BusTalk

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

traildriver:

VERY impressive ship, to say the least....thanks for posting the link!

Strange you should post a link to a photo of a tanker; how well I recall the horrific disaster involving Texaco's "TEXACO MASSACHUSETTS" in July, 1966.

The tanker had just cast off from the company's Bayonne terminal at the southern end of Newark Bay, enroute to Port Arthur, Texas, and was proceeding south,, about to make a turn into the Kill Van Kull (the tanker had just offloaded a cargo of gasoline at Bayonne)

At the same time, inbound on her way through the Kill Van Kull towards Newark Bay was another tanker, the "ALVA CAPE", carrying over 5 million gallons of naphtha from Pakistan.

At about 2:12 PM, on that sunny, blue-skied June 16, 1966, just west of the Bayonne Bridge, the "TEXACO MASSACHUSETTS" knifed into the "ALVA CAPE".

A tugboat was assisting each tanker; the impact caused a grinding crunch, but nothing more than that.

However, as the two massive, hulking ships moved away from each other after the encounter, the naphtha began spewing out of the "ALVA CAPE's" hull; the skipper of the "TEXACO MASSACHUSETTS" ordered a "full astern" prior to the impact, and the effect of this pulled the tanker away from the 'ALVA CAPE" after the crash.

The naphtha spewed onto the tug "ESSO VERMONT"; this was the tug assisting the "ALVA CAPE"; when the naphtha reached the engine room of the tug, it triggered a serious of explosions, and a a massive fire followed the blasts.

Tragically, thirty-four crewmen lost their lives.

Several FDNY fireboats rushed to the scene, including the "FIRE FIGHTER", which was at the time docked at St. George, undergoing repainting.

In fact, the painters aboard aboard the fireboat were put ashore; the "FIRE FIGHTER" then followed her sisters to the scene of the tragedy at Bayonne.

More to follow.........

"NYO"

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

.........when the massive blaze had finally been brought under control, the "ALVA CAPE" had the appearance of a ship bombarded by enemy dive bombers.

One Bayonne official made this sobering statement:

".....it looked like D-Day. Dozens of bodies were floating in the water, and there were flames shooting up everywhere........"

There was still thousands of gallons of flammable naphtha aboard the badly-damaged "ALVA CAPE"; several days later, she was towed to Gravesend Bay, with an FDNY fireboat on hand.

Once docked, efforts were made to remove the naphtha from the gutted vessel; on Tuesday, June 28th, another series of explosions tore through the ship, killing four more people, and inflicting serious damage to the fireboat "GOVERNOR ALFRED E. SMITH.

Additional fireboats were called to the scene; thankfully, the blaze was brought under control in less than an hour.

The Coast Guard ordered ordered that the gutted ship be taken out to sea and sunk.

Traffic into and out of NY Harbor came to a stop (the VZ Bridge was also closed to motor traffic) while two Moran tugs carefully guided what remained of the stricken tanker out of the harbor.

Some 140 miles east of Cape May, what was left of the ill-fated tanker was shelled and sunk to the bottom, forever to rest within the depths of King Neptune's vast, watery domains.

How much I recall of that tragic day; I was 9 at the time; I well remember hearing the frightening, muffled booming of the explosions, and seeing the thick black smoke to the south, from Mom's kitchen window.

I still remember the number of bulletins on the radio and television, and the many haunting photos in the local papers the next day.

I'll never forget that horrific tragedy, on that sunny, picture-perfect June 16, 1966.....

"NYO"

Source: "AROUND MANHATTAN ISLAND AND OTHER MARITIME TALES OF NEW YORK" (Cudahy)

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See also.............

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loss_of_MV_Alva_Cape

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Further on the 1966 "ALVA CAPE" disaster..........

The FDNY fireboat "FIRE FIGHTER"was awarded the "Gallant Ship" plaque, a federal designation established in 1928 for outstanding action during a marine disaster.

The Maritime Administration also honored the crew of the FDNY fireboat "Governor Alfred E. Smith" for their work during the disaster.

Indeed, bravery beyond the call of duty.......

