T.S. Patriot State Engineering Manual

Patriot State was the training ship of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy from 1986 to 1998.


General Information

History of the Ship

Massachusetts Maritime Academy’s training vessel, the Patriot State, came came to the academy in 1985. She is the latest in a line of training vessels stretching back to to the Enterprise in 1893.

Profile View

T.S. Patriot State Profile View

The Patriot State, originally named Santa Mercedes, was built in 1965 as a single screw cargo passenger vessel for Grace Line, Inc. The design is a C4-S1-49a. The vessel was built at the Sparrows Point Shipyard of Bethlehem Steel Company at Baltimore, Maryland.

The Santa Magdalena, the first of the class, was delivered to Grace Line on February 4, 1965. She was the first of four cargo-passenger ships of remarkably modern and progressive design.

The sister vessels included the Santa Mariana, Santa Maria, Santa Mercedes and were destined to play an important role in promoting closer ties within the Americas, carrying passengers and cargo between Atlantic Coast ports in the United States and the Canal Zone, Columbia, Ecuador, and Peru. The ships were designed by George G. Sharp Co., naval architects and engineers of New York.

General Description

The ship is of welded steel construction, full scantling type, single screw, machinery amidships, with raked stem and modified cruiser stern. The main hull is subdivided by seven watertight transverse bulkheads with three holds forward and two holds aft of the machinery space. The vessel meets the Maritime Administration requirements for a two-compartment ship. There are three complete decks in the hull, with platforms and deep tank tops at various levels. The A, Promenade, Sun and Bridge Decks and the house top form the midship house, which extends for approximately one-third of the ship’s length.

General Arrangement

General Arrangement: C Deck and Above

General Arrangement

General Arrangement: D Deck and Below

Propulsion Plant

The vessel is single screw with geared turbine propelling machinery located in the machinery space amidships. The steam cycle employed uses a high-efficiency, cross-compound turbine, four stages of regenerative feed heating, and high-efficiency boilers fitted with rotary regenerative air heaters. This basic cycle arrangement is one which has demonstrated satisfactory performance and reliability on a number of American ships, such as the Barrett Class MSTS transports (Bay State, Empire State and State of Maine.)

Engine Room cutaway viw

Engine Room

Machinery Arrangement, lower level

Machinery Arrangement, lower level

Machinery Arrangement, upper level

Machinery Arrangement, upper level

Machinery Arrangement, C Deck

Machinery Arrangement, C Deck

Machinery Arrangement, B Deck

Machinery Arrangement, B Deck

Machinery Arrangement, A Deck and above

Machinery Arrangement, A Deck and above

Heat Balance

Heat Balance at normal power

Principle Characteristics

Name: T.V. Patriot State
Call Sign: WHBH
MARAD Class: “M” Class
Official Number: DN293943
Class: Training Vessel - steel - steam
Port of Registry: Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts
Owner: The U.S. Government
Operator: Mass Maritime Academy
101 Academy Drive
Buzzards Bay, Ma 02532-1803
Builder: Bethlehem Steel Company
Sparrows Point, Md
Date Built: 15 December 1964
Capacity: 648 passengers
50 crew
698 total
Length Overall: 546’ -7 5/8 = 166.6 Meters
Beam: 79’ = 25.9 Meters
Draft (molded): 29’ -00”
Length between perpendiculars: 508’ 06”
Depth to Bulkhead Deck (molded): 48’ -01”
Displacement: 19,799 Long Tons
Dead Weight: 9,200 Long Tons
Light Ship: 10,513.9 Long Tons
Gross Tonnage: 12,400 Tons
Net Tonnage: 7,221 Tons
Light Ship V.C.G: From Base Line: 32.88’
From Midship: 18.16’ Aft
Normal Power: 18,000 SHP @115 rpm
H.P.: 6442 rpm
L.P.: 3256 rpm
Maximum Power: 19,800 SHP @119 rpm
H.P.: 6667 rpm
L.P.: 3370 rpm
Propeller Pitch: 18’ -10 1/2”
Diameter: 21’ -06”
Weight: 80,000 Lbs.
Material: Nickel Bronze
Boilers: Two B&W 72,000 Lbs Steam/Hour,
600 PSI, 905° F. Superheat
Main Engine: 18,000 SHP Cross Compound Turbine,
8 High Pressure Stages, Seven Low Pressure Stages,
H.P. 6400 rpm, L.P. 3200 rpm,
2 Stages Astern 50% Normal Horsepower, Propeller 106 rpm
Main Condenser: Scoop Injection, 28.5” Hg
Generators: Three Turbine Driven Generators 750 kW
One Diesel Driven Emergency Generator 200 kW
Fuel Oil Consumption: Bunker “C” 650 Bbls/day at 20 Knots
60 Bbls/day In Port
Fuel Oil Capacity: 11,083 Bbls = 465,486 Gals. = Approximately 1664.39 Long Tons
Cruising Range: 8,525 @ 1.3 Bbls/mile = 18 Gals/min.
Potable Water: 157,081.5 Gals. = 583.3 Tons
Feed Water: 47,315.7 Gals. = 175.7 Tons
Lube Oil: 10,815 Gals.
Diesel Oil: 3,287 Gals.
Slop Tankage: 39,791 Gals.
Fore Peak: 29,865 Gals. = 114.1 Tons
Aft Peak: 41,652 Gals. = 159 Tons
Liquid Ballast: 37,047 Gals.
Solid Ballast: 2,756.4 Tons

