As a professional photographer who frequently photograp hs abandoned spaces and industrial structures, I had always been tempted by the rows of ships in view from shore. When news spread that the fleet might fin a lly be towed out for scrapping, several close friends and I m ade pla ns to get aboard. Over a twoyear period, we gained unprecedented access to the decaying ships, spending several days at a time photograph ing, documenting, and even sleeping aboard them. The ships are off limits to the public, and a security detail maintains watch over an area within 500 feet of the ships. With time running out, we set to work planning the expedition: monitoring radio traffic, studying satellite images of the bay, tidal marshes and ships at anchor, and o bserving the 24-hour security patrols. Eventually we ventured out in an inflatable raft under the cover of darkness, carrying with us cameras and overnight gear. After discovering that access to many of the ships and their interior spaces was not as difficult as we h ad anticipated, we spent entire weekends out there, each time on a different row. Because the ships are tethered closely together within rows-most accessible from one to another by gangplanks-we had enough to keep us occupied for as much time as we could dedicate to the task.
A key rack remains as it was last used aboard SS Bay (ex-Export Bay). The 471-foot SS Export Bay was launched in April of 1961 by the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company ofSan Diego. She was a break-bulk cargo ship for the American Export Lines (AEL) of New York. In 1965 the Export Bay participated in Operation Steel Pike, an international landing exercise on the Spanish coast, and in 1977 the ship was employed in AEL's Far East service. The transition to containerization made break-bulk cargo ships obsolete, but some, like Export Bay, found work transporting military cargo and they were thus acquired by MARAD for the NDRF in 1977. She arrived at Suisun Bay in 1984.
Full Moon Rising-SS Essa Gettysburg and G Row SS Esso Gettysburg was a Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company-built tanker, launched in Newport News, Virginia, in 1956 The ship transported crude oil and refined petroleum p roducts between Gulf Coast ports and the Eastern Seaboard. In 1973, the ship's name was changed to SS Exxo n Gettysburg when the Esso Oil Company became Exxon. The ship was retired a few days before her 30th birthday and entered the NDRF in 1986 The ship was removed from Suisun Bay in May of2010 for disposal.
SEA HISTORY 136, AUTUMN 2011
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