[Ships of the American Merchant Marine]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

i
SHIPS
of the American Merchant Marine
UNITED STATES MARITIME COMMISSION,
Cargo Vessel Design
MAN has been building water craft since he discovered the buoyancy of wood. Undoubtedly the first voyage was made on a floating log. Several logs lashed together made a raft. A log hollowed out by burning and scraping gained in buoyancy as its weight was reduced. When its ends were rounded off, it became easier to propel and handier under way.
Ships became broader, bigger, and longer in order to carry people and commerce. Some types such as the Viking ships and the clipper ships were noted for their speed and beauty as well as their utility. Naval architecture today is a science as well as an art and is integrated with economics to produce commercial vessels suited to their particular tasks.
This booklet is concerned with the ships of the merchant fleet—those which carry cargo and passengers, apart from those built for war or pleasure. The most familiar sight in any port is the cargo ship. The inboard profile and deck arrangements of a typical cargo vessel are shown here and inside the back cover. Location of cargo holds is shown in relation to the ship’s propulsion machinery, fuel tanks, equipment, and gear.
The loading of a ship is a very precise operation, which affects not only the safety of the vessel at sea, but also the efficiency and economy of handling her cargo from one port to another. General cargo includes thousands of items of different sizes, shapes, and weights. Some may be boxed or crated. Some may be in bags. Some items, like auto-
[Continued on inside of back cover.]
Building a Merchant Fleet
A ship being launched. New ships must be constantly added to keep our fleet modern. 5044
THE MARITIME POLICY of the United States, set forth in the Merchant Marine Act, 1936, provides that the American Merchant Marine shall be composed of “the best-equipped, safest, and most suitable types of vessels” in numbers adequate for the requirements of trade and defense. To this end the Maritime Commission has developed its own and approved other vessel designs suitable for the various trade routes, both foreign and domestic, considered essential to the interests of American ocean commerce.
In 1937, soon after its establishment, the Commission began a long-range shipbuilding program intended to produce 500 ships
at the rate of 50 ships a year. When the World War II emergency arose, that program was doubled and redoubled, until it became an emergency program which produced nearly 6,000 ships in 5 years.
Since the war the Maritime Commission has carried out an intensive effort to dispose of surplus tonnage and restore the American Merchant Marine to a peacetime footing. Vessels of the war-built fleet have been disposed of under the Merchant Ship Sales Act of 1946. Under that authority the Maritime Commission, by June 30, 1949, had sold a total of 1,806 vessels, 693 for American flag operation and 1,113 for foreign flag operation, for a return to the
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Treasury of approximately $1,700,000,000. American operators have bought the best types of vessels available from the war-built fleet, and sales to foreigners were ordered discontinued altogether by Congress as of March 1, 1948. In addition to vessels sold, over 1,900 were preserved in national defense reserve fleets as of June 30, 1949. These laid-up vessels have been available for charter under the Merchant Ship Sales Act of 1946, moving in and out of the reserve fleet as needed for this purpose. Bareboat chartering by the Maritime Commission in the postwar period has ranged from a high of 1,510 vessels on June 30, 1947, to a low of 324 on August 1, 1949, and has brought revenue of approximately $257,500,000 to the Government.
Our national maritime policy declares that the American Merchant Marine shall be privately owned and operated insofar as practicable. Restoration of the Merchant Marine to private ownership and operation was therefore one of the principal objectives of the Maritime Commission in the postwar period. As of July 1, 1949, there were 1,386 vessels in the active American Merchant Marine, and 1,025 of them were privately owned and operated. Three hundred fifty-eight were Government-owned but operated under charter or general agency agreement by private American owners or operators, and 3 were Government-owned and operated in the Panama Canal service.
These 1,386 vessels comprising the active American Merchant Marine totaled 16,-049,000 dead-weight tons, compared to 1,092 vessels of 9,300,000 dead-weight tons in 1939, which were divided between 1,049 privately owned and operated ships and 43 Government-owned vessels.
Although in 1949 we had a bigger fleet than prewar, it was an unbalanced fleet, due
to the fact that during the war there were thousands of cargo ships but no passenger ships built. The 1949 fleet of 1,386 active vessels consisted of 969 cargo ships, 370 tankers, and only 47 passenger’or passengercargo ships. Our 1939 fleet, on the other hand, included 609 cargo ships, 352 tankers, and 131 passenger-carrying vessels.
