Marine Sulphur Queen Coast Guard Report Summary of Findings
Here is the text of the 17 March 1964 summary of the findings of the Marine Board of Investigations concerning the disappearance of the MARINE SULPHUR QUEEN, as reviewed by Admiral E. J. Roland, Commandant, United States Coast Guard Headquarters, Washington, D.C., with comments on safeguards and procedures which might help avoid other marine disasters of this type. The heading of the summary of the report is above. If the text is not clear, it is the following: Commandant's Action on Marine Board of Investigation; disappearance of the SS MARINE SULPHUR QUEEN at sea on or about 4 February 1963 with the presumed loss of all persons on board.
1. The record of the Marine Board of Investigation convened to investigate subject casualty together with the findings of fact, conclusions and recommendations has been reviewed.
2. The SS MARINE SULPHUR QUEEN, a T2-SE-A1 type tank vessel of U.S. Registry, converted to carry molten sulphur, departed Beaumont, Texas, with a full cargo of 15,260 tons on the afternoon of 2 February 1963 enroute Norfolk, Va. The ship and crew of 39 men disappeared. The vessel was last heard from at 0125 EST on 4 February 1963.
3. The ship's conversion in 1960 to a molten sulphur carrier necessitated the removal of all transverse bulkheads in way of the original centerline tanks and modification of the internal structure to accommodate one continuous independent tank 306 ft. long, 30 ft. 6 in. wide and 33 ft. high, which was internally divided by transverse bulkheads into four cargo tanks of about equal size. The external surfaces of this long independent tank were insulated with a fibrous glass material 6" thick on the top of the tank and 4 in. thick on other surfaces. A void surrounded the tank which allowed a space about 3 ft. 6 in. between the bottom of the tank and the bottom plating of the ship, 2 ft. between the sides of the tank and the original wing tank longitudinal bulkheads, and 3 ft. between the top of the tank and the weather deck. A watertight bulkhead was installed at frame 59 which divided the void into two spaces. The forward space contained cargo tanks one and two and the after space contained cargo tanks three and four. A partial or diaphragm bulkhead which did not extend to the top or bottom of the void was installed where the first and second cargo tanks were divided at frame 65 and where the third and fourth cargo tanks were divided at frame 53. Near its midpoint the tank was welded to its supporting structures at frame 59, and provision was made to permit expansion and contraction of the tank from the midpoint toward the ends. Each void was provided with power ventilation. Steam heating coils were installed in the cargo tanks to maintain the temperature of the cargo. Each cargo tank was fitted at its after end with a port and a starboard trunk which extended through the weather deck into a common watertight pump house. There was a horizontal clearance of 4 in. between the trunk and the weather deck to allow for expansion. An asbestos apron was fitted to cover this clearance. An electric motor was mounted on the top of each trunk and connected by a vertical shaft to a deep well pump located in a sump in the bottom of the tank. A 4 in. ventilator was installed in the top of each trunk and extended through the top of the pump house. An access scuttle was also installed in each trunk. At the forward end of each cargo tank. a 6 in. vent pipe was installed which terminated about 4 ft. above the weather deck. As a portion of this vent pipe, a section of flexible stainless steel piping was installed between the tank top connection and the weather deck to provide for the expansion and contraction of the cargo tank. The forward bulkhead of the original after pump room was removed when the ship was converted. The cowl ventilators of the after pump room were retained but the ducts were removed so that they did not extend below the weather deck. The original wing cargo tanks were retained as ballast tanks and utilized to keep the ship on an even keel while loading and discharging. A fixed steam smothering fire extinguishing system was provided in the cargo tanks and the void spaces.
4. The MARINE SULPHUR QUEEN commenced operation as a bulk molten sulphur carrier in January, 1961. On 8 April 1961, a major sulphur spill occurred in the No. 1 pump house while discharging cargo. The molten sulphur flowed down through the clearance between the trunk and weather deck onto the insulation of No. 1 tank and into the void space below the tank. In June of 1961, the solidified sulphur and the sulphur-impregnated insulation were removed., and new insulation was installed. While discharging cargo on 28 December 1961, a spill occurred in the No. 3 pump house. Again, the sulphur flowed down onto the insulation of the tanks in the after void space and into the lower void. In January, 1962, the solidified sulphur and the sulphur-impregnated insulation were again removed, and the now insulation installed.
5. During the latter part of 1961, a crack was found in the steel plate which formed the starboard sump at the after end of No. 4 tank. This crack was described as being about 12 in. long and about 1 1/2 in. below the bottom of the No. 4 tank. The amount of molten sulphur which leaked through this crack prior to its repair in January of 1962 cannot be determined because of the sulphur spill in the pump house of No. 3 tank on 28 December 1961. However a very small leak, described as a pin-hole weep, was found in way of the repair shortly after the ship left the shipyard. Several methods were used to repair this minor leak, but none was entirely satisfactory. In any event, the molten sulphur which did emit from the leak was confined in a bay approximately 3 ft. by 8 ft. formed by the tank foundation.
