SS Suremico

History
United States
NameSuremico (1920–1930)
Nisqually (1930–1941)
NamesakeWilliam H. Remick
Owner
  • USSB (1920–1930)[1]
  • Pioneer Transportation (1930–1941)
BuilderSubmarine Boat Corporation, Newark
Yard number139[1]
Laid down24 February 1920
Launched17 September 1920[2]
CompletedOctober 1920
Identification
FateSunk by enemy aircraft, 8 December 1941
General characteristics
TypeDesign 1023 Cargo ship
Tonnage
Length324.0 ft (98.8 m) registry length[4]
Beam46.2 ft (14.1 m)[4]
Draft25 ft (7.6 m)[3]
Depth25.0 ft (7.6 m)[4]
Installed power386 NHP
Propulsion
  • 2 oil fired boilers, steam turbine, single screw propeller
  • 4 Bayles vessels: triple expansion steam engine
Speed10.5 kn (19.4 km/h; 12.1 mph)
Range10,080 nmi (18,670 km; 11,600 mi)

Suremico was a Design 1023 cargo ship built for the United States Shipping Board (USSB) immediately after World War I. She was later named the Nisqually and converted into a barge and later a scow. She was bombed and sunk during the Battle of Wake Island.

History

She was laid down at yard number 139 at the Newark, New Jersey shipyard of the Submarine Boat Corporation (SBC), one of 132 Design 1023 cargo ships built for the United States Shipping Board (there were 154 ships of the class built in total).[1] She was launched on 17 September 1920,[2] completed in October 1920,[1] and named the SS Suremico.[1][2] She was named after William H. Remick, former president of the New York Stock Exchange (her name being a portmanteau of her manufacturer and her namesake, SUbmarine Boat REMIck COrporation).[5] On June 3, 1927, while en route from Vancouver to Seattle with a load of lumber, she was involved in a collision in heavy fog with the French cargo ship SS Arkansas near the entrance to Strait of Juan de Fuca off Cape Flattery Light.[6][7] The USRC Snohomish,[7] HMCS Malaspina,[6] and the Pacific Salvage Company's Salvage King out of Victoria, British Columbia rushed to provide assistance.[7] Both ships were so heavily damaged that the Arkansas required towage to Seattle[6] and the USSB deemed the Suremico a total loss; and rather than repair her, the USSB removed her equipment and engines for the use of other ships in the fleet.[8] In 1930, her hull was purchased by Pioneer Transportation Company, renamed Nisqually, and converted into a barge.[1] In 1937, she was converted into a scow.[1]

On 8 December 1941, she was bombed and sunk by Japanese planes during the Battle of Wake Island.[9][10]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g McKellar, p. Part III, 77.
  2. ^ a b c The Marine Review 1921, p. 100.
  3. ^ a b c McKellar, p. Part III, 74.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Fifty Second Annual List of Merchant Vessels of the United States, Year ended June 30, 1923. Washington, D.C.: Department of Commerce, Bureau of Navigation. 1923. p. 110. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
  5. ^ Speed-up, Volume 6. Submarine Boat Corporation. November 15, 1923. p. 9.
  6. ^ a b c "Annual DepartmentalReports of the Dominion of Canada, 1928, v.4". Department of National Revenue, (Customs and Excise). March 31, 1928.
  7. ^ a b c "Salvage Vessel Races To French Cargo Ship. Arkansas Leaking After Collision. Crashes With SS Suremico Operating Out of This Port Rammed in Fog". The Province (Vancouver). June 3, 1927.
  8. ^ "The Suremico was so badly damaged when she collided with the French steamship Arkansas off Tatoosh Island on June 3, that it was decided to scrap the vessel". The Daily Colonist. 19 August 1927.
  9. ^ "US ships lost in the Pacific during World War II". USMM.org. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
  10. ^ Merchant Vessels of the United States 1944. United States Treasury Department - Bureau of Customs. January 1, 1944. p. 756.

Bibliography