I recently read the NTSB transcript of the voice recorder from the sinking of the El Faro in Hurricane Joaquin in the fall of 2015. It runs over 500 pages, and for anyone who has gone to sea and understands the language, technology, and dynamics of the bridge of an oceangoing vessel, it is an absorbing and emotional thing to read. The duty done, to connect with the last hours of the 33 men and women who lost their lives, I was reminded that the history of my old employer, American Trading & Production, or later ATTRANSCO, should be posted somewhere once again because old postings I made years ago no longer exist. These blogger blogs seem to last forever, so this seems like a good place.
My experiences with American Trading began in 1968, just out of Kings Point, the U S Merchant Marine Academy, when I joined the American Trader headed for the Far East as a third engineer under chief engineer Joe Tierno, and sailed with many old timers who went way back in the history of the company. I left the business in 1992.
History of American
Trading and Production
Drafted by Frank J.
Murphy
In 1938
American Trading and Production Corporation (ATAPCORP), American Building,
Baltimore, Maryland, purchased the S. S. Pennsylvania Sun, a U. S. flag
tanker, built by Sun Shipbuilding in 1923, from Sun Oil Company, Chester,
Pennsylvania. Vessel was renamed the S. S. American Trader and was operated by
Atapcorp through its newly formed Marine Division with offices in the Graybar
Building, 420 Lexington Avenue, New York City under the supervision of a Marine
Manager, W. L. Mellon, an Annapolis graduate and a former master with Sun Oil
Company.
W. L.
Mellon reported directly to M. J. Gately, Senior Vice President in Atapcorp’s Baltimore office, who, in
turn, reported to Atapcorp’s founder and president, Jacob Blaustein. The
Treasurer was J. Rothfield who supervised the Marine Division accounts. House Counsel was Karl F. Steinmann whose
office was in Baltimore’s Tower Building.
F. J. Murphy joined the Marine Division in a secretarial capacity on October 4,
1939, and it was basically a two-person marine operation from then until the
beginning of World War II.
The Marine
Division was charged with the operation of the American Trader which was
purchased to serve the coastwise transportation requirements of Crown Central
Petroleum Corporation (Crowncen) with headquarters in Baltimore and a branch in
New York City, also located in the Graybar Building, under the supervision of
Jesse Stickel who reported to Henry Rosenberg, Sr., President, Crowncen,
Baltimore. Crowncen is a public-held oil
company in which Atapcorp holds substantial shares. Crowncen has a refinery in Pasadena,
Texas, and in those days shipped a variety of
petroleum products, including multiple grades of lube oils, to their East Coast
terminals situated at Norfolk, Baltimore
and New York
(Elizabeth, N. J.)
Messrs.
Rosenberg and Stickel had selected the Pennsylvania
Sun since it was ideal in size and suitably ccmpartmented to carry Crowncen’s
products. The American Trader had a cargo-carrying capacity of about 101,000
barrels - 81,000 barrels in the main cargo tanks and 20,000 barrels in summer
tanks, the size and location of which were just about perfect for the carriage
of lube oils. The American Trader was 480.5’ in length, had a molded breadth of
65’O” and a molded depth of 37’ and a deadweight of 13,910. She was an all-riveted
ship and powered by 4200 HP steam reciprocating
engines with four Scotch boilers. Although I think her service speed was
12.5/13 knots, Captain McMullin, who served aboard her both with Sun Oil and
Atapcorp, says she was known as the greyhound of the Atlantic Coast.
The American Trader was chartered to Crowncen under a consecutive voyage
charter party which was initially renegotiated and renewed from year to year.
The American Trader was later succeeded by the Crown Trader, Virginia Trader
and other Atapcorp owned tankers. Subsequently, a 5 year consecutive voyage
charter was negotiated and signed. The original year-to-year charters were
negotiated by Messrs. Mellon and Stickel and as I recall there was some very
tough bargaining on both sides. Crowncen was a very demanding charterer and the
relationship between the two companies placed an unusual burden on Atapcrop to
satisfy the charterer’s requirements at reasonable rates. Unlike today’s
charter parties which express the freight rate in terms of dollars per ton, tanker charters prior to World War II
stated the rate in cents per barrel. At
times, the list of products appended to a charter could be quite long, with
each separate product taking a different
barrel rate depending upon its gravity. In addition to transporting liquid bulk cargoes, the American Trader and eventually
other Atapcorp tankers under charter to Crowncen, carried package cargo between
the Pasadena terminal and Crowncen’s East Coast terminals, such as drums and cases of canned lube oils for the retail
market.
