number 304 • wi nter 2018morgan stanley community affairs mr. and mrs. robert mullen new england...

Hoboken’s Fifth Street Pier 12

A Hog Islander’s Odyssey In World War II 24

Sailing (or Avoiding) The Exiles’ Line to India 34

U-Boats Off New England 1942– 1945 40

Ship Research, Part 2 46

Also in this issue

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 0 4 • w i N t e r 2 0 1 8

sshsa

ShipYearof the

8

Mr. Albert K. AntrobusMr. Joe AtturaMr. Rick BrownMr. James Cafferky, Sr.Ms. Marjorie DovmanMr. Michael P. JoyntMr. Frederic N. PhinneyMr. Victor StanescuMr. Parker WilliamsonMr. John C. SauterMs. Alissa CafferkyDr. William B. CogarMs. Kyle Ingrid Johnson

Ronald and Linda BeckMr. Vincent J. BudesaCAPT Stephen BuschCaptain Phillip B. Bush II, USN (Ret.)Caterpillar FoundationMr. Thomas C. ChadwickCharter Oak Credit UnionMr. Arthur S. Clarke IIIDr. Robert W. DellersMr. Steve DonohueMr. Arild Johan EllingsenMr. John David FergusonMr. and Mrs. John GoschkeMr. Alan Graves

Ms. Patricia HartleIBM Corporation Matching Gifts ProgramMr. Samuel L. James, Jr.Mr. Leonard KaisalahtiCAPT Ronald J. MeiczingerMs. Diana MoracoMr. John PaulMr. Colin R. RevillMr. Edward J. RyanMr. Donald H. SmithMr. John S.W. SpoffordMr Joseph Sturges IVCapt. John P. WellingtonMr. Peter T. Young

Ms. Catherine Covell OrloffMs. Kay D. SchloffMr. Robert A. BucherMs. Tonya L. RickettsMs. Jean WortCaptain and Mrs. Lawrence E. WortersMr. William L. BaxterMr. Terry B. CurtisMs. Lulu GmoserMr. Norman GrantMr. David HillMs. June Sherry IngramMr. Peter Kirkegaard Mr. A. Michael Marzolla

Mr. Gary C. RaffaeleMr. and Mrs. William TatewosianMr. Roger A. AngeloMr. Douglas BlountMr. Donald A. HuntMr. Alex MacintyreMr. Donald MartinMr. John MerriamMr. and Mrs. Glenn RiddervoldMr. G. W. HuttonMr. Thomas BerlinMr. Francis BirchardMr. Alan CullenMr. Robert HlavatyMr. and Mrs. Les Isaacowitz

Mr. Loring M. LawrenceMr. Stephen Craig Capt. and Mrs. Earl E. Maxfield , Jr.Mr. Michael MulliganMr. Raisuke NumataReverend Donald E. PotterMr. W. Bruce RedpathMr. Gregory StavrosMr. John TrtekGiving AssistantMr. George Anthony DamianoMr. John SutkaMr. William WoodingMr. G. Thomas Tranter

Mr. Gregory E. AbbottMr. George W. AdamsLCDR. Peter E. Baci, USNR (Ret)Mr. David C. Bailey, Jr.Mr. David A. BavlitschkoMr. Henry H. BaxterMr. and Mrs. Kevin BeaulieuMr. Steven BienenfeldMr. Philip BlauveltMr. A. Pierce BoundsMr. John D. Brandner, Jr.Mr. and Mrs. Matthew and Tracey BrennanMr. James G. BrownMr. Todd Buckley Mr. Andrew J. BurgerMr. and Mrs. Donald Caldera

CDR Andrew O. Coggins, Jr., USN (Ret.)Nicholas H. CooperMs. Carol CooperMr. William F. CosgroveMr. Patrick DaceyMr. David J. DavilaMr. Douglas DeaseMr. Christopher DeCampsMr. Thomas Diedrich CAPT Robertson DinsmoreMr. Steven DraperMs. Astrid M. DrewMr. Michael DuganMr. and Mrs. William EdwardsMs. Kathy Farnsworth and Mr. John TeichmoellerMr. David FeinDr. Jerry FingerutCAPT George H. Fisher

Mr. Michael FisherMr. Gregory C. GettleMr. Alan Gordon and Mrs. Julia Ramos-RothMr. Robert L. Gray IIIMr. John C. GustafsonMr. Doug HartCaptain Brian H. HopeMr. Thomas HorsfallMr. Tom Jordens Mr. Derek KendallMr. Bruce KendrickMr. Robert J. KimtisMr. Alan G. KonzelmanMr. Earl KrantzMr. Thomas LavinMr. Clayton E. LeroueMr. Bruce Lockhart Mr. Gary MaehlMr. Frank Mallalieu

Mr. Jack McBrideMr Kenneth Meaney Mr. Jeffrey MillerMr. Wayne C. MillerMr. Charles W. MoormanMr. and Mrs. Jerome MorganMrs. Harry MorganMr. John A. MorganRev. Bart R. MullerMr. William G. MullerMs. Nori MusterNational GridMr. Mark J. NemergutMr. Brian L. NordenCW4 (Ret.) Samuel R. OhmachtMr. James OnionsMr. Hollis S. PaigeMr. Paul PaisleyMr. Peter PareMr. Frank H. Peacock

Ms. Kinda PriestleyMr. Arnold RathmannMr. Allan C. ReedMr. Robert H. SavareseMr. William O. Schlotter, Jr.Dr. and Mrs. Arthur SchoenwaldMr. R. Norman ShaddickMr. Mark ShumakerMr. Britton C. SmithMr. Mark G. SouthernMr. Jerry StewartMr. Tom StoneMr. David SylvestreCAPT Eric TakakjianMr. Craig ThompsonMr. & Mrs. Bruce WeinbaumMr. Hubert WickiMr. Robert Zinman

Mr. Ronald AmosMr. and Mrs. Eduardo AriniMr. and Mrs. Vincent BellafioreMr. Daniel BlanchardBNY Mellon Charitable Gift FundMrs. Kathleen BrekenfeldMr. Odd A. BrevikMr. David B. ButlerMr. Leonard A. CaigerMr. Steve J. CaminisProf. A. G. M. CampbellMr. Gabriel CaprioCouncil of American Maritime MuseumsCAPT John M. CoxCunard LineMr. William W. Donnell

Mr. Thomas DonoghueMr. and Mrs. Bruce DyerMr. Andrew W. EdmondsExxon Mobil FoundationMr. Raymond H. FredetteMr. Henry H. Fuller Jr.Mr. Walter Giger, Jr.Mr. Roger GillMr. and Mrs. John and Vera HarshMr. Rob HaynesMr. & Mrs. Joseph and Anne IlacquaMr. Neil E. JonesMr. John J. Kennedy Mr. Kevin P. KernanMr. Murray KilgourMr. Stephen LashDr. Peter J. LeahyMr. Keith A. Lewis

Ms. Susan E. LindaMr. & Mrs. Jeffrey LockhartMr. Jeff MacKlinMr. and Mrs. Jack MaddenFrank MauranMr. Harry MeyerDr. Laurence MillerMorgan Stanley Community AffairsMr. and Mrs. Robert MullenNew England Institute of TechnologyMr. Carl R. NoldMr. Harry OlsenMr. Paul J. O'PeckoMr. Ronald L. OswaldMr. and Mrs. Edwin PaytonPeabody Essex MuseumMr. Miles N. PeterleMr. Henry Posner III and Ms. Anne Molloy

Mr. Dwight D. QuellaMr. and Mrs. Charles RoyceMr. Paul T. RudolphMr. Todd J. F. SchaumloffelSchneider Electric North American FoundationMr. and Mrs. Matthew S. SchulteMr. Theodore W. ScullMr. George Shuster Mr. Thomas E. SmithCAPT Cesare SorioMr. Donn R. SpearMr. Edward SpinneyThe Wolfsonian-FIUMr. Eric Wiberg

Amica Companies FoundationMr. Charles T. AndrewsMr. Jason ArabianMr. James BerwindMr. Douglas E. BryanMr. Barry W. Eager

Mr. and Mrs. Donald W. EberleMr. and Mrs. Arthur J. FergusonMr. and Mrs. Robert E. HughesJ. Aron Charitable FoundationMr. & Mrs. Christopher W. KolbMr. Nicholas LanghartMr. Don LeavittMr. H. F. Lenfest

Mr. Ralph S. McCreaCAPT and Mrs. James J. McNamaraCAPT & Mrs. Roland R. ParentCAPT Dave Pickering Mr. Richard RabbettMr. Stephen S. RobertsMr. Kenneth E. SchallerMr. and Mrs. James W. Shuttleworth

Mr. Douglas A. TildenCAPT and Mrs. Terry Tilton, USN (Ret.)Mr. Andy TyskaMr. Peregrine White

The Champlin Foundation Mr. Richard Rabbett

Friend (Up to $100)

Contributor ($100+)

Sponsor ($250+)

Leader ($1,000+)

Admiral ($20,000+)Fleet Admiral ($50,000+)

Benefactor ($10,000+)

Dibner Charitable Trust of

Massachusetts

Heritage Harbor Foundation

Ms. Mary L. Payne

Maritime Heritage Grant Program

The Family of Helen & Henry Posner, Jr.

The Estate of Mr. Donald Stoltenberg

Thanks to All Who Continue to Support SSHSA December 2016 -December 2017

Mr. Thomas C. Ragan

n (At top) Engineering officers aboard Fall River Line steamer Plymouth. – Edward O. Clark Collection, SSHSA Archives.

PowerShips winter 2018 • 3

The PiloT house . . . 4

Q&a wiTh sTeaMboaT bill . . . . . 5

full sTeaM ahead . . 7

regionals. . . . . . . . . .High Seas . . . . . . . . . . . 53Mid-Atlantic. . . . . . . . . 56New York . . . . . . . . . . . 59Overseas . . . . . . . . . . . 61New England & Eastern Canada . . . . . . 63 West Coast . . . . . . . . . . 65 Great Lakes / Seaway . . 69Southeast & Gulf Ports . 72Southwest Pacific . . . . . 74Western Rivers . . . . . . . 77

TugboaTs . . . . . . . . . .80

reViews . . . . . . . . . . . 83

heard on The fanTail . . . . . . . 85

froM The collecTion . . . . . . . 86

Sailing (or Avoiding) ‘‘The Exiles’ Line’’ to Indiaby Laurence Miller . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

U-Boats Off New England, 1942–1945 by Capt. Eric T. Wiberg, Esq. . . . 40

Ship Research, Part 2: Registers & Documentsby James Shuttleworth . . . . . . . . . . . 46

A Hog Islander’s Odyssey in World War IIby Eric Pearson. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Lives of the Liners: Hoboken’s Fifth Street Pierby William H. Miller . . . . . . . . . . . 12

on The coVer: Columbia from a vintage postcard. – SSHSA Archives. aboVe: Columbia docked at the Bob-Lo amusement park. She carried millions of passengers between Detroit and the park over some 79 years of service. – Edward O. Clark Collection, SSHSA Archives.

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 website atwww.sshsa.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 0 4 • w i N t e r 2 0 1 8

From Desegregation to Restoration SS COLUMBIA

by Aimee Bachari. . . . . . . . . 8

t 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 aPowerShips

sshsa

ShipYearof the

PowerShips4 • winter 2018

The Pilot Houseeditor-in-chief

Jim pennypacker4 Snead Ct., Palmyra, VA 22963Email: [email protected]: +1 610-883-7988

associate editors

peter t. eisele74 Chatham Street, Chatham, NJ 07928Email: [email protected]. laurence 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 geoffrey hamer Donald leavitt James l. Shaw mark Shumaker rich turnwald Julia Winters g. Justin zizes

editorial pl anning committee

Jim pennypacker Dr. laurence millerrichard Barwis roland parentJim Shuttleworth marifrances trivellimary l. payne matthew Schultecapt terry tilton

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

sshsa officers

mary l. payne, President, Wallingford, PANicholas langhart, Vice President, Jefferson, mADon leavitt, Vice President, South ryegate, VtBarry W. eager, Vice President, berlin, mArobert e. hughes, Treasurer, New Rochelle, NYcapt terry tilton, Secretary, San Diego, CA

sshsa board of directors

odd Brevik, East Lyme, CTcapt James mcNamara, Chatham, NJDr. laurence miller, Miami, FLpaul o'pecko, Westerly, RIcapt David pickering, Warwick, RIDavid l. powers, Jr., Burien, WAthomas ragan, Miami Beach, FLcapt eric takakjian, Fairhaven, MAcapt eric Wiberg, New York, New York

immediate past president

erik ryan, Narragansett, RIcopy editors & staff

Bryan lucier, Membership Coordinatorastrid Drew, Research & New Mediaalissa cafferky, Research Assistantaimee Bachari, Education & Outreach Coordinator

PowerShips

SS Columbia, McAllister, Merchant Ships & More...

This deceMber, sshsa forMally recognized The ss Columbia as the 2017 Ship of the Year. We also presented the C. Bradford Mitchell Award to Captain Brian McAllister for his recent book chronicling the 150th anniversary of his family’s company. Congratulations to the

SS Columbia Project team and Captain McAllister for their contributions to our maritime heritage.

inside this issue• on fridays aT 12 noon, Hoboken would

“rattle” with the thunderous steam whistles of one of Holland America’s “Big Three” – Rotterdam, Statendam or Nieuw Amsterdam. In Lives of the Liners, William Miller makes us feel like we’re there on Hoboken’s Fifth Street Pier with him.

• beTween January 12, 1942, and May 5, 1945, there were 72 German submarine patrols off the coast of New England. Eric Wiberg presents a history of the near continuous assault on Allied merchant ships, where on average every other submarine managed to sink an Allied ship.

• eric Pearson chronicles the odyssey of the merchant ships known as the Hog Islanders, particularly the SS Exmouth, in World War II. These ships delivered Red Cross aid to starving civilians and supplied lend-lease material to countries vital for the defense of the United States.

• laurence Miller helPs bring the British colonial period to life in his article on The Exile’s Line to India, which features numerous images of British, French, Italian and Dutch colonial liners.

• in The second insTallMenT of his advice on ship research, James Shuttleworth shows you how to use shipping registers and vessel documents to support your article.

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

articles Wanted We’re continually looking for articles for the upcoming issues of PowerShips. If you would like to write an article, send me a note ([email protected]) 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 Design, Ship Models, Merchant Marine, Ship Preservation and Memorabilia. Of course, we welcome articles on all topics of interest to SSHSA members.

reviewers WantedWe need volunteers to review ideas and potential articles for inclusion in future issues of PowerShips. If you’re knowledgeable in a particular area of maritime history and want to volunteer, please send me an email ([email protected]) along with your area of expertise. You should expect to review a couple of ideas/articles a year.


What’s it like to be a merchant mariner?

Q my grandfather was part of the merchant marine, and i’m

researching what it was like to be a merchant mariner. Do you have any recommendations on where i can find this information?

AThe SSHSA library includes a variety of books relating to maritime subjects,

including the merchant marine. Depending on the nature of his position on a ship, he may have a certain experience. In general, you may be interested in books about navigation, such as Cugle’s Practical Navigation by Captain Charles

H. Cugle, or the Merchant Marine Officers’ Handbook by Edward A. Turpin and William A. McEwen. These books deal with the basic knowledge set a sailor would know, such as ship-handling, signals and mathematics related to navigation at sea. The book The Men of the Merchant Service by Frank t. bullen, first published in 1900, offers a description of various positions on both sailing and steam vessels, such as engineers, stewards and firemen. For a more rollicking read, you may try A Ship’s Logbook by Frank F. Farrar, which is a compilation of the author’s experiences working on vessels during the 1930s and 1940s.

on the Bark John Bell

Q i’m researching the bark John Bell, which plied between New

ross, county Wexford, ireland, and Baltimore in 1849. Do you have any records about this ship?

A SSHSA collections are primarily focused on engine-powered

vessels, so we have little primary source material on sailing vessels, such as barks (or barques). However, in the Lloyd’s

Register for 1851, a bark named John Bell is listed. Her master was M. Keane, she was 454

tons, and she was built in Quebec in 1834.

Her owners are listed

as Howlett & Company, with

her home port being “N. Ross.”

That abbreviation sounds very much like

it could be New Ross. Her destination listed at

that time was Waterford and, more broadly, North

America.

a painting of Delbrasil

Q i recently bought a painting at auction of the Delbrasil

leaving rio. the painting was done in 1940 by frank Vining Smith. any history about the ship available?

A According to the Lloyd’s Register in our library, the Delbrasil was

built in 1939 by Bethlehem Steel at Sparrows Point for the Mississippi Shipping Company. Her official number

was 239616, her signal letters were WEWB, and she was 7,977 gross tons. Her dimensions (in feet, length x width x depth) was 468.1 x 65.7 x 26.7. the Mississippi Shipping company was based in New Orleans and ran vessels from the gulf to South American ports along the continent’s east coast. When the United States entered World War ii, the Navy requisitioned her, along with the Delargentino and Delorleans, and converted them to attack transports. She is listed in the 1940/41 register, but not the following year, so her conversion likely took place around then. She reappears in the register Merchant Vessels of the United States in 1946, and if accurate, it appears that she retained her name and went back to her original company for freight service.

n The SSHSA library includes a variety of

books relating to the merchant marine.

n Painting of Mississippi Shipping Company’s Delbrasil by Massachusetts maritime artist Frank Vining Smith (1879-1967).

editor-in-chief

Jim pennypacker4 Snead Ct., Palmyra, VA 22963Email: [email protected]: +1 610-883-7988

associate editors

peter t. eisele74 Chatham Street, Chatham, NJ 07928Email: [email protected]. laurence 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 geoffrey hamer Donald leavitt James l. Shaw mark Shumaker rich turnwald Julia Winters g. Justin zizes

editorial pl anning committee

Jim pennypacker Dr. laurence millerrichard Barwis roland parentJim Shuttleworth marifrances trivellimary l. payne matthew Schultecapt terry tilton

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

sshsa officers

mary l. payne, President, Wallingford, PANicholas langhart, Vice President, Jefferson, mADon leavitt, Vice President, South ryegate, VtBarry W. eager, Vice President, berlin, mArobert e. hughes, Treasurer, New Rochelle, NYcapt terry tilton, Secretary, San Diego, CA

sshsa board of directors

odd Brevik, East Lyme, CTcapt James mcNamara, Chatham, NJDr. laurence miller, Miami, FLpaul o'pecko, Westerly, RIcapt David pickering, Warwick, RIDavid l. powers, Jr., Burien, WAthomas ragan, Miami Beach, FLcapt eric takakjian, Fairhaven, MAcapt eric Wiberg, New York, New York

immediate past president

erik ryan, Narragansett, RIcopy editors & staff

Bryan lucier, Membership Coordinatorastrid Drew, Research & New Mediaalissa cafferky, Research Assistantaimee Bachari, Education & Outreach Coordinator

Steamboat BillQuestions & Answers with

Do you have a question for Steamboat Bill?

Just email him at... [email protected]

owner’s Statement 2017 Statement filed October 17, 2017, required by the act of August 12, 1970, Sec. 3685, title 39, uS Code. PowerShips is published quarterly at 2500 Post road in warwick, ri 02886; minimum subscription price is $50. Publisher: matthew S. Schulte; editor-in-Chief: James S. Pennypacker; owner: the Steamship Historical Society of America, a non-profit corporation located at 2500 Post road, warwick, ri 02886. During the 12 months preceding October 2017, the average number of (A) copies printed of each issue was 3,000 (b) paid and/or requested circulation was: (1) outside county mail subscriptions 2,045 (2) in county subscriptions 0; (3) sales through dealers, carriers, counter sales, other non-uSPS paid distribution 40; (4) other classes mailed through uSPS 20; (C) total paid and/or requested circu-lation was 2,105; (D) free distribution by mail, samples, complimentary and other 398; (e) total free or nominal rate distribution 398; (F) total distribution was 2,503 (G) copies not distributed 497 (H) 3,000; (i) Percentage paid and/or requested circulation was 84.1 percent. the actual numbers for the single issue published nearest to October 2017 are (A) total number printed 3,000; (b) paid and or requested was: (1) outside-county mail subscriptions 2,028; (2) in-county subscriptions 0; (3) sales through dealers, carriers, counter sales, other non-uSPS distri-bution 77; (4) other classes mailed through uSPS 20; (C) total paid and/or requested circulation was 2,125; (D) free distribution by mail, samples, complimentary and other 422 (e) total free or nominal rate distribution 422; (F) total distribution was 2,547; (G) copies not distributed 453; (H) 3,000; (i) Percentage paid and/or requested circulation 83.43 percent. i certify that the above statements are correct and complete. (signed) matthew S. Schulte, executive Director, the Steamship Historical Society of America.


e l e v e n t h

New Orleans, February 14-17, 2018

45th annual conference on sail training and tall ships

Focus sessions include, but are not limited to:•Crew and Staff Training and Development •Tall Ships, Sail Training, and Education Under Sail •Vessel Operations and Safety •Tall Ships® Events and Host Ports •Not-for-Profit Administration •Fund Development •Media and Publications •Marketing and Social Media

Papers and sessions topics include, but are not limited to:•Maritime and Naval History •Maritime Art, Literature, and Music •Education and Preservation •Underwater Archaeology •Trade and Communications •Maritime Libraries, Archives, and Museums •Marine Science and Ocean Conservation •Historic Vessel Restoration •Maritime Heritage Grant Program •Maritime Landscapes •National Marine Sanctuaries •Inland Waters Commerce and Seaport Operations •Small Craft •Shipbuilding •Marine Protected Areas

11th Maritime Heritage Conference & 45th Annual Conference on Sail Training and Tall Ships,

55th NMHS Annual Meeting & 82nd SSHSA Annual Meeting

“Our Maritime Communities—Stronger Together”Save the Date!

14–17 February 2018 • New Orleans

Tall Ships is held annually and has earned a reputation for its high take-away value, networking opportunities, and camaraderie. The conference steering

committee invites you to become involved in the 2018 joint conference as a presenter—both individual and session proposals are encouraged. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to gather with individuals from all segments of the maritime community.

Call for PresentersThe 11th Maritime Heritage Conference, the 45th Annual Conference on Sail Training and Tall Ships, and the 55th NMHS Annual Meeting will come together for an information-packed, joint conference encompass-ing a broad array of topics this coming February in the historic port city of New Orleans. The Maritime Heritage Conference, last held in 2014, brings together all elements of the maritime heritage community to discuss topics of common interest. Tall Ships America’s Conference on Sail Training and

Individual paper and session proposals should include a one-page abstract and a one-page biographical statement about each presenter. Please email proposals to Dr. David Winkler and Jonathan Kabak at: [email protected]. The deadline for papers and session proposals is 1 November 2017.

The conference venue is the beautiful New Orleans Marriott—French Quarter, 555 Canal Street. Rooms are available at the terrific rate of $164+ per night! (Reserve your room online using the conference passkey at https://aws.passkey.com/go/Maritime2018). The discounted conference rate does not apply for rooms before February 13th but is accepted for limited numbers in the days following the conference.

Details of the conference schedule, registration and reservation information, guidelines for proposals, and spon-sorship opportunities are posted online at: www.seahistory.org and www.sailtraining.org. Sponsors of the conference from $500 to $15,000 are encouraged to participate and will be amply recognized.


LasT fall i receiVed a Message froM longtime member and friend Art Ferguson. Art and his wife Meade are darling people who have welcomed me and other SSHSAers

into their home on several occasions over the last decade or so. You see, Art has amassed quite a beautiful maritime collection, including a fine museum-quality series of 19th- and early 20th-century European steamship models. It’s always fun to plan a visit with the Fergusons in the Sarasota area, and there’s so much to see and learn. Anyhow, this latest communication from Art was pretty straightforward. He had decided that one of his models, the SS South Steyne, needed a new home, and that home should be, he determined, the Australia National Maritime Museum in Sydney. Could I get him the address? well, i was haPPy To helP, but it turned out to be more

gratifying than expected for Art, me and SSHSA. i first reached out to our colleague Steve White, president at Mystic Seaport. He immediately supplied me with the email address for Kevin Sumption, president of ANMM. When I mentioned this to our membership director, Bryan Lucier, here at The Ship History Center, Bryan said, “I think I gave him a tour here last summer!” I thought that was a real longshot because I certainly would remember that. Well, sure enough, Mr. Sumption was here while he was trying to locate the Captain Cook ship off Newport. (I was on a family vacation, so I missed out.)

i reached ouT electronically to Kevin and almost instantaneously got connected with him and his staff at ANMM. As it turns out, just as Art had already known, this unique half model that he had purchased in 1977 in england was the actual builder’s model for the SS South Steyne, complete with penciled-in calculations and measured lines drawn right on the wooden hull. Yes indeed, the staff at ANMM agreed that the model was authentic and would like to accept it into their collection. Art didn’t want anything in return for his generosity; he just felt that it was time to reunite the model with its larger, actual likeness.The shiPMenT was Packaged uP and sent via airfreight,

since Art had experience with this sort of endeavor. Upon the model’s safe arrival Down Under, curator David Payne was pleased with the condition and clarity of the writings upon the model. Why all this effort for one model? Well as you’ve probably guessed by now, SS South Steyne still exists and is tied up in the harbor adjacent to the ANMM, and she was designated an Australian National Historic Treasure. iT’s nice To know that we have the wherewithal to help

our members and friends. What motivated Art to do this? Well, he read the brief update on the Manly ferry in Bill Barber’s PowerShips #302 column. I’m looking forward to working with the Fergusons on their next project, whatever that may be. It’s a big part of our mission and what we do here. So, if you have a special project or idea that we may assist with, then by all means drop us a line. Together we’re making a difference. Kind regards,

Matthew S. Schulte, M.S. Executive Director Steamship Historical Society of America

Spotlight on members’ generosity:

Good Stewards & Good People

n SSHSA members Art and Meade Ferguson.

n SS South Steyne half-hull builder’s model with original construction notations.


The screaMs of delighT can no longer be heard from Bob-Lo Island Amusement Park, which served as Detroit’s “Coney Island” from 1898 to 1993. but memories of the fun live on in New York, where the SS Columbia Project is restoring the ship that brought joy to many.

buT 73 years ago, one passenger was not allowed to take the ship to the island. This caused her embarrassment and rage, a rage that led her to fight against the segregation of recreational spaces. The ss Columbia, the oldest remaining excursion steamer

still afloat in the united States, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979 and designated as a historic landmark in 1992. The Steamship Historical Society of America has named her the Ship of the Year for her distinctive service, and notes her importance to the civil rights

movement – a little-known Supreme Court case that opened the way for Brown v. Board of Education (1954).on June 21, 1945, 24-year-old Sarah elizabeth ray eagerly

boarded the SS Columbia to Bob-Lo Island Amusement Park, with her 13 classmates, to celebrate the completion of their secretarial course. The only African American in the group, Miss Ray, shortly after boarding, was approached by Mr. Devereaux, the company’s assistant general manager, and a steward named Mr. Fox. They told Miss Ray that she couldn’t go along, simply because of the color of her skin. “At first i refused,” ray was quoted in a 2016 issue of the Progressive, “but then I saw that they were going to throw me off. My teacher said, ‘She’ll go quietly.’ it was embarrassing.” She didn’t put up a fight to stay on board, but she did keep the names of the workers who escorted her off the SS Columbia, and she refused a refund for her eighty-five-cent fare.

From Desegregation to Restoration:

On Board the SS COLUMBIAsshsa

ShipYearof the

by Aimee Bachari

n Bob-Lo steamer Columbia, built at Wyandotte, Michigan in 1902 by the Detroit Shipbuilding Co. – Edward O. Clark Collection, SSHSA Archives.


