 The ship asEasterner, in First World War camouflage | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name |
|
| Owner |
|
| Operator | 1918–19:US Navy |
| Port of registry |
|
| Builder | Kawasaki Dockyard,Kobe |
| Completed | March 1918 |
| Acquired | by US Navy, 12 Nov 1918 |
| Commissioned | into US Navy, 12 Nov 1918 |
| Decommissioned | from US Navy, 14 May 1919 |
| Identification |
|
| Fate | sunk by aircraft 1940 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | cargo ship |
| Tonnage | 5,806 GRT, 4,558 NRT |
| Length | 385.0 ft (117.3 m) |
| Beam | 51.0 ft (15.5 m) |
| Draft | 27 ft 1 in (8.3 m) |
| Depth | 36.0 ft (11.0 m) |
| Decks | 2 |
| Installed power | 444NHP |
| Propulsion | |
| Speed | 10+1⁄2 knots (19 km/h) |
| Complement | in US Navy: 70 |
| Crew | in merchant service: 37 |
| Sensors & processing systems | submarine signalling |
SSMari Chandris was acargosteamship. She was built in Japan in 1918 asSeifuku Maru No. 20, and bought that year by theUnited States Shipping Board (USSB), who renamed herEasterner. From November 1918 to May 1919 she spent six months in theUnited States Navy asUSSEasterner (ID–3331), carrying cargo between theEast Coast of the United States andFrance.
TheGreek shipownerJohn D. Chandris boughtEasterner in 1937 and renamed herMari Chandris A few months later she was attached to a lawsuit arising from the sinking of hersister shipTzenny Chandris.
In June 1940, while sailing in a convoy,Mari Chandris was damaged in a collision. In July 1940 she was set on fire in a German air raid and sunk. All of her crew survived.
In 1918Kawasaki Dockyard inKobe completed four identical sister ships:Tofuku Maru in February,Seifuku Maru No. 20 in March,Taifuku Maru No. 20 in May, andTaifuku Maru No. 21 in June. The USSB bought them and renamed themEastern Queen,Easterner,Eastern Sun, andEastern Sea respectively. The Board bought further sister ships from Kawasaki, which were completed between September 1918 and March 1920. They wereEast Cape,East Wind,Easterling,Eastern Cloud,Eastern Dawn,Eastern Moon,Eastern Ocean, andEastern Planet.[1][2]
Easterner's registered length was 385.0 ft (117.3 m). Herbeam was 51.0 ft (15.5 m), her depth was 36.0 ft (11.0 m)[1] and herdraft was 27 ft 1 in (8.3 m).[3] Hertonnages were 5,806 GRT, 4,558 NRT,[1] and 12,105tons displacement.[3] She had a singlescrew, driven by a Kawasaki three-cylindertriple-expansion steam engine. It was rated at 444NHP,[1] and gave her a speed of10+1⁄2 knots (19 km/h).[3]
The USSBregisteredEasterner inSan Francisco. Her USofficial number was 216793 and hercode letters were LMPQ.[1]
On 29 August 1918 the12th Naval District inspectedEasterner.[4] On 12 November she was transferred from the USSB to the US Navy, andcommissioned that same day as USSEasterner, with theNaval Registry Identification Number ID–3331.[3]
Easterner was assigned to theNaval Overseas Transportation Service. Between 1 December 1918 and 8 May 1919 she made two round trip voyages betweenNorfolk, Virginia and French ports. She carried general cargo for theUnited States Army, including railroad cars and engineering supplies. On her second voyage she called atBordeaux. Two days after leaving Bordeaux, the crew discovered twostowaways: a man and a child. They were surrendered to the Bureau of Immigration whenEasterner reached Norfolk.[3]
On 14 May 1919 the Navy decommissionedEasterner and returned her to the USSB.[3]
In June 1936 the US Maritime Commission was founded to succeed the USSB, and becameEasterner's owner.[5] The Maritime Commission ordered new ships to replace its First World War ones, and sold some ships as surplus. In 1937 John Chandris boughtEasterling,Eastern Planet, andEasterner, and renamed themAntonios Chandris,Tzenny Chandris andMari Chandris respectively.[6][7][8] He registeredMari Chandris inPiraeus. Her call sign was SVYE.[8]
On 13 November 1937Tzenny Chandris foundered in theGraveyard of the Atlantic, killing several of her crew. On 3 December one of the survivors,Third engineer Kostas Palaskas, sued John Chandris for $7,300 damages.Mari Chandris was in port atNewport News, Virginia at the time, and theNorfolk Division of the Federal District Court attached her to the lawsuit.[9] On 18 December John Chandris pled, inter alia, that he had soldMari Chandris and another of his ships to a George Georgantis, a fellow Greek. Chandris claimed the sale was completed four hours before Palaskas filed his suit, and therefore the Court could not attach the ships to the case.[10]
In 1940Mari Chandris, with a cargo of raw cotton, sailed in Convoy HG 33, which left Gibraltar on 8 June bound forLiverpool.[11]Mari Chandris was damaged in a collision, so she was towed to an anchorage inFalmouth, Cornwall. In July she was still in Falmouth, and atanker,Tascalusa, was anchored near her.[12]
On 10 July German aircraft bombedTascalusa, setting her on fire. The fire spread toMari Chandris and her cargo of cotton. All of her 37 crew survived, butMari Chandris was towed to a bay nearSt Mawes and sunk by gunfire. Later she was raised, and beached atPlace. Some of her cargo was salvaged, and she wasbroken up in situ.[12][13][14]
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in June 1940 | |
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| Shipwrecks |
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| Other incidents |
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Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in July 1940 | |
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| Shipwrecks |
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| Other incidents |
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