Description

The oil tanker Manhattan was launched from Bethlehem Steel's Fore River Shipyard in Quincy, Massachusetts, in 1962. At 899 feet long, she was the largest commercial vessel under US registry at the time. In 1968, after the discovery of oil in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, the Manhattan was refitted with a new icebreaking bow and sent on a trial voyage through the Northwest Passage to the new oil fields. This route was discontinued in favor of the trans-Alaska pipeline, but the Manhattan continued to sail warmer routes until 1987.

Waterline model of the tanker SS Manhattan as launched in 1962, before being retrofitted for the Northwest Passage. Model shows a large, wide vessel with a modest flared bow and a round stern, with a pilothouse amidships and engine compartments aft. Black hull with dark red decks and a white superstructure; black smokestack has a white M over red, white, and blue stripes. Mounted on a flat wood base.