This story is a continuation of https://www.venividiscripto.com/weapons-station-earle/
It was the Sun Oil Company vessel, the Sunoco, that went on fire and exploded in Sandy Hook Bay not far off Naval Ammunition Depot (NAD) Earle in the early morning hours of Jan. 1, 1945. The massive fire, which could be seen throughout the Bayshore area, lunched immediate safety precautions and actions by the commanding officer, dockmaster and Sailors and Coast Guards personnel aboard the ammunition depot.
Owned by the Sun Oil Company, commonly known as Sunoco and leased to Atlantic Refining Co, the vessel was enroute from Perth Amboy to Philadelphia when the incident occurred.
Although the precise cause of the fire, which started amidships, was never determined, there was considerable speculation the vessel struck submerged materials, speculation primarily since the decks of the vessel were clean and the hatches were intact rather than blown open.
Considered small by tanker standards, the Sunoco was 246 foot in length and could be compared to a barge. It had loaded 15,000 barrels of benzoil at Barber Asphalt Co in Perth Amboy. Benzoil is used to create 100 octane gasoline, and the shipment was enroute to Atlantic Refining’s refining plant at Point Breeze, Philadelphia. Because of the gale force winds and rough seas during a severe January storm, there was the strong possibility the Sunoco had anchored in Sandy Hook Bay east of the Fort Hancock station, and was pulling up anchor when the explosion occurred.
Captain John J. Jenkins was the 57 year old captain of the Sunoco, a long time experienced merchant mariner who hailed from Wilmington , Delaware. Born in Virginia, he had lived in Delaware for 30 years and had been working for Sunoco for 15 years. He was one of the eight men reported missing when the first alarms went out for assistance.
Navy and Coast Guard boats from NAD Earle and New York responded to the emergency, as well as the Firefighter, a New York fire-boat under Chief John Horton. That boat reported running into burning oil along the waterways enroute from New York to the scene just off NAD Earle.
Navy and Coast Guard boats rescued six of the 16 member crew, bringing them to the Naval dispensary at Leonardo and the Coast Guard hospital at Fort Hancock. Of the 16 crew members, the final tally showed three died, seven were reported missing and not recovered, and Sailors and Coast Guardsmen rescued six.
Firefighters met all kinds of disastrous conditions as they attempted to rescue survivors, including both a dead body and a rescued merchant seaman found on a raft in the turbulent sea. Additionally they had difficulty hosing down the blaze since the frigid temperatures caused the nozzles on their hoses to freeze and create considerably heavier weight in handling the hoses.
With the captain among the missing, men either dead or in the water, the Sunoco was left without any control and began drifting towards the Navy piers at Earle. The swift turn of events came after initial reports that the vessel appeared to be stationery in the water and not presenting any threat. However, within a few minutes of that information, another call came to the Leonardo pier from Bos’n Gross whose smaller boat was heading to the Sunoco in the rescue efforts. He reported the Sunoco was on the move, was burning fiercely and was on a direct collision course with the three piers at NAD Earle.
The Dockmaster, Lieutenant Commander O’Pray, got in his car and headed out to the pier area
He could see the flaming boat was within the area ,if not already alongside one of the piers. This was a vessel, loaded with benzoil, abandoned by its crew and officers, a derelict not under control.
At the three piers at NAD Earle, there were four ships berthed, each carrying a heavy load. Together, it totaled 16,650 tons of ammunition. And a burning derelict vessel headed towards them.
NEXT: Another problem at the Pier