From Desegregation to Restoration:

On Board the SS COLUMBIA

a civil rights legal BattleThe bob-lo excursion coMPany had a rule excluding two groups – “the disorderly” and “the colored people.” throughout the first half of the 20th century, even though most northern and border states had passed civil rights legislation, recreational segregation remained firmly in place. michigan’s Bob-Lo Excursion Company initiated a “Colored Days” policy, which allowed the company to deny African Americans entry at all other times of the year.in The early 1940s Detroit was a segregated city. Its African

American population lived in a downtown neighborhood known as Black Bottom, which included a business and entertainment district called Paradise Valley. but with the city undergoing an industrial boom, and America in the midst of a world war, more than half a million people migrated

to the city to work in the defense plants. This caused Black Bottom’s population to potentially encroach upon white-only neighborhoods.in 1943, race rioTs occurred in cities across the United

States, from Southern California’s infamous “zoot suit riots” to disturbances in St. Louis, New York and Baltimore. None of the riots that year were as deadly as the three days of violence that Detroit saw in late June. there were many underlying reasons for the unrest, such as resentment over housing shortages and police abuse, but the spark that ignited the riot was the use of recreational space on Belle Isle. The ciTy Police couldn’t stop the riot, and the mayor

appealed to President Roosevelt, who diverted 6,000 troops from war service and sent them to Detroit in an effort to end the violence. More than 600 people were injured, and 34 people, nine whites and 25 African Americans, died in the riot.


in order To analyze The causes of the riot, and prevent it from happening again, the mayor’s office formed an interracial committee. One of its recommendations was the peaceful common use of recreational space. This committee had no authority over private companies such as Bob-Lo, but its 1945 statement on the riot noted that “Negroes are excluded from most commercial recreational establishments.”ThaT saMe year, Ray boarded the Columbia. After she was

removed from the ship and denied entry to the amusement park, Ray didn’t give up. Instead, she reached out to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in Detroit. The NAACP argued that the company was in violation of the state’s civil rights laws, which stated: “All persons within the jurisdiction of this state shall be entitled to full and equal accommodations, advantages, facilities and privileges of inns, hotels, restaurants, eating houses, barber shops, billiard parlors, stores, public conveyances on land and water, theaters, motion picture houses, public educational institutions, in elevators, on escalators, in all methods of air transportation and all other places of public accommodation, amusement, and recreation, where refreshments are or may hereafter be served, subject only to the conditions and limitations established by law and applicable alike to all citizens and to all citizens alike, with uniform prices.” [Emphasis added.] The case wenT before the United States Supreme Court,

with the legendary Thurgood Marshall pleading the case on Ray’s behalf. Marshall won Bob-Lo Excursion Company v. Michigan (1948), and later won the landmark case Brown v. Board of Education (1954), which struck down the “separate but equal” ruling in regard to segregated education. sarah elizabeTh ray’s foray into civil rights didn’t end

with her win against Bob-Lo. In 1967, after Detroit erupted in another riot, which saw more violence than in 1943, she and her second husband, Rafael Haskell, purchased a building and made it into a community center. They named it Action House,

with the goal of fostering “positive interracial relations.”

more about the SS ColumbiaThe ss Columbia is an iconic Made-in-aMerica/Made-in-Detroit success story. The Detroit Shipbuilding Co., on behalf of the Detroit and Windsor Ferry Co., constructed the ship in Wyandotte, Michigan, in 1902. The Columbia is one of two Bob-Lo boats remaining. The other, a smaller vessel named the SS Ste. Claire, was constructed in Toledo, Ohio, in 1910, and is currently docked in River Rouge, Michigan. Frank E. Kirby, one of America’s greatest marine architects, designed the ships in collaboration with his partner, the interior designer Louis O. Keil.aT 200 feeT in lengTh with a 45-ft beam, the Columbia was

last certified to carry 2,566 passengers on her five decks. She features a unique, wide, open-air dance floor, making her the first steamer in America with an integrated ballroom of this type. The Columbia’s innovative design, with mahogany paneling, etched and leaded glass, gilded moldings and a grand staircase, inspired a new generation of excursion steamships. She features a massive triple-expansion steam engine with indicated horsepower of 2000, surrounded by viewing galleries.The Columbia sTill holds a U.S. maritime record of service for

an excursion steamship on a single run. For 89 years, from 1902 to 1991, she took Detroiters to Canada’s Bois Blanc Island (known to most as Bob-Lo Island). She ceased service shortly before the Bob-Lo Island Amusement Park closed in the early 1990s. For the next two decades the boat slowly deteriorated, although valiant efforts were made at preservation. By the mid-2000s it had become

n The entry in the logbook for the SS Columbia on June 21, 1945, makes no mention of Miss Sarah Elizabeth Ray being forced to exit the ship or her refusing to take the refund offered to her. – Image courtesy of the SSHSA Archives.

n Columbia at her dock in Detroit preparing for another run to Bob-Lo Island Amusement Park. – Braun Bros. Collection, SSHSA Archives.


On deceMber 5, 2017, execuTiVe direcTor Matt Schulte traveled to New York’s historic India House to present this year’s annual SSHSA Awards. The SS Columbia Project

representatives coordinated the fabulous reception, and trustee Ian Danic spoke from the heart about his crew’s dedication to bring the steamer Columbia back to service – this time on the Hudson River.

This year’s shiP of The year went to the SS Columbia for its record service to the Great Lakes Region and its role in an historic Supreme Court case that paved the way for civil rights legislation like Brown v. Board of Education.

n Captain Brian McAllister received the C. Bradford Mitchell Award for his work on the epic book project, McAllister Towing: 150 Years of Family Business. He shared with us some of his memories from working on this book.

congraTulaTions To The award winners!

apparent that attempts to keep her in Detroit had failed. In stepped art dealer Richard Anderson, with the goal of bringing her to New York and restoring the Hudson River’s great dayliner tradition. anderson forMed the SS Columbia Project, recruited a

board, acquired the boat and began planning and raising funds to restore her for service on the Hudson River. Anderson tragically died of cancer in 2013 before seeing his vision completed. However, he left a significant bequest to the SS Columbia Project, which provided enough support to begin the boat’s restoration and bring her from Detroit to Buffalo in 2015. The SS Columbia Project is dedicated to making Anderson’s dream a reality and restoring the ship to her old glory.for all her hisToric significance, from the civil rights

movement to her record tenure in service to the people of Detroit and the Great Lakes region, the Steamship Historical Society of America acknowledges the SS Columbia as the Ship of the Year. For more information on how to get involved in the restoration project, visit the SS Columbia Project’s website: https://sscolumbia.org/.

n Sparks fly as Columbia undergoes restoration in dry dock. – Image courtesy SS Columbia Project.

n Ian Danic of the SS Columbia Project accepts the Ship of the Year Award on behalf of Columbia.

SSHSA Award Presentations

About the Author Aimee BAchAri joined SSHSA as Education Coordinator in June

2017. She has brought SSHSA’s STEAMing Into The Future concept to life by creating the beta educational website (www.shiphistory.org), launching in May, 2018. Aimee holds a Bachelor’s degree in History from the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth and a Master’s degree in History from the University of Houston, where she worked on numerous

public history projects. She is currently finishing her PhD in History and recently graduated from a software development bootcamp.


by William H. Miller

LIVES OF THE LINERS

Hoboken’s Fifth Street Pier


Flowers & Christmas Trees

“EVery Week, i haD as many as six or seven ships to supply. I’d go down to the old Fifth Street pier and deliver at

least 1,000 loose flowers to those famous ocean liners – the Nieuw Amsterdam, the Statendam and the Rotterdam. but first, i always had to replace the dead flowers.” So remembered the late Mario D’Angelo of D’Angelo Florist at Sixth and Washington streets. He served all the Holland America Line ships for years, until March 1963, when the line moved from its Fifth Street pier in Hoboken to a new terminal, Pier 40 at Houston Street. Pier 40 is on the southern end of Manhattan’s Greenwich Village and not all that far from the former site of the Hoboken ferry’s Christopher Street slip.“i used a single station wagon and drove to

the greenhouses of Rutherford,” added Mr. D’Angelo. “Then, I would drive straight to the Hoboken waterfront, board the ships, and arrange the flowers in the foyers and the lounges and in at least 50 bowls in the dining rooms. At Christmas, i also provided five or six trees for each ship. But each had to be taken first to manhattan and be specially fire-proofed. each tree was completely immersed in a big vat of a fire-retardant chemical and then dried.”MosTly on fridays at noon, Hoboken

would rattle with the thunderous steam whistles of one of Holland America’s Big Three – Rotterdam, Statendam or Nieuw Amsterdam. Moran tugs would gather at the bow, ready to push. Hemp lines at the ship’s stern would be cast off first and the aft end of the ship would begin to be eased away from the south side of the 800-foot-long Fifth Street pier. Then another blast on the whistles and the bow lines would be cast off, flash and splash in the Hudson, but then, dripping wet, they would be smartly pulled aboard. The ship’s forward section would now be free as well, and the vessel would begin to move slowly out into mid-river.

Hoboken’s Fifth Street Piern A sunny day in the mid-1950s: The Nederland Line’s Johan van Oldenbarnevelt at Holland America Line’s Fifth Street Pier with the freighter Exton (right) at American Export Line’s Pier C. – Braun Bros. Collection, SSHSA Archives.


Waving, Cheering, & Fluttering Streamersalong The fifTh sTreeT Pier’s second floor leVel, well-wishers – family, friends and friends of friends – waved, cheered and lofted fluttering strands of those wonderfully colored bon voyage streamers over the widening gap between ship and pier. The liner began to move, sliding backward out of close view. Finally, in mid-river, with Manhattan’s towers as a backdrop, the great liner would be pointed downstream and begin her voyage, passing Hoboken and then Jersey City, ellis island and the Statue of Liberty, then to the Lower Bay, the Narrows, the open Atlantic, and ultimately to Europe.The Nieuw amsterdam, a liner completed in 1938, had that

certain something – a blend of transoceanic chic, cozy comfort and decorative timelessness – that made her one of the most beloved and popular liners on the Atlantic run. She epitomized

the Holland America Line slogan of the day: “It is good to be on a well-run ship!” Hundreds of thousands agreed in those years, the 1950s especially, loving the great leather chairs in the Smoking Room, the Moroccan leather ceiling and Murano chandeliers in the two-deck dining room, a first-class suite inspired by the 1939 World’s Fair and, in one bar, brass door handles shaped like mermaids.holland aMerica had oTher, if smaller, liners as well.

There was the Ryndam, Maasdam, Noordam, Westerdam, Veendam and Volendam. And for less fancy, almost Spartan passages to and from Europe, there were the converted former cargo ships Groote Beer, Waterman, Zuikerkruis and Seven Seas. These ships, with large cabins and dormitories that slept up to 50, carried students, immigrants and frugal tourists, often for as little as $125 for a nine-day passage to Rotterdam. Other Dutch liners that came to call at Hoboken in the 1950s included the Willem Ruys, the Johan van Oldenbarnevelt and the Sibajak.

n Winter’s morning in 1955: the Nieuw Amsterdam and Maasdam at the Fifth Street pier, both dressed in flags and bound for Caribbean cruises. – Flying Camera Inc.


“Dyk Ships” & “Dam Ships” holland aMerica also ran a sizable freighTer fleeT, typically well-maintained, trim vessels that more often used the adjacent Sixth Street pier. The Hoboken longshoremen, those dockers immortalized in elia Kazan’s brilliant On the Waterfront, referred to them as the “dyk ships” – vessels such as the Sommelsdyk and Soestdyk. The big liners were the “dam ships” – harbor legends such as the Nieuw Amsterdam and Rotterdam. The Fifth Street pier was the longer and better fitted, and therefore handled the liners. the adjoining Sixth Street dock was for freighters mostly, the company’s separate fleet of smart-looking, always-immaculate cargo ships that often carried up to 12 passengers each. They sailed the North Atlantic, to and from northern Europe, and there were at least two sailings each week in those now-distant days before the fast, efficient container ships took over.

n Rotterdam on a visit to Hoboken early in her career. – Braun Bros. Collection, SSHSA Archives.

n Freighters such as Averdyk also called at the Fifth Street Pier. – Edward O. Clark Collection, SSHSA Archives.

sshsa

ShipYearof the

1996


n Economy travel: In the 1950s, you could cross to Europe onboard the Maasdam for as little as $20 a day. – Braun Bros. Collection, SSHSA Archives.

n The mighty 36,000-ton Nieuw Amsterdam departs under overcast skys. She would not be eclipsed in style and grrandeur until the debut of Rotterdam in 1959. – Edward O. Clark Collection, SSHSA Archives.


The First VW & Changing Times seParaTely, The liners sailed beTween hoboken, Southampton, Le Havre and Rotterdam. The freighters went to Rotterdam as well, but also to Antwerp, Bremen and Hamburg. Generally, they carried American-made manufactured goods over to Europe and returned with the likes of Dutch cheeses, Dutch tulip bulbs and Dutch beer. Holland America also carried the very first Volkswagen sent to the united States; it arrived at the Fifth Street pier in a wooden crate in 1949, aboard the 12,000-ton Westerdam, a passenger-cargo liner.The glorious, twin-stacked Nieuw Amsterdam was surpassed as

the Dutch flagship in September 1959 by the even larger, more-luxurious Rotterdam. But shortly after her maiden arrival (with the future queen of the Netherlands onboard as a passenger) on the Jersey side, the Rotterdam was towed across to Manhattan’s Pier 40, then in the earliest stages of construction. It was a grand publicity stunt: having the world’s newest liner berthed at the Port of New York’s newest passenger pier. Pier 40 was also New York City’s biggest marine terminal and certainly

its most modern and innovative, with inner-core as well as rooftop parking, drive-alongside facilities, and three river sides for berthing ships instead of two. The Holland America Line could hardly have refused the city’s offer, and so it abandoned Hoboken (after some 70 years), especially since the new pier was so easily accessible to midtown Manhattan.

n Afternoon arrival: The Nieuw Amsterdam is berthed at Hoboken in October 1948, with Egypt’s Mohammed Ali El Kebir on the left and the Noordam on the right. – Moran Towing and Transportation Co.

n The pier entrance at Fifth Street. – Richard Weiss Collection.


n (Below) The sisters Ryndam and Maasdam in a view from June 1955. – Author’s Collection. (Bottom) September 1957: American Export Lines’ Pier C at the bottom; then the Statendam, Noordam and Maasdam at the Holland-America piers; and the Dutch student ship Groote Beer at the Ninth Street pier at the top.

Hoboken:A Gull’s Eye View


n The Hoboken waterfront in 1949. – Hoboken Historical Museum. (Bottom) Busy afternoon: The Statendam, Noordam and Maasdam at Hoboken in September 1957. – Moran Towing and Transportation Co.


Frigid Nights & Lavish Voyages The official Transfer To The new Manhattan terminal was made by the Statendam in March 1963. She arrived and offloaded her passengers in Hoboken, but then, having been shifted across the Lower Hudson, sailed on her next outbound voyage from the brand-new Pier 40 in Greenwich Village. buT eVen Those final years in

Hoboken left an indelible mark. The stillness of cold, often frigid winter nights, for example, might be interrupted only by the 10 p.m. departure whistles of a Holland America liner steaming off on a cruise to, say, the sunny Caribbean. On quiet Sunday afternoons, townspeople sometimes wandered down to the dockside to watch one of the ships tie up. And each year, usually on a Thursday night, there would be a very special, six-hour charity cruise that sailed out past the three-mile limit, where shipboard gambling was legal and formally dressed guests would party till dawn to benefit a worthy crusade against one disease or another. Limousines rolled into Hoboken by the dozen, reviving the gala ocean liner departures of years past, often led by a troop of police on screaming motorcycles. Speeding up along River Street might be former President and Mrs. Eisenhower, the Duke and Duchess of windsor, and film queens such as Marlene Dietrich and Paulette Goddard. There might also have been Princess Grace of Monaco, fabled tycoons and classy heiresses, and, of course, the governors of New Jersey as well as New York. There would also be any number of television and theater personalities on hand. Hoboken took it all in stride.des kirkPaTrick was a cruise

staff member on Holland America’s most lavish of voyages – the annual 95-or-so-day cruise around the world. These grand trips, the ultimate

n (Above) The beautiful Nieuw Amsterdam rests at Hoboken. – Author’s Collection. (Below) The aged, 30-year-old Veendam at Hoboken in February, 1953. Her final visit to the port would soon follow, on October 15, 1953. – Braun Bros. Collection, SSHSA Archives.


n (Clockwise from right) The handsome Statendam between winter cruises in 1958. – Gillespie-Faber Collection. Special visitor: The Willem Ruys makes a rare appearance in Hoboken in a photo dated July 9, 1959. – Gillespie-Faber Collection. Swapping berths: The Nieuw Amsterdam and Rotterdam exchange berths at Hoboken in a scene dated December 1959. – Author’s Collection. The engines-aft freighter Gaasterdyk at Fifth Street in 1963. – Gillespie-Faber Collection.

Hoboken Days


circumnavigations in ways, began sailing from Hoboken in January 1961. Sensibly, the company used the exquisite Rotterdam, then brand new, but thoughtfully gave her a more clubby tone by reducing her total capacity of 1,456, in two classes, to a more intimate 700 - completely first class, of course. “These were gala, very special trips. There were ladies who traveled with a million dollars just in jewels and others who sailed with 200 and 300 dresses for 90 days. They would have so-called ‘day clothes,’ dresses just for late afternoon, but very formal teas, and then, of course, lavish gowns for evenings.”

Final Remains afTer holland aMerica defecTed To ManhaTTan, a sMall Portuguese freighter company rented the Fifth Street pier. But life was never quite the same. A few years later these freighters moved away as well, and the piers began to suffer a series of ruinous fires. Two relics of the Holland America Line survived, however, until the early 1980s, on the remains of its Hoboken piers: the emblem of the line embedded in the former terrazzo floor of the main passenger entrance, by then exposed to the weather and changing seasons, and a half-section of a green-and-white-painted gangway. The remains were twisted, scorched heaps of steel and debris, and chunks of crumbling concrete. in the summer of 1980, a crane hauled away the final remains, along with a century of Hoboken’s tradition as a great ocean liner port.

Today, The siTe of the Holland America Line has been gloriously revitalized as Frank Sinatra Park. Capped by spectacular views just across the Hudson of Manhattan, the area is now one of green spaces, shaded benches and sporting fields. Sadly, there are no reminders of the streamers and steamer trunks aboard luxury liners such as the Nieuw Amsterdam and Rotterdam, and the tulip bulbs and cheeses on freighters such as the Sommelsdyk and Schiedyk.

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About the Author bill Miller, long-time SSHSA 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 highly collectible artifacts from them. He has written specific 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.

PowerShips24 • winter 2018 PowerShips24 • winter 2018

In 1941, after the Nazis had taken over most of the European continent and the Japanese were expanding their empire throughout China, American merchant ships were tasked with various responsibilities.

They delivered Red Cross aid to starving civilians and supplied lend-lease material to countries vital for the defense of the United States. The nation had begun a massive shipbuilding campaign to meet the rapidly changing world situation, but most freight was shipped using 20-year-old cargo ships like the Hog Islanders.

by Eric Pearson

n A typical “Hog Islander,” SS Exmouth on October 6, 1941. – SSHSA Archives.


he hog islanders were consTrucTed for service in World War I at Hog Island, Pennsylvania. They weren’t as famous as the newer Liberty ships, Victory ships or Type C1 through C4 freighters. The bulk of the U.S. Merchant Fleet when the war started was composed of vintage World War I-era vessels, whose service was critical when wartime national

mobilization became necessary. between August 1918 and January 1921, 122 Hog island ships were built, of which 58 became causalities in World War II. one such hog islander was the SS Exmouth, whose World

War II odyssey involved political entanglements, rescues, U-boats, storms and collisions. Her career can be broken into two parts: her role before the United States entered the war, delivering aid to Europe and military hardware to South Asia, and her participation in the allied convoy system transporting war material to South Asia, South America and Europe.

Before Here Lies the AbyssThe ss blue triaNgle was builT in 1920 by The aMerican International Shipbuilding Corporation at Hog Island, Pennsylvania, for service in World War I, but like her sister ships she never saw action in that conflict. the shipbuilding company had 50 slipways, “making it the world’s largest shipyard.” The hog islanders were broken into two classes: Type A

(Design 1022) freighters and Type B (Design 1024) troop transport vessels. They were considered to be well built. Neither of these designs was aesthetically pleasing because quick construction was the primary goal. The sterns of the ships “so closely resembled their bows that submarines would be confused about the direction the ship was traveling.” The riveted Hog Islanders were smaller in displacement than the World War II Liberty ships, but they were about equal in speed. in a comparison to welded world war ii ships, the standard type A Hog islander “was of roughly 7,800 deadweight tons and had a speed of about 11.5 knots (later rated at about 10 knots).” The standard World War II Liberty ship was “of about 10,790 deadweight tons” and had a “cruising speed of about 10 knots.” the “10,850 ton Victory, turbine powered, had a speed ranging from 15 to 17 knots.” The blue triaNgle was a Type A freighter assigned to the

Export Steamship Corporation (later named American Export Lines) in 1921, purchased by the steamship company in 1925 and renamed SS Exmouth in 1928 (all of the company’s ships were given names beginning with the “ex” prefix). these ships were configured to carry up to 12 passengers and were popular for their Vagabond Cruises to the mediterranean until 1938, when the cruises were discontinued because of the increasing threat of war. American ship owners scrambled to acquire more

ships as the european conflict increased profits.The red cross aT This TiMe became the chief provider of

relief supplies for civilian victims in the european conflict. the first American “mercy ship” chartered by the red Cross was the SS McKeesport, built in 1919 at the Federal Shipbuilding Company in Kearney, New Jersey. She was loaded in 1940 with more than $1 million worth of “drugs and hospital supplies, bedding, blankets, clothing, motor equipment, hospital trucks and ambulances, soaps and cooking utensils.” The McKeesport would later be sunk by u-258 in the North Atlantic on April 29, 1943. The hog islander ss Cold Harbor was the next ship

chartered by the Red Cross to deliver mercy cargo valued at $1 million to marseilles; that cargo “included foodstuffs, drugs, vitamins and canned milk; also 10,000 prisoner of war boxes containing foodstuffs and cigarettes.” The Exmouth was the third American ship chartered “to carry a $1,250,000 cargo of food, medicine and clothing for distribution chiefly to children in unoccupied France.” In today’s currency, adjusted for inflation, this would amount to a value of over $20 million.crossing The aTlanTic was becoming more precarious for

American cargo ships even though the United States was not at war. On October 9, 1939, the Hog Islander SS City of Flint was seized by the German pocket battleship Deutschland, which declared her cargo as contraband and the ship a prize of war. The Germans controlled the ship for several weeks until she was interned in Norway, which was neutral at the time. The Norwegian government later returned the ship to the United States. The Cold Harbor and Exmouth had 12-foot Red Cross markings and American flags painted on their hulls, along with crosses painted on the forward and after hatch covers that were fully lighted at night to denote their mercy ship status.

n SS Schenectady (Type A, Design 1022) on April 30, 1919, in a completion photo taken by the American International Shipbuilding Corporation, Hog Island, Pennsylvania. – Courtesy of the U.S. National Archives.


Cruising the Mediterranean in the 1930s

Why Stay at Home?

n Hog Island ships such as Exmouth served on American Export Lines’ Vagabond Cruises to the Mediterranean until 1938, when the cruises were discontinued because of the threat of war. Advertising subtly stressed that, “Without pretending to offer deluxe accommodations, the steamers of the Vagabond fleet are equipped with the necessary comforts and facilities the American traveler demands.” Brochure images from the SSHSA Archives.


Cruising the Mediterranean in the 1930s

Why Stay at Home?


richard allen, the American Red Cross delegate in France, informed Washington that a huge public demonstration occurred when the Cold Harbor arrived on March 10 1941. “All over France, the people found different ways of expressing their appreciation and I do not think that there is any doubt that these supplies raised the morale of the French people tremendously.” Allen noted that newspapers carried encouraging news when the Exmouth arrived in Marseille on April 2, but French administrators feared that German authorities would frown upon their citizens displaying any signs of passion upon the ship’s arrival.The aMerican shiPs were under scrutiny as Italian

representatives came aboard asking questions concerning the cargo, quantity of oil the ships carried, daily oil consumption and the speed of the ships; this information no doubt made its way to German officials. the Exmouth’s Chief Officer revealed that the ship was searched before sailing and they “found thirty to forty stowaways. They hid themselves everywhere from the crow’s nest on the foremast down to the tanks in the forehold. We found kids in the lifeboats under the covers.”

The exmoutH arriVed back in New York on May 2, 1941. On May 17, she sailed for Trinidad and across the South Atlantic en route to India. Another Hog Islander, the SS Robin Moor, with the Stars and Stripes and the letters “U.S.A.” painted on her sides, left New York 12 days earlier for Capetown. The Robin Moor was halfway between South America and Africa when she was torpedoed and sunk on May 21 by U-69 because the U-boat’s commander believed the ship was carrying supplies to Germany’s enemies and needed to be destroyed. The New York Times published the ship’s manifest, which revealed nothing of military value.The robiN moor (ex-SS Exmoor) was a sister ship to the

Exmouth before she was sold to Seas Shipping Company in 1940. the united States demanded compensation from the Nazi government in the amount of $2,967,092 for this first deliberate torpedoing of a ship flying the American flag. On June 20, Roosevelt addressed Congress, insisting that the German government should “be expected to make full reparation of the losses and damages sustained.” Herr Hans Thomsen, German Charge d’Affaires in Washington, responded that the charges “are not such as to lead to an appropriate reply by my government.” The exmoutH Proceeded independently across the South

Atlantic to Capetown and Bombay before arriving in Karachi and then returning to Capetown on August 28, 1941. Sinkings of neutral American ships were now increasing. On September 5 the 20-year-old SS Steel Seafarer was sunk by a German plane in the Red Sea despite the vessel being clearly marked with American flags painted on her side. there were five injuries and no deaths reported. The Exmouth returned safely to New York on October 16. Three days later the Hog Islander SS LeHigh was sunk by U-126, whose captain believed she was a Greek ship. Four crewmembers were injured.

n SS McKeesport. – SSHSA Archives.

n SS Robin Moor on May 6, 1941, 15 days before her meeting with U-69. – Courtesy of the Mariners’ Museum.


The exmoutH’s nexT Voyage took her to Rangoon, Burma, to deliver fighter aircraft destined for General Chennault’s American Volunteer Group, also known as the Flying tigers, who were fighting on behalf of China. these aircraft were Vultee P-66 Vanguard fighters, originally ordered by Sweden and barred for export because of the risk that they would fall into German hands. the british took possession of the fighters, only to relinquish them to China as the Wall Street Journal revealed that many of the planes were ready for shipment. The aircraft were disassembled, put into huge packing crates and placed onboard the Exmouth before she left New York on October 25. The ship reached Trinidad and continued sailing across the South Atlantic, arriving in Capetown on November 29. She continued sailing to Rangoon when several more American ships were sunk by German U-boats. on deceMber 2 the SS Astral, built in 1916, was torpedoed

and sunk by U-43 off the coast of Portugal. The entire crew of 37 men was killed. The next day the SS Sagadahoc, built in 1918, was torpedoed and sunk by U-124 in the South Atlantic. One crewmember was killed.iT was during The Passage to Rangoon that the Exmouth

received word that the Japanese had attacked American bases in Pearl Harbor, Guam and the Philippines, as well as British colonies in Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaya. The United States was now at war, and the Exmouth would stick out like a sore thumb with the company name and American flags displayed on her hull. Captain Ljungstrom ordered the crew to paint the ship after mixing black and white paint together.