Cargo Characteristics

From the beginning, the Grace Line management desired, as the major design objective, to achieve increased efficiency by lowering cargo handling time and costs. An operations analysis of the trade route was made by Sharp to determine the characteristics of the cargo moving on the route and to establish the feasibility of mechanical handling of cargo in units. This operations analysis included a detail study of the cargo commodities transported on the route and included analyses of weight, dimensions, net cubic, gross cubic, port of origin, port of destination and a classification of the cargo concerning its susceptibility to unitization. Trends in cargo carryings were analyzed and, in conjunction with trade forecasts prepared by Grace economists, were projected into the future. The port conditions, which would have an effect upon the design of the cargo-handling system and the ship, also received careful attention.

The southbound cargo was generally manufactured goods of approximately the following composition:

Cargo Capacity
Percent by
Volume Weight
Bagged and packaged cargo suitable for containers or pallets 41.5 44.8
Machinery, knocked-down automobile units, drums, newsprint, etc.,
having dimensions less than that of a container
22.7 30.1
Vehicles smaller than container size 15.8 3.5
Vehicles and machinery larger than container size 9.8 6.2
Steel pipe, rails, etc. less than 35 feet in length 4.5 8.2
Steel pipe, rails, etc., exceeding 35 feet in length 0.7 3.6
Large items 3.7 2.2
Lifts over 20 tons 1.3 1.4
Total: 100.0% 100.0%

The northbound cargo had different characteristics, and it was obvious from a review of the commodity listings and packaging data that practically all could be handled by unitized and bulk-handling systems. This cargo included a large amount of bananas and other refrigerated cargo.

Comparisons of the cargo moving in each direction were made to select the proportion of space to be adapted for containers, pallets, trays, bananas, etc. Analyses were made of year-to-year and voyage-to-voyage variations to determine the flexibility required.

With information thus developed on the characteristics of the cargo, preliminary studies were made of various ship arrangements and systems for handling and stowing of the cargo. The results of these studies indicated the desirability of providing the following:

The integration of these requirements, along with the requirements for passengers and public spaces, led to the design of the Santa Magdalena and her sister ships containing the most varied and the most modern mechanical cargo-handling systems to be incorporated in any ship. The systems include large overhead cranes for containers, sideporters, horizontal and vertical conveyors and elevators, each designed to perform a different cargo-handling function, but all systems to work together as a simple complex.

The Santa Mercedes was obtained by the Maritime Administration in the spring of 1984 for conversion to a training ship for the Massachusetts Maritime Academy. Conversion was accomplished in two phases. The activation phase, including changing the ship’s name, was accomplished by the Triple A Shipyard in San Francisco. The vessel was then towed to Bender Shipyard, Mobile, Alabama for the conversion phase. On 7 September 1985, the Patriot State was turned over to the Academy.

