LETTERS Tramp Steamers in Recent Service enjoyed reading Ian Marshall's article regarding "extinct" tramp steamers (Sea History 129, Winter 2009- 10). While the steam-powered tramp ship may indeed now be extinct, they lasted a little longer than most people think. I was Chief Mate on one, SS Wilson , for about five years, ending in 2004. The Wilson continued to run until mid-2008, when she was scrapped. Her sister ship, SS Cleveland, ran until early 2009. These two ships were steam powered, 'tween deck vessels, very much like those described in Mr. Marshall's article. Called by many "C-5" cargo ships, they were 606-ft.-long, 16,000 GRT, and had two boilers that generated about 24,000 horsepower. Loaded, they could make 18 .5 knots and light up to 2 1 knots-fast for ships of their day. The Wilson was built in 1968 for the American Mail Lines and later worked under the American President Lines and Lykes Lines banners. Sealift, Inc., acq uired her in the mid- l 990s and was very successful running her and her sister, SS Cleveland (acquired by Sealift some years earlier), for a number of years. These vessels each had seven hatches, between one and four 'tween decks, and ten deep ranks-liquid cargo tanks equipped with opening tops to allow dry goods to be carried in them as well. The cargo was all loaded with derrick booms, twenty-four of them in twelve pairs, plus a heavy-lift boom for seventy-ton lifts. All that gear and her decks looked quite imposing to new crewmembers, but everything generally worked well and she could move cargo fairly quickly, even in the most "rustic" of ports arou nd the wo rld. There was even a passenger deck with a lounge and separate card room and library, although as a Sealift vessel we generally did not carry passengers for hire. These two American-flag merchant ships mostly worked the grain trades for the last ten years or so, bringing food aid to various countries, but we would take almost anything to almost anywhere. I very much enjoyed my time on the Wilson, and I often claim it was the best job I ever had. We carried bagged food (rice, beans, flour etc.), bulk grain, vegetable oil in cases or drums, ammunition, construction SEAHISTORY 131, SUMMER2010
We Welcome Your Letters! Write to the editor at editorial@seahistory.org or by mail to: Editor, Sea History, 7 Timberknoll Rd., Pocasset, MA 02559. equipment, military equipment of all kinds, mobile cranes, boats, and even a few modern containers. While the ships often loaded in the US Gulf states, they made their way all around the globe, in ports large and small. Their strength was their flexibility and independence-very
SS W ilson loading, in Lake Charles, LA (2004) . SS C leveland is also loading behind her. But for the cars on the edge of the picture, this could have been taken 40 years ago! (below) SS Wilson on the beach, about to be scrapped (2008).
handy when taking cargo to third-world impoverished countries with little infrastructure one day, and picking up vario us pieces of military equipment the next. That kind of varied cargoes and wide-ranging destinations is unusual these days. The different challenges brought on by our ever-changing circumstances is what most of us loved abo ut the job. The classic lines and old feel of the vessels was the other part we appreciated dai ly. When asked by folks back home what kind of ship I worked on, I often replied "a museum ship." But these ships earned their keep right up to the end. They were only recently sold to scrap, victims of high fuel costs and increasing shipyard bills that made extending their lives an infeasible economic option. Bur to those of us who were lucky enough to have spent time with these two ships, they will be missed and fondly remembered. I don't think there are any others like them left in the wo rld, bur I could be wro ng (many said the same thing until seeing us pull into port). Today I am captain on a general cargo vessel in the same tramp style of trade for the same company-still an interesting job that I love and on a ship I have considerable fondness for. But the lines are not as graceful and the more modern cargo gear is difficult to work with-and there is no steam in the engine! CAPTAI N Emc BECHER Ocean, New Jersey
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