SS Ideal X was the first container ship

Container ship

Container ships are cargo ships that carry all of their load in truck-size intermodal containers, in a technique called containerization. They form a common means of commercial intermodal freight transport.-History:...

. She was a converted World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 T-2 oil tanker

T2 tanker

The T2 tanker, or T2, was an oil tanker constructed and produced in large quantities in the United States during World War II. The largest "navy oilers" after the T3s at the time, nearly 500 of them were built between 1940 and the end of 1945....

 which carried shipping container

Intermodal container

An intermodal container is a standardized reusable steel box used for the safe, efficient and secure storage and movement of materials and products within a global containerized intermodal freight transport system...

s. During her maiden voyage on April 26, 1956 the Ideal X carried 58 containers from Newark, New Jersey

Newark, New Jersey

Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...

 to Port of Houston

Port of Houston

The Port of Houston is a port in Houston—the fourth-largest city in the United States. The Port is a 25-mile-long complex of diversified public and private facilities located a few hours' sailing time from the Gulf of Mexico...

, Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

 where 58 trucks were waiting to be loaded with the containers.

History

The Ideal X began her career as an oil tanker

Oil tanker

An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a merchant ship designed for the bulk transport of oil. There are two basic types of oil tankers: the crude tanker and the product tanker. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined crude oil from its point of extraction to refineries...

. She was constructed by The Marinship Corporation

Marinship

Marinship Corporation was a shipbuilding company of the United States during World War II, created to build the shipping required for the war effort...

 in 1948, under the name Potrero Hills. She was rechristened the Ideal X in 1955, when purchased by Malcom McLean

Malcom McLean

Malcom Purcell McLean , born in Maxton, North Carolina, was an American entrepreneur, often called "the father of containerization"...

's Pan-Atlantic Steamship Company.

In 1959 the vessel was acquired by Bulgarian

Bulgaria

Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...

owners, who rechristened her Elemir. The Elemir suffered extensive damage during heavy weather on 8 February, 1964 and was sold in turn to Japanese breakers. She was finally scrapped on 20 October, 1964 in Hirao, Japan.

External links

• Vessel data at Dept. of Transportation