Asphalt Commander Scrapped

ds · May 10th, 2008, 12:34 AM

The legend of MM&P has been scrapped! The crew of the MT ASPHALT COMMANDER sends word that the vessel has discharged her last cargo and is on her way to Chittagong, Bangladesh, for scrapping. The Sargeant Marine vessel, vertically manned by MM&P, left Newport News, Va., on Feb. 25, under the command of Captain David McLean. It is expected that the vessel will arrive in Bangladesh around April 18, with beaching scheduled between the 20th and 23rd. (MM&P Newsletter)

**CMA_Decky** · May 12th, 2008, 12:36 AM

Anyone want to explain to me how this ship is a legend? Is it just the cool name?

**paulthepirate** · May 21st, 2008, 01:23 PM

The Assh*le Disaster was the lowest paying ship in MMP. The unlicensed crew were mostly made up of guys fired off of the other MMP unlicensed div. ships, or members of the Filipino Mafia, a group of guys from Bayonne NJ. My understanding is that they were a close knit bunch. The Disaster didn't pay well, but it visited incredible ports...

**knotship** · May 29th, 2008, 06:08 AM

Well known throughout the industry as the "Ship of Pain" good by to bad rubbish that gives the US Merchant Marine its reputation as a decrepid train wreck. How many steamships do we still have compared to any other maritime nation? What is the average age of the fleet? cheers

**El Segundo** · June 3rd, 2008, 03:12 PM

I was 2AE on the Commander under the MMP pass thru. She had one of the best crews that I've worked with. Yeah she was a hard working ship and had her problems but it was a great ride.

**knotship** · June 3rd, 2008, 04:42 PM

El Segundo, While I have not heard many positive feelings from those ex AC hands who I have sailed with, I do have to agree with you that sometimes the worst of ships can still offer the best of experiences. My own story was to be chief mate and later master of the last WWII stickship still sailing in her original configuration with the machinery, cargo gear and accomodations she was built with and believe me when I say that all were quite primative, rough and dirty 50 years after she was launched when I sailed on her in the first half of the 90's. As tired and greasy and uncomfortable and low paying as she was, to get to sail on what was end of the line for the many thousands of ships which were built in that time of the mankind's greatest shipbuilding effort to me was a badge of honor I am proud to wear and I have the scars to prove it. To myself, she was the equivalent of the last windjammers at the twilight of their era in the 30's when they raced with their grain cargoes from Australia to Europe. You knew that when they were gone, the world would never see their kind working on the seas again. Ok, I might be over romantic looking backwards, but it was fun getting to work with the exact cargo gear found in those old wartime vintage textbooks we had in school. Today, I like modern and well maintained. I'll take a pass if the ship is sheets of rust hidden under a thick layer of grease. I especially like ships that you don't get hurt or killed on, which don't burn, blow up and/or then sink out from beneath oneself. cheers postscript: that same ship still lives and occasionally sails as a "mercy" vessel for a group called Friendships in Lake Charles so actually that era is not yet totally dead although the SPIRIT of GRACE is no longer inspected or classed and sails under a waiver granting her special status since she is not engaged in commercial trade. A link to her is found at: <A href="http://friendships.org/FSFleetKnotClass.html]http://friendships.org/FSFleetKnotClass.html</A>

**guest-** · November 7th, 2008, 06:52 PM

paul the pirate you are dead wrong. We enjoyed a 30% raise across the board, officer and crew in 2006. The sailors on the Commander were making more than the junior officers on the AHL tankers currently do. FACT. Knotship, the Commander was not a steam ship. She ran with Enterprise diesels which may not have been the best but got us around. Thanks El Segundo for taking the high road and praising her hard working crew. Yeah the ship had her problems and was poorly run/operated by her MMP crew in the beginning, but we saw great advances from 2003 to 2008, and not only financial. We ran that ship far better towards the end than you would believe, and it was simply economics that brought about her early demise. JJ Malone, Chief Mate

**Rocket187um** · July 22nd, 2009, 12:45 PM

The Commander aided me in getting a 1600 ton license and now a 3rd mate. It was worth it.

