GLMS 12 - Tanker M/V Polaris
MLA Citation
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| Title | GLMS 12 - Tanker M/V Polaris |
|---|---|
| Introduction | This 1.5 cubic foot collection of records regarding the POLARIS (US 257935) was donated to Bowling Green State University on August 16, 1977 by Robert Weiner of Triad Salvage, Inc., of Ashtabula, Ohio. Literary and property rights are dedicated to the public and photocopying is permitted for conservation and research purposes. |
| Vessel History | The POLARIS (US 257935) was built as a LST vessel for the US Navy in 1945 by the Bethlehem Ship Building Company of Hingham, Massachusetts. The original name for this vessel was LST 1063. In 1949 the Cleveland Tankers, Inc., company purchased the LST 1063, converted the vessel to a tanker and assigned the name POLARIS to their new boat during conversion work at the Moore Dry Dock Company in Oakland, California. The POLARIS set out for the Great Lakes from California by sailing to Panama and using the canal to reach the Caribbean Sea. A voyage to the Mississippi River brough the POLARIS back to the United States. This was a rare event in itself because most LST vessels converted to tankers were sold to foreign owners. The POLARIS traveled through the Illinois Canal System and then to Chicago. The POLARIS departed on its first Great Lakes trip on May 22, 1949 with a load of gasoline bound for Bay City, Michigan. The cargoes carried during its 28 years with the Cleveland Tankers, Inc., company generally were gasoline and oil. Liquid chemicals were also carried on occasion. Few accidents marred the record of the POLARIS. On February 17, 1964, a grounding occurred in Lake Michigan near Two Rivers, Wisconsin. The Coast Guard's MESQUITE soon had the POLARIS back in service. On May 27, 1974, another grounding occurred near Buffalo, New York. The POLARIS was repaired after this incident in Superior, Wisconsin at the Fraser Shipyard. The Cleveland Tankers, Inc., management sold the POLARIS in 1977 to Sam Simon's Acme Scrapping Company of Ashtabula, Ohio after deciding its economic value had decreased below maintenance costs. The POLARIS was then scrapped to end its career. |
| Scope and Content | This 1.5 cubic foot collection documents the Great Lakes service of the tanker POLARIS for the years 1958-1976. Files in this collection concentrate heavily on daily maintenance activities. Within the folders of this collection, three-fourths pertain to maintenance issues. Box 2 contains records for individual trips sailed in 1976 by the POLARIS. These seventy-five reports provide detail on the daily operations of a tanker for a complete shipping season. Financial documents include pay vouchers for the crew from July and August 1976. Wage scales in effect at the time are also present. Small series of correspondence and personnel records complete the collection. Routine operational matters are discussed in the correspondence for 1963-1975. Personal injury reports and lists of discharged seamen are found in the personnel files for 1963-1976. |
| Inventory | Box 1 Folders
Box 2 Folders
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