Empire State Arrives in Baltimore July 6, 2019
This 172x23m (172x76ft) ship was built in 1961 by Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, now Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc, according to Wikipedia, as a break bulk cargo freighter, the SS Oregon. She changed hands in 1977 to the Moore McCormack Lines and was renamed the Mormactide. The Moore McCormack Lines was then purchased by the United States Line (known for the SS United States which is currently in Philadelphia) in 1983. She is now owned by MARAD (The US Maritime Administration) who acquired her when the United States Line went bankrupt in 1986.
She is the 6th ship to have the Empire State name and is thus known as the Empire State VI. A list of the previous holders of this name can be found here. Each summer the Maritime College of the State University of New York (Facebook page) uses this ship on a 100 day Summer Sea Term. As she is owned by the Federal Government she can be activated as needed for other purposes as she and two other ships were post hurricane Sandy in 2012. The officers and crews earned the U.S. Merchant Marine Medal for Outstanding Achievement for this. The 2018 Summer Sea Term took the ship to Puerto Rico to assist with recovery efforts.
Unfortunately her days are numbered and a new training ship is in the works with $300 million in the 2018 federal budget for a replacement. This article at Workboat.com has more information on the new ship which is expected to become available in time for the 2022 Summer Sea Term.
I have found some other information and videos about this ship. Watch this video apparently taken by a cadet of the engine room. This gCaptain article shows a video taken by attaching a GoPro to halyards. This 10 minute video shows her arrival back in New York at the end of the 2018 Summer Sea Term. This video of her 2016 Summer Sea Term to Europe and back gives me the impression the ship is well loved. A long list of additional videos can be found by searching YouTube for this ship’s name. Be sure to also check out this blog of the ship’s activities as well – lots of interesting information here!
In the video below, taken by me, she can be seen to have lines more similar to Baltimore, Maryland resident NS Savannah which was built 2 years earlier than to ships built nowadays. The tugboat Timothy McAllister can be seen ready to provide docking assistance.