The Liberty ship SS "E. A. Bryan" docked at the inboard, landward side of Port Chicago's single pier at 8:15 a.m. on July 13, 1944. The ship arrived at the dock with empty cargo holds but was carrying a full load of 5,292 barrels (841,360 liters) of bunker C heavy fuel oil for its intended trip across the Pacific Ocean. At 10 a.m. that same day, seamen from the ordnance battalion began loading the ship with munitions. After four days of around-the-clock loading, about 4,600 tons (4,173 tonnes) of explosives had been stored in its holds. The ship was about 40% full by the evening of July 17.