"NYO"

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Fast-forward now to June 2, 1973..........

On this day, another tragic maritime collision took place in NY Harbor.

"AMERICAN EXPORT's" container ship "SEA WITCH" had sailed at midnight, destination Aruba, with a stopover at Norfolk.

Forty-five minutes later, proceeding outbound through the Narrows, she collided with the tanker "ESSO BRUSSELS", which was riding at anchor.The tanker's hold contained two million cubic feet of Nigerian crude oil.

The two ships were wedged into one T-shaped floating catastrophe; the oil leaking out of the ESSO tanker caught fire.

The first fireboat on the scene was the "FIRE FIGHTER", which had to use her powerful deck monitors at first NOT to extinguish any fire, but to move a free-gloating inferno away from the "ESSO BRUSSELS", so firefighters could see if their were any crewmen in need of rescue.

What the FDNY men found as they worked their way through the blazing waters was a second ship, the "SEA WITCH"; huddled on her fantail were a number of crewmen, trying to escape the flames.

The FDNY fireboat "FIGHTER FIGHTER", as noted previously, would later be awarded the highest honor that any U.S.merchant ship can receive., for taking thirty men off of the "SEA WITCH", in a midst of a sea of flaming oil.

Over 285 containers were lashed to the deck were in flames; this was a fire that would continue for many days.

Once the blaze was extinguished, the gutted container shp was towed to a Staten Island pier for examination.

Five FDNY fireboats valiantly fought this massive waterborne blaze; sadly, the death toll in this disaster was 16 crewmen, between the two involved ships.

Thankfully, no FDNY men were lost...........

"NYO"

Source: "AROUND MANHATTAN ISLAND AND OTHER MARITIME TALES OF NEW YORK" (Cudahy)

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Here's an interesting page with a number of photos (historic and modern) dedicated to the FDNY boats, past, present, and future.

These humble vessels are indeed powerful guardians of the harbor, so often taken for granted..........

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fireboats_of_New_York_City

["FDNY"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

In doing some research, I came across this outstanding page, dedicated to the 1973 "SEA WITCH" disaster; there are many rare historic photos on this page, taken during the massive blaze, as well as the aftermath.

It is especially frightening to see just how close the blaze was to the VZ Bridge.

One very rare photo shows the gutted "ESSO BRUSSELS" at the Hoboken piers, none of which exist today.........

https://americasfireboat.org/finest-hour-collision-cv-sea-witch-ss-esso-brussels/

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Another detailed historical page, with rare "before" and "after" photos of the ill-fated container ship "SEA WITCH", after the tragic collision and fire near the VZ Bridge in 1973.......................

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/maritime-history-notes-burning-of-the-sea-witch

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This page details the tanker "ESSO BRUSSELS", which collided with the container ship "SEA WITCH" in the Narrows, back in 1973.

Another very detailed account of the collision is also given here, as well as what happened to the tanker after the collision, going on to rebuilding and further service.......

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Esso_Brussels

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In 1976, the Liberian oil tanker "SS SANSINENA" was ripped apart by a massive explosion while docked at Los Angeles.

Though the lost of life was less than the two aforementioned New York Harbor incidents (1966 and 1973), it was still tragic.

The ship itself suffered massive damage; windows were shattered for miles around the area........

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Sansinena

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Just last month, a tragic and deadly fire aboard an Italian cargo ship (laden with vehicles and containers) caught fire while docked at Port Newark.

Sadly, two heroic Newark firemen loss their lives, battling this shipboard inferno..........

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/11/nyregion/new-jersey-cargo-ship-fire.html

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This is the Italian company which owned the cargo ship which was gutted by a massive shipboard blaze at Port Newark last month; the company operates both cargo and passenger vessels (see photos and page links, allof interest).........

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grimaldi_Group

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"THE BETELGEUSE INCIDENT"of January, 1979.......

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whiddy_Island_Disaster

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Here's a quite interesting page on the history of oil tankers......

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_oil_tanker

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Building the supertanker "BATILLUS"(excellent collection of construction photos here, in two parts)......

www.aukevisser.nl/supertankers/id316.htm