News From Fort Schuyler

October 4, 1998 - Volume 2, No. 46

UPDATE ON TS EMPIRE STATE V - The following information is excerpted, with the permission of the author, courtesy of BARRY MARSH, Class of 1986. Barry writes: "A friend of mine, maritime historian Peter Knego, wrote an article which was published in the Sept. 1998 Ships Monthly magazine. The article tells the history and current condition of the NS SAVANNAH and TS EMPIRE STATE V, both currently at the James River Reserve Fleet in Virginia. The article arose from a May 1998 trip to the Fleet I helped arrange for Peter and other ship enthusiasts. The trip was made specifically to document these two ships, the last major ships designed by noted naval architect George G. Sharp before his death in 1960. (I work for George G. Sharp, Inc.)"

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"NUCLEAR SHIP SAFARI" - Peter Knego reports on visits to the nuclear-powered merchant ship 'Savannah' and the former training ship 'State' - both designed by the naval architect George Sharp

On Friday, 8 May, 1998, along with a small group of ship enthusiasts, I had the opportunity to visit the United States Reserve Fleet in Ft. Eustis, VA to document the only U.S.-built nuclear powered merchant ship, the NS SAVANNAH and the laid up former troop/training ship, the SS STATE.

While both are in their twilight years, the NS SAVANNAH and SS STATE are two surviving examples of naval architect George Sharp's visionary work, which included the blueprints for the World War Two Victory ship class, the converted streamlined Great Lakes ferries MILWAUKEE CLIPPER and AQUARAMA, the first all-fireproof PANAMA passenger ship trio of 1939, the radical and pioneering DELNORTE trio of 1948, and his posthumous Grace Line's SANTA MARIA quartet of 1963/4.

Sharp was born in Birkenhead, England on 10 August 1874, and following his shipbuilding training (which included four years at the Fairfield Yard at Govan, Scotland), moved to America in 1902. After serving as chief draftsman for several noteworthy firms, including the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation in Delaware, he was appointed chief surveyor of the American Bureau of Shipping during World War One. In 1921, he formed George G. Sharp, Inc., his own consulting firm, where he presided as chairman of the board until his death on 26 October, 1960.

On the morning of our visit, the weather was very unstable, but as we approached in the tender, the sun made a weak, brief appearance. Off in the distance, the SAVANNAH, the epitome of "streamline" in ship design, awaited like a beacon, her white hull distinguished from the military gray and black of most of the ships in the vicinity.

The first cluster of ships we passed included the rust-covered WAYNE VICTORY (1945), the AMERICAN VICTORY (1945), and the former Lykes Lines freighters of the C3-S-37C design, CAPE CATOCHE (1962) and CAPE CLEAR (1963). As we passed a second grouping, or "raft", the fading STATE (still bearing her former name, EMPIRE STATE) came into view, tied up next to several former Moore McCormack Line's freighters, a mile or so off SAVANNAH's starboard bow.

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[NFFS Editor deleted section relating to SAVANNAH from this excerpt.]

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Our next visit, the retired STATE, is an earlier example of George Sharp's futuristic streamline design. Commissioned by American President Lines as the first in what ultimately became a trio of ships, she was launched in 1950 as the PRESIDENT JACKSON. The 12,460 gross ton, 533x73 foot liner was designed for luxurious and swift transpacific cargo passenger service, but before she was completed, she was taken over by the U.S. Navy for service as a troop transport and renamed USNS BARRETT (T-AP196), entering service in 1952. Named after Major General Charles Dodson Barrett (who died in the South Pacific in October of 1943 while in command of the 3rd Marine Division), her spacious accommodation was redesigned to carry 1,500 troops in addition to 392 officers and dependents in relatively high standards. Her intended sisters, PRESIDENT ADAMS and PRESIDENT HAYES were completed as the GEIGER (1952) and UPSHUR (1952) respectively.

The BARRETT's two Babcock and Wilcox sectional head water tube boilers fed steam to a geared General Electric turbine engine, producing at 95 RPM's, a shaft horsepower of 12,500. The ship's solid cast bronze, 22 foot diameter screw was capable of driving her at 19-20 knots. In addition to her passenger and troop spaces, she had a cargo capacity of 96,072 cubic feet.

These three ships were unmistakable for their trademark "Sharp" features: semi-circular forward superstructures "crowned" by dummy funnels which meshed into and supported the wheelhouse and its wings, and "goal-post" styled twin funnel uptakes abaft. They were, in many respects, enlarged versions of Delta Line's DEL NORTE trio of 1948, and precursors to the futuristic-looking liners of the late 1950's, such as the BRAZIL and ARGENTINA and, in some respects, the ROTTERDAM.

