vancouver and downtown Victoria in 2017 using a 1995-built catamaran, won’t operate this year and is

expected to be wound up. A spokesperson said that financial prospects were unsatisfactory to sustain the business and that continued operation “was not economically viable.” owned by the riverside marine Group

of Australia, the upscale V2V Empress offered a 3.5-hour trip between the two british Columbia cities daily between march and October. The expensive one-way fares targeted tourists, but were reduced last year for b.C. residents.

Bc ferries orders another Salish-class Vessel

AfTer receiVing iTs firsT Two Island-class hybrid-electric ferries,

Island Discovery and Island Aurora, in January (see PowerShips No. 313), bC Ferries expects to receive its fourth salish-class LNG-fueled ferry from Poland’s remontowa yard in 2022. The mid-size vessel, which will be able to carry at least 138 vehicles and up to 600 passengers and crew, will replace the 1965-built Mayne Queen, which is limited to 58 vehicles and 400 passengers and crew. bC Ferries already has three salish-class vessels in operation and has a further four Island-class hybrid-electric ferries on order from Holland’s Damen Group.

New fishery research Vessels

The goVernMenT of canada has contracted british Columbia’s

robert Allan Ltd to design a new version of the Near shore Fishery research Vessel to be used for fishery research by Fisheries & Oceans Canada. Currently there are four NsFrVs in service, three of which were designed by robert Allan and commissioned as CCGs Vladykov, CCGs Leim and CCGs M . Perley in 2012. The new design will be a direct development of these vessels with upgrades to be based on user input and new regulatory requirements.

New Boat for Pacific Pilotage

Ocean Pacific Marine on briTish Columbia’s Vancouver Island has

been contracted to build a 19.9-meter pilot boat for the Pacific Pilotage Authority based in Vancouver. Designed by scotland’s Camarc, the all-aluminum craft will be powered by Tier III mAN diesels driving Hamilton waterjets to give a cruising speed of better than 25 knots.

Keel laid for Joint Support Ship

seasPan shiPyards has laid The keel for the first Joint support ship that it

will build for the royal Canadian Navy, although construction of blocks for the vessel got underway in mid-2018. The future HmCs Protecteur (AOr 509), due to be delivered in 2023, will be capable of carrying up to 10,000 tonnes of ship fuel, 1,300 tonnes of aviation fuel and 1,100 tonnes of ammunition. It will also have between 1,000 and 1,500 lane-meters of deck space for vehicles and containerized cargo. Accommodation will be arranged for 239 to include ship’s crew, an air detachment and mission support personnel. A 20,000-tonne-displacement sister ship, HmCs Preserver, is due to be completed in 2025. both 20-knot-plus vessels will have an operational range of 10,800 nautical miles.

n Crab pots stacked on deck can become quickly iced in winter conditions, and this may have caused the Alaska fishing vessel scandies rose to go down with five of her crew this past winter off Sutwik Island . (See “Loss of scandies rose,” page 64) – D . Cobban photo .


WaShiNgtoN

n Construction of the experimental hydrogen fuel cell-powered ferry Water-Go-round (see Powerships No . 313) has been moved from the Bay Ship & Yacht yard at Alameda, Califor-nia, to the All American Marine (AAM) yard at Bellingham, Washington, following a num-ber of construction delays with a final comple-tion date still to be announced . – AAM photo .

clipper Navigation Sells first clipper

seaTTle-based cliPPer naVigaTion has sold its original high-speed ferry,

Victoria Clipper, to new owners in Gabon, West Africa. The 431-grt vessel, which entered service in 1986, sailed on its final run between seattle and Victoria in mid-February. Over its 34-year career, the 29-knot catamaran transported more

than 8 million passengers.

glosten in electric pilot Boat team

seaTTle-based glosTen has TeaMed with hull designer ray Hunt and

Florida’s Canaveral Pilots Association to develop an electric pilot boat to support pilotage operations at Port Canaveral, Florida. The vessel will feature a ray Hunt hull form incorporating a Glosten-

designed battery propulsion system to give a cruising speed of 18 knots and an operating range on battery propulsion alone of 24 nautical miles. A diesel engine will be installed for safe return to port in case of emergency. Currently, there are no pilot boats operating domestically with hybrid or fully-electric propulsion systems.

modutech to Build Navy tugs

TacoMa-based ModuTech Marine has contracted british Columbia’s

robert Allan Ltd to furnish a modified design of its rAscal 1800-Z tug for the u.s. Navy that will incorporate ePA Tier 4 engines as well as extensive fendering above and below the waterline for submarine handling. modutech has been contracted by the Navy to build one tug, with an option for one more. The tugs will measure 63 feet by 31 feet and employ twin 1,300-hp diesels to give a minimum bollard pull of 30 tonnes.

harley marine Now centerline logistics

seaTTle-headQuarTered harley marine services, a 33-year-old tug

and barge company that has expanded to all three coast lines over the past decade, has changed its name to Centerline Logistics Corporation. The move, which

n Four spinning rotors mounted on the Marshall Islands-registered bulk carrier Afros, which navigated the Columbia River in January, make use of the Magnus Effect to aid in propulsion . (See "Flettner Rotor Ship Calls," p . 67) – BPS photo .

n Clipper Navigation’s original high-speed ferry on the Seattle-Victoria run, the Victoria Clipper, has been sold to new owners in Gabon, West Africa . (See “Clipper Navigation Sells First Clipper”) – Robert Etchell photo .


incorporates the adoption of a new lion’s head logo for all its regional operations, follows an equity ownership change in July of last year.

olympia handles cows

The PorT of olyMPia reTurned To the animal export business in January

when the 10,421-grt livestock carrier Girolando Express arrived to load 1,650 dairy cows bound for Vietnam. The Washington port handled its first shipment of dairy cattle in 2015 and followed with further shipments in 2017 and 2018.

flettner rotor Ship calls

The 63,223-dwT aFRos, an ultramax-size bulk carrier, sailed

up the Columbia river this past winter with four rotating cylinders highly visible on deck. These proved to be Flettner rotors, developed by Great britain’s Anemoi marine Technologies, and the 2018-built ship, which is managed by Piraeus-based blue Planet shipping, is the first geared dry bulk carrier in the world to be fitted with the devices. They aid propulsion by utilizing the aerodynamic phenomenon known as the magnus effect. When the ship is in port, they can be moved longitudinally to clear the deck for cargo handling and prevent impact damage.

oregoNportland handling Boxes again

Weekly conTainer serVice returned to the Port of Portland

in January with an inaugural call of the 4,360-Teu container ship Qingdao, operated by south Korea’s sm Line. The 52,326-dwt vessel discharged nearly 200 loaded containers, along with 330 empty boxes for regional shippers, and loaded more than 70 export containers, most bound for south Korea.

gunderson marine Now greenbrier marine

PorTland-based gunderson marine, which is currently building a

204,000-barrel-capacity ATb tank barge for New York’s Overseas shipholding Group, and a smaller, 55,000-barrel-capacity ATb barge for Crowley maritime, has changed its name to Greenbrier marine to reflect the name of its parent company.

pollution prevention on columbia

The coasT guard and Two oregon state agencies were called in to

remove several thousand gallons of diesel fuel and other potential contaminants from two aging vessels on the Columbia

river in January. An estimated 8,500 gallons of diesel fuel and 100 gallons of lube oil were removed from the former 1942-built Navy tug Sakarissa (YTm-269) and the former 1927-built Coast Guard cutter Alert (WmeC-127), both privately owned but left unattended after their owner passed away. The tugboat had been retired from active service in 1974 and the Coast Guard cutter in 1969.

fishing Vessel Sinks

The coasT guard rescued four people from the 40-foot Darean Rose

after the fishing vessel hit a sandbank and capsize shortly after leaving the pier at Coos bay, Oregon, in late December. A 29-ft lifeboat was dispatched from the Coast Guard station at Coos bay to transfer the survivors back to shore, while Coast Guard personnel deployed a boom and absorbent pads around the vessel to prevent pollution.

califorNiaWeta orders another ferry

The san francisco bay area Water emergency Transportation

Authority has exercised a $14.8-million option for a second 300-passenger, high-speed, catamaran ferry from La Conner, Washington-based mavrik marine. To be delivered next year, the vessel will be a sister to Dorado, currently under construction by mavrik and due to be delivered later this year.

New tug for hueneme

LongView, washingTon-based brusco Tug & barge has positioned its

4,750-hp tug Teresa Brusco to California’s Port of Hueneme, where it has replaced the 2005-built tug Lulapin and joined the company’s 2013-built AsD tug Simone Brusco. The 3,700-hp Lulapin has been returned to the Columbia river.

Discovery Princess for West coast

sanTa clariTa, california-headquartered Princess Cruises has

announced that its 3,660-passenger Discovery Princess, currently under

n The 1927-built former Coast Guard cutter Alert (WMEC-127), now privately owned, is one of two vessels that have required pollution prevention measures on the Columbia River . (See “Pollution Prevention on Columbia”) – J . Shaw photo .


construction in Italy and due for completion in November 2021, will make its West Coast debut at Los Angeles in march 2022, following a 50-day positioning voyage from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, around the tip of south America. The royal-class ship will then operate a regular series of five-day and seven-day cruises from Los Angeles to the mexican riviera and along the California coastline to san Francisco and san Diego.

