Final Journey
by Gales Of November
Title
Final Journey
Artist
Gales Of November
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
As World War II raged, the tanker Marquette was launched on October 31, 1942. Built for the U.S. Navy they renamed her the U.S.S. Neshanic before she entered the war in 1943.
In June of 1944 a bomb from a Japanese plane hit her during refueling operations. Her injured crew were treated aboard the U.S.S. Saranac. She was later repaired and decommissioned at the end of 1945.
Gulf Oil Company renamed her Gulfoil when they purchased her in 1947. Eleven years later she collided with another taknker, the Graham, while in Newport, Rhode Island. The collision resulted in the Graham exploding and the Gulfoil suffering serious damage and the loss of most of her crew. The hull was towed to Baltimore where she was lengthened and widened. Moving her pilothouse and forward cabins to the bow completed her conversion to a straight deck bulk carrier.
Pioneer Steamship company purchased her and renamed her the Pioneer Challenger. Under this name, she entered service in July of 1961. She served for one year before being sold to the Columbia Transportation Division of Olgebay Norton in 1962 who renamed her Middletown.
As the steel industry entered a downturn in 1982 Olgebay Norton converted her to a self-unloader. This allowed her to carry a wider variety of cargoes as well as speed unloading times.
In September of 1986 methane gas which had accumulated from her cargo of coal ignited in the boiler room causing an explosion. This resulted in requiring all Great Lakes vessels to monitor the gasses in their cargo holds while carrying coal to prevent a similar incident.
On June 6, 2006 she was sold to American Steamship Company who renamed her American Victory. She sailed for another two years before entering long term layup in 2008. In December of 2017 American Steamship Company sold the ship to Algoma Central Corporation. In March of 2018 it was announced that she would be scrapped. In June of 2018 she began her final journey to Turkey to meet the cutter’s torch.
Her powerful steam turbine allowed her to reach 16mph while fully loaded, making her faster than most ships on the Great Lakes. She had a length of 730 feet and a beam of 75 feet. This allowed her to carry 26,700 tons of cargo.
Here, the tug, Tim McKeil tows the American Victory down the Saint Clair River on her way to the scrap yard
Uploaded
July 1st, 2018
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