In 2012, Pim Van Hemmen was driving out of an Ikea parking lot in Philadelphia when he spotted a massive ocean liner, rust on its hull and paint peeling from its funnels. It was the SS United States, the former flagship of the U.S. merchant marine fleet and winner and current holder of the prestigious Blue Riband. Intrigued by its dilapidated condition, Van Hemmen—a photographer, journalist and currently executive editor at Soundings—shot a picture through the windshield on his iPhone.
When he got home and told his wife about what he’d found, she said he should start a project to photograph the country’s historic ships. She also came up with a name for the project: In Extremis, a maritime doctrine that allows extreme measures to be taken when a ship is in extreme danger.
Now, that project, “In Extremis: Historic Ships in America,” is on display at the Penobscot Marine Museum in Searsport, Maine, until August 5.
Van Hemmen has always been intrigued by ships. “I was born in the Netherlands where people are very connected to the country’s maritime past,” he says. “My grandfather and father sailed for the Holland America Line and my brother, my wife, my nephew and nieces all work or worked in the maritime industry. But I’ve always been struck by how so many Americans know so little about the role ships have played and continue to play in this country’s history. Until the 1960s, almost every immigrant arrived here on a ship; almost every war fought by this country required ships to fight or deliver personnel and materiel; and much of what we consume or produce arrives or leaves this country by ship.”
Van Hemmen says the photos on exhibit—which were shot on both coasts, the Great Lakes and the country’s interior—are not meant to advocate for or against the preservation of any one ship. Some images make the ships look nearly perfect while others make them look like they’re a very short day away from going to the wrecker.
“I want to create a record of what’s out there as well as images that people want to look at,” he says. “There’s beauty in ships, even when they’re covered in rust or oil and their paint is flaking. Even when they’re sitting still and appear to be coming apart at the seams, there’s power and beauty.” —Jeanne Craig
This article was originally published in the July 2023 issue.
