Share this article
When the United States entered World War II in December 1941, it faced a shortage of merchant mariners. With supplies in desperate needs overseas a massive sealift would require not only a huge fleet of cargo ships, but the seafarers to sail them. This opened the door a bit to black mariners for a range of shipboard jobs. One of the most dramatic stories of this era involved shipmaster Hugh Mulzac.
Born in the British West Indies in 1886, Mulzac went to sea after high school, sailing on British vessels. He later attended the Nautical School in Swansea, in the United Kingdom, earning a mate’s license. He sailed as a ship’s officer in World War I, and came to the United States, becoming a citizen in 1918.
Captain Mulzac remembered
The presentation party at last Monday’s ceremony, with Andre Liverpool and Rupert Mulzac (front 2nd and 3rd from left respectively.)
Sunday 31st January, 2021 marked the 50th Anniversary of the death of Captain Hugh Nathaniel Mulzac, the Vincentian national who became the first black man to have gained a Shipping Master’s Certificate in the United States of America, and to later captain the ‘SS Booker T. Washington’.
The ‘SS Booker T. Washington’ was a United States Maritime Commission (MC) Liberty ship, first of 17 Liberty ships that were named after African-Americans, and which, under Capt. Mulzac’s watch, made 22 round trip voyages ferrying troops and supplies to Europe and the Pacific theatre between 1942 and 1947.
Brenton Cain Social Share
Commander of the SVG Coast Guard Service, Commander Brenton Cain will be celebrating 35 years in the St Vincent and the Grenadines Coast Guard Service on February 2, 2021.
Commander Cain, who was enlisted on February 02, 1986, “has amassed vast experience, knowledge and expertise in navigation, seamanship and leadership over his long and distinguished career,” a release from the police public relations department said.
He has attended some of the most prestigious naval colleges and schools including – US Coast Guard Officer School, Virginia, the Canadian Coast Guard College, National Defence University, USA; US National Defence University, Argentina, World Maritime Organization, Japan, among others.
NBC SVG
Sunday January 31, 2021 marks the fiftieth (50) anniversary of the death of Captain Hugh Mulzac, the person whom the SVG Coast Guard flag ship is name after.
As a commemorative gesture, the family of the Late, Captain Hugh Mulzac will be handing over a book to the Commander and staff of the SVG Coast Guard Service on February 01, 2021.
The handover ceremony will commence at 10:00 at the Coast Guard Base, Calliaqua.
Share This Article: