SS Bridgeton

MV Bridgeton, ex-al-Rekkah, was a Kuwait Oil Company oil tanker that was reflagged during Operation Earnest Will. Bridgeton was built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Nagasaki and was launched August 14, 1976. The tanker was built as al-Rekkah, renamed Bridgeton and scrapped as Pacific Blue.

On July 24, 1987, Bridgeton was part of the first Earnest Will convoy when it struck an Iranian mine near Farsi Island. The explosion breached the outer hull and the forward cargo tanks. Although the ship was empty, there was an huge oil slick from the oil residue in the tanks. The ship was able to sail on to its destination, thence to Dubai Drydock Shipyard for repair. The mining prompted Operation Prime Chance, a secret effort to stop more minelaying. In September 1987, Iran Ajr was discovered laying mines, was captured and scuttled by U.S. forces.

Some of the reflagged tankers returned to Kuwaiti flags in January 1989, but Bridgeton and several others remained U.S.-flagged.

In the late 1990s, Bridgeton transferred to Panamanian registry and was renamed Pacific Blue.

The supertanker was scrapped in 2002 at Haryana Ship Demolition in Alang, India.