2 300kw Westinghouse direct current generators driven by 2 direct-connected 6-cylinder 450hp Superior diesel engines. [15], The ship was listed as part of the original Southwest Pacific Area Command's (SWPA) in-theater fleet and is shown as one of seven ships in the United States Army Forces In Australia (USAFIA) fleet and one of three assigned for an indefinite period. [4], On 21 September 1943 Sea Witch departed Port Hueneme, California with over 1,000 officers and men of the 91st Naval Construction Battalion bound for Milne Bay, New Guinea and after a brief stop in Australia arrived on 21 October 1943 with the next five days spent unloading. Vessels built in general accordance with the Sea Witch model were known as clippers, a term already well entrenched in the language of fast vessels. She operated in the Atlantic trades for five years. To this end, she was very heavily sparred and built with especially tall masts for a vessel of her size. The convoy was loaded with troops, supplies and aircraft originally intended for the Philippines, that had been delivered to Australia earlier by SS Mariposa and SS President Coolidge, escorted by Phoenix. [10] Shortly thereafter Sea Witch successfully delivered fighter planes to Java in a failing effort to reinforce Allied forces there resisting the Japanese invasion of the Dutch East Indies.
She was launched at Smith & Dimon in Manhattan on December 8, 1846. [3] Sea Witch, in fact, had more influence on the configuration of fast vessels than any other ship built in the United States.
Following the inferno as it proceeded under the bridge and into Gravesend Bay, Fire Fighter maneuvered to a new position along the side of Esso Brussels and those aboard caught their first sight of the fully involved hull of Sea Witch and realized that there were actually two vessels involved in the fire instead of just one. [2], Lloyd's and most references are clear the name is, The 91st Naval Construction Battalion history specifically mentions "left Port Hueneme on 21 September 1943 aboard the U.S. Army Transport, sfn error: no target: CITEREFLloyd's1943–44 (, sfn error: no target: CITEREFColton,_T.Tampa_Shipbuilding (, sfn error: no target: CITEREFMerchant_Vessels_of_the_United_States_1942 (, sfn error: no target: CITEREFColton,_T.C2_Cargo_Ships (, sfn error: no target: CITEREFKarsten-Kunibert_Krueger-Kopiske (, sfn error: no target: CITEREFMaritime_Administration_Ship_HistorySea_Witch (, sfn error: no target: CITEREFMatloff1953–59 (, sfn error: no target: CITEREFArnold_Hague_Convoy_Database:_Convoy_P.2 (, Japanese invasion of the Dutch East Indies, Merchant Vessels of the United States 1942, "United States Maritime Commission C2 Type Ships", Photo Equator crossing certificate "U.S.A.T. [2] The ship was of the basic C2 design, rather than the more numerous C2-S, C2-S-A1, C2-S-B1 types and four C2-T hulls delivered December 1941 through March 1942.
[4], "Bath Iron Works Production Record, Part 3", "United States Coast Guard marine casualty report", "Loss of steering led to fiery collision in New York's Verrazano Narrows", Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1973, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sea_Witch_(container_ship)&oldid=967737018, Articles with unsourced statements from August 2019, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Sea Witch was a MARAD Type C5-S-73b container ship built at the Bath Iron Works shipyard for American Export-Isbrandtsen Lines. Directing the helmsman to bring the ship to a heading of 167 degrees in order to begin transiting the Narrows, Cahill also ordered the ship's speed increased to 13.4 knots, just shy of the maximum permitted harbor speed of 14 knots. Vessels built in general accordance with the Sea Witch model were known as clippers, a term already well entrenched in the language of fast vessels." "[4], Sea Witch was 192 feet in length, had a 43-foot beam, and was of 908 tons burthen. [17] The need for large ocean voyage capable ships was acute and SWPA's need was for smaller, shallow draft vessels for operation in reef-strewn waters and poorly developed ports, and Sea Witch was detached from the SWPA fleet in March, though still operating in the region. [citation needed], Less than five minutes had passed from the initial loss of steering control aboard Sea Witch before she was within a ship′s length from Esso Brussels′ midship, and with the ship still making 13 knots with her engines in full reverse and a collision now unavoidable, Cahill and Paterson ordered the crew off the bow and abandoned the forward superstructure.
She lowered this record to 74 days under the same captain in 1849.
Musters would later reveal that three of Sea Witch′s crew had died, two men missing and presumed dead and her captain, who had died of an apparent heart attack while awaiting rescue. With the ship now moving closer to 15 knots due to the effects of a strong 2-3 knot ebb tide as she passed by the general anchorage off Stapleton, Staten Island, Cahill ordered a course correction at 0036 hours to port to bring the ship's heading to 158 degrees to bring her in line with the center of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. When the ship did not respond as expected the helmsman advised the captain that Sea Witch was no longer responding to steering inputs, Captain Paterson quickly ordered steering control transferred from the port side steering system to the starboard system, while Cahill ordered the rudder put hard over to port. The clipper ship Sea Witch was launched from lower Manhattan in 1846, destined to amaze the world with her accomplishments. She operated in the Atlantic trades for five years. [citation needed], Within minutes of the initial collision and explosion, the Fire Department of New York (FDNY) fireboat Fire Fighter had departed its nearby station at Marine Company 9 in Stapleton and arrived at what the firefighters aboard would later describe as a sea of flames that extended 3,000 yards (2,700 m) in front of them. For me it was essential to have the Sea Witch as a competitor.