**dzlgrl** · October 9th, 2009, 11:57 PM

The Asphalt Commander will be fondly remembered as long as I live, anyway. It was during a period of subcontracted RMO work on the Commander, in a Curacao shipyard, that my husband proposed to me - the shock of my lifetime - and still the best event of that lifetime. El Segundo may be a romantic at heart, but our Commander experience may hold the record.
As to the Phillipino crew aboard then, I will not forget a young Phillipino man, who was as sharp as any young mariner I've met, of any nationality. He was interested, asked questions - intelligent questions - worked hard and willingly at any task, was well mannered and respectful. The American crewmembers were unused to a female aboard, but were courteous, respectful and thoughtful across the board. I'm not uncomfortable with crews and understand the life/lifestyle better than most, so they were still lively and largely able to behave pretty normally around me, but they conciously restrained the subject matter or terminology of an all male audience when I was present. I've wondered if they ever knew that I recognized their efforts as the act of respect it represented. I remember only one crewmember with less than what my husband and I consider proper work ethic: an American who normally sails steamships. But the Captain - now he was one of the most interesting facets of my Commander experience. Young, amazingly skilled both as a captain and as a crew manager, he understood, the charm, if you will, of the Asphalt Commander experience. He led by example, taking the challenges of the old ship in stride, as perhaps the cost of admission for the pleasures of sailing to fabled ports in some of the most beautiful places of the world. He was respected, deservedly, as the Captain, appreciated for his talents and the wisdom beyond his years which obviously made sailing the Asphalt Commander something many past crewmembers will fondly remember. It could have been miserable, or just what it was for them; and I think the crew mostly had enough experience to recognize how much the captains affect crew experience. It was my pleasure to be trusted with conversations about the girlfriends, wives or even families of these men, and often our discussions centered around he challenges of finding the partner who understands the life of a merchant mariner, much less one capable of honorably engaging in a serious relationship with one. It takes a strong relationship to weather frequent and sometimes extended separations.
The young Russian aboard then, particularly deserves mention for his efforts made to provide some comfort during the very few hours my husband (now my husband; I said yes when he proposed) took a break from the 24/7 work schedule required to put the Commander back to work on time.
The crew was magnificent, save one. I've been exposed to a number of crews on various ships as a result of working with Lloyds and then my husband's company; I've been treated well and I've been treated poorly. The age or condition of the ship has no bearing on the men who sail it; it is their personal character and the captain's capacities for the art of crew management - which establishes the basic attitude of the ship - that make the difference.
For my money, it is sad news that the Asphalt Commander is gone. Obviously, for us it is unfortunate that more Enterprise engines are lost - and, by the way, the Enterprise engine is one of the most forgiving ever built. Properly maintained and operated, most Enterprise engines would provide years more reliable service if the two main parts providers were honest and reliable or timely and technically careful, respectively. But it is not the lost Enterprise engines I feel primarily, it is just sad to know that the happy 'pirates' of the Asphalt Commander can be no more! I thank the Asphalt Commander Captain and crew for my memories of you and the ship. She was old, she had suffered from lack of maintenance, but all of you were diligent in keeping her going, in bringing her around as much as possible, and you have made for many a pleasant conversation between my husband and me in the years since.
Perhaps, in a sense, it is just as well that time and 'progress' make changes; it puts perspective on our past experiences. Since crews change, the captain from that time has been gone for awhile, what I remember so fondly was already gone.

**mma600psi** · March 14th, 2010, 12:48 AM

Originally Posted by CMA_Decky

Anyone want to explain to me how this ship is a legend? Is it just the cool name?

Like any legend it was/ is well known by name with stories attached to it (some true some stretched). In the case of the commander it is known for being a nightmare. Example:
4th day in port in Bahamas (suppose to be an 8 hour stop over), in the galley I asked the 2nd mate who just got off watch how everything was going. He while sitting at the table eating breakfast threw his knife and fork onto his plate shaking his head with disgust, stated "It's a nightmare Steven King couldn't dream this $hit up".

The crew was great and for the most part hard workers. They were all characters to say the least. Not a single normal person on the entire vessel. I was one of them.