SHIPS OF THE U.S. MERCHANT MARINE 



MONDAY, January 27, 1947, was a milepost in the postwar activities 

 of the U.S. Merchant Marine. On that day the Santa Rosa arrived 

 in New York in civiUan garb for the first time since Pearl Harbor. She 

 was the first American-flag cruise liner to resume service from New York 

 and her return marked the first step in the inauguration of Grace Line's 

 express passenger-cargo service to Caribbean ports. Three months later her 

 sister ship, the Santa Paula, made her postwar bow to New York Harbor. 

 On May 7 these two famous ships began weekly sailings for both pleasure 

 and essential travel to Venezuela, the Dutch West Indies and Colombia. 

 With the return of the Santa Paula, the Grace Line could proudly say 

 that it was the first American-flag passenger liner to go back into full- 

 scale service. 



The Santa Paula and Santa Rosa spent ten months in the yards of the 

 Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, Newport News, 

 Virginia, undergoing extensive renovation after more than four years in 

 the service of their country. At a cost of over $2,500,000 each, these ships 

 were completely modernized and refurbished. While every effort was 

 made to restore the characteristics which gave them their distinctive 

 charm, great emphasis was also laid on safety features. In all staterooms 

 and public spaces the doors, bulkheads and ceilings formerly of wood, 

 were replaced by marinite faced with aluminum, walnut and marine 

 veneer. Marinite, an asbestos-like material is one of the new fire-preven- 

 tion materials developed during the war years. Steel fire-screen doors are 

 strategically located throughout the ships. They are retained, flush with 

 the bulkhead by magnetic control, and the release can be operated either 

 manually at door or by a master switch on the bridge. 



The task of reconversion was extremely difficult in this period of short- 

 ages and production delays. So line was the equipment of prewar days 

 that its duplication presented an almost insuperable task. This applied not 

 only to luxury items, lighting fixtures, curtains, mirrors, chinaware and 



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