2 x 9 cyl. [11][12][14] The two ships proceeded north separately, but Langley was attacked and sunk by Japanese land-based bombers on 27 February, despite being escorted by two American destroyers sent from Tilatjap. [7] In 1951 the ship was sold and renamed Bastasen and again the same year renamed' Warszawa. [citation needed], Pumped out and placed under tow, the charred hulk of Sea Witch was moved to an outer pier at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in Brooklyn, where she would remain for the next eight years.
[citation needed], With all survivors accounted for, FDNY fireboats, United States Coast Guard cutters, and harbor tugs set about extinguishing the fires aboard the two ships, and by dawn on May 31 all fires aboard Esso Brussels were declared out and the two ships were separated. She was briefly the tallest ship afloat, and is credited with being one of the first American "clipper ships. [5] On 23 January 1941, after the ship exceeded all guarantees during her first voyage, United States Lines announced the ship would be purchased. [5][9] On 15 August 1940 Sea Witch departed New York under the command of Captain Samuel Lee on her maiden voyage. Sparks from the collision and severed electrical wiring quickly ignited the highly volatile oil and a tremendous explosion occurred, leaving both ships afire and wreathed in a large and growing pool of burning oil. Initially assuming there had been an explosion on Esso Brussels, the fireboat began to pour water onto the ship from its starboard bow, keeping their ship upwind and upcurrent from the smoke and flames now heading towards the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. [10] Sea Witch was sold from the reserve fleet to Dichmann, Wright & Pugh, Inc. on 25 April 1947 and that resold the ship to Caribbean Land & Shipping Corporation on 8 May 1947 at Hoboken, New Jersey.
Astarte, an 1846 brig of 328 tons finished close behind the Oriental, which made a passage from Anjer to West India docks in 97 days.
"In 1845, John Willis Griffiths built the fast ship Rainbow and followed it in the next year with the even faster Sea Witch. A further seven members of Sea Witch′s crew were recovered from the water surrounding the ship and the ship′s electrician was rescued from aboard ship by the crew of M/V Brian McAllister at approximately 0245 hours. "[1], Howland & Aspinwall gave the command of Sea Witch to Captain Robert Waterman, known in the trade as "Bully Bob" Waterman. In 1847, under Waterman, she made a record-setting run from Hong Kong to New York in 77 days. MS Sea Witch[note 1] was a United States Maritime Commission type C2 cargo ship, the first of four pre-war hulls, built by Tampa Shipbuilding & Engineering Company, Tampa, Florida and delivered in July 1940. Both the captain's and the pilot′s attempts to regain control of Sea Witch proved futile, as both the port and starboard steering systems were connected into a single mechanism atop the vessels rudder post by a faulty "key," a device similar to a cotter pin, which had failed. Without this small fastener in place all steering control of Sea Witch was lost, and with the ship rapidly moving out of the channel toward Staten Island Cahill ordered the engines to full astern, began sounding a series of short rapid blasts on the ship's whistle, and asked Captain Paterson to sound the general alarm to alert the ship′s crew. [12] The convoy was composed of Sea Witch, seaplane tender (and former aircraft carrier) USS Langley (carrying 32 assembled P-40s on her short flight deck), the Australian transports Katoomba and Duntroon, and the United States Army Transport Willard A. Holbrook, escorted by the light cruiser USS Phoenix. In 1856, with approximately 500 immigrants from China on board, she ran aground 12 miles (19 km) west of Havana. Sea Witch was a MARAD Type C5-S-73b container ship built at the Bath Iron Works shipyard for American Export-Isbrandtsen Lines. [citation needed], As the crew of Esso Brussels made their own attempt to abandon their ship, the crew aboard Sea Witch mustered in her aft superstructure, where they attempted to lower her aft lifeboats. [8], After gold was discovered in California, Sea Witch's owners, Howland & Aspinwall, transferred her from the China trade to the new Cape Horn run from the East Coast to San Francisco. In early 1850, Sea Witch completed this passage in 97 days, the first vessel ever to do so in less than 100 days. Du Moulin wrote, “The power of the Sea Witch in heavy seas and strong winds is still awesome, and it was carrying cargo! This March 1849 mark is one of the longest-lived human speed records, bettered only in May 2003 by the trimaran Great American II in 72 days 21 hours 11 minutes 38 seconds. Both vessels would have tremendous impact on merchant hull design.