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SS Esso Memphis.
ON JULY 31, 1945, in compliance with Navy orders, the American flag tanker Esso Memphis, of the Standard Oil Company (N. J.) fleet, was moored alongside the disabled tanker Mission San Migucl at Eniwetok anchorage in the Marshall Islands. By 11 a.m. August 2, the officer in charge of a naval working party was very much discouraged -after 39 hours of back-breaking work, only '100 of a total of 900 loaded lube oil drums had been shifted from one tanker to the other for transportation to Ulithi. After telling Captain James S. LeCain, of the Esso Memphis, that the powers ashore were "fit to be tied", the naval officer asked him it the ship's personnel would help out in the emergency. Captain LeCain agreed to ask for volunteers, and the entire ship's company, armed guard included, responded.
Captain LeCain described the situation in a letter to the Management, written at sea in September, 1945:
"The transfer of the cargo was far from being an ordinary and easy job. The Mission San Miguel had no power and her own cargo booms had to be used to get the drums from her hold. If we had tried to work the disabled tanker's steam winch by means of a connection to her deck steam line, we would ave
lost from exhaust steam too much of our own scanty supply of fresh water. Therefore we had to lead the cargo whips from the booms of the Mission San Miguel through numerous snatch blocks to the winch on the deck of the Esso Memphis.
Rolling the Drums.
"However, while the cargo could be hoisted in slings out of the hold of the Mission San Miguel, each individual drum had to be manhandled across the main deck of the Esso Memplim tor stowage. This was necessary because the spar deck on the Esso Mempllis interfered with the tree movement of the
disabled tanker's booms, with the result that each drum had to be rolled by hand and maneuvered over deck pipelines from the edge of the Esso tanker's deck to the stowage area. To make the whole job still more complicated, both vessels were continuously tossing, rolling, and surging apart, due to a eavy
ground swell. It was really a mean job.
"I arranged for the merchant personnel to work the first shift, turning to at 1 p.m., the armed guard to relieve them when they tired. Then I predicted to the Navy officer that the job would be completed not later than noon of the following day. 'Captain, that will be very fine,' he said, 'and I am going to make my report to headquarters accordingly.'
"However, he returned at 7 p.m. and told me: 'Captain, the officer in charge of operations is of the opinion that the merchant crew will not be able to complete the job by dark tomorrow night. What do you think, Sir?' I replied, 'Why, Lieutenant, my men have been working only a short time, but come out-
side and see what they've accomplished." The startled officer could hardly believe his eyes. The job was then almost finished. By 7:25 p.m. the last sling load of drums was placed on the deck of the Esso Memphis and by 8:30 the entire cargo was secured in place."
The SS Esso Memphis was built in 1944 by the Sun Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company at Chester, Penna. She is a sistership of the Esso Camden, sso
New Haven, Esso Portland, Esso Roanoke, Esso Scranton, Esso Springfield, and Esso Ufica.
A single-screw vessel of 16,613 deadweight tons capacity on international summer draft of 30 feet, 2 inches, the Esso Memphis has an overall length of 523 feet, 6 inches, and a length between perpendiculars of 503 feet. Her moulded breadth is 68 feet and her depth moulded, 39 feet, 3 indies. With a argo
carrying capacity of 138,335 barrels, she has an assigned pumping rate of 7,000 barrels per hour.
Her turbo-electric engine, supplied with steam by two water-tube boilers, develops 7,240 shaft horsepower and gives the Esso Memphis a classification
certified speed of 14.6 knots.
The Esso Memphis on her maiden voyage was commanded by Captain George Rasmussen and her engineroom was in charge of Chief Engineer Clarence M. Furlow. She left Chester on July 3, 1944, bound tor Baton Rouge. There she loaded 125,217 barrels of 100 octane aviation gasoline for the United Kingdom. Returning to New York, she took on an additional part cargo of 3,950 barrels of the same product before proceeding to the British Isles. The ship arrived for discharge at Thames Haven, England, on August 1. At Thames Haven, the tanker dcckloaded twelve landing craft consigned to the Ministry of War Transport at Greenock, Scotland. On the return leg of this first voyage the Esso Mempllis left Greenock on August 9 and was in New York harbor on the 20th.
