S.S. John Brown, one of only two operational Liberty ships, is steaming toward New York harbor and is expected to arrive the morning of Saturday, September 10th. The historic ship will be berthed at Pier 36, 299 South Street, on the East River in Manhattan and will open to the public from 10AM to 5PM, from Saturday the 10th to Saturday, September 17th. On Sunday, September 18th, they are offering a “Living History Cruise” on the ship from 8AM to 4PM. There will also be another “Living History Cruise” in Baltimore on October 1st. Click here to learn more.
SS John W. Brown operated as a merchant ship of the United States Merchant Marine during World War II and later was a vocational high school training ship in New York City for many years. She is a now museum ship berthed at Clinton Street Pier 1 in Baltimore Harbor in Maryland.
The Liberty ship was a class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II in eighteen American shipyards around the country. A total of 2,710 Liberty ships were built between 1941 and 1945, by far the largest the largest number of ships produced to a single design.
As a youngster my Dad brought me to visit a Liberty ship when she called at Dublin, Ireland with tea from India, this must have been around 1950. That confirmed my ambition to make a career at sea which I did and is great to see that two are still sailing.
However I am very confused at how the the USCG gives certification for the S.S. John W. Brown and the S.S. Jeremiah O’Brien to load up with all these passengers to go on all day “Living History Cruises” – where are all the lifeboats and liferafts ?
Having served for many years in cruise ships I know what a performance it is to get certified by the USCG every petty little thing is examined in depth to find fault. Clearly all these requirements have been waived by the USCG so hopefully nothing will go wrong on one of these LHC’s.
Good Watch.
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Rick:
I was shocked to find out from the S.S. John W. Brown shore staff that the vessel is allowed to carry 730 passengers on these “Living History Cruises”. This is apparently done without USCG lifesaving appliances for these passengers. How can this be allowed by USCG?
There is now a relative Post in NAUTICAL LOG.
Good Watch
A very interesting question. I am going aboard on Saturday. I will see if I can get an answer.
The J.W. Brown carries USCG approved appliances (which are regularly inspected) aboard for up to 750 passengers and plenty for the crew, in addition to the 4 operational lifeboats and 8 40-man life rafts. In addition, before each sailing, the USCG inspects the ship and observes & evaluates the crew as it conducts fire drills and abandon ship drills. In fact, we had a USCG officer ride up with us aboard the ship on our cruise up to NY City this past week.
Doug Nash
Deck Dept.
S.S. John W. Brown
Thanks for the clarification.
Indeed thank you for the much needed data. Continued safe sailing.
Good Watch.
My family and I took the troopship Zebulon B. Vance from Bremerhaven, US Zone of Germany, to NYC in 1948. The Vance was a converted Liberty ship named after the cantankerous governor of North Carolina during the American Civil War. The trip was fine; we even had waiter service in the dining room –but the voyage took 16 1/2 days!