New Boats for la pilots

The PorT of los angeles has contracted Vigor Industrial of

Portland, Oregon, to build two 55.2-ft by 16.5-ft pilot boats for use by the Los Angeles Pilot service. Designed by the united Kingdom’s Camarc, the all-aluminum vessels will be powered by twin Caterpillar C18 diesels rated at 800 hp each to give a service speed of 27 knots.

haWaiimatson teams With Swire

Honolulu-based MaTson and China Navigation’s swire shipping have

entered into a vessel-sharing partnership to operate a service between Auckland, New Zealand, and the Tonga, samoa, Cook and Fiji island groups in the south Pacific.

matson will deploy its container ships Imua II and Olomana on the route while swire will charter in a vessel of approximately the same size for the service.

meXicomexico’s New frigate

The Mexican naVy’s new duTch-designed, multi-purpose frigate

ARM Reformer (POLA 101), completed to a Damen design at the mexican Naval shipyard in salina Cruz, Oaxaca (see Pacific Maritime Magazine, December 2018), has successfully completed its sea acceptance trials and is expected to be commissioned later this year. Two of the ship’s six modules, the bridge and propulsion sections, were built in the Netherlands and moved to the Pacific coast of mexico by heavylift ship, while the remaining four modules were fabricated in mexico. finished To a standard displacement

of 2,575 tons, the 107.14-meter by 14.08-meter ship is powered by a two-shaft diesel-electric power plant (CODOe) that includes two 9,240-kW diesel engines, six 735-kW diesel generators and two electric motors to give a maximum speed of 28 knots and an economic cruising speed of 18 knots. a furTher seVen of the frigates are

to be built in mexico through the remainder of this decade.

n Write James l. Shaw at Shaw11055@comcast .net or 11466 SE Hidalgo Ct ., Clackamas, OR 97105

n Matson’s 2004-built Olomana is taking part in a new South Pacific rotation in partnership with China Navigation’s Swire Shipping . (See “Matson Teams with Swire”) – Susan Yamamoto photo .

n The Mexican Navy has taken delivery of the Dutch-designed multi-purpose frigate ARM reformer (POLA 101) following completion of sea trials off Mexico’s Pacific coast. (See “Mexico’s New Frigate”) – Marine Ministry of Mexico photo .


lakes & Seaway Season comes to a close

We are glad To rePorT ThaT The Great Lakes/st. Lawrence

seaway’s 2019 season closed under relatively mild conditions, with vessels encountering moderate resistance from ice. The soo locks closed on January 15 with American steamship’s 1,000-ft Burns Harbor representing the last passage. The big self-unloader transited upbound in ballast for layup at superior, Wisconsin. The final vessel to clear the locks downbound was mcKeil marine’s barge Niagara Spirit a) Alaska Trader b) Timberjack pushed by the tug Leonard M a) Point Halifax, which transited downbound on a trip to Detroit the day before. The soo locks were scheduled to reopen on or around march 25.The welland canal’s commercial

season closed on January 7 when G3

Canada’s seaway-sized self-unloader G3 Marquis a) CWB Marquis transited the canal downbound on a voyage to Hamilton, Ontario. The prior day, Canada steamship Line’s CSL Tadoussac a) Tadoussac was the last vessel to transit the canal upbound while on a voyage to Port Colborne and winter layup. The sT. lawrence seaway’s 61st

season ended December 31, 2019, with CsL’s Spruceglen a) Selkirk Settler b) Federal St . Louis c) Federal Fraser d) Fraser passing upbound on its way to Cote ste-Catherine for layup. The 2001-built Fearless a) Bright Laker was the last saltwater visitor to leave the Lakes when it cleared the st. Lawrence seaway locks on December 30. The st. Lawrence seaway reported 38.3 million tons of cargo carried via 4,136 transits in 2019. both numbers represent an approximately 6-percent decrease from the previous year. A significant portion of the seaway’s decrease was in grain cargoes, which was blamed on overseas trade tensions, high water levels and weather conditions affecting the grain harvest.we would be reMiss if we didn’t salute

Inland Lakes’ venerable steamer Alpena

a) Leon Fraser, which completed its 77th season on January 16. The vessel, the oldest commercial vessel operating on the Great Lakes, delivered 64 cement cargoes from its namesake port to various silos throughout the Great Lakes.

Winter Sailing

Following recenT Trends, seVeral of Algoma Central’s units operated well

into the winter. The Algoma Conveyor and Algoma Innovator continued carrying salt cargoes well into march, while several of the company’s tankers, including Algosea a) Aggersborg and Algocanada, operated throughout the winter. In addition, the 2012-built asphalt/bitumen tanker Iver Bright is spending its second winter carrying liquid asphalt from sarnia, Ontario, to Detroit river and Lake erie ports.

american Steamship company Sold

AMerican sTeaMshiP coMPany, America’s largest Great Lakes fleet,

was sold to rand Logistics Inc. during the second week of January. Through this acquisition, rand Logistics and its subsidiaries, the Canadian-based

n The distinctive American Steamship Company stack, worn by American Century on the St . Clair River in 2018, might change after the company was acquired by Rand Logistics in early 2020 . (See “American Steamship Company Sold”) – Mark Shumaker photo .


Lower Lakes Towing and the American-based Grand river Navigation fleets, will become the largest vessel owner on the Great Lakes when the purchase is complete. Few details were released at the time of the announcement, so time will tell how the American steamship vessels will be incorporated into the rand organization.aMerican sTeaMshiP Company, owned

by GATX Corporation since 1973, was created in 1907, and its vessels are known for their distinctive black stacks with red and silver bands. The company moves over 27 million tons of bulk commodities throughout the Great Lakes annually in its 11 self-unloaders ranging from 635 feet to 1,000 feet.

mcKeil marine acquires two tankers

Mckeil Marine doubled iTs tanker fleet by adding the medium-

sized oil/chemical tankers Adfines Star a) Zhezhoudonghaian13 b) Osttank Sweden and Adfines Sea a) Osttank Norway during this news cycle. The sisters share much of the same history, with both built at Zhoushan, China, in 2011 and both being owned by Icetank Twenty-Two

shipping Corporation before being sold together to mcKeil. mcKeil announced that Adfines Star was renamed Atlantic Spirit while Adfines Sea was renamed Northern Spirit. The vessels are expected to trade between Great Lakes/st. Lawrence river ports and europe. These two tankers will join mcKeil’s recently acquired tankers Hinch Spirit a) Topaz I b) Topaz T c) MT Topaz-T d) Topaz-T e) Topaz I XO f ) Topaz T, and Wicky Spirit a) Turquoise I b) Turquoise T c) Turquoise-T .

tug Cheyenne Sold

The Tug CHeyenne, broughT To The Great Lakes in 2017 and operated

around the Detroit area, was sold during this news cycle. The 1965-built canal tug departed Detroit on January 3 and was relocated to sturgeon bay, Wisconsin. No name change has been announced, but we continue to wish this venerable tug success.

casualties

While downbound on The deTroiT river on December 15, 2019, and

within sight of its destination at Windsor, Ontario, Lower Lakes Towing’s bulker Tecumseh a) Sugar Islander b) Islander c) Judy

Litrico experienced a serious engine room fire. Heavy smoke was seen pouring from the vessel and it quickly anchored in the river after losing power. mcKeil marine’s tug Stormont rushed to the scene along with Coast Guard assets, including the tug Bristol Bay (WTGb-102). Thankfully, the ship was evacuated without any reported injuries to the 16 crew members. The fire was extinguished using its onboard carbon dioxide system along with a contracted firefighting team. After being secured at Windsor, the vessel was surveyed and then laid up for the winter. The Transportation safety board reported “extensive damage,” but there were no injuries or pollution reported from the fire. The bulker Joined the Canadian bulk

fleet at the beginning of the 2012 season. We hope the 1971-built vessel is repaired and has many more years of service left in it.PurVis Marine’s 1962-built barge

PML Ironmaster a) G .T . Steelmaster b) Cered c) American Gulf VII d) Seaspan 241 e) G .T . Ironmaster and its tug Anglian Lady a) Hamtun b) Nathalie Letzer grounded near Light X32 in Lake st. Clair on December 9, 2019. The tugs Pride and

n Adfines star was acquired by McKeil Marine and renamed Atlantic spirit during this news cycle . (See “McKeil Marine Acquires Two Tankers”) – Jeff Cameron photo .


Vigilant 1 a) HmCs Glenlivet b) Glenlivet II c) Canadian Franko d) Glenlivet II joined with a small barge to offload steel coils before the PML Ironmaster and Anglian Lady were released on December 22, 2019. Later, the pair set off for Detroit with the Pride assisting. There were no reports of injuries, damage or pollution as a result of the grounding.we are saddened to report two separate

accidents involving crew members during this news cycle. while Joining Central marine Logistics’

self-unloader Wilfred Sykes at burns Harbor, Indiana, a female deckhand fell off a dock and slipped below the surface on December 9, 2019. A witness entered the water, but was unable to rescue her. The victim’s body was recovered approximately 45 minutes later by divers.on february 25, a crewmember of

Algoma Central’s Algoma Conveyor was injured when he slid down a wet metal grate in the vessel’s cargo hold while the vessel was unloading salt in the Calumet river. Police, firefighters and paramedics from Chicago were called to the scene when the man complained of leg and ankle pain. The man was extracted by use of a stokes basket and taken to a local hospital, where he was treated for a fractured leg.

Bramble Sold again

AfTer rePorTing in The suMMer 2019 news column that the retired

Coast Guard buoy tender Bramble a) usCGC Bramble (WLb-392) was sold to a corporate executive in roanoke, Virginia, it was safe to assume that its future was reasonably bright. unfortunately, within a few short months of the vessel being relocated to mobile, Alabama, the new owner ran into financial trouble and the vessel was sold at a court-ordered auction on December 4, 2019, to pay creditors. sadly, the vessel was purchased by mobile-based modern American recycling services, one of America’s largest vessel and offshore platform recyclers. modern American recycling services said it had no

immediate plans for the vessel, but they also said they have little hope for a good long-term solution. The vessel departed the Great Lakes during the last week of march 2019.

Ethan Sails for the caribbean

The four-year saga of The sMall crane-equipped bulker Ethan came

to an end during this news cycle. The vessel last operated as Melissa Desgagnes a) Ontadoc, was retired at Quebec City during 2015, and subsequently sold off-lakes. unfortunately, legal problems began mounting, and the vessel was arrested in early 2017. In may 2019, the vessel was sold at the order of the court, and the sale to a Tanzanian company closed on June 28, 2019. The vessel departed Quebec City under its own power on December 21, 2019, for mexico.