Long before the Economic Cooperation Administration was authorized, we were helping European nations to rehabilitate their merchant services. Under the Merchant Ship Sales Act of 1946, as already stated, we sold 1,113 war-built ships to foreign buyers. Our purpose was to help them offset their war losses, and when we felt that that purpose had been accomplished, we discontinued sales foreign. Foreign flag fleets have so well recovered and have since gone so far beyond their 1939 levels that by 1949 the United States was already in second place among the maritime nations of the world insofar as active fleets were concerned. The United Kingdom then had an estimated 2,569 vessels in operation compared to our 1,386, and other nations such as Norway, the Netherlands, France, Italy, Sweden, Russia, and Greece were rapidly modernizing their fleets.
Foreign nations were far ahead of the United States in construction of new ships. .Their 1949 fleets were to be augmented by over 1,000 vessels of approximately 7,500,000 gross tons under construction or on order in foreign yards. By comparison, we had in this country on August 1, 1949, a total of only about 55 new oceangoing vessels under construction or on order, and of this total one-fourth were for foreign account.
The most serious defect in the American Merchant Marine is our lack of passenger ships. This situation puts us at a serious
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competitive disadvantage in the international travel field in peacetime, and constitutes a great danger should a national emergency arise, for passenger ships become troop and hospital ships in time of war. After causing studies to be made of this situation, the President in 1948 recommended action to Congress, and Congress responded by making funds and contract authority available to the Maritime Commission for passenger-ship construction.
Under the Merchant Marine Act, 1936, as amended, the United States Maritime Commission is authorized to assist in mer-
chant shipbuilding by providing construction-differential subsidies which compensate operators on essential foreign trade routes for the difference between what it costs to build a vessel in a United States yard and what it would cost their foreign competitors to build the same vessel in a foreign yard. Operators of domestic, tramp, and industrial carriers, who are not eligible for subsidies, may obtain Government mortgages up to 87 */2 percent on the cost of new vessels. The Government will also pay for national defense features in excess of commercial requirements and will accept an
.	6071
A famous American clipper ship, the Donald McKay.
2131
S. S. Savannah, first steamship to cross the Atlantic.
6024
TheS. S.George Washington, German-built in 1908.
6705
Artist’s sketch of a new cargo-passenger ship.
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obsolete vessel as a trade-in on a new ship.
This still leaves a large share of the building costs to be paid by private operators, and as a matter of policy the Government does not provide for building a new ship until a private operator has agreed to purchase it. Steamship companies have cooperated with the Maritime Commission in deciding on the number and type of vessels that they can purchase.
Results have been encouraging. By the spring of 1949 contracts had been signed for the construction of six great new passenger vessels, including the 48,000-ton “superliner,” the S. S. United States, the largest commercial vessel ever projected in this country. The superliner will be owned and operated by the United States Lines and will go a long way toward restoring the American flag to a competitive position in the North Atlantic passenger service. This vessel, about 980 feet long, was designed to carry almost 2,000 passengers and maintain trans-Atlantic schedules equal to the best. As a troopship she will be able to carry more than 12,000 troops at high speed. The vessel’s cost was placed at something over $70,000,000, a substantial portion of which was allocated for extensive national defense features. The contract to build her was awarded to the Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co. shipyard at Newport News, Va., which built the S. S. America. The ship is scheduled for completion in 3 /2 years.
Of the five other passenger-carrying vessels placed under contract for construction, two were large passenger ships, carrying nearly 1,000 passengers each, for the Mediterranean service of American Export Lines. These are being built by the Bethlehem Steel Co. at Quincy, Mass., at a cost of about $23,000,000 each. The other three were combination passenger-cargo ships, carry
ing 225 passengers each, for the round-the-world service of American President Lines. These are being built by the New York Shipbuilding Corp, at Camden, N. J., costing about $10,500,000 each.
The application of the Mississippi Shipping Co., which operates the Delta Line, has been approved for the construction of a new liner for the Gulf to East Coast of South America service. This vessel will carry twice the number of passengers accommodated by each of the three new combination cargo vessels now in that service. Other shipbuilding proposals are in various stages of negotiation between the Maritime Commission and the steamship companies. In addition, the Commission plans to build two “prototype” ships which will serve not only as peacetime cargo carriers but will be readily adaptable to mass-production techniques and for service as naval auxiliaries in time of war.
