American Victory Mariners Memorial and Museum Ship

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The American Victory Mariners Memorial & Museum Ship will memorialize all mariners, who built, sailed and defended America’s merchant fleet. The ship will provide a first-class, hands-on maritime educational experience for visitors of all ages, from schoolchildren to veterans who served aboard these vessels, and depict life aboard merchant ships. The ship will also serve as a training vessel for the Tampa Bay maritime workforce and provide a state-of-the-art facility for veterans reunions, meetings, receptions, special events and upscale dining. The SS American Victory will be the only museum ship of its type in the southeast U.S. The ship joins one other Victory and two Liberty ships which have been restored and operating as museums and memorials, including the SS Lane Victory in Los Angeles, the SS John W. Brown in Baltimore, the SS Jeremiah O’Brien in San Francisco.

The SS American Victory will be the only museum ship of its type in the southeast U.S. The ship joins one other Victory and two Liberty ships which have beeThe SS American Victory has a long and storied sailing history. She was launched on June 20, 1945, named after American University in Washington, DC. After her launching until September 1945, the ship carried ammunition and other cargo to Southeast Asia supporting American troops fighting the Japanese. After the war, she ferried cargo, equipment and troops back to the U.S. During 1946 and 1947, the vessel carried foodstuffs and machinery as part of the Marshall Plan to ports in mid- and eastern Europe, Russia, and the Near East. In February 1951, the SS American Victory supplied American and United Nations troops for three years during the Korean War. After the war, she spent 12 years in a reserve fleet and was broken out in July 1966 to supply American troops in Vietnam for three years. De-activated in October 1969, the SS American Victory was placed in the James River Reserve Fleet. While in the fleet, she was protected from the elements by a series of innovative techniques: her hull was protected from corrosion by a cathode protection system, and her interior spaces were dehumidified. She was withdrawn from the Reserve Fleet in March 1985 to participate in a program designed to determine the time and expense necessary to activate mothballed Victory ships. The SS American Victory was returned to full operation and then was returned to in-active status in the fleet until September 1999. n restored and operating as museums and memorials, including the SS Lane Victory in Los Angeles, the SS John W. Brown in Baltimore, the SS Jeremiah O’Brien in San Francisco.

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