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 The sinking of the freighter Robin Moor on May 21, 1941. – Illustration courtesy of the American Merchant Marine.


iT was bad enough that the Exmouth was heading into an uncertain fate; then the “tulsa incident” added more problems for American ships. China Defense Supplies, the agency coordinating Lend-Lease aid to China, “shipped the first weapons for the Chinese Army on the [Hog Islander] SS Tulsa on 22 October.” On December 16, the U.S. War Department gave brigadier General John magruder authority to transfer lend-lease materiel from Chinese to British control. The transfer was subject to the approval of the Chinese, but Lt. Col. Joseph J. twitty, who was in charge of lend-lease material in rangoon, released ammunition aboard the Tulsa to the British without Chinese approval. Twitty was under pressure from the British and realized that “ships in the harbor, among them the Tulsa, were extremely vulnerable,” especially since the stevedores had already deserted. The Chinese objected and labeled the handover an “illegal confiscation,” whereupon Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek ordered all Chinese personnel in Burma to return to China and cease cooperation with Britain. u.s. foreign serVice diPloMaT Lester Schnare sent a

telegram from Rangoon to Secretary of State Cordell Hull stating, “Situation Rangoon becoming most acute ships lying in harbor cannot be unloaded, equipment of docks not being moved … Chinese are urgently requesting action and steamer captains are at a loss what to do.” this occurred as the Japanese began bombing Rangoon on December 23. The bombing continued on Christmas day when they sent “80 bombers over rangoon in two waves, escorted by 48 fighters.” December 28 “brought another heavy enemy attack – 20 bombers and 25 fighters.”

iT was during This TiMe that “the freighter Exmouth dropped anchor in the Rangoon River, her cargo including 30 Vultee P-66 Vanguards – the fighters were originally built for Sweden, expropriated by the U.S., and allocated to the 3rd AVG.” New Year’s eve “dawned with no letup in the Jap assault. Eighty planes crowding the skies over Rangoon.” The

Flying Tigers along with the Royal Air Force managed to shoot down many of the intruders during the bombing campaign over Rangoon. The raids were causing Mass Panic

among the civilian population, who believed that the British were withdrawing from Burma. Dr. Krishnan Gurumurthy stated that “the dockworkers were the first to abandon their jobs. This meant that essential supplies could not be unloaded from the ships in the Rangoon docks. Many of these vessels became sitting targets for Japanese bombers.” the Exmouth miraculously escaped being hit while anchored in the Rangoon River. The Central Aircraft Manufacturing Company (CAMCO) was responsible for assembling the AVG fighters, but bill Pawley, the American businessman in charge of operations, shut the company

n The author’s father, able seaman James Pearson, along with other crew members painted the Exmouth on December 7, 1941. – Author’s collection.

n Air raid warning to the Exmouth crew from Captain O. Ljungstrom, Rangoon, January 1, 1942. – Author’s collection.


down and “ joined the mass exodus out of Rangoon.” The Japanese began dropping leaflets over the city warning civilians of an airborne invasion “which sent more civilians fleeing out of the city. Garbage and bodies were already collecting on the streets in the half-empty city.” The fighTers on The exmoutH were supposed to replace

damaged Curtiss P-40s, “but Chennault didn’t like them and turned them over to the Chinese Air Force. The reassignment was moot anyway, because Pawley had closed the CAMCO assembly factory.” Chennault inquired in a white House telegram if the AVG should arrange for the assembly of new airplanes and equipment arriving at Calcutta or if the united States Army should handle these matters. A committee was also formed between the United States, Britain and China to determine the best way to split up the stockpile of lend-lease material in Rangoon to ease the political situation among the allies.on January 21, 1942, the Exmouth weighed anchor and

took the fighters to Calcutta. the ship successfully delivered the aircraft and sailed for New York by way of Colombo, Capetown and Trinidad, arriving home on April 15 after being gone for 172 days.

Onward into the Fog of WarThe exmoutH was ParT of a VasT conVoy sysTeM for The rest of the war, based on the theory that a submarine would have less chance of finding a single convoy than single ships. Submarines would also have a harder time attacking if they were thwarted by escorts. The Exmouth proved this point when she joined convoy KS 505 from Hampton roads, Virginia, to Key West, Florida, where the Cold Harbor was part of the same convoy. The Cold Harbor, which had delivered Red Cross aid with the Exmouth the year before, had been waiting to assemble with the convoy when she was ordered to proceed independently to Port of Spain, Trinidad.she was unforTunaTely TorPedoed on June 14 by U-502

about 100 miles northwest of Trinidad, but all of the crew managed to escape in three lifeboats. The Exmouth rescued 19 men off two lifeboats and took them to Port of Spain, Trinidad. Seventeen men on the third lifeboat were picked up by the 22-year-old American freighter SS Kahuku on June 15. The Kahuku had earlier rescued 45 survivors from the Hog Islander SS Scottsburg, which was torpedoed by U-161. the next day, June 16, the Kahuku was herself torpedoed and shelled by U-126. Confusion among the sailors from previous sinkings added to the chaos as they abandoned ship. Of the total number of men onboard, “3 Cold Harbor survivors and 6 Scottsburg survivors were lost in addition to 6 merchant crew and 3 Navy men from the Kahuku.”The exmoutH Proceeded across the South Atlantic to

Capetown and onward toward Calcutta. She later joined convoy GN 20 from Guantanamo to New York, arriving

November 24, 1942. One of the ships in the convoy was the City of Flint, which had been a German war prize in 1939. She was torpedoed on her next trip by U-575 on January 25, 1943, while sailing from New York to Casablanca, killing three of the crew and four Navy men.The exmoutH’s nexT Voyage was a winter North Atlantic

crossing in Convoy SC 116 to England, which included 62 merchants and 22 escorts. The escorts were dispatched to “help convoy SC-116, which was threatened by a wolf pack of thirteen U-boats.” The convoy encountered a severe storm on January 22, 1943, with a Force 10 gale and heavy seas that caused one vessel to “send a report that her stern post was being carried away. Another reported her No. 1 hatch stove in and the master injured.” The U-boats never found the convoy and the ships arrived safely in England.The exmoutH encounTered another hazardous event

after arriving in England. On March 15, she was involved in a collision with the Greek cargo ship SS Evgenia Chandri off the coast of northeast England. There was no damage to the ship’s cargo, but “the stern of the Exmouth [was] bent from port to starboard and several bow plates buckled.” The Evgenia Chandri continued running until she ran over and sank on top of the sunken Norwegian troopship SS Oslofjord, which had struck a mine in 1940 just off the coast of South Shields, England. The Exmouth later proceeded to Lock Ewe, Scotland, to assemble with convoy ON 178, arriving in New York on May 4, 1943. The exmoutH lefT new york several weeks later in June

and joined 75 merchants and 18 escorts in Convoy SC 134

n SS Cold Harbor, lost to U-502, June 14, 1942. – Courtesy of the City of Vancouver Archives, Walter E. Frost photo.


n SS Shelton, later renamed SS Kahuka. – Courtesy of the City of Vancouver Archives.

n SS Exmouth, Penobscot Bay, Maine, June 29, 1944. – Courtesy of the U.S. National Archives.

n SS City of Flint. On October 9, 1939, the Hog Islander was seized by the German pocket battleship Deutschland, which declared her cargo as contraband and the ship a prize of war. – Courtesy of the Mariners’ Museum.


from Halifax to Liverpool. She left Liverpool on July 9, joining convoy ON 192 back to New York on July 24. She then traveled to South America from New York in a series of convoys to Guantanamo, trinidad, rio de Janeiro, montevideo and Bueno Aires from August to November 1943, returning safely to New York. She then departed for England in December, encountering another winter storm with weather so powerful that she lost her Number 4 lifeboat and two davits on January 4, 1944, after leaving Newfoundland. She delivered her cargo in London before joining 80 merchants and 34 escorts in convoy ON 224 for the trip back to New York, arriving March 2. Two of the British escorts, HMS Woodpecker and HMS Starling, sank U-264 (the first sinking of a snorkel-equipped u-boat) on February 19 during the defense of ON 224, after seven hours of anti-submarine attack operations. HMS Woodpecker, however, was torpedoed the next day by U-764, blowing off the stem of the ship. the ship remained afloat and was being towed when she capsized and sank during another North Atlantic storm.on March 8, 1944, the Exmouth joined Convoy BX 102 to

Halifax with 20 merchants and no escorts. On April 13, the Exmouth’s stern swung around in an ebb tide and touched the bow of another Hog Islander, the SS Wolverine, while at anchor in Halifax, causing little damage. Both ships joined convoy SC 157 from Halifax to Liverpool with 62 merchants and 16 escorts. One ship in the convoy, the SS Colin, was torpedoed and sunk by U-859. The Exmouth proceeded onward to Cardiff, Wales, and arrived in Liverpool to unload Army supplies before proceeding to Belfast to join the next convoy home. She arrived in New York on June 3.in early July 1944, the Exmouth loaded 500-pound bombs in

maine before joining convoy HX 298, which consisted of 114 merchants and 22 escorts bound for England. She discharged her cargo at Hull, england, departing July 28. three days later on July 31 at 7:30 a.m., the Exmouth’s luck ran out as she struck allied mines off Fyfeness, Scotland. the first mine “hit at the #1 hold on the starboard side, and a minute later a second mine struck the #2 hold, port side. the #1 hold filled quickly, and the freighter began to settle by the head. The second explosion broke the ‘Hog Islander’ in two, forward of the bridge.” Leroy Fowler Jr., an armed guard on the Exmouth, stated that “all Merchant Marine and Armed Guard personnel got off in life boats and were picked up by fast British Air, Sea Rescue boats after 16 hours.” The crew was composed of “43 merchant sailors and the 27-man Armed Guard.” in 2008, The exmoutH was discovered by several divers 40 miles

off the coast of Scotland. The ship is lying upright “in a west-east orientation in general depths of 53m with the bridge area at 38m.” She is relatively intact except for her broken bow. Divers confirmed that the wreck was the Exmouth after discovering pieces of crockery with the markings “American Export Lines.” nearly half of all The hog islanders built were sunk

during world war ii. their quick construction during world War I using prefabricated parts on a massive scale set the stage for the Liberty and Victory ships of world war ii using mass

production techniques. the Hog islanders and other world War I-era cargo ships couldn’t carry as much, nor were they as fast or as attractive as many of the World War II ships, but they were available when they and their crews were needed most, and they served admirably in the dark days of the war. for a coMPleTe lisT of ciTaTions for this article please visit www.sshsa.org.

About the Author sshsa MeMber eric Pearson is a retired computer programmer with more than 35 years of 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 earned

a master’s degree in history from the University of Houston-Clear Lake in 2014. Mr. Pearson’s father, James W. Pearson, sailed on the SS Exmouth to Rangoon in 1941 and became captain of a Liberty ship in 1946. He sailed in that capacity for American Export Lines and Lykes Brothers Steamship Company until 1958, when he became a Houston Ship Channel Pilot. He retired from the Houston Pilots organization in 1989 after spending more than 50 years in the maritime industry.

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NoVels such as e. M. forsTer’s Passage to India and, more recently, the Masterpiece Theatre presentation of “Indian Summers” on PBS, have brought the British colonial period to life in vivid color. Sometimes the picture painted was realistic and brutal; at other times

it presented in great detail the colorful lives of those who chose to serve the empire in the British colonial service. Depictions often showed the colonizers’ extremes: motivated by a genuine desire to help the native populations improve their quality of life, or merely bored and insensitive.These PosiTiVe and negaTiVe iMages have their

counterparts in the colonial maritime services of other countries, especially those of the French and Dutch.The weeks sPenT TraVeling between the home country

and the colony are most often given casual treatment, sometimes deservedly in view of the mundaneness of the experience. Transportation, rather than the sea experience, was primary. Especially on the P&O and Orient Line (which became a subsidiary of P&O after World War I), passengers often found that the social hierarchies also applied on board. This drove many British passengers to lines such as Messageries Maritimes (serving French colonies), Lloyd Triestino and Dutch companies.in rudyard kiPling’s PoeM “the exiles’ Line” (1890), the

poet panned the seagoing experience of P&O.“Twelve knots an hour, be they more or less,Oh slothful mother of much idlenessWhom neither rivals spur nor contracts speed!”

in The days before air condiTioning, the P&O ships, with their stone-colored superstructures and black hulls, must have felt like ovens during the passage through the Red Sea in summer.leaVing aside The social aTMosPhere on board, in the

1930s the seagoing experience became much better. As Noel Coward observed during a post-World War I voyage in the Orient, even P&O had “pulled up their socks.” The wolfsonian-fiu MuseuM and research center has a rich

collection of promotional materials about these British, French, Italian and Dutch colonial liners, some of which we share here.

Sailing (or Avoiding)‘‘The Exiles’ Line’’

to India by Laurence Miller • images courtesy of Wolfsonian-FIU Museum, except where noted

n Orion was the largest Orient liner at the time and sailed mainly to Australia.


The Colonial LinersORIONsoMe of The characTers in “indian suMMers” might have reached their destinations in the brand-new Orion of the Orient Line, which featured the work of 32-year-old interior architect Brian O’Rorke from New Zealand. O’Rorke’s work exhibited an absence of dark wood paneling. Instead, interiors were intended to provide a light and airy atmosphere and good cross-ventilation, with windows that opened on the higher decks. In the three decades that followed, O’Rorke’s work lent a more contemporary atmosphere to Orient liners compared with the more traditional approach favored by P&O.

ORCADESThe second shiP disPlaying The new decoraTiVe idioM was Orcades, which in the 1930s set new standards in décor and accommodation for British colonial liners. The Orcades was unfortunately sunk by a German U-boat off South Africa in 1942.

n (Clockwise from above) Lounge – Orcades (1937). The high ceiling gives a view of the length of B Deck. Orion’s dining salon. Orion’s main stairway. The Dancing Space on Orcades. This innovative and practical space features a deck area enclosed by folding glass doors. The room can be curtained and heated in cold weather, and also serves as a motion picture theatre when desired. It provides good cross ventillation in warmer seas.


Many of The colonial liners, uPgraded and eQuiPPed wiTh air-conditioning, survived to be used as cruise ships during the 1950s and 1960s. At about the same time, Sir Harold Nicolson, British diplomat, author, diarist and politician, chose a Dutch colonial liner, Willem Ruys, for what was probably the first ocean voyage he had ever taken for pleasure rather than business. Friends had advanced funds to send Nicolson and his wife, writer Vita Sackville-west, on an extended ocean voyage via the Royal Rotterdam Lloyd.

willem ruys, which had lain incoMPleTe in the shipyard throughout World War II, was one of the most beautiful and elegant colonial liners ever built. In the shipyard, snipers fought occasional battles with the occupiers around the hull, which was miraculously almost undamaged during this period.

WILLEM RUyS

n The Dutch colonial liner Willem Ruys at New York. – Braun Bros. Collection, SSHSA Archives.


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VICTORIAour briTish colonial Period TraVelers MighT haVe elecTed to go further afield to choose the Lloyd triestino’s Victoria – more fashionable and, perhaps, beautiful, than any of the competition. She linked Italy with the Asia, including, of course, stops in India. Unfortunately, she also was a World War II submarine victim while carrying Italian troops to North Africa. But during the 1930s, she was a favorite of many Europeans sailing to the Orient.

n (Above and at top) The balcony overlooking the Social Hall aboard Willem Ruys. “Especially in temperate regions what a delight it is to linger on the balcony, built forward of the superstructure above the First Class Social Hall. There, high above the water line, through large plate glass windows and from a beautifully sheltered position, one has a wonderful view of the sea losing itself in the far horizon.”


n Brochure for the Arosa Sun, formerly the Felix Roussell, in her afterlife as a transatlantic liner and cruise ship. (Below) Arosa Sun docked in Canada preparing for another voyage to Europe. – Edward O. Clark Collection, SSHSA Archives.

n Brochure image from the 1930s of the First Class Lounge aboard the ornate Felix Roussell.

FELIx ROUSSELL / AROSA SUNThe french coMPany Messageries MariTiMes soughT To reflect its colonial destination in the interiors of its vessels sailing to and from French indo-China and Japan. the Felix Roussell, dating from 1930, is typical of the ships that maintained the maritime links between France, Indo-China and other destinations in Asia.like Many oTher Vessels in colonial service, the ship had

an afterlife as a cruise and transatlantic ship (renamed the Arosa Sun). She carried with her to the last the lovely wooden paneling and Oriental carving seen in the brochure of the Arosa Line. Throughout her days as a transatlantic liner, cruise and emigrant ship, the Arosa Sun retained the interior decorative detail more appropriate to an Indo-Chinese setting while helping to meet the demand for low-cost transportation from Europe to Canada.


n First Class Smoking Room.

n The exotically decorated staircase to the First Class Dining Room.

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About the Author Dr. Laurence MiLLer (Larry), SSHSA Board Member,

served as Director of Libraries at Florida International University for 25 years before retiring in 2005. A lifelong lover of ships and the sea, he concurrently wrote for newspapers, as well as for such publications as Cruise Travel, Travel Weekly, and Travel Agent Magazine concerning ocean liners and cruise ships. With Giora Israel

of Carnival Corporation, he co-wrote Dictionary of the Cruise Industry (1999), published by Seatrade.


n This view from the conning tower of German submarine U-123 shows their intended victim in the distance. – German Federal Archives Photo. U-Boats OffNew England


eTween January 12, 1942, and May 5, 1945, New England sustained a near-continuous assault by U-boats, lasting from a few weeks after Adolf Hitler declared war on the United States on December 11, 1941, right up to the very end, when U-853’s brazen commander attacked and sank the Black Point off Point Judith, rhode island, within a week of Germany’s capitulation.

There were 72 gerMan subMarine, or U-boat, patrols off the coast of New england. the area is defined by a line from the Maine/Canada border in the Bay of Fundy, southeast past Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, out several hundred miles into the Atlantic, and from Montauk Light in the south out to sea. It doesn’t include the upper reaches of the Bay of Fundy, eastern Nova Scotia, Long Island or Long Island Sound. It does include the coasts of Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine. There were important U.S. Navy bases in Newport, Rhode Island, and Portsmouth, New Hampshire, (near Kittery, maine) at the time; a number of u-boats surrendered to the latter port in 1945 after Victory in europe (Ve) Day. no iTalian or JaPanese subMarines invaded New England

waters during this time, but a dozen or so captured French and Italian submarines were used for training from New London and nearby Bermuda. Out of the 72 German submarines that patrolled the area, roughly 10 percent of them were sunk during the patrol – U-701, U-215, U-869, U-550, U-866, U-857 and U-853. A further five of them surrendered, either in Portsmouth (U-1228, U-805, U-873 and U-234) or in Lewes, Delaware (U-858). On average, every other submarine managed to sink an Allied

ship, and for every three ships a German submarine was sunk. These were altogether not spectacular results in Germany’s favor, provided that their objective was for each submarine to sink

several ships on each patrol and thus win the tonnage war. The protracted Battle of the Atlantic was the longest in history, by which Germany aimed to bleed U.S. supplies to a trickle and thus starve their nemeses Great Britain and Russia into submission. As we shall see, though their flank was initially insufficiently protected, the Allies were able to muster adequate defenses and actually, utilizing air power, go on the offensive against the u-boat menace. By then, saboteurs had landed in Amagansett, Long Island, and Frenchman’s Bay, Maine, and 30 ships – merchant and military alike – had been sent to the bottom. oVer The years, U-boats patrolled off the New England coast

for about 22 months, coming within sight of Cape Cod, Nantucket, Block Island and the U.S. mainland in Rhode Island and Maine. U-123, under the indefatigable (and still living) Reinhard Hardegen, began the offensive on January 12, 1942. He was followed by seven other boats that month. In February, only three boats arrived as part of Operation Pauckenshlag, or Drumbeat, followed by eight in March and April respectively. Eleven U-boats arrived in May and seven the following month, with only three in June. Only U-86 entered in August, U-455 in September and two U-boats in November. It was to be the busiest year of the

1942 • 1945by Capt. Eric T. Wiberg, Esq.

n Reinhard Hardegen, commander of the German submarine U-123, began the first wave of attacks off the New England coast on January 12, 1942. Shown here after patrol. – Uboat.net photo.


n German submarines U-123 and U-201 departing Lorient, France, on June 8, 1941. – German Fed-eral Archives Photo.

n The Norwegian freighter Berganger was attacked and sunk by the German submarine u-578 in June 1942. – Walter E. Frost Photo, City of Vancouver Archives.


war for attacks, at least until the spring of 1945, when the Germans counter-attacked the region. in 1943, Many boaTs moved to the Caribbean, Africa or the

indian Ocean, and in black may of that year the Allies finally struck a decisive blow against the wolfpacks, hounding the convoys from Halifax to the United Kingdom. There were two patrols in April 1943, one in May and two in August. In 1944, there were only single patrols for the following months: February, April, may, June, September and November. then there is a remarkable uptick in attacks for 1945: one in March, three in April and an impressive five in may, as Hitler and Grossadmiral Donitz sent all their newest technologies and remaining seamen against their enemy, the United States, in a desperate gambit. They lost, and in 1945 three subs were sunk off the u.S. coast and five boats surrendered. The oVerwhelMing MaJoriTy of Allied ships sunk off New

England in World War II – 26 out of 30 – were sunk during 1942. This was achieved by 52 U-boat patrols to the region, although admittedly the objectives of some submarines were the approaches to New York, and others simply probed south of Halifax and north of Hatteras and bermuda. in 1943, there were five u-boat patrols off New England that accounted for no ships sunk. Six patrols in 1944 resulted in two Allied losses, and nine patrols in 1945 saw two ships sunk, one of them the U.S. Navy patrol craft USS PE-56 (USS Eagle), in the Gulf of Maine. During the period of maximum effort, in early 1942, when the U.S. military was largely off-balance and focusing on avenging Pearl Harbor in the Pacific, the returns for the Germans were predictably the greatest, and diminished thereafter. The Allies instigated convoys, submarine hunter-killer groups in the mid-Atlantic to cut off floating u-boat tankers. they also had more-efficient decoding and dissemination of decrypted German signals intelligence, a concerted and continuous air presence over the coast, yachts assigned as picket boats, and beefed-up destroyer and blimp patrols, and Coast Guard presence.The NorNess was The firsT shiP sunk, south of Rhode Island,

on February 14, 1942, by Hardegen in U-123. A week later the Alexandra Hoegh was sent to the bottom by U-130 in roughly the same position. The Thirlby, attacked by U-109, followed two days later. On March 17, U-71 sank the Ranja, and five days later U-373 dispatched the Thursobank. On March 29 U-571 destroyed the Hertford, and April 8 saw U-84 sink the Nemanja. West Imboden succumbed to U-752 on April 21, followed a week later by the Taborfjell at the hands of U-576. In May, seven ships were sunk: the schooner Angelus by U-161, Fort Qu’Appelle by U-135, Skottland, Fort Binger and Plow City within a week of each other by U-588, Zurichmoor and Liverpool Packet by U-432. June of 1942 was a devastating month for the Allies off New

England, with a record nine ships attacked and sunk by seven German subs. They were the John A. Poor (U-510), Berganger (U-578), Mattawin (U-553) and the fishing vessel Ben & Josepine and Malayan Prince by U-432. These depredations were followed by the loss of the Lark to U-107, Cherokee and Port Nicholson by U-87 on the

same day off Cape Cod (the Port Nicholson has been said to have contained millions in bullion), and the Moldanger to U-404. The following month saw only the Lucille M. sunk by U-89. In 1944, there were two ships sunk: Pan Pennsylvania by U-550, which was quickly avenged by the sinking of the submarine 70 miles south of Nantucket in April (it was discovered in 2012), and the Cornwallis by U-1230 in December. In 1945, the USS Eagle sank off Maine in April (the loss, to a mine, was attributed by the Navy to a boiler explosion until recently), and the Black Point off Rhode Island – both by U-853, whose commander was hell-bent on risky destruction.

n Port Nicholson, sunk in June 1942 by German submarine u-87, shown anchored in Athol Bight, Sydney, April 12, 1931. – Australian National Maritime Museum on the Commons photo.


n German submarine u-858 is brought to anchor at Cape Henlopen, Delaware, in May 1945, after being surrendered at sea. LCDR Willard D. Michael, Officer in Charge, with a megaphone on her conning tower. – U.S. Navy photo.


His revenge was meted out to him in a determined counter-attack that sent the U-boat to the bottom off Block Island: one of the German sailors was buried with honors in Newport, and the sub’s propellers rested outside the Inn at Castle Hill for decades. since The landing of saboTeurs on Long Island and in

Canada didn’t occur in New England, they’re not germane to this study, but the November 29, 1944, insertion of an American double-agent and his German colleague are. U-1230 had two sailors row Erich Gimpel (the German) and William Curtis Colepaugh (the American, an MIT dropout from Niantic, Connecticut) ashore in a snowstorm in Frenchman’s Bay. They used German sausages to quiet barking dogs and made their way to Portland, then boston and finally New York, where Colepaugh betrayed Gimpel. They were each severely sentenced and survived the war. It’s believed that the dirigible K-14, salvaged in Southwest Harbor, Maine, riddled with bullets from a German submarine, was one of their victims, but the U.S. Navy denies a connection, saying its loss was due to pilot error. There were nuMerous insTances of exceptional bravery off

the harsh, winter-bound coastline of New England during the war. One of the picket boats, Zaida, was dismasted and pushed to sea off Nantucket, resulting in the largest air-sea rescue mission to date, until the men were located alive off the Virginia Capes three weeks and 3,100 miles later. The servicemen of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter General Green (WPC 140) came to the rescue of survivors of the ships Polyphemus and Norland (the latter ship’s men having been rescued by the former before the Polyphemus was itself sunk). Not only did the General Greene take the exhausted and cold men (it was May) to Nantucket, but it also transported other survivors to Newport for debriefing and repatriation. the other vessels involved in saving the men from these two ships were the Portuguese steamers Maria Amelia and Mirandella and the U.S. fishing vessels Hunting-Sanford and the Alpha & Estelle. oVerall, The sTory of allied shiPs sunk by double the

number of German submarines off New England is a chronicle of hardship on both sides, and courage and fortitude, particularly among those cast into the harsh winter seas. Surprisingly, given

the coverage that New York, Cape Hatteras, the U.S. Gulf and the Caribbean have received, there is no single book devoted to the battle zone that was New england for three and a half years. With the help of archives such as those on offer by the SSHSA in Warwick, Rhode Island, continued research will allow these dramatic and wrenching stories to be told.

About the Author sshsa board MeMber eric wiberg grew up in Nassau, Bahamas. He completed undergraduate studies at Boston College and Oxford and holds a JD from Roger Williams and a Masters in Marine Affairs from the University of Rhode Island. He founded Echo Yacht Delivery in 1999 and has sailed 75,000 nautical miles on over 100 yachts,

most of them as captain. For three years he commercially operated a fleet of 21 tankers and bulkers from Singapore. He spent four years with TradeWinds, a leading shipping industry news source, and presently performs business development for McAllister Towing in New York. A guest speaker, his articles have been published in over 20 periodicals. His fifth published book, U-Boats in the Bahamas, is due out this summer. The author of four historical blogs, he lives in New York City.

n Survivors from the German submarine U-550, which was sunk after attacking the Pan Pennsylvania on April 16, 1944. The Coast Guard-manned destroyer escort USS Joyce picked up 12 survivors and one body. – U.S. Coast Guard photo.


Shipping registers

Much of whaT most people want to know about ships can be found in shipping

registers or in vessel documents. Registers provide ship specifications, but only a very limited history of a vessel; there’s even less history in vessel documents (you’ll need to search elsewhere for basic ship histories). There are many different registers that you can consult (see sidebars for lists of specific registers, including those of other nations). Knowing which registers to search first is helpful and saves you time. There are Two main types of registers.

Privately published classification registers and government-published registers or lists. Other types of registers exist, but these two are the most common.

MosT regisTers seem to improve over time. Later editions generally have more information than earlier editions. In some cases, however, the publishers dropped important information, only to add it back in later editions. This is true of both classi-fication and government registers. So keep that in mind while doing your research. While some registers are now online, many older registers are still extant only as hard-copies – Lloyd’s, The Record, Bureau Veritas and Det Norse Veritas to name just a few.inforMaTion is straightforward and

presented similarly in each register except for abbreviations and changes in format. In some Lloyd’s Registers, the col-umn titles are in French on one page and in English on alternating pages. Bureau Veritas is the same. Review the format of the registers. Look at the table of contents so you don’t miss a section that may list your vessel. This is important as well, be-cause some foreign vessels may be listed in a separate section.

