SS ''Aquarama'' was built as ''Marine Star'', one of five

breakbulk cargo In shipping, break-bulk, breakbulk, or break bulk cargo, also called general cargo, are goods that are stowed on board ships in individually counted units. Traditionally, the large numbers of items are recorded on distinct bill of lading, bil ...

ships of the

United States 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 co ...

(USMC) type C4-S-B5 having that C4 design variant. The ship was delivered to the

War Shipping Administration The War Shipping Administration (WSA) was a World War II emergency war agency of the US government, tasked to purchase and operate the civilian shipping tonnage the United States needed for fighting the war. Both shipbuilding under the Maritime C ...

(WSA) for operation in July 1945 just before the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and was operated until August 1946 by WSA's agent American Hawaiian SS Company. From September 1947 the ship was laid up except for brief periods in 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 ...

. In 1952 the ship was converted into the largest passenger ship ever to operate in the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...

Ship History

''Marine Star''

''Marine Star'' was built by Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.,

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. ...

as one of five United States Maritime Commission (USMC) type C4-S-B5 breakbulk cargo ships, yard hull number 357, USMC hull number 752. The ship's keel was laid 18 October 1944, launched on 30 April 1945 and delivery to the

(WSA) on 28 July 1945. The ship was registered as a freighter with U.S. Official Number 248329, signal AODM, at , , registered length of , beam, depth, crew of 66 with owner being the War Shipping Administration and home port of Philadelphia. The American Hawaiian Steamship Company operated ''Marine Star'' for WSA under a General Agency Agreement for the remainder of the war and until 9 August 1946. The ship was then operated for short periods by other agents under various agreements including

bareboat charter A bareboat charter, or demise charter, is an arrangement for the chartering or hiring of a ship or boat for which no crew or provisions are included as part of the agreement. Instead, the renter of the vessel from the owner is responsible for ...

until the ship was placed in the

James River Reserve Fleet The James River Reserve Fleet (JRRF) is located on the James River in the U.S. state of Virginia at () near Fort Eustis. James River Reserve Fleet, a "ghost fleet", is part of the National Defense Reserve Fleet. The Reserve Fleet ships in sto ...

on 15 September 1947. Except for a charter by Seas Shipping Company 12 May 1948 to 14 June 1949 the ship remained inactive until sold 29 June 1951 to Wisconsin & Michigan Steamship Company. Though sold, the ship remained in the James fleet until removed by the buyer in December 1952.

''Aquarama''

Wisconsin & Michigan Steamship Co., a subsidiary of Sand Products Company of

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

,Aquarama-Marine Star
Welcome to Forgotten Buffalo. 2008. Web. 3 December 2008.
, Western New York Heritage Press. 2005. Web. 3 December 2008. had ''Marine Star'' taken to Todd Shipyards at Brooklyn, New York, where her old superstructure was cut down. In September 1953, the ship was towed to

Muskegon, Michigan Muskegon ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Muskegon County, Michigan, United States. Situated around a harbor of Lake Michigan, Muskegon is known for fishing, sailing regattas, and boating. It is the most populous city along Lake Michigan' ...

where it was converted into a commercial

passenger ship A passenger ship is a merchant ship whose primary function is to carry passengers on the sea. The category does not include cargo vessels which have accommodations for limited numbers of passengers, such as the ubiquitous twelve-passenger freig ...

by Steel Fabricating of Muskegon. The entire process took approximately two years to complete and cost nearly $8 million.The Aquarama
The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. 11 Mar. 1998. Web. 4 December 2008. The president of the Sand Products Corporation at the time, Max McKee, wanted the ''Aquarama'' to be an ocean liner for the Great Lakes. In 1955, ownership of the vessel was transferred to Michigan-Ohio Navigation Company, another subsidiary of Sand Products Corporation. Registry information for 1957 shows ''Aquarama'' with no change in official number but the new signal and radio call sign WG9379 with , and other parameters unchanged and owned by Sand Products Corporation (Michigan) with port of registry

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...

. Other modifications were a , 10 ton bronze propeller. ''Aquarama'' began operation in 1956 by touring various Great Lakes ports. In 1957 the Michigan-Ohio Navigation Company, began service from Detroit to Cleveland, carrying automobiles and passengers. Once in service, the ship was able to transport its passengers and their automobiles from

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

in under six hours. Although the ship was immensely popular, it never generated enough revenue to be self-supporting; On September 4, 1962 the ship made its last trip, laying up at the Mart Dock in

. Operating the ship from Muskegon, Michigan to Milwaukee as a replacement for the older ''Milwaukee Clipper'' was proposed, but $700,000 for

dredging Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial use; constructing d ...

so the ''Aquarama'' could be accommodated in Milwaukee harbor was needed. As a result, the ship sat idle until 1987 when it was sold to the North Shore Farming Company for around $3 million. ''Aquarama'' was briefly docked at

Sarnia Sarnia is a city in Lambton County, Ontario, Canada. It had a Canada 2021 Census, 2021 population of 72,047, and is the largest city on Lake Huron. Sarnia is located on the eastern bank of the junction between the Upper and Lower Great Lakes, ...

, then

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places *Detroit–Windsor, Michigan-Ontario, USA-Canada, North America; a cross-border metropolitan region Australia New South Wales *Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area Queen ...

before returning to its original name of ''Marine Star'' in 1995 and moving under tow to

Buffalo Buffalo most commonly refers to: * True buffalo or Bubalina, a subtribe of wild cattle, including most "Old World" buffalo, such as water buffalo * Bison, a genus of wild cattle, including the American buffalo * Buffalo, New York, a city in the n ...

. On August 3, 1995 the ''Marine Star'' was berthed at the Cargill Pool Elevator where it stayed until it was towed overseas to

Aliağa Aliağa () is a municipality and district of İzmir Province, Turkey. Its area is 379 km2, and its population is 104,828 (2022). The town is situated at about north of İzmir. Aliağa has a large port, mainly for oil and bulk cargo. Its e ...

, Turkey for

scrap Scrap consists of recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap can have monetary value, especially recover ...

in September 2007.

Capacity and Safety

As a cruise liner, ''Aquarama'' was able to carry 2,500 passengers and 160 automobiles. Some of the ship's safety features included its all-steel construction, the smoke detection system, four 135-passenger

lifeboats Lifeboat may refer to: Rescue vessels * Lifeboat (shipboard), a small craft aboard a ship to allow for emergency escape * Lifeboat (rescue), a boat designed for sea rescues * Airborne lifeboat, an air-dropped boat used to save downed airmen ...

, the latest in radar, and closed circuit television for viewing the

stern The stern is the back or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite the bow, the foremost part of a ship. O ...

Entertainment

On the ship there were numerous sources of entertainment for the passengers. Among many other things there was a "carnival room" that had a gift shop, games, and a photo booth. Two television theaters were available to be used for conferences or special programs. Along with the theaters, the ship contained two dance floors that were accompanied by a stage for an

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

, or other performances. For those traveling with their families, there were even baby-sitting services available. People had the choice of four different types of restaurants that varied in style and price. Along with the restaurants, there was a main cafeteria that was able to fit nearly 300 people.

References

External links

Outboard Profiles of Maritime Commission Vessels — The C4 and his Sub Designs and Conversions (bottom, profile of ''Aquarama'')

Images of the ''Aquarama'' being scrapped
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aquarama 1945 ships Type C4-S-B ships Ships built in Chester, Pennsylvania Ships built by the Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Company Merchant ships of the United States Passenger ships of the Great Lakes Ferries of Michigan