Let’s start at the sixth boro’s own Kearny Point. Federal Ship Building & Dry Dock used to be there. On December 1, 1943, a time when that place was turning out a vessel a week or so, hull #303 was delivered as USS Stern, DE-187. After eight years as a USN vessel, she was transferred to the Netherlands as F-811, HNLMS Van Zijll, her identity until 1967 when she was returned to the US and scrapped.
John van der Doe, frequent contributor on this blog, sailed on F-811 around the world in 1954–55, as he says “employed with the US Naval Task-force Pacific fleet 4 or 6 (forgot the number) during the Korean war.”
Port Said, 1954, north entrance to the Suez Canal. The large statue shows Ferdinand de Lesseps. A few years later, the statue was dynamited as celebration of the nationalization of the Canal.
Aden, stop for bunkers.
Hong Kong, awaiting orders.
Yokosuka, Japan, here and
here. That background landscape is still recognizable today.
Papeete.
Click here for some more of that era.
Pacific side of the Panama Canal, now 1955.
Original “mule” style. Click here (and scroll) for photos of the mules from 2012. I wonder what the next generation will be.
And here’s a photo of the Kearny-built vessel taking on stores in Ponta Delgada, Azores.
Later, Jan took this photo in then-Leningrad. I believe that’s St. Isaac’s Cathedral.
Many thanks to Jan for these photos from long ago and faraway.
tugster: a waterblog 
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November 21, 2015 at 4:06 pm
Daniel Meeter
Yes, that is St. Isaac’s.
November 22, 2015 at 5:03 pm
Charles Danko
Quite an impressive list of vessels built there over the years. Having grown up in Bayonne & worked in South Kearny from 69-77 I passed that location hundreds of times and would always crane my neck to see the latest happenings. Later on a lot of ships were towed in & scrapped on the same site in the late 60s – early 70s……..I can remember Liberty & Victory ships, tankers and all types of WWII navy ships being towed up the KVK on their way to be dismantled. Is any list available of the vessels that were scrapped there?