Employed by the Military Sea Transportation Service (later the Military Sealift Command) mainly in the Pacific, their duties included operations in the Korean and Vietnam Wars.

The GEIGER was laid up at the Maritime Administration's (MARAD) Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet in 1971, but reactivated in 1980 as the BAY STATE for the Massachusetts Maritime Academy.

Following a boiler room explosion and fire, she was returned to MARAD and laid up in the James River in 1983, stripped for parts, and ultimately scrapped in 1986.

The UPSHUR was retired in 1973, and then transferred to the Maine Maritime Academy, becoming the STATE OF MAINE. She served successfully in this role until late 1995, when she was turned over to the U.S. Coast Guard's R&D center in Mobile Alabama, for use as a fire training vessel.

The BARRETT was laid up in 1973, but then reactivated as the training ship EMPIRE STATE V (later EMPIRE STATE) for the State University of New York Maritime College at Ft. Schuyler, NY.

She lasted in this role until 4 April 1990, when she was retired, and returned to MARAD for lay up in the James River, and renamed STATE. Originally, it was intended to loan her to the Coast Guard for Mobile-based fire training duties, but her condition deteriorated, and the freshly-withdrawn STATE OF MAINE was sent in her place. Now slated for disposal, she has occasionally been host to special U.S. army units for strategic training exercises.

Our relatively brief visit began with the ship's exterior areas, which were quite worse for wear. In the eight years since EMPIRE STATE's retirement, the severe weather in Virginia had wreaked havoc on her remaining wood planking and deckhouse surfaces. On her starboard side, the row of neighboring 12 passenger freighters, beginning with the MORMACGLEN of 1961, and MORMACWAVE of 1962 (which were all adjoined by small gangplanks) seemed to be in even greater cosmetic disrepair.

It was particularly sad to see the wheelhouse torn apart, littered with debris, with a smashed in port door and window on the starboard side. From the port wing, there was a striking view of SAVANNAH, framed by an ominous backdrop of charcoal clouds.

From the top of the dummy funnel, the view aft looked over the Sun Deck games area, the black-topped, beige goal post funnels, and her actual king posts, the starboard one sporting the stenciled number "9", and the port "0", from her last season as a training ship in 1990. While rounder and less streamlined than SAVANNAH's dummy funnel superstructure, this area was clearly an earlier version of the same concept. Her long bow and the series of concentric semi-circular layers of her forward superstructure loomed below and forward.

The ship's interiors had always been Spartan, owing to her heritage as a post-war American troop ship, but what remained was largely disheveled from the elements and training exercises. The forward facing Boat, Promenade, and Upper Deck Cabins were most intriguing due to their "pie-slice" layout, conforming to the semi-circular facade of the superstructure. A Lounge and Arcade, and classic glass-enclosed verandas on either side of the Promenade Deck were all that remained of her intended luxurious American President Line's accommodation. Originally, the Lounge was to span two decks in height, much like those of Sharp's PANAMA class of 1939, but the plans were altered when she was restyled for trooping duties.

A quick visit to the focsle at the tip of her long, sheered bow (the end of which was nearly a deck higher than the aft portion) provided satisfying studies of the eye-catching forward superstructure. Following a visit to the barren Passenger Dining Room on A Deck, we raced through a maze of dark corridors back up to the aft starboard Promenade Deck, where we disembarked via a long ladder to the awaiting tender.

Our timing was perfect as the tender swept alongside the STATE and turned about, passing abaft of the neighboring cargo ships. In the distance, the SAVANNAH grew smaller, as the clouds blackened evermore and jagged streaks of lightning crackled behind her. By the time we reached the base, the downpour was in full swing again, having given us the perfect window of opportunity to document these two fascinating "Sharp" ships.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: Kevin Anthoney, Frank Duffy, Brad Grube, Erhard Koehler, The Liners List, Barry Marsh, Fran Olsen

REFERENCES: FIFTY FAMOUS LINERS Volume Three by Frank O. Braynard and William H. Miller, From AMERICA TO UNITED STATES by V.H. Young and L.A. Sawyer, George Sharp, Inc., GREAT PASSENGER SHIPS OF THE WORLD TODAY by Arnold Kludas, MARAD references, author's collection

31 May 1998
copyright Peter Knego
15485 Mallory Court
Moorpark, CA 93021
Phone: 805-529-1905
Fax: 805-529-9433