By Guy Span

Tied up at Pier 45 is a piece of the working waterfront – the National Memorial Liberty Ship – the SS Jeremiah O’Brien. “Wait,” you cry – “that’s not the working waterfront; that’s a museum ship.” Yes, it’s a museum ship, but it’s different from most, because due to a dedicated group of volunteers, the O’Brien (or J.O.B. as she is known amongst locals), actually hoists anchor and steams for voyages under the skilled hands of Captain Pat Moloney and the all volunteer crew. In short, this is not the stuffed, gutted and mounted museum ship experience - this is the working waterfront ship experience.

A bit about Liberty Ships. The British arrived in September 1940, with a severe problem. The Germans, with whom they were at war, were sinking vessels faster than the British Empire could replace them. They wanted an order of 60 ugly little freighters. These simple vessels, called the “Ocean Class” were to be powered with an obsolete triple expansion steam engine and built to plans provided, the specs of the utilitarian tramp freighter, SS Dorington Court. But they would be cheap and relatively easy to build.

However, America was busy, its shipyards gearing up to build a fleet of national defense steam turbine freighters, faster and more efficient than the inelegant British design, though taking longer to construct. The urgency to build more ships was readily apparent and the need to produce ships faster and cheaper, meant that an off-the-shelf design was needed. The British plan lent itself to newly invented welding techniques and ship production time would drop from over a hundred days to forty.

Substituting the triple expansion steam engine (which could be built at any competent large casting shop) for the complex turbine further reduced construction time and cost. Thus, on September 27, 1941 the first SS Dorington Court vessel was launched, re-classed as a “Liberty” ship and appropriately named the SS Patrick Henry. On October 15, 1941, its mate was launched for England, as the first of sixty, the SS Ocean Vanguard.

The German Navy confidently predicted that they could sink over 700,000 tons a month and keep ahead of both British and American production. This assessment proved incorrect, although many crewmen failed to return home as a result of the hostilities. A program that envisioned some 200 ships when it started, was in 1942 and 1943 producing over 2,000 ships, including the SS Jeremiah O’Brien.

America’s production capability which built “disposable” ships (The Liberty Class was expected to last five years) and inexpensive aircraft (over 10,000 DC-3’s ) provided enough muscle and logistic support to overwhelm the opposition. By the end of the war, there were lots of ships and planes left over. Some of the Liberty Class were preserved in the “Mothball Fleet”, but many more were sold or donated under aid plans to countries who had lost their merchant fleets. The Liberty Ship went on to have a second life in commerce, rebuilding the shattered trade routes from America and abroad. Thus a “disposable” tramp steamer meant to last for five years enjoyed a commercially useful life well into the 1970’s. It’s aircraft counterpart, the DC-3, continued sporadically in regional airline service into the late 1980’s.

The SS Jeremiah O’Brien is a rare bird, for she sat tied up in the “Mothball Fleet” unloved and unwanted for decades until a group of volunteers, realized that this was one of the last intact Liberty ships left in the world. Herculean efforts by those willing to donate their time, their experience and holding proper Coast Guard Licenses, made it possible for the SS Jeremiah O’Brien to steam again.

So if you want to experience the World War II Merchant Marine or even a trip on a tramp freighter from the Bogart era, a ride on the J.O.B. is in order. She plans to steam up the Sacramento River this Labor Day and you can be on board, visit the engine room and see up close and personal what life was like on a triple expansion steamer. A complete bonus is the trip up the river from San Francisco to Sacramento under steam. This historian would call it the trip of a lifetime. For the faint of heart, she also can be visited at Pier 45, (when not in motion) Monday through Sunday 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM.