chìm ngay do ngập nước - (việc này có thể giải thích 2 chú đặc công đánh tàu thấy). Tuy nhiên do thiết kế khoang hàng độc lập nên chỉ tràn nước khoang máy - tàu chìm ngang mạn (như kiểu tàu dock nổi) nên vẫn lai dắt bằng tàu kéo vào sát bờ để giải tỏa cửa sông và thông tuyến - giải thích cho việc phía US chỉ cần ốp tấm che mạn thủng và bơm nước ra rồi cẩu hàng rồi kéo về Vũng Tàu nằm.
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But the somewhat quiet existence of Harbor Clearance Unit ONE was to end on the 23rd of August. On that day the SS BATON ROUGE VICTORY was transiting the Long Tau River to Saigon with a
full load of cargo consisting of tractors, automobiles, mail, and general cargo. The ship struck a mine at approximately 0900 which blew a 35' x 45' hole in the port side of the engine room and No. 3 hold.
The ship flooded instantly,
but the master managed to run it aground avoiding the blocking of the ever-important channel. Seven men lost their lives in the explosion.
LT DELANOY and Harbor Clearance Team FOUR were the first on the scene and quickly evaluated the situation. Meanwhile, the rest of Harbor Clearance Unit ONE was immediately deployed from Subic Bay for South Vietnam. At the site of the mining, deck cargo was quickly off-loaded but the ship couldn't be held in the moor because of strong tide and current and consequently became quite lively. LT DELANOY decided at this point to take the ship down the river to Vung Tau where salvage operations could be safely held rather than stay in a hostile area and risk blocking the much traveled channel as well.
The transit of the river went well and the BATON ROUGE VICTORY was run aground in Vung Tau Harbor. On the scene was Harbor Clearance Unit ONE en masse: The YDT-11, all four Harbor Clearance Teams, and two Light Lift Craft.
The entire command was present except for one Light Lift Craft left back at Subic Bay for upkeep, repair and liaison.
Round-the-clock efforts were utilized in the operation of salvaging the BATON ROUGE VICTORY. A huge patch, weighing approximately ten tons, the maximum that could be handled by the available crane, was manufactured aboard the YDT-11 and installed in mid-September on the side of the ship, covering the large hole. The ship was then pumped out but, unfortunately, on the 22nd of the same month, the patch collapsed under the weight of the outside sea water and was rendered useless. However, four of the seven bodies of the men killed in the engine room were recovered through this effort.
Not to be discouraged, however, the Unit had a larger, stronger, and better patch built at Subic Bay. When completed, it weighed at over 50 tons and had a price tag of over $50,000. It arrived at the scene on the 22nd of November, was put in place, and the ship was again dewatered. The remaining three bodies were recovered and sixteen bulldozers were able to be recovered from the No. 3 hold after dewatering. The patch itself was the largest ever constructed in the annals of ship salvage. It was so constructed that it contained ballast tanks that could be flooded or dewatered so the patch itself could be floated or sunk as required on the job.
On the 9th of December the BATON ROUGE VICTORY was towed out of Vung Tau Harbor. However, on the 10th she suffered a collision with the SS EVER FORTUNE. One of the wires holding the huge patch to the vessel parted, the patch began to work loose in the heavy seas, and consequently, the hold and engine room flooded - once again. The vessel was again towed into Vung Tau Harbor where it was reanchored by Harbor Clearance Unit ONE forces. On the 30th of December it was again taken under tow - flooded and without a patch - and arrived safely at Singapore for repair or survey. All in all, BATON ROUGE VICTORY salvage operations took in the period from August 23rd, 1966, until December 30th, 1966. $500,000 worth of tractors were saved by the dewatering.
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