It is important to the economy of the country, to the Merchant Marine as an industry, and to our national defense that America continue to build ships. The American Merchant Marine cannot compete with foreign flag services unless it is equipped with fast, efficient vessels of the most modern design. Furthermore, these ships must be kept coming off the ways from year to year to replace vessels which become over-age and obsolete. One thing that must be kept in mind as the result of World War II is that most of the ships now in the postwar fleet were built within a 5-year period during the war and will become obsolete within an equal space of time. Unless a replacement program is provided for, we will find ourselves confronted with the necessity of undertaking a huge shipbuilding program to replace ships becoming obsolete as a group. The prototype cargo ship (type
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2961
2066
Skilled seamen and shipyard workers are necessary to the maintenance of a strong Merchant Marine.
C3-S-DX1 ) is expected to be the standard model for replacement of dry cargo vessels in the future.
Shipbuilding is also essential to the maintenance of our shipyard facilities and the skilled and experienced personnel they employ. If shipbuilding should be permitted to decline in this country, our shipyard facilities would be dismantled and our shipbuilding workers would become absorbed into other industries. Then, if an emergency arose, we would lack even the nucleus of facilities and personnel from which to expand into a large building program.
Skilled and semiskilled workers employed in private shipyards on the Atlantic, Gulf, and Pacific coasts and the Great Lakes numbered 74,500 at the beginning of 1949. It has been estimated that approximately 100,000 skilled and semiskilled workers should be employed in the Nation’s private
shipyards to maintain the nucleus of an adequate force in the event of an emergency.
An adequate Merchant Marine also means that adequate seagoing and shoreside personnel will be maintained in peacetime as a force which can be expanded in time of emergency. There were 17,200 officers and 63,800 seamen employed in the American Merchant Marine early in 1949, and an estimated total of 150,000 steamship company shore employees, stevedores, and longshoremen were also employed by the steamship companies.
The principal types of vessels comprising the American Merchant Marine are described and illustrated in the following pages. There are many variations of these basic types and some special types built in small numbers which are not illustrated. The latter, however, are mentioned in the appropriate section.
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Passenger Vessels
PASSENGER VESSELS vary widely in capacity. Any ship carrying over 12 passengers is classified as a passenger or passengercargo ship and is required to meet certain safety and construction standards established for this type of vessel. When a considerable part of the ship’s space and revenue is concerned with cargo, it is called a ‘‘combination” or “passenger-cargo” vessel. Some of these ships may carry over 100 passengers, with many of the comforts and conveniences of the largest passenger liners.
The largest and most luxurious passenger liners may carry up to 2,000 passengers and offer all the facilities of a well-equipped hotel in addition to the pleasures of an ocean
voyage. Passenger vessels show great variation in design and appointments in accordance with the desires of their operators and the requirements of their service. A few of the types available or soon to be available to American travelers are illustrated on the following pages.
Not illustrated is the C4, a large cargo vessel used during the war both for cargo and as a troopship. A number of this type were used after the war as emergency passenger vessels to carry displaced persons and those traveling in the national interest, at a time when the best types of passenger ships were not available to meet the urgent demands.
Sketch of first-class stateroom designed for new round-the-world passenger-cargo liner. 6706
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Model of the U. S. Lines’ trans-Atlantic passenger liner, S.'S. United States.	6701
P6-S4-DS1 [above}
Length over-all—Approximately 980 feet.
Gross tonnage—48,000.
Machinery—steam turbine, quadruple screw.
Speed—undisclosed.
Number of passengers—about 2,000.
Number of crew—about 1,000.
S. S. ’ AMERICA” {below}
Length over-all—723 feet.
Beam—93 feet 3 inches.
Draft—32 feet 6 inches.
Deadweight tonnage—12,683.
Gross tonnage—26,314.
Bale cubic—238,061.
Machinery—Steam turbine.
Service speed—22 knots.
Number of passengers—1,049.
Number of crew—675.
Present queen of the American Merchant Marine, the passenger liner S. S. America. 620
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6708
Artist’s sketch of American Export Lines’ passenger vessel, being built for Mediterranean service.
P3-S2-DL2 {above)
P2-S1-DN1 {below]
Length over-all—683 feet. Beam—89 feet.
Draft—30 feet.
Deadweight tonnage—11,800.
Gross tonnage—21,000.
Bale cubic—178,200.
Machinery—Steam turbine. Service speed—22.5 knots.
Number of passengers—975.
Number of crew—575.
Length over-all—536 feet. Beam—73 feet.
Draft—29 feet 6 inches.
Deadweight tonnage—10,260.
Gross tonnage—13,000.
Bale cubic—415,000.
Machinery—Steam turbine. Service speed—19 knots.
