SS Exochorda

SS Exochorda was a 473-foot, 14,500-ton cargo liner in service with American Export Lines from 1948 to 1959. A member of the line's post-war quartet of ships, "4 Aces", Exochorda sailed regularly from New York on a Mediterranean route.[3] Originally built in 1944 as the military attack transport USS Dauphin (APA-97), the ship was extensively refurbished prior to her service as a passenger-cargo liner.[4] Following her service as a cruise liner, the vessel served as the floating dormitory ship SS Stevens for the students of Stevens Institute of Technology, a technological university, in Hoboken, NJ. At the end of her service life she was scrapped, in 1979.

This article describes a post-war "new 4 Aces" ship. A pre-war ship of the same name was a member of the original "4 Aces."

Acquisition

After World War II, American Export Lines purchased four C3-class[5]

Timeline of vessel

USS Dauphin (APA-97)

22 December 1943 — Laid down (as cargo ship)[1]

10 June 1944 — Completed as Windsor-class military attack transport and launched by Bethlehem Sparrows Point Shipyard, Sparrows Point, Maryland

23 September 1944 — Transferred to Navy and commissioned as Dauphin

2 September 1945 — Present at the Surrender Ceremony of World War II in Tokyo Bay

30 April 1946 — Dauphin decommissioned

1948 — Dauphin sold for commercial service

SS Exochorda

1948 — Refurbished as passenger-cargo ship, SS Exochorda, for American Export Lines

2 November 1948 — Maiden voyage of Exochorda

1948–1959 — Exochorda served as passenger-cargo ship sailing from New York to the Mediterranean

15 March 1959 — Exochorda towed to Bethlehem Steel Corp. for preparation to be placed in reserve fleet[11]

1959–1967 — Returned to the US Maritime Administration and mothballed in Hudson River Reserve Fleet at Stony Point, NY

June 1967 — The U.S. Maritime Administration announced plans to sell the former cruise liner, Exochorda, for either non-transportation use or scrap

28 September 1967 — Announcement of Stevens Institute of Technology's bid of $130,301 for Exochorda

October 1967 — US Maritime Administration awards Exochorda to Stevens Institute of Technology for $130,301 to be used as a floating dormitory

4 October 1967 — Exochorda was towed from the Hudson River Reserve Fleet in Jones Point, N.Y. to the Hoboken Yard of Bethlehem Steel Corporation in Hoboken, New Jersey to be refurbished as a dormitory

10 November 1967 — Vessel towed from the Bethlehem Steel Corporation to the school-owned Eight Street Pier, Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ

SS Stevens

November 1967 — Christened SS Stevens

January 1968 — First student residents of Stevens moved aboard

23 May 1975 — Last student leaves Stevens

26 August 1975 — Last Voyage: towed from Hoboken NJ to a shipyard in Chester, PA

1975–1979 — Partially dismantled in Chester, PA

March 1979 — Resold to scrappers at Kearny, NJ

flag	🇺🇸
country	United States
namesake	SS Exochorda of the pre-war "4 Aces"
builder	Bethlehem Steel, Sparrow Point Shipyard, Sparrow Point, MD
christened	USS Dauphin (APA-97)
renamed	Exochorda (1948), SS Stevens (1967)
laid down	2 December 1943 (as cargo ship)
launched	10 June 1944 (as USS Dauphin (APA-97))
sponsor	Mary B. Cooke (as USS Dauphin)‡R1R‡
acquired	1947 (as Exochorda)
in service	November 1948 (as Exochorda)
out of service	1959
honors	One Battle star, Navy Occupation Service Medal (as Dauphin)
fate	Sold for scrap 1975 (as Stevens). Scrapped in Chester, PA, Kearny, NJ, Raritan Bay port, 1979

Acquisition

Extensive refurbishment

Artwork

Timeline of vessel

External links

References