The SS Mary Ball was a Liberty ship built at J.A. Jones Construction, Panama City, Florida, during World War II. She was named after Mary Ball, a planter in Virginia, and the mother of George Washington, the first President of the United States. The SS Mary Ball was laid down on 20 July 1943, under a Maritime Commission contract, and launched on 17 October 1943. Due to the prevalence of asbestos used in shipbuilding, the Navy has the highest incidences of asbestos-related illnesses among its veterans. Anyone who served onboard the SS Mary Ball was put at risk of developing asbestos-related diseases like asbestosis, lung cancer, or mesothelioma. On 23 November 1943, the SS Mary Ball was allocated to United Fruit Co. She was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, in Mobile, Alabama, on 20 June 1946. In 1971, she was sold, along with 13 other ships to Union Minerals & Alloys Corp., to be scrapped and removed from the fleet on 17 April 1972.
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