St. lawrence river ferry Sold for Scrap

The sMall ferry LuCien-L was sold to International marine salvage

Corporation last fall and was towed to Port Colborne in early December for dismantling. The ferry was built at marine Industries in sorel, Quebec, for

societe des Traversiers du Quebec in 1967 and connected sorel/Tracy and st-Ignace-de-Loyola, Quebec, across the st. Lawrence river. mcKeil marine tug Molly M 1 a) Foundation Vigour b) Point Vigour towed the vessel to Port Colborne with Jarrett M a) Atomic assisting on the stern. The tow arrived at International marine’s scrap dock on December 13, 2019, carrying the name Cien-L.

ferry rescues girl from St. marys river

A scary siTuaTion unfolded on The st. marys river when, on January

21, a teenage girl fell through the ice near sugar Island. Quick work and thorough training by the crew of the ferry Sugar Islander II allowed the ferry to be maneuvered close to the girl and the deckhand and passengers pulled her from the frigid water. The ferry returned to the michigan mainland, where an ambulance was waiting to transport her to the hospital. Thankfully, the girl’s mother later said she suffered only cuts and bruises and was sore.

n Write mark Shumaker at 2767 Lymington Road, Columbus, OH 43220 or e-mail markshumaker@sbcglobal .net

n Lucien-L was sold to International Marine Salvage Corporation for scrap last fall . The vessel is shown operating on the St . Lawrence River . (See “St Lawrence River Ferry Sold for Scrap”) – Roger LeLievre photo .


port everglades Welcomes New Sky Princess

Princess cruises’ newesT shiP, sky Princess, was welcomed to Port

everglades on December 4, 2019, with a plaque and key ceremony held on board. This was in advance of the official naming ceremony on December 7.The 145,000-Ton shiP was scheduled

to offer seven-night Caribbean cruises from Port everglades throughout the winter season before heading to europe for the summer.

Costa Luminosa Welcomed to port everglades

PorT eVerglades welcoMed cosTa Cruises’ 93,000-ton Costa Luminosa on

December 12, 2019, with a plaque and key exchange ceremony on board. This was Luminosa’s first season homeporting at the south Florida port, although the ship first entered service in 2009.Costa Luminosa replaced her sister

ship Costa Deliziosa, which had sailed seasonally from Port everglades since 2015. Costa ships have been sailing from the port since the early 1960s.Luminosa was scheduled to operate

eight- and 11-night cruises to the eastern and Western Caribbean throughout the winter season.

Nieuw Amsterdam propulsion issues

Holland aMerica line’s nieuW Amsterdam developed problems with

one of its two Azipod propulsion units, and the ship was unable to sail from Port everglades on its scheduled December 14, 2019, cruise. The ship was kept in port, with all passengers on board, until the following day, when it was announced

that the cruise would be canceled.holland aMerica stated that while

the ship could safely sail with only one Azipod, to do so would require approval from several regulatory authorities. This process would take several days, and so, while some passengers could be switched to fleetmates Koningsdam and Nieuw Statendam, the majority of people were left without a cruise. They were fully refunded their cruise fares, reimbursed for any air change fees, and received 100-percent future cruise credits. much of the fresh fruit and produce from the canceled cruise was donated to the Feeding south Florida food bank.nieuW amsteRdam resumed her weekly

sailings after temporary repairs were made and authorizations were given to continue operations. but her February 1 cruise was then canceled so that the faulty Azipod could be completely replaced at the nearby Grand bahama shipyard.This rePlaceMenT, while rare, follows

other high-profile pod failures, including Oasis of the Seas and Carnival Vista in 2019.

major reconstruction at port everglades

PorT eVerglades, The 12Th-leading container port in the united states,

is moving forward with a $29.1-million upgrade that’s part of a series of projects that will adapt the port to the world’s largest cargo ships, which have been able to transit the Panama Canal since its expansion. many of those ships have bypassed the Fort Lauderdale port because of size restrictions.The ProJecT will expand parts of the

Intracoastal Waterway, which will be widened by 250 feet and deepened from 42 feet to 48 feet. This will allow cargo ships to transit to and from the southern section of the port, with more clearance as they travel alongside the berthed cruise ships. The entrance channel to the port, as well as the main turning basin, will also be deepened to 48 feet.anoTher ParT of the project is the

relocation of the present u.s. Coast Guard station Fort Lauderdale to a new facility located just to the east, closer to the ocean, near the port entrance.

Bahamas paradise cuts Sailings

BahaMas Paradise cruise line placed its Grand Classica a) Costa

Classica into long-term wet dock during the months of march, April and may of 2020. This effectively cut the line’s

n The new sky Princess, seen at Costa Maya, Mexico, during her maiden voyage from Port Everglades, December 2019 . (See “Port Everglades Welcomes New sky Princess”) – Rich Turnwald photo .


capacity in half, since it’s a two-ship operation from the Port of Palm beach.in laTe 2019, bahamas Paradise moved

the Grand Classica’s port-of-call from Freeport to Nassau, while retaining its Grand Celebration a) Celebration on the Freeport run. but with travelers more fearful of leaving the united states because of the coronavirus, bookings had fallen off, and the line decided that this was an opportune time to do some long-planned revitalization projects.The weT dock took place in Freeport,

and the Grand Classica was expected to be back in service to Nassau in June, in time to take advantage of the busy summer season.

port canaveral prepares for lNg Ships

When carniVal’s new maRdi Gras arrives at Port Canaveral

in mid-November, she’ll be the first LNG-powered cruise ship to be based in North America. Firefighters have been training at the Port Canaveral maritime Firefighting Academy, learning techniques and procedures in dealing with possible LNG fires, to prepare for the next generation of cruise ships. The port wants to be sure that first responders from various departments along the

space Coast are proficient and capable of handling any emergencies.maRdi gRas will be refueled by the

Q-LNG 4000, a cutting-edge articulated tug and barge vessel, using a waterside bunkering process regulated by the u.s. Coast Guard. The 324-ft Q-LNG 4000 will transport LNG from a facility on elba Island, Georgia, then return to Georgia after each bunkering operation to refuel.The canaVeral Port Authority is

acquiring a specialized fireboat to provide marine firefighting and rescue capabilities. This purpose-built vessel will be maintained in a ready state and will be operated by Canaveral Fire rescue.

long-lost Ship found off St. augustine

n Covedale, sister ship to the long-lost Cotopaxi, which was recently found off St . Augustine . – Rich Turnwald collection .

ArchaeologisTs wiTh The sT. Augustine Lighthouse Archaeological

maritime Program have discovered a shipwreck some 35 miles off the coast of st. Augustine, Florida; this is believed to be the remains of the ss Cotopaxi, thought to have disappeared in the bermuda Triangle 95 years ago.ss CotoPaxi was an emergency Fleet

Corporation Design 1060 bulk carrier, built for the u.s. shipping board during World War I. she was one of 17 vessels built at ecorse, michigan, by Great Lakes engineering Works, and her design had a typical Great Lakes appearance: deckhouse and engines aft, with four cargo hatches and two masts forward.CotoPaxi enTered serVice in December

of 1918. The 254-ft ship was placed in service carrying coal from u.s. ports to south America for the Clinchfield Navigation Company. In December 1925, while on a voyage from Charleston, south Carolina, to Havana, Cuba, the ship radioed a distress call that she was listing and taking on water during a tropical storm. Nothing more was ever heard or seen of the ship and her crew of 32 men.using MeasureMenTs taken from

construction plans, the Cotopaxi has been positively identified, bringing some closure to another mystery of the sea.

Jacksonville may get Navy museum Ship

DownTown JacksonVille May finally receive a naval vessel as

an attraction after several years of disappointments. some years ago, the city was all set to receive the uss Charles Adams, a retired destroyer located in Philadelphia, but at the last minute the u.s. Navy canceled the deal. Apparently, they had made similar agreements with other cities for ships in the past, which then fell into financial troubles, leaving the Navy to foot the bill for many associated costs.buT now The desTroyer uss Orleck

(DD 886), which has been a museum ship at Lake Charles, Louisiana, has become available. New development at the ship’s present site is displacing the vessel, leaving her without a berth. Jacksonville

n Costa Luminosa replaced sister ship Costa Deliziosa at Port Everglades for the winter . (See “Costa Luminosa Welcomed to Port Everglades,” page 62) – Rich Turnwald photo .


has an available berth without a ship, so it seems like a perfect arrangement.The oRLeCk was originally commissioned

in 1945 and decommissioned in 1982. since the ship has already been serving as a tourist attraction, very little work needs to be done on board to prepare her for the same role in Florida. The vessel has been deemed seaworthy to make the tow to Jacksonville, all pending approval by the Jacksonville City Council.Purchase and operating funds are

already in place. Hopefully, this project will come to fruition and the uss Orleck will have a new home.

Carnival Fascination to mobile in 2022

CarniVal cruise line announced that the 70,000-ton Carnival Fascination

will move from its current homeport of san Juan, Puerto rico, and be based in mobile, Alabama, effective January 16, 2022.CaRniVaL Fantasy will continue its

current four- and five-night cruise schedule from mobile until January 2022, at which time Carnival Fascination will pick up the itineraries.while FasCination is of the same class

as Fantasy, it’s four years newer and will offer some new features to the mobile market, such as a greater number of balcony accommodations. New and unique dining and entertainment venues will also be offered.aT Press TiMe, no plans had yet

been announced on Carnival Fantasy’s deployment after she leaves mobile.

USS Fitzgerald returns to Sea

AfTer nearly Two years of rePairs and modernization, the guided

missile destroyer uss Fitzgerald (DDG 62) is back at sea. The ship had received extensive damage in a June 17, 2017, collision with the containership ACX Crystal; seven Navy sailors lost their lives.The rePaired Fitzgerald departed

Huntington-Ingalls shipbuilding’s Pascagoula, mississippi, shipyard on February 3, 2020, to conduct sea trials.