Twice more in 1944 the Esso Memphis was selected by the representative of the British Petroleum Board in New York, acting in cooperation with the U.S.
Navy, to transport full cargoes of aviation gasoline. Both cargoes were discharged at Liverpool. With the first was a deck cargo of gallows davit blocks and landing craft for account of the British Ministry of War Transport, and twenty knocked-down P-51 (Mustang) fighter planes for account of the U. S.
Army; the deck load on the second trip to Liverpool consisted of twenty P-51 fighter planes.
When the Esso Memphis reached New York again, on October 25, she completed necessary repairs before being allocated to continuous service under United States Navy orders. She remained in this service until V-J Day on September 2, 1945.
For the first of her Pacific voyages, the Esso Memphis loaded 102,857 barrels of Navy fuel oil at Aruba and left on November 7, 1944 for the Central Pacific. Acting on Navy instructions, she arrived at Ulithi on December 6 and discharged cargo into the oilers USS Enoree (AO 69) and USS Antona (AO
133). She relumed irom this voyage to Sail Pedro, California, on December 27.
The first two cargoes of the Esso Mcmbhis in 1945 were loaded at San Pedro and consisted of Navy fuel oil, one cargo for Eniwetok, the other for Ulithi.
Also Fueled Naval Vessels.
En route to Eniwetok, the tanker unloaded a deck cargo of planes at Pearl Harbor. Among operations completed at Eniwetok between January 17 and February 17, the following U. S. Navy vessels were fueled:
Corregidor (CVE 58, escort carrier), Gwin (DM 33, minelayer converted from destroyer) , Chilian (APA 38, attack transport), Keokuk (AKN 4, net cargo
ship), Henrico (APA 45), Neshoba (APA 216), and Dennis (DE 405, destroyer escort). Also at Eniwetok, two fleet auxiliaries were topped oft and the rest of the cargo was discharged into the Geinsbok (IX 117).
For the trip to Ulithi, the Esso Memphis carried on deck eighteen LCVPs (Landing craft, vehicles, personnel) and in her dry cargo hold 829 drums of lubricating oil.
The Esso tanker arrived once more at Ulithi on May 10 with 99,172 barrels of Navy fuel oil loaded at El Segundo, California, and returned to California
May 28. She then carried two Navy fuel oil cargoes coastwise from San Pedro to Seattle, discharging at various Navy installations on Puget Sound. Between these two Seattle trips, necessary repairs were effected at Portland, Oregon.
Again at San Pedro on July 6, the Esso Memphis lifted 97,543 barrels of special fuel oil, deckloaded invasion barges, and filled her dry cargo hold with
Navy oil drums. She sailed on the 10th and put in at Eniwetok on the 24th, where deck cargo was unloaded, bulk cargo discharged into the USS Seafoam
(AO 210) and two Navy fuel oil barges, and additional dry cargo loaded from the hold of the disabled Mission San Miguel. The Esso Memphis left Eniwetok on August 3 and on the 7th arrived at Ulithi, where a total of 1,700 drums of lube oil, including the 900 from the Mission San Miguel, were unloaded on various small naval craft. The Esso Memphis departed from Ulithi on August 13, arrived at Pearl Harbor on the 26th, and was again en route to Ulithi on V-J Day, September 2, 1945.
The World War II transportation record of the Esso Memphis was in summary as follows:
Captains George Rasmussen and James S. LeCain were in command of the Esso Memphis during her wartime career. Associated with them and in charge of the vessel's engineroom were Chief Engineers Clarence M. Fulow and Earl Williams.
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