Number of passengers—228.
Number of crew—167.
Artist’s sketch of American President Lines’ new round-the-world cargo-passenger vessel. 6700
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Designed as a troopship, the S. S. President Cleveland was completed as a passenger-cargo vessel. 6703
P2-SE2-R3 {above]
Length over-all—609 feet 5^4 inches.
Beam—75 feet 6 inches.
Draft—30 feet.
Deadweight tonnage—10,431.
Gross tonnage—15,359.
Bale cubic—252,794.
M achinery—T urbo-electric.
Service speed—19 knots.
Number of passengers—550.
Number of crew—338.
C3-S-BR1 {below]
Length over-all—494 feet 7^ inches.
Beam—69 feet 6 inches.
Draft—27 feet 9 inches.
Deadweight tonnage—9,627.
Gross tonnage—9,528.
Bale cubic—457,690.
Machinery—Steam turbine.
Service speed—16.5 knots.
Number of passengers—119.
Number of crew—124.
A postwar cargo-passenger vessel in the service to South America.	6542
843584—50----------2
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Loading cargo. Most of the goods nations exchange with each other are carried in the holds of merchant ships.
Dry Cargo Vessels
VESSELS which carry general cargo and not more than 12, if any, passengers, are the most numerous types in any merchant fleet. They are to be differentiated from special type bulk carriers, which load such cargoes as ore, grain, or sulphur; and tankers, which carry liquid cargoes in bulk. Dry cargo vessels carry a great variety of items, some boxed or crated, some in bags or bundles, which must be carefully handled and stowed. They are operated either as cargo liners, operating on regular routes at regular intervals, or as “tramps” which pick up and drop cargo at different ports on no particular schedule.
Cargo vessels are the backbone of wartime ocean transportation, and the shipbuilding program of World War II was concentrated largely on cargo ships. Most of these were the emergency-type mass-produced Liberty and Victory ships. They
served after the war to carry large quantities of relief and rehabilitation goods, but they are not well suited to competitive peacetime trade.
The Maritime Commission has developed a new cargo ship design which embodies many features suggested by various steamship operators and naval authorities. The first ship of this type will be built as a Government project, with the expectation that a number of steamship companies will participate in building others to follow. This vessel (page 11) is to serve not only as a new standard peacetime cargo ship but as a model for construction in large numbers in the event of another national emergency. In this respect it is a successor to the Liberty and Victory. Another prototype ship is also planned which will be readily adaptable as a naval auxiliary i This design is not shown.
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Drawing of the prototype cargo vessel which it is hoped will be used as a replacement for standard cargo ships as they become obsolete. It is designed to be adaptable to mass production in an emergency and to serve efficiently in time of peace as well. A contract has been let for an experimental model. Another prototype vessel adaptable to service as a naval auxiliary, if necessary, is also being planned.
C3-S-DX1 {above}
Length over-all—477 feet 6 inches.
Beam—66 feet.
Draft—28 feet 6 inches.
Deadweight tonnage—10,500.
Gross tonnage—8,800.
Bale cubic—550,000.
Machinery—Steanj turbine.
Service speed—18.5’knots.
Number of passengers—12.
Number of crew—50.
C3-S-A2 {below]
Length over-all—492 feet.
Beam—69 feet 6 inches.
Draft—28 feet 6 inches.
Deadweight tonnage—12,300.
Gross tonnage—7,900.
Bale cubic—736,140.
Machinery—Steam turbine. Service speed—16.5 knots.
Number of passengers—12.
Number of crew—53.
The standard large cargo vessel, efficient and economical.	2382
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Smaller than the C3, the C2 has proved useful in many services.
2785
C2-S-B1 {above}
Length over-all—459 feet 3 inches.
Beam—63 feet.
Draft—25 feet 9 inches.
Deadweight tonnage—9,200.
Gross tonnage—6,200.
Bale cubic—546,000.
Machinery—Steam turbine.
Service speed—15.5 knots.
Number of passengers—8.
Number of crew—54.
C-1B {below}
Length over-all—417 feet 9 inches.
Beam—60 feet.
Draft—27 feet 6 inches.
Deadweight tonnage—9,100.
Gross tonnage—6,700.
Bale cubic—452,000.
Machinery—Diesel or turbine.
Service speed—14 knots.
Number of passengers—8.
Number of crew—49.
The Cl is the smallest of the standard ocean-type cargo vessels.	987
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3969
The Victory ship, successor to the Liberty ship.
3067
The war-emergency vessel, the famous Liberty ship.