These included a series of demonstrations to evaluate that all on-board systems were functioning properly. Among the systems tested were navigation, damage control, mechanical and electrical, combat, communications and propulsion.on FitzgeRaLd’s reTurn to the shipyard

from sea trials, crew training and certification commenced as final work items were completed. It was expected that the ship would return to the fleet, mission-ready, by early summer of 2020.

Disney Wonder inaugurates Sailings from New orleans

Disney cruise line eMbarked on an inaugural season sailing from New

Orleans when Disney Wonder departed from the Crescent City on February 7. It was the first time that Disney had homeported a ship in New Orleans.disney WondeR had received an on-board

makeover to offer a New Orleans dining and entertainment experience. Tiana’s Place restaurant has menus that draw inspiration from the flavors and ingredients of Louisiana, and the brand-new French Quarter Lounge serves up New Orleans-themed specialty drinks and live jazz.The WondeR sails seasonally to the

bahamas, the Caribbean and Disney’s private island, Castaway Cay. The ship

will return to New Orleans for the 2021 winter season as well.

galveston & royal caribbean to Build New terminal

The PorT of galVesTon has signed a long-term contract with royal

Caribbean Cruises for a new $100-million cruise terminal. The two-story terminal will be located on 10 acres in the eastern section of the port known as Pier 10.iMProVeMenTs to the pier bulkhead and

apron will be made to safely accommodate the cruise line’s largest vessels. In addition, a staging and loading area, bus and taxi staging areas, and substantial parking areas will be constructed.The new TerMinal is expected to open

in November 2021. It will welcome Allure of the Seas, which is one of the largest ships in the world, following her $165-million “amplification.” Allure will sail seven-night Caribbean itineraries from Galveston.a sPecial Thank you to Frank manwell

for his contributions and assistance with this column!

n Write rich turnwald at 7635 SW 99th Court, Miami, FL 33173 or linerrich@att .net

n USS Orleck may become a museum ship at Jacksonville . (See “Jacksonville May Get Navy Museum Ship,” page 73) – Jacksonville Historical Naval Ship Association photo .


passenger Ship calls & cruises from australasia

ALbatRos, aRCadia, astoR, azamaRa Journey, Carnival Legend, Carnival

Splendor, Celebrity Solstice, Columbus, Coral Discovery, Europa, Explorer Dream, Maasdam, Majestic Princess, Norwegian Jewell, Noordam, Ovation of the Seas, Queen Elizabeth, Pacific Aria, Pacific Dawn, Radiance of the Seas, Regatta, Ruby Princess, Seabourn Encore, Seven Seas Mariner, Seven Seas Navigator, Silver Muse, The World, True North, Vasco Da Gama, Viking Orion, Viking Sun and Voyager of the Seas .

australian cruise market

TwenTy-Three new deeP-sea cruise ships visited Australasian locations.

small ships have been introduced to smaller New Zealand ports, areas of Tasmania, Queensland, Western Australia, Northern Territory and Papua New Guinea. small Pacific island nations struggle to provide services when 4,000 passengers invade for the day. Another

concern is the threat of disease in places with limited medical resources.

passenger Ship News

Two older P&o ausTralia cruise liners will leave the fleet in the first

quarter of 2021. Pacific Aria and Pacific Dawn will be retired and possibly sold to other operators. The two ships were ideal for most ports and able to transfer passengers by tender to and from shore. in order To enable visitors to visit

remote Norfolk Island, the Australian government has had to construct two tenders to transport cruise passengers onto the island. Norfolk Island started life as a penal settlement and abounds in history related to early Australia. when The Ruby PRinCess arrived in

Australian waters in November 2019, she became the 22nd Princess cruise ship to be based in Antipodean waters. The first was the small passenger ship Italia, which arrived in sydney November 18, 1969.dreaM cruises commenced cruising

out of eastern Australian waters with Explorer Dream . The ship was better known as Superstar Virgo under star Cruises. both cruise lines are part of Genting. The ship operated for a time out of Australia during the sArs epidemic some years ago, but mainly cruised out of singapore, malaysia and Hong Kong.

soMe Passenger shiPs that operated out of Hong Kong have moved elsewhere or were laid up due to the Hong Kong protests. because of susPecTed coronavirus

infections, Westerdam had been refused entry to Thailand and other ports. After floating about off Thailand for a week, Cambodia agreed February 13 to permit the ship to dock. Two hundred-Plus Australian

passengers became infected with the virus onboard Diamond Princess while it was off the Japanese Port of Yokohama in early February. The ship, at the time of this report, was still quarantined, with over 3,000 passengers and crew.noRWegian JeWeLL called at sydney

February 14 with one ill passenger who tested negative for the virus. Another cruise ship, World Dream, was also quarantined at Hong Kong. Imagine if this catastrophe took place off a small south Pacific Island nation.

New zealand News

A nuMber of Passengers froM The cruise ship Ovation of the Seas lost their

lives when they visited an island off the Port of Tauranga, in New Zealand’s North Islands on December 9, 2019. The island’s volcano erupted and killed several people on the ground. The people who were leaving the island by boat weren’t injured. The bodies were located by New Zealand personnel on December 13 amid fears of a further eruption. Two bodies weren’t found and searches continued on land. The New Zealand Navy scoured surrounding waters and found one of the two missing persons. The other one was later found ashore.

South West Pacific island Nations

AusTralia is cooPeraTing wiTh The government of Honiara in building

a Naval base in the south West Pacific. The united states will work closely with Australia in the construction and commissioning of the new base. ausTralia has been building some 30

naval patrol and police patrol vessels to give to island nations.

n Pacific Aria will be leaving P&O Australia in early 2021 . (See “Passenger Ship News”) – Bill Barber photo .


port News

MaJor dredging conTracTs haVe been announced so that large

container ships will have access to Australian ports. Larger tankers are now visiting Australia from the Gulf region and singapore, discharging crude oil into storage facilities on both sides of Australia’s coast. Australia and New Zealand rely on deliveries of crude fuels from the Gulf and Asian regions. wiTh larger shiPs entering the europe/

Asian service, displaced ships are being used to replace smaller tonnage on the Asia/Australia and New Zealand services.

ferries

A fasT ferry serVice was inTroduced last December between the provincial

city of Geelong and melbourne. Two years ago, a similar service was incorporated between Port Arlington on the bellarine Peninsula and melbourne. That success precipitated the new service and a second purpose-built catamaran ferry.in sydney, the decision to give the First

Fleet ferries a million-dollar overhaul, including new engines, was a better alternative than having new ferries constructed. This would provide another decade of service by the older ferries. New ferries on the brisbane river are

under construction, with the first of the series built with an extra passenger deck. The first, Yoogera, is already in service.

tug talk

WiTh a second license award for towage for the port of Port

Hedland, Western Australia, a further nine new and near-new tugs commenced operations in that iron ore port. Other ports in Australia have upgraded their tugs as new entries, such as engage marine, provide newer and larger tugs.

antarctic icebreaker

In addiTion To VisiTs To ausTralian bases on the frozen mainland of

Antarctica and other southern islands, including macquarie Island, the u.s.

Coast Guard’s Polar Star made a call at Hobart, Tasmania, on her way to the u.s. base at mcmurdo on the frozen shelf.

royal australian Navy

Two new naVal Tankers are being fitted out in spain to replace old royal

Australian Navy tonnage. (On a personal note, one of the commanders is a member of the family.) One of the older oilers has been decommissioned and broken up at the Whyalla shipyard in south Australia. The last of the FFG warships built in the united states was retired in 2019 and broken up at the Henderson Yards near Fremantle, Western Australia. The last two remaining FFG warships in the fleet were constructed in Australia and are fast reaching retirement age.

australia’s Noah’s ark

Following a nuMber of serious bush fires to the northeast of melbourne,

Victoria, and south of sydney, New south Wales, huge tracts of land and townships were partially or completely destroyed. The 4,000 residents and tourists in mallacoota were forced to stand on the beach while the township was virtually destroyed. With the ocean behind and fire equipment in front, the people, mercifully, were saved. wiTh eVacuaTion available only by

helicopter or by sea, the royal Australian Naval Troopship HmAs Choules a) Hms Largs Bay was loaded with provisions and survival supplies and sailed to offshore mallacoota. equipment was helicoptered ashore and people were evacuated to the ship. Cruising Naval style was better than staying ashore until roads were re-opened some days later. The Choules and a smaller naval vessel, believed to be a u.s.-flagged tug, sailed on an overnight voyage to the Port of Hastings on Western Port bay. The troopship lifted over 1,000 civilians and their pets out of harm’s way.

fires

The cruise shiP VasCo da gama was to call at Kangaroo Island

south of Adelaide, south Australia, at the height of the bush fires, as part of an evacuation plan. The ship stood at a safe distance in case it might be needed to undertake a Dunkirk-style evacuation, but this didn’t take place. some ports of call were changed for logistical and safety requirements.

n Write William g.t. Barber Unit 5 – 62 Kedelstein Road, Herne HillGeelong Victoria 3218 AustraliaEmail – billba3@bigpond .com

n Geelong Flyer is one of the ferries in the new passenger service between Melbourne and Geelong .(See “Ferries”) – Bill Barber photo .


mKArNs was closed for 57 days due to high water last year. Head of navigation on the mKArNs is Tulsa, Oklahoma.

high Water Slows Work

The Missouri riVer conTinues To see a higher-than-average release

of water from upstream reservoirs. For the 2019 calendar year, total missouri river runoff was 60.9 million acre-feet, the second highest runoff in 121 years of record keeping. This runoff has prolonged the river’s navigation season. year-long higher-than-normal water

levels on the Tennessee river have slowed progress on completing the Kentucky Lock Addition Project. When completed, this project will increase the length of the Kentucky Lock from 600 to 1,200 feet. high waTer on the Ohio river has

delayed removal of old Locks and Dams 52 and 53. These two locks and dams were rendered redundant after the opening of Olmsted Locks and Dam in August 2018. It’s hoped that the remains of both locks and dams will be removed by 2022. afTer being closed off and on during

the last half of 2019 for repairs to its lock chamber, work that was slowed by high water, Allegheny river Lock No. 2 has been returned to full service. on The cuMberland river, Old

