Posted on Thursday, February 3, 2011 by Shawn Dake
The stern of the SS SOLON TURMAN is visible, third from the left, next to another cargo ship, the DAWN in this raft of ships awaiting their fates in Suisuin Bay, California. Photo by Shawn J. Dake c. 2009 (taken October 25, 2009)
The SOLON TURMAN under tow on it's last voyage to Mare Island on February 3, 2011. Photo by Frank Cleope, Jr. c. 2011.
The steam-powered freighter SOLON TURMAN was towed from the California’s Suisuin Bay mothball fleet today to be cleansed and dismantled, but unlike previous ships that have gone to the scrapyards this one will not be making the long final voyage to Brownsville, Texas. Instead, the ship will travel about six miles to Mare Island, California as part of a new program designed to eliminate vessels from the Reserve Fleet in a more efficient manner. At it’s peak, the program should create over 100 jobs locally in the Vallejo area with most of the workers being rehired from the shuttered Mare Island Shipyard. Government estimates put the cost of towing a ship to Brownsville at $1.5 million while the same move locally should cost about $50,000. MARAD’s schedule calls for pulling a total of 20 ships from the Reserve Fleet by September 30, 2011, and having 57 vessels gone by the deadline of September 30, 2017. Several vessels including all of the “Victory” ships and the last two P2 troop transports, have already left California and been scrapped at Brownsville. This will be the first vessel to be broken up locally, followed next month by the SS PRESIDENT (ex PRESIDENT TYLER), a C4-S-1QB breakbulk cargo ship built for American President Lines in 1960. U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said, “These contracts will help the local economy while advancing our mission of maintaining the fleet in a safe and environmentally sound manner.”
The former Lykes Line steamship SOLON TURMAN, built in 1961, has the distinction of being the first ship in decades to be scrapped in California under a new plan to recycle the ships at Mare Island rather than Brownsville, Texas.
The SS SOLON TURMAN was built in 1961 at the built at Bethlehem’s Sparrows point yard, Maryland for the Lykes Brothers Steamship Company of New Orleans, Louisiana. She served under their flag for 27 years before being traded to MARAD for a new vessel in 1988. The ship was maintained in ready reserve status until 2003 when it was downgraded to inactive reserve status. Once moved to non-retention status the vessels are doomed to scrap. The SOLON TURMAN has been idle in a raft of 12 ships nestled between the USNS H.H. HESS (T-AGS-38) (ex CANADIAN MAIL) and the Farrell Lines freighter SS DAWN (ex AFRICAN DAWN). Early today it was towed from Suisun Bay to Allied Defense Recycling. The company also goes by the name California Dry Dock Solutions. Under this new program, all work of cleaning, preparation and dismantling will be done in a single dry dock location.
Griff
February 4, 2011 at 5:27 am
$500,000 to tow a ship 6 miles???? OH, wait, that is a Government estimate. That makes sense.
David
February 4, 2011 at 6:33 am
A smart looking ship
Shawn Dake
February 4, 2011 at 12:46 pm
The figure is $50,000 but that still sounds rather steep. These were very handsome ships as are the others in this raft that are soon to follow the SOLON TURMAN to the same fate. Note the twin pipes instead of a traditional funnel, somewhat typical of the era in which this ship was built.
Andrew
February 4, 2011 at 1:38 pm
There’s video here which shows the SOLON TURMAN being winched into the drydock.
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_17287319?nclick_check=1
GREGG
February 4, 2011 at 3:07 pm
Another steamship bites the dust..Does anyone know if Peter will be getting photos of the Flamenco before its gone completely??
Peter Knego
February 4, 2011 at 4:11 pm
Hi Gregg,
According to my source there, FLAMENCO has not yet arrived.
All the best,
Peter
Peter Newall
February 4, 2011 at 5:48 pm
Hello Peter,
This ship was among a series of great cargo liners built for US companies in the 1960s. I think it is about time someone on your side of the pond wote a series of books about Lykes, Farrell. Moore-McCormack and even the United States Lines. Forget all these “foreign” companies and look at your own wonderful maritime heritage!
salaams,
Peter N.
Tobias T.
February 5, 2011 at 6:02 am
It makes me a little bit sad to see these nice cargo ships go by. The SS SOLON TURMAN looks like a freighter should look, but the time of smaller vessels that doesn’t only take containers is over. Today most of everything is big, but ugly.
