Photo #: NH 68437
S.S. Manhattan's Northwest Passage Voyage, 1969
"The 150,000 ton icebreaking tanker, SS Manhattan,
plowing its way through ice on its way to Point Barrow, Alaska,
nearing completion of its voyage from the U.S. East Coast to
the Alaska North Slope. Earlier, the 1005-foot vessel reached
Sachs Harbor on Canada's Banks Island and became the first commercial
ship ever to conquer the ice-covered waters of the Northwest
Passage. Humble Oil & Refining Company is conducting the Northwest
Passage project to determine the feasibility of transporting
crude oil from the North Slope of Alaska to refineries on the
U.S. East Coast. The giant ship broke through ice floes up to
15-feet thick as well as occasional ice ridges of up to 40 feet."
(quoted from the original caption, released with this photograph
on 17 September 1969)
Courtesy of the Humble Oil & Refining Company, New York, NY,
1969.
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.
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