Hi, Great photograph of a classy ship. Regards Steve www.shipspottersteve.com

Ted,
In the REAL world, fuel consumption is paramount. In the protectionist, inward-looking one covered by the Jones Act, it isn't.
The Act may have saved a few US seafarer's jobs but the cosy complacency it engendered in the US shipbuilding and engineering industries hasn't done them (or perhaps even the sailors) any favours in the long-run!
Similarly, if the UK's Doxford company hadn't got itself so complacently bogged-down in the opposed-piston concept, they might still be going strong as designers and licensors of slow-speed marine diesel engines alongside MAN B&W, Wartsila/Sulzer and Mitsubishi!
Bob

Hi kyle
I saw them in the East coast US to Puerto Rico trade,,in the mid to late 90,s, then I saw them a few times in 2003-04 at that time already under the Sea Star funnel.

They seem to have traded hands numerous times, and it looks like at least EL YUNQUE was owned by Pacific Far East Lines. Perhaps that's who you were thinking of?

You are right on Kyle
I saw the El Faro a few times,,but weren,t the owned also be someone else before ? Between Matson and Sea Star ?
Somehow something site in the back on my mind on that

Hi Bob
Why should they do that,,they did not need that because the Jones act protected them. Through the jones act there are still american flagged ships with full american crews.
The european gov,s paid tons of subsidies for asian and east block crews, or saw lately a lot German, UK or whatever crews on their national flags ?
beside that as you might know, the turbine engines are actually some of the best ever designed, only problem is the consumption,,but by maintainence ,spares wear and tear etc they a superior to diesel engines.

It's likely that they are all the same class. TOTE bought three of them, and still own the GREAT LAND and the WESTWARD VENTURE. Their old NORTHERN LIGHTS is now Sea Star's EL FARO, has the running mates EL YUNQUE and EL MORRO, of the same type, except all three converted to carry containers on deck. The last two were purchased from Matson, I believe. Looking further, it seems Sun Ship built 10 of a similar design between 1967 and 1977, most of which were 700', but the two TOTE ships and EL YUNQUE being 790'.

Doesn't look like she will be 'active' much longer!
Building a steamer in 1975 (other than a VLCC) shows how the Jones Act distorted reality for the US marine industries. It also illustrates how short-sighted or incapable the American engineering industry was that it failed to design a viable low-speed marine diesel engine or even get enough licences to build European/Japanese ones.

Hi Kyle
could be, they look like those vessels which run/ran between US east coast and Puerto Rico, very fast vessels but hard to handle what I heard, and kind of weird construction, but that was also or mainly because they were part of the Reserve Fleet and had to be able to carry total diverse cargoes for the military if needed.
There was I think 2 ships with the name SAN JUAN and PONCE

Captain Ted: As far as I know, she actually never was a Sea Land ship, I believe she actually was delivered straight to TOTE back in `75, and has been with them ever since.

Great photo of a great ship, Kyle!

Is she still turbiner ? I thought in the 90,s Sea Land refitted them all to diesel engines ?