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Liberty Ship News

19 Sep 2023

SECNAV Names Ship After Harriet Tubman

Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) Carlos Del Toro today named a U.S. Navy ship after American abolitionist and social activist Harriet Tubman, Sept. 17. The future USNS Harriet Tubman (T-AO 213) follows the tradition of naming John Lewis-class oilers after civil rights leaders. Secretary Del Toro made the announcement during an Emancipation Celebration at the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center in Church Creek, Md. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Omar Powe

Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) Carlos Del Toro announced that a future John Lewis-class oiler, T-AO 205-class, will be named after American abolitionist and social activist Harriet Tubman.SECNAV Del Toro made the announcement during an Emancipation Celebration at Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center in Church Creek, Md. National Park Service Director Chuck Sams, who is also a U.S. Navy veteran, joined Secretary Del Toro for the announcement at the park.The future…

23 Dec 2022

Founded in 1806, SSH Continues Serving Retired Merchant Mariners

Stained glass at SSH’s former facility in Staten Island. Credit SSH.

The Sailors’ Snug Harbor (SSH) is a charity based out of New York that provides assistance to retired merchant mariners. In 2022, SSH helped more than 400 mariners in 33 states and Puerto Rico. SSH helps mariners live more comfortably by assisting them with their living expenses such as rent, mortgages, and utilities. SSH also helps them find other assistance and local services. In recent years, SSH has expanded its eligibility criteria to include inland mariners as well as deep sea mariners.SSH was incorporated in 1806 as the result of a bequest made by Captain Robert Richard Randall.

05 Dec 2022

Coast Guard Monitoring Oil Discharge from Scuttled Liberty Ship

A seasonal oil sheen on Aug. 29, 2022, near Destin, Fla. Coast Guard and Florida Department of Environmental Protection have been monitoring periodic oil discharge from Liberty Ship Thomas Heyward. (Photo: Joshua Ronkowski / U.S. Coast Guard)

The U.S. Coast Guard and Florida’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) are monitoring periodic discharges of oil from the Liberty Ship Thomas Heyward, a World War II era vessel sunk in 1977 to serve as an artificial reef approximately six miles southwest of Destin, Fla.Following Hurricane Sally in September 2020, the National Response Center (NRC) began receiving reports of pollution in the vicinity of the artificial reef. Coast Guard personnel conducted preliminary investigations…

14 Feb 2022

Floating Power Plants: Is Nuclear the Key in the Net-zero Energy Transition?

Image courtesy NuScale Power, LLC

Floating nuclear power plants (FNPPs) may not immediately spring to mind as providing a solution to several of today’s key global challenges – but FNPP development is emerging as a means of decentralized stand-alone production of cost competitive hydrogen-based fuels and clean electricity and water, according to a new report by Intelatus Global Partners.The commercial case for deployment of FNPPs featuring small modular reactors is founded in the growing demand for hydrogen and…

09 Dec 2020

Great Ships and The Ship Designer’s Curse

USS Iowa (BB-61) Fires a full broadside of nine 16/50 and six 5/38 guns during a target exercise near Vieques Island, Puerto Rico, 1 July 1984. Photographed by PHAN J. Alan Elliott. Note concussion effects on the water surface, and 16-inch gun barrels in varying degrees of recoil. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the the Department of Defense Still Media Collection.

For the Design issue Greg Trauthwein asked me to write about a favorite ship design. I have no favorite ship design, or should say there are simply too many that are truly worthy of mention. But when considering favorite designs, ship designers (and builders) do carry a strange curse. Unique among engineers (and artists, architects, and industrial designers) their creations only live for about 30 years. With very few exceptions, in their own life time, ship designers get to see the disassembly of most of their creations. I am not aware of any other creations that are so readily tossed aside.

10 Aug 2020

Surveyors Map Sunken Liberty Ship off Texas Coast

(Image: TDI-Brooks)

U.S.-based marine data acquisition services company TDI-Brooks said it recently mapped the Liberty Ship George Vancouver off Freeport, Texas while out on a seabed survey project with the R/V Brooks McCall. The multiple multi-phase geophysical and geotechnical site surveys program consisted of pipeline routing and subsea structures to facilitate route and project design for offshore developers.Equipment used to map the ship was a Teledyne Reson SeaBat T-20 multibeam sonar with integrated Applanix POSMV for Motion.

02 Jul 2018

BOAM Charity Calls on LIBOR Chancellor for Funding

BOA Veteran Jim Rainsford, Vice Admiral Mike Gretton, and Campaign Chairman Veteran Graeme Cubbin (Photo: Polaris Publishing)

The charity behind a campaign to build a Battle of the Atlantic memorial on Liverpool’s waterfront has urged the government to support the project with money from the LIBOR bank fines fund. The Battle of the Atlantic Memorial (BOAM) campaign began fundraising in January. It hopes to secure $2.9millon to create a monument on Liverpool’s Pier Head, dedicated to the estimated 100,000 people who lost their lives during the World War Two battle, as well as those who served and survived.

21 Feb 2018

#BTC100 History

Photo Courtesy of Bouchard Transportation Co.