There are basically two sources of registers: 1) hard copies at institutions, libraries and in private collections, and 2) digitized copies on websites or individual registers on the internet at sites such as Google Books. If you have access to hard copies, they may be best to start with, providing you a better feel for registers rather than those online. Digitized copies, however, are very handy and can be used wherever you happen to be. To make searching easier, I often use the registers on Mystic Seaport’s Digital Library site, even though I may have the hard copies. You’ll find some registers on the internet, but not all registers, nor all years. Unfortunately, websites come and go, and links change, so you might want to save those registers that interest you, either by printing them out or copying the files to your computer if you can. regisTers usually lisT some combina-

tion of the following specifications: Vessel name, former names, official number, sig-

Ship Research, Part 2Shipping Registers & Vessel Documents

by James Shuttleworth in the first article in this series we touched on the basics of vessel research. we’ll cover signal flags, other ship flags and funnel marks in detail in the next installment.


nal code letters, dimensions, rig, tonnage, builder, build location, engine informa-tion, seaworthiness classification, last survey date and port and crew compli-ment. An abbreviated and limited history of a vessel can be obtained from Lloyd’s Registers of the 19th century by looking at where the vessel traveled and ports it visited. Later Lloyd’s Registers don’t include this information.regisTers include primarily two types:

classification registers (by classification societies) such as Lloyd’s Register of British and Foreign Shipping (Lloyd’s Register), and government registers, such as List of Merchant Vessels of the United States (LMVUS). Other private registers have been published but tend not to last long or be relied upon.in general, a merchant

(commercial) vessel will be listed in some register. It might not be listed if it were never insured, never registered by any of the organizations that produced registers or it was too small a vessel to be registered. Yachts may be listed in separate registers, and the names of registers that deal specifically with yachts are listed in the sidebar.classificaTion regisTers are for

insurance and purchase purposes. The publishers are not normally insurance companies. They classify vessels as to their sea worthiness and the ship’s ability to safely deliver cargos. It’s actually risk information used by insurers and potential buyers. regisTers Published by classification

societies have requirements for listing a vessel. Periodically, owners are asked to update listings of their vessels with the publisher. If they don’t, then the information is often missing, incorrect or out of date. Some incorrect or dated information, such as rig type, remains in some registers for several years as a result. Consider this when conducting your research. Different registers may provide

different information for the same vessel. Look at several listings. Government registers usually have less

information than classification registers. Vessels are not rated by their seaworthi-ness or risk, but they often list vessels not found in the classification registers. this is especially true of small vessels and ves-sels that were not insured. For example, some Lloyd’s Registers do not include vessels less than 100 tons. However, the 100-ton minimum is sometimes disregarded. Interestingly, some large British liners are not listed in Lloyd’s. Some people consider

government registers not as “registers” but rather as “lists.” Regardless, they still offer much useful information – some-times the only source of that information. And vessels requiring documentation, those greater than three to five tons, are usually listed. Most of the information is obtained from official vessel documents.occasionally, you’ll see handwritten

or stamped notations about a vessel in the margins of a register – for example “Wrecked,” “Lost” or a name change. These occur in the register that is current for that time, but usually don’t appear

in the next edition of that register. A wrecked or scrapped vessel is not listed in the next edition, and name changes are listed under the new name. Tracing a vessel in the registers may reveal when it existed or was lost or scrapped. Changes in ownership may also be discerned. But be aware that the vessel may have been sold to a foreign owner or renamed.naMe changes don’t always occur when

sold, but when they do, it adds complexity to your search. If your vessel suddenly disappears from a register, don’t assume that it was lost or scrapped. It might have been sold and renamed. If a register has a

section for name changes, vessels will be listed under the former name, followed by the current name.always check

for former names. In some registers, former names are listed with current names. The word “ex” or “former” precedes the previous name. In the List of Merchant Vessels of the United States, former names appear as footnotes. In other registers, former names

are listed in a separate section. In some Lloyd’s Registers, former names are under “Late Names.” For an 1850s ship, i had to search all the names in the register to find the new name. in that time period, for an American vessel, the only source available was American Lloyd’s, which listed vessels by rig type. Fortunately, it was in the first section i checked – “Ships.” The former name was listed with the new name. I looked for vessels of the same age, builder, build location etc. – things that don’t changecoMPound naMes can be confusing. Be

sure you know the correct and full name of your vessel. Many vessels are named for people. Often, the full name is given, including middle initials. An example is

n Cover of the merchant Vessels of the United States, 1934. Front page of John Lyman’s Log Chips, Volume One, Number

Eleven, March 1950.


the famous American Black Ball Line packet, the Charles H. Marshall. Some ves-sels have two names like the steamer West Himrod. The full name including middle initials is listed in the registers. This can be helpful when distinguishing vessels of similar names. Another thing about com-pound names is that they are listed alpha-betically under the first name. the Charles H. Marshall is listed under “Charles” in the Cs, not under Marshall. Later Lloyd’s have a “Compound Names” section.generally, Vessels are listed alphabeti-

cally, but perhaps within a category such as rig, sail or steam. Some of the earlier registers, such as American Lloyd’s Register, listed vessels by rig type: ships, barks, brigs, schooners, steamers etc. In these registers, if you don’t know the rig you’ll need to look in all the categories. Start with the section for the rig you think your vessel had. If steam was auxiliary in the vessel, it may be listed under sail, or steam or motor vessel. Many changes of ship to bark rig occurred, so you may need to look in both sections. A change from steam to sail rarely occurred. if you know when the vessel was built

and when it ended life, look at registers covering those time periods. When you start, try the first year after the build date. Some registers are July to June rather than calendar year. A vessel built in the latter half of the year won’t show up until the following edition of that register. Occasionally, vessels don’t show up for several years. lloyd’s register, The Record and some

others don’t list vessels by rig type, sail or steam, but rather alphabetically by name. Various conventions are used to distinguish rig type – usually an abbreviation, or italics, bolding etc. Consult the key or legend for definitions. early editions of List of Merchant Vessels of the United States list vessels by sail or steam, but gasoline-powered vessels are often under the steam category. Motor vessels and government vessels had a separate category. In later editions this segregation was dropped in favor of an alphabetical listing by name. This was likely due to the decrease in

sailing vessels and later of steamers.soMe Vessel characteristics can

change, others can’t. For example, the official number never changes unless the vessel is sold to a foreign owner. The builder, location of build and year of build can’t change either. But owners, masters, tonnage, rig and nationality can and do change. Signal flag letters of the International Code of Signals never change, as long as the vessel is extant (unless sold to a foreign owner). There’s an exception, however. Around the 1920s, radios (wireless) became widely used in vessels. This necessitated a change of some signal letters, which became radio call signs, too. For example, SS Bellingham, ex-West Himrod, became KUDQ, but when built was LVrF. when a vessel is scrapped or lost, signal letters can be reeditioned after a long period of time, usually five years or more. but this rarely happens. So, signal letters can often be used to distinguish one vessel from another. When a vessel is sold and re-registered in a foreign country, the official number and the signal letters change to that country’s system. if you deTerMine that your vessel

was sold to a foreign owner, search that

country’s registers. You’ll find registers for specific countries in the sidebar, but the list is not comprehensive. Lloyd’s Register is common in the United States and the United Kingdom and may be in other countries too. Registers such as Det Norske Veritas (Norwegian), Bureau Veritas (European and American), Germanischer Lloyd (German) and other registers are not as readily available in the United States as they may be in other countries. Don’t despair if your vessel was sold to a foreign owner. There are many foreign websites with pertinent information, some with translators. If not, Google will translate for you.iT’s iMPorTanT to be sure you have the

correct vessel, especially if it’s one of a common name. Forty-one brigs listed in Lloyd’s Register of 1890–91 had the name Evangelistria. In total there were 63 vessels with that same name. There are numer-ous vessels named Mary in the various registers. Be diligent when determining which vessel is yours.The More you know about your vessel

the more likely you are to be successful at finding information about it, and you may need to use various sources. utilize the full vessel name, any name changes, rig,

n A large collection of The Record and List of merchant Vessels of the united States are available for research at the SSHSA Ship History Center.


official number, signal flag letters or num-bers, tonnage, builder, build location and master (master and captain are the same). If you’re not sure, start anyway. After you become familiar with the vessels, you may determine whether you’ve found the one you’ve been looking for.Tonnage is a biT complicated, but it

shouldn’t impede you as long as you recognize the differences in the various types. (“Tonnage” was covered in more detail in part one of this series in the Fall 2017 edition of PowerShips, so it’s not necessary to have a full and comprehensive description here). Just remember to compare the same types of tonnage. Most often you’ll come across “registered tonnage” or “net tonnage.” Tonnages may differ in the registers, even from year to year in the same register. And remember that tonnage numbers may be slightly different due to differences in measuring and calculating. You may come across “old method,” and “new method.” “Registered tonnage” (formerly “gross registered tonnage”) is almost always larger than “net tonnage.” Lastly, small differences in tonnages given may exist for the same vessel, for the reasons given above.iT’s difficulT To lisT all the changes

that have occurred in registers over time. So format and specifics may differ in some registers from what’s listed here. But the basics are the same.if you wanT To know more about the

history of the various classification societ-ies that produce registers, read “Classifi-cation Society Registers from the Point of View of the marine Historian” by e.K. Haviland, in the January 1970 edition of American Neptune. While it’s 47 plus years old and out of date as to where you can find registers, it has very good histories of the classification societies such as Lloyd’s Register, American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) and Bureau Veritas. Another very good source for histories and registers is John Lyman’s Log Chips, Volume 1, Numbers 7, 9, 10 and 11. Number 11 can be down-loaded at the Nautical Research Guild’s website for $2.50. All of Lyman’s Log Chips are available at the San Francisco

Maritime Museum Research Center library and at the Huntington Library. Likely, other institutions have these refer-ences too. Again, while somewhat out of date with regard to register locations, the histories are still accurate.The sTeaMshiP Historical Society of

America sells duplicate registers, online and at its Warwick, Rhode Island, Ship History Center. The Friends of the San Francisco Maritime Library sell duplicate registers, WPA registers and enrollment books, and other maritime references. They are available in the Center and via ABE Books at abe.com.

Vessel DocumentsVessel docuMenTs are The official u.s. government documents for registering, enrolling or licensing a commercial vessel. In U.S. Custom House records and docu-ments, three terms are used that need defining. “registration” (or “registry”) is for vessels that intend to trade with for-eign countries. “Enrollment” is a term for vessels that are in the coastwise trade (not foreign). “License” is for vessels under 20 tons. Vessel documents give specifications, owner’s names, official tonnage, and in some cases masters, builder and build lo-cation. The U.S. National Archives is the repository of vessel documents for vintage American vessels. The U.S. Coast Guard maintains records and documents for active vessels. Other countries may have different conventions, and their archives may go by different names.while noT acTually registers or

documents, the U.S. Work Projects Administration (WPA) transcriptions of Custom House records, done during the period before World War II, are useful also. Unfortunately, they were not done for many ports. Because of the start of the war, the projects were stopped, and some that were finished, or significantly completed, were even destroyed. Use them if appropriate to your search; they provide valuable information. A partial listing of ports covered includes: Eureka, California; Portland and marshfield, Or-egon; Providence, Newport and bristol/

warren, rhode island; New bedford, Barnstable, Dighton/Fall River, Plymouth and boston/Charlestown, massachusetts; New Orleans, Louisiana; Penobscot bay/Castine, Passamaquoddy, Saco, machias and bath, maine; Philadelphia, Pennsyl-vania and New York, New York. Hathi Trust, https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Re-cord/000968981, has a number of these digitized. Check the internet, or seek them at a maritime museum, national archives, or on the used book market.Following is a non-comprehensive listing

of registers and other references: aMerican lloyd’s Register of Shipping.

A classification register first published in 1857 as the New York Marine Register (1857–58). mystic Seaport has digitized many of these and they are available to search at their website. San Francisco Maritime Museum Research Center library has a number of original copies. Published into the 1880s.ameriCaN lloyd’s uNiversal register.

A rival of American Lloyd’s Register.


Absorbed by American Bureau of Shipping (AbS) in 1884. it is often misidentified as American Lloyd’s Register of Shipping.aNNual list of merCHaNt vessels

of tHe uNited states (lmvus). First published in 1868 by various u.S. government agencies. The first edition was the “Preliminary List.” Around 1925 it became simply Merchant Vessels of the United States. It includes yachts. The Steamship Historical Society of America Ship History Center, the San Francisco Maritime Museum Research Center library, the Mariners’ Museum and the Huntington Library have extensive, but incomplete runs.britisH Code list. Not a shipping

register. Lists British signal code letters and official numbers alphabetically by signal letter and by vessel name. Sometime between 1904 and 1916 it became Signal Letters of British Ships. It was published as a separate supplement to the International Code of Signals. Useful in distinguishing between vessels of similar names or to identify an unnamed vessel.bureau veritas. A classification

register dating from 1828. A few are available at the San Francisco Maritime Museum Research Center library and the Mariners’ Museum.det Norske veritas (dNv) (Norwegian

and Scandinavian vessels). Merged with Germanischer Lloyd in 2013. Today it is DNV GL (https://www.dnvgl.com/). Some are available at the San Francisco Maritime Museum Research Center library.firemaN’s fuNd register. For vessels of

the u.S. Pacific Coast and Hawaii. Although published by an insurance company, it does not classify vessels. San Francisco Maritime Museum Research Center library has a good run of these registers – 1907 through 1930s editions are known.germaNisCHer lloyd (German vessels).

A classification register first published in 1868. merged with DNV in 2013. See Det Norske Veritas above.great lakes register (United States

and Canada). Published by Bureau Veritas.JoHNsoN’s mariNe maNual. Various

name changes over time. Editions known as early as 1915 through at least 1954. Mostly steam and motor ships/motor vessels. Only basic information.liJst vaN de sCHepeN vareNde oNder

NederlaNdse vlag, tHuisbeHoreNde iN NederlaNd (List of Ships Sailing Under the Flag of the Netherlands). Dutch register. The U.S. Library of Congress has an incomplete set from 1870 to 1971.list of merCHaNt vessels of JapaN.

Found at the U.S. Library of Congress.

list of sHippiNg – beiNg a list of vessels oN tHe registry books of tHe domiNioN of CaNada.lloyd’s register of ameriCaN yaCHts.lloyd’s register of britisH aNd

foreigN sHippiNg (lloyd’s register). Best known register, but not the only one. A classification register, it has been published since 1764 under several names. until 1834, it was published by two rival organizations that merged into Lloyd’s Register. See www.lrfoundation.org.uk, www.hathitrust.org and www.maritimearchives.co.uk. Some foreign vessels also. Reprints of early editions are available on the second-hand book market. The Steamship Historical Society of America Ship History Center, the San Francisco Maritime Museum Research Center library and the Peabody Essex Museum have large runs of this register.lloyd’s register of yaCHts. British

and some foreign yachts.maNNiNg’s yaCHt register. American

yachts for the most part, covers the late 19th/early 20th centuries.merCaNtile Navy list (mNl) was first

published in 1847 by the british board of Trade (British government). Later it was a supplement to the Commercial Code of Signals, which became the International Code of Signals. It lists all British registered vessels, greater than 3 tons, including some large vessels not found in Lloyd’s Register. In some editions, American and other foreign vessels are listed in a separate section, but without much data. Somewhat rare, but a very useful register for British vessels that is overshadowed by Lloyd’s Register. See

n The alphabetical lists of merchant vessels from The Record contain essential ship data.


www.maritimearchives.co.uk. Mariner’s Museum and the Peabody Essex Museum have significant runs of this register.New york mariNe register. Former

name of American Lloyd’s Register of Shipping. mystic Seaport has digitized the 1857 and 1858 editions, which are available at its website, mysticseaport.org.NippoN kaiJi kyokai. Japanese vessels.

Started in 1899.registro italiaNo Navale (riNa).

italian vessels. Started in 1862.seagoiNg vessels of tHe uNited states.

Not a register, rather a supplement to LMVUS. Part of some editions of LMVUS. Former name was Code List of Merchant Vessels of the United States (1895–1900). Lists U.S. signal code letters and official numbers, both alphabetically by signal letters and by vessel name. Similar to the British Code List. Signal codes are useful in distinguishing between vessels of similar names and identifying vessels.sigNal letters of britisH sHips. See

British Code List above. tHe reCord of ameriCaN aNd foreigN

sHippiNg (tHe reCord) is a classification register. it is the equivalent to Lloyd’s Register for American vessels. it was first published in 1867 by the American Shipmaster’s Association, which became the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), still in existence today. Early editions are available in the Mystic Seaport Digital Library (mysticseaport.org) and large runs are available at other institutions such as the Steamship Historical Society of America Ship History Center, Mariners’ Museum, San Francisco Maritime Museum Research Center library and the Huntington Library.

other registers and references:bulk Carrier register. The U.S. Library of Congress has several years’ worth.CHristie’s sHippiNg register 1858.

Some British ports. Download at Google books: https://goo.gl/Qzu63w.gas Carrier register. Previous title

was Liquid Gas Carrier Register. The U.S. Library of Congress has several years’ worth.

merCHaNt sail by William Fairburn. Not a register. Six volumes, sail only, reprints available.merCHaNt steam vessels of tHe

uNited states 1790–1868. tHe lytle-HoldCamper list, 1975. Updated version of the Lytle List. Not a register. Available new from Steamship Historical Society of America. merCHaNt vessels of tHe uNited

states, 20 toNs aNd upward. 1847. Rodgers and Black. Minimal data. Early attempt as a register.merCHaNt vessels of tHe uNited

states, 150 toNs aNd upward, 1846–1854. Henry J. rodgers. minimal data. Early attempt as a register.NortH of eNglaNd maritime

direCtory & sHippiNg register, 1848. Download at Google Books: https://goo.gl/9a1UyT.register of taNk vessels. Standard

Shipping Company (Standard Oil). Begins in 1930s.sHipiNdex.org. A website that shows

where to look for information for specific vessels. Free service lists 153,000 vessels. Paid subscription service lists over three million vessels.sHippiNg woNders of tHe world. Edited by Clarence Winchester. Not a register. Volumes 1 and 2, 1936–37. Also available as individual magazines.taNker & bulk Carrier world

direCtory. The U.S. Library of Congress has several years’ worth.taNker register. H. Clarkson and

Co. Ltd. London. The U.S. Library of Congress has several years’ worth.

Steamship Historical Society of America Ship History Center has a handful.Turnbull shipping regisTer (British).

Known publication in 1884.war sHips of tHe world. 1892 (10th

revised issue).work ProJecTs adMinisTraTion (WPA)

Registers and Enrollments. Technically not shipping registers, but contain transcribed registration, enrollment, and licensing information from U.S. Custom House Records. Titles vary by port. Partial list of ports in the section “Vessel Documents.”Many insTiTuTions, libraries, colleges

and maritime museums have runs of registers. You’ll find that some registers not online are available at the following places. At the Hahti Trust website, there is a feature that tells you where certain registers are located, and you may also want to try World Cat (www.worldcat.org). Staff at the various museums and institutions can be helpful too.aMerican bureau of shiPPing,

Houston, TX.ausTralian naTional MariTiMe

MuseuM, Sydney.california sTaTe uniVersiTy,

Fullerton Library, Fullerton, CA.hunTingTon library and boTanical

gardens, San Marino, CA. Several hundred registers. Restricted usage. Call first (626) 405-2100.library of congress, Washington,

DC. (201) 707-8000. www.loc.gov/rr/business/ships/registers.html.lloyd’s regisTer foundaTion,

London, England. Some registers online.


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About the Author JiM shuTTleworTh is a retired geologist and army officer. He served as a member of the SSHSA Board of Directors and the Editorial Planning Committee of PowerShips. He also served as the president of the Southern California Chapter of SSHSA. He has a strong interest in maritime history and maritime art, and has collected maritime paintings, prints, signal flag systems and house flags books that he enjoys studying.

los angeles MariTiMe MuseuM library, San Pedro, CA. Call first (310) 548-7618. Library temporarily closed.Maine MariTiMe MuseuM library,

Bath, ME. (207) 443-1316.Mariners’ MuseuM library, Newport

News, VA. Has a large run of various registers. Call first (757) 596-2222. Library may be temporarily closed.MariTiMe MuseuM of san diego

Library, San Diego, CA. (619) 234-9153.MariTiMe MuseuM of wesTern

ausTralia.MysTic seaPorT library, Mystic,

Ct. (888) 973-2767. (http://library.mysticseaport.org).naTional MariTiMe MuseuM library,

Greenwich, England.new york (ciTy) Public library, New

York, NY.Peabody essex MuseuM library,

Salem, MA. Large run of registers. (866) 745-1876.PenobscoT MariTiMe MuseuM library,

Searsport, ME. (207) 548-2529.

san francisco MariTiMe MuseuM research cenTer library, San Francisco, CA. (415) 561-7040. Has several hundred registers. request information via phone, email, or writing.sTeaMshiP hisTorical socieTy of

aMerica, shiP hisTory cenTer, Warwick, R.I. (401) 463-3570. Large run of Lloyd’s Register, The Record and Annual List of Merchant Vessels of the United States. inTerneT websiTes may be useful,

but come and go more than you might think. If they move, your link to them may be lost. Save useful site’s registers to your computer under a separate file for registers, and include a backup. This way they are on your computer for normal use and portable when you change computers or when you travel. The following are useful websites for

registers. You’ll find additional useful sites when doing internet searches. Information from websites, from other than official

documents, registers etc. should be verified. incorrect information often gets repeated over and over on the internet.

hTTPs://research.MysTicseaPorT.org/ has some early American registers online, including the New York Marine Register, American Lloyd’s, and The Record.

hTTP://MuseuM.wa.goV.au has some registers online.

www.ibiblio.org/hyPerwar/aMh/usMM/annual _ lisT/ has some List of Merchant Vessels of the United States online.

hTTP://www.lrfoundaTion.org.uk/Public _ educaTion/reference-library/regisTer-of-shiPs-online/ has some Lloyd’s Registers online.

www.Mariners-l.co.uk has register details, plus other useful information.

www.MariTiMearchiVes.co.uk/ has useful information.

www.haThiTrusT.org has some shipping registers and WPA records online as well as sources of registers.

n SSHSA’s Ship History Center in Warwick, Rhode Island contains a plethora of reference resources.


This laTesT 135,000-grt ship will be built at the same shipyard and launched the year in between the two previously announced vessels. All three are designed to be powered by liquefied natural gas and have around 1,250 cabins, carrying upwards of 2,500 passengers, which is slightly more than the newest Disney cruise ships, Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy, launched in 2011 and 2012.Msc was exPecTed to convert its

option for a third Seaside-class ship into a firm order by the end of September.

luxury cruise yachts planned

A new cruise line hoPes To begin operations in 2019. the ritz

Carlton hotel chain plans to build three 24,000-grt luxury vessels as part of its new Yacht Collection. The 623-foot vessels will carry 298 passengers and operate initially on the United States East Coast and the Great Lakes. The trio will be built by Barreras Shipyard

at Vigo, Spain, at a cost of $200 million each. the yard said the order was firm for one ship, with a 30-month timeline and delivery in late 2019. The order also has two options, according to the yard.

New Ship for mystic cruises

MysTic cruises has confirMed construction of a vessel designed

by Italian naval architect Giuseppe Tringali is already underway at the WestSea Shipyard in northern Portugal, with completion expected in October 2018.To be naMed World Explorer, it will

accommodate 200 passengers served by 111 international crew members. The 9,300-ton ship will have an operating cruise speed of 16 knots and a strengthened hull and propellers for traversing ice. The vessel will be 126 meters in length with a width of 19 meters and a draft of 4.8 meters. Quark exPediTions will operate World

Explorer on 10 charter cruises for the 2018–19 Antarctica season. During the rest

Bahamas paradise adds Ship

The Costa NeoClassiCa a) Costa Classica will leave the Costa Cruises

fleet in march 2018. built in 1991 and the company’s oldest ship, she will join Grand Celebration a) Celebration b) Grand Celebration c) Costa Celebration at Palm Beach, Florida, in April 2018 as Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line’s neoClassica. The pair will alternate sailings on daily two-day cruises to Freeport in the Bahamas.in a relaTed MoVe, Costa Crocieri

confirmed that its Costa Victoria will leave the Chinese market and return to Europe with Balearic Islands voyages starting in late march 2018. the ship will take over the itinerary of Costa neoRiviera a) Costa Riviera, with this ship assuming the neoClassica’s current program.before reTurning to operate in the

Mediterranean, the Costa Victoria will drydock at Chantier Naval de Marseille.The Costa viCtoria will offer a week-

long program with port calls in Savona, Olbia, minorca, ibiza (overnight), Palma de Mallorca and Tarragona (overnight).

increased orders

Disney has uPsized iTs laTesT order from two ships to three, revealing

that another new ship is set to debut in 2022. The move follows last year’s announcement that the cruise line would build two ships at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Germany with scheduled completion dates of 2021 and 2023.

RegionalsShipping News from Points Around the Compass

n Costa Classica in Venice, May 2012. (See “Bahamas Paradise Adds Ship”) – Tony Hisgett photo.


of the year, the ship will visit small and distinct ports around the world that are normally not accessible to larger cruise ships. The Explorer will be marketed worldwide by Germany’s Nicko Cruises.MysTic cruises belongs to the holding

company Mystic Invest, which also owns river brand DouroAzul and Nicko Cruises.

antarctica XXi orders expedition Ship

AnTarcTica xxi has ordered a new Polar Class 6 ice-class ship, Magellan

Explorer, for its polar expedition fleet. the line’s new 50-cabin ship will be delivered for the 2019/20 season. It will feature five cabin categories ranging in size from 220 to 440 square feet, including dedicated single cabins and 16 adjoining cabins. Forty-two of the cabins will have a balcony. The shiP will also feature a large

forward-facing observation lounge, a main dining room, a protected outdoor barbecue area, a gym and sauna, a gift shop and two meeting rooms. Adventure activities, such as kayaking and snowshoeing, will be available to passengers. The Vessel’s caPaciTy will be limited

to 70 guests for each Antarctic cruise departure.

Ship Upgrades

Cunard conducTed a $42-Million refurbishment of Queen Victoria at

Fincantieri’s Palermo shipyard between may 5 and June 4.new To QueeN viCtoria is Britannia

Club Dining, with the addition of an intimate restaurant and 43 Britannia Club staterooms on Decks 7 and 8. the refreshed staterooms feature newly-designed carpets and soft furnishings, new flat screen tVs, as well as tea and coffee facilities. The Britannia Club restaurant offers guests the flexibility to dine when they choose. In addition, the ship’s Grand Suites and Deck 8 aft Penthouse Suites were completely redesigned, and a new Chart Room bar was introduced.The cunard Grand Suites were

redesigned and reconfigured to

maximize space. the Aquitania, Berengaria, Mauretania and Laconia Suites will have similar square footage to those on Queen Elizabeth at approximately 1,436 square feet. a new afT secTion was pre-manufactured

and lowered onto the old aft sections of the ship and welded into place. The ship’s gross tonnage increased from 90,049 grt to 90,746 grt.fiVe new PenThouse suiTes were

added on Deck 8 aft and feature floor-to-ceiling windows, defined living and sleeping spaces and bathrooms with natural light. the ship now carries 2,081 instead of the original 1,988.

Quark Upgrades Ocean Adventurer

The oCeaN adveNturer a) alla Tarasova b) Clipper Adventurer c) Sea

Adventurer was upgraded at ulstein Verft in Norway in time for her summer season in the Arctic with Quark Expeditions. All main equipment and engines have been replaced, and the accommodation capacity has been increased. The work included engineering by Ulstein. The vessel is owned by Adventurer Partners Ltd.Quark exPediTions said that “the new

Ocean Adventurer is designed to carry 132 passengers to the most remote corners of the world. Originally built in Yugoslavia in 1976, this ice-strengthened ship underwent refurbishments in 1999 and 2002.”