The following year, four hold was opened up for use by installing the stair tower, fire stations, and a watertight door to provide access to the B-deck cross passageway. The facilities in four hold, including the machine shop, maintenance training lab, classrooms, spare parts storage, and gym were all constructed by cadets. In 1993 an extensive upgrade of cadet berthing facilities was begun with the installation of heads, showers, lockers and bunks in three hold D-Deck.

Cargo-Handling Systems

Provision was made for carrying bananas or palletized cargo in holds 1, 3 and 4, and carrying of containers in holds 2 and 5, and in one cell group in holds 3 and 4. Automobiles could be carried in holds 3 and 4.

The bananas were loaded through sideports, manually or by horizontal conveyors, to the top of vertical conveyors by which they were transferred to the lower ‘tween decks where they were discharged and stowed manually. Bananas were discharged by manual loading at each deck into the vertical conveyors and by automatic discharge at B Deck on to short transfer conveyors, thence on to horizontal conveyors through the sideports to the dock.

The containers stowed in holds 2 and 5, in portions of holds 3 and 4, and on deck, were handled by four “C” type gantry cranes. Basically the ship was designed for 20-ft. standard containers (9’-10 1/2” long) and either 8 or 8 1/2-ft. in height. In addition, the inboard cells in holds 2 and 5 were arranged for ready adjustment for the stowage of 40-ft. containers alternatively to the 20-ft. containers. Also deck stowage was provided for 17, 20 and 40-ft. containers. The container capacity was as follows:

Four 20-ton capacity deck cranes were provided, two forward and two aft, to handle the containers in holds Nos. 2, 3, 4 and 5 and on the main deck forward and aft. The cranes were of the traveling gantry type, running on crane rails located port and starboard near the ship’s side.

The gantry cranes were of the “C” type having one open end which permits marrying of two cranes to handle large vans. Another novel feature in the crane design was a counterbalancing arrangement whereby the machinery trolley moves in the opposite direction to the load trolley so that in the empty condition, the crane was essentially counterbalanced.

The sideports, gantry cranes and the vertical conveyors were removed during the conversion to training ship use. Remnents of the vertical conveyers and sideports can still be seen in four hold.

Training Cruise History

Spring 1986 Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
Jacksonville, Florida
Portsmouth, England
Dublin, Ireland
1987 Shipyard
No Cruise
Winter 1988 Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
Bridgetown, Barbados
Tenerife, Canary Islands
Naples, Italy
Palma De Mallorca, Spain
Winter 1989 Vera Cruz, Mexico
Port of Spain, Trinidad
Willemstad, Curacao
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Port Canaveral, Florida
Winter 1990 Tampa, Florida
New Orleans, Louisiana
Nassau, Bahamas
Winter 1991 New Orleans, Louisiana
Willemstad, Curacao
Miami, Florida
Winter 1992 Genoa, Italy
Naples, Italy
Barcelona, Spain
Lisbon, Portugal
Summer 1992 Sail Boston
Boston Massachusetts
Winter 1993 Vera Cruz, Mexico
Bridgetown, Barbados
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
Spring 1994 Dublin, Ireland
Amsterdam, Holland
Edinburgh, Scotland
Boston, Massachusetts
Winter 1995 Shellback
Bridgetown, Barbados
Willemsted, Curacao
St. John, U.S.V.I.
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
Winter 1996 Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain
Naples, Italy
Barcelona, Spain
Spring 1996 Borrowed by Maine Maritime Academy
New Orleans, Louisiana
St. John, U.S.V.I
Savannah, Georgia
Vera Cruz, Mexico
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Winter 1997 New Orleans, Louisiana
Vera Cruz, Mexico
St. John, U.S.V.I
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Winter 1998 Panama Canal, Shellback, Final Trip
Fort Rodman, Panama
Caldera, Costa Rica
Lee Stocking Island, Bahamas
Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Direct comments to William Haynes whaynes@maritime.edu
Mon, Jul 1, 1996
TSPS Engineering Manual ©1995 Massachusetts Maritime Academy