SS Marine Phoenix Archival Collection
Ephemera for the SS Marine Phoenix available may include Passenger Lists, Menus, Brochures, Sailing Schedules, Route Maps, Photographs, and more.
Official US Navy Photograph of the USNS Marine Phoenix (T-AP-195), a Troop Transport Ship Operating in the Pacific. Photo 80-G-438390 Usn, Dated 18 January 1952. (United States Navy) | GGA Image ID # 225513a9c4
This rare post-WWII passage ticket provides a fascinating look at transpacific ocean travel in the late 1940s. Issued to Miss Mary B. Bartlett, it documents her cabin-class journey from San Francisco to Sydney aboard the SS Marine Phoenix, a ship originally built for wartime troop transport but later repurposed for civilian travel.
Who Should Find This Resource Valuable?
✅ 📚 Teachers & Students – Ideal for research on post-war civilian travel, ship conversions, and early Cold War-era mobility.
✅ 🏡 Genealogists & Family Historians – A key primary source for tracing passengers migrating between the U.S. and Australia.
✅ ⚓ Maritime Historians & Enthusiasts – Offers insight into Matson Navigation Company’s post-war role in ocean travel.
✅ 💰 Economists & Researchers – Includes a detailed cost breakdown of the ticket’s inflation-adjusted value from 1947 to today.
About the Marine Phoenix
(T-AP-195: dp. 10,210; l. 523'; b. 72'; dr. 26'; s. 17 k.; trp. 3,674; a. none; cl. Marine Adder; T.C4-S-A3) The Marine Phoenix, A significant vessel in naval history, was a merchant ship with a retained name.
The Marine Phoenix (T-AP-195), a vessel of significant historical importance, was laid down under a Maritime Commission contract by Kaiser Co., Inc., Vancouver, Wash., on 16 December 1944. She was launched on 9 August 1945, sponsored by Mrs. Thomas M. Robins, and delivered to her operator, Moore‑McCormack Lines, Inc., on 9 November 1945.
In early December, the Marine Phoenix, a key player in the Pacific campaigns, steamed to Seattle, where she embarked occupation troops and sailed for Japan on 12 December. She carried her passengers to Nagoya, embarked homeward-bound veterans, and returned to Seattle from 4 to 16 January 1946.
Over the next five months, the Marine Phoenix played a crucial role in troop lift runs, operating out of Seattle to Japan, Korea, China, the Marianas, and the Hawaiian Islands. In 1947, she entered the Maritime Commission Reserve Fleet at Suisun Bay, Calif., where she remained for three years.
During those three years, she was leased by the Oceanic Steamship Company and Operated by Matson Navigation Company for this and other voyages during 1947-1949.
Oceanic Steamship Company and The Marine Phoenix
Oceanic applied to charter a Government vessel and, in December 1946, secured the Marine Phoenix. The Phoenix was then put into passenger service on Route 27 between United States Pacific coast ports and ports in Australia and New Zealand.
The Marine Phoenix carried a very limited amount of cargo and had space for approximately 550 passengers in rooms for 6-12 occupants and large dormitory areas holding as many as 80 passengers. The accommodations were austere and in no way comparable to those offered on the Mariposa and Monterey prior to the war.
Up until her last return voyage in August 1948, she carried her full passenger capacity, but in her operation without subsidy, Oceanic lost a total of approximately $168,000 on six round voyages in 1947 and a total of approximately $128,000 on five round voyages in 1948.
Bibliography
"The Oceanic Steamship Company--Application for Operating--Differential Subsidy for "Marine Phonix," Trade Route 27,m No., S-41,". Submitted 1 June 1953. Decided 16 June 1953. Decision of the Federal Maritime Board and Maritime Administration, Department of Commerce, Vol. 4, April 1952 to March 1956, Washington DC: US Governement Printing Office, p. 288-292.
Partial Extract, Naval History and Heritage DCommand, "Marine Phoenix: Ship History" Published 5 August 2015. https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/m/marine-phoenix.html Last Viewed October 2019.