Victory acquires Sister Ship

VicTory cruise lines is exPanding service with the addition of Victory

II a) Cape Cod Light b) Sea Discoverer, the 202-passenger sister of Victory I a) Cape May Light b) Coastal Queen 2 c) Clipper Voyager d) Sea Voyager e) Saint Laurent.The 5,000-grT Victory II will be

upgraded to the standards of Victory I and sail its inaugural voyage from Gloucester, massachusetts, on may 20, 2018. the refurbishment was scheduled to take place in Europe this past fall.viCtory ii will begin service with

a series of seven-night Canada/New England cruises. The open-jaw itineraries between Gloucester and Halifax, Nova Scotia, include Provincetown on Cape Cod, massachusetts; Newport, rhode island; Plymouth, massachusetts; martha’s Vineyard off the coast of Cape Cod; Portland and bar Harbor, maine; and Lunenburg, Nova Scotia; with scenic cruising in the Cape Cod Canal.in addiTion to the New England

cruises, Victory II will feature several 10-night voyages on the St. Lawrence Seaway and Canadian Maritimes with calls at montréal; whale watching in the Saguenay Fjord, Québec City; Charlottetown, Prince edward island; and Halifax, Niagara Falls, Cleveland and Detroit.

n Britannia Club Dining is new to the Queen Victoria. (See “Ship Upgrades”) – Cunard photo.


casino Ship News

The casino shiP rex fortuNe a) Golden Odyssey b) Astra II c) Omar II d)

Macau Success was withdrawn from service in May and is now for sale. “Australasian interests” are said to be considering buying the ship and returning it to cruise service as the Southern Star. addiTionally, the China Star a) Radisson

Diamond b) Omar Star c) Asia Star has been taken out of service and is now also laid up awaiting sale. The Metropolis a) Shiretoko Maru b) N. Kazantzakis c) Ming Fai Princess is also laid up. The only reMaining active casino ships

are the Starry Metropolis a) Kareliya b) Leonid Breznev c) Kareliya d) Olvia e) Neptune, and Oriental Dragon a) Sun Viking b) SuperStar Sagittarius c) Hyundai Pongnae d) Pongnae e) Omar III f ) Long Jie.

charters

ThoMson cruises has reVealed ThaT its Thomson Spirit a) Nieuw Amsterdam

b) Patriot c) Nieuw Amsterdam will remain with the cruise line until November 2018 and will offer a series of summer sailings. The 1,254-passenger ship, which was due to leave the fleet to rejoin Celestyal Cruises in November 2017, will instead offer five different seven-night western Mediterranean itineraries out of Palma (April 2018) and malaga (April to October 2018).

ThoMson is noT offering winter 2017–18 sailings onboard Thomson Spirit, revealing that it has only been granted a charter extension for the 2018 summer season. The shiP will Mark its final voyage as

part of the thomson fleet on October 21, 2018, with a Continental Coasts sailing in the western Mediterranean. the ship joined thomson Cruises’ fleet in May 2003 after being chartered from Celestyal Cruises.laid uP at Helsingborg, Sweden, for

the last year and a half, Ocean Atlantic a) Konstantin Chernenko b) Russ c) SC Atlantic has been reactivated. Following an April refit at Gdansk, it is now operating under charter to Quark Expeditions.

christenings

Screen icon soPhia loren chrisTened MSC Cruises’ newest and biggest

ship, MSC Meraviglia, in a glittering ceremony in Le Havre, France, on June 3. The 5,714-passenger ship is the biggest ship to launch this year and becomes the flagship of the line, taking the mSC fleet to 13. It will be followed by the launch of MSC Seaside at Miami in December.

casualties

VarieTy cruises canceled iTs summer 2017 Iceland program on the

34-passenger Callisto because of damage to the ship that occurred during a grounding incident while it refueled. The 213-ft yacht was repositioning from Panama to Iceland when the incident occurred in preparation for the June to September season.afTer daMage assessMenT in Panama,

it became apparent that with the time required to manufacture, transport and fit the replacement stabilizers, complete repairs and tests, and position from Panama to Iceland, the company had no option but to cancel the program.builT in 2006, Callisto will resume

sailing with its 2017–18 Panama and Costa Rica winter program. The ship will offer a series of seven-night itineraries from Panama City through April 7, 2018, before repositioning to Eastern Europe.

n Victory ii. (See “Victory Acquires Sister Ship”) – Victory Cruise Lines photo.

n The cruise ship Thomson Spirit moored at Dubrovnik on October 13, 2010. (See “Charters”) – Ian Boyle photo.


philly Shipyard News

In July, Philly shiPyard inc. announced that it had signed a letter

of intent with a blue chip, u.S.-flagged cargo ship firm to build up to four cost-efficient and environmentally friendly containerships. The target delivery dates are 2020 and 2021. It’s envisioned that the initial order will be for two 3,700-TEU containerships with options for an additional two. The intended trade route for the newbuilds will be from the U.S. West Coast to Hawaii. The shipping company name was not disclosed.On July 27, Philly Shipyard delivered

the American Liberty. It’s the third of four next-generation 50,000-dwt product tankers for Kinder Morgan, a subsidiary of American Petroleum Tankers.

port of philadelphia News

On June 27, The MoTor Vessel Glovis Comet docked at Philadelphia’s

Pier 122 with a cargo of 2,176 Hyundai and Kia autos. this was the first time in 20 years that a ship berthed at this pier. The port’s reactivation provides the Delaware River port city with a second location for imports and exports of vehicles and ro-ro cargo.

South Jersey port News

IT Took oVer 50 years, buT The Paulsboro marine terminal finally

became a reality. the first ship to dock there on March 2 was the Doric Warrior, which carried 55,000 tons of steel slabs. the slabs were subsequently loaded onto rail cars destined for mills in western Pennsylvania and Indiana. The port facilities consist of 190 acres situated across the river from Philadelphia International Airport. There are

fiVe crew MeMbers of the ice breaker Polar Star a) Njord have arrived home after being abandoned in the Canary Islands. The Russian and Lithuanian seafarers were part of a crew that joined the ship during may and June in Las Palmas, Spain. They had been employed to start repair work and then sail the vessel to Klaipeda, Lithuania. Instead, they were caught in a conflict between the Astican shipyard and the Chinati Management Corporation, a London-based investment group that’s buying the ship from its Canadian owner, 3264741 Nova Scotia Limited.rePairs sToPPed because necessary

parts failed to materialize, the crew’s access to food and other supplies was restricted, they were unable to leave the ship, and access to the vessel was limited. Despite several assurances that the men would receive their July wages, given by Chinati Management Corporation, nothing materialized and some crew members decided to give up and go home. Five were determined to remain on board while the ITF negotiated with the owner on their behalf. On August 24 the owner agreed to repatriate the five, and on August 29 the seafarers finally flew home.The Polar sTar was used for Polar

expeditions and was abandoned at the Astican Shipyard in Las Palmas with unpaid repair bills reaching $1.6 million in 2011.7107 islaNds Cruise a) Vicente Puchol

b) Arcadia c) Angelina Lauro d) Arcadia e) Caribic Star f ) Coco Explorer 2 remains under arrest at Manila due to an ongoing dispute with the Philippines tax department. Because owner Esteban C. Tajanlangit Sr. died several years ago, this dispute leaves the ship abandoned.

hurricanes Disrupt cruises

TroPical sTorM harVey, a caTegory 4 hurricane, closed the Galveston

cruise port and Houston airports on August 25, forcing Royal Caribbean to divert Liberty of the Seas to Miami, and causing Carnival to cancel several cruises. All sailings scheduled for Carnival Valor, Carnival Freedom and Carnival Breeze

between August 26 and August 31 were canceled. The ships were originally scheduled to dock at the Texas port and had to find different ports to disembark the reported 20,000 passengers stranded on board.carniVal rerouTed all three of its

ships to New Orleans, where passengers were allowed to disembark and make independent arrangements for travel home. Passengers also had the option to stay onboard for the return to Galveston with reportedly half remaining. galVesTon finally reopened late on

September 1, allowing Carnival Freedom and Carnival Valor to dock and disembark stranded passengers. Embarkation for the Freedom’s September 2 voyage took place the next day. The Valor’s September 4 sailing also sailed on schedule. CarNival breeze arriVed late on

September 2 to disembark passengers, but embarkation for the September 3 sailing took place as scheduled.royal caribbean’s Liberty of the Seas

returned to Galveston on September 1 and has resumed service.

n Disney Fantasy. – Chris Gent photo.

less Than a week laTer, Florida-based cruise lines were also forced to abort travel to destinations in the eastern Caribbean with the approach of Hurricane Irma. As a result, cruises by Empress of the Seas, Majesty of the Seas, Norwegian Sky, Norwegian Escape, Carnival Liberty, Carnival Victory, Disney Fantasy, Disney Dream and Celebration were canceled. Thirteen other Florida-based cruise ships sailed on altered itineraries, substituting eastern Caribbean itineraries for those in the western Caribbean.

n Write peter t. eisele at 74 Chatham Street, Chatham, NJ 07928 or [email protected]


approximately 21,000 feet of rail track and an 850-foot-long berth with plans for two additional berths. Spanning the Mantua Creek is a $23 million bridge providing access to the waterfront from Interstate 295. Additional good news is that this port facility now accounts for 100 jobs.

port of Baltimore News

The aMerican-flagged MV liberty had its maiden arrival at the port

of Baltimore in February. The Liberty is the eighth vessel of this type to join the American Roll-on Roll-off Carrier (ArC) fleet. on January 31, 2017, the U.S. Coast

Guard re-flagged the former mV Topeka to the American registry and renamed her; the name Liberty follows her owner’s practice of naming its ships after American “values.” Fleet mates include the Endurance, Freedom, Honor, Independence II, Integrity, Resolve and Patriot. Its owners are planning a naming ceremony for June in Charleston.arc noTes ThaT the Liberty is among the

most capable and militarily useful vessels in the American-flagged fleet. She is able to carry tracked vehicles, helicopters, trucks and other military- and commercial-heavy project cargoes. Vane broThers has recently taken

delivery of the 3,000-hp tug Fishing Creek, the 13th Maryland-built tugboat to join the company’s fleet in the last 10 years. the Fishing Creek measures 94 feet in length and

is 32 feet wide with a hull depth of 13 feet. She’s similar to the last 12 tugs built for Vane brothers by Chesapeake Shipbuilding in Salisbury. This latest addition takes her name from a location on Maryland’s famed eastern Shore. in August 2016, the firm added the new tug Fort McHenry, and was expected to add another new tugboat, the Cape May, late last year.carniVal cruise line has announced

that it will increase sailings from Baltimore to the southern Caribbean as part of its Carnival Journeys program. this is in addition to the already scheduled 9- to 15-day Carnival Journeys cruises in 2017 and 2018. All of these will be on the Carnival Pride and will call at ports such as Antigua, Dominica, Grand Turk, Grenada, San Juan, St. maarten and St. thomas.

Virginia-class Submarine USS Washington Delivered

THe maritime exeCutive rePorTed that the future USS Washington (SSN-

787), the 14th submarine of the Virginia class, was delivered to the U.S. Navy on May 26. Construction began on the vessel in September 2011 at Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia, and the ship will be commissioned later this year in Norfolk, Virginia. the sponsor is elisabeth mabus, daughter of former Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus, who served in that capacity from may 2009 to January 2017. shorTly before her delivery, the vessel

completed the Board of Inspection and Survey trials. the iNSurV inspection consists of what are known as acceptance trials, which serve to ensure that the construction is sound and lives up to the requirements and standards of the u.S. Navy. Washington brilliantly passed with a score of 96 out of 100, giving her the distinction of having scored the highest of any new Virginia-class construction. wasHiNgtoN falls inTo the Block III

group of boats in the Virginia class (another example previously covered in this column is USS John Warner). These submarines “feature a redesigned bow, which replaces 12 individual launch tubes with two large-diameter Virginia Payload tubes, each capable of launching six Tomahawk cruise missiles.” Once Washington is commissioned she’ll conduct the following duties in both coastal and deep waters: anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface ship warfare, strike warfare, special operation forces support, intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance, irregular warfare and mine warfare missions.

n The U.S. Navy Virginia-class attack submarine USS Washington (SSN-787) is moored pierside at Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, in preparation for its commissioning ceremony, October 7, 2017. – U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Joshua M. Tolbert.

wasHiNgtoN is The firsT submarine named for Washington State, yet she’s the third U.S. Navy ship to bear the name. the first ship to honor the state was ACr-11 (armored cruiser) which served under that name from around 1904 to 1916. The second was BB-56 (battleship) which was commissioned in 1940 and, after an admirable career in World War II, was decommissioned in 1947. The Vessel’s cresT features the

n Doric Warrior at Port of Amsterdam, 2012. (See “South Jersey Port News”) – Alfvan Beem photo.


submarine in the forefront fiercely crashing through the water, but in the shape of the Evergreen State. It also embodies many of the characteristics that the state is known for while also subtly paying homage to the two ships that previously honored the 42nd state. Additionally, the crest’s design includes the namesake of the state, featuring a silhouette of George washington between SSN-787.

New ferry for hampton roads transit

HaMPTon roads TransiT welcoMed its new passenger ferry, the aptly

named Elizabeth River Ferry IV, on July 14 at Norfolk’s Waterside Ferry Dock. The new ferry is the first of three to replace Hrt’s current fleet, which has been growing increasingly expensive to maintain due to advancing age. The eldest of the current fleet is James C. Echols, built in 1982, followed by Elizabeth River Ferry II and Elizabeth River Ferry III, built in 1986 and 1990 respectively. The construction of the new ferries is part of a $7 million grant that will not only replace the existing vessels but will also be used to upgrade ferry docks. according To an arTicle published

by MarineLink.com, Elizabeth River Ferry IV was designed by BMT and constructed by Armstrong Marine in North Carolina. the aluminum ferry measures 78 feet, is powered by twin Volvo D13-400 tier III-compliant engines, spinning 36-inch propellers via Twin Disc reduction gears and has a passenger capacity of 149. Other improvements include electronic controls and navigation, greater fuel efficiency, accessibility features and a more efficient two-ramp configuration. the older ferries were equipped with only one ramp, which tended to make the embarkation/disembarkation process problematic at times. The design improvements have also made the new ferries more accessible for those with disabilities. The chrisTening of the new ferry could

not have come at a better time for the transit service, which celebrated its 15 millionth passenger during the summer. HRT’s CEO and president William Harrell noted that

much of the increased ridership of the ferry service is due in part to the good weather in the region, along with the opening of the Waterside District in Norfolk. Those inTeresTed in taking a ride on

the new ferry can visit the HRT website at https://gohrt.com/.

coast guard rescue off North carolina

SuMMerTiMe is a usually carefree time of year, but sometimes the fun

is interrupted by accidents that require assistance from U.S. Coast Guard units. On June 28, watchstanders at the Coast Guard Sector North Carolina Command Center in Wilmington responded to an emergency call at around 8 p.m. for a 22-ft boat with four adults and one child on board that had capsized off wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, in Masonboro inlet. it was reported that all five people were wearing life jackets and clinging to the capsized vessel. within 10 minutes, a rescue boat departed from Coast Guard Station wrightsville beach, and by 8:20 p.m. the rescue team had removed all five people from the water and transported them back to land with no injuries reported. on July 15, a mother and her 10-year-

old daughter were rescued after being dragged out by a riptide in the area around Bald Head Beach and Oak Island, North Carolina. The mother and daughter were reported missing around

5:30 p.m. near the Cape Fear River Inlet Buoy 11. A 29-ft Coast Guard response boat out of Oak Island picked up the message from the North Carolina Marine Patrol and reached the location less than 15 minutes later to find the mother and daughter on the personal water craft of a member of the Baldhead Island Ocean Rescue team. As the PWC was being escorted back to shore by the Coast Guard unit, the craft was hit with large waves that caused the rescued mother and daughter, as well as the PWC’s operator, to be tossed into the water. The Coast Guard crew retrieved the mother and daughter and took them aboard their boat. The PWC rescue member was helped back on to his craft as well. At around 5:50 p.m. both the Coast Guard vessel and the PWC arrived at Bald Head Island Marina and were met by EMTs. Thankfully, no one was injured in

either of these instances. The Coast Guard rescuers/responders were applauded for their response time. In regard to the latter incident, Petty Officer 3rd Class Holden Green reminded beachgoers to be mindful of riptides when swimming in the ocean.

n Write John fostik (PA, NJ, DE,MD) at [email protected] or Julia Winters (DC, VA, NC, SC)at [email protected]

n The christening of elizabeth river Ferry iV on July 14, 2017, in Norfolk, Virginia. – Hampton Roads Transit.


New york harbor

Mega yachT afTer Mega yachT has anchored in front of the Statue

of Liberty recently, causing disruption of views of miss Liberty and hazards to navigation for passing sightseeing vessels. U.S. Coast Guard Sector New York is monitoring the situation and might seek some type of restriction. a $15 Million Brooklyn Pier renovation

for the cruise terminal is planned to help upgrade the facility, after an initial investment of $50 million. Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 uses the pier, along with some other cruise ships. on July 17 the OOCL Berlin, an M-class

ship, was the largest ship to enter New York Harbor. It passed under the Bayonne Bridge, which was recently raised from 151 to 215 feet in clearance. The ship is 141,003 in tonnage, measures over four football fields long and carries 13,208 teus. the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey

spent over $4.7 billion in upgrades for the bridge raising, dredging and rail upgrades. In addition, the terminal operators spent $2 billion for improvements.The bayonne bridge is now the

same height as the Verrazano bridge. As OOCL Berlin passed by, the bridge workers applauded and cheered, and the Port Authority gave the company and the captain a ceremonial plaque for this entry into the new age of shipping. However, the Berlin’s record was surpassed on Sept. 7 when the Theodore Roosevelt, owned by CMA CGM Group, passed underneath the bridge. Two new ganTry cranes were

delivered by Weeks to the Department of Sanitation’s new 96th Street transfer station in the East River. The cranes were delivered in July by deck barge and then hoisted into position.The pekiNg lefT New York Harbor on

July 12 on the heavy-lift Combi Dock III, headed for Germany. The windjammer will be restored and will start a new life in Hamburg as a museum ship.The souTh sTreeT seaPorT Museum

celebrated its 50th anniversary with a party on Pier 16 in September.aMerican sTeaMshiP Owners Mutual

Protection and Indemnity Association Inc. (the American Club) celebrated its 100th year in June. the club held a dinner after its 100th Annual General Meeting. The occasion was also marked with publication of a book on its history called The American Club: A Centennial History, by Richard Blodgett.

n The cable vessel Ariadne arrived in the Hudson River Sept. 6 for repairs to the Hudson Project, a 660-MW electrical cable between Manhattan (around Pier 92) and Edgewater, New Jersey, a distance of 3.5 miles. – G. Justin Zizes, Jr., photo.

n Mega yacht anchored by the Statue of Liberty. (See “New York Harbor”) – G. Justin Zizes, Jr., photo.


a fundraiser for the SS Columbia Project was held in Germantown, New York, located in the Hudson River Valley, in September. the SS Columbia is now in Buffalo, New York, waiting to be towed to New York Harbor. The vessel has been designated a cultural venue and will make day trips up the river to parks, historic sites and cultural institutions in the Hudson river Valley.uscg secTor New York has now

completed repairs and renovations on its Station Sandy Hook dock after it was ravaged by Superstorm Sandy in 2012. Both the 110-ft island-class USCGC Sitkinak wPb1329 and the 87-ft uSCGC Shrike wPb87342 patrol boat were transferred to bayonne during the work; they’re now back at Sandy Hook.

casualties

The 796-fooT oil Tanker wHite sea ran aground in Ambrose Channel

in late August, possibly due to a loss of steering. the Liberian-flagged ship was carrying 556,000 barrels of fuel oil from New Jersey to Singapore. No fuel was spilled, but two ballast tanks were

pierced by the vessel’s own anchor. There were no injuries. The uss liNg is a Balao-class

submarine and the only remaining high-speed sub from World War II. It was launched in 1943, decommissioned in 1946 and laid up until 1972, when it was taken to the New Jersey Naval museum in Hackensack, New Jersey. Now the family that owns the land adjacent to the

river is planning to develop the site and has asked that the Ling be removed. But the sub is stuck in silt and the museum doesn’t have the funds to deal with it. Tours of the sub included views of the various parts of the vessel and through the periscope.

New york ferry News

The sTaTen island ferry has temporarily closed down the

hurricane decks of the Spirit of America-class ferries to help get passengers off the ferry more quickly.on augusT 24, a man jumped off

the ferry 10 minutes into a trip to St. George Staten Island. All USCG units and the marine units of the FDNY and NYPD were dispatched. No body was found and the search was discontinued a day later.because of the unexpectedly high

volume of passengers for NYC Ferry to Rockaway Beach in Queens, the New York City Economic Development Corporation has cancelled the last three 149-passenger ferries and will use 250-passenger vessels. NYC Ferry now has service between Astoria Queens and continuing to Roosevelt Island onto 34th Street and then down to Pier 11. The new ferry service has now logged over 1 million passengers system-wide.blounT boaTs will be building a new

n Weeks crane putting into place the new sanitation gantry crane at 96th St., East River. (See “New York Harbor,” page 57) – G. Justin Zizes, Jr., photo.

n The State University of New York Maritime College’s training ship Empire State, ex SS Oregon, built in 1960, returned home from her summer cruise to Europe August 11 with 150 cadets. The Empire State and the TS Kennedy, from the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, were summoned by the U.S. Maritime Administration to Houston to serve as quarters for recovery and relief personnel in September. – G. Justin Zizes, Jr., photo.


New ferry orders

Norwegian oPeraTor fJord line has ordered a new high-speed

catamaran ferry from Australian yard Austal Ships. The vessel, which will enter service in 2020, will operate between Kristiansand (Norway) and Hirtshals (Denmark). With capacity for 1,200 passengers and 400 cars, the newbuild will replace the 1998-built Fjord Cat a) Cat-Link IV b) Mads Mols c) Incat 049 d) Master Cat.Polish sTaTe-owned ferry operator

Polferries (PZB – Polska Zegluga Baltycka) has ordered a $110 million conventional ferry from the Gryfia Shipyard in Poland for service on its route between Swinoujscie (Poland) and Ystad (Sweden). the vessel will be equipped with dual LNG/diesel propulsion. JadroliniJa, the Croatian ferry

operator, is in advanced talks for the construction of several new coastal ferries to replace aging vessels. The order is likely to be placed with local Croatian shipyards.

n Victoria of wight. – Wightlink photo.

following a Public competition, Wightlink has announced that the name for its new electric hybrid ferry, under construction in Turkey, will be Victoria of Wight. Queen Victoria had a close connection with the Isle of Wight, holidaying for decades at Osborne House on the island. The vessel was scheduled to launch late last year and enter service in 2018.

Governors Island ferry for the Governors Island Trust. The new 135-ft vessel will be designed by the Elliot Bay Design group of Seattle, Washington.The MeTroPoliTan Transportation

Authority has called this past summer the “Summer of Hell” for commuters because of track work at Penn Station. The MTA added ferry service to Long Island City and to Glen Cove using New York Water Taxi from Pier 11, and Patriot II, owned by the National Ferry Corporation in Washington, D.C., from the East 34th Street ferry pier. Passengers had to show their LIRR ticket to board. Each vessel made one trip in the morning and one in the afternoon. After two weeks, the MTA/LIRR decided to cut the ferry to Hunts Point because of a lack of riders. The ferry service is expected to end on September 1. NY Waterway, which implemented ferry service between Hoboken, New Jersey, and west 38th Street, will be keeping the ferry route active after the September 1 deadline.

long island News

MoN tiki largo, a new uscg-inspected sailing catamaran, built

in Holbrook, Long Island, for Sailing Montauk, was trucked out to Montauk and assembled. She joins the Mon Tiki, a smaller vessel certified for 49 passengers.

Under construction is the Mon Tiki Mini, designed to carry six or fewer passengers.The ferry mary elleN of Cross Sound

Ferry rescued three people off Orient Point, New York, on August 25 after the boat got swept out to sea. The crew launched a lifeboat to reach the people in need of help. The ferry voyager, of Fire Island

Ferries, rescued two people in the water off Bay Shore when their boat hit a wake and they were thrown into the water. They signaled for help with their cell phone light.The hunTingTon Lighthouse

Preservation Society has received a grant for $145,000 from the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation to help restore the 105-year-old lighthouse. The matching grant will be used for foundation repairs.ocean consTrucTion LLC has

completed its restoration of the Fire Island Lighthouse, which was damaged by Superstorm Sandy in 2012. Repairs included bolstering the terrace substructure, fixing an exterior brick wall and resetting pavers. The Fire Island Lighthouse Preservation Society contributed over $17,000 to the project.

n Write g. Justin zizes, Jr. at 147 East 37th Street, New York, New York10016 or g [email protected]

n NYC Ferry Happy Hauler in the East River. – G. Justin Zizes, Jr., photo.


Stena Updates

BriTTany ferries will charTer one of Stena’s Chinese

newbuildings, under construction at the AViC Yard in wehai. For delivery in 2020, the LNG-powered ship will carry up to 1,000 passengers. She will replace the 2002-built Baie de Seine a) Golfo dei Delfini b) Dana Sirena c) Sirena Seaways, which will be returned to her owners, DFDS Seaways. Stena has confirmed that the first two vessels in the four-ship order will be deployed on the Irish Sea.

sTena has also purchased the chartered twins Stena Superfast VII a) Superfast VII and Stena Superfast VIII a) Superfast VIII from owners Tallink. As the Chinese newbuildings arrive, there is likely to be a cascade of vessel replacements across the Stena fleet.sTena has also added a fourth vessel,

the chartered 1979-built ro/ro ferry Gute a) Gute b) Sally Sun c) Sea Wind II to its booming service between Karlskrona (Sweden) and Gdynia (Poland), joining two conventional ferries and a second freight ferry.

greek Sale to canada

Greece’s seaJeTs has sold iTs small conventional ferry Aqua Spirit

a) Agios Andreas II b) Mr Shoppy One to Canada’s B.C. Ferries. Built in 2000 by a local Greek shipyard, the vessel will be renamed Northern Sea Wolf for service along the Inside Passage. A replacement has yet to be announced. The Aqua Spirit provides a subsidized ferry lifeline connecting the smaller Greek Islands with larger islands and mainland ports. She was the only non-high-speed ferry in the SeaJets fleet.

Veteran returns to Service

The VeTeran forMer sealink ferry Le Rif a) Galloway Princess

b) Stena Galloway will return to service on the Straits of Gibraltar following an extensive refit at an italian shipyard. built in 1980 by Harland & wolff in Belfast, the vessel has been idle for several years in Tangier, Morocco. Her new operators are Detroit World Logistics Maritime. Detroit is the French word for “straits,” which refers to the Straits of Gibraltar, not the city in Michigan.

n Write ted Blank at 1576 Grotto Street North, St Paul, MN 55117 or [email protected]

n Baie de Seine in Southhampton water. (See “Stena Updates”) – Andrewrabbott photo.

n SeaJets Aqua Spirit, shown here when owned by NEL in 2013, in the port of Chora on Naxos, Cyclades, Greece. (See “Greek Sale to Canada”) – Olaf Tausch photo.


Shipping & climate change

WiTh cliMaTe change increasingly making its presence known, the

worldwide shipping industry is moving to reduce its own greenhouse gas emissions. Shipping currently has the world’s fourth greatest carbon footprint.lasT suMMer, the Montreal Port

Authority diminished its carbon footprint through its recently completed shore-power project. This development allows the port’s new cruise terminal to power docked ships by on-shore electricity. Costing 11 million Canadian dollars, this green plan is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2,800 tons per year, and it’s the first of its kind in Quebec.

n MS Veendam. – Holland America photo.

