SS Fort Mercer

SS Fort Mercer was a Type T2-SE-A1 tanker built by Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., at Chester, Pennsylvania in October 1945.[1]

Loss

On February 18, 1952, the Fort Mercer broke in two in a gale, 30 miles east of Chatham, Massachusetts.[1] On the same day the SS Pendleton, also a T2 tanker, broke up about 20 miles away. Daring rescues by the United States Coast Guard were carried out for both the bow and stern sections of the Mercer as well as of the Pendleton stern, (the Pendleton bow sunk before any rescue could be mounted). Only five members of the Mercer crew were lost, all from the bow.[2][3]

The stern of the Mercer, which remained afloat, was towed to Newport RI, outfitted with a new bow and rechristened the San Jacinto. 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 in 1983.[1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Visser, Auke. "Fort Mercer". Auke Visser's Famous T - Tankers Pages. Auke Visser. Retrieved September 30, 2014.
  2. ↑ The Finest Hours : The True Story of the U.S. Coast Guard's Most Daring Sea Rescue, Mike J. Tougias and Casey Sherman, 2009
  3. ↑ "Pendleton Rescue". United States Coast Guard. Retrieved September 30, 2014. (The story of the Pendleton's loss and rescue of surviving crewmen is told in the 2016 film, The Finest Hours.)

Coordinates: 39°50′53″N 75°21′04″W / 39.84813°N 75.35104°W / 39.84813; -75.35104


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