Bouchard Transportation Co. launches Liberty Ship S.S. Frederick Bouchard in November 1944. Built in memory of Capt. Fred Bouchard, the vessel is then christened by his wife, Ellen S. Bouchard. #BTC100    The July 2018 edition of Maritime Reporter & Engineering News will feature a special “Bouchard Transportation Co. Celebrates 100 Years” magazine. For more information contact: Greg Trauthwein, [email protected], t. 516-810-7405.

01 Aug 2017

Grooving the Way: Back to the Future

Anything but new, the Victaulic method of pipe-joining has been around for a long time. Armed with myriad type approvals from most IACS groups, Victaulic’s output will no doubt (and soon) form a part of your marine equipment for a long time to come. The conservative and staid domestic waterfront, especially where it intersects boatbuilding and repair, recently set sail for increased efficiencies, driven in part by emerging technologies, but also through improved management and new assembly techniques. It was in 2013 that Boysie Bollinger’s son, Chris Bollinger, then a member of the Bollinger senior management team, proclaimed, “Boatbuilding is evolving into something that will more closely resemble manufacturing…

13 Jul 2017

Grooving the Way: Back to the Future

Anything but new, the Victaulic method of pipe-joining has been around for a long time. Armed with myriad type approvals from most IACS groups, Victaulic’s output will no doubt (and soon) form a part of your marine equipment for a long time to come. The conservative and staid domestic waterfront, especially where it intersects boatbuilding and repair, recently set sail for increased efficiencies, driven in part by emerging technologies, but also through improved management and new assembly techniques. It was in 2013 that Boysie Bollinger’s son, Chris Bollinger, then a member of the Bollinger senior management team, proclaimed, “Boatbuilding is evolving into something that will more closely resemble manufacturing…

10 Mar 2017

National Security Cutter Kimball Christened

Ship’s sponsor Kay Webber Cochran smashes a bottle of sparkling wine against the bow of the Ingalls-built National Security Cutter Kimball (WMSL 756). Also pictured (left to right) are U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Paul Zukunft; Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant; Rep. Steven Palazzo, R-Miss.; Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss.; and Ingalls Shipbuilding President Brian Cuccias. (Photo by Lance Davis/HII)

Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (HII) Ingalls Shipbuilding division christened the seventh Legend-class National Security Cutter, Kimball (WMSL 756), on March 4 in front of approximately 1,000 guests. “We wouldn’t be able to bring this ship to life without the great work that we see here at Huntington Ingalls shipyard,” said U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Paul F. Zukunft, who was the ceremony’s keynote speaker. “I am moved every time I come onto this facility and I see ‘What you do today matters.’ And the reason why it matters so much is that in the year 2060…

22 Sep 2014

WWll Liberty Ship Spills Oil

The Coast Guard and California Department of Fish and Wildlife personnel are investigating a fuel spill that occurred near Pier 45 at Fishman’s Wharf in the San Francisco Bay, from the functioning Liberty Ship 'SS Jeremiah O'Brien'. At approximately 10:56 a.m., Saturday, Coast Guard Sector San Francisco personnel received a report that an undetermined amount of fuel oil was discharged into the water from the SS Jeremiah O’Brien, a fully functional World War II Liberty Ship. Coast Guard Incident Management Division personnel immediately dispatched a pollution response Federal On-scene Coordinator’s Representative (FOSCR) to confirm the report and assess on-scene conditions.

26 Jun 2014

The Rise of Primary and Secondary Maritime Schools

Maritime Academy offers the only elective class in small engine repair which is unique to public school education in Philadelphia (Photo courtesy Maritime Charter High School in Philadelphia).

Education for the next generation, employment for life. A new source of talent emerges for maritime stakeholders everywhere. Primary and secondary maritime schools are sprouting up across the country, inspiring K-12 students to learn about the exciting, yet sometimes obscured domestic waterfront. The goals of these maritime school programs are many and multifaceted, but at the core they motivate and engage students by bringing something new and exciting to the classroom while giving teachers an effective means for capturing the attention of their classes.

25 Jun 2014

WW II Liberty Ship Leak-free after 70 Years

The John W. Brown

To address the sudden need for supplies overseas during World War II, the United States government launched the Emergency Shipbuilding Program in 1941 that resulted in the construction of more than 5,700 cargo ships for the U.S. Maritime Commission. 2,710 of these vessels were of a design that became known as Liberty ships. These vessels were designed as economically and quickly built cargo steamers that formed the backbone of a massive sealift of troops, arms, materiel and ordnance to every theater of the war. Two-thirds of all cargo that left the U.S.

29 Apr 2014

Offshore Energy Timeline:1806-2014

1806  - Spring pole cable drilling developed in US. 1844  - Fluid circulating rotary well drilling patented in England. 1845  - Circulated fluid used to remove drill cuttings for first time. 1860  - Fluid circulation rotary diamond coring drill developed in France. 1869 – T homas Fitch Rowland  patents  a “submarine drilling apparatus,” a fixed, working platform for drilling offshore to a depth of almost 50 feet. The anchored tower had telescoping legs, similar to modern offshore platforms. 1878  - First bulk oil tanker begins operation in the Caspian Sea. 1891  - First ocean-going tanker launched. 1897  - Wells drilled off piers in Summerland, Calif. 1905 – Oil discovered in the Caddo Pine Island field in Lousiana. 1911  -  Gulf Refining Co.

