The Type C5 ship is a

United States Maritime Administration The United States Maritime Administration (MARAD) is an agency of the United States Department of Transportation. MARAD administers financial programs to develop, promote, and operate the U.S. Maritime Service and the U.S. Merchant Marine. De ...

(MARAD) designation for

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

breakbulk cargo and later a container ship for

containerization Containerization is a system of intermodal freight transport using intermodal containers (also called shipping containers and ISO containers). Containerization is also referred as "Container Stuffing" or "Container Loading", which is the p ...

shipments. The first type C5-class ship was a class of ships constructed and produced in the United States during World War II. The World War II C5-class ship was

dry bulk Bulk cargo is commodity cargo that is transported unpackaged in large quantities. Description Bulk cargo refers to material in either liquid or granular, particulate form, as a mass of relatively small solids, such as petroleum/ crude oil ...

cargo ship built by

Bethlehem Steel The Bethlehem Steel Corporation was an American steelmaking company headquartered in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. For most of the 20th century, it was one of the world's largest steel producing and shipbuilding companies. At the height of its succ ...

Sparrows Point, Maryland Sparrow's Point is an unincorporated community in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States, adjacent to Dundalk. Named after Thomas Sparrow, landowner, it was the site of a very large industrial complex owned by Bethlehem Steel, known for steelm ...

. Bethlehem Steel built eight ships in this

bulk cargo Bulk cargo is commodity cargo that is transported unpackaged in large quantities. Description Bulk cargo refers to material in either liquid or granular, particulate form, as a mass of relatively small solids, such as petroleum/ crude oil ...

class and four orders were canceled. The C5-class ship has a and was long. The C5 was mainly used as

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the ...

carriers. The C5 was needed to replace other ships that sank during World War II. First in her class was SS ''Venore'', USMC #1982, delivered on 20 July 1945. The Type C5-class ship designed to fill the need to move iron ore from

Santa Cruz, Chile Santa Cruz is a Chilean city and commune, located in the Colchagua valley, in the O'Higgins Region, located on the southern shore of the Tinguiririca river, 110 miles from Santiago, Chile's capital city, and 27 miles from San Fernando. History ...

, to Sparrows Point, Maryland, through the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a Channel ( ...

, a round-trip of . Post World War II, four ships were given C5 class type C5-S-78a, these were

roll-on/roll-off Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, Trailer (vehicle), trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their o ...

container ship A container ship (also called boxship or spelled containership) is a cargo ship that carries all of its load in truck-size intermodal containers, in a technique called containerization. Container ships are a common means of commercial intermoda ...

built by

Ingalls Shipbuilding, Inc. Ingalls Shipbuilding is a shipyard located in Pascagoula, Mississippi, United States, originally established in 1938, and now part of HII. It is a leading producer of ships for the United States Navy, and at 12,500 employees, the second large ...

Pascagoula, Mississippi Pascagoula ( ) is a city in Jackson County, Mississippi, United States. It is the principal city of the Pascagoula Metropolitan Statistical Area, and is part of the Gulfport–Biloxi–Pascagoula Combined Statistical Area. The population was 22 ...

and operated by the

Moore-McCormack Lines The Moore-McCormack Lines was a series of companies operating as shipping lines, operated by the Moore-McCormack Company, Incorporated, later Moore-McCormack Lines, Incorporated, and simply Mooremack, founded in 1913 in New York City. It ceased t ...

. The C5-S-78a had a deadweight tonnage of 16,000 tons.

Ships in class

Ordered during World War II

* C5-S AX1 C5 iron ore carriers, 1948. ** ''Venore'', USMC #1982, Hull 4411, scrapped 1970 ** ''Marore'', USMC #1983, Hull 4412, scrapped 1970 ** ''Lebore'', USMC #1984, Hull 4413, converted to

1966, scrapped 1972 ** ''Feltore'', USMC #1985, Hull 4414, converted to container ship 1967, scrapped 1971 ** ''Chilore'', Hull 4445, scrapped 1970 ** ''Santore'', Hull 4446, scrapped 1970 ** ''Cubore'', Hull 4457, scrapped 1980 ** ''Baltore'', Hull 4458, converted to

barge Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels. ...

in 1981

Post World War II

* C5-S-78a container ship 1968 ** laid down on 1 April 1968 at Ingalls Shipbuilding, Inc. of Pascagoula, Mississippi as SS ''Mormacksky'', Maritime Commission type C5-S-78a. ** SS ''Mormacstar'', a Maritime Administration, roll-on/roll-off container ship. renamed: SS ''Red Jacket'', SS ''American Rapid'', SS ''Rapid'', ''Cape Nome'', and ''Cape Nome'' (AK-1014), 3 April 2002, laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, James River Group. ** SS ''Mormacsea'' 1969 roll-on/roll-off container ship, renamed ''Defiance'' in 1978, renamed ''American Rover'' in 1982, renamed ''Rover'' in 1983 and scrapped in 1993 at

Alang, India Alang is a census town in Bhavnagar district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Because it is home to the Alang Ship Breaking Yard, Alang beaches are considered the world's largest ship graveyard. Demographics As of the 2001 Indian census, Alan ...

