◆ SpookStack

fe, Pe ayh ot “fw tty, vo 7 we 7 v . 1. noo a4, aa Ka “4 vat an Pee od - 4 coc. “ tee et ak vel dee ad Lan + on eee ie | a aoe . aa?t ve} Se aac matte aeote ( ( BACKGROUND INFORMATION Tne twenty-three vessels include 13 tankers, 7 Victory dry cargo vessels, two Liberty dry cargo vesseis, and one, whaling vessel. MTwentye- two of then were surplus wer=built vessels sold by the Maritime Commission (now Maritine Administretion) in the period from 1948 to 1951 under the ; Merchant Ship Sales Act of 1946. These vessela vere required to be sold only to citizens or citizen-controlled corporations, either by statute or under the Commission's regulations at the time. Sixteen of the vessels were acquired directly fron Maritime by U. 8. Petroleum Carriers, Inc., end Victory Carriers, Inc., both of which the Goverment claimed vere owed and controlled by noncitizens dominated by O A. &. Onassis, Two of the vessels were acquired by Trafalgar Steamship Corporation from citizen corporations which had previously purchased the vessels fron Maritime; the Government claims that Onassis owned and controlled Trafalgar Corporation. Western Tankers Corporation, the fourth corporation involved, acquired tvo veesels from Maritime in 1948 while owned by citizens of the United States whe in January 1949 sold the stock of this corporation to the Onassis-controlled U. &. Fetroleum Carriers. Subsequently, the Corpora- tion acquired two more vessels by purchase from citizen corporations, The 23rd vessel, originally built for Foreign Fiag Operation, was transferred to American Flag Operation and the ownership of Western Tankers Corporation in 1950, when one of the vessels previously acquired from Maritime vas transferred to Foreign Fleg Operation and converted for whaling operations. ~~ ? Eh FS RT: Pree rept oe tte SEA anecdotal SOT STE GP, eS La Pt 3 foe : eee we . sie On Daa ed . . . . ~ : . : . : .