The SS Roy James Cole was a Liberty ship built at J.A. Jones Construction, Brunswick, Georgia, during World War II. The ship was named after Roy James Cole, a Chief engineer on SS Expositor, lost at sea after his ship was torpedoed by the German submarine U-606, on 22 February 1943, in the North Atlantic. The SS Roy James Cole was laid down on 23 January 1945, under a Maritime Commission contract, and launched on 28 February 1945. On 17 March 1945, the SS Roy James Cole was allocated to the Blidberg & Rothchild Co. Inc. She was sold to Merchants Steamship Corp., on 2 March 1951, for commercial use and renamed North Heaven. In September 1954, the ship was sold to a Liberian shipping company. She was scrapped in 1970. Throughout most of the 20th Century, asbestos-containing materials were used on Navy ships for thermal and electrical resistance, and non-inflammability. Because of their physical characteristics and bioresistance within the body, asbestos fibers are highly toxic and when inhaled, can cause asbestosis, mesothelioma, and lung cancer.
760-621-6147