. ** SS ''Mormacsun'' 1970 roll-on/roll-off container ship, renamed SS ''Young America'' in 1970, renamed in 1986, in active service.

Conversions

* C5-S-37e conversions * Some C3-S-37a cargo ships were modified in the 1970s to a new C5-S-37e design by the Todd Shipyards Corp., Galveston, Texas. C3-class ships was lengthened by to be a class C5. ** ''James Lykes'' 1960, scrapped in 1995. ** ''Joseph Lykes'' 1960, scrapped in 1996. ** ''Zoella Lykes'' 1960, scrapped 1995 at Alang. ** ''John Lykes'' 1960, scrapped 1995 at Alang. ** ''Thompson Lykes'' 1960, rebuilt into a barge in 1994. * C5-S-73b, ''Sea Witch'' class, built by

Bath Iron Works Bath Iron Works (BIW) is a major United States shipyard located on the Kennebec River in Bath, Maine, founded in 1884 as Bath Iron Works, Limited. Since 1995, Bath Iron Works has been a subsidiary of General Dynamics. It is the fifth-largest de ...

for

American Export-Isbrandtsen Lines American Export-Isbrandtsen Lines, New York, was the leading US-flag shipping company between the U.S. east coast and the Mediterranean from 1919 to 1977, offering both cargo ship and passenger ship services, until it declared bankruptcy and was ...

1968. holds 928 containers. ** ''C.V.Lightning'', converted to C5-S-MA73c, crane ship renamed ** ''C.V.Sea Witch'', later converted into a chemical carrier, renamed SS ''Chemical Pioneer'' ** ''C.V.Stag Hound'', converted to C5-S-MA73c, crane ship renamed

SS Cornhusker State (T-ACS-6) SS ''Cornhusker State'' (T-ACS-6) is a crane ship in ready reserve for the United States Navy. She is stationed in Newport News, Virginia under operation control of the Military Sealift Command (MSC). The ship was named for the state of Nebrask ...

** ''Export Freedom'' scrapped in 1997 at Alang ** ''Export Leader'', converted to C5-S-MA73c, crane ship renamed

SS Gopher State (T-ACS-4) SS ''Gopher State'' (T-ACS-4) is a crane ship in ready reserve for the United States Navy. The ship was named for the state of Minnesota, which is also known as the ''Gopher State''. History ''Gopher State'' was laid down on 26 July 1971, as ...

** ''Export Patriot'', scrapped in 1998 * C5-S-MA73c is the made for the

Military Sealift Command 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 US ...

, converted by Norfolk SB & DD Company at Norfolk, Virginia * C5-S-75a built by Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Newport News, Virginia for the

American Mail Line American Mail Line of Seattle, Washington was a commercial steamship service with routes to and from Seattle, Washington and the Far East. American Mail Line was founded in 1920, by Pacific Steamship Company also with a $500,000 investment from D ...

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

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

or container ship, with at 15,950 tons, . The largest general cargo liners in 1969. ** ''Alaskan Mail'' 1968, renamed SS ''Cape Girardeau'' 1978. Assigned for non-retention in

National Defense Reserve Fleet The National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF) consists of ships of the United States of America, mostly merchant vessels, that have been "mothballed" but can be activated within 20 to 120 days to provide shipping during national military emergencies ...

as of April 2020 ** ''Indian Mail'' renamed ,assigned for non-retention in the National Defense Reserve Fleet as of April 2020 ** ''Korean Mail'' built 1969, scrapped 1995. ** ''Hong Kong Mail'' built 1968, renamed in 1978, scrapped June 2008. ** ''American Mail'' (1969) later renamed SS ''Cleveland'', scrapped 2009

References

Merchant ships of the United States World War II merchant ships of the United States Ship types Type C5 ships Type C5-S-73B ships Container ship classes Ship classes {{Subject bar , portal1=World War II , portal2=Transport

Ships in class

Ordered during World War II

Post World War II

Conversions

See also

References