MS ''Transpet'' was a tanker of

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

nian registry. Laid down as MV ''Avoca'' and acquired by the

Maritime Commission The United States Maritime Commission (MARCOM) was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, which was passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and was abolished on May 24, 195 ...

(MARCOM) on a loan charter basis and renamed USS ''Petaluma'' (AOG-69), she was to be a type T1 built for the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. She was named after the

Petaluma River The Petaluma River is a river in the California counties of Sonoma and Marin that becomes a tidal slough for most of its length. The headwaters are in the area southwest of Cotati. The flow is generally southward through Petaluma's old town, ...

, in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. ''Petaluma'' (AOG-69) was never commissioned into the US Navy.

Construction

''Petaluma'' (AOG-69) was laid down on 14 February 1945, under a

(MARCOM) contract, MC hull 2629, by the

St. Johns River Shipbuilding Company The St. Johns River Shipbuilding Company was created in Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville, Florida during World War II to build Liberty ships. Company history The company was established by local shipbuilder and repairer Merrill-Stevens Drydock ...

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

, Florida; acquisition by the

was cancelled 26 August 1945. ''Petaluma'' was launched on 5 May 1945, and was about 85% complete when, due to the end of World War II, the ship's US Navy reassignment was canceled. Although initially restored to her original name of ''Avoca'' by her original owners, the unfinished ship was completed by the

Maryland Drydock Company The Maryland Drydock Company was a shipbuilding company that operated in Baltimore, Maryland during the 20th century. The company started life in 1920 as the Globe Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company of Maryland. Its president at this time was B. C ...

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, in October 1947, and sold to the National Petroleum Transport Corporation where she was renamed ''Transpet''.

Career

From 1947 until 1951, ''Transpet'' flew the US flag. In 1951 ''Transpet'' was registered under the

nian flag and placed under the operation of D.K. Ludwig of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

for the British-American Oil Company. On 29 October 1951, the tanker departed

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

for Halifax, loaded with of gasoline and kerosene. The following day, the ship suffered an explosion in the engine room while in the

Gulf of St. Lawrence The Gulf of St. Lawrence () is the outlet of the North American Great Lakes via the St. Lawrence River into the Atlantic Ocean. The gulf is a semi-enclosed sea, covering an area of about and containing about of water, at an average depth of . ...

. Two seamen were killed in the blast; the other eighteen members of the crew abandoned the sinking ship and were rescued by the British ship ''Ottinge'' and landed at

North Sydney, Nova Scotia North Sydney (Scottish Gaelic: ''Suidni A Tuath'' or ''Am Bàr'') is a former town and current community in Nova Scotia's Cape Breton Regional Municipality. Located on the north side of Sydney Harbour, along the eastern coast of Cape Breto ...

. In May 1954, the Minneapolis-Honeywell Regulator Company announced that its "sea scanar" device had located the wreck of ''Transpet'' at a depth of about off

Miscou Island Miscou Island (french: Île Miscou) is a Canadian island in the Gulf of St. Lawrence at the northeastern tip of Gloucester County, New Brunswick. It is separated from neighbouring Lamèque Island to the southwest by the Miscou Channel with both ...

. It was the first time the "sea scanar", which had been in use as a

fish finder Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of liv ...

off the

West Coast of the United States The West Coast of the United States, also known as the Pacific Coast, Pacific states, and the western seaboard, is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. The term typically refers to the contiguous U.S ...

, had been used in a salvage operation and the first wreck located using it.

References

Bibliography

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Transpet Type T1-M-BT1 tankers Klickitat-class gasoline tankers Ships built in Jacksonville, Florida Ships built in Baltimore 1945 ships Merchant ships of the United States Merchant ships of Panama Shipwrecks in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence Shipwrecks of the New Brunswick coast Maritime incidents in 1951