USNS ''Paoli'' (T-AO-157) was a ''Gettysburg''-class fuel tanker, built at Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. in

Chester, Pennsylvania Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in the Philadelphia metropolitan area (also known as the Delaware Valley) on the western bank of the Delaware River between Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware. ...

. A Type T2–SE–A1 tanker, it was hull number 401 and

Maritime Commission The United States Maritime Commission was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, which was passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and was abolished on May 24, 1950. The c ...

number 1734. The ship was laid down on 18 July 1944, launched on 31 October 1944, sponsored by Mrs. Lina Martin, and delivered to the

on 11 November 1944 for operation by

War Emergency Tankers USNS Mission Santa Ana a T2 Tanker getting underway in Long Beach, California War Emergency Tankers of New York City was founded in 1942 to operate Fleet oilers for the United States Navy to support World War II efforts. Texaco, Standard Oil Co ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Service history

''Paoli'' made oil runs to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, between the Caribbean and the east coast; and to the Persian Gulf during World War II. On 5 January 1946, the ship was transferred to Sieling & Jarvis of

Newport News, Virginia Newport News () is an Independent city (United States), independent city in southeastern Virginia, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the List of c ...

, and then sold to Cities Service Oil Co., on 14 January 1947, for $1,797,871.78. The ship was returned to the Maritime Commission on 23 March 1955, at

Beaumont, Texas Beaumont is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Texas, Jefferson County, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area, located in Southeast Texas on the Neches River about east of Houston (city ...

, for lay up. ''Paoli'' was acquired by the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

from the

Maritime Administration Maritime administrations, or flag state administrations, are the executive arms/state bodies of each government responsible for carrying out the shipping responsibilities of the state, and are tasked to administer national shipping and boating issu ...

as political tensions in the Middle East heightened. The ship was assigned to the

Military Sea Transportation Service The Military Sealift Command (MSC) is an organization that controls the replenishment and military transport ships of the United States Navy. Military Sealift Command has the responsibility for providing sealift and ocean transportation for all U ...

(MSTS), as USNS ''Paoli'' (T-AO-157) on 15 October 1956, and was operated by Marine Transport Lines Inc. ''Paoli'' served until returned to MARAD custody and struck from the

Navy List A Navy Directory, Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval authorities of a co ...

on 2 October 1957.

SS Marine Floridian

On 2 February 1966, the ship was transferred to Marine Navigation Sulphur Carriers Inc., and rebuilt into a liquid

sulfur Sulfur ( American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphur ( Commonwealth spelling) is a chemical element; it has symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms ...

carrier at

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

and renamed . She was a 5,700 ton, ocean-going tanker. On 24 February 1977, ''Marine Floridian'' collided with the

Benjamin Harrison Bridge The Benjamin Harrison Memorial Bridge is a vertical-lift bridge that spans the James River between Jordan's Point in Prince George County and Charles City County near Hopewell, Virginia. The bridge carries vehicle traffic of State Route 106 a ...

, a drawbridge over the

James River The James River is a river in Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows from the confluence of the Cowpasture and Jackson Rivers in Botetourt County U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowli ...

near

Hopewell, Virginia Hopewell is an independent city (United States), independent city surrounded by Prince George County, Virginia, Prince George County and the Appomattox River in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. At the 202 ...

. The collision closed the bridge to traffic for 20 months and resulted in damages totaling $9.7 million. The ship was later renamed SS ''Belofin Floridian'' shortly before being scrapped in 1997.

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Paoli (T-AO-157) Type T2-SE-A1 tankers 1944 ships World War II tankers of the United States Suamico-class oilers Type T2-SE-A1 tankers of the United States Navy Cold War auxiliary ships of the United States Ships built by the Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Company Shipwrecks of the James River Merchant ships of the United States Shipwrecks of the Virginia coast Maritime incidents in 1977