The ProJecT was completed in two phases. the first allowed wintering vessels access to shore power, while the second stage was aimed at cruise ships. Hydro-Québec installed a new 25-kV line to power the new cruise terminal’s hydro substation.in laTe July, the MS Veendam of

Holland America Line became the first cruise ship to use the new system.

protecting Whales

WiTh The recenT sPaTe of righT whale deaths from collisions

with ships in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the Canadian government has taken additional steps to protect the critically endangered species.beginning in augusT, a mandatory

maximum speed of 10 knots for all

vessels 65 feet or longer was temporarily implemented to prevent further whale deaths. The move was also implemented to curtail shipping-induced noise pollution, which adversely impacts marine wildlife, particularly whales. The western end of the gulf from the Quebec north shore to just north of Prince Edward Island is affected.unTil The whales MigraTe from

the affected area, Transport Canada, with help from the Canadian Coast Guard, has instituted a fine of up to 25,000 Canadian dollars to encourage compliance. The new directive has resulted in the cancellation of many cruise ship calls to Canada’s smallest province, Prince Edward Island, which lies just north of Nova Scotia.This year has seen a great increase

in shipping-induced North Atlantic right whale deaths to at least 12, while there are only an estimated 500 of these whales left.

historic ferry Up & running

AfTer a resToraTion ThaT Took more than two years, the Mystic

Seaport Museum’s Henry B. duPont Preservation Shipyard successfully brought the 1908-built Sabino steamboat

through her sea trials, and the ship returned to service in August.caPTain daVid childs rang the bell

to send instructions to the 74-passenger boat’s engineers for a short trip on the Mystic River in Connecticut.In conjunction with other mechanical

and system upgrades, the museum fixture was outfitted with a new coal-fired boiler that was custom-designed so that the wooden-hulled vessel satisfies modern safety and regulatory standards. The boiler powers a 75-hp, two-cylinder compound steam engine. The power plant is original to the Sabino and was built by J. H. Paine & Son Co. in nearby Noank, Connecticut.oTher iMProVeMenTs included

reframing much of the stern, replacing the keel bolts, installing new planking and decking, and repairing other superstructure components.Sabino was built in East Boothbay,

Maine, to ferry passengers and cargo between Maine towns and islands. Acquired in 1973 by the museum, she became a National Historic Landmark in 1992. The refurbishment is expected to keep her operating for at least another 25 to 30 years.

n Bay cruise on the Sabino, June 2014. (See “Historic Ferry Up & Running”) – Capt. Manny Aschemeyer photo.

sshsa

ShipYearof the

2008


historic Ships laid Up

WiTh canada celebraTing iTs 150th birthday this past July 1,

its oldest steamship, the 1887-built rmS Segwun, was temporarily laid up. An inspection by Transport Canada resulted in one engine being opened up. Because it was difficult to reset the engine’s timing, the Segwun was unable to sail on Canada’s big day. Her running mate, Wenonah II, did her best to alleviate the situation.John Miller, president and general

manager of Muskoka Steamships and Discovery Centre, which operates the 130-year-old passenger ship, said, “The expertise to do this is very limited, of course, because it is such old technology. So we are working away, trying different things. They will get her going, for sure.” He added that resetting the engine timing isn’t a new problem.segwuN is one of only Three active ships

worldwide with the RMS designation (Queen Mary 2 and St Helena are the others). The venerable steamer’s sailing season ended

October 9 on Canadian Thanksgiving Day.also TeMPorarily sidelined for

Canada 150 was North America’s only operating sidewheel paddle ship, the 1910-built PS Trillium, which returned to service after 450,000 Canadian dollars of maintenance and repairs were completed this past July. the oldest ferry in the toronto islands’ fleet, the 673-gt Trillium underwent a three-month dry docking to replace 425 square feet of her hull and three square feet of the bow rudder, and install two new rudder hinges for the bow. Three coats of paint and other aesthetic upgrades were also required to keep the city-owned belle of the ball at her finest.ironically, even without the

refurbishments, the ferry, named after the province of Ontario’s official flower, would have remained out of service because of the unprecedented flooding of the Toronto Islands. The islands only reopened to the general public the same month the 150-foot-long ferry’s refurbishment was completed.alThough all other Toronto ferries

n Trillium shown getting new hull plates, May 2017. – Booledozer photo, CC0 1.0.

will begin to be retired in 2019 when new vessels arrive, the Toronto icon will stay put, after serving previous stints as an unsuccessful garbage scow and as a half-sunk relic that canoeists once paddled through.“iT’s noT our MosT efficienT boat, it’s

not the quickest boat, but it’s the boat that people love to see in the water,” a City of Toronto spokesperson said in an email.

n Write roddy Sergiades at 15 Brown St., Port Hope, Ontario, L1A 3C8 Canada, or [email protected]

n RMS Segwun, a special SSHSA honoree in 2012 on her 125th anniversary, and Wenonah II at rest in their home port of Gravenhurst, Ontario. (See “Historic Ship Laid Up”) – Roddy Sergiades photo.


FERRIES make up much of the news along the West Coast, and with a considerable amount of ferry news now taking place we’ll take an overall look at the Pacific coast’s various ferry operations this quarter.

meXico

DeVeloPMenTs in Mexico aren’T normally reported in this column,

but Mexico’s Baja Ferries has been expanding its fleet and last year acquired the Japanese-built ferry Ri Zhao Dong Fang from Chinese operator rizhao Haitong for approximately $6 million. The 1992-built vessel is now operating alongside the 2001-built California Star a) Stena Forwarder on Gulf of California services as Baja Star. In addition, the 5,700-dwt San Jorge

a) Flandria Seaways has been purchased from Denmark’s DFDS for freight-only

operations on the Gulf, where she has replaced the 1978-built La Paz Star, since sold to Cypriot owners as Med Star. A smaller vessel, the 4,824-dwt

Searoad Mersey, has been acquired from Australia’s SeaRoad Shipping, but it’s not yet known on which route the 1991-built vessel will operate because Baja Ferries has been bidding on a new ferry service in Central America. The coMPany also employs the

1989-built Caribbean Fantasy in the

Caribbean under its America Cruise Ferries banner. This ship had earlier operated in the Gulf of California as Chihuahua Star, where it replaced the 1973-built Sinaloa Star broken up in 2008. the latter had been one of three German-built ferries placed in service during the early 1970s by a division of Mexico’s State Railways, all later transferred to the state-owned Grupo Sematur, which went out of business in the early 2000s. baJa ferries, formed around that

time, took over several of Sematur’s routes and currently operates services between Pichilingue, on the tip of Baja California, and the ports of mazatlan and Topolobampo on the Mexican mainland. a second coMPany, Aeromaritime SA

de CV, operates the small ferry Santa Rosalía between the Baja California port of Santa Rosalía and the mainland port of Guaymas, while a former state route, between Cabo San Lucas and Puerto Vallarta, has been left inactive.

califorNia

California has a large nuMber of passenger-only ferries in operation

within San Francisco Bay and from several southern California points out

n One of three Mexican ferries built by Germany’s Meyer Werft in the early 1970s, Sematur’s 7,234gt Coromuel became Baja Ferries’ Sinaloa Star in 2004 and was sold to Vietnamese interests in 2008. – Jim Shaw collection.

n Baja Ferries’ 24,418gt California Star, built in Italy as Stena Forwarder in 2001, carries tourist as well as commercial traffic between the Baja peninsula and the Mexican mainland. – Baja Ferries photo.


to the Channel Islands. San Pedro-based Catalina Express alone operates eight boats. There’s also a short ferry run maintained within San Diego Bay between downtown San Diego and the Coronado peninsula. The souThern california services are

privately owned and mainly geared to tourist traffic, but San Francisco’s water Emergency Transportation Authority and Golden Gate Ferry services are both government agencies. The latter is part of the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District and provides ferry service between downtown San Francisco and the towns of Larkspur, Sausalito and Tiburon in Marin County to the north. weTa, esTablished after the

Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989, is a consolidation of a number of previously existing ferry operations, including the Alameda/Oakland Ferry, Alameda Harbor Bay Ferry and Baylink Ferry, and is collectively marketed as San Francisco Bay Ferry. Its boats are operated and serviced under a management contract with privately owned Blue & Gold Fleet, which also operates its own tour boats. currenT weTa rouTes connect the

cities of San Francisco, Oakland, Alameda, Vallejo and South San Francisco, and

handle over 2.5 million passengers annually. Next year a new route is expected to open between San Francisco and Richmond, while additional services are being planned to Antioch, Hercules, martinez and redwood City as the wetA fleet is built up.

New San francisco Boats

WeTa currenTly has a dozen ferries in operation and a number

under construction. Over the past year it has taken delivery of the first two of a series of four Incat Crowther-designed catamaran ferries being built by Vigor Marine in Washington state. These boats can carry 400 passengers and are propelled by a pair of 1,950-hp engines that make use of selective catalytic reduction technology to reduce emissions to Tier 4 standards while achieving a speed of 27 knots. caPaciTy-wise they’re a large step

up from the Incat-Crowther-designed 225-passenger ferries Gemini and Pisces that were introduced by the ferry service in 2011. However, they’ll be eclipsed in capacity and speed by a larger series of three 445-passenger ferries being built by the Dakota Creek yard in Washington and due to be delivered between 2018 and 2020. These boats will be powered by mtu 16V4000 engines driving Hamilton waterjets to produce a loaded speed of 34 knots. wiTh weTa ProJecTing that its

Bay Area ridership will increase to 12 million passengers by 2025, the agency is planning to expand its fleet to at least 30 ferries over the next 10 years and possibly to as many as 44 ferries by 2035. Among other Bay Area operators,

n Built in 1941 for the Star & Crescent Boat Company, the 65-foot Silvergate continues to be operated by Flagship Cruises between San Diego and Coronado on San Diego Bay. – Flagship Cruises photo.

n Seattle’s Elliott Bay Design Group has created a design for a catamaran ferry that could operate on San Francisco Bay using hydrogen as fuel, but operator Red & White Fleet has elected to have a lithium-ion battery-electric hybrid vessel built by All American Marine. – Sandia National Laboratories photo.


Alcatraz Cruises, which operates a service to Alcatraz island, has retro-fitted its vessels as diesel/electric hybrids that also make use of solar panels, while Red and White Fleet has ordered a 600-passenger vessel from Bellingham, Washington-based All American Marine that will be a lithium-ion battery-electric hybrid when delivered in 2018.

WaShiNgtoN

WashingTon sTaTe ferries, ParT of the Washington State

Department of Transportation, is the largest ferry operator in the United States and the fourth-largest in the world. It operates a fleet of 22 vessels and carries over 24 million passengers annually. The ferry serVice was established in

1951 when the state took over a number of routes and vessels operated by The Puget Sound Navigation Company, better known as the Black Ball Line. A descendant of that company, Black Ball Ferry Line, continues to operate the 1959-built Coho between Port Angeles, washington, and Victoria, british Columbia. wsf has been inTroducing a number

of new Olympic-class ferries to its fleet since 2014, when the 17-knot Tokitae was

placed in service. These double-ended ferries can carry up to 144 vehicles and 1,500 passengers. The latest of this class, Suquamish, is expected to enter service next year and will follow the earlier-delivered Samish and Chimacum. by sTaTe MandaTe, all the Olympic-

class ferries have been built by contractors residing in Washington, led by Vigor industrial at Seattle and including more than a dozen Washington-based subcontractors. As the new ferries enter service, older WSF units are being retired, with the 1958-built Klahowya now up for sale while the 1959-built Tillikum may be retired or held in reserve next year. WSF traditionally designs and maintains its ferries for 60 years of service, but it also suffers from a number of ferry breakdowns each year, some of which may be a result of this policy.

other puget Sound ferries

Besides wsf There are a nuMber of other ferry operators serving

routes in Puget Sound, including Kitsap Transit, which is having a new battery-diesel hybrid catamaran designed by Seattle-based Glosten and built by Bellingham’s All American Marine. The

70-foot vessel will carry 150 passengers and will be powered by a battery-diesel combination that will utilize two bAe HybriDrive propulsion systems driving fixed-pitch propellers. upon delivery next year it will operate across Sinclair Inlet, between Bremerton and Port Orchard, where the 1917-built Carlisle II, one of the last remaining examples of a Puget Sound “mosquito Fleet” vessel, is often employed. kiTsaP TransiT has also inaugurated

a passenger-only route cross Puget Sound, between Bremerton and Seattle, using the 118-passenger fast ferry Rich Passage 1, which has been fitted with a special wake-reducing foil. This service is expected to be followed by routes linking Seattle with the communities of Kingston in 2018 and Southworth in 2020 as the ferry agency acquires more vessels. oTher PugeT sound ferry operators

include Pierce County, which employs the small double-ended boats Christine Anderson and Steilacoom II between Steilacoom and Anderson and Ketron islands; the washington State Department of Social and Human Services, which operates a ferry from Steilacoom to nearby McNeil Island, where a state confinement facility is maintained; and Skagit County, which is having a new vehicle/passenger ferry designed by Seattle’s Glosten to replace its 1979-built Guemes on the run between Anacortes and Guemes Island.

BritiSh colUmBia

In briTish coluMbia, bc ferries, established in 1960 and considered

the largest passenger ferry operator in North America and the second largest in the world, operates 35 vessels serving 47 terminals, many of them on islands. Once a provincial Crown corporation, BCF has been operating as an independently managed, publicly-owned company since 2003 and remains subsidized by the Government of british Columbia and the Government of Canada.

n A link to the old Black Ball Line, the 5,366gt Coho was built by Seattle’s Puget Sound Bridge & Dry Dock in 1959 and re-engined with twin 2,550-hp diesels in 2004. – Jim Shaw collection.

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ShipYearof the

2013


shorTly afTer its reformation, and following a financially disastrous program involving the local construction of three large high-speed ferries for 450 million Canadian dollars that were eventually sold for 19 million Canadian dollars, bCF began acquiring most of its tonnage overseas. Germany’s Flensburger shipyard delivered four new ferries starting in 2007, including three of the largest double-ended vessels in the world, while the Greek-built Northern Adventure a) Sonia was acquired on the second-hand market. More recenTly, BCF has taken delivery

of three dual-fuel ferries from Polish builder remontowa while acquiring another second-hand Greek ferry, the 150-passenger Aqua Spirit, for service between Port Hardy and Bella Coola. To replace the ancient 59-year-old North Island Princess and 53-year-old Quadra Queen II, BCF has contracted Holland’s Damen Group to deliver two 81-meter vessels by 2020. these hybrids will make use of a diesel/electric/battery power generation and propulsion system while having a capacity for 44 vehicles and 300 passengers. While they’re being built, the 1994-built Spirit of British Columbia and 1995-built Spirit of Vancouver Island are to be repowered in Poland with LNG-burning dual-fuel engines.

alaSka

The alaska Marine highway System, which operates some of

the world’s longest ferry routes, was establish in 1963 and is considered part of the National Highway System and thus is able to receive federal funding. aMhs Traces its beginnings to

Chilkoot Motorship Lines, the private operator of an ex-U.S. Navy landing craft that connected Juneau with Haines and Skagway starting in 1948 but which came under Alaska territorial government ownership in 1951. The war-surplus boat was replaced by the 59-passenger Chilkat in 1957 as the territorial government modernized the service. afTer alaska became a state in 1959,

four new ferries were ordered and these

ships – Malaspina, Matanuska, Tustumena and Taku – remain in the AmHA fleet today, although Taku, never lengthened as the other three were, has been up for sale over the past two years. In the 1960s and 1970s four more ferries were added to the fleet: Bartlett in 1968, Columbia and LeConte in 1974, and Aurora in 1978. during ThaT saMe Period, the Alaska

routes, which were only connected to Prince Rupert, British Columbia, to the south, were extended to Seattle. Three decades later, and after the southern terminus of the system had been shifted from Seattle to Bellingham, the 748-passenger Kennicott was completed on the Gulf Coast. She has since been followed by the small shuttle ferry Lituya, built on the lines of an offshore supply vessel, and the two 32-knot high-speed catamarans Fairweather and Chenega, all delivered in 2004–05. nexT year the Vigor shipyard

at Ketchikan plans to deliver two additional ferries, Tazlina and Hubbard, which will carry 300 passengers and 53 cars each. Under development is a ship to replace the 53-year-old Tustumena, which had to be drydocked this past summer for emergency steel replacement. If all goes to plan, the new ferry, designed by Seattle-based Glosten, will enter service by 2022.

Who is No. 1?Bc ferries and washingTon

State Ferries (WSF) claim to be the second- and third-largest ferry systems in the world, but who is the largest? No operator has stepped forward to claim this title, but as far as passenger numbers are concerned it is most probably Turkey’s Istanbul Sea Bus company, which reportedly handles 47 million passengers annually using a fleet of 87 vessels. Hong Kong’s Star Ferries has been handling around 26 million passengers annually, although this number is falling because of tunnel construction, while WSF moves about 24.2 million passengers annually. New York’s Staten Island Ferry, which is having three new ferries built in Florida, moves 23 million passengers annually and BC Ferries 20.7 million. WSF and BC Ferries move many more vehicles than the other three, and their routes are longer and more extensive, although the Istanbul company now serves 86 terminals.

n Write James l. Shaw at [email protected] or 11466 SE Hidalgo Ct., Clackamas, OR 97105

n The 15-knot Stikine is one of two 160-passenger, 30-vehicle ferries operated by Alaska’s Inter-Island Ferry Authority (IFA) between Prince of Wales Island and Ketchikan.


pollution follow-up

In The winTer 2017 greaT lakes column, we reported that two men

aboard the integrated tug/barge Victory/James L Kuber a) Reserve were indicted for allegedly violating the U.S. Clean Water Act in conjunction with intentionally polluting the Great Lakes. We are glad to report that on June 6, 2017, all of the federal criminal charges were dismissed.

group Desgagnés continues its modernization program

In The MosT recenT greaT lakes news column, we reported

Desgagnés’ acquisition of three general cargo vessels and one tanker. Group Desgagnés continues to modernize its fleet by adding an additional vessel and disposing of two older units.grouP desgagnés purchased the general

cargo ship BBC Oder earlier this year and renamed the vessel Nordika Desgagnés in June. the vessel was built at tianjin, China, in 2010 for Briese Schiffahrt. grouP desgagnés disPosed of two

vessels during this news cycle. Desgagnés’ ro/ro vessel Anna Desgagnés a) Trustkavets departed montreal July 13, 2017, wearing the name Anna on its bows and registered at Malakal Island, Palau. The vessel arrived at Gadani, Pakistan, August 19, reportedly for demolition. The vessel was built in East Germany in 1986 as Trustkavets for the Soviet Baltic Shipping fleet. in early 1996, the vessel

was arrested in Quebec City for debt and Desgagnés purchased the vessel at a public auction and immediately renamed it Anna Desgagnés. The vessel was primarily engaged in sailing the lower St. Lawrence River, eastern Canada and Canadian Arctic, and was last operated in late 2015. amélia desgagNés a) Soodoc, sold during

the same period and also reregistered at Malakal Island, departed Montreal on July 27 for overseas shores. the small bulker was built by N. M. Paterson & Sons at Collingwood Shipyards in 1976. It spent considerable time operating in the Canadian Maritime Provinces and deep sea. During that time, it was converted to a crane ship. The vessel received the name Amélia Desgagnés when it was sold to Desgagnés transport in June 1990. it was renamed Amélia in June 2017 after it was sold, and it departed Quebec City under its own power on July 27 for Aliaga, turkey, where it arrived on August 18.A third Unit, the 1975-built Melissa

Desgagnés a) Ontadoc, was sold in July 2016 and renamed Ethan, but the vessel is yet to depart our region.

n Pineglen on the St. Clair River in 2013. – Mark Shumaker photo.

Canada sTeaMshiP lines’ seaway-sized bulker piNegleN a) patersoN was sold for scrap during this news cycle and was scheduled to depart Montreal

under tow of the deep sea tug Diavlos Pride during early September. It is believed that the vessel will be scrapped at Aliaga, Turkey.piNegleN enTered serVice in 1985 for N. m. Paterson & Sons as Paterson. The

vessel has the distinction of being the last bulker built on the Great Lakes, and the last vessel built at the famed Collingwood Shipyard at Collingwood, Ontario. The vessel was sold to Canada Steamship Lines in 2002, and sailed for the company before being retired in Montreal at the conclusion of the 2016 season.

Pineglen Sold for Scrap

n Amélia Desgagnés in the Welland Canal on March 29, 2017. (See “Group Desgagnés Continues its Modernization Program”) – Jeff Cameron photo.


casualties

While carrying iTs firsT Paying cargo on the lakes, Groupe

Desgagnés’ new Damia Desgagnés grounded along the St. Lawrence Seaway. The vessel experienced mechanical problems during the evening of June 15 and wandered outside of the navigation channel near the iroquois Lock and became stuck on a sandy bottom. Group Océan’s Océan Georgie Bain and Océan Serge Genois freed the vessel two days later without reporting any pollution or injuries. lower lakes Towing’s 1952-built

bulker Ojibway a) Charles L. Hutchinson b) Ernest R. Breech c) Kinsman Independent d) Voyageur Independent suffered a galley fire on July 6 while it was laid up in Sarnia, Ontario. One firefighter was injured and the damage was estimated at $100,000. with repairs complete, the vessel fit out and joined the fall grain rush during the second week of September.grand riVer naVigaTion’s Calument

a) William R. Roesch b) David Z. Norton c) David Z. grounded at Mission Point on the St. Marys River during the night of August 9. The vessel was freed by the Great Lakes Group’s tugs Missouri and Indiana on August 12 with no apparent damage. After a survey, the vessel continued its voyage from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, to Brevort, Ontario. wagonborg’s general cargo vessel

Flevoborg lost power and grounded on the lower St. Lawrence River near Sainte-Croix, Quebec, on June 21. two Group

Océan tugs assisted the vessel back into the channel later that day. After being towed to Quebec for repairs, the vessel continued on its voyage from Montreal to Warrenpoint, United Kingdom, with grain.an unforTunaTe accidenT between

Esta Desgagnés a) Emerald Star and a 17-foot pleasure boat on June 4 warranted intervention by the United States Coast Guard. The vessels collided on Lake St. Clair, in the vicinity of Grosse Pointe, Michigan, and the pleasure boat operator fell into the water and clung to a buoy until help arrived. Thankfully the pleasure boat operator was not injured in the accident. After a short time, Esta Desgagnés continued its voyage to Oakville, Canada.

cSl adds large Vessel to its Domestic fleet

Canada sTeaMshiP lines transferred its HandyMax bulk

carrier CSL Melbourne a) Orientor b) Orientor 2 from its CSL Australia Ltd. fleet to its domestic fleet earlier this year and relocated the vessel to eastern Canada for operation. The nearly 50,000-dwt vessel was renamed Ferbec in June and has been placed on the Havre-Saint-Pierre to Sorel, Quebec, iron ore shuttle along the St. Lawrence River. ferbeC was builT in 2002 at Antong,

China, as Orientor and was operated by the bourbon/Setaf Saget fleet as Orientor 2. The vessel was purchased by CSL Australia Ltd. in 2010 and operated deep sea as CSL Melborne after that. Upon its receiving a Canadian flag, Ferbec

becomes the largest conventional bulk carrier in the Canadian domestic fleet.

records are meant to be Broken

Due To The increased waTer leVels throughout the Great Lakes, vessels

are loading more cargo this summer. in early July, Great lakes Fleet’s 1,004-ft Edgar B. Speer set the all-time record at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, when it cleared the locks with 73,875 net tons of iron ore pellets for Gary, Indiana. In early September its fleet mate, the 1,004-ft Edwin H. Gott, broke the Speer’s record when it carried 73,940 net tons of pellets from Two Harbors, Minnesota, to Gary, Indiana. The United States Army Corps of Engineers claimed that it would take more than 2,900 trucks to haul this load.

tugs in the News

The arTiculaTed Tug keN bootHe sr. was renamed Clyde S. Van

Enkevort during a small ceremony in Cleveland, Ohio, on August 9. The tug was built at Donjon’s shipyard in Erie, Pennsylvania, in 2011 and was mated with the self-unloading barge Lakes Contender the following year. The pair was purchased by Van enkevort tug & barge of Escanaba, Michigan, earlier this year, and the barge was renamed Erie Trader at the beginning of the sailing season.sViTzer canada has ended its short-lived

operations in the Montreal area. During its reorganization, the tug Svitzer Cartier was sold to Group Océan. The tug spent the summer undergoing a refit at Océan’s Ile-Aux-Coudres shipyard and received the name Océan Cartier. The venture was started in April 2016 when Svitzer Nerthus and Svitzer Njal were stationed at Montreal to provide ship-docking, escort and ice-breaking services. At the time the service ended, Svitzer had four tugs stationed at montreal.greaT lakes grouP’s new harbor assist

tug Cleveland entered service in mid-July. The vessel was built at Great Lakes Towing Company’s Shipyard in Cleveland, Ohio, and is considered the first tug built in the United States to meet the Coast Guard’s

n Esta Desgagnés transiting the Welland Canal in 2015. During this news cycle, the vessel collided with a pleasure boat on the Lake St. Clair. (See “Casualties”) – Mark Shumaker photo.


Subchapter M regulations for towing vessels. The 63-foot tug, designed by the Netherland’s Damen Shipyard Group, is the first of a new generation of harbor tugs to be introduced by Great Lakes Group.

museum Ships in the News

HaPPiesT of birThday wishes go ouT to the museum ship Valley Camp a)

Lewis W. Hill, which turned 100 years old on July 14. the 550-ft bulker was retired in 1966 and turned into a living museum at Sault Ste. marie, michigan, in 1968. The vessel is currently owned by Le Sault de Sainte Marie Historical Sites and the vessel offers visitors an opportunity to walk the decks, experience life on the lakes and visit a museum located in its cargo hold that contains both lifeboats from the ill-fated Edmund Fitzgerald. valley Camp was builT at Lorain,

Ohio, as Louis W. Hill for National Steel Corporation. The vessel was sold to Wilson Transit Corporation in 1955 and renamed in honor of Valley Camp Coal Company, which provided valuable cargoes. The vessel was last operated by Republic Steel Corporation, which is the livery that the vessel sports today.The hoMeless MuseuM shiP, Canadian

Coast Guard light icebreaker and buoy tender CCGS Alexander Henry, departed

Picton, Ontario, on June 18 in hopes of finding a brighter future with the Lakehead Museum Transportation Society on Lake Superior. The vessel, under tow of the tug Radium Yellowknife, then Salvage Monarch, arrived at thunder bay on June 27. Thunder Bay city council spent $125,000 to have the vessel towed north, and also approved a resolution to develop a lease agreement with the Thunder Bay Port Authority for permanent dock space. Alexander Henry has been looking for a permanent home since a land developer evicted the Marine Museum of the Great Lakes at Kingston in 2016. The vessel was built in Port Arthur, Ontario, and entered service in 1958.

New Vessel on the St. lawrence river

The general cargo Vessel Hemgracht a) Beluga Fairy b) HHL Amazon was

purchased by Nunavut Eastern Arctic Shipping this summer and was renamed Nunalik while at Sorel, Quebec, on August 1. The vessel was scheduled to sail for the Canadian Arctic that same week with supplies for northern Canadian communities. NEAS is Inuit-owned, and its fleet offers sealift resupply operations serving Canada’s eastern and western arctic from St. Lawrence River ports.

Nunalik was built in 2009, and joins Uniavut, Avataq, Qamutik and Mitiq as NEAS vessels plying the lower St. Lawrence River and Canadian arctic during summer months.

fincantieri Delivers articulated tug & Barge

FincanTieri bay shiPbuilding in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, delivered

the articulated tug and barge unit Kirby 155-02 and Paul McLernan to Kirby Corporation of Channelview, Texas, in early August. Kirby 155-02 is a 521-ft petroleum and chemical products barge with a capacity of 155,000 barrels. Paul McLernan is a 121-ft tug with a 6,000-hp diesel engine. The pair is identical to the articulated tug and barge unit Kirby 155-01 and Heath Wood delivered last fall.

n Write mark Shumaker at 1445 Ashdowne Road, Columbus, OH 43221 or e-mail [email protected]

n CCGS Alexander Henry being towed past Algonac, Michigan, June 23, 2017. (See “Museum Ships in the News”) – Fred Miller photo.

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N U M B E R 3 0 3 • FA L L 2 0 1 7

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

M I G H T , S T YL E & S P L E N D O R : EMPRESS of BRITAIN 10Sagafjord to Alaska 20

There’s Something About Mary 28

Kate McCue’s Journey to the Bridge 40

Ship Research: The Basics 46

Showcase Your Products & Services in Front of an Exclusive Audience


pearl Seas expands florida-to-cuba cruises

Pearl seas cruises has exPanded its program of cruises from Port

everglades to Cuba for 2018. the Pearl Mist operates 11-night circumnavigations of the island nation, with stops at six Cuban ports.

n Pearl Mist expanded her schedule of Cuba cruises from Port Everglades. – Pearl Seas Cruises photo.

The luxury shiP, at 5,109 grt and only 210 passengers, is small enough to visit various ports that the large cruise ships cannot access, thus giving passengers a more immersive experience in Cuba.

Norwegian Sun to port canaveral

Norwegian cruise line will rePo-sition its 79,000-ton, 1,936-passenger

Norwegian Sun to Port Canaveral in May 2018, to begin all-inclusive cruises from that port to Cuba. Before this operation begins, the Sun will undergo a two-and-a-half week drydock as part of “Norwegian edge,” NCL’s revitalization program.The shiP will receiVe upgraded

dining and entertainment facilities, providing 16 dining options and 12 bars and lounges. All guests on board will enjoy unlimited complimentary beverages included in their cruise fare as part of the ship’s all-inclusive program. This same program has been in place aboard sister ship Norwegian Sky for the past two years, with much success.

