Built in 1944 under yard no 407 as a T2-SE-A1 type tank vessel by the Sun Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., at Chester, Panna. U.S. for the Standard Oil Co. New Jersey.
Launched under the name ESSO NEW HAVEN.
Tonnage 10.448 gross, 16.613 dwt, displacement 21.880 tons, dim 159.56 x 20.73 x 11.96m, between p.p. 153.31m., draught 9.19m.
Powered, turbo electric 6.000 shp., maximum 7.240 hp., speed 15 knots.
When built she had 9 loading tanks.
March 1944 completed.
She was the most common variety of the T-2 style tanker, of which 481 were built between 1942 and 1945.
Average time for building was 70 days.
1960 Sold to the Marine Transport Lines, and converted to carry molten sulphur on the yard of Bethlehem Steel Corp’s at Sparrow Point.
This was done by the removal of all transverse bulkheads in way of the original centerline tanks and modification of the internal structure to accommodate one continuous independent tank 306 feet by 30½ feet by a height of 33 feet. This huge tank was divided into for equalized cargo holds, two forward and two aft the bridge structure. Steam heating coils were installed to maintain the temperature of the cargo. Each cargo tank was fitted with a port and a starboard trunk, which extended through the weather deck into a common watertight pump house.
She was renamed MARINE SULPHUR QUEEN, and commenced operations as a bulk molten sulphur carrier in January 1961. Tonnage given as 7.240 gross.
On 8 April, of that year, a major sulphur spill occurred in the No. 1 pump house while discharging cargo. The molten sulphur flowed down through the clearance between the trunk and weather deck onto the insulation of No. 1 tank and into the void space below the tank. In June the solidified sulphur and sulphur-impregnated insulation were removed, and new insulation was installed.
Toward the end of the year, a 12-foot by 1-foot long crack was found in the steel plate, which formed the starboard sump at the after-end of No. 4 tank. And while discharging cargo on 28 December 1961, another spill occurred. Sulphur flowed down from the No. 3 pump house, onto the insulation of the tanks in the after void space and into the lower void. It was not know how much sulphur leaked from the No. 4 crack compared to the leak from the No. 3 pump house. In January 1962, the solidified sulphur and the sulphur-impregnated insulation were again removed, and new insulation installed.
After repair, a very small leak, described as a pinhole weep, was found shortly after the ship left the shipyard. Several methods were used to repair this minor leak, but none was entirely satisfactory. In any event, the molten sulphur which emitted from the leak was confined in a bay approximately 3 by 8 feet, formed by the tank foundation.
Commencing in the late summer of 1962 and continuing until the vessel sailed on her last voyage, molten sulphur leaked from the insulation at the after end of No. 4 tank on each loaded voyage. The amount of sulphur was so great that it was necessary for the crew to remove the solidified sulphur on each return voyage to keep it from plugging the bilge suctions. When the vessel sailed on its last voyage, an estimated 20 to 70 tons of solidified sulphur remained in the bilges at the after end of No. 4 tank. A witness stated that this sulphur was either coming out of the insulation which was not removed during the repairs made in January 1962, or coming from a leaking flange.
Numerous fires had occurred in the sulphur-impregnated insulation in the void spaces. These fires were of a local nature, seldom covering an area of more than a few square feet, and caused little or no apprehension on the part of the crew. They were extinguished with the steam smothering system and fresh water.
In October 1962 these fires occurred with increasing frequency. Witnesses stated that during a voyage in the latter part of December, fires burned almost continuously in the insulation at the after end of No. 4 tank, and at least one fire occurred in the void space of No. 1 tank. Before the last voyage, the cowl type ventilators from the after pump room had been removed and canvas covers installed to reduce the loss of steam from the fixed fire extinguishing system. The power ventilation for the voids was used only in port.
During its operation as a molten sulphur carrier MARINE SULPHUR QUEEN sustained heavy weather damage on two occasions, encountered two hurricanes, and suffered one minor grounding on her 63 voyages between Texas and the U.S. Atlantic coast.
On Feb. 2 1963, she completed loading a full cargo of 15.260 tons of molten sulphur at Beaumont, Texas. The ship departed Sabine Bar Sea buoy at 19.00 under command of Capt. James v. Fanning and a crew of 38 men for Norfolk, Virginia, expecting to arrive at noon, on Feb. 7.
At 01.25 EST, two days later a personnel message from a crewmember was transmitted from the vessel and received by RCA radio. This is the last know radio contact with the vessel. The wind was northerly 25 to 46 knots; northerly seas with a height of about 16 feet, slightly abaft the vessel’s port beam; and the period of encounter of the waves was within about 10 percent of the ship’s period of roll.
At 7 Feb. at 21.00, she was reported as overdue to the Commander, 5th Coast Guard District, Portsmouth, VA.
An intense air and surface search was mounted along the track-line of the ship from Beaumont, Texas, through the Straits of Florida to Norfolk, Va. During the period 8 Feb. till 13th, Coast Guard, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force aircraft participated in 83 flights, flying 500 hours and searching a total of 348.400 square miles. In addition, other federal agencies determined that the vessel was not in Cuban waters. All efforts were without success and the search was discontinued on 13 Feb.
On 20 Feb., a U.S. navy vessel retrieved a life preserver and foghorn stenciled with the MARINE SULPHUR QUEEN’s name 12 miles southwest of Key West, Fla. A second search was commenced, concentrating on the eastern part of the Gulf of Mexico, the Straits of Florida and the Bahamas. The U.S. Navy conducted an underwater search for the vessel’s hulk from 20 Feb. to 13 March. During the search, additional debris was retrieved and identified as coming from the MARINE SULPHUR QUEEN.
On 14 March 1963, after all efforts to locate the ship had failed, the search for the ship and crew of 39, was discontinued.
Maldives 2001 r RF sg?, scott2539
Maldives 1993 25R sgMS 1711, scott 1892
Source: Watercraft Philately 2003 page 97/80.