The crew for the first American Trader, licensed and unlicensed, was personally
recruited by Mellon and Murphy from various sources such as the Seamen’s Church
Institute, employment agencies, boarding houses, local bars around Elizabeth,
N.J. (particularly one called “Anchor Inn”) , and even an orphanage in New
Jersey which released teenage boys and young men to Atapcorp’s legal
guardianship, for the purpose of obtaining for them Coast Guard documents to
permit them to sail in the entry ratings of Ordinary Seaman, Messman and Wiper.
A number of these orphans eventually worked their way up to the ranks of
licensed officers. Since the American Trader and subsequent Atapcorp vessels
under charter to Crowncen frequently called at the Elizabeth (N.J.) terminal,
Atapcorp used members of the local police force to act as gangway guards during
their off-hours. These mutually convenient arrangements were made with a
Captain Coughlin and it was not unusual for the Elizabeth police to assemble wayward crew
members in the local pokey until sailing time. Crowncen’s terminal
superintendent was a Tom Jeffries who was always most pleasant and cooperative.
The first master of the American Trader was Captain Hammer and the first Chief
Engineer, a Mr. Carter. I believe both were on loan from Sun Oil Company as
part of the ship purchase agreement and both returned to Sun Oil after the
first year As a matter of fact,
Chief Carter died about one year later aboard the S. S. J. N. Pew while the vessel was en-route north under the command of Captain William McMullin
who was to join Atapcorp in 1941 and serve with distinction aboard Atapcorp vessels through Wor1d War
II including the American Trader until retired in 1955 for reasons of health.
Captain McMullin, in a recent letter, relates that he put Chief Carter ashore
in Key West
where Captain Snyder, another Sun Oil Company officer, escorted him home.
Captain Hammer was succeeded by Captain T. Leerberg and
Chief Carter, by Rebel T. Layton.
Captain Leeberg had a. chief mate by the name of Ingvold Martinusen who acted as relieving
master on two occasions while Leeberg went on vacation . Martinusen left Atapcorp in 1941 to
accept command of another U.
S. flag ship. On May 31, 1942 he was killed
in an explosion aboard the S. S. Caiclilas while she lay at berth in Tampico, Mexico.
Rebel T. Layton, the second Chief Engineer to be aboard the American Trader,
subsequently retired to his home in Tyler,
Texas. He was
eventually succeeded by Charlie Hagelberg, known as “Scrap Iron”. Charlie
presently lives in retirement with his wife on the Jersey
shore. He recently sent me a photograph of one of the first American Trader
crews and his accompanying note, in part, read, “All these men have neat
haircuts - no beards - and all have ties on.” Today, Charlie would be labeled a
“hardhat”. The photograph accompanies other papers attached as enclosed with this chronicle. [?]
Another illustrious Sun Oil officer who served Atapcorp long and well was Captain James A. Perry who operated in Crowncen‘s coastwise run for many years. Capt. Perry is presently in
retirement at his home in Maryland.
Although Atapcorp had no labor contracts
in the early years for its
seagoing personnel, the radio
officer, Charles W. Harvey, was
a charter member of the Radio
Officers Union (R O U ) Harvey served
at poker - so much so that at time of crew payoff aboard ship, Charles
Harvey had more than his share of crew members lined up at his desk each voyage
turning over their hard earned wages for his I.O.U.’s. Harvey is in the crew photograph as are a
number of others mentioned above.
As all know, the United
States became directly involved in World War II with the
Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7,
1911. Atapcorp’s only vessel, the American Trader, was requisitioned by the U.
S. Government in the first half of 1942
under a time charter arrangement which designated Atapcorp as the Time Charter
Agent for the vessel. Atapcorp was appointed General Agent by the U. S.
