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READY IN EMERGENCY
SS Charles G. Black
The Charles G. Black was in the Esso fleet for little more than the first year of the war. A combination oil and ore carrier, she was sold on September 26, 1940 to the Ore Steamship Company and renamed SS Venore.
During her nineteen years of service for the Standard Oil Company (N. J.) the vessel made a fine record. Chief Engineer Emil Enstrom, who was regularly assigned to the Charles G. Black for ten years and ten months, gave a good account of her.
"In my opinion," he said, "she was the best ship I was ever on. I remained on board until the day she was sold. The ore compartments were retained when she was owned by Esso, but without using the ore holds she could carry 140,000 barrels of oil."
Bunkered Destroyer "Satterlee"
As Chief Engineer Enstrom recalled, the Charles G. Black, while under the command of Captain Frank I. Shaw, fueled a U.S. destroyer at sea, and the efficiency of the operation won recognition from the Navy Department.
On April 13, 1940, the vessel left Corpus Christi for New York with a cargo of 139,663 barrels of West. Texas crude and 57,265 barrels - 881 tons-of bunkers, Off the coast of Florida, on April 17, the Esso tanker received a request for fuel from the destroyer USS Satterlee. Captain Shaw maneuvered the Charles G. Black smartly into position so that the Satterlee could most conveniently come alongside under the prevailing conditions of wind and sea and maintain the proper space be-tween the two ships. He then transferred about 529 barrels of Bunker "C" to the destroyer.
"Without Incident"
The fueling of the warship was reported by Captain Shaw in a letter to Mr. H. J. Esselborn, dated April 20, 1940: "While this vessel was en route from Corpus Christi, Texas, to New York, April 17, 1940, the destroyer USS Satterlee (DD 190), Lieutenant Commander Harold R. Demarest, USN, commanding, signaled this vessel in Latitude 28°57' North, Longitude 79°39' West.
"We were informed that they were in need of bunker fuel and were requested, if we could, to supply approximately 500 barrels of bunkers, which would be sufficient to carry them to Norfolk, Va., their port of destination.
"The Black was stopped, the destroyer Satterlee came along our port side; 528.8 barrels from our bunkers were discharged into her fuel tanks without incident.
"Our detention was 2 hours, 23 minutes. As all communication was accomplished by wig-wag and international code. Second Mate Aksel Selvik and Third Mate Frederick Austin are to be commended for the efficient manner in which signals between the vessels were sent and received."
Efficiency Commended
The efficiency of the fueling operation was commended in a letter from the commanding officer of the destroyer. Lieutenant Commander (later Captain) Demarest, to the Company, dated 1 June, 1940, which said, in part: "I take this opportunity to again express my thanks to the master of the Charles G. Black, Captain F. I. Shaw, for both the courteous service rendered the USS Satterlee and the excellent manner in which it was accomplished."
The Ships' Bulletin for September-October, 1940 is quoted as follows: "Although performances which bring out qualities of courage and leadership are not unusual among the officers and men of the Esso fleet, if is always a source of pride and pleasure for the Management to learn of acts which reflect credit on its sea-going personnel. In this connection the latest official recognition for service at sea which has come to our attention is a letter from the Bureau of Navigation, Navy Department, Washington, D. C., commending Captain Frank I. Shaw for his services in fueling the USS Satterlee while master of the SS Charles G. Black. We are happy to publish the full text of this commenda-tion:
NAVY DEPARTMENT BUREAU OF NAVIGATION Washington, D. C.
August 27, 1940
From: The Chief of the Bureau of Navigation. To: Lt. Comdr. Frank Irving Shaw, D-M, USNR. 1458 East 23rd Street, Brooklyn, New York.
Via: The Commandant, Third Naval District. Subject: Commendation.
Reference: (a) C.O., USS Satterlee, Itr. DD190/-S55-1 (326), of May 17, 1940.
1. The Commanding Officer, USS Satterlee, has reported that that vessel was successfully fueled at sea, from the SS Charles G. Black (Standard Oil Company of New Jersey), on April 17, 1940.
2. The Commanding Officer, USS Satterlee, has stated that in his opinion the intelligence, initiative, cooperation, and the faculty of acting instinctively in a logical manner, in unforeseen circumstances, shown by Lt. Comdr. Frank Irving Shaw, Merchant Marine Reserve, upon this occasion, are deserving of special commendation.
