Malcolm Mclean News

The SL7EXPO project, which aims to preserve one of the groundbreaking SL-7 Sea-Land Container ships as a maritime exposition center in support of the SHIPS for America Act, has received seed funding from the Society of Marine Port Engineers.Originally built by containerization innovator, Malcolm McLean, as 33 knot container ships, the eight SL-7 class ships were converted into Fast Sealift Ships by the US Government in the early 1980s. Their conversion into Roll on/Roll off vessels…

The SL7EXPO project, which aims to preserve one of the groundbreaking SL-7 Sea-Land Container ships as a commercial maritime exposition center in support of the SHIPS for America Act, has received seed funding from the Society of Marine Port Engineers.Originally built by containerization innovator Malcolm McLean as 33 knot container ships, the eight SL-7 class ships were converted into Fast Sealift Ships by the US Government in the early 1980’s.Their conversion into Roll on/Roll…

I have raised the subject of SL-7’s as museum ships before in a cursory fashion, but lunch with John Riddle, a retired Sea-Lander, convinced us that it deserves a bit more consideration.Based on prior columns it should be clear I am extremely cagey about museum ships. Ships are significant historic object, but due to their size they are often impossible to maintain as historical objects. Moreover, we maritime types tend to become sentimental about historic vessels and then discover…

Take a look around you.Perhaps you’re snacking on a banana, sipping some coffee or sitting in front of your computer and taking a break from work to read this article. Most likely, those goods—as well as your smartphone, refrigerator and virtually every other object in your home—were once loaded onto a large container in another country and traveled thousands of miles via ships crossing the ocean before ultimately arriving at your doorstep.Today, an estimated 90% of the world’s goods are transported by sea…

On October 31st, 2019, George A. (Sandy) Thomson, the founder of Thordon Bearings and a pioneer in the development of advanced polymer materials, was presented with the 2019 Elmer A. Sperry Award in recognition of “leading the innovation in water-lubricated propeller shaft bearings” in marine transportation through the use of polymeric compounds.The award was presented to Mr. Thomson at the SNAME Maritime Convention, in Tacoma, USA, by the Chairman of the Board of the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST), Mr.

Global Container Terminals (GCT) has announced the retirement of James J. Devine, President & CEO of GCT USA, at the end of June, 2014. Devine’s retirement brings a distinguished 13-year tenure with GCT to a close, where he was instrumental in revitalizing the US operations. “Jim is an exceptional leader who has capably navigated the company through challenging market conditions. GCT’s success is a testament to his tireless work and vision,” said Stephen Edwards, President and Chief Executive Officer of GCT Global Container Terminals Inc. “We are grateful for innumerable contributions.” In the coming years, Devine will serve as a senior advisor to continue supporting the strategic growth of GCT USA.

The History of Containerization Foundation, in cooperation with the Containerization & Intermodal Institute and the Smithsonian Institution, will host the official Gala Celebration marking the 50th anniversary of containerization on April 27 in Washington, DC. On April 26, 1956, the converted tanker IDEAL-X departed Newark, New Jersey en route Houston, Texas carrying 58 aluminum truck bodies in frames installed atop its deck. Malcolm McLean, a former truck company owner, had determined that goods could be shipped less expensively if they were first loaded into standardized containers that could be loaded on ships, trucks, or trains. The rest, as they say, is history.

Faster and cheaper and more efficient. Nearly everyone agrees that the rapid change from break-bulk cargo handling to the containership has been revolutionary. It is perhaps the most startling development since the shift from sail to steam. In the world of shipping, the change has been so profound that we can readily refer to it as paradigm shift. How do we explain the change? Professional historians are often reluctant to attribute major cultural changes to a single individual. Many factors, large and small, play into the making of any major change so that historians typically try to avoid "the great man" explanation. For example, the American Merchant Seamen's Manual (Sixth Edition,) edited by William B.