Government’s War Shipping Administration (WSA) in 1943 and over the ensuing
months took delivery of a fleet of T-2 tankers and one Liberty tanker. The General Agency arrangement
lasted until about 1948. As General Agents, Atapcorp operated about 14 (?) ships for W.S.A. including its own
American Trader. The attached list, prepared from memory totals only 13,
including the American Trader. The “Buena Vista Hills also appears on the list
and it is questionable if she were operated under a General Agency Agreement by
Atapcorp although eventually purchased outright. Baltimore office files should be able to
reflect the correct names.
Sappa Creek
Rogue River
Harpers Ferry
Albert G. Brown (Liberty)
Elk Hills
Apache
Canyon
Dominguez Hills
Castle Pinckney
Marne
Quaker Hill
American Trader (T/C/A)
Buena
Vista Hills (?)
Stony Creek (?)
The original American Trader under the command
of Captain McMullin operated in some of the most dangerous war zones during
World War II carrying cargoes for the military through submarine
infested waters off the Atlantic and Gulf coasts as well as making
trans-Atlantic voyages in convoy to serve the Allied fleets in the
Mediterranean off the north coast of Africa
and southern Europe, particularly Italy, surviving air raids during which
some of her crow sustained shrapnel wounds.
WSA
General Agents had to coordinate ship departures with the military
and were obligated to have vessels under their jurisdiction arrive at a
pre-arranged rendezvous point at a precise time. Convoys were thus formed and
sealed sailing orders delivered to the master at that time. In addition to
carrying liquid petroleum cargoes, tankers were outfitted on deck to transport
war planes. In the Port of New York, the loaded tankers docked at Manhattans
Hudson River piers, formerly used by passenger lines and dry cargo ships, to
take aboard a number of, say, P-38s. I recall visiting Captain McMullin
during the course of these operations when New York City was blacked out (more probably
browned out) and discussing problems with the Master behind blacked out port
holes and in dimly lit quarters.
Captain NcMullin, as noted, is in retirement in
Bacliff, Texas
and is approaching 80. Over the past year or so he has sent letters, some of
which are enclosed, describing how American Trading’s first ship participated
in the war effort. Atapcorp received certificates of merit from the War
Shipping Administration in recognition of its outstanding performance as a
General Agent. The certificates were framed and hung in Atapcorp s N. Y. office
when received, but their whereabouts at. the present time, are not known to the
writer. They may be in Atapcorp’s N.Y.C. warehouse.
After cessation of World War II in 1945,
Atapcorp continued as General Agent for W.S.A. until about 1948, gradually
redelivering the G.A. vessels to the Government which sold most of the W.S.A.
vessels to commercial interests.
In 1947, after taking redelivery of the
American Trader from W S A., Atapcorp (year?) sold the vessel to Italian
Nationals for operation under the Panamanian flag. I believe the American Trader operated about
one more year before coming to
the end of her useful life when she went aground off Tampico, Mexico (seems to
be a place of doom for ex-Atapcorp connections).
Also in 1947, Atapcorp purchased T-2 tankers
from the U.S. Government - the S.S. Marne, renamed the American Trader; the Port Republic,
renamed Baltimore Trader; and the Carnifax Ferry, renamed Crown Trader.
Interestingly enough, the United States Lines owned a dry cargo-passenger
vessel also named American Trader (the U .S. L. fleet also had such names as
American Banker, American Lawyer, American Merchant, etc.). The U. S. Lines
American Trader was a World War I prize of war whose original name also, by
sheer coincidence, was Marne. For a number of years Atapcorp received
requests from immigrants seeking American citizenship papers for verification
of their arrival in the United
States as passengers aboard the American
Trader. Such inquiries were, of course, referred to the U. S. Lines.
In 1948 Atapcorp purchased the Buena Vista
Hills from the government, renamed it Texas Trader and bareboat chartered her
to Amoco for five years. In 1951 a young Third Asst. Engineer, Richard Palk,
joined Atapcorp’s fleet directly from Kings Point. After moving up to Chief
Engineer, he joined Atapcorp’s shore-side staff as Asst. Port Engineer and
after progressing through various other managerial and executive positions, he
was elected president of Attransco (Atapcorp’s Marine Division successor) on
July 1, 1981.
In 1953 Atapcorp purchased two 13,000 dwt
tankers from Esso, the Esso Bayway (renamed the Maryland Trader) and the Esso
Bayonne (renamed New York Trader).
