Crescent Shipyard, located on Newark Bay in Elizabeth, New Jersey, built a number of ships for the United States Navy and allied nations as well during their production run, which lasted about ten years while under the Crescent name and banner. Production of these ships began before the Spanish–American War and occurred far before the outbreak of World War I. Arthur Leopold Busch, a recent emigre from Great Britain, started the yard with former Navy Lt. Lewis Nixon in January 1895. Both men previously worked for William Cramp & Sons in Philadelphia. Both Nixon and Busch were regarded to be amongst the best in their respected fields - and what they did at this time - as designers and builders of the latest, most advanced types of ships.
Lake freighters, or lakers, are bulk carrier vessels that operate on the Great Lakes of North America. These vessels are traditionally called boats, although classified as ships.
SS Noronic was a Canadian passenger ship that was destroyed by fire in Toronto Harbour in September 1949 with the loss of at least 118 lives.
Edward M. Cotter is a fireboat in use by the Buffalo Fire Department at Buffalo, New York, United States. Originally named William S. Grattan, it was built in 1900 by the Crescent Shipyard of Elizabeth Port, New Jersey. Due to age, it was rebuilt in 1953 and renamed Firefighter upon its return to service. The following year it was renamed Edward M. Cotter. its namesake, Edward Cotter, was a Buffalo firefighter and leader of the local firefighters union who had recently died.
Sylvan Arrow was a steam tanker built in 1917–1918 by New York Shipbuilding Co. of Camden for Standard Oil Company, with intention of transporting oil and petroleum products between United States and ports in the Far East. The ship was briefly requisitioned by the US Government during World War I but returned to commercial service in early 1919.
USS West Haven (ID-2159) was a steel–hulled freighter that saw service with the U.S. Navy during World War I, and which later saw convoy service during the Battle of the Atlantic in World War II.
Esso Brussels was a commercial oil tanker built for the Esso Oil company in 1959. She was involved in a collision in 1973 in which thirteen of her crew perished. She was rebuilt and sailed under various other names until being scrapped in 1985.
Sea Witch was a MARAD Type C5-S-73b container ship built at the Bath Iron Works shipyard for American Export-Isbrandtsen Lines. She operated in the Atlantic trades for five years. So engaged on the evening of June 1, 1973, the vessel was involved in a disastrous collision with the oil tanker Esso Brussels in lower New York Harbor and was damaged so badly that she was removed from active service.
Phoenix is a fireboat owned by State of California and operated by the city of San Francisco in the San Francisco Bay since 1955. Phoenix is known for helping to save Marina District buildings from further destruction by fire following the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. Her worthy assistance resulted in a second vintage fireboat obtained for the city. Both Guardian and Phoenix are based at Firehouse No. 35 at Pier 22½ of the Port of San Francisco. Phoenix often leads parades of ships, and takes part in welcoming ceremonies.
SS El Estero was a ship filled with ammunition that caught fire at dockside in New York Harbor in 1943, but was successfully moved away and sunk by the heroic efforts of tug boats and fireboats, averting a major disaster.
The Abram S. Hewitt was a coal-powered fireboat operated by the Fire Department of New York City from 1903 to 1958. She was the department's last coal-powered vessel and had a pumping capacity of 7,000 gallons per minute.
John Purroy Mitchel was a fireboat operated by the FDNY. She was named after former mayor of New York City, John Purroy Mitchel. Grace Drennan, niece of Fire Commissioner Thomas J. Drennan played a ceremonial role in the vessels launch on July 24, 1921. Her launch was also attended by current mayor John Francis Hylan.
The 1958 East River collision occurred on the morning of June 25, 1958, two ships collided in the East River in New York City, resulting in a fire, a gasoline spill, and the deaths of two crewmembers.
Green Hill Park was a freighter, built in 1943, that exploded, bursting into flames, in Vancouver, British Columbia's harbour, on March 6, 1945. According to a 2013 retrospective article in the Vancouver Sun, this was Vancouver's worst disaster, at the time.
In June 1966, the British oil tanker MV Alva Cape caught fire twice in New York Harbor, first in a collision with tanker SS Texaco Massachusetts, and next while unloading cargo, and was subsequently scuttled offshore. Thirty-three people were killed in the collision, the resulting spill of its cargo of naphtha and major fire that ensued. Four more were killed about two weeks later while the emptied tanks were being inerted with carbon dioxide in a misguided attempt to make the damaged vessel safe for transport.
West Kasson was a steam cargo ship built in 1918–1919 by Long Beach Shipbuilding Company of Long Beach for the United States Shipping Board (USSB) as part of the wartime shipbuilding program of the Emergency Fleet Corporation (EFC) to restore the nation's Merchant Marine. The vessel initially operated on the round-the-world route from the West Coast of the United States via East Asia and Spain before being shifted to serve the Gulf to Europe and South America trade in 1922. In 1926 she was sold to the W. R. Grace and Company and renamed Cuzco. In her new role the ship operated chiefly between the ports of the Pacific Northwest and various Chilean and Peruvian ports. In 1940 the ship was again sold and transferred into Panamanian registry and renamed Carmona. The vessel continued sailing between South America and the United States and was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-160 on one of her regular trips in July 1942.
The SS Puerto Rican, was an American-flagged tanker disabled by an explosion on October 31, 1984. The 20,295 GRT, 632 ft (192.6 m), tanker was owned by Bankers Trust Company and operated by Keystone Shipping Co. of Philadelphia which burned in an explosion with the stern section sinking just hours after leaving San Francisco bound for New Orleans with a cargo of 91,984 barrels of lubricating oil and additives. In addition to the cargo the ship was fueled with 8,500 barrels of Heavy Fuel Oil before departure.
The David A. Boody was a fireboat operated on the North River, the lower portion of the Hudson River, within New York state. She was built and commissioned in 1892 for the Brooklyn Fire Department and was operated by the BFD until Brooklyn's fleet was merged with that of nearby New York City.
Cockaponset was a steam cargo ship built in 1918–1919 by Pacific Coast Shipbuilding Company of Bay Point for the United States Shipping Board as part of the wartime shipbuilding program of the Emergency Fleet Corporation (EFC) to restore the nation's Merchant Marine. The vessel was largely employed on the Gulf Coast of the United States to Europe route until 1930 when she was laid up. In late 1940 the ship together with 15 other vessels was acquired by the British government to alleviate significant shortage of tonnage due to an ongoing German U-boat campaign. In May 1941 the freighter was torpedoed and sunk on her first war trip to the United Kingdom.
New York City Fire Department 