28 Jan 2014

Ugly Ducklings & Steaming the Way to Victory in WWII

The S.S. Patrick Henry was the first of the Emergency Class Liberty  ships to be built and launched. The  famous quote by its namesake helped to give this class of ships its name. (Photo Credit: Library of Congress)

The design and construction of WWII Liberty cargo ships revolutionized shipbuilding by overhauling the blueprint process and standardizing on commonality of parts, welding, pre-fabrication and assembly line construction. Give me Liberty, or give me death!” a rallying cry of the Revolutionary War, got a second act in World War II. “Built by the mile and chopped off by the yard,” Roosevelt promised the no-frills Liberties would form a “bridge of ships” across the Atlantic. And they did. An exaggeration perhaps, but in truth, the Liberty wasn’t much to write home about.

20 Jan 2014

Happy Birthday to Us!

Greg  Trauthwein, Editor & Associate Publisher

This year Maritime Reporter & Engineering News celebrates its 75th Anniversary. Founded by  in 1939, the publication today reigns as the largest audited publication serving the global maritime industry, with a circulation of more than 35,000. While the publication, with its signature size and booming red logo, easily remains our most recognizable brand, unlike 1939 when it was the stand-alone information product of the company, today it is surrounded by a family of four print and more than a dozen online and electronic editorial products that cover everything on the commercial maritime…

02 Dec 2013

Today in U.S. Naval History: December 2

USS Enterprise (CVN-65). U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate Airman Rob Gaston

Today in U.S. 1775 - Congress orders first officers commissions printed. 1908 - Rear Admiral William S. Cowles submits report, prepared by Lt. George C. Sweet, recommending purchase of aircraft suitable for operating from naval ships on scouting and observation mission to Secretary of the Navy. 1944 - Two-day destroyer Battle of Ormoc Bay begins. For more information about naval history, visit the Naval History and Heritage Command website at history.navy.mil.

27 Sep 2013

Today in U.S. Naval History: September 27

SS Patrick Henry (credit: Baltimore Sun)

Today in U.S. 1941 - Launch of first Liberty ship, SS Patrick Henry, in Baltimore, Md. 1942 - Armed Guard on SS Stephen Hopkins engages German auxiliary cruiser Stier and supply ship Tannenfels. Stephen Hopkins and Stier both sink. For more information about naval history, visit the Naval History and Heritage Command website at history.navy.mil.

16 May 2013

Merchant Marine Academy to Honor National Maritime Day

On May 22, 2013 starting at 12:00 p.m., the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy will honor National Maritime Day with a brief ceremony at Barney Square followed by the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) tree dedication in memory of Margaret Corbin, a role model for equality in military service. The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy was the first federal academy to admit women in 1974, two years before any of the other service academies, and actively supports equality in military service. Following the tree dedication, the American Merchant Marine Museum will host a new exhibit from the Seamen’s Church Institute entitled: Sermons to Sea-Land: TheSeamen’s Church Institute of New York and New Jersey, along with items from its own collection.

15 Jan 2013

Industry Icon Ray Holubowicz Dies

Ray Holubowicz, Father of Shipping Containerization and founder of UK based Marine Ventures Ltd.

Ray Holubowicz, Father of Shipping Containerization and founder of UK based Marine Ventures Ltd, Dies at 88. Romuald Paul, better known as "Ray" Holubowicz, a prime mover in the shipping industry's changeover to the use of shipping containers, died on New Year's Day in England. He was 88. A native of Cudahy, Wisconsin, Ray Holubowicz was in the first (1942) graduating class of the United States Merchant Marine Academy (Kings Point, NY). After only a few months' training, he was…

09 Aug 2012

British Naval Vessel Makes First Post-Gaddafi Libya Visit

HMS Echo: Photo credit UK MOD

Survey ship HMS Echo become the first Royal Navy ship to visit Libya since the fall of Colonel Gaddafi. HMS Echo, in the final stages of a 19-month mission to gather ocean data and update nautical charts in waters east of Suez, began her Libya visit with firefighting and damage control demonstrations, tours of the ship, and an extensive look at Echo's impressive hydrographic and oceanographic survey equipment which just a short time before had discovered an underwater 'mountain' the size of Gibraltar in the Red Sea.

28 Nov 2011

Davy Crockett Project Complete

Workers last week removed the final piece of the metal sheet pile cofferdam from the barge Davy Crockett work site on the Columbia River near Camas, Wash. This effectively signals the end of a 10-month effort to prevent a catastrophic release of oil and other hazardous materials from the former Liberty ship. Constructed in April 2011, the 850-linear foot cofferdam and impermeable liner allowed crews to systematically dismantle the derelict barge in the river and keep any pollution generated by the project to be contained and properly handled within.

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