WWII cargo ship may sail again

By CHRISTOPHER GOFFARD

© St. Petersburg Times, published February 10, 2001

TAMPA -- The group working to turn the SS American Victory ship into a tourist destination hopes to offer cruises to Egmont Key that would culminate with simulated strafing runs by Japanese Zeros.

The World War II-era cargo ship, part of a fleet that braved U-Boats and kamikaze fighters on the high seas, last sailed in 1985 and is docked near the Florida Aquarium.

Two donors made gifts totaling $200,000 this month, hoping that someone else will donate the last $100,000 needed to get the ship running, said Maggie Osborn, vice president of American Victory Mariners Memorial and Museum Ship.

Once running, organizers hope the ship will ferry hundreds of paying guests under the Sunshine Skyway bridge and out toward Egmont Key for memorial services. On the way back, Osborn said, vintage aircraft might make simulated attacks to dramatize the perils faced by mariners.

During the war, according to veterans groups, one in 32 merchant ship mariners died in action, a greater percentage than in any of the armed services.

The 455-foot cargo ship was launched in June 1945 and may have carried military supplies in the final weeks of the Pacific war. Organizers say it transported American fighters during the Korean and Vietnam wars.

Supporters are also working to open the ship as a museum that will give a glimpse of what life on board was like for mariners.

On March 3, the Florida Orchestra will hold a dockside "Victory at Sea" concert to raise funds.

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