Hickory Lock was closed on February 14, 2020, and was scheduled to return to service on April 10, 2020.

poor Season leads to restructurings

In deceMber 2019, Mark knoy, CeO and president of American

Commercial barge Line, stated, “While we are hauling hundreds of barge loads of wind towers and blades, it’s nowhere near enough to offset the loss of domestic and export steam coal barge traffic. regional barge operators that have been tied exclusively to the coal power generation industry, over the last 50 years, are in for a rough road in attempting to redeploy their assets to other businesses. many of these coal assets do not convert economically to other commodities.” in february 2020, because of a poor

2019 navigational season, American Commercial Lines of Jeffersonville, Indiana, parent company to ACbL, entered into a restructuring support Agreement with a majority of its long-term loan holders. This agreement will allow recapitalization of ACL and also reduce the company’s debt. As part of the deal, lenders will exchange much of their debt for equity in ACL and become ACL’s major stockholders. As part of this process, ACL will reorganize itself under the provisions of Chapter 11 u.s. bankruptcy Code. acl sTaTed in a press release

concerning the restructuring that “Over the past four years, ACbL has been

Dredges Busy on the Waterways

The year 2019 was noT kind To those using the Western rivers for

commercial purposes. Jennifer Carpenter, CeO and president of the American Waterways Operators, said, “2019 was a very difficult year for towboat operators on the inland river system, and especially in the inland dry cargo sector, in part due to sustained high-water conditions and dredging challenges.” high waTer ThroughouT most of the

year restricted use of the Illinois river, upper mississippi river, Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway and Arkansas river because these waters closed locks for various periods of time or had silted-up channels, reducing the load-carrying ability of barges. During 2019, the Corps’ dustpan dredge Hurley dredged more than 12.5 million cubic yards of sediment from the Lower mississippi river and its tributaries; a normal yearly average is 7 to 9 million cubic yards. Hurley, built in 1993 and rebuilt in 2010, can dredge to a depth of 75 feet. During a 24-hour period she can remove 100,000 cubic yards of silt from a 15-ft face while advancing 324 linear feet. also working on the Lmr and its

tributaries during 2019 was the 24-inch cutterhead dredge Integrity, owned by Inland Dredging Company. During 2019, she dredged eight harbors: Hickman, Kentucky; Osceola, Arkansas; Wolf river, Tennessee; New madrid, missouri; Helena, Arkansas; memphis, Tennessee; Caruthersville, missouri; and Tiptonville, Tennessee.during 2020, the Corps will dredge

the mcClellan-Kerr Arkansas river Navigation system to help restore its nine-ft navigation channel, which was compromised during 2019 by flooding. The

n The towboat Covington, owned by C&B Marine, is seen here tied up to its drydock at Ludlow, Kentucky . – Charles H . Bogart photo .


affected by challenging market conditions, the weather and the closure of key areas of the Western river system for extended periods of time. We have responded to these challenges by reducing costs and maintaining a high degree of financial discipline. The actions we are taking today will significantly reduce our debt and debt service costs. This will allow us to free up resources to respond to the changing market.” ACbL owns or operates under lease over 180 towboats and 3,500 barges.in January 2020, Harley marine

service underwent restructuring and is now operating as Centerline Logistics Corporation. The restructured company plans to continue transporting and storing petroleum products.

Shipping is Down

OVerall, The 2019 wesTern riVer navigation season was a disaster for

commercial barge operators. Not only did coal almost disappear from barge traffic, but the movement of grain by barge collapsed. During 2019, some 29,247,000 tons of grain were shipped by barge, compared to 2018, which saw the transport by barge of 37,975,000 tons. While wheat tonnage remained steady at 1,631,000 tons and soybeans increased from 12,819,000 tons in 2018 to 14,683,000 tons in 2019, corn fell from 23,349,000 tons in 2018 to 12,780,000 tons in 2019. in a Press release, the red river Valley

Association stated that the red river has a nine-foot navigation channel from the Lmr to shreveport, Louisiana, and the river annually sees over 4 million tons of goods move by barge over its waters. These cargos include sand, gravel, petroleum products, coal, limestone, fertilizer, steel, grains and timber.

paducah gets grant

The MariTiMe adMinisTraTion has given a grant of $480,000 to the

Port of Paducah, Kentucky, located at the junction of the Tennessee river with the Ohio river, to move forward on putting in place a container-on-barge service between it and the Lmr Port of baton

rouge, Louisiana. At present, containers move by barge between the Port of New Orleans and baton rouge. During 2019, PONO set a new record on handling containers, with some 648,535 Teu passing through the port.

Season ends

The 2019 uMr season ended on November 28 when the 6,000-hp

Kelly Rae Erickson, owned by ACbL, departed st. Paul, minnesota, pushing four barges for st. Louis, missouri. The season had opened on April 24 with the arrival of the 6,120-hp Aaron F . Barret, owned by Ingram barge. because of high water during most of the season, which closed the river to barge traffic, tonnage in and out of the Twin Cities for 2019 was down 30 percent from 2018.

milestones

The coosa-alabaMa riVer Improvement Association is

130 years old in 2020. The nonprofit association is the voice for those moving goods by river between mobile, Alabama, and montgomery, Alabama. on January 21, 2020, mrs. mary

Ackerman Otte died at the age of 106 in Quincy, Illinois. she is thought to have been the last officer to work on board the streckfus’ steamers Capitol and J .S . Deluxe . aT alMosT The saMe TiMe, Keith

Norrington announced that he was stepping down from his position as

director of the Howard steamboat museum because of health reasons. He plans to continue to be an active volunteer at the museum. WateRWay JouRnaL reported that 35

towboats were removed from the register of boats working on the Western rivers during 2019. six were sold for operations elsewhere, one was converted to a pleasure boat, four were lost to sinking, seven were scrapped and the remainder were placed out of service – towboats that, for one reason or another, still exist but are no longer on the Coast Guard register of active boats. In addition, 96 towboats were renamed and 30 new towboats entered service in 2019. in January 2020, Kirby Corporation

announced that it was purchasing savage Inland marine’s fleet of 96 inland tank barges and 46 towboats for $278 million. savage Inland marine will continue to provide offshore service to the petroleum industry.

casualties

On february 2, 2020, The TowboaT Miss Odessa, pushing six hoppers

loaded with rock, ran aground upon exiting the Atchafalaya river into the Gulf Intercoastal Waterway. After pulling free from the bank, the lead barge split in half and sank. The waterway didn’t reopen until February 9, at which time 12 southbound tows, six westbound tows, 28 eastbound tows and four northbound tows

n From left to right are C&B Marine’s Cincinnati area harbor boats, Anna C and James H . – Charles H . Bogart photo .


were waiting to pass through the area.On January 26, at mile 123 Lmr, the

10,500-hp Cooperative Spirit, owned by ArTCO, collided with the 1,700-hp R . C . Creppel, owned by elite Towing. At the time of the collision, Cooperative Spirit was headed up river, hugging the east bank and pushing a tow of barges, while R . C . Creppel was headed downstream pushing two barges loaded with sulfuric acid. It’s unknown at the time of this writing why they collided. However, the collision punctured one of the sulfuric acid barges, resulting in a release of sulfuric acid vapor into the air. R . C . Creppel, following the collision, rolled over and sank. Only one of her four crew members was safely pulled from the river. on february 10, a skiff carrying

four crew members from the 2,800-hp Melvin L. King, owned by Yazoo river Towing, sank after colliding with a tow bound upriver. The skiff with the crew members was returning to the Melvin L. King from an evening ashore. Two of the men on the skiff were lost. The unnamed towboat, unaware that it had struck the skiff, continued upriver. The incident only became known when the two survivors reached shore and placed a call for help.

how NtSB Works

WesTern waTerway collisions and allisions that result in the death

of a crew member are investigated by

the National Transportation safety board. NTsb is an independent federal agency charged by Congress with “investigating every civil aviation accident in the united states and significant accidents in other modes of transportation: railroad, highway, marine and pipeline.” nTsb has a fiVe-MeMber board

appointed by the president. Among the departments within NTsb is a marine Department staffed by professional mariners. staff members include licensed masters, chief engineers, naval architects and experts in various other marine-related fields. once iTs inVesTigaTion of an incident

is completed, NTsb will issue a preliminary report of its findings. This preliminary report may be commented upon by interested parties. Then, after reviewing all comments concerning its preliminary report, NTsb issues a final report. This final report is published on the NTsb website. Interestingly, the final report will not specifically attribute fault to any individual or entity; it will only provide a factual background concerning the incident and state what NTsb thinks was the probable cause of the incident. The NTsb report, which is not admissible in u.s. court proceedings, contains no recommendation of penalty, punishment or sanction against individuals or organizations.

historic tender Needs help

A 1939 corPs boaT Tender, The 250-hp Joseph Throckmorton,

survives today as the restored towboat Elizabeth Lee. rescued in 2004 by Aaron richardson from a riverbank in Louisiana, she was taken to Aurora, Indiana, and restored. since 2014, Elizabeth Lee has traveled to various Ohio river cities to participate in local festivals. In 2019, she visited towns on the Kentucky river. Today, she’s in need of new engines. To help fund this project you can make a donation at her website, https://www.towboatelizabethleapreservationsociety.org/

changes

Missouri dry dock and rePair has sold its 330-hp towboat Bill

Wyndham to mcNational Inc.The 3,000-hP Pierre Billot, built by steiner

Construction, has been added to the fleet of enterprise marine of Houma, Louisiana. Parker Towing has renamed two

of the five boats it bought from Henry marine service in 2018. The 1,368-hp Natalie H. is now Hamp Uzzelle and the 1,368-hp Beverly H. is now the Norman McAllister . ergon Marine & Industrial supply

Inc. has taken delivery of two towboats, the 2,000-hp Florence Davis, built by steiner Construction, and the 1,368-hp Patsy J., built by Nichols boat Company. cgb enTerPrise has named its two

new 1,600-hp towboats Tom Torretti and Rick Pemberton . osage Marine has received the 803-hp

Charles T from master marine’s bayou La batre, Alabama, shipyard .John bludworTh shipyard has

delivered the 2,600-hp Raymond Butler to maritime Partners.MariTiMe ParTners has christened its

new 2,000-hp towboat, built by Intracoastal Iron Works, as Miss Sally Dane.

n Write charles h. Bogart at 201 Pin Oak Pl ., Frankfort, KY 40601 or Cbogart75@gmail .com

n Heading up the Ohio River at Constance, Kentucky, with six barges of sand and three empty open hoppers, is Hoosier state, owned by AEP River Transportation . – Charles H . Bogart photo .


