 TheMayaguez under attack by Khmer Rouge gunboats | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Commissioned | April 1944 |
| Decommissioned | 1979 |
| Identification | IMO number: 5312044 |
| Fate | Scrapped in 1979 |
SSMayaguez was a U.S.-flaggedcontainer ship that is best known for its 12 May 1975 seizure byKhmer Rouge forces of Cambodia, which resulted in a confrontation with the United States at the close of theVietnam War.
TheMayaguez was first launched in April 1944 asSSWhite Falcon, a U.S.Maritime CommissionC2-S-AJ1 freighter built byNorth Carolina Shipbuilding Company ofWilmington, North Carolina.
AfterWorld War II, the ship was sold toGrace Line and renamed theSSSanta Eliana. Seeking to containerize its coffee bean traffic from Venezuela, in 1960 Grace had theSanta Eliana and her sister shipSanta Leonor lengthened and widened by theMaryland Shipbuilding and Drydock Company and converted into the first U.S.-flagged, all-container ships devoted to foreign trade, with a capacity of 382 containers below-deck plus 94 on-deck. With Grace Line's plans repeatedly frustrated by longshoremen opposition in both Venezuela and New York, the ship was sold in 1964 to the American container lineSea-Land Service and renamed SSSea, and then SSMayaguez (named after the city ofMayagüez on the west coast ofPuerto Rico) in 1965. Her sister ship was renamedLand and thenPonce (after the city ofPonce on the south coast of Puerto Rico).[1][2]
In 1967, Sea-Land began regular container service under contract to theMilitary Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) in support of American forces in Southeast Asia, with theMayaguez being one of many Sea-Land ships employed. In 1975 theMayaguez was sailing a regular route: Hong Kong – Sattahip, Thailand – Singapore. On 7 May 1975, about a week after the fall of Saigon,Mayaguez left Hong Kong on what was said to be a routine voyage.[3][4]
The "Mayaguez incident" took place betweenDemocratic Kampuchea (today known asthe Kingdom of Cambodia) and theUnited States from 12 to 15 May 1975, less than a month after theKhmer Rouge tookcontrol of the capital Phnom Penh ousting the U.S.-backedKhmer Republic. After the Khmer Rouge seized the ship in a disputed maritime area, the U.S. mounted a hastily-prepared rescue operation.[5]U.S. Marines recaptured the ship and attacked the island ofKoh Tang where it was believed, in error, that the crew were being held as hostages. Encountering stronger than expected defenses on Koh Tang, threeUnited States Air Force helicopters were destroyed during the initial assault and the Marines fought a desperate day-long battle with the Khmer Rouge before being evacuated.[6][7]Mayaguez's crew were released unharmed by the Khmer Rouge shortly after the attack on Koh Tang began.[8]
Duly retrieved from Khmer Rouge forces, theMayaguez was taken out of service and eventually scrapped in 1979.[9]
