Evening star., 1952-02-22
Crackup Of 7 Tankers
May Bring Revised
Ship Specifications
Coast Guard Alarmed
By Rising Sea Disasters;
Investigations Pressed

Investigation Of the crackup of
two tankers off Cape Cod this
week may bring the adoption of
new rules and specifications for
the wartime ships in postwar serv-
ice. it was indicated today.
Coast Guard officials are frank
to say they don't know what i'm
provements are needed to make
the ships more seaworthy, but
they are admittedly alarmed by
the breakup of four, and possibly
five, ships in the last two months.
The best physicists and metal
lurgists in the country don't know
yet why they break up said Rear
Admiral Halert C. Shepheard,
chief of the Coast Guards office
OF merchant marine safety.
He said great improvement had
been made in the ships built since
the war, as evidenced by the fact
that none of them has cracked.
The problem is to put the post
war know-how into remedying the
faults of the wartime ships.
Origin Traced.
In the cases of the Fort Mercer
and the Pendleton-the latest
two sea diSasters-Admiral Shep-
heard said the origin in the
cracks can be pin-pointed in both
cases. The cross-section of plate
pointing to the origin of the
break has been saved in both
ships, and engineers already are
on the scene to start their inves-
tigation.
The irony of the present situa-
ton is that all the ships involved
in the crackups had met the post
war requirement of riveted
straps. These riveted sections,
Admiral Shepheard explained,
were not intended for strength
but as crack shoppers. In all but
one of these cases, the cracks went
through the straps.
Maritime and Coast Guard off,
cials gave this background of the
study that has been going on con-
tinuously since 1943 to make the
ships more seaworthy.
During the war, welded ships
were being turned out as fast as
possible. Between 1943 and 1916,
seven of the 2,570 Liberty ships
and seven of the 523 tankers
cracked up.
Study Groups Set Up.
At the instigation of the Secre-
tary of the Navy, a special COM
mittee was set up with representa-
tives of the old Maritime Commis-
sion, the American Bureau of
Shipping. the Coast Guard and
the Navy to study what could be
done about the fracture and
breakup of the welded ships.
AS a result of this study. the
Coast Guard and the American
Bureau of Shipping-both of
which much certify ships flying
the American flag before they go
to sea-ruled that riveted plates
must be put on the wartime tank
ers and Liberties as straps.
THE rule has obviously beAn
effective" a Maritime Admins
Itratlon official said. 1.-The marine
insurance people consider these
ships an adequate risk"
Partly Welded.
Most of today's ships, it was
Explained, are partially welded
In the case of the postwar ships,
however, the experience Of the
wartime failure has brought i'm
provements in the specifications.
Contributing to the difficulties
now being faced by the experts
trying to figure what makes ships
crack up is the fact that conStruc-
ton is not considered the only
cause. The loading, nature Of the
seas, force of a hurricane and the
masters seamanship are among
other factors taken into consider
alton in the Investigations.
Admiral Shepheard emphasized
that the study begun in the 40's
is still going on.