6. Commencing in the late summer of 1962 and continuing until the vessel sailed on its last voyage, molten sulphur leaked from the insulation at the after and of No. 4 tank on each loaded voyage. The amount of sulphur was so great that it was necessary for the crew to remove the solidified sulphur on each return voyage to keep it from plugging the bilge suctions. When the vessel sailed on its last voyage, an estimated 20 to 70 tons of solidified suphur remained in the bilges at the after end of No. 4 tank. A witness stated that this sulphur was either coming out of insulation which was not removed during the repairs made in January of 1962 or coming from a leaking flange.
7. The repair list prepared by the Master in October of 1962 contained an item for the renewal of the 6 in. stainless steel flexible vent line on the No. 1 cargo tank, the removal of approximately 6 tons of sulphur in the void at the forward end of the tank and the renewal of approximately 750 square feet of sulphur-saturated insulation at the forward end of No. 1 tank.
8. Numerous fires had occurred in the sulphur-impregnated insulation in the void spaces. These fires were of a local nature seldom covering an area of more than a few square feet, and caused little or no apprehension on the part of the crew. They were extinguished with the steam smothering system and fresh water. Commencing in October of 1962, these fires occurred with increasing frequency. Witnesses stated that during a voyage in the latter part of December, 1962, fires burned almost continuously in the insulation at the after end of No. 4 tank, and at least one fire occurred in the void space of No. 1 tank. Before the last voyage, the cowl type ventilators from the after pump room had been removed and canvas covers installed to reduce the loss of steam from the fixed fire extinguishing system. The power ventilation for the voids was used only in port.
9. During its operation as a molten sulphur carri9r, the MARINE SULPHUR QUEEN sustained heavy weather damage on two occasions, encountered two hurricanes and suffered one minor grounding.
10. The ship was drydocked and inspected by the Coast Guard in January, 1962. It was inspected for certification by the Coast Guard in January, 1963. However, the cargo tanks, void spaces surrounding the cargo tanks, and wing tanks were not inspected at this latter time in view of the vessel's scheduled March, 1963 yard period for drydocking and repairs.
11. On 2 February 1963, the MARINE SULPHUR QUEEN completed loading a full cargo of 15,260 tons of molten sulphur at Beaumont, Texas. Cargo Tanks 1 and 2 contained dark sulphur with a carbon content of 0.14%, and Tanks 3 and 4 contained bright sulphur with a carbon content of 0.04%.
12. The ship departed Sabine Bar Seabuoy at 1900, CST, 2 February 1963, for Norfolk, Virginia., expecting to arrive at noon, on 7 February 1963. The Master had been instructed to give both a 48-hour and 24-hour advance notice of arrival to the Norfolk agent. At 0125, EST, 4 February 1963, a personal message from a crew member was transmitted by the vessel and received by RCA radio. This is the last known radio contact with the vessel. At this time the estimated position of the ship was 25°45' N, 86°W. At 1123, EST, 4 February, RCA radio made the first of two unsuccessful attempts to contact the ship. The estimated position of the ship at this time was 24°40'N, 83°19'W. Weather conditions prevailing along the track of the MARINE SULPHUR QUEEN are known to have been rough. The wind was northerly 25 - 46 knots; northerly seas with a height of about 16 ft. and slightly abaft the vessel's port beam, and the period of encounter of the waves was within about 10 percent of the ship's period of roll.
13. At 2100, EST, 7 February 1963, the SS MARINE SULPHUR QUEEN was reported overdue to the Commander, 5th Coast Guard District, Portsmouth, Va. An intense air and surface search was mounted along the trackline of the ship from Beaumont, Texas, through the Straits of Florida to Norfolk, Va. During the period 8 - 13 February 1963, Coast Guard, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force aircraft participated in 83 flights, flying 500 hours and searching a total of 348,400 square miles. In addition, other federal agencies determined that the vessel was not in Cuban waters. All efforts were without success and the search was discontinued on 13 February 1963.
14. On 20 February 1963, a life preserver and fog horn stencilled with the MARINE SULPHUR QUEEN's name were retrieved by a U. S. Navy vessel 12 miles southwest of Key West, Fla. A second search was commenced concentrating on the eastern part of the Gulf of Mexico, the Straits of Florida and the Bahamas. The U. S. Navy conducted an underwater search for the vessel's hulk during the period 20 February through 13 March 1963. During the search additional debris was retrieved and identified as coming from the SS MARINE SULPHUR QUEEN. On 14 March 1963, after all efforts to locate the ship had failed, the search was again discontinued.
Remarks Section from the Coast Guard's Summary of Findings
Coast Guard Report dated 23 Aug. 1963 The full text of the report prepared by the U.S. Coast Guard's Marine Board of Investigation, addressed to the Coast Guard's Commandant is here. It includes items which were found.
This is a Coast Guard photo showing the examination of a trail board from the Marine Sulphur Queen.
The Marine Sulphur Queen was originally built in March 1944 by Sun Shipbuilding Company of Chester, Pennsylvania. It became the Marine Sulphur Queen in 1960. See the excellent T2 Tanker Page for more information about these types of vessels, including photos, and how they were used.
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