Glückauf (1886)

Glückauf was a German ship that represented a major step forward in oil tanker design. "When the Glückauf sailed from the Tyne on 10 July 1886 she was the first ocean going tanker with oil to her skin".[3] The vessel was in use from 1886 to 25 March 1893, when it ran aground at Fire Island in New York.[4]

Tourists standing near the Glückauf
History
Germany
Name: Glückauf
Namesake: "Good Luck"
Owner: Heinrich Riedemann
Operator: Heinrich Riedemann
Port of registry: German
Builder: Armstrong, Mitchell and Company, Newcastle upon Tyne
Yard number: 473
Laid down: 25 November 1885
Launched: 16 June 1886
Maiden voyage: 10 July 1886
Out of service: 24 March 1893
Identification:
Fate: Wrecked, 25 March 1893
General characteristics [1]
Type: Oil tanker
Tonnage:
Length: 300 ft 6 in (91.59 m) o/a
Beam: 37 ft 2 in (11.33 m)
Depth: 23 ft 3 in (7.09 m)
Propulsion: 1 × 3-cylinder Wallsend Slipway & Engineering Company triple expansion steam engine, 200 nhp, 1 shaft
Speed: 10.5 knots (19.4 km/h; 12.1 mph)[2]

The 2700-ton tanker was built at the Armstrong Mitchell yard, Walker, Newcastle upon Tyne, Britain, with eight compartments for the cargo. It was the first ship in which oil could be pumped directly into the vessel hull instead of being loaded in barrels or drums.[5] (Other sources give the gross tonnage in the 2300s.)[6]

It was built for Wilhelm Anton Riedemann's shipping firm in Geestemünde and ran mostly as a tramp steamer.

Glückauf was on a charter voyage for the Standard Oil Company when it ran aground across from Sayville, New York at Blue Point Beach on Fire Island along Long Island.[4][7] Differing sources give the date of the wreck as March 23, 24, or 25, in 1892 or 1893;[4] a contemporary New York Times article said that it ran aground "just before dawn" on March 24, 1893.[7] Men from the Blue Point Life-Saving Station rescued the crew. On April 7, it was briefly dislodged and was being pulled out to sea when the hawser broke; the ship ran permanently aground.[4]

The wreck quickly became a tourist attraction, and scavengers ripped up whatever they could and carried it away.[7]

The wreck of the Glückauf now lies 75–100 feet (23–30 m) offshore, from the water surface to 25 feet (7.6 m) of water.[6]

References
  1. "Gluckauf (1886)". Tyne Built Ships. 2012. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
  2. Visser, Auke (2013). "Gluckauf (1886-1893)". Auke Visser's German Esso Tanker Site. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
  3. Clarke, J. F. (1997). Building Ships on the North East Coast Part 1. Bewick Press. p. 177.
  4. Amon, Rhoda (28 October 2000). "Still Waving Goodbye To a Ship Out of Luck". Newsday. Archived from the original on 25 June 2012. Retrieved 20 July 2012.
  5. "Tanker History". GlobalSecurity.org. Alexandria, Virginia: John E. Pike. Retrieved 20 July 2012.
  6. "Gluckauf". Scuba Diving - New Jersey & Long Island New York. Aberdeen, New Jersey: Rich Galiano. 28 April 2009. Archived from the original on 14 June 2012. Retrieved 20 July 2012.
  7. "A Big Steamship's Fate; Now Only a Prey For Seaside Relic Hunters. The Gluckauf At Fire Island; For Over Two Years a Plaything for the Surf and a Curiosity for Summer Strollers Along the Beach". The New York Times. 10 November 1895. Archived from the original on 25 June 2012. Retrieved 20 July 2012.

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