VC2-S-AP3
Length over-all—455 feet 3 inches.
Beam—62 feet.
Draft—28 feet 6 inches.
Deadweight tonnage—10,800.
Gross tonnage—7,600.
Bale cubic—453,210.
Machinery—Steam turbine. Service speed—17 knots.
Number of passengers—None.
Number of crew—52.
EC2-S-C1
Length over-all—441 feet 6 inches.
Beam—58 feet 10^4 inches.
Draft—27 feet 7 inches.
Deadweight tonnage—10,800.
Gross tonnage—7,170.
Bale cubic—500,000.
Machinery—Steam reciprocating < Service speed—11 knots.
Number of passengers—None.
Number of crew—40.
A small coastal cargo vessel. 4836
Another coastal cargo type. 329s
C1-M-AV1
Length over-all—338 feet 6 inches.
Beam—50 feet.
Draft—21 feet.
Deadweight tonnage—5,100.
Gross tonnage—3,800.
Bale cubic—228,000.
Machinery—Diesel.
Service speed—11 knots.
Number of passengers—None.
Number of crew—36.
N3-S-A1
Length over-all—258 feet 9 inches.
Beam—42 feet 1 inch.
Draft—17 feet 11 inches.
Deadweight tonnage—2,900.
Gross tonnage—1,790.
Bale cubic—120,000.
Machinery—Steam reciprocating engine.
Service speed—10 knots.
Number of passengers—None.
Number of crew—36.
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T ankers
TANKER VESSELS are distinctly a product of the oil age. Although designed primarily to carry crude oil and oil in various stages of refinement, they also carry other liquid cargoes such as molasses and vegetable oils. Tanker operation is highly efficient. Thousands of barrels of oil can be pumped into or out of the vessel’s tanks in a few hours.
The tremendous increase in the use of oil in the twentieth century, particularly during the last 20 years, has made the tanker indispensable to modern civilization. This is especially true in the United States, where since World War II there has been an enormous and growing consumption of petroleum products for the operation of automobiles, heating of homes, running of planes and ships, and many other industrial uses.
The American people, especially those living in the eastern part of the country, learned during World War II what the oil tanker means to them in their daily lives. Rationing of heating oil and gasoline was made necessary principally because of the shortage of tankers to transport petroleum
products for civilian use. Tankers were, of course, placed chiefly in the service of the armed forces. During the war the vessels of our naval fleet were fueled principally by tankers of the Cimarron class, in the production of which the Maritime Commission participated. A total of 30 vessels of this design were built and are still in the naval service.
The trend in tankers is toward greater and greater capacity. The Maritime Commission’s T2 type is the present yardstick of world tanker fleets, but it is not so large as the “private .tanker” (page 15) which is now being built without Government aid by a number of private companies. Thought is being given by the Maritime Commission to the production of a number of high-speed tankers because of their potential value as naval auxiliaries.
Several tanker types not shown are the Z-ET1, a Liberty ship adapted as a tanker, the Tl, a coastal tanker, and the T3, a large tanker, of which only a few were constructed.
As distinctive in service as in outline, tankers carry liquid cargoes in. bulk.	6704
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The T2 is a large standard tanker, indispensable in peace and in war.	4289
T2-SE-A1 {above}
Length over-all—523 feet 6 inches.
Beam—68 feet.
Draft—-30 feet 1 % inches.
Deadweight tonnage—16,760.
Gross tonnage—10,200.
Barrels—140,000.
Machinery—Turbo-electric.
Service speed—14.5 knots.
Number of passengers—None.
Number of crew—51.
PRIVATE TANKER {below}
Length over-all—628 feet.
Beam—82 feet 6 inches.
Draft—31 feet 5 inches.
Deadweight tonnage—26,000.
Gross tonnage—17,500.
Barrels—230,000.
Machinery—Steam turbine.
Service speed—16 knots.
Number of passengers—4.
Number of crew—48.
Larger than the T2, this new tanker type is being built by a number of private companies. 6707
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Loading coal on board ship. Many vessels are designed for special tasks.	6352
Miscellaneous Types
ALTHOUGH passenger vessels, standard cargo ships, and tankers comprise the major part of any merchant fleet, there is need also for vessels of various special designs to serve specialized trades. This is particularly true of the American domestic trades, which require services coastwise and intercoastal, on the Great Lakes, and between the continental United States and its Territories and insular possessions.
