James Hugghins was 57 when he went missing on February 1, 1972, while serving as 3rd Assistant Engineer aboard the SS V.A. Fogg. The ship suffered multiple explosions and sank en route from Freeport, Texas, to Galveston. The disaster killed crew members, but Hugghins’ body was never recovered and he remains listed as a missing person in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs).

The V.A. Fogg sinking is recorded as a maritime tragedy that prompted extensive searches, yet the scale of the explosions meant many crew were never found. Hugghins, who worked on that oil tanker, disappeared without a trace and his case is still unresolved decades later with no reported recovery of his remains or those of several other crew members.

Did anyone who served on or around the V.A. Fogg or nearby ships at the time have recollections that could shed light on the final hours aboard the vessel?