PortSide's ambassador to the BlueSpace:
NYC's favorite oil tanker, the Mary A. Whalen

The Mary A. Whalen made history: 
She is involved in a famous 1975 Supreme Court ruling, U.S. vs Reliable Transfer, of national significance. More history here.

The tanker houses PortSide's offices and serves as as museum ship and event location.  We can use her several ways:

• as a historic ship where we give tours
• as a stage for cultural activities
• as a landing for other boats which raft up alongside
• once cargo tanks are converted, exhibit, classroom and function space will be installed her cargo tanks (in 2,800sq ft)
• a training vessel for mariners

The Mary A. Whalen helps teach history: 
The Mary A. Whalen is NYC’s favorite oil tanker, and our TankerTours are a vivid way to learn about energy sustainability issues, fuel distribution and consumption from the 1930's to now.  TankerTours explain how this port is the largest petroleum through port in the country, and how this port supplies the whole northeast.

We explain how distributing that fuel was the Mary A. Whalen's job, and the evolution of her work reflects how fuel consumption grew and changed in the northeast United States.  She "went outside"  (in the Atlantic) delivering gasoline as far away as Maine from 1938-1958 (a testament to the small number of cars in Maine then). She did "creek work" delivering home heating oil to local fuel terminals up little waterways like the Gowanus Canal and Newtown Creek, and in the end she mostly fueled ships "bunkering" at dock and at anchor.  Her voyages became shorter as we consumed more fuel and her size became ever smaller in relation to demand.

She was built before Americans used so much electricity, meaning she makes great use of natural light and ventilation -- another aspect of sustainability we explain on TankerTours.

We give TankerTours to diverse audiences.

Bilingual TankerTours at a salsa concert:

TankerTours for college professors:

The Mary A. Whalen's future:
The tanker is being respectfully repurposed and enlivened by changing activities.  The vintage cabins, wheelhouse and galley will be restored.  We have secured most of the parts needed to repair her engine.

She can hold many of the activities researched in our business plan, but not all. We need space ashore to launch other programs, especially the Flotsam Project.

We have installed spudwells (huge steel sleeves through the hull) so we can use spuds (internal pilings). Having spuds will enable the Whalen to visit communities that lack a pier or piers with tie-up infrastructure. Many new waterfront parks have no cleats or bollards on their piers, and many communities lack a formal waterfront park at all. Though she is quite long, The Whalen is shallow draft and can therefore visit the many shallow areas of  New York's shoreline.

Physical condition:
The Whalen is a handsome workboat in need of some love - please volunteer and help us paint! - but she is in better shape than a lot of Red Hook real estate ashore.  She is adorned with lots of brass. 

Though she is built of steel, she has a lot of wood trim and the curved lines of a wood boat, meaning she has sheer (or a concave longitudinal curve) to her decks, camber (a convex transverse curve) to her pilothouse and foredeck, and she has "shape" or tumblehome to the sides of her house (as if the walls leaned inward). 

Mary A. Whalen Facebook page here

Built 1938 
LOA 171', beam 31.5, draft 1'5' bow, 8' stern

Mary A. Whalen deemed eligible for the National Register of Historic Places!

May 2011, the NYS Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) reviewed our application in record time and said they were pleased to hear from us, we’ve been watching the Mary Whalen.”  More on her history page.

fact sheet

Guide to nautical nomenclature

Where to find her:
She moves.  She is usually based in the Red Hook container port, south side of Pier 9B.  When she is on Pier 9B, you can see her from the IKEA ferry and Governor's Island or the foot of Degraw street when container stacks are not in the way.

Calling all former crew!
We want to tape record your memories and copy your photos.

And your advice can help us put The Whalen back together.