New tugboat News

seabulk Towing has conTracTed with master boat builders Inc. for

the construction of four harbor tugs, with delivery expected in the second half of 2021 through early 2022. Two of the newbuilds will augment the company’s existing rotorTug fleet and feature updates to the advanced rotorTug design. The other two azimuth stern drive newbuilds will be equipped with diesel mechanical and electric motor propulsion systems. These vessels represent seabulk’s initial investment in hybrid power and will operate alongside the company’s harbor fleets in the u.s. Gulf of mexico and east Coast ports. The design includes arrangements that will allow for the future installation of batteries for greener operation. roberT allan lTd. has been awarded

a contract by modutech marine Inc. of Tacoma, Washington, to design a new version of the commercially successful rascal 1800 Z-Tugs for the u.s. Navy.

This award builds on the success of robert Allan’s Z-Tech 4500 design for the u.s. Navy, and has another six tugs identified as the YT-808 class currently under construction. The design will include updates to suit new ePA Tier 4 engines and associated systems, and extensive fendering above and below the waterline for handling

Navy surface ships, submarines and barges. Construction of the first tug is to commence in 2020. The tugs will be 63 feet long and have a beam of 31 feet, with a molded depth of 11.6 feet. bollard pull will be 30 metric tons minimum. The sT. lawrence seaway

Development Corp. has awarded a contract for the construction of a new Z-drive tractor tug to Washburn & Doughty Associates in east boothbay, maine. The HT-60, the smallest in the harbor series developed by seattle-based naval architecture firm Glosten, is slated for delivery in 2021. The new vessel will be used to carry out a variety of construction and maintenance duties for the u.s. portion of the seaway.easTern shiPbuilding Group Inc.

delivered the first of two 5,100-hp, Z-drive tugs to e.N. bisso & sons Inc. for ship-docking services on the mississippi river. Designed by robert Allan Ltd., the C .D . White was turned over to bisso on January 8. The second tug, to be named A . Thomas Higgins, was launched January 31 at eastern’s Allanton, Florida shipyard.

Tugboats

n The new barbara Jean mullholland alongside the company pier in Seattle, Washington . (See “Other Tugboat News,” page 81) – Photo courtesy of Kyle Stubbs .

n The new eileen mcAllister underway during shipyard trials . (See “New Tugboat News”) – Photo courtesy of McAllister Towing & Transportation Company .

by David M . Boone


n (Above) The new E .N . Bisso tug C.D. White arriving on the Mississippi River . – Photo courtesy of E .N . Bisso & Son . (Below) The E .N . Bisso & Son tug A. Thomas Higgins about to hit the water for the first time . – Photo courtesy of Eastern Shipbuilding Group . (See “New Tugboat News,” page 80 .)

washburn & doughTy launched the new Z-drive tractor tug Eileen McAllister in January for mcAllister Towing & Transportation Company, New York. The former Eileen McAllister, built in 1977, is laid up in Norfolk, awaiting disposal.foss MariTiMe Company’s newest

tug, Jamie Ann, is nearing completion at Nichols brothers boatbuilders in Freeland, Washington. Designed by Jensen maritime Consultants in seattle, the tug is the first of four that will be added to the Foss fleet.

other tugboat News

On January 23, harley Marine services became Centerline

Logistics Corporation, better to reflect the growing trend of combining vessel operations and logistic support. The change came after Harley Franco, who founded the company in 1987, was ousted as owner and CeO. The seattle-based operation also has fleets in Dutch Harbor, Alaska, Portland, Oregon, san Francisco, Los Angeles/Long beach, Houston, New Orleans and New York. The company also welcomed its newest

tug, the Barbara Jean Mulholland, into its Los Angeles/Long beach fleet on February 20.Marcon inTernaTional brokered

the sale of the twin-screw tug Nancy M . from manson Construction Company of seattle to an undisclosed u.s. buyer. built in 1970 as the Shelley Foss, the tug underwent a major rebuild in 1993 with a new deckhouse and stern, and continued working for Foss maritime until the sale to manson in 2009. The new owner modified the tug with tall push knees to support its fleet of derrick barges. Kort nozzles were installed in 2018.

McallisTer Towing sold its tug Megan McAllister to stasinos marine Company, boston. The tug was renamed Charles James and is now working on Long Island sound.aPex oil bought Kirby’s Arabian Sea

to replace its tug Brooklyn, which was bumped down to a smaller barge. The tug was renamed Saint Emilion .norfolk Tug’s Taft Beach transferred to

buchanan marine Ltd. and was renamed Buchanan 5 .as was sTaTed in the last column,

Crowley maritime sold its tug Sea Voyager to new owners in France. The

n The Nancy m. in Island Tug & Barge colors in Seattle, Washington . (See “Other Tugboat News”) – Photo courtesy of Kyle Stubbs .

n The megan mcAllister underway before her sale to Stasinos Marine . (See “Other Tugboat News”) – Photo courtesy of Birk Thomas .


tug departed seattle on January 8 for the long delivery trip to europe. Also, Crowley sold its tugs Attentive and Alert to signet marine; the tugs were towed from seattle to brownsville, Texas.The charTered suderman & Young

tug Ted was renamed Lir and painted in the chartering company’s colors.The McallisTer-owned Gateway

Towing Company tug Connecticut was sold to Tucker roy Towing in Fall river, massachusetts.The Tug CoastaL 303 was refurbished

at bolinger shipyard in New Orleans and sailed to the Great Lakes as the renamed Caroline McKee for Port City marine. she will push the cement barge Commander between various Great Lakes ports.exPress Marine inc. in Camden, New

Jersey, sold its tug Duty to new owners in Puerto rico, where she was renamed Nydia P .The forMer nuclear-powered passenger

freighter Savannah returned to her berth in baltimore after a drydocking period in Philadelphia. The February 13 tow was accomplished by the Marjorie B . McAllister with the assistance of the Philadelphia fleet tugs Reid McAllister and Robert E . McAllister .The saga of bouchard Transportation

Company problems continues. Twelve

bouchard tugs and barges in the Port of New York came to a halt after the usCG captain of the port issued an order related to unsafe operational conditions. marine inspectors boarded all vessels on January 29 and found tugs with low fuel and lube oil levels, stability concerns and crews not being paid. The company was given a 24-hour notice to come up with a plan for storage at a safe berth or to restore vessels to a safe operational status within the port. On February 13, the usCG ordered three of the tugs and barges out of anchorages to layberths because of unsafe fuel levels and manning concerns. bouchard did not have adequate contingencies in place for emergency weather or other conditions requiring movement in the port. The tugs Danielle M . Bouchard and Kim M . Bouchard are in the same situation, anchored since November 26, 2019, off sabine Pass, Texas.Paul sause, last of the sause brothers

who founded their towing company on the West Coast, passed away on January 16 at 97 years old.

n Write David m. Boone at 36 Kendall Blvd ., Oaklyn, NJ 08107 or tugboatpainter@comcast .net

n The Connecticut in Tucker Roy Towing colors . (See “Other Tugboat News,” page 81) – Photo courtesy of Nate Lopez .

DON’T mIss THem!

PowerShipsCOmING sOON in

Greek Conversions: Sisters Daphne and DanaeIn Lives of the Liners, William Miller offers an enlightening history about the sisters Daphne and Danae . Originally freighters built in Britain in 1954-55, they were bought in 1972 by the Greek shipping tycoon John G . Carras and thoroughly rebuilt as 400-passenger luxury cruise ships and later sold to Italy’s Costa Cruises .

Ingalls Shipbuilding:1946–1961In a follow-up to his Fall 2015 article, Terry Tilton offers an engaging story of the post-World War II years of Ingalls and the ships that continued to make the company a huge success, including building passenger and cargo liners for companies such as Delta, Moore-McCormack, Lykes and Farrell, icebreakers, oil tankers, merchant ships, Navy destroyers, and nuclear submarines .

the cunard Story exhibit aboard the Queen MaryKevin M . Anthoney provides a detailed account of the exhibit, which showcases Cunard’s remarkable 179-year history, its relationship with the Queen mary, its founder’s vision, the ships it inspired and continues to bring forward, and their influence on immigration, global maritime policies and technological innovation .

a Visit to luxury liner row in the Nineteen fifties

Larry Miller recounts ship experiences, that you can explore in detail at the digital Wolfsonian Museum . You’ll enjoy a walk on ships such as Arosa sky, mauretania, britannic, Nieuw Amsterdam, Homeric, Asama maru, rex, Normandie, Aquitania and many others . … and more!


BeNeath the reStleSS WaVe: memoirs of a cold War Submariner Tony Beasley and Edward Couzens-Lake . Casemate Publishers (casematepublishers .com) . 2020 . 192 pp ., illustrated . $34 .95 . Hardcover .

