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- The Mary A. Whalen, which belongs to PortSide NewYork, originally transported gasoline but was refitted to handle diesel fuel in the late 1950s. It stopped working as a tanker in 1993. Said Salguero, “She is nationally significant due to a Supreme Court legal decision, but she’s a Brooklyn girl! She was built for a Red Hook company (Ira S. Bushey & Sons) and has worked out of Brooklyn much of her life.”
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- Carolina Salguero, the director of PortSide New York, has lived on The Mary Whalen since July 2007, about the same time PortSide moved its office onboard the 172-foot-long vessel. It’s not convenient – winters are cold and even in the summer, the wind can be strong – but even in a cabin, there’s more space than most New York apartments.
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- In 2010, when the Whalen was docked at Atlantic Basin, it was open to the public and more accessible than it has been in its current spot at the Red Hook Container Terminal, where security is high and only one visitor is allowed at a time. In 2010, Salguero allowed visitors to feel at home and encouraged people to sit on hammocks and bring yoga mats. Its future is uncertain now, but you can help keep it accessible.
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- For the past five years, Salguero has lived in the chief engineer’s cabin aboard the Mary Whalen. When she moved onboard, it was the most “intact” of all the cabins. Because it’s across the hall from the office and close to the kitchen, it’s also the most practical cabin to call home.
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- The captain’s cabin, on the Mary Whalen’s upper deck, is a little less accessible than others. This made it easier for him to access the wheel house. The woodwork inside is largely original, although Salguero isn’t sure about the furniture.
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- The wheel house, or pilot house, is the highest cabin aboard the Mary Whalen. The captain would have been on duty here from 6 a.m. until noon and 6 p.m. until midnight.
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- The Mary Whalen is known as a “bell boat” for its captain-to-engineer communication system. When the captain was off duty, the mate steered the boat.
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- The Whalen’s captain controlled right-to-left motions, but not the throttle, so it was important to choreograph the boat’s movements with the help of the engineer. The captain and mate communicated with the engineer and assistant engineer using a speaking tube and a bell system.
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- Down in the Mary Whalen’s fiddley – a maritime word for the loft-like space in an engine room – the engineer or assistant engineer jingled bells to communicate with the captain or mate above in the wheel house. Added Salguero, “In a “bell boat,” the captain or mate rang the bell and jingle from the wheelhouse and those sounds (heard in the fidley) told the engineer what speed and direction (forward or reverse) to set the engine. The person steering only controlled left/right movements of the rudder.”
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- The engine room on the Mary Whalen is directly below the fiddley. The boat, which is 74 years old, can’t travel on its own today. “We acquired many spare parts to repair here and have a list of engineers eager to work on her!” said Salguero.
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- There’s no living room on a coastal tanker. The Mary Whalen’s crew would have spent a lot of time in the galley, or kitchen. PortSide’s John Weaver, whose father-in-law was captain from 1958 to 1978, said log books make note of “grub money for eight,” meaning the crew likely had eight members, including a cook.
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- Today, there’s no cook aboard the Mary Whalen. Salguero taught herself to use the diesel-burning stove, which was built in 1918 and is original to the boat. “he stove is used for Supper Club as well as meals for volunteers and office crew. It is a ‘Webb Perfection’ and we still get service from the manufacturer,” said Salguero.
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- Some cabins onboard the Mary Whalen, such as the room that would have been the mate’s cabin but is now used as office space, have a more modern look today. “We’re not a preservation project,” Salguero said of PortSide. “This boat was alive and worked over time.”
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- A view out a porthole on The Mary Whalen, which is currently docked at the Red Hook container port and in need of a new home by April 30. Like most old ships, the Whalen is still undergoing – and in need of – repairs.
In “No City for Old Tankers,” published today in the New York Times, John Leland talks to PortSide New York founder Carolina Salguero about the impending homelessness of her retired oil tanker, the Mary A. Whalen. These pictures were taken by Kerri MacDonald in 2010, just before its move to the Atlantic Basin for a summer of fun including film screenings, tours, and yoga on board, which we drew attention to (and raised some money for) through a fundraiser. Now its future is uncertain, but you can sign the petition to the city to secure a home for the ship or donate directly to PortSide.
From the story:
MS. SALGUERO was eager to describe plans for future events on the ship: an opera based on Gabriel García Márquez’s novel “Love in the Time of Cholera” or a program of gospel music and spirituals, which often use water imagery. Or maybe several ships could band together in the channel as a destination for water taxis. “There’d be much less review,” she said.
But she also faced up to a grim prospect: if she gave up the Mary Whalen, she said, it was uncertain whether anyone else would want it, especially with a nonworking engine. “That means she gets scrapped,” Ms. Salguero said.
As for herself, she said she had no idea what she would do if she were suddenly to return to life on land. “I’d like to go to sleep,” she said. “I’d like to have a proper vacation. For six years I’ve been the ship keeper; I have to watch over the ship. I would take a breather. But I’d rather not have to take it.”
