SS V . A . Fogg SS " V . A . Fogg was a modified T2 tanker built in 1943 , as SS " Four Lakes . After service in World War II , she was eventually sold into private ownership . she was renamed " V . A . Fogg " in 1971 , shortly before she exploded and sank off Freeport , Texas . Service history . Construction . The ship was built by the Alabama Dry Dock & Shipbuilding Company in Mobile , Alabama , as a Type T2 - SE - A1 tanker for the U . S . Maritime Commission . She was launched on 21 December 1943 and completed by 26 January 1944 . World War II . Like most other merchant ships during the war , " Four Winds " was fitted with a defensive armament . This consisted of a 5 " / 38 caliber dual purpose gun at the stern , a 3 " / 50 caliber dual purpose gun in the bows , and eight 20 mm anti - aircraft guns . These were operated by a crew of 29 men of the Naval Armed Guard ; a lieutenant , 25 gunners and three signalmen . The " Four Lakes " was operated under charter on behalf of the War Shipping Administration by War Emergency Tankers , Inc . , and sailed from Mobile on her maiden voyage on 29 January 1944 , commanded by Captain Elmer O . Wolfe . She arrived at Galveston , Texas , the following day to take aboard a cargo of kerosene , which she delivered to New York on 9 February . She then sailed to Baton Rouge , Louisiana , to take on a cargo of gasoline , before returning to New York , where she joined a convoy bound for Liverpool , England , arriving there on 12 March . " Four Lakes " returned to New York , for another cargo of gasoline in April and made two further trans - Atlantic round trips in May and June , often with an additional cargo of aircraft on her deck . On 1 July she sailed in convoy to Casablanca , French Morocco , carrying fuel and aircraft . After offloading she sailed to Gibraltar , and was promptly placed in quarantine for 10 days , because of a suspected outbreak of bubonic plague in Casablanca . After three weeks she joined a convoy bound for New York , arriving there on 3 August . " Four Lakes " sailed on two further convoys between the U . S . and the U . K . in August and September , before taking a cargo of gasoline from New York to Naples , Italy , in October . On 23 November , under the command of C . E . Cather , she sailed in convoy from New York to Swansea , Wales , with a cargo of aviation fuel , returning to Baltimore , Maryland , on 23 December . On 19 January 1945 , following a refit , and once again under the command of Elmer O . Wolfe , " Four Lakes " sailed independently from New York to Madras , India , via the Suez Canal , with a cargo of 100 - octane fuel and 12 military aircraft on deck . She arrived at Madras on 20 February , unloaded and then sailed via Calcutta for Abadan , Iran , at the northern end of the Persian Gulf , to take on a cargo of 80 - octane gasoline . She transited the Suez Canal , and arrived at Naples on 7 April to unload . She then sailed for New York , arriving on 23 April . The next day she joined another convoy , which arrived in the Thames Estuary on 5 May , two days before the German surrender . " Four Lakes " sailed from Southend , Essex , on 8 May , and although the war in Europe was officially over , the normal wartime routine was maintained , with the ship sailing in convoy with a naval escort , and arriving at New York on 19 May . On 4 June , following a refit , and under the command of James R . McWilliams , with a cargo of 100 - octane gasoline and P - 51 Mustang fighters as deck cargo , she sailed for Madras , India , arriving there on 4 July . She then sailed to Abadan to take on a load of diesel oil , before proceeding independently to Darwin , Australia . From Darwin she sailed with two other merchant vessels , escorted by three warships , to the Philippines , arriving at Manila on 22 August . Following the surrender of Japan on 2 September , " Four Lakes " sailed across the Pacific , and in late October , carried diesel fuel from the Panama Canal Zone to San Pedro , California . She then sailed through the Panama Canal , and arrived at Houston , Texas , on 19 November . In December , she sailed to Hamburg , Germany . Post - war . In February 1946 , the " Four Lakes " was rechartered to the American Petroleum Transport Corporation , and in July , carried a cargo from Texas City , Texas , to Baltimore , Maryland . She was again chartered to the American Petroleum Transport Corp . in 1947 , but otherwise remained as part of the Reserve Fleet at Mobile , Alabama . She was finally sold in 1956 to Tanker Four Lakes , Inc . of Wilmington , Delaware , and was operated under a bareboat charter by Texas City Refinery , Inc . ( later renamed Texas City Tankers , Inc . ) on routes between the Gulf Coast and the East Coast , transporting a variety of petrochemical products . In 1959 the ship was extended by the Maryland Shipbuilding and Drydock Company by cutting the hull in half and inserting a new mid - section , built by the American Bridge Division of Orange , Texas , part of the U . S . Steel Corporation . This increased the length of the ship from to , and increased her size from 10 , 448 to . Sinking . In 1971 " Four Lakes " was sold to Ithaca Corporation of Wilmington , Delaware , and was renamed " V . A . Fogg " on 11 August . On 1 February 1972 , the ship , commanded by Captain John Edward Christy , Sr . , sailed from Freeport , Texas to a point offshore to clean its cargo tanks of remaining benzene residue , before sailing to Galveston to offload a cargo of xylene . The ship exploded during the cleaning operation , sending up a column of smoke over in height . A search found the ship lying in of water in two sections , in position . An examination revealed that the cargo section was almost totally destroyed by the explosion , and the engine order telegraph still registering " full ahead " . There were no survivors from the crew . However , the chief radio officer , William A . Shaw , had left the ship for an emergency medical procedure only a few hours before the ship exploded . The Coast Guard investigation revealed a lack of proper training by the crew or contractors in venting and cleaning benzene , which can explode if residual fumes come in contact with an electrical charge ; such a charge may have come from a " red devil " blower , a device used to ventilate spaces . Witnesses had seen red devil blowers lowered into the holds by the crew in the past , and one was recovered from the wreckage , in the hold and rigged to be used . Within a year of her sinking , " V . A . Fogg " was subject to the writings of various Bermuda Triangle authors , some contending that no bodies were recovered except that of the captain , who was found sitting in his cabin still holding a coffee cup . The explanations were easily refuted by official United States Coast Guard records and photographs , as well as the recovery of several bodies . Most Triangle investigators agreed with the official line , with John Wallace Spencer ( author of " Limbo of the Lost " ) being the only major investigator to claim the incident had any " paranormal " connections . In fact , three bodies were recovered ( only two , including the captain , were identified ) , and it was not even close to the Bermuda Triangle . It took the Coast Guard nearly two weeks to find the ship , with of mast sticking out of the water . A private charter hired by family members , found the vessel , from the coordinates of a NASA pilot that saw a mushroom cloud in the Gulf , and a person off the Galveston jetties that saw a ball of fire . The private charter took those two coordinates and went directly to " V . A . Fogg " . Currently , the wreckage of " V . A . Fogg " shares space with a number of sunken Liberty ship s and barges in what has since been called the Freeport Liberty Ship Reef Site , an underwater park catering to scuba enthusiasts and fishermen . Memorial . An anchor from " V . A . Fogg " is on display outside the Texas City Museum , Texas City , with a plaque commemorating the 39 men lost aboard her .