This is The biograPhy of a royal Navy sailor, now in his 80s, who

served ashore and aboard surface ships and a submarine during the Cold War. enlisting while still a boy, he trained in telegraphy and then electronic intelligence. He had

vowed never to serve on a submarine and was not trained to do so, but did just that on a secret mission to spy on the soviet Fleet in the barents sea. This was a mission that officially “never happened.” Tony beasley grew up in a West sussex village about 40 miles south of London. He had seen the fires and heard of the loss of life and property in London during the war; and he saw the “invasion” of Canadian troops into england in 1943. His father had worked as a welder on the PLuTO pipeline that transported fuel across the Channel to France.beasley Joined the Navy as a teenager

in 1946. His mother was opposed, and he literally ran away from home to go to sea. At age 13 he joined the Ts Arethusa, a 4-masted barque, with 238 other boys. In 1949 he enlisted in the rN and became a boy seaman. He wanted to become a telegraphist and was finally selected for Hms Ganges and communications training, becoming a signal boy, second class. His first post was to Hms Loch Lomond, an AsW frigate based at malta. His stories of life aboard make interesting and

informative reading. For example, the daily rum ration was given to anyone over 20. It was served from a large, square and decrepit, barnacle-encrusted bucket called the “rum Fanny.” On a sailor’s 20th birthday he was given his first “tot” and a sip from everyone else’s, rendering him useless for the rest of the day.beasley’s second shiP was the

frigate Hms Magpie, commanded by HrH Prince Phillip. On the Magpie, he became very proficient at “reading morse code with a typewriter.” Afterward he served aboard the minesweeper Hms Fierce, then at an onshore facility named Hms Mercury. neVer wanTing to serve on submarines,

Tony wanted to go to radio Warfare, but was “volunteered” for a secret mission on one, Hms Dolphin. He was trained for submarine duty and learned russian methods and codes, and their radar and tracking systems. He was posted to Hms Turpin in 1955. Turpin’s mission was Top secret, that of surveillance of russian naval training areas in the distant barents sea. During this mission he was injured during a crash dive to avoid an oncoming russian vessel. in 1966 his nexT PosT was to the

guided missile destroyer Hms Devonshire as master-at-arms, the senior member of the lower deck. He had been “thrown out of the branch I loved so much and shoved into one that I hated.” His career in electronic warfare was over. Devonshire was not a happy ship. He sailed on and left the rN on a pension in 1973 at age 40, having served for 24 years. In retirement he suffered from pain in his shoulders, neck and back from his accident on Turpin. He applied for a disability pension but was turned down because his submarine service, which was covert, didn’t show on his record. After

a long struggle, he wrote to the prime minister, two mPs and HrH Prince Phillip, pleading his case. Happily, Phillip sent his request to the admiral of the fleet, who helped him receive an 80 percent pension.This book is the true story of Cold War

sailor who had a long career in surface ships and an important covert mission on a submarine. since I was unfamiliar with royal Navy lore, especially terminology and slang, it was an enjoyable and informative read for me. William A . Fox

BlacK maN oN the TITANIC: the Story of Joseph larocheSerge Bile . Mango Publishing (mango .bz) . 2019 . 257 pp ., illustrated . $16 .95 . Paperback .

WhaT Possibly could be wriTTen today about the sinking of the

Titanic that has not been recorded in countless other books. What about the fact that there was a “black man” on the Titanic’s passenger list? A man who with his French wife and

their two daughters, Juliette, simone, and Louise), were not traveling in Third Class but in second Class. The man was Joseph Philippe Laroche, a native of Haiti. born in Haiti in 1886, Joseph spent his childhood in the city of Le Cap. In 1901, sponsored by the Catholic Church, he traveled to France where he studied at the Institution du saint-esprit to become an engineer. wiThin The sTory of Joseph Laroche’s

time at the Institution du saint-esprit and other French schools is the tale of France at war with itself as various groups battled for control of the country’s educational system. In 1906, Joseph met

Reviews Edited by William A . Foxn SSHSA assumes no responsibility for opinions expressed by reviewers, nor are reviews official statements of the Society itself.


17-year old Juliette Lafargue, daughter of a French wine merchant. This meeting would lead to the two of them marrying in 1908. At this time, Joseph was employed by Les enterprise Nord-sur, which was engaged in building what is today part of the Paris subway system. However, this job soon ended, and Joseph found himself caught in a cycle of part-time employment. in 1909, JosePh and Juliette welcomed

the birth of the first of three children, daughter simonne; followed in 1910 by another daughter, Louise; and in 1912, a son Joseph. The year 1912 would also see Joseph senior decide to return to Haiti where he was promised employment because of his engineering skills. Due to the age of the newborn son, Joseph Junior, it was decided to leave him for the time being with Juliette’s parents. On April 10, 1912, Joseph Laroche, with his wife and two daughters, boarded Titanic at Cherbourg for New York. upon arrival in New York, Joseph and his family planned to transfer to another ship for the final leg of their journey to Cap Haitien, Haiti. While Juliette, simonne, and Louise would reach New York on board Carpathia, Joseph would be numbered among those who died when Titanic sank. while This book is sold as a

biographical account of the life of Joseph Laroche, a more accurate description would be that it is an historical survey of Haiti and France between 1880 and 1920, an historical survey in which Joseph and his family make cameo appearances. It should also be noted that much of what is recorded in the book about Joseph Laroche is based on speculation or extrapolation. Despite the forgoing reservations about the book, I found it to be an interesting look into an aspect of the Titanic disaster that I had not investigated. The book can be read both as a look at the sinking or as a comment on racial and religious bigotry at the start of the 20th century. The author has written a very readable book whose subject is both maritime

history and social history. As a side note, this edition is a translation, as the book was originally written in French. Charles H . Bogart

THETIS DoWN: the Slow Death of a SubmarineTony Booth . Pen & Sword Books Ltd (pen-and-sword .co .uk) . 2008 . 220 pp ., illustrated . $19 .67 . Hardcover .

HMs tHetis was a royal naVy T Class submarine that was

launched on June 29, 1938, by Cammell Laird at birkenhead, england. Due to design flaws and poor quality control while conducting builders’ trials, she sank on June

1, 1939. she had on board at this time 103 men, of whom 59 were crew and the rest technical representatives from Laird and the royal Navy. During the underway trial, a check of Thetis’ torpedo tubes was undertaken. The internal indicators showed a tube dry, but it was full of water and the bow door was open. upon opening the inner door, there was a rush of water into the submarine that could not be controlled. Thetis thereupon sank, bow first, into shallow water with her stern protruding above sea level. It took time for a rescue operation to be organized to save the surviving crew members, but because of a number of technical issues and human errors, the rescue effort failed. Thetis did have an internal escape hatch, but again due to technical issues and human foibles, only four men successfully exited the submarine via the hatch. The other men within the submarine slowly died of carbon dioxide poisoning. Among those lost onboard Thetis were the principal members of the Cammell Laird submarine design team.The auThor Tells an interesting story

of the design and building of Thetis, her failed workup, the convoluted salvage operation during which a diver was lost, her rebuilding as Hms Thunderbolt

and her World War II service, and the inquiry into her loss. The heart and soul of the book is a critical examination of the various decisions made during the life of Thetis that impacted her sinking and salvage. Included within this examination is a penetrating look at the official investigation of the sinking of Thetis in regard to its fairness and completeness and what changes the sinking brought about in royal Navy submarine design, construction and training. At times, the author’s investigation into the loss of Thetis reads like a witch hunt, but it does touch upon every topic that those seeking to understand the sinking and response effort would want information on. Overall, the book highlights how political and organizational institutions often refuse to publicly acknowledge mistakes and provide full comfort to the families of those who have lost a loved one in an accident.Those inTeresTed in royal Navy

submarine design and development, the world of salvage operations, or the workings of organizations during a crisis will find much of interest in this book. I will leave it to the reader to decide who and what organizations were culpable in contributing to the sinking of Thetis and the “failed” salvage attempt. The story is supported by a selection of excellent photos and diagrams of Thetis and her internal layout. unfortunately, there is no map so one can put the various elements of the story in their geographical location. Overall, this is a very interesting read. It’s the first book I’ve read using Kindle – I read it on my personal computer’s 30-inch screen. Once I blew the text up to 140 percent I was able to put down my glasses and just read the story without constantly adjusting my bifocals to the text. Charles H . Bogart

n Write William a. fox at 112 Colonel’s Way, Williamsburg, VA 23185 or wafox8@msn .com


Heard on the Fantailby Barry Eager

ConTinued froM Ps313. sighTing the Aleutian Islands on our 1984 westbound freighter trip, I was

immediately impressed by the isolation from modern urban society. Approaching Dutch Harbor, we passed rugged, sparsely inhabited islands with soaring, jagged mountains rising abruptly from the sea, the peaks often obscured by thick clouds.PResident tayLoR a) Korean Mail ap-

proached the port to be met by the small tug Padilla, which also served as pilot boat. With mountains on both sides, this is an impressive harbor approach. A second tug, Sea Hawk, assisted us to the American Presi-dent Lines container dock, helping with the 180 degree turn to our berth. Containers of frozen fish awaited on the adjacent lot. duTch harbor and unalaska Island

then had a population of 1,800. It was 500 miles to a larger town! The crab-fishing boom was past its peak, though there was still a substantial fishery. There were stacks of unused crab traps around the town. Dutch had also been a military base during World War II. many wooden buildings re-mained from that time; some were literally falling down. Among the cannery plants was a converted Liberty ship.

across The harbor was the village of unalaska, the residential area for many native people of Aleut ancestry. The russian Orthodox Church and the nearby bishop’s House were remnants of russian colonization. The largest building was the K-12 local school.The sTunning landscaPe was most

impressive. rugged mountains could be seen in all directions. Closest was mount ballyhoo, named in connection with the period of writer Jack London’s residence locally.Passengers were free to go ashore, but

this was no tourist port. One group hired a local taxi, a large suV, for a tour. Our driver and guide took us to spots such as the site of the long-gone general’s hilltop house and the dilapidated former officers’ club with its terrazzo dance floor. At our request, he took us to view from a distance the wreck of ss Northwestern, damaged in wartime air raids and later scuttled out of town. I also enjoyed walks ashore on a sunny summer day. This was unusually nice weather for the area. I recall some local men walking shirtless, with well-weathered faces and hands contrasting with very pale bodies. Direct sun was rare most of the year.