NorwegiaN suN will sail from Port Canaveral each Monday on four-night cruises to Havana for a day and an overnight stay, as well as a call at Key West. The three-night weekend cruises departing each Friday will call at Nassau and Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas.

Carnival Paradise Begins cuba cruises from tampa

CarniVal cruise line hosTed a bon voyage reception on June 29,

2017, at Port Tampa Bay to mark the line’s inaugural cruise to Havana aboard Carnival Paradise a) Paradise. The event featured Cuban music, libations and the “world’s largest Cuban sandwich,” measuring ten feet in length.CarNival paradise began operating

four-night cruises to Cuba, with a day and an overnight stay in Havana. Her five-night cruises add a stop in either Cozumel or Key west.

Carnival Dream limps Back to New orleans

CarNival dream deParTed new Orleans on August 6, 2017, for

a seven-night Western Caribbean cruise, but engine propulsion problems developed midway through the trip. After calling at Jamaica and Grand Cayman, the 130,000-ton ship was forced to skip its scheduled stop at Cozumel, returning instead to New Orleans for repairs.while This issue affected the Dream’s

maximum cruising speed, all other onboard systems were functioning normally, and the passengers and crew were never in any danger, according to cruise line sources. All passengers were given an onboard credit as compensation for missing a port. The mechanical issue was resolved by technicians and Carnival Dream was able to depart on her next scheduled sailing without delay.

n Independence of the Seas is seen berthed at Port Everglades Cruise Terminal 25, which is getting a $100 million makeover. – Rich Turnwald photo.

PorT eVerglades is inVesTing More Than $100 Million for a coMPleTe makeover of Cruise Terminal 25, which will continue to be a preferential

berth for Royal Caribbean Cruises and Celebrity Cruises. This is part of a new, long-term agreement unanimously approved by the Broward County Board of Commissioners. The agreement extends the current commitment with Royal Caribbean through the year 2026.cruise TerMinal 25, originally builT in 1992, is located on the eastern

edge of the port, along the Intracoastal Waterway. Royal Caribbean also has preferential berthing rights at Cruise terminal 18, which was built in 2009 to accommodate Oasis of the Seas, Allure of the Seas and Harmony of the Seas.

Port Everglades Renovates Another Cruise Terminal


USS Independence arrives at Brownsville Breakers

The aircraft carrier USS Independence arrived under tow at the Port of

brownsville, texas, on June 1, 2017, for scrapping. The 60,000-ton vessel, last of the Forrestal-class “supercarriers,” was originally commissioned in 1959, and decommissioned in 1998. Her last voyage was the 16,000-mile journey from Bremerton, Washington, down through the Straits of Magellan and up to Brownsville.currenTly being disManTled by

International Shipbreaking, Ltd., the carrier’s service is far from over; much of its steel is being recycled into the construction of new Navy vessels. About 19,000 tons of armored plate will go to Pennsylvania to be melted down and made into armor for a new aircraft carrier.

hurricane harvey Disrupts galveston cruise Schedules

The schedules of four galVesTon-based cruise ships were disrupted by

catastrophic Hurricane Harvey in late August, when the port was closed for a week; all four ships were unable to return from their cruises.

CarNival valor, Carnival Freedom, Carnival Breeze and Liberty of the Seas were impacted by the event, with a combined total of some 20,000 passengers “stranded” at sea.boTh CarNival freedom and Carnival

Valor made a stop at New Orleans on August 26 to replenish supplies and to

give passengers the option to disembark, even though it was impossible for them to return to Galveston independently at that time since the storm lasted many days.CarNival breeze stayed in Cozumel

for an additional day and night before proceeding to New Orleans for more supplies and to allow passengers to disembark if they wished.royal caribbean’s Liberty of the Seas was

too large to divert to either New Orleans or Tampa, so she sailed around Florida to PortMiami, spending August 30 there. Some 2,000 passengers out of the 4,400 on board chose to disembark at the South Florida port. While at Miami, Liberty took on $200,000 worth of supplies, including food, bottled water, towels, blankets and cleaning supplies, to take for the people of Texas when she returned to Galveston at the end of the week.The four shiPs were finally able to

return to Galveston after it reopened to traffic on August 31.

n Write rich turnwald at 7635 SW 99th Court, Miami, FL 33173 or [email protected]

n Costa neoClassica has been sold to Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line to begin cruising from Palm Beach. – Costa Cruises photo.

PorT of PalM beach coMMissioners gave the green light for a multi-ship agreement with Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line, paving the way for the

addition of a second ship. The line had just purchased the Costa neoClassica a) Costa Classica to begin operations as early as April 2018.The new shiP will join BPCL’s Grand Celebration a) Celebration b) Grand Celebration

c) Costa Celebration in operating two-night cruises on alternating days to Freeport, Bahamas. Interestingly, the line had also purchased its Celebration from Costa in December 2014.

A New Ship for Palm Beach

n USS Independence arrives at Brownsville, Texas for recycling, June 1st, 2017. (See “USS Independence Arrives at Brownsville Breakers’) – Maritime Executive photo.


passenger/cruise Ships calls may to august 2017

CarNival spirit, paCifiC aria, paCifiC Explorer (ex. Dawn Princess), Pacific

Jewell and Sun Princess.

passenger Ship cruise News

One of The oldesT Passenger shiPs, Astor, will return to Fremantle for a

southern hemisphere summer of cruises. The ship is now 30 years old and, being a small cruise ship, is still popular with passengers predominantly from the Western Australian region.dawN priNCess deParTed Sydney April

27 under this name for the last time. After a docking and some alterations, she’ll return to Sydney as P&O’s Pacific Explorer, cruising year-round to Australia/New Zealand and the Southwest Pacific.cunard’s QueeN elizabetH will be

based in Australia from February to April 2019. Because of congestion for large ships berthing in Sydney, at least three cruises will arrive and depart from Station Pier Port Melbourne.

cruise industry

The nuMber of cruise VisiTors froM the United States grew by close to

20 percent during the last year. Almost 75,000 passengers flew down under to cruise primarily out of Sydney, New South Wales. Contributing to the market is the cheaper Australian dollar and the fact that Australia and New Zealanders speak, well, a strange sort of English. Another benefit is that the countries are seen to be some of the safest in the world. carniVal ausTralia has announced

that it will abandon cruises out of Fremantle, Western Australia. It blames logistical problems including poor conditions in the passenger terminals. seVenTy cruise shiP callers were

expected during this coming year’s cruise season; that number has declined to 17. The loss of passenger revenue will have a serious impact on Western Australian. Some shipping companies are seriously considering withdrawing from Sydney. There is only one major berth at Circular Quay. Royal Caribbean will home-port at Melbourne, and Royal Caribbean Lines will use Victoria’s capital city Melbourne, where there are no air draft problems as there are at Sydney and for larger ships in Brisbane.VicToria’s largesT regional port,

Geelong, is being considered for an upgrade from an anchor off port to

having a new terminal constructed. Ships could then berth at the foot of Geelong’s central business district. voyager of tHe seas will now cruise

out of Singapore because of the lack of berthing facilities east of Sydney’s Harbour Bridge.ausTralian-based cruise company

Aurora Expeditions will charter the first of what could be 10 newbuild small expedition cruise ships. To be constructed by China Merchant Heavy industries at Jiangsu, China, they will be 8,000 grt and the first will be delivered August 2019 to undertake Antarctic cruises for the 2019–20 season. your ediTor is inVolVed with an

organization exploring the possibility of purchasing up to three second-hand classic cruise ships. The plan is to base them out of a number of Australian ports to visit smaller and regional centers.

ferries

Concerns haVe been raised abouT long shifts and possible fatigue for

masters and crews of the Brisbane City Council Ferries. Company TransDev, which operates a number of bus operations Australia-wide, is managing the City-Cat and cross-ferry business on behalf of the Queensland authorities. An accident with a small cross-river ferry has caused concern. Ferries aren’t necessarily taken out of service when requested by ferry masters.

n Queen elizabeth sailing from Melbourne in Port Phillip Bay. (See “Passenger Cruise Ship News”) – Bill Barber photo.


in sydney, at the famous Taronga Zoo terminal, a ferry came into contact with the jetty. No passengers or crew were harmed in what was a minor incident.Three of The fleeT of new, larger,

inner-Sydney Harbour ferries have been delivered. Catherine Hamlin wasn’t immediately placed in service since it needed modifications that resulted in larger rudders. Fred Hollows, the second, arrived in May. Victor Chang has now arrived and is also in service. The ferry lady NortHCott was laid

up after 42 years of service. The only remaining ferry of this design, Lady Herron, will have ceased operation by the time of this edition. The outcry from commuters has reached a point where the ferries may be retained.

New zealand/Pacific Islands News

The sMall souThwesT Pacific general cargo ship, Southern Phoenix,

capsized just outside of Suva’s port precinct may 6. Owned by a local company, Cruz Holdings, the ship was loading when it developed a list. It was towed off the wharf to prevent structural damage within the port region. when it capsized it spilled at least ten containers into the sea.There are aT leasT ten wrecks within

Suva harbor and the calls to have them removed are growing.MaJor docking of the Cook Strait

ro-pax ferries has to be undertaken in

Australia. Strait Feronia sailed to Sydney in early July for docking.new zealand’s caPiTal of Wellington

should have its port container berth operational by September 2017. following an earThQuake on the

South Island November 14, 2016, damage across the Cook Strait resulted in container exchange cranes jumping off their rails. Some reclamation is also required on land under the hardstand area.

history

The PorT of freManTle in wesTern Australia has just celebrated its

120th anniversary. Fremantle’s Inner Harbour received its first ship, Sultan, on march 4, 1897. today Fremantle is the largest general commercial port

in Western Australia and services the nearby Capital City of Perth. Specialized mineral ports, primarily exporting iron ore, such as Port Hedland in northwest Western Australia, receive much larger ships to export iron ore.

Port News

The PorT of TownsVille (norTh Queensland) for the first time has a

dedicated cruise ship, Pacific Eden, based for a few months during the year. The PorT of sydney is losing some

locally based larger cruise liners. Because of air draft problems they can only access the single Sydney Cove berth. Some companies are switching to Melbourne, where there are no limitations on height and there are three berths available at Station Pier. If additional berths are needed, especially during Australia’s famous Melbourne Cup, some cargo berths can be used to accommodate cruise ships.wesTern PorT’s crib PoinT could be

a new import gas terminal. Much of the required infrastructure is in place ashore. The venture could be operational by 2020.The norThwesTern Tasmania port of

Burnie is being considered for further expansion of the present container port.

tug talk

SViTzer ausTralia was successful in retaining its towage contract for

n Pacific eden exiting Port Phillip into Bass Strait. (See “Port News”) – Bill Barber photo.

n Royal Australian Naval ship HMAS Arunta (FFH 151) shown docked. (See “Naval News,” page 76) – Bill Barber photo.


the ports of Mourilyan and Cairns in North Queensland. Svitzer is moving tugs to and from various locations around Australia because of fleet excesses and to accommodate movement of larger vessels.new daMen Tugs are operating in

North Western and Northern Territory ports as newly constructed tugs arrive from their Asian shipbuilding yards. Two Tugs that have serviced the Port

of Cairns have been replaced by larger bollard tugs after Svitzer retained its port license. wiTh new Tugs arriving at North

Western Australia’s Port Hedland, one tug has been sold to Pacific towage New Guinea and others to coal export operations in Queensland.

Naval News

Royal ausTralian naVy shiP HMAS Arunta detected a suspicious

dhow in the North Indian Ocean off the coast of Africa on June 8. using the warship’s helicopter and crew, they boarded the dhow and seized 260 kg of heroin. This was the third intercept by the Australian warship on this deployment. The illegal haul was destroyed at sea. ausTralia’s Two newesT and largest

Landing Helicopter Docks, HMAS Adelaide and HMAS Canberra, have had ongoing pod problems and have been out of commission, including spells in

drydock. At the time they were most needed, following Cyclone Edi, they languished at HMA Garden Island Sydney. Both ships missed Operation Talisman Sabre, which is carried out with United States capital ships. The vessels were partially constructed to deck level in Spain and completed at the Williamstown Dockyard in Melbourne. Their design is based on that of the Spanish Navy ship Juan Carlos 1, which seems to have similar pod problems and has spent less time at sea than the Australian ships.following floods in Sri Lanka earlier

this year, the Royal Australian Navy Ship HMAS Arunta made a goodwill visit to Colombo during the second week of July. this followed delivery of aid to Sri Lanka, including small boats.

industry

JaPanese shiPPing coMPany nyk has been convicted and fined 25 million

Australian dollars for cartel activities in Australia. The cartel, involving NYK and other shipping companies, affected vehicles shipped to Australia from major car manufacturers. NYK pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with authorities.

general Shipping

WiTh 85 PercenT of ausTralia’s import and export commerce

carried by sea, shipping traffic is

a barometer of this island nation’s economy. while mineral, liquefied petroleum gas and grain shipments are vibrant, general cargo, including motor vehicles and containers, has drastically declined. Australia’s economy rode on the sheep’s back decades ago. Now shipments of coal, grain and iron ore fuel our economy.The firsT sTeel cuTTing for a new

Antarctica research and supply vessel took place in early June. the vessel will replace the present Aurora Australis. The ceremony took place at Damen’s Galati Shipyards in Romania.The forMer searoad mersey, renamed

Searoad, departed Bell Bay, Tasmania, bound for new owners in Mexico, with stops for bunkers at Auckland, New Zealand, and Papeete, French Polynesia. The downTurn of offshore tug business

in the Oceania and Australasia regions resulted in approximately 25 percent of offshore tugs becoming idle in the region.wiTh soMe ProJecTs nearing

completion off Western Australia, more tugs will be required in the timor Sea region as production comes on line.

n Write William g.t. Barber Unit 27 – Townsend Gardens,148 Townsend Road, St. Albans Park,Geelong Victoria 3219 AustraliiaEmail – [email protected]

n Searoad Mersey has been sold to new owners in Mexico. (See “Industry”) – Bill Barber photo.


River paddlewheel cruise boat, American Duchess. She joins American Queen and American Empress in offering week-long cruises from New Orleans to Memphis, Tennessee. American Duchess has three decks and is equipped to carry 166 guests in all-suite accommodations. American Duchess offers the largest suites of any overnight passenger boat on the Western Rivers. In 2016, 21,391 passengers sailed from or arrived at the Port of New Orleans on Mississippi River boats. work on reTurning the steam

paddlewheel excursion boat Julia Belle Swain to service has come to a stop. built in 1971 at Dubuque boiler & boat Company, the boat steamed the Upper mississippi river until 2008, when she was laid up in need of boiler and engine repairs. A group of volunteers began work to return Julia Belle Swain to service in 2014. However, unforeseen repairs have used up all of the foundation’s $1,800,000, and an estimated $500,000 is still needed to complete repairs. Donations may be sent to the Julia Belle Swain Foundation, a 501(c)3 organization, at 620 Cass St., La Cross, WI 54601.in aPril 2017, the U.S. Senate passed

Senate bill 89 by a vote of 85 to 12 to allow Delta Queen to return to overnight river cruise service. The House of Representatives still needs to pass House Bill 619, as written, and have the president sign the legislation for Delta Queen to return to service. Delta Queen may return to overnight passenger service in 2018.

towboats by the Numbers

As of July 1, 2017, The currenT western river towboat fleet consists

of approximately 3,800 towboats. Some 60 percent of this fleet has engines of 1,799 hp or less. in the 1,800 hp-to-3,799-hp fleet, Higman barge, with 80 towboats, is the largest operator. In the 3,800-hp-to-5,999-hp fleet, ingram Barge Company is the largest owner with 22 boats. Ingram Barge, with 12 boats, also owns the most boats in the 6,000-hp-to-8,000-hp range. the majority of towboats smaller than 3,799 hp are powered with CAT engines, boats of 3,800 hp to 7,999 hp are powered with GM engines and the majority of towboats with engines larger than 8,000 hp are powered with EMD engines.

keeping the Waters clear

In June 2017, wiTh The silTing uP of the Mississippi River’s Southwest Pass

shipping channel, emergency dredging was ordered. The Army Corps of engineers tries to maintain a 48.5-ft-deep and 750-ft-wide shipping channel from 10 miles Above Head of Passes to 18 miles Below Head of Passes, and a 600-ft-wide channel from mile 18 bHP to mile 22 BHP. Pressed into service to maintain these channel widths and depths were the privately-owned hopper dredges Bayport, Newport and Glen Edwards; the Corps’ hopper dredge Wheeler; and the privately-owned cutter head dredge Capt. Frank. At the same time dredging was taking place at the mouth of the Mississippi River, the Lower Mississippi River at New Orleans was being dredged by the privately-owned cutter dredge W.B. Wood. The dredge has been removing sand buildup in the waters

river Boat News

The sidewheel MississiPPi riVer boat m/V Speculation, built in 1995 as

a casino boat, remains up for sale. Asking price is now $3,750,000, a reduction from the original price of $3,950,000. This four-deck, diesel-powered boat is 230 feet long, 72 feet wide, with a draft of 6 feet, 3 inches. it has 25,430 square feet of gambling space and can hold 1,500 people. Never used for its intended purpose, m/V Speculation has, since her building, been in layup at either Pensacola, Florida, or Biloxi, Mississippi. Presently, she is moored at Harvey, Louisiana. Her chance of finding a buyer for use as a gambling boat is slim because almost all riverboat gambling is now conducted from casinos built on the riverbank. on augusT 13, 2017, at Port of New

Orleans, the American Queen Steamboat Company christened its third Mississippi

n The 1,320-hp Discovery, owned by Carlisle & Bay Enterprise, is seen on the Ohio River below Cincinnati, Ohio, at Bromley, Kentucky. Built in 2014 and immediately put in harbor service at Cincinnati, she is supposed to be the first new boat to be used in harbor service at Cincinnati in over 100 years. – Charles H. Bogart photo.


of the Port of New Orleans. Some 2.4 million tons have been removed. aboVe The PorT of New Orleans, the

Corps dustpan dredge Jadwin is dredging at Mile 190.5 of the Lower Mississippi River and the private dustpan dredge Wallace McGeorge is working at Mile 155 of the Lower Mississippi River. The Corps’ dustpan dredge Hurley is working the Lower Mississippi River between the area being dredged by Jadwin and Wallace McGeorge. The Corps hopes to open a 50-ft-deep navigation channel from Southwest Pass to Lower Mississippi River Mile 154 (Belmont Crossing) by 2020. on The ohio riVer, Amherst Madison

has a contract with the Corps to deepen the approaches to the following locks and dams: Robert C Bryd, Meldahl, Greenup, Belleville and Willow Island. Amherst Madison is using two towboats, two dump scow barges and one clamshell crane to accomplish this work. The contract calls for the removal of approximately 70,000 cubic feet of spoils from the approach to each of these locks.The uPPer MississiPPi River is also

experiencing shrinkage of navigation channels and depth of water; a 9-ft-deep navigation channel is still being maintained, but the width of the channel is shrinking. The banks of the Upper Mississippi River are lined with residential, industrial and commercial development, leaving no room to dump spoils. The result is that tows moving on the Upper Mississippi River have been shrinking in size as the navigation channel shrinks in width. The Upper Mississippi River can no longer move the tonnage it could in 2000. In 2016, at Lock & Dam 10 on the Upper Mississippi River, there were 2,962 commercial lockages that moved 8,908,851 tons of commodities. The Corps estimates that 5,800 cubic yards of silt needs to be dredged annually between Mile 591 and mile 608 of the upper mississippi River for the next 50 years to maintain a 9-foot navigation channel. The problem is finding a place to deposit the dredged material. At Lock and Dam Number 7 on

the Upper Mississippi River, the privately owned dredge Michael B is being employed to remove 835,000 cubic yards of sand from the waters above the dam. The sand is pumped by pipeline five miles inland to an old quarry for deposit.The PorT of Mobile is seeking funds

to deepen both the Mobile River and the shipping channel from the Gulf of Mexico to the Turning Basin. At present, the shipping channel is 400 feet wide and 45 feet deep. The port wishes to increase the width of the shipping channel to 550 feet and its depth to 55 feet.

Slack-Water port problems

The PorT of helena, arkansas, aT Mile 652 of the Lower Mississippi

River, consists of a 2.25-mile-long, 9-ft deep, 300-ft-wide slack-water harbor with an additional 50 feet of berthing space and a turning basin. The annual cost of dredging to maintain this harbor is $750,000. The PorT of new Madrid, Missouri, at

mile 885 of the Lower mississippi river, is another slack-water port that must be dredged annually to maintain its 225-ft-wide, 9-ft-deep, 1,500-ft-long navigation channel. In 2013, when the Corps did not do any dredging at the port, the port had to close because of sandbar buildup at its

entrance to the Lower Mississippi River.The Tulsa PorT of Catoosa, a slack-

water port on the Verdigris river, suffered a riverbank collapse during April 2017 because of heavy rains. Some $500,000 has been spent to rebuild the banks. In addition, a $1 million contract has been issued to Mid-American Dredging to restore the port’s 1.5-mile-long, 9-ft-deep navigation channel.

cargo movements

The black warrior-ToMbigbee Waterway, which in the years before

2015 saw the annual movement of 3.3 billion ton-miles of cargo on its waters, saw in 2015, its last reporting period, commercial tonnage drop to 2.9-billion ton-miles. This puts the waterway below the 3 billion ton-mile mark that’s needed to ensure continual Corps funding for dredging and upkeep of its locks and dams. This drop in ton-miles is the result of a 10 percent drop in the movement of coal by barge. In addition, the three-year average from 2013 to 2015 for commercial lockage on the waterway has fallen from more than 1,000 annual movements to 862 movements. Yearly commercial lockages must be at least 1,000 to ensure that the Corps will provide 24-hour lockage service on the waterway.

n Settoon Towing’s 3,000-hp Fred A Settoon is seen bound up the Ohio River near Mauckport, Indiana. Note she is being painted as she heads up river; a crewman can be seen on the boiler deck painting the superstructure. – Charles H. Bogart photo.


goods carried

As of augusT 1, 2017, grain movement on the Western

Waterways is running only a little ahead of 2016. Total grain moved for 2017 is 23,748,000 tons compared to 22,731,000 tons in 2016. Soybean tonnage is showing the greatest increase from 2016: 7,336,000 tons compared to 6,483,000 tons. Corn and wheat tonnage are only slightly higher than 2016, with corn movement so far in 2017 totaling 14,793,000 tons compared to 14,772,000 tons in 2016.while 2017 has seen a slight increase in

the movement of coal by barge from 2016, it’s still down 40 percent from its peak year. Unfortunately, movement of oil by barge also hit a downturn in late 2016, with oil movement in the first half of 2017 down by 40 percent from 2016. The result is a western river barge fleet having numerous empty barges searching for cargo. In 2015, some 251 tank barges were built, in 2016 only 112 tank barges were built, and for 2017 it’s being projected that 50 tank barges will be built. Overall, 2016 is being rated as the worst year in Western River barge operations, with 2017 shaping up to

be equally as bad. the barge industry, for the first three months of 2016, reported an income of $110,800,000, but during the same period in 2017 reported an income of only $62,700,000. barge profits for first quarter 2016 were $12,600,000 but only $6,400,000 for the same period in 2017. Kirby Corporation in 2014 had 60 barges moving oil, but in 2017 had only 6 barges.

BRIEFSn beginning July 12, 2017, The Corps placed a size restriction on tows using the Old River Lock on the Lower Mississippi River. Tows are now restricted to a maximum length of 1,100 feet. This is in response to the failure of the lock’s gantry crane.n on July 9, 2017, The 5,000-hP eriC Haney, owned by tennessee Valley Towing, sank at Mile 9.7 of the Upper Mississippi River near Cairo, Illinois, when she took on water through her hull. Her crew of nine all escaped safely. the boat was salvaged on July 22 and taken to James marine at Paducah, Kentucky, for repairs.

n on July 31, 2017, The 6,000-hP Ardyce Randall, owned by American River Transportation, was bound down river when she had an engine room failure and allided with the Melvin Price lock gate because her engines didn’t back down. As of this writing, both the main and auxiliary locks were closed. The locks were to reopen in early September 2017.n aMerican coMMercial barge line has rebuilt Paul Brotzge by replacing her 5,600-hp engines with 6,150-hp engines. n The 6,200-hP aNgela k, owned by SCF Bunge Marine, has been sold to Niche Towing and will be operated by East Side River Transportation.n iMPerial riVer TransPorT, operating on the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers, has purchased the 1,800-hp Odyssey from Genesis Marine and renamed the boat Ashley Marie.n d&s Marine serVice has purchased the 900-hp Capt. Claude from South Louisiana Boat Company. n caMPbell TransPorTaTion has renamed the former 2,800-hp AeP River Transportation towboat Norman L. Snodgrass as Tommy H.n souThwesT shiPyard of housTon, Texas, has delivered to Devall Towing the 1,260-hp Jackson Scott.n haliMar shiPyard of Morgan City, Louisiana, has delivered the 30-inch ABS cutter suction dredge Robert M. White to Mason Construction Company. n scf Marine has sold The 6,200-hp Laurie S. Johnson to Western Rivers Boat Management, which renamed the boat Earl Etheridge. n Tennessee Valley Towing has purchased from American Commercial Barge Line the 6,140-hp Robert A. Knoke, the 6,140-hp Mark W. Secrease and the 5,600-hp De LaSalle.

n Write charles h. Bogart at 201 Pin Oak Pl., Frankfort, KY 40601 or [email protected]

n The 6,120-hp Daniel T Martin, owned by Ingram Barge, is seen upbound the Ohio River at Augusta, Kentucky. – Charles H. Bogart photo.


New arrivals

RoToTug has finally coMe To The United States after operating in

other ports of the world for some time. Master Boat Builders in Bayou La Batre, Alabama, delivered two of three advanced Rototug tugboats to Fort Lauderdale-based Seabulk Towing in January and June. Designed by robert Allan, the new tugs feature triangular propulsion that will deliver optimum maneuverability. The Trident is currently working in Port Everglades, with the Triton not yet assigned to a port. The third tug, as yet unnamed, was set for delivery in October. This class is equipped with three Caterpillar 3512C Tier 3 diesel engines producing 1,910 hp at 1,600 rpm each.The NiCole foss, the latest state-of-

the-art Arctic-class tug delivered to the Foss Maritime Company, was recently christened at the Foss Waterway Seaport in Tacoma, Washington. Built at the Foss Rainier Oregon shipyard, the tug is designed to operate in the extreme conditions of the far north, and she entered service during the summer. the first of the three tugs, Michele Foss, debuted in 2015, and in her first year of operation led the way in safely pioneering a new route across the North Slope while operating in extreme conditions of first-year ice almost three feet thick. The second sister, Denise Foss, has also continued to exceed expectations and has returned to the far north.Vane broThers’ newesT Tug, the New

York, was christened during a ceremony June 12 at St. Johns Ship building in Palatka, Florida. The new tug is the sixth of eight 4,200-hp Elizabeth-class tugs contracted by Vane with St. Johns.diVersified Marine, in Portland,

Oregon, has delivered the Dr. Hank

Kaplan to Harley Marine Services of Seattle. The new tug is a sister to the Michele Sloan and Lela Franco, already in service with Harley Marine. The 5,350-hp tug is named for the chief of medical oncology at the Swedish Cancer Institute for his tireless dedication to cancer treatment and research. Another tug of this class, the Rich Padden, is also under

construction at Diversified and set for delivery by the end of the year.greaT lakes Towing Company’s new

2,000-hp tug Cleveland handled its first harbor assist recently. this tug is the first to be built in the United States to meet the new U.S. Coast Guard Subchapter M regulations for engine emissions. The Cleveland is the first of ten Damen Stan

Tugboatsby David M. Boone

n (Above) Trident, the first U.S.-built Rotortug, designed by Robert Allan Ltd., has undergone trials and is now in service.(See “New Tugs”) – Robert Allan Ltd. photo. (Below) Nicole Foss is Foss Maritime’s state-of-the-art Arctic-class tug. (See “New Tugs”) – Foss Maritime photo.


n New tug Cleveland. – The Great Lakes Group photo.