Large, transoceanic vessels are unsuited to many of these trades. The depth of water in particular harbors served limits the draft of vessels, and the types and cargo handled and operating conditions also have a bearing on the vessel design.
One of the most distinctive types of vessels in the American Merchant Marine is the Great Lakes ore carrier illustrated on page 17. These are extremely efficient vessels, designed to be loaded and unloaded rapidly
by mechanical means. They carry huge cargoes of ore and grain between Lake ports in the greatest industrial center of the United States. Tugs of various kinds and sizes do a prosaic job from day to day, moving big ocean liners on and off their berths in our principal habors, or towing strings of barges on our rivers and lakes.
One of the most important of the modern vessel designs is the refrigerated ship. These are used in both foreign and domestic trades to carry perishable goods. The United Fruit Company uses many of them in its Caribbean and South American trades.
In addition to the types illustrated there are the C5, a standard bulk oil and ore carrier, the V3, a coastal tug, the V4, an oceangoing tug used principally to tow disabled ships to port, and the Bl, B3, B4, B5, and B7, which are various types of non-self-pro-pelled barges.
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A collier, designed for coal-carrying. 5620
A “reefer” has refrigerated cargo space. 6702
EC2-S-AW1
Length over-all—441 feet 6 inches.
Beam—56 feet 10^4 inches.
Draft—28 feet 6% inches.
Deadweight tonnage—11,040.
Gross tonnage—6,640.
Bale cubic—472,799.
Machinery—Reciprocating steam engine.
Service speed—11 knots.
Number of passengers—None.
Number of crew—40.
R2-ST-AU1
Length over-all—455 feet 5 inches.
Beam—61 feet.
Draft—27 feet.
Deadweight tonnage—6,980.
Gross tonnage—7,074.
Bale cubic—330,000.
Machinery—Steam turbine. Service speed—18.5 knots.
Number of passengers—12.
Number of crew—62.
A harbor tug.	3201
A Great Lakes ore carrier. 6435
V2-ME-A1
Length over-all—100 feet.
Beam—25 feet.
Draft—9 feet 7 inches.
Deadweight tonnage—100.
Gross tonnage—199.
Machinery—Diesel.
Number of passengers—None.
Number of crew—10.
L6-S-A1
Length over-all—620 feet.
Beam—60 feet.
Draft—24 feet.
Deadweight tonnage—15,825.
Gross tonnage—8,758.
Bale cubic—608,596.
Machinery—Reciprocating steam engine.
Service speed—10.5 knots.
Number of passengers—None.
Number of crew—33.
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Part of the Reserve Fleet, where surplus ships are preserved for emergency use.	7242
National Defense Reserve Fleet
TO INSURE that the United States would not suffer from a shortage of merchant ship tonnage in the event of another national emergency, Congress in the Merchant Ship Sales Act of 1946 directed the Maritime Commission to establish a National Defense Reserve Fleet. Vessels laid up for this purpose at six permanent and three temporary anchorages numbered nearly 2,000 in June 1949.
The reserve fleet was originally established when vessels of the Government-owned fleet were withdrawn from war-connected activity in the months following VJ-day. The Merchant Ship Sales Act of 1946 provided for the sale and chartering by the Government of vessels of the war-built fleet. Under the original act and extensions of its authority, vessels have
been moved in and out of the reserve fleet sites as they have been sold, chartered, or used in Government operation. With final expiration of the act, however, the National Defense Fleet will be “frozen” and its vessels held in a state of preservation, to be brought out only in case of emergency.
All vessels delivered to the fleets have received primary protective measures including mooring, draining, and the application of preservation compound. As rapidly as possible the Commission has also been carrying out final preservation measures. Thus the country has a merchant fleet of substantial size standing by in case of need, when it would supplement the operating fleet and provide essential tonnage while a wartime shipbuilding program was getting under way.
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Ship Naming and Classification of Types
SHIPS designed and built by the Maritime Commission are identified individually by names and classified by types.
Several categories of vessel names have been established by the Commission. For instance, Cl cargo vessels are named for capes. C2 vessels are named for famous clipper ships. C3 ships are named for birds, fish, and animals in combination'with the prefix Sea, such as S. S. Sea Otter. C4 vessels are also named for birds, fish, and animals except that the prefix word Marine is used, for example, S. S. Marine Flasher. T1 (coastal) tankers are named for major oil fields of the United States, and T2 tankers are named for American battles or for national parks and monuments, historic settlements, forts, trails, etc.