In 1955 Atapcorp moved its N Y C offices
from the Graybar Building,
420 Lexington Avenue,
to the 17th floor of 555 Fifth
Avenue, then known as the American Oil
Building. At one stage
Atapcorp enlarged its offices to include a part of the 16th floor which was
connected to the 17th floor spaces via an inner stairway. The 16th floor spaces
were later given up and the inner stairway dismantled. The building was
officially opened in 1955 and the prime tenant, American Oil, moved their
offices from The Chanin Bldg. on 42nd
Street and Lexington Avenue. Atapcorp’s move from
the Graybar, Building to the American
Oil Building
was handled by W. L. Mellon and
Louis Thalheimer and was made particularly difficult because the Ford
Foundation had initially opted for the space and a sum of money ($50,000) was necessary to get the Foundation to
release the 17th floor space.
At the end of 1955 Atapcorp was operating U. S.
flag tankers American Trader (ex Marne) , Baltimore Trader (ex Port Republic)
Crown Trader (ex Carnifax Ferry) , Maryland Trader (ex Esso Bayway) and the New
York Trader (ex Esso Bayonne) and owned the Texas Trader (ex Buena Vista Hills)
under bareboat charter to Amoco. (This latter must be checked since originally
the Texas Trader was chartered for five years to Amoco in 1948.)
In 1956
Atapcorp pioneered the carriage of grain in self-discharging tankers to India under the
U. S. Government’s P. L. 480 Program. Up to this time there had been
relatively few tankers employed in the
bulk grain trades because they were difficult to discharge with shore-based grain discharging equipment
due to their cargo tank structure and their restrictive tank top openings. In
the early years tank coatings had
not been developed and in general use as they are today and, consequently, cleaning was often a major problem, especially dirty
cargoes such as Bunker “C”. For these and other reasons under
Mr. Mellon’s supervision Atapcorp carried out a survey of equipment used by
American farmers in handling grain to and from silos, barges, warehouses,
trucks, etc. Captain Strohm was dispatched to visit various farm areas on the
east and west coasts as well as in the mid-west. After considering a number of
machines such as one manufactured by the Ford Motor Company (Fordomatic?)
Atapcorp, one memorable Saturday morning from its 555 offices telephoned one Mr. Wallace in Batavia,
Illinois, and asked that he come to our New York offices to
demonstrate the capabilities of the Vacuvator, a gain machine manufactured by
his company, Dunbar Kapple. As a result of that visit, Atapcorp purchased a
number of gasoline generated Vacuvators. I believe the original order was for
four and Atapcorp proceeded to negotiate a charter with the India Supply
Mission, Washington, D. C., through N. Y. charter brokers, to load, transport and discharge
a cargo of wheat from the United States
to Bombay, India. Because of the
self-discharging feature and the nature of the equipment, new clauses had to be
drawn and agreed upon, underwriters had to be consulted, etc. In later years
Atapcorp purchased many more Vacuvators and gradually switched from gasoline to diesel and, finally, electrically driven motors, using ships’ power. Other ship-owners followed suit and Dunbar Kapple did an
enormous business selling equipment to owners and operators of ocean-going
tankers, a business that was handed to them on a platter as a result of
Atapcorp’s research and a Saturday telephone call in 1956.
In addition to grain to India, Atapcorp’s vessels have transported cargoes of wheat, milo, sorghum, barley and corn to many
other P L 480 recipient nations such as
Pakistan, Bangladesh, Egypt,
Turkey, Greece,
Brazil, Korea, Senegal,
Ivory Coast, Colombia, and Russia
In 1956 Atapcorp conractcd for two vessels to
be jumboizcd at Maryland Shipbuilding & Drydock Company, Baltimore,
Maryland - the Crown Trader (ex Carnifax Ferry) which was converted to a jumbo
in 1958 and renamed Maryland Trader and the Baltimore Trader (ex Port Republic)
. The latter jumbo contract was subsequently cancelled in
1957 due to a poor market and a penalty of $100,000 (?) paid the shipyard for
such cancellation.
