1957 — Jan 29, Tanker SS Jeanny vapor explosions, Todds Shipyard, Alameda, CA — 10

–10 NFPA. “Largest Industrial Fire Losses of 1957.” Quarterly, Vol. 51, N. 4, April 1958, p. 247.
–10 USCG. Commandant’s Action…explosion…fire… SS JEANNY…Alameda, Cal…, 1957.

Narrative Information

NFPA: “Jan. 29, Alameda, Calif., Todds Shipyard, et al. $500,000; 10 killed

“10,633 gross ton T-2 tanker Jeanny. Ten workmen were killed and 43 were injured in two explosions aboard the tanker while being reactivated. The first explosion bulged and opened the port deep tank, blew openings into the engine room and ripped open part of the deck. No fire followed this explosion but a second explosion ten minutes later (while rescue operations were still in progress) was followed by in intense fire in the engine room that had to be extinguished by water and foam streams before men could again enter the engine room to search for victims.

“For several hours prior to the explosion the fuel oil in the deep tanks had been steam heated so that it could be pumped to a burner being used to dry new brick work in a boiler. A heavy concentration of vapors had been reported and two expansion trunk covers that were found open were secured. However, no one noticed that the cover was off the Butterworth hole leading to the port deep tank. Vapors escaping from the Butterworth hole were ignited by welding operation near the hole on deck and flames flashed back into the deep tank where the first explosion occurred.

“Tests made of the fuel oil in the deep tank revealed that it contained a small amount of 75⁰ to 80⁰ flash point liquid.”

USCG: “….On 29 January 1957 the T-2 Tanker Jeanny, of 10,633 g.t., was moored at Todds Shipyard, Alameda, California. The Jeanny, a laid-up tanker, had been recently purchased from the U.S. Maritime Administration by the Sheffield Tankers Corporation, and was undergoing necessary repairs and reactivation for service as a tankship. The fuel oil in the port aft deep tank was being heated so that it could be pumped, atomized and effectively burned to facilitate the drying out of new brick work in the boilers. The fuel oil was heated to the extent that it was bubbling and volatile vapors were escaping through the tank openings, including a Butterworth hole from which the cover was removed. Under these circumstances of heated fuel in the port aft deep tank with strong volatile vapors escaping from an uncovered Butterworth hole, a worker began welding a blank to cover a porthole on the forward wide of the deck house, only a few feet above the open Butterworth hole, from which heated volatile vapors were escaping. At about 1510 the welding operation ignited the vapors, resulting in severe explosions, extensive damage and fire in the machinery spaces, and loss of life of ten workmen, including an assistant ship’s chief engineer. The damage to the vessel was estimated at $500.000.” (p. 1.)

Sources

National Fire Protection Association. “Largest Industrial Fire Losses of 1957.” Quarterly, Vol. 51, No. 4, April 1958, p. 247.

United States Coast Guard. Commandant’s Action on Marine Board of Investigation; explosion and fire on SS JEANNY at Todds Shipyard, Alameda, California, 29 January 1957 with loss of life. Washington DC: Commandant, USCG, April 4, 1957, 5 pages. Accessed 3-4-2023 at: https://www.dco.uscg.mil/Portals/9/DCO%20Documents/5p/CG-5PC/INV/docs/boards/jeanny.pdf