3. The Bureau of Navigation takes pleasure in commending you for your prompt and efficient performance of duty in an unusual situation.
4. A copy of this letter has been placed on file with your official record.
Chester W. Nimitz
(The USS Satterlee was one of the fifty over-age destroyers turned over to the United Kingdom by the Roosevelt-Churchill agreement, announced on September 3, 1940, in exchange for the right to establish American naval and air bases, essential to the national defense, on British possessions in the Atlantic Ocean. When the vessel was commissioned by the Royal Na-vy for anti-submarine and escort duty, she was renamed HMS Belmont. The Belmont was lost in February, 1942.)
Captain Frank I. Shaw, a commander in the Naval Reserve, was on active naval service from April, 1942 to October 15, 1945. On April 20, 1942, Commander Shaw assumed duty as U. S. Naval Liaison Officer, Aruba, where he was the representative of the Commander All Forces, Aruba-Curacao. From September 4, 1942, he was also Executive Officer of the U.S. Routing Office, Aruba. His missions were the coordination of all military and naval forces for the defense of the island and refinery and the routing and expediting of vessels calling at Aruba.
From January 15 to October 15, 1945, he was Assistant Port Director, Naval Operating Base, Norfolk, Va.
In a letter dated November 10, 1944, Commander Shaw was commended by B. B. Howard, then General Manager of the Marine Department, for efficient and prompt salvage operations aboard the SS Ampetco, carried out by the officers and crews of Navy escort vessels and rescue tugs acting under his command.
On November 9, 1945, Rear Admiral Walden L. Ainsworth, USN, Commandant Fifth Naval District, in a letter written on the occasion of Commander Shaw's release to inactive duty, expressed appreciation of the services he had rendered to the Na-vy in time of war and commended him for his efficient discharge of the duties of Assistant Port Director, Fifth Naval District, from March 3 to September 5, 1945.
The SS Charles G. Black, ex G. Harrison Smith (first vessel of that name) and later SS Venore, was built in 1921 by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation, Ltd., Sparrows Point Plant, at Sparrows Point, Md.
A twin-screw vessel of 22,135 deadweight tons capacity on international summer draft of 33 feet, 10 1/2 inches, the Charles G. Black had an overall length of 571 feet, 6 inches, a length between perpendiculars of 550 feet, a moulded breadth of 72 feet, and a depth moulded of 44 feet.
The original oil cargo carrying capacity of the Charles G. Black was 129,380 barrels. By using a large forward fuel tank for cargo, the vessel's cargo carrying capacity was increased to 140,050 barrels; a deep tank forward was sufficient for bunker fuel. The tanker's assigned pumping rate was 5,000 barrels an hour.
Her triple expansion engines, supplied with steam by three Scotch boilers, developed 4,100 indicated horsepower and gave her an average speed, loaded, of 10 1/2 knots.
On September 3, 1939, the Charles G. Black was on her way to New York with a cargo of 137,294 barrels of West Texas crude. Sea passage ended on September 4 and on September 6, two days after her arrival, she was en route to Corpus Christi. For the rest of the year she continued to run coastwise, delivering, on seven voyages, a total of 973,748 barrels - 40,897,416 gallons-of crude oil.
Corpus Christi and New York were her loading and discharging ports from January 1, 1940 until she was sold to the Ore Steamship Company on September 26. During this period the tanker carried 82,004,958 gallons of West Texas crude in 14 trips.
The transportation record of the Charles G. Black for this period - September 3, 1939 to September 26, 1940 - was in sum-mary as follows:
The SS Venore, ex Charles G. Black, was lost by enemy action on January 24, 1942. Radio Operator Earle J. Schlarb of the E. M. Clark intercepted the following message: "SS Venore torpedoed off Diamond Shoals."
Thus came to an end the career of the only combination oil and ore carrier in the Esso fleet.
From September 3, 1939 to September 26, 1940, the masters of the Charles G. Black were Captains Charles J. Stadelman, Frank I. Shaw, and Herbert E. Clothier.
During the same period her engineroom was in charge of Chief Engineers Webb A. Starratt - September 5 to December 4, 1939 - and Emil Enstrom, who was regularly assigned to the vessel.
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