1957 –Mar 6, USN tanker Mission San Francisco & Elna II collide, explosion, Delaware Riv. DE-10

— 10 Salisbury Times, MD. “Tanker Blows Up; 10 Are Missing. 3-7-1957, p. 1.
— 10 USCG. Commandant’s Action…collision…ELNA II…USNS Mission San Fran…, 1957.

Narrative Information

USCG: “….Late in the evening on 6 March 1957 the civilian manned U.S. Naval Tanker, Mission San Francisco of 10,388 g.t., without cargo, was upbound in the Delaware River, and the Elna II, a freighter of 3,149 g.t., under Liberian registry, also without cargo, was downbound in the same river. The weather was drizzling, visibility good, wind N.E. force 1, and flood tide. In approaching the intersection of Bulkhead Bar Range, the speed of the Mission San Francisco was approximately 17.5 knots and that of the Elna II 9.5 knots, and each vessel had the other in sight. Both vessels failed to timely ascertain the position, course, speed, and intention of the other. Such failure, under the conditions of the restricted waters navigated, negotiation of a dangerous intersection in the channel and the speed of approach caused collision to soon become imminent, whereupon both vessels took collision-avoiding action by changing course to the westward. This action was inadequate and the vessels collided at 0036, 7 March 1957, and as a result severe explosions occurred on board the Mission San Francisco and fire involved both vessels. The Mission San Francisco sank with the loss of life of 10 crew members, including all deck watch officers and the pilot. There was no loss of life on the Elna II….” [p. 1]

Newspaper

March 7: “New Castle, Del. (AP) – A violent midships explosion tore a Navy tanker apart after a collision with a freighter in the Delaware River early today. At least 10 crew members of the tanker, including the captain and most of his deck officers, were missing. The captain of the freighter, the Elna II, reported several hours after the collision that all 23 members of his crew had been accounted for. The tanker, the Mission San Francisco, sank almost immediately in shallow water near Pea Patch Jetty three miles south of here.

“Twenty-six of the 45 members of the tanker crew escaped in one of the Mission’s boats and 9 others were pulled out of the water by small craft, fishing boats and vessels from nearby refineries, which raced to the scene.

“Rescue efforts were hampered by a sudden snow storm which blew up over the river at dawn. Fire broke out anew on the stern of the tanker which jutted out of the water. Rescuers said it was doubtful that any of the crew members still aboard who survived the blast could be alive.

“The 26 survivors who were transferred to the Coast Guard cutter Zinnia and later to an Army tug were put ashore at New Castle. None appeared seriously injured. One of the survivors said the Captain and those on the bridge must have been killed by the tremendous blast which tore the superstructure into bits.

“The tanker is assigned to the Military Sea Transportation Service. It is manned by civilians and
operated by commercial shipping firms under contract to haul oil for the Navy.

“One Of the tanker’s survivors said that the ship, which has a capacity of 20,200 tons, was empty
and had not been ‘defumigated.’ This concentration of fumes, he said, was what caused the terrific blast, the force of which was reported as far away as 30 miles.

“The first survivor from the Mission San Francisco, William C. Bausch, 35, Miami, Fla., first assistant engineer, said the captain, four mates, the purser, a steward and a radio operator were on the bridge at the time of the blast. ‘The bridge was blown to bits. I don’t see how they could have survived,’ he added. He said he was asleep in his cabin and the blast knocked him out of bed. ‘The ship was covered with flames in an instant and listing to port as I went over the side. I saw many members of the crew jumping into the water.’

“The survivors appeared in agreement that the Elna had struck the tanker amidships.

“Scene of the collision is about 40 miles south of Philadelphia at a point where the river is about
two miles wide.

“The tanker’s captain, William C. Allen, of Galveston, Tex., is listed as missing. The names of
the others on the bridge were not immediately available.

“George Malvar, 19, one of the survivors of the Elna described as an Estonian ship under Liberian registry, said he was at the helm and taking orders from the river pilot, Capt. Henry Rice of Milford, Del., when the two ships struck. Malvar said the Elna was proceeding ‘normally down the channel when the pilot suddenly told me to veer to starboard.’ ‘He told the captain (Alexander Kaarel) to blow the whistle. I turned the ship and the pilot told the captain to blow the whistle again. The next thing I saw was this tanker crossing our bow. I braced myself for the collision and the pilot ordered full astern. There didn’t seem to be much of a shock when we hit but then there was the terrible explosion.’ ‘When I think of all those men on the other ship, I’m sorry I was at the wheel. But I was only taking orders. I don’t think our pilot was wrong either.’

“Rice, gave a similar version of the collision adding that he noticed the tanker as he approached the jetty and it appeared that it would cross close to the Elna’s bow. He said the tanker failed to respond to his warning blast and the collision occurred shortly after he had ordered all engines to
full reverse. ‘I heard four or five explosions on the tanker, the force of which hurled us to the floor and the wheelhouse collapsed around us.’

“Cmdr, O. G. Cross, of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, who lives and rounded up other auxiliary members who put out in an 18-foot open boat. He said the area where the vessels collided is called the ‘graveyard of ships.’ A number of small boats have piled up on jetties there. The navigable channel is only 50 to 100 yards wide at that point, Cross said.

“Elna survivors said the freighter had unloaded a consignment of wood pulp at Wilmington, Del., and was headed south to Baltimore. The Mission San Francisco was reported traveling from New York to Philadelphia. Capt. Kaare of the Elna said the Mission was rounding a bend in the river and appeared headed across channel and across the Elna’s bow instead of proceeding up river on the New Jersey side, thereby properly passing the Elna on her port side.

“The Coast Guard halted all shipping in the area because the burning tanker was a hazard to navigation.

“The Elna is owned by Oskar Tidemann & Co., New York City. The tanker was under lease from the Navy by Mathiason’s Tanker Industries, Inc., of Philadelphia. Kaare, 62-year-old native of Estonia now living in Toronto, Can., said his ship was about an hour out of Wilmington and was approaching Pea Patch Jetty when he first sighted the tanker less than an hour after midnight. ‘We blew our whistle to signal the other ship to turn,’ he said. ‘As we kept approaching we blew the whistle again but they didn’t acknowledge the signal in any way.’

“Kaare is a veteran of 40 years service at sea. He told newsmen he was knocked unconscious by the force of the blast, but revived about a minute later. All he could see, he said, was flames — flames that burned the bow of his ship and mushroomed higher over the tanker. Kaare said he ordered his crew on deck immediately.” (Salisbury Times, MD. “Tanker Blows Up; 10 Are Missing. Collides with Freighter in Delaware Bay.” 3-7-1957, p. 1.)

Sources

Salisbury Times, MD. “Tanker Blows Up; 10 Are Missing. Collides with Freighter in Delaware Bay.” 3-7-1957, p. 1. Accessed 11-5-2012: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=6124241

United States Coast Guard. Commandant’s Action on Marine Board of Investigation; collision of ELNA II (Liberian) and USNS Mission San Francisco on the Delaware River, on 7 March 1957, with loss of life. Washington DC: Commandant, USCG, November 13, 1957, 13 pages. Accessed at: http://www.uscg.mil/hq/cg5/docs/boards/elna.pdf