Evening star., 1953-06-06

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Pictures on Poee A-3
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Pa, a crewman making his first
trip, as the only man known
dead. Three men are listed as
missing.
The 24,000-ton tanker Phoenix,
$50 feet long, sank to the muddy
bottom of the Delaware River, 40
miles south of Philadelphia. Still
flaming at dawn, the ship lay a
blackened and charred hulk a
few hundred yards from the
New Jersey shore.
Was Nations Largest.
Only a few years old, the
Phoenix had a capacity of nine
million gallons of petroleum
products and when she was
launched was the Nations larg-
est.
A shiplength or two away, the
11,081-ton tanker Pan Massa-
chusetts burned f1ercely. Her
main deck had sunk almost to
the water level and her keel
was on or close to the bottom.
F.. L. JudSon, engineer for the
National Bulk Carriers, Inc,
owner of both ships, said both
were totally destroyed. He esti-
mated the loss at $12 million.
The collision at 1915 am.
(EDT this morning appeared
to have resulted from a mixup
in signals between the two ships
moving in opposite directions,
survivors said.
It was a warm, clear summer
night on the river.
So intense were the fires and
so great the columns of black
smoke rising Skyward that
watchers on shore said "the stars
were blotted out"
Tribute to Rescuers.
The high rescue percentage
was a tribute to a night of
heroic work by the Coast Guard
and residents and volunteer
groups on both sides of the river
bay that leads from the port of
Philadelphia to the Atlantic
Ocean.
Summoned by flame-lit skies,
many persons manned small
boats to cruise as close as pos
sible to the wrecks, picking up
swimming sailors. Some crew.
men swan to shore on each side
of the river, we're picked up by
watchers there and bundled off
to hospitals.
Most of the crewmen suffered
shock, burns or minor injuries.
Capt. Reginald c. Gross, SO,
Houston, Tex, of the Pan Mas
sachuSetts was among the in
jured survivors. He suffered
second-degree burns, but before
he was put to bed in a hospital
told the Associated Press his ship
was ION fire all over" when he
left her.
The captain of the Phoenix,
CapA Gustave Japachen, So, of
Langhorne, Pa, was admitted
to st. Francis Hospital, Will
mington, suffering from severe
burns. Hospital attendants said
his condition was poor.
The Pan Massachusetts,, headed
for Philadelphia with a full load
of gasoline, hit the empty
Phoenix amidships. The Phoenix,
like whale with a broken back,
went down quickly. her bow jut-
ting into the air and her entire
prov above the water.
Versions of what happened
from members of both ships in
dicated there was a mixup in sig
nails between the two huge tank
ers as to how they were going to
pas each other.
LifebOatS Jammed.
Maurice Hibler, 26-year -old
able-bodied seaman from Tulsa,
Okla. jumped overheard when
the lifeboats on the Pan MasSa-
chusettS jammed and couldn't be
lowered. AS lookout on the Pan
Massachusetts,. here's how he
saw the collision:
I'VE saw the Phoenix turning
in front of us and heard two long
blasts from her. We gave two
back, and took hard left to
port, but it wasn't enough. We
hit the Phoenix aft of their mid
ship house. The crash was about
11:16 pm. ship time (12:16 EDIT.
There we're explosions on both
ships and then fire."
Mr.. Hibler said he was picked
up by one Of the many private
citizens who put out to help pick
up survivors.
Ar