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Launch of the E. H. Blum
Above: Mrs. E. H. Blum breaks champagne bottle across nose of the all welded hull and
christens it with the name of her husband.
( Source photo Pacific Marine Review, Volume 38, April, 1941 )
Robert Haig, vice president of the Sun Shipbuilding and Dry Dock. Co., holds the bottle of champagne
with which the S. S. "E. H. Blum", newest tanker of the Atlantic Refining Company, is to be launched
at the Sun yards at Chester, Pa. With him (left to right) are: Robert H. Colley, Atlantic president;
Mrs. E.H. Blum, who sponsored the new vessel; Mrs. Colley and Mr. Blum, vice president of Atlantic
in charge of crude oil production, after whom the new vessel was named.
( Source photo Pacific Marine Review, Volume 38, April, 1941 )
Source Pacific Marine Review, Volume 38, April, 1941
New Atlantic Tanker Launched at Sun Yards
The Atlantic Refining Company added another large tanker to its fleet on March 15 as the S.S. E. H. Blum, a 19,400-ton oil carrier, was launched at the yards at the Sun Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company in Chester, Pa.
The vessel was named in honor of E. H. Blum of Dallas, Texas, formerly of Philadelphia, who is vice president of Atlantic in charge of domestic oil production. Mrs. Blum christened the big tanker as she shattered a traditional bottle of champagne on the vessel's bow.
The newest Atlantic tanker will be commissioned April 1. lt will bring the Atlantic fleet to a total of 24 vessels,
which are operated in crude oil transportation service between Texas Gulf ports and Philadelphia, and in service between refineries at Philadelphia and Atreco, Texas, and domestic and foreign bulk distribution terminals.
E. H. Blum is a sister ship of Robert C. Tuttle, which went into service last year, and is similar in design to three other large tankers, the S. S. J. W. van Dyke, Robert H. Colley and E. J. Henry, which were commissioned in 1938 and 1939. The vessels are the largest all-welded tankers in the world — a design in which Atlantic pioneered.
E. H. Blum has cargo capacity of 154,000 barrels carried in 27 tanks, including nine center tanks and nine wing tanks on either side. Cargo discharge pumps are capable of unloading the vessel in approximately nine hours.
The new vessel can maintain a sea speed of 13.25 knots. Her turbo-electric engines develop 5,000 horsepower.
The steam generating system operates at 625 pounds pressure and 920 degrees Fahrenheit, the highest steam pressure and temperature operation in the American merchant marine.
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Source Pacific Marine Review, Volume 38, May, 1941
SUN BUILDS BIG TANKER IN RECORD TIME
Built and outfitted in record time, the S.S. E. H. Blum, latest addition to the Atlantic Refining Companys growing fleet of oil tankers, left on her first voyage at 8 a.m., April 2, from the Sun Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co. yard at Chester. Pa. She arrived Tuesday, April 8, at Harbor Island, Texas, to take on her first oil cargo.
This tanker, one of the largest all-welded ships in service on the seven seas, cleared from the Sun yards justone day less than six months after her keel was laid there last October 3. This is said to be a record for an all-welded ship of its size. The speed with which the big ship was built and outfitted reflects the way in which construction work in American shipyards has been speeded up by the national emergency.
Tanker E. H. Blum is 544 feet over all and has a cargo capacity of 154,000 barrels. Her 5.000-horsepower turbo-electric engines give her a sea speed of 13.25 knots. She will ply between Texas ports and Philadelphia with cargoes of crude oil for the Point Breeze refinery.
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