In 1956 the Maryland Trader (ex Esso Bayway)
and New York Trader (ex Esso Bayonne) were sold to newl.y formed Calvert Tankers,
a Liberian corporate subsidy of Atapcorp for foreign flag operation. Marsano
Brothers, Genoa, Italy, were appointed managing
agents charged with manning and victualling. Italian crews were employed on
both vessels which were renamed Lord Calvert (ex Maryland Trader) and Lord
Howard (ex New York Trader) after counties in Maryland.
In December 1956/January 1957 the Monitor
(renamed Washington Trader) and the Seven Seas (renamed Virginia Trader) were
purchased from the U. S. Government.
In 1957 the Lord Calvert and Lord Howard were laid up at Mobile, Alabama,
for lack of business. Enroute to lay-up site at Mobile
the Lord Howard sustained serious bottom damage on coral reefs while navigating
the Florida
straits. Damage was never repaired although underwriters reimbursed Calvcrt for
the unrepaired damage. After having been transferred to Liberian registry in
1956 both vessels underwent
extensive repairs and rehabilitation at Genoa,
Italy, at a
total cost of about $1,200,000 (?) . The Lord Howard and Lord Calvcrt, which
had a relatively high book value, never traded again and were subsequently sold
in 1963 “as is where is” for an insignificant sum after having been maintained in layup status for more than five years.
As referred to above, the Maryland Trader was
delivered to Atacorp by Maryland Drydock and Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland,
in 1958 as a jumboized T-2 of 21,253 DWT.
In 1960, the Esso Annapolis, a T-3, was
purchased from Esso and renamed the Crown Trader. Price: $450,000 (?)
The Baltimore Trader (ex Port
Republic) was sold in 1961 to Sealand for
$340,000 to be converted for container service at Alabama Shipyard &
Drydock Co., Mobile.
In 1962, the Anerican Trader (ex Marne) was
scrapped in Taiwan as well
as the Texas Trader (ex Buena Vista hills)
In 1964, the Neches
was purchased from Sabine Towing & Transportation Company for approximately
$600,000. This vessel was renamed American Trader and was subsequently jumboized
to its present 27,600 dwt size at Newport
News in 1967.
In 1965 the jumboized Maryland Trader (ex Crown Trader) was coiled and coated
at Norfolk Shipyard for a cost of less than $500,000.
In 1965 Mission
midbodies were purchased from General Dynamics and Henry Dowd of Marine
Carriers, the latter a competing shipowner who managed to gain title to one of
two midbodies with the aid of an unscrupulous ship broker. Two Mission tankers had been withdrawn from the Reserve Fleet
by the Navy for conversion to missile tracking ships. New, sophisticatedly
equipped midbodies were inserted in
the Mission ships and the two old midbodies,
which were in excellent condition, became the property of General Dynamics.
Atapcorp had General Dynamics insert the Mission midbodies into the Washington
Trader (ex Monitor) and Virginia Trader (ex Seven Seas) to replace their worn-out
World War II midbodies. Conversion was done
at General Dynamics at Quincy,
Mass, in late 1965 and finished in January 1966 when the Virginia
Trader was delivered. Vessels actually retained their T-2 conformation and size
and cost about $500/600,000 each. The work was performed under the most brutal
weather conditions with temperatures constantly hovering around 0, and, to my
mind, epitomized the character of the personnel that has been Atapcorp’s good
fortune to associate itself with over the years. Under Dick Palk’s guidance a
team of Atapcorp‘s shipside and shoreside employees supervised the midbody
replacements. Although there were others, I particularly visualize Charlie
Hagelberg and Bert Puddifoot suffering through unbelievable conditions without
complaint. Dollar for dollar, I think of these two mibbody jobs as one of the
best investments ever made by Atapcorp. To emphasize the real worth of the
Mission midbodies, I recall that Dick Palk offered to personally raise the funds
necessary for their purchase should Atapcorp have any qualms about making the
investment. I have long recognized Dick ‘s uncanny sense of value.
