SS Fort Mercer was a Type T2-SE-A1 tanker built by Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., at Chester, Pennsylvania in October 1945.

SS Fort Mercer (hull number 534) was built under a Maritime Commission contract and launched on 2 October 1945.

[1][2] On 18 February 1952, Fort Mercer, full of kerosene and fuel oil, first cracked and then broke in two in a gale, 30 miles (48 km) east of Chatham, Massachusetts.

The United States Coast Guard vessels Eastwind and Unimak that were near Nantucket, Massachusetts about 120 miles (190 km) away headed to the two Fort Mercer sections.

Four other men aboard the bow, including the Captain, were rescued using a lifeboat and a life raft, both launched by Yakutat.