 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| United States | |
| Name | Northwestern |
| Namesake | The Northwestern Steamship Company |
| Builder | Delaware River Iron Ship Building and Engine Works |
| Launched | November 23, 1889 |
| Fate | Sank at mooring, Captains Bay, Unalaska Island |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Passenger and freight transport |
| Length | 336 ft (102 m) |
| Speed | 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph) |
S. S.Northwestern Shipwreck Site | |
  | |
| Location | Port Levashef, at the head ofCaptains Bay |
| Nearest city | Unalaska |
| Coordinates | 53°49′50″N166°36′37″W / 53.83056°N 166.61028°W /53.83056; -166.61028 |
| NRHP reference No. | 94001065[1] |
| Added to NRHP | September 12, 1994[1] |
SSNorthwestern, originallySSOriziba, was a passenger and freightsteamship launched in 1889 by theDelaware River Iron Ship Building and Engine Works,Chester, Pennsylvania which spent most of its career in service in the waters of theTerritory of Alaska.[2] The ship from early in its career had a reputation for trouble, and was frequently involved in groundings, collisions with other ships, and with port facilities. She first served as a transport in theWest Indies asOriziba, and was acquired by theNorthwestern Steamship Company in 1906, sailed aroundCape Horn, and renamedNorthwestern. For the next thirty years she worked along the Alaska coast, transporting people, mail, and goods, as well as ore from mining operations atKennecott.[3]
On March 14, 1907, the steamer ran aground when a storm pushed her onto a reef inBeatson Bay nearLatouche. Refloated sometime in April and docked at Latouche for temporary repairs. She departed May 25, 1907, forEsquimalt, British Columbia under tow by TugSalvor. She soon sprung a leak and was beached at Swanport nearPort Valdez, sinking again. After more temporary repairs she was refloated and once more embarked. On June 4, 1907, bothNorthwestern and her tow ran aground in fog at the mouth of theFraser River at Sand Head Shoal, she pulled herself off and then pulled off the tug. She was repaired atVictoria, British Columbia.[4]
On February 14, 1909,Northwestern sighted aflare from thesloopNugget, which had been blown out into theGulf of Alaska offCross Sound by a storm on February 9 during a voyage fromLituya Bay toJuneau, Alaska, and whose crew was abandoning her 75 nautical miles (139 km; 86 mi) offCape Fairweather (58°48′30″N137°56′45″W / 58.80833°N 137.94583°W /58.80833; -137.94583 (Cape Fairweather)) after a second storm struck and destroyed hersails andrigging.Northwestern rescued seven crewmen fromNugget and transported them to Juneau.[5]
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On December 3, 1910, she ran hard aground onPile Point at the entrance toFalse Bay tearing a 40-foot (12 m) hole in her.Northwestern was refloated, repaired at theHeffernan drydock in Seattle[6] and returned to service.[7]
In April 1911 she participated in Cordova's "Copper Day" celebration commemorating the completion of the "Copper River and Northwestern Railroad" and first arrival of ore from the Kennicott Mine, she transported that shipment toTacoma, Washington.[8] On September 27, on arrival atKetchikan,Alaska Territory, the signal wire to the engine room broke ordering "Full Ahead" instead of "Stop" causing a collision with the salmon canning shipGlory of the Seas, a formerclipper ship, doing minor damage to both.[9]
In January 1913 she ran aground nearValdez, Alaska Territory, in February she had a collision withSkagit Queen, and on September 12 a collision withH. B. Kennedy.[10]
On October 6, 1915, she grounded on Potter Rock just south ofPennock Island in theTongass Narrows near Ketchikan, Alaska Territory. She got off the next morning.[11]
On July 25, 1933,Northwestern ran aground off Alaska'sSentinel Island Lighthouse and subsequently was beached on theEagle River Sand Spit. Her passengers were taken off by aUnited States Government steamship.[12]
Northwestern was pressed into service by theUnited States Navy duringWorld War II, and was serving as housing for workers atDutch Harbor onUnalaska when the area wasbombed by the Japanese in June 1942. On June 4 a bomb struck her, inflicting extensive damage. Herhulk afterward was loaded with scrap and towed toCaptains Bay in anticipation of eventually being towed toSeattle,Washington. Despite U.S. Navy records indicating that she was towed to Seattle, she in fact remained in Captains Bay, and eventually sank around 1946; there are differing accounts as to the circumstances of the sinking. Approximately 50 feet (15 m) of her hull is normally visible at the head of Captains Bay.[3]
The site of the shipwreck was listed on theNational Register of Historic Places in 1994.[1]
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1933 | |
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| Shipwrecks |
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| Other incidents |
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