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Bringing the Mediterranean Sun to Marcus Hook

(Published in The Inquirer Magazine, Today on August 9, 1981)

Story by Robert R. Frump

A lot of the Engineers sailed on this ship to get some diesel experience while the Philly and New York were being built. On the three round trips I made on it from the Hook to Tunisia I sailed with Jack Larner and Goran Fatovic.

MEDITERRANEAN SUN SATS

Builder: Mitsui Shipbuilding and Engineering Co. LTD, Japan
Keel laid: April 30, 1974
Launched: July 24, 1974
Delivered: November 7, 1974
Purchased by Sun Transport and placed on North Africa to the Hook run on May 6, 1978. Round trip takes approx. 30 days. (12,000 miles).
Compliment: 9 officers ... 20 crew. (Italian)
Dimensions: Length - 889' 1-/4" Width - 144' 1-1/4" Full load draft - 55' 11"
Tonnage: 138,000 Cost: $11,000,000.00
Total tank area: 166,688.50 cubic meters (5,886,603 cubic feet) or 1,048,434 barrels / 44,034,228 gallons
Maximum cargo capacity: 996,012 barrels (41,832,504 gallons)

 

Propulsion Machinery
One two stroke, crosshead type, turbo-charged Mitsui B & W 8K90GF diesel
engine.
Eight cylinders, 900mm bore (35.4" dia.) x 1,800mm stroke (70.9"), translates
to 91,609,056cc (559,032.7cubic inch displacement). 27,300brake horsepower transmitted to a 710mm (27.95" dia.) shaft, and a six bladed 7,000mm (22.97' dia.) wheel. 3,412 brake horsepower per cylinder at 114 RPM.
Generators
One Mitsui steam turbo generator, 950kw at 1800 RPM.
Two Dahatsu four stroke, single acting, trunk-type piston, diesels, 760kw at 720 RPM.
One two-stroke blower-type Detroit diesel emergency generator, rated at 250 kw at 1,800 RPM.

Pumping Capacity (figures are approx.)
Three steam turbo cargo pumps: 3,400 cubic meters/hr. 21,385 bbls/hr
(896,784 gal/hr.)
Two steam recip. stripper pumps: 300 cubic meters/hr. - 1,886 bbls./hr
(79,251 gals/hr)
One steam turbo ballast pump: 1,750 cubic meters/hr - 11,007 bbls./hr
(462,069 gals./hr)
 

Theoretically it would take about 16 hours to pump the entire 41,832,504 gallons ashore. That's equivalent to filling a swimming pool 97.7 feet deep the length a width of a football field.

Built as the "BRITA" and subsequent names: 78 MEDITERRANEAN SUN - 82 MED SUN - 87 HANSA BERGEN

 - 89 MEGA BUCK

Broken up: Chittagong 8/29/1999