The Liberty ships built during World War II were named for deceased persons who had made notable contributions to the history and culture of America, and for merchant seamen who lost their lives in service. Liberty colliers (EC2-S—AW 1, page 17) are named for major coal seams in the United States. The first Victory ships, which succeeded the Libertys, were named for the various United Nations, combining the name of a country with the word Victory. Other Victorys were named for towns and small cities of the United States, using the name of the community with the word Victory, such as S. S. Hannibal Victory.
The present system of classification of vessel designs was adopted by the Commission in 1944. It uses the combination of letters and numerals in groups which identify the
vessels illustrated in this booklet. The system is based on three groups of letters and numbers which outline the characteristics of the vessel. The first group indicates the type of vessel, such as cargo, passenger, etc., and its approximate size. The second group indicates thè type of machinery, and number of screws, and the third group indicates the particular design of the type of vessel and modifications thereof. Example : C2-S-AJ1.
For the first group a letter is used in conjunction with ar number. Note that in the example above, C2 stands for a cargo ship between 400 and 450 feet long (table I).
The second group is as outlined in table II with the appropriate symbols designated therein. Continuing the classification, the example is now C2-S, standing for a single screw cargo ship, steam machinery, of a length between 400 and 450 feet.
Since there may be many variations of length and form in the range of 400 and 450 feet, it is necessary to have a design letter that will fix the particular vessel under consideration. A third group is therefore used and the design letter remains fixed regardless of any change that may be made. The design letter of the example is therefore AJ. Continuing the classification, the designation is now C2—S-AJ1. The number 1 after AJ in the third group indicates the original arrangement of this particular design. This number can be varied to reflect changes of a major nature such as addition of passengers, conversion to troopship, etc. For example, assume that accommodations for 50 pas-
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sengers were added to this particular vessel. Since this would be a major change, the third group would become AJ2. Since accommodations for more than 12 passengers had been added the second group would become SI, but as these accommodations were for less than 100 passengers the ship is still regarded as a cargo vessel and the first group would not change. The complete designation would then be C2-S1—AJ2. The additional letters E and V were prefixed to the Liberty and Victory ship designations, E standing for emergency construction program, and V for Victory construction program.
TABLE II
Machinery	Number of propellers	Passengers	
		Under 12	Over 12
Steam		Single ....	s	SI
Motor			do’.	. . .	M	Ml
Turbo Electric			do....	SE	SE1
Diesel Electric			do....	ME	MEI
Gas Turbine			do....	G	Gl
Gas Turbo-electric.		do....	GE	GEI
Steam		Twin		ST	S2
Motor			do....	MT	M2
Turbo Electric....		do....	SET	SE2
Diesel Electric			do....	MET	ME2
Gas Turbine			do....	GT	G2
Gas Turbo-electric.		do....	GET	GE2
Steam		Stern wheel	SW	so
Motor			do....	MW	MO
TABLE I
Type of vessel	Length designation (load water-line in feet)						
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
C—Cargo—unlimited service (under 100 passengers). . P—Passenger—unlimited service (over 100 passengers). B—Barge	 G—Great Lakes cargo	 H—Great Lakes passengers.... J—Inland cargo, groups III, IV, V B. M. In	 K—Inland passengers, groups III, IV, VB. M. In.... L—Great Lakes tanker (ore • grain)	 N—Coastwise cargo	 Q—Coastwise passengers	 R—Refrigerator			1 400 1 500 1 100 1 300 1 300 1 50 1 50 1 400 1 200 1 200 1 400 1 200 1 450 1 100 1 50 This 1 If d will	400-450 500-600 100-150 300-350 300-350 50-100 50-100 400-450 200-250 200-250 400-450 200-300 450-500 100-150 50-100 etter will b esigns are be assignee	450-500 600-700 150-200 350-400 350-400 100-150 100-150 450-500 250-300 250-300 450-500 300-400 500-550 150-200 100-150 e assigned developed 1.	500-550 700-800 200-250 400-450 400-450 150-200 150-200 500-550 300-350 300-350 500-550 400-500	800-900 250-300 450-500 450-500 200-250 200-250 550-600 350-400 350-400	900-1,000 500-550 500-550 250-300 250-300 600-650 400-450 400-450	(2) 550-600 550-600 450-500 450-500
S3—Special	 T—Tanker						500-600	600-700		
U—Ferries	 V—Towing vessels	 D—Outside designs								
				150-200 to plans re from thes<	eeived fron e for contr	outside companies, acts a design letter	
1 Less than. 2 Over 1,000 feet.
3 This special designation will take care of certain Department of the Navy vessels built by the Maritime Commission and those falling outside of any of the designations given in Table 1.
