Evening star., 1953-06-07
One Dead, ; Missing,
81 Saved in Crash
OF Big Oil Tankers
BY the Assoeioied Press

llQe0 early LOudy LII 0c4dWdAc
Bay.
Explosions and fire rocked the
two vessels. Most of the sc
crewmen leaped from the fam
ing vessels into the oil-slicked
water.
Coast GuardSmen, Army Engi-
neers and private citizens, using
everything from rowboats to
cabin cruisers, pulled many OF
the SO survivors from the river.
Many were burned or injured
slightly.
The Red Cross said one other
man died and three are missing.
An Army Engineers patrol
boat picked UP so survivors. Some
of the others swan ashore.
The dead crewman, Joseph
Donnelly, IS, of Marcus Hook,
Pa. had been on his first trip
aboard the 14,000-ton Phoenix.
In New York the Coast Guard
identified the three missing as
First Mate A. G. Gartrell, Sea-
man D. v. Smith and Frank M.
Esolap. Their boats and home
addresses were not known.
Confusion Over Signal.
The 11,081-ton Pan Massachu-
sets, inbound for Philadelphia
from Houston. Tex. with $4,000
barrels Of high octane gasoline,
sliced into the empty Phoenix
40 miles south of Philadelphia
where the river is two miles
wide. Survivors blamed confu-
sion over whistle signals as the
cause of the crash.
The Phoenix drifted to a point
about a half mile off the shore,
burned and sank to the muddy
bottom. The ship had a capacity
Of more than 8 million gallons
of oil.
The Pan Massachusetts, lay
with her main deck sunk almost
at water level and her keel close
to or on the bottom.
Late today, the high tide
picked the hulk of the Phoenix
off the bottom and drifted her
about a city block until her
stern was pressing amidships of
the Pan Massachusetts,.
IL Million Loss.
r. L. JudSon, port engineer of
the National Bulk Carriers. Inc,
of New York, owner of both
ships said both were totally
destroyed, but declined comment
on the cause of the crash. He
estimated the loss at $12 million.
Crewmen of the ships, talking
with newsmen in the Red Cross
building in Wilmington, indi-
Gated confusion over whistle
signals and whether the Phoenix
was to pass the Pan Massachu-
sets on the right or left side as
the cause of the collision.
Many seagoing tankers and
freighters sail up and down the
bay between industrial Philadel-
phia and the Atlantic Ocean. A
Coast Guard report said 1000
yards of navigable water west
of the two wrecks would be ade-
quate to keep the river open for
shipping.
The collision came shortly
after midnight on a clear sum-
mer night, just as most residents
were going to bed along the Del
aware and new Jersey shores of
the river. .
Residents Aid Rescue.
Reused from bed by the ex-
plosions. many of them set out
in boats to aid the survivors.
The intense heat of the flames
and the heavy cloud of smoke
blotted out the sky. AS the sur
vivorS were hauled from the wa
ter and brought ashore, house
wives, the Red Cross and the
Salvation Army were on hand
with hot coffee, blankets and
dry clothing.
Coast Guard fire vessels poured
water into the ships, but the
fires continued, reducing the
wreckage to twisted hunks of
steel.
The Pan Massachusetts, car
ried crew of Al under the COM
mand of Capt. Reginald c..
Gross, SO, of Houston. He suf-
fered second degree burns. The
captain of the Phoenix, Gustave
A. Japachen, SO, of Langhorne,
Pa, was admitted to st. Francis
Hospital, Wilmington, seriously
burned. His crew totalled As.
Most of the crewmen were in
their hunks at the time of the
collision. Burdette Williams, 60,
of Milford, Conn, third as
siStant engineer on the Phoenix,
said it was impossible to use the
lifeboats because of the fire
and smoke. Two of them were
burning like tinder boxes"
Men Ordered to Jump.
The chief engineer ordered the
men to jump. Mr.. Williams said,
land jump we did. The water
seemed hot and cold at the same
time. The wind was blowing the
smoke from us and heads were
bobbing all around"
Maurice Hibler, 26, of Tulsa,
Okla, was the lookout on the