Reducing a Threat: Environmental Significance of the Wreck of USNS Mission San Miguel
Author(s): Jason, T. Raupp; Melissa Price; Kelly Gleason Keogh; John Burns
Year: 2017
Summary
The 2015 documentation of a wrecked tanker at Maro Reef and its subsequent identification as that of the United States Naval Ship Mission San Miguel makes an important contribution to both the maritime heritage and ecology of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Despite the fact that the American military’s critical need for petroleum led to the construction of scores of tankers, this site represents one of the few extant examples of this important vessel type. These unglamorous, yet hardworking ships played an important role in US maritime history and this wreck serves as a reminder of the frantic race to match wartime service demands and highlights the resulting infrastructure that emerged to support them. This paper provides details of the ship’s constrcution and decorated military career, efforts to document and interpret its massive and well preserved structure, and the environmental significance of its discovery.
Cite this Record
Reducing a Threat: Environmental Significance of the Wreck of USNS Mission San Miguel. Jason, T. Raupp, Melissa Price, Kelly Gleason Keogh, John Burns. Presented at Society for Historical Archaeology, Fort Worth, TX. 2017 ( tDAR id: 435532)
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Keywords
General
Hawaii
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Shipwerck
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Tanker
Geographic Keywords
North America
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United States of America
Temporal Keywords
WWII, Korean War
Spatial Coverage
min long: -129.199; min lat: 24.495 ; max long: -66.973; max lat: 49.359 ;
Individual & Institutional Roles
Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology
Record Identifiers
PaperId(s): 680