By Sunayana Prabhu
MIDDLETOWN – The current position of the Kirsten Maersk, the massive commercial tanker ship that sails at a speed of 12.3 knots, is in the North Sea, in the Norwegian port of Slagen. But if you’re a ship aficionado, a small-scale model of the mighty Kirsten is on display right here at the Middletown Township Public Library, built of LEGO bricks, not metal.
The full-size Kirsten, a chemical/oil products tanker, was built in 2010 by the Guangzhou Shipyard International Company and is owned by the pioneering Denmark-based shipping company Maersk. Its replica in the library was built by Jack Ferrara, who retired as president of the American flag division of Maersk in 1998 and has been anchored in Middletown with his family for over 45 years.
Retired from Maersk 25 years ago, Ferrara took to building the LEGO model of Kirsten in 2015 when a former Maersk colleague told him about it. He decided to get the $170 LEGO Kirsten kit (since retired by the company) shipped from the flagship LEGO store in Copenhagen because of his “affinity” for a company he enjoyed working with throughout his career.
A frequent visitor of the Middletown Township Library, this summer Ferrara decided to bring his Kirsten model in after reading a sign there that said: “If you have a hobby, share it.” The library provides a display cabinet at the entrance that showcases people’s collections and hobbies.
The model, made of over 1,500 LEGO bricks and pieces, took him almost a month to build. A bigger task though, he said, was to keep it out of his grandchildren’s reach. “I kept it upstairs, told them not to go in that room.” For the most part, he said, the kids complied.
“I never had to put it together twice,” said Ferrara.
The model will be on display for a few months at the library. It has intrigued children and library patrons who’ve reached out to Ferrara and told him they appreciate him sharing it.
Kirsten was one of the biggest ships in the fleet when it was built, holding 15,000 containers, Ferrara said, but new tankers are swankier, with gyms and single rooms for crew members because almost half have been replaced by technology. When he worked, crews averaged “30,” Ferrara said. “Today they average 14.”
Ferrara, 85, graduated from SUNY Maritime College in 1960 and briefly served in the U.S. Navy before embarking on a maritime career spanning decades. “Chartering tankers” around the world, was “an educational experience,” Ferrara said. “There was something that invigorated me about going to the ports I’d never been to before.”
This article originally appeared in the October 12 – 18, 2023 print edition of The Two River Times.
