SS Martin Behrman

The SS Martin Behrman was an American Liberty ship built in 1944 for service in World War II. Her namesake was Martin Behrman, long-time mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana.

Among the Liberty ships, the Martin Behrman was an EC2-S-C1 Type with hull number 2827. Like other Liberty ships, she was 441 feet (134 m) long and 56 feet (17 m) wide, carried 9000 tons of cargo and had a top speed of 11 knots (20 km/h). Most Liberty ships were named after prominent deceased Americans.[1]

This particular ship was built by Delta Shipbuilding Company in New Orleans. Her keel was laid on 25 October 1944 and she was launched on 4 December 1944.[2] The Delta shipyard was started specifically for the war effort, at a site on the Industrial Canal near the Almonaster Avenue Bridge, immediately south of the present-day I-10 high-rise bridge. The yard was shut down after the end of the war.[3]

The Martin Behrman survived World War II and saw service in the Korean War.[4] In 1947 she was engaged in the Indonesian trade in defiance of a Dutch blockade, and on one voyage her cargo was confiscated by the Dutch Navy.[5][6] She was scrapped at Portland, Oregon in 1965.[7] Her bow, along with the bows of many other Liberty ships, is buried at the Liberty Ship Memorial Park in Portland.[8][9]