Sea Witch (container ship)
As Chemical Pioneer passing Walt Whitman Bridge in Philadelphia, PA. (August, 2021) | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | Sea Witch |
| Owner | American Export-Isbrandtsen Lines |
| Port of registry | |
| Builder | Bath Iron Works, Bath, ME |
| Yard number | BIW 354 |
| Launched | 1968 |
| Completed | September 4, 1968 |
| In service | September 4, 1968 |
| Out of service | June 2, 1973 |
| Identification | IMO number: 6806444 |
| Fate | Damaged by collision and fire, removed from service. |
| Status | Salvaged, with engineering spaces re-used in the construction of S/S Chemical Pioneer |
| Name | Chemical Pioneer |
| Owner | USCS Chemical Pioneer LLC |
| Operator | USS Vessel Management LLC |
| Port of registry | |
| In service | 1985 |
| Identification |
|
| Fate | Scrapped 2023 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Sea Witch Class C5-S-73B container ship |
| Tonnage | 17,900 |
| Length | 610 ft (190 m) |
| Beam | 76 ft (23 m) |
| Draft | 35 ft (11 m) |
| Installed power | 17,500 shp (13,000 kW) |
| Propulsion | Two General Electric geared turbines, two boilers |
| Speed | 20 knots (37 km/h) |
| Capacity | 928 TEUs |
| Crew | 40 |
Sea Witch was a MARAD Type C5-S-73b container ship built at the Bath Iron Works shipyard for American Export-Isbrandtsen Lines. She operated in the Atlantic trades for five years. So engaged on the evening of June 1, 1973, the vessel was involved in a disastrous collision with the oil tanker Esso Brussels in lower New York Harbor and was damaged so badly that she was removed from active service.