SS ''Fort Mercer'' was a Type T2-SE-A1 tanker built by Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., at

Chester, Pennsylvania Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located within the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area, it is the only city in Delaware County and had a population of 32,605 as of the 2020 census. Incorporated in 1682, Chester ...

in October 1945. SS ''Fort Mercer'' (hull number 534), was built under a

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, 19 ...

contract and launched on October 2, 1945. With

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

ending on August 15, 1945, ''Fort Mercer'' did not serve in the war. ''Fort Mercer'' was owned and operated by the Trinidad Corporation of New York.

Loss and aftermath

On February 18, 1952, ''Fort Mercer'', full of

kerosene Kerosene, paraffin, or lamp oil is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid which is derived from petroleum. It is widely used as a fuel in aviation as well as households. Its name derives from el, κηρός (''keros'') meaning " wax", and was reg ...

and

fuel oil Fuel oil is any of various fractions obtained from the distillation of petroleum (crude oil). Such oils include distillates (the lighter fractions) and residues (the heavier fractions). Fuel oils include heavy fuel oil, marine fuel oil (MFO), bu ...

, first cracked and then broke in two in a

gale A gale is a strong wind; the word is typically used as a descriptor in nautical contexts. The U.S. National Weather Service defines a gale as sustained surface winds moving at a speed of between 34 and 47 knots (, or ).Chatham, Massachusetts Chatham () is a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. Chatham is located at the southeast tip of Cape Cod and has historically been a fishing community. First settled by the English in 1664, the township was originally called M ...

. Captain Frederick Paetzel radioed out for help, reporting waves were hitting the ship. When she broke in two, nine officers and crew were on the bow section and 34 crewmen were on the stern section, with the radio and engine still working. The

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mu ...

vessels and that were near Nantucket,

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

about away headed to the two ''Fort Mercer'' sections. A Coast Guard PBY aircraft out of

Coast Guard Air Station Salem Coast Guard Air Station Salem was a United States Coast Guard air station located in Salem, Massachusetts from 1935 to 1970. Its area of coverage extended from New York City to the Canada–United States border. Mission The air station's missi ...

was sent to look for the ship, but did not find it. The Coast Guard vessels and , using

liferaft A lifeboat or liferaft is a small, rigid or inflatable boat carried for emergency evacuation in the event of a disaster aboard a ship. Lifeboat drills are required by law on larger commercial ships. Rafts ( liferafts) are also used. In the mi ...

s and

surfboat A surfboat (or surf boat) is an oar-driven boat designed to enter the ocean from the beach in heavy surf or severe waves. It is often used in lifesaving or rescue missions where the most expedient access to victims is directly from the beach. ...

s rescued four men from the bow. Only five members of ''Fort Mercer''s 43 man crew were lost, all trapped in the sinking bow. (The story of ''Pendleton''s loss and rescue of surviving crewmen is told in the 2016 film, ''The Finest Hours''.) The stern of ''Fort Mercer'', which remained afloat, was towed to

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and northeast of New ...

, outfitted with a new bow and rechristened ''San Jacinto''. The new ship was longer and expanded from 26 tanks to 29 tanks. The ship again split in half in 1964 and again was rebuilt, renamed this time ''The Pasadena''. ''The Pasadena'' was partially salvaged and mostly

scrapped Scrap consists of recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap has monetary value, especially recovered me ...

in 1983.coastguardnews.com, Coast Guard commemorates Cutter Eastwind tragedy, Jan 20th, 2016
/ref> In the same storm that broke ''Fort Mercer'' in two, , also a T2 tanker, broke up about away. Daring rescues by the Coast Guard Lifeboat CG 36500 carried out of ''Pendleton''s stern 32 survivors of 33. After grounding, ''Pendleton''s bow was boarded a week later. Of the eight victims stranded on this section, only one frozen body was recovered.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fort Mercer, SS Oilers 1945 ships Type T2-SE-A1 tankers of the United States Navy World War II tankers of the United States Ships built by the Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Company Shipwrecks of the Massachusetts coast Maritime incidents in 1952 World War II merchant ships of the United States Maritime incidents in 1964

Loss and aftermath

See also

References