U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1950
20
Cargo Vessel Design
[Continued from inside of front cover] mobiles, require special handling and stowage. Some, like grain and ore, are shipped in bulk.
Although several new methods of cargo loading have been developed in recent years, most cargo handling is still done by booms which lift loads in and out of the ship’s holds. These booms are operated by power winches located on the deck of the ship. The cargo is loaded according to a plan carefully worked out in advance. As it goes aboard it is stowed away in the various holds and made secure against shifting while the ship is under way, which would endanger the safety of the vessel.
When loaded a vessel must be trim. That means that she must rest in the water properly balanced from bow to stern and from port to starboard. Should she be down too much by the head or the stern, or carry an excessive list to either side, she would be dangerous and difficult to handle. She must also be down no further than the law allows for safety. Every ship is required to show her draft measurements on both sides of the bow and stern. Amidships she also carries a mark, called the “Plimsoll Mark,” showing her legal loadline for different waters at different seasons of the year.
Characteristfcs "or Principal Types of Vessels in the American Merchant Marine										
										
	Length over-all	Beam 1	Draft2	Deadweight tonnage 3	Gross tonnage 4	Bale cubic 5	Machinery	Service speed 8	Number of passengers	Number of crew
P6-S4-DS1 SS United States. .	Ft. In. 980 0	Ft. In.	Ft. In.		48,000			Turbine..			About 2,000	About 1,000
SS America		723 0	93 3	32 6	12, 683	26, 314	207, 924	Turbine..	22	1,049	675
P3-S2-DL2 (American Export).	683 0	89 0	30 0	11,800	21,000	178, 200	Turbine..	22. 5	975	575
P2—SI—DN1 (American President). .	536 0	73 0	29 6	10, 260	13,000	415, 000	Turbine..	19	228	167
P2-SE2-R3 (passengercargo).	609 5%	75 6	30 0	10, 431	15, 359	252, 794	Turboelectric.	19	550	338
C3-S-BR1 (cargo passenger).	494 7%	69 6	27 9	9,'627	9,528	457, 690	Turbine..	16.5	119	124
G3-S-DX1 (prototype)....	477 6	66 0	28 6	10, 500	8,800	550, 000	Turbine..	18.5	12	50
C3-S-A2 (large cargo)		492 0	69 6	28 6	12,300	7, 900	736,140	Turbine..	16.5	12	53
C2-S-B1 (cargo)		459 3	63 0	25 9	9, 260	6,200	546, 000	Turbine..	15.5	8	54
Cl-B (cargo). .,		417 9	60 0	27 6	9,100	6, 700	452, 000	Diesel or turbine.	14	8	49
VC2-S-AP3 (Victory)		455 3	62 0	28 6	10, 800	7,600	453, 210	Turbine ..	17			52
EC2-S-C1 (Liberty)		441 6	58 10%	27 7	10, 800	7,170	500, 000	Steam reciprocating.	11			40
Cl—M—AVI (coastal cargo).	338 8%	50 0	21 0	5,100	3,800	228, 000	Diesel....	11			36
N3-S-A1 (coastal cargo). . .	258 9	42 1	17 11	2,900	1,790	121, 000	Steam reciprocating.	10			36
T2-SE-A1 (tanker)		523 6	68 0	30 1%	16, 700	10,200	141,000 barrels	Turboelectric.	14.5			51
Private tanker		628 0	82 6	31 5	26, 000	17, 500	230, 000 barrels	Turbine..	16	4	48
EC2-S-AW1 (Liberty collier).	441 6	56 10%	28 6%	11,040	6, 640	472, 799	Steam reciprocating.	11			40
R2-ST-AU1 (reefer) . 			455 5	61 0	27 0	6, 980	7,074	330, 000	Turbine..	18. 5	12	62
V2—ME—Al (harbor tug). ..	100 0	25 0	9 7	100	199			Diesel....				10
L6—S—Al (Lakes ore carrier).	620 0	60 0	24 0	15, 825	8, 758	557, 357	Steam reciprocating.	10.5			33
1	Width of vessel. 2	Depth to which vessel rests in the water when fully loaded. * The total carrying capacity of the ship, expressed in tons of 2,240 pounds. 4	Internal cubic capacity of the ship expressed in tons of 100 cubic feet to the ton. 5	Space available for cargo measured in cubic feet. 8	In knots. One knot equals 6,080 feet per hour.