In 1965 Atapcorp purchased the Alaskan from the
Joshua Hendy Corp. Capt. Ted Anderson, who operated Hendy’s fleet was a close
friend and one day Bill Torelle of Dietze, Inc., N.Y.C. brokers, phoned and
said Ted Anderson wanted to give us an opportunity to purchase his T-2 Alaskan
as repayment for past business favors. If we were interested Hendy would not
put the ship on the market and the price to Atapcorp would be either $350,000
or $375,000 - our option! Dick Palk inspected the ship along with a professional surveyor named Ganly. Dick
recommended the ship be purchased while Ganly submitted an adverse verbal
report because of boiler problems that he foresaw. Based on Dick’s recommendation, I recommended the
Alaskan to Lem Dunbar for purchase - at
$375,000 and Ganly was asked to submit his fee but no written report. The
Alaskan was purchased, renamed the Baltimore Trader and went on to
produce substantial profits until sold for scrap in 1969 for $297,000. The
Ganly example is one of many encountered over the life of the Marine Division -
principals are inclined to favor reports from those who represent themselves as
experts and hang out a shingle as opposed to in - house talent.
In 1965 the Crown Trader (ex Esso Annapolis)
was scrapped in Japan
for $260,000.
In 1966 Atapcorp’s signed the American Trader forebody contract with Newport News. The same year
the Washington Trader was coated in Japan for about $350,000.
1967 saw the delivery of the jumboized American
Trader (ex Neches) from Newport News
and vessel immediately entered into a long term charter with NSC. The forebody
job cost about $4.7 M.
In 1968 the Virginia Trader (ex Seven Seas) was
coiled end coated at Maryland Drydock & Shipbuilding Company, Baltimore, Maryland,
for approximately $600,900.
The Texaco South Carolina was purchased from
Texaco in 1969 for $300,000. She operated as an asphalt carrier for Texaco, but
Atapcorp‘s inspection indicated she had a good stern and engine and a better
candidate for jumboizing than any vessel we owned. She was jumboized to the
present 27,600 dwt Texas Trader and delivered by Newport News in 1969 when. she immediately
entered upon a long term MSC charter. She cost about $5M.
Atapcorp then sold the Baltimore Trader (ex
Alaskan) in 1969 for ‘scrap in Taiwan
for $297,000, as noted earlier.
In December of that same year (1969) Atapcorp
purchased the P. W. Thirtle from Capt Lynch of Arco for the sun of $1,500,000.
This was a former Sinclair Oil Co. ship
of over 26,000 dwt which was originally
contemplated jumboizing to a 30,000 dwt tanker at Newport News. Subsequently we signed a 10
year consecutive voyage charter (later converted to a time charter and extended
to 15 years) with Texaco. The jumbo contract was then revised from a 30,000 dwt
vessel to 58,000 dwt - the present Baltimore Trader which was delivered by Newport News in 1971 and
immediately entered the Texaco charter. The approximate cost of the Baltimore
Trader jumboization was $14M
(including $1.5M cost of the Thirtle).
In January 1972 the marine interests of
American Trading and Production Corporation were transferred to a newly formed
subsidiary American Trading Transportation Co., Inc.
In January 1973 the Washington Trader (ex Monitor)
was scrapped in Taiwan
for $397,000.
In September 1975 the Thetis, renamed
Washington Trader, was purchased for $4,880,000.
In November 1975 the Virginia Trader (ex Seven
Seas) was sold for scrap in Spain
for$336,064.
The Maryland Trader (ex Crown Trader/Carnifax Ferry) was scrapped in Spain
for $400,556 in February of 1976.
On May 7, 1980, Attransco contracted to build
three 50,000 dwt product carriers with options
to build three more at Nassco, San Diego, with the first two vessels
scheduled for delivery the latter part:
of 1982 and the third in the first half of 1983. In October 1981, Atapcorp purchased the Arco Prestige (renamed
Pennsylvania Trader) from Arco for $12M for General Agency operation
by Attransco.
The foregoing is simply a skeleton narrative of
Atapcorp/Attransco from 1938 to 1982. A fuller version should include more detail
about World War II operations including not only the workings of N.S.A. but the
Maritime War Emergency Board, War Shipping Panel and the way the crews of
merchant ships were integrated with the military operation while still
retaining their identity as private employees of the shipping industry. Also
the labor history of Atapcorp’s Marine Division should be enlarged upon, such as
the formation of ATOA in 1952 and the entry of the N.M.U. into the picture.
Additionally, there are many more than those
mentioned herein who made major contributions to the success and viability of
Atapcorp/Attransco and the story cannot be complete without them.
Frank J. Murphy