Gregg
February 5, 2011 at 4:01 pm
thanks Peter, I hope you will be able to document this one at Alang. i know it may not be the S.S. France but it would be nice to at least see a recap, it was one of my favourite ships as a child, that and the Pacific Princess 1
I appreciate all your hard work, its great to know that someone else has a passion for these cruise liners like myself.
Glenn L.
February 7, 2011 at 3:28 am
My dad’s old ship is tied up in Suisuin bay as well, U.S.S. Glacier WAGB 4.
He served aboard this icebreaker in Operation Deep Freeze II (1956). Glacier was the first American warship to call at Christchurch New Zealand. Of course all of the ships laid up at Suisuin have a story to tell.
Thanks Andrew, nice time lapse video.
Peter Newall
February 17, 2011 at 11:15 am
For those who are interested, in the latest issue of Power Ships (the magazine of the Steamship Historical Society of America) is a 12 page story about Lykes Lines cargo ships from 1960 to 1973.
Peter
Peter Jaarsma
February 22, 2011 at 9:47 pm
This looks like a “Fareast Clipper ship” that Lykes ran many of? I was a sailing engineer for the MEBA and Port Engineer for Sea-Land & Matson. Presently a Port Engineer for the navy. I have been to Alang a couple of times getting parts back in the day- I’m sure you know the guys at Maritime Power-Mike Nahon and maybe Vern Richardson and his scrap yard out here. I believe Peter Knego probably has been to the “Nilambag Palace a time or 2″. Really enjoy all your postings especially the Mariposa and other liners back in the day. From all your postings I see you buy a lot of the interior items where I was always into the parts end for sister ships and so forth…. If this is a clipper ship- which I think it is???? The maritime administration should definitely keep the boiler controls and automation, HP/LP/SSTG Turbine spares and maybe a rotor, FD fan or 2, Coffin feed pump spares, line shaft bearing-ABS spare if there? LO purifier parts and the bowl. These had air ejectors and I’d keep 1 of those as well if anything to give CMA or better yet beings all of these spares would fit the Cape Bover, Breton, Blanco, Borda as well as many other clippers Marad has in the lay-up fleets! On one of my occasions to Alang was to get SSTG spares from when the lash ship “Austral Rainbow was scrapped back in 2000 we needed for I can’t remember now but it was either the Consumer or Producer which had the exact same worthington 2500KW SSTG and gear box. The stator and rotor were different but for ABS it was basically same/same. Anyway sad to see so many of the steamers going away. Hey Peter Knego while I was at Matson I got the ex-Manulani and ex-Manukai ready when they left in 2002/03 The Kai went first and then the Manulani. They were originally the Hawaiian Progress and Enterprise 071′s I know the Manukai was towed away from Richmond in 2002 and then the Manulani in 2003 was actually fired up and believe it or not they left on 1 boiler with a crew of 6??? Amazing? Anyway I was never told there final place of scrap? Do you know where they finally were scrapped at?
Respectfully,
Peter Jaarsma
Mark Mathews
February 24, 2011 at 1:57 pm
Guys, here is a web site that you can view, to see the ongoing dismantling of the SS Solon Turman; http://www.drawer.com/drydock.php. She still looks like a ship should look. Pity.
Peter Knego
February 25, 2011 at 11:02 am
Dear Peter,
Thanks for the fascinating post to Shawn’s story — so great to hear the “behind the scenes” perspective on these old steamers. Unfortunately, I’m a little out of my element with them as I mostly focus on the midcentury cruise ships and liners but I have been hoping for some time to get up to Suisuin to explore a few of those old cargo ships before they leave for the inevitable. I recall the departure of the Matson ships as a friend of mine (I believe) was the delivery agent. I think both went to Alang but that was prior to my first visit in 2004. And yes, I stayed at Nilambag seven times. My sanctuary from the grime and grit of Bhavnagar and Alang. Anyway, thank you for your amazing post, Peter! And thank you, Shawn, for the account!
J. Sutton
March 1, 2011 at 8:08 pm
Too bad, I think she is one of the last if not THE last Lykes Pacers around. Bounced around of several of them as well as one Clipper,which ended up as the CAPE BLANCO.
Actually,she was built at Bethlehem’s Sparrow’s point yard ,hull # 4581. The first of the lot that Lykes built up there.
Martin Cox
March 25, 2011 at 10:12 pm
Thanks J. Sutton: I have made the correction. Martin
tony mccann
August 21, 2012 at 1:42 am
sailed on the solon t. from 83 to 88 she was afine ship.