Fuel, Cargo Tanks Corroding
From the July 8th Baltimore Sun, by Frank D. Roylance.
On February 2, 1942, the unarmed tanker W.L. Steed was cruising in the Atlantic Ocean, about 90 miles off Ocean City, Maryland with 66,000 barrels of crude oil, when a torpedo from a German U-boat struck the ship. Only a few of the 38 crew members escaped death.
After the US entered World War II, the German U-boats moved operations to off the American coast and stayed there until July 1942 when they shifted main operations to intercept North Atlantic convoys. Even them, enough of their submarines remained off the shores to claim 397 ships.
Now, some of those ships have reached the point where hull integrity is breaking down, releasing the dangerous contents of their cargoes.
More to Come. --Cooter
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