that have been identified as histori cally significant, representin g a range of use (military, commercial, recreational), and whose futures are uncertain . The p hotographs will then be printed on large sheets of aluminum and tour as a traveling exhibit to raise awa reness of U S maritime history and the need to preserve examples of some of America's unique and fin est ships. An acco mpanying calendar and coffee- table book are also in the works. So far Van H emmen has photographed USS Olymp ia, SS United States, SS Columbia, SS Milwaukee Clipper, N S Savannah, and other ships in the northeast and the Great Lakes . Upcoming trips will cover ships along the W es t C oast, the G ulf Coast, and the southern states; the proj ect should be completed by next summer. Van H emmen , a lifelong sailor and professional pho tographer, came to the project in early 2 01 2 when he spotted SS United States at her slip on the Delaware River in Philadelphia. H e then read an article in Sea H isto ry about USS Olymp ia's uncertain fut u re. These chance happenings, co upled w ith a lifelong interest in ships and the sea, inspired the proj ect. H e comes from a family of Dutch seafarers, including a grandfather who sailed as a chief engineer for the Orange Line in the 1950s from Europe to the Great Lakes, and a father who was a ship's engineer and superintendent of ships for the Holland America Line. Van H emmen spent 25 years as a photographer and editor in the newspaper industry where he conceived of and edited the photographic proj ect that won the first Pulitzer Prize for the Star-L edger of Newark, NJ , in 2001 . H e left the newspaper industry in 200 8 to pursue maritime and nautical photography. Van H emmen says the ships he ph otographs vary in condition from poor to excellent. "Even underneath rhe rust, the rot, the oi l stains and rhe multiple layers of paint, yo u can still see the beauty," says Van H emmen. ''As a newspaperman, I always so ught to show the truth, and som etimes rhe truth can hurt. I wa nt people ro see rhese ships, even in their current condition, and realize . that rhere is something here wo rth preserving. It may not save every one of those ships, bur hopefull y it will help save some of them , and at a minimum it should raise SEA HISTORY 141 , WINTER 201 2- 13
awareness that we should do more to save orher historical and worthy ships in the future." C urren tly the project is self-fi nanced, and Van H emmen is still seeking sugges tions for which ships to photograph; sugges tions can be sent to pimvanhemmen@me.com. H e hopes to raise funds fo r the project through a Kickstarter campaign (see: www.kickstarter. com), and he is currently loo king for a grant or corporate sponsorship as well. (Photos of the ships are posted on Van H emmen's website, www.h 2ophoto. co/) ... On 2 1 August, US Transport ation Secretary R ay LaHood announced that the M aritime Adm inistration has secured a n ew training vessel fo r the US Merch ant Marine Acad emy (USMMA) in Kings Point, New York. In an agreement with NASA, USMMA will receive a space
MVLiberty Star
·,
sh uttle solid rocket booster recovery sh ip, MV Liberty Star, in which m idshipmen can train using modern navigational tech nology, including dynamic positioning and advanced towing techniques . MARAD will relocate the vessel from Cape Canaveral, FL, to Kings Point this fall. Like all other MARAD reserve ships, the Academy training ship will remain on
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