n President Taylor at Dutch Harbor on a rare blue day . Tug sea Hawk is at the right . – Author’s photo, July 16, 1984 .

aMong The Passengers was Alex Haley, the noted author. He served the Coast Guard in his youth, starting as a cook, retiring as a chief journalist. He continued to enjoy writing aboard ship, preferring the quiet life on a freighter. Two friends from his youth joined him as he was writing about their childhood home of Henning, Tennessee. While in port he was interviewed by two teenage reporters from the local paper. He gave them a press kit with plenty of information. The difference in their interviewing skills resulted in his learning more about them and their life on the island than they extracted from him. anoTher noTable passenger was mary

Leblanc, author of Mary’s Freighter Travel Guide . A California travel agent, I believe she traveled as a guest of APL.The dock was less than half the length

of the ship and had a single container crane. The ship had to be shifted fore and aft for the crane to reach all the holds. We watched as the containers were loaded in four levels of the hull, plus stacked three-high on deck.The deParTure from Dutch Harbor

came in the early evening. It was a light show from beginning to end as we left the dock headed east from the bay, then around mount ballyhoo to head northwest on the great circle route to Japan. sun, mountains, sea and birds all combined for a most delightful experience until we were swallowed up by the dark clouds and stormy countenance of the bering sea. more to follow.

n Write Barry eager at Box 87, Berlin, MA 01503 or fantail@sshsa .org

An Aleutian Island Port Call


Words i neVer ThoughT i’d wriTe.I can’t get to ssHsA

headquarters. rhode Island state troopers will turn me back at the border unless I quarantine for two weeks. I like the Warwick radisson, but not that much. The ship History Center may as well be in a foreign country.here’s whaT I am missing – a collection

of ship prints and books from the estate of William Francis spragg. I’ve seen photos of three of the prints. What beauties! Crisp, unfaded colors; no browning of the paper; only a few, faint water stains; and original frames looking as nice as the day they were hung in booking offices more than a century and a quarter ago. I have viewed many ship portraits from this era and none were as nice as these.My faVoriTe shows savannah Line’s

Kansas City of 1889 departing the company’s New York pier. Passengers line the rails, sailors are stashing gear on the bow, and the captain is standing tall on the bridge. Clouds are clearing as the ship steams off under blue skies. This bright, optimistic scene was a favorite of maritime artists and used frequently, even to this day.PrinT Two is a large etching of the Lahn.

she took her maiden voyage in 1888 and was the queen of North German Lloyd’s transatlantic fleet at the time the etching was printed. The details are exquisite – men in bowler hats lining the rails, officers clustered in the open wheelhouse, all manner of rigging including pulleys and furled sails, perfectly shaded funnel openings, and even steam pouring forth from the whistle high on the aft funnel.The Third shows Allan Line’s new

Alsatian. she and sister Calgarian took their

maiden voyages in 1914, just months before the start of the World War I. rosy skies, passengers and crew on deck and the captain visible on the bridge – all the key characteristics are present. The ships sailed for only a few months before conversion into armed merchant cruisers. Calgarian never returned – she was sunk in 1918. Alsatian came back but as the Empress of France. Canadian Pacific purchased Allan Line in 1917 and the name disappeared from the seas.according To his daughter,

mr. spragg was a lifelong enthusiast of steam power who sought out steamboats on their last voyages, visited steam plants before they closed, and haunted secondhand bookstores searching for books on steam. He served in the navy as a seabee in World War II. As a civilian, he worked his way up to becoming a First Class stationary Power Plant engineer, first at spot Pond Pumping station in stoneham, massachusetts, then at Pondville Hospital in Norfolk, massachusetts, and lastly as Chief engineer at Lemuel shattuck Hospital in boston.for now, the prints are as off-limits

as the ship History Center. but when COVID-19 restrictions lift, I hope you will join me in visiting headquarters to view the new additions. These optimistic

scenes from a bygone era are just what we need to remind ourselves that brighter days lie ahead.

n Write Don leavitt at Nautiques, 828 Park Ave ., Baltimore, MD 21201 or dml@nautiques .net

From the Collection by Don Leavitt

Brighter Days Ahead

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s a caPTains’ circle MeMber you’ll join with peers who share your interest in the history and culture of fine

vessels, enjoy significant benefits and recognition, and be part of our impor-tant mission: recording, preserving and sharing maritime heritage.

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commodore ($500) Mr. Joseph BainsMr. Odd A. BrevikMr. Douglas E. BryanCDR Andrew O. Coggins Jr., USN (Ret.)Mr. Alexander D. CraryMr. & Mrs. Patrick DaceyMr. Donald DeckebachMr. William W. DonnellMr. & Mrs. Steven DraperMr. Barry W. EagerMr. & Mrs. Donald W. EberleMr. & Mrs. William EdwardsMr. Brian J. FournierMr. Robert J. GoldenMr. John B. HenryMr. Robert E. HughesMr. Scott G. HustonMr. Neil E. JonesCAPT Philip C. KantzMr. Nicholas LanghartMr. Don LeavittMr. Otto Marx

Mr. Daniel L. McCoyMr. William M. McLin & Mr. Samuel J. McKeonCAPT & Mrs. James J. McNamaraDr. Laurence & Carole MillerCAPT Dick PalmerMs. Mary L. PayneCAPT Dave PickeringMr. Richard RabbettMr. Thomas C. RaganMr. Thomas ReedMr. William M. RosenMr. David SchulzMr. & Mrs. James W. ShuttleworthCAPT Cesare SorioMr. John S.W. SpoffordMr. Kent StrobelCAPT Eric TakakjianMr. Terence TurnerCAPT Robert F. Wasson Jr.Mr. Peregrine WhiteMr. Eric Wiberg

engineer($1,000) Mr. Charles T. AndrewsMr. Michael FisherCAPT & Mrs. Roland R. Parent

Mr. & Mrs. Stephen SmithMr. Douglas A. Tilden & Ms. Teresa KellerCAPT and Mrs. Terry Tilton, USN (Ret.)

mariner ($200)Mr. Jim AntonisseMr. & Mrs. Vincent BellafioreMr. & Mrs. Charles D. BieserMr. Ted BlankMr. A. Pierce BoundsMr. Terry BryllMr. J.O. BustoMr. David B. ButlerMr. John Cameron Jr.CAPT Gerard P. CarrollMr. Charles W. ClarkeMr. Steve CohenMr. Jim CoonrodCAPT David CoxCAPT Roger CrosslandMr. Michael DuganMr. Andrew W. EdmondsMr. Jonathan ElyMr. Bruce EstellMr. & Mrs. Arthur J. FergusonMr. Roger GillMr. Gary GmoserMr. Paul S. GravenhorstMr. W. Scott Hale Jr.Mr. Robert A. HaslunMr. Albert R. Hinckley Jr.Mr. Buell Hollister

Mr. Tom JordensMr. Timothy J. KellyMr. Murray KilgourMr. Stephen LashMr. Thomas LavinCAPT David LeechMr. Reginald LewingtonMs. Susan LindaCAPT Adrian LoughboroughMr. Laurence P. MacDonaldMr. Gary MaehlRev. Armand MantiaMr. James P. MartinMr. A. Michael MarzollaCAPT Brian McAllisterMr. David L. McCollochMr. Walter Lynn McLaughlinCAPT Ronald J. MeiczingerMr. Charles A. Miller IIIMr. Charles W. MoormanMrs. Harry Morgan (Joanie)Mr. William G. MullerCAPT Alfred MurrayMr. Brian L. NordenMr. Michael J. O'CallaghanMr. Ronald OswaldMr. Hollis S. PaigeMr. Art Peabody

Mr. Richard G. PelleyMr. James C. PendletonMs. Lisa PlotnickMr. David L. Powers Jr.Mr. Richard A. ProeschelMr. Douglas H. RamsayMr. Tim RooneyMr. Bruce RoweDr. Victor H. RubinoMr. Robert H. SavareseMr. John L. SchiavoneMr. & Mrs. Matthew S. SchulteMr. John W. SchumannMr. Howard SchutterMr. Daniel J. SentillesDr. Robert A. SheaCAPT Ron SkaggsMr. John SleeterMr. Britton C. SmithMr. Shapleigh SmithMr. Roy L. SpringMr. Alan StoverMr. Sandy ThomsonMr. Richard VanariaMr. Stephen WeaverMr. Chase WellesMr. Kirk Youngman

commander ($300)Mr. Preston B. BakerRev. James BrandmuellerMr. Gabriel CaprioMr. William D. Comings Jr.CAPT John M. CoxMr. John J. Crowley Jr.Mr. Robert Ian DanicCAPT Robertson DinsmoreMr. Andrew EdmondsMr. Joseph J. FarcusMr. Mark GathingsCDR Michael Greene, USN (Ret.)Mr. & Mrs. Glenn P. HayesMr. & Mrs. Nathan and Helen HazenMr. Han HeldersMs. June Sherry Ingram

Mr. & Mrs. Ross LangillCAPT Leif LindstromDr. Mark P. MacinaMr. Jeff MacklinMr. John MahoneyCAPT Warren McDonald, USCGR, (Ret.)Mr. W. John MiottelMr. Carl R. NoldMr. Patrick D. OrtegoMr. William S. ReidMr. Roy C. RoseMr. Richard ScaranoMr. and Mrs. Howard SmartMr. Mark SniderMr. Donn R. SpearMr. Alexander Swavy

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TANKER TRIO - Steamship Historical Society of America

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Transcript of TANKER TRIO - Steamship Historical Society of America