How T2 Tankers Helped Win WWII

Following the end of the World War I, America’s merchant fleet, including its cargo ships and tankers, was becoming obsolete and declining in numbers. A shipbuilding program began with the passage of the Merchant Marine Act of 1936. However, World War II provided the impetus to intensify those efforts eventually leading to the building of 5,500 vessels. Among them were mass-produced commercial ships including 2,700 Liberty ships, 531 Victory ships and 481 T2 Tankers. After the war, T2 tankers continued to sail for decades, some with new cargo sections, but retaining their robust but simplistic engine rooms with their unique steam-electric main engines. Now, almost 80 years after the war, there are Liberty and Victory museum ships but none for T2 tankers. Learn about the historic T2 shipbuilding program, the T2’s contributions to winning WWII and how they were used for many different purposes after the war, some for as many as 60 years.

Pete Hames graduated from the United States Merchant Marine Academy in 1965 and joined Texaco Marine as a Third Assistant Engineer. His first ship was the T2 tanker Texaco Nebraska. She was already 24 years old and had been jumboized to carry more cargo, while the aft section containing the engine room was retained as original.

Pete worked for Texaco Marine Department for 30 years as a fleet officer and then in various management positions ashore. Upon his retirement, he established Maritime Quality Consultants, Inc. offering Quality, Safety, and Environmental Management Systems consulting, training, and auditing services to a wide range of clients in the maritime industry. Pete is currently a graduate student at SUNY Maritime College pursuing a master’s degree in Maritime and Naval Studies. This presentation is the product of Pete’s research on the design, construction, use, and conversion of T2-SE-A1 tankers.

Peter Hames

Maritime Industry and History Expert

Mr. Hames is a retired Quality, Safety and Environmental Management System consultant, trainer, and auditor with 54 years’ experience in the Maritime Industry. He graduated from the United States Merchant Marine Academy in 1965 with a BS in Marine Engineering. Pete sailed for three years on Texaco Tankers raising his license to Second Assistant before working ashore with Texaco Marine for 27 years in a number of management positions in engineering,

administration, human resources, and quality. In 1976 he earned an MBA from Adelphi University. Mr. Hames established Maritime Quality Consultants, Inc. in 1995. During the next 24 years, he enjoyed a successful consulting practice working with ship owners, ship agencies, tugboat companies, classification societies, flag state commissions, coast guards, and terminal operators. He is an expert in the design, implementation and maintenance of ISO 9001 Quality

Management, ISO 14001 Environmental Management, and the ISM Safety Management Code. Pete has always been interested in maritime museums and has visited many during his domestic and international travels. He is a member of the US Lighthouse Society and the Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association and has visited and photographed over 100 lighthouses worldwide. As a member of the United States Power Squadrons © he has taken and taught courses in boating safety, seamanship, piloting, cruise planning, and sail. He has also authored a number of book reviews on maritime and boating subjects, published in their quarterly magazine The Ensign. Pete has owned and raced one-design sailboats and currently has a power boat at his home on Lake Conroe. In January 2020, Mr. Hames began an online master’s degree program in Maritime and Naval Studies offered by SUNY Maritime College. He has chosen as his master’s thesis to research and write the history of the Houston Maritime Museum along with a biography of the museum’s founder James Manzolillo. While researching HMM’s records he is digitizing them so that they can be included in the museum’s Past Perfect museum collection and contact management software.

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