Tugs 1907 ICE tugs to be built for Great Lakes Towing at the company’s shipyard in Cleveland, Ohio, under license from Damen in the Netherlands.horizon shiPbuilding of Bayou La

Batre recently launched the Rosemary McAllister for McAllister Towing of New York. The tug is the second of two 6,800-hp, azimuth stern drive, escort and rescue tugs built there. The tug is named for the wife of the company chairman, Captain brian A. mcAllister. the first tug, named Capt. Brian A. McAllister, is already at work in the company’s New York fleet.fincanTieri bay shiPbuilding has

delivered the second of two AT/B units to Kirby Offshore Marine. The 6,000-hp tug Paul McLernan and the 155,000-barrel barge 155-02 were built to carry petroleum and chemical cargoes in the domestic coastal trade.Two new Moran Tugs were christened

in Norfolk on July 8. the Clayton W. Moran and Maxwell Paul Moran will work in the Virginia fleet. the next newbuild, Benson George Moran, was launched at Washburn & Doughty in East Boothbay, Maine, on August 16.

good times at tug competition

The 25Th annual greaT norTh River Tugboat Race and Competition

was held on September 3 with 13 tugs participating on a cloudy, rainy Sunday in New York Harbor. the brand-new, 6,800-hp Capt. Brian A. McAllister was the champ of the day, winning the race and a trophy for best-appearing tug. The other tugs were South Street Seaport’s W.O. Decker; Miller Launch’s Susan Miller and Catherine

C. Miller; Norfolk tug’s Robert Burton and James William; NY State Marine Highway’s Nathan G (the former Joan McAllister); Buchanan Marine’s Buchanan 1, Buchanan 12 and Mister T.; Donjon’s Atlantic Enterprise and Mary Alice; and the towboat Patricia. Trophies were presented to the winners of the race in all three horsepower classes along with awards for the best in a spinach-eating contest, best tattoo and deckhand line toss. Despite the inclement weather, the event was enjoyed by everyone who attended.

Business Woes

Inland and coasTal oil Towage is in one of the most severe downturns

the market has seen in the past 30 years. With this happening, several oil transportation companies have laid up tugs and furloughed personnel. Vane Brothers, in the midst of an aggressive new tug-building program, has let more than 300 employees go. The company has sold its tugs Brooklyn and Chesapeake to unnamed buyers and has the Tangier Island, Severn, Bohemia, Nanticoke and Potomac tied up at its City Dock in Philadelphia. Kirby Offshore has five tugs and barges laid up in Philadelphia, while Andrie Transportation Group on the Great Lakes has the Rebecca Lynn and Barbara Andrie idle in Muskegon, Wisconsin. Dann Marine Towing also has five tugs without crews resting at its dock in Chesapeake City, Maryland.

other tug News

Bouchard TransPorTaTion coMPany of New York has been awarded 43

safety achievements by the Chamber of Shipping of America for operating a total 364 years with no lost time injuries. The CSA grants the Jones F. Devlin Award each year to manned merchant vessels that have operated for two or more years without incurring a lost time injury.The derelicT Tug powHataN, which

sank at the Samson Tug and Barge dock in Starrigavan Bay, Alaska, has been raised and towed to Seattle for disposal. The tug sank in April 2017.

DON’T MISS IT!

PowerShipsCOMING in the Spring Issue of

Alcoa Combination LinersImmediately after World War II, the Aluminum Company of America (Alcoa) put in service three distinctive cargo-passenger ships, originally unfinished Victory ships. Terry Tilton presents a detailed maritime history of Alcoa and these ships: Alcoa Cavalier, Alcoa Corsair and Alcoa Clipper.

America’s “Mini Liners” of the 1930sEven though the harsh Depression raged, short trips along the East Coast on little luxury liners provided an ideal escape. In Lives of the Liners, William Miller takes us aboard these baby liners that boasted luxurious salons, wonderful food and comfortable cabins.

plUS

the refurbishment of PreanaThis restoration story describes the effort and dedication that went into bringing the magnificent 1896 steam yacht Preana, Australia’s oldest operating steam vessel, back to life.

Ship research, part 3In the third installment of his advice on ship research, James Shuttleworth shows you how information on signal flag codes, other ship flags and funnel marks can support your article. … and more!


The souTh sTreeT seaPorT Museum has been awarded a $200,000 Maritime Heritage Grant from the National Park Service, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Transportation and Maritime Administration, for a complete renovation of the tug W.O. Decker, the last of the New York-built wooden tugboats. A shipyard has not yet been selected for the work.

Big projects

Crowley MariTiMe corPoraTion tugboats recently completed the

tow-out and installation of the Hess Oil Company Stampede Platform in the deep water of the Gulf of Mexico. Six Crowley tugs worked alongside each other to deliver the oversized, overweight platform, tendons and other equipment from the Kiewit facility in Ingleside, Texas, to a point 150 miles offshore in 3,400 feet of water. All four of the Ocean-class tugs – Ocean Wind, Ocean Sun, Ocean Sky and Ocean Wave – were involved. Crowley has also shifted its tractor tug Veteran from San

Francisco to the Port of Los Angeles/Long Beach, replacing the tug Goliath. Goliath will join the tug Valor, Veteran’s sister, in San Francisco. Goliath just completed a shipyard period having her Z-drives replaced with larger drives and undergoing an upgrade of her deck winches.in augusT, an 8,000,000-pound,

130-ft Public Service Electric and Gas Company recovery steam generator was moved on a barge from Coyemans, New York, on the upper Hudson River, to a facility on the Arthur Kill in Seawaren, New Jersey. the Coyemans marine Towing Company tugs CMT Otter, Helen Laraway and Mister Jim provided the power on the job.

changes

Foss MariTiMe has sold iTs Tug Sidney Foss to Olsen Marine in

Ketchikan, Alaska. Her new name hasn’t been disclosed.The 5,100-hP TracTor Tug Gramma

Lee T. Moran has shifted from the Miami operation to the Philadelphia fleet. this

makes six tugs now in this fleet, along with the tractors Z-One and Fort Bragg, and the twin-screw tugs Cape Henry, Cape Cod and Bart Turecamo.The miCHigaN, ex Susan McAllister,

chartered to Great Lakes Towing, has been sold to Morrish Wallace Construction, Incorporated, of Cheboygan, Michigan, and renamed Kristen Joelle.wiTh The deVasTaTion in south Texas

from Hurricane Harvey, the tugboat fleets weren’t immune from strife. Signet Maritime’s Signet Enterprise partially sank in Ingleside, Texas, after being crushed between two floating oil rigs. the crews of the towboats Sabine Pass and Sandy Point also issued distress calls and were airlifted to safety by the U.S. Coast Guard. A total of 15 were rescued during the height of the storm.

n Write David m. Boone at 36 Kendall Blvd., Oaklyn, NJ 08107 or [email protected]

n W.O. Decker, looking west under the stern of the sailing ship Peking during a snowstorm. (See “South Street Seaport...”) – Jim Henderson photo.


oceaN liNer SUNSetTheodore W. Scull. Overview Press Limited (Mayes House, Vansittart Estate, Windsor SL4 1SE UK), +44 1753 62 0237, overviewpress.co.uk. 2017. 128 pp., illustrated. £16. Paperback.

A word of cauTion, lesT you begin reading and lack the time to finish

all 13 chapters, because you won’t want to put this volume down. That’s right – it’s really that enjoyable.

you exPerience the feeling that you’re actually along with Ted Scull on 13 real ocean adventures on real liners. Four of these, in coastal rather than intercontinental service, might slip under the radar, but they may be the last liner services that survive into the jet age, save for Queen Mary 2’s seasonal Atlantic crossings. This is The Third and final volume of

the author’s trilogy describing travel on the regularly scheduled liners, which offered travelers the opportunity of an ocean experience in the process of reaching their destinations. You can guess the names of six of these classic liners, the famous ones; for three others you must really know your stuff; the remaining four are coastal liners, which still survive year-round and ought not to be ignored if you enjoy traveling by sea. that is, if you’re not in a hurry and fly to your destination instead. each Voyage has its own story. You’re

traveling with the author, who happens to be an onboard lecturer on many of these voyages, so this is no dull

travelogue. His position opens doors to him so that he can offer information and insights beyond what casual travelers might observe, thus providing a far greater insight into what occurs during the course of each voyage. This VoluMe of Ted Scull’s

recollections of nearly six decades of ocean travels concentrates on the closing era of the traditional ocean liner, the years between 1980 and 2016. the book is well illustrated and complements his earlier volumes: Ocean Liner Odyssey 1958–1969 and Ocean Liner Twilight 1968–1979, both stunning, intimate glimpses into crossing the oceans by ship during the decades they encompass. Thanks for sharing your wonderful

experiences and tremendous photos. Martin J. Butler

the graND ScUttle: the Sinking of the german fleet at Scapa flow in 1919Dan van der Vat. Birlinn Limited (West Newington House, Newington Road, Edinburgh EH9 IQ5, UK), birlinn.co.uk, +44 (0) 131 688 4371. 2016. 275 pp., illustrated. £9.99. Paperback.

The TiTle of This book fails To describe its actual scope. Indeed,

it covers the prelude to World War I and one of the major causes: the naval expansion of Germany (the Naval Arms Race). Germany was the accepted

European land power – the British could cope with that fact because they had formed alliances. But it couldn’t accept

a powerful German navy – its island security and far-flung empire were, in its view, put in danger. When Admiral tirpitz convinced Kaiser wilhelm II to build a strong naval force with battleships, the race was on. The auThor coVers the race, step

by step, and the start of the war, also caused by other political factors. He then delves into the naval strategy of off-shore blockade, participated in by the primary players (leaving aside France). He touches upon the use of U-boats to destroy shipping, the forays by the German navy, the battle of the Dogger Banks and, of course, the battle of Jutland in more detail. as The euroPean campaign ground to

a stalemate on the continent, and after the Russian treaty and the Bolshevik mutiny of the Russian sailors, an armistice was proposed by Germany. The country was in disarray, the population starving, the government almost non-existent and the German navy suffering its own mutiny. The hecTic PreParaTion for and

the voyage to internment are detailed. While the allies (Britain, France and the United States) couldn’t agree on what to do with the German fleet, France especially had its mind on revenge. Britain was secretive, never saying where the fleet would be interned or what its fate would be, keeping all news from the German fleet – including Admiral Ludwig von Reuter, its commander. surPrised To end uP at Scapa Flow

rather than at neutral harbors, as had been discussed, the Germans were kept in the dark as to the peace discussions; they were denied newspapers and radio receivers, and their mail was censored. After removal of the fleet’s crews (except for skeleton crews), Admiral Reuter, with

Reviews Edited by William A. Foxn SSHSA assumes no responsibility for opinions expressed by reviewers, nor are reviews official statements of the Society itself.


the now-loyal officers and crew, prepared to fulfill what he felt was his obligation to never let a ship fall to the enemy. The author covers his decision process and the day he appeared in full dress uniform and gave the order, as well as his surrender, to the British. The entire High Seas Fleet – 74 vessels, 21 capital ships and 32 destroyers, sank. The rest were damaged or partially sunk or grounded at night under the noses of the british fleet, also at anchor at Scapa Flow.if There’s any criTicisM, of this book

it’s that it doesn’t go into the details of the internment, the preparation for the scuttling or the scuttling itself. How did reuter and his officers and crew accomplish the preparation (not insignificant) under the british watch? What caused the ships to go down so quickly? what caused the british to be so secretive as to the peace negotiations and the expiration date that they didn’t inform Reuter that the deadline had been extended? on The whole, this book is a valuable

contribution to the history of World War I from the naval side, since most histories focus on the trench war. Theodore A. Ulrich

rmS QUEEN MARY: the final VoyageRichard Tennant, Michael Gallagher and Miles Cowsill, editors. Ferry Publications Limited (PO Box 33, Ramsey, Isle of Man IM99 4LP, British Isles), +44 1624 898446, lilypublications.co.uk. 2017. 292 pp., illustrated. £24.95. Hardcover.

“EVeryThing you wanTed To know about the last voyage of the Queen

Mary but were afraid to ask” pretty much sums up the content of this monumental anthology. If it has to do with the fabled

Cunarder’s unprecedented Southampton-to-Long Beach valedictory trek, then you’ll find it in this volume’s 287 pages punctuated with innumerable photos. use it as an encyclopedia for the final trip to research some obscure fact or just sit down with it for a fascinating read. This book serves either purpose equally well.before we look at the vast substance

of this beautiful hardback compendium, let me first go straight to the great sacrilegious faux pas that everyone who knows the ship will gasp over with bugged eyes and mouth agape. On page 17 is a photo of the main lounge of the Queen Elizabeth being passed off as the main salon aboard her elder near-sister. Deal with it and move on. The rest of this book is phenomenal, making this single “oops” forgettable and insignificant. Besides, the photo is an excellent, and seldom seen, picture of the room.rms Queen Mary: The Final Voyage

contains selected extracts from seven astute eyewitness source accounts, and all, save one, have been long out of print. Among others these include Three Stacks and You’re Out by Velma Krauch; a special issue of West Magazine by Burt Prelutsky attached to the December 10, 1967, edition of the Los Angeles Sunday Times; and a compilation of press stories by reporter Bill Duncan, wired daily from the ship to Long Beach for publication in the Independent Press-Telegram newspaper, chronicling the epoch-making last voyage of the great Atlantic liner. We’re also treated to spirited extracts from the autobiography of Captain John treasure Jones, the vessel’s last master. ThaT aMounTs to over half of the

pages. Next we come to the appendices, which are as priceless as the narratives. These contain log books, memorabilia, manifests, information regarding the passengers, data about the buses lashed to the aft main deck for delivery at Long Beach, details of the entertainers booked for the last trip, stores carried and consumed on the 39-day trek and details of each port visit. There’s even an entry about the Liberty Bell replica carried to

Long Beach on the voyage. This book just goes on and on – “epic” is an apt description.To Make The book even more valuable

are the many illustrations found throughout its pages. Archival photos from her halcyon days as well as current pictures of the Queen Mary here in Long Beach are included, all well selected and placed to augment the text. But the highlight of the illustrations are the wonderful shots taken by Long Beach City Photographer Tom Witherspoon, who was onboard the ship throughout this famous last passage. These images totally capture the allure of the vagabond journey, its wonder and excitement. The 8.5- by 6-inch format of the book renders some of the pictures quite small, but the quality of the publication makes them clear and vibrant nonetheless. True, The TriP wasn’t all fun and

games. It was well known at the time that the sailing wouldn’t be a luxury cruise so much as a delivery voyage. The ship was severely handicapped by a total lack of air conditioning and the inability to carry enough water and fuel for full-out runs between ports. These aspects, too, are recorded in this book, and they played their parts in making the trip unforgettable in many aspects.The QueeN mary has been in Long

Beach for 50 years as of December 9, 2017. She made her very first sailing over 81 years ago, and the events of her inception, construction, operation and war service are legion. This new chronicle is a magnificent and much-needed addition to the history of “the Stateliest Ship now in being.” Those words of King George V, spoken at the launch of the Queen Mary, are as true today as they were when pronounced at the shipyard on that occasion in 1934. This book is a worthy adjunct to that title. Gordon Ghareeb

n Write William a. fox at 112 Colonel’s Way, Williamsburg, VA 23185 or [email protected]

THE FINAL VOYAGE

RMS QUEEN MARY

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MA

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RMS QUEEN MARY

£24.95

This is the story of the Queen Mary’s final voyage to Long Beach, California. After 31 years inoperation on the North Atlantic routes for Cunard, the famous liner was sold in 1967. TheClydeside built-ship has now been a floating hotel in America longer than she was in activeservice. Following her sale she embarked on an epic final voyage from the UK via Cape Hornto Long Beach which is described by Captain Treasure Jones, his crew and passengers, as theQueen Mary journeyed into new waters that she had never sailed in as a commercial liner.

This book also includes a brief history of the vessel, including her part in the Second WorldWar, and features over 200 photographs and interesting archive material and memorabilia, muchof it not previously published. Edited by Richard Tennant, Michael Gallagher and Miles Cowsill.

THE FINAL VOYAGE

QueenMaryCoverA5PPC_050617_Layout 1 04/07/2017 09:48 Page 1


SoMe forTy years ago, on My first visit to the ferries on Lake Champlain, I remember the

captain of Champlain a) City of Hampton describing the docking procedure for a double-ended ferry as a kind of “controlled crash.” While the term was new to me, i knew well that it fit. while MosT sTeaMboaTs and ships

would carefully come up to a dock and maneuver to proper position for gangways to be put aboard, the double-ender typically enters a fitted slip, much like putting a key in a keyhole, then tries to adjust speed and direction to meet the transfer bridge gently and avoid serious collision with the dolphins or racks. The latter are designed and constructed to absorb such collisions and to guide the vessel into position when wind or tide make the landing difficult. Still, the maintenance costs are often substantial.sidewheel ferries (and steamers)

could reverse the wheels and seemingly stop on a dime. With propeller-driven boats, the possibilities were less precise, depending on the power available. Most old steam ferries of this sort had a single engine amidships, integrated with a shaft running the full length of the hull,

mounting a propeller at each end, with the two operating in unison. The early direct-drive diesel vessels were powered in a similar way. (Champlain’s original large Fairbanks-Morse engine had that single-shaft arrangement.) Since the forward propeller had the most effect when reversed to slow or stop the vessel, it needed the most power, but there was no way to adjust the power. Diesel-electric power offered the means to adjust the relative power to the two screws, giving most power to the after prop while underway, and transferring that greater power to the forward one when entering the ferry slip. That was one of the reasons diesel-electric power became popular for double-enders in the 20th century and remains so today.The bursT of waTer from the reversing

forward propeller has been a fascination for me since childhood. From older ferries in eastern cities to the present

behemoths of Washington State and British Columbia, it provides an exciting moment as the bow wave builds and extends into the slip. It also provides a moment which is of maximum interest for photographs and videos of such ferries.i MighT add that the term “crash”

is highly appropriate considering the history of dock collisions. In Seattle the memory of the remarkable Kalakala a) Peralta (which operated on Puget Sound as a single-ender) is punctuated by her reputation for hitting and disabling ferry docks when her big diesel failed to reverse. in the 1980s there were

similar problems with the original digital controls of Washington State’s present Issaquah-class ferries.

n Write Barry eager at Box 87, Berlin, MA 01503 or [email protected]

Heard on the Fantailby Barry Eager

n M/V Champlain a) City of Hampton arriving at Burlington, Vermont, on August 20, 1997. The ferry was built at Baltimore, Maryland, in 1930 for service across Hampton Roads in Virginia. – Barry Eager photo.

n Ferry issaquah starts to throw her bow wave as she enters a slip at Vashon Island, Washington, on August 17, 2017. – Barry Eager photo.

The Controlled Crash


Back in PrehisToric days – before sshsa MoVed To its new headquarters in 2015 – i used to rummage through dusty filing cabinets filled with crumbling

newspaper clippings. It seemed that no amateur ship historian could resist clipping out ship-related articles. They dumped them into drawers and years later the piles, no, mountains, of clippings somehow ended up with SSHSA. Sorting through the mess was a job we didn’t have the heart to pass on to even the most enthusiastic intern.so iMagine The sTaff’s lack of glee when 200 scrapbooks

filled with ship clippings emerged from long-term storage. that is, until a beautifully-typed index appeared, covering the first 100 books from 1917 to 1951. Eureka! Thousands of news stories were carefully indexed by ship and book number. Who was this dutiful compiler?his naMe was John lochhead, a longtime SSHSA member

who passed away in 1990 at age 82. He grew up in winthrop, Massachusetts, and often hung out at a neighbor’s house where the captains of Cunard and Leyland Line ships would congregate while in Boston. It was the sinking of the Lusitania in 1915, when Lochhead was seven, that started his lifelong clipping obsession. his dedicaTion inTensified as an adult, so much so that his

mother saved for him newspapers from 1941 to 1946 while he was away in the Navy. Before the war he was purser onboard Eastern Steamship liners. Afterwards he was head librarian at The Mariners’ Museum in Newport News.

lochhead coMPiled his index in 1951. He must have realized the historic value of his clipping books, since he wrote an introduction intended to be read by us, the future generations of ship lovers. “Many iMPorTanT nauTical eVenTs of the period may be found

within the pages of these books,” he wrote. “more highly prized by the compiler are minor incidents which maritime histories will probably never record, such as the item about the battleship Wyoming serving as a mail boat between Boston and New York when the famous hurricane disrupted all communications between the two ports; or the SOS sent out by the collier Winding Gulf when one of her crew swallowed his bridgework. A Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, preacher complained in 1947 that the Sunday evening departure of the Boston boat was proving more of an attraction to his congregation than his sermons. These are minor incidents, to be sure, but someday these and similar items will provide a little warmth, humor and interesting detail to nautical accounts which often get bogged down in dimensions, dates and dispositions.”lochhead conTinued,

“This compiler hopes that the Index and the Scrapbooks will prove of help to many, but he trusts that when they describe significant events in maritime history, they will not forget the incident of the Yarmouth preacher and the Boston boat.”froM 1951 onward

Lochhead indexed his scrapbooks on cards rather than typing up a journal. Those index cards have not reemerged from storage, but when they do, Lochhead’s last 100 scrapbooks will have the Rosetta Stone needed to unlock their major news and warm, humorous details.

n Write Don leavitt at Nautiques, 255 Pleasant St., South Ryegate, VT 05069 or [email protected]

From the Collection by Don Leavitt

Mr. Lochhead’s Rosetta Stone

n A small sample of the meticulously, clipped, pasted, and indexed collection of 200 scrapbooks.

An Exclusive MemberCategory from SSHSA

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.

Among the many benefits...• Council of American Maritime Museums

Cards for complimentary admission to 80 maritime museums

• Recognition as a member of Captains’ Circle in SSHSA’s e-newsletter, The Telegraph, and in PowerShips magazine

• Invitations to Captains’ Circle events

• Specially selected archival quality maritime prints from SSHSA’s Image Porthole

Call SSHSA for more information at (401) 463-3570 or visit www.sshsa.org

commodore Mr. Charles T. AndrewsMr. Preston B. BakerMr. Odd A. BrevikMr. Alexander D. CraryMr. John J. Crowley, Jr.Mr. Donald DeckebachMr. William W. DonnellMr. Barry W. EagerMr. and Mrs. Donald W. EberleMr. and Mrs. William EdwardsMr. and Mrs. Arthur J. FergusonMr. Robert J. GoldenMr. John B. HenryMr. and Mrs. Robert E. HughesMr. Scott G. HustonMr. Neil E. JonesMr. Murray KilgourMr. Nicholas LanghartMr. Don LeavittMr. Ralph S. McCreaMr. William M. McLin & Mr. Samuel J. McKeonCAPT and Mrs. James J. McNamaraDr. Laurence Miller

Mr. Richard MullerMr. Paul J. O'PeckoMr. Richard PalmerCAPT & Mrs. Roland R. ParentMs. Mary L. PayneCAPT Dave PickeringMr. David L. Powers, Jr.Mr. Richard RabbettMr. Thomas C. RaganMr. Thomas ReedMr. Harry E. RichterMr. and Mrs. James W. ShuttleworthMr. and Mrs. Stephen SmithCAPT Cesare SorioMr. Kent StrobelCAPT Eric TakakjianMr. Douglas A. TildenCAPT and Mrs. Terry Tilton, USN (Ret.)Mr. G. Thomas TranterMr. Terence TurnerCAPT Robert F. Wasson, Jr.Mr. Peregrine WhiteMr. Eric Wiberg

marinerMr. James Alexandre

Mr. Jim Antonisse

Mr. Richard L. Barwis, IV

Mr. Jerome Batchelor

Mr. and Mrs. Vincent Bellafiore

Mr. and Mrs. Charles D. Bieser

Mr. Ted Blank

Mr. Gus Bourneuf

Mr. H. Peirce Brawner

Mr. Robert Brown

Mr. J.O. Busto

Mr. David B. Butler

Mr. and Mrs. Donald Caldera

Dr. George Callard

Mr. John Cameron, Jr.

Mr. Gabriel Caprio

CAPT Gerard P. Carroll

Mr. Jerry Cesak

Mr. Charles W. Clarke

CDR Andrew O. Coggins, Jr.,

USN (Ret.)

Mr. David Corry

CAPT John M. Cox

Mr. Ian Danic

Mr. Andres Duarte Vivas

Mr. Michael Dugan

Mr. Andrew W. Edmonds

Mr. Andrew Edmonds

Mr. Jonathan Ely

Mr. Elmer Engman

Mr. Bruce Estell

Mr. Robert Foley

Mr. Raymond H. Fredette

Mr. Mark Gathings

Mr. John F. Gibson, III

Mr. Albert Gilder

Mr. Roger Gill

Mr. Larry Glenwright

Mr. Paul S. Gravenhorst

Mr. Robert A. Haslun

Mr. Albert R. Hinckley, Jr.

Mr. Cyrus Hosmer III

Mr. John C. Hover II

Mr. Harold Kaplan

Mr. Timothy J. Kelly

Mr. and Mrs. Ross Langill

Mr. Stephen Lash

Mr. Thomas Lavin

Mr. Matthew Lawrence

CAPT David Leech

Mr. H.F. Lenfest

Mr. Reginald Lewington

Ms. Susan Linda

Mr. Adrian Loughborough

Mr. Joe MacArthur

Dr. Mark P. Macina

Mr. Jeff MacKlin

Mr. Gary Maehl

Mr. John Mahoney

The Rev. Armand Mantia

CAPT Brian McAllister

Mr. David L. McColloch

Mr. Daniel L. McCoy

Mr. Walter Lynn McLaughlin

CAPT Ronald J. Meiczinger

Mr. Harry Meyer

Mr. Charles A. Miller, III

Mr. Charles W. Moorman

Mrs. Harry Morgan

Mr. William G. Muller

Dr. and Mrs. William P. Murphy

Mr. Bruce Nickerson

Mr. Brian L. Norden

Mr. Kevin O'Donnell

Oregon Maritime Museum

Mr. Patrick D. Ortego

Mr. Ronald Oswald

Mr. Art Peabody

Mr. Richard G. Pelley

Mr. Mark B. Perry

Mr. W. Bruce Redpath

Mr. William S. Reid

Mr. William M. Rosen

Mr. Bruce Rowe

Dr. Victor H. Rubino

Mr. Daniel J. Santilles

Mr. John L. Schiavone

Mr. and Mrs. Matthew S. Schulte

Mr. John W. Schumann

Mr. Bruce C. Seibel

Mr. Walter A. Shields

Mr. Howard Smart

Mr. Britton Smith

Mr. Mark Snider

Mr. John S.W. Spofford

Mr. Alan Stover

Mr. Richard Vanaria

Mr. Stephen Weaver

commanderMr. Joseph Bains

The Rev. James Brandmueller

Mr. Stanley J. Ciaputa

Mr. William D. Comings, Jr.

Mr. Patrick Dacey

CAPT Robertson Dinsmore

Mr. Steven Draper

Mr. Francis Galasso

CDR Michael Greene, USN (Ret.)

Mr. and Mrs. Glenn P. Hayes

Mr. Francis Lazar

CAPT Leif Lindstrom

Mr. Laurence P. MacDonald

CAPT Warren McDonald, US-

CGR, (Ret.)

Mr. Carl R. Nold

Mr. Donald Pomplun

Mr. Roy C. Rose

Mr. Paul Shepard

Mr. Shapleigh Smith

Mr. Donn R. Spear

Mr. Alexander Swavy

CAPT John S. Tucker

Captains’ Circle Members as of December 22, 2017

Aboard the Liberty Ship

JOHn W. BrOWn E

xpEriEncE 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.

this exciting 6 hour day cruise includes 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.

Last day to order tickets is 14 days before the cruise. Conditions and penalties apply to cancellations.

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

H order your tickets online at: www.ssjohnwbrown.org

H for information call: 410-558-0164

Visit www.ssjohnwbrown.org for special pricing, group rates, gift certificates and more.

2018 Cruises from Baltimore on

the Chesapeake

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Saturday, June 9

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Saturday, September 1