SS Atlantus

"Atlantus" redirects here. For the figure in Greek mythology, see Cercopes.
Not to be confused with Atlantis.
SS Atlantus the day she ran aground
History
United States
NameSS Atlantus
Owner
  • USSB (1919–1925)[1]
  • H. P. Etheridge (1925-April 30, 1926)[1]
  • National Navigation Company (April 30, 1926-)[1]
Operator
OrderedDecember 17, 1917
BuilderLiberty Ship Building Company, Brunswick, Georgia[3]
Cost$1,125,129.40 ($20.7 million in 2025)[4]
Laid downMarch 18, 1918[5]
LaunchedDecember 4, 1918[6]
In service1919
Out of service1920[1]
Home portBrunswick, Georgia[7]
Identification
General characteristics
TypeEFC Design 1040 concrete freighter[4][7]
Tonnage
Length
Beam43 ft 6 in (13.26 m)[11]
Draft22 ft 6 in (6.86 m)[13]
Depth26 ft 9 in (8.15 m)[11]
DecksOne[7]
Installed powerTwo boilers fueled by 16 oil bunkers of 220,000 US gallons (830,000 L; 180,000 imp gal) capacity[b]
Propulsion
Speed10.5 knots (19.4 km/h; 12.1 mph)[13]
Crew34[7]

SS Atlantus is a concrete ship built by the Liberty Shipbuilding Company in Brunswick, Georgia, United States and outfitted by the American Shipbuilding Company. Although she was not finished in time for war service, she was the first of twelve concrete ships for the World War I Emergency Fleet that finished construction, and the second concrete ship built in the United States (after the Faith).[16][17] She served as a cargo ship from 1919–1920, then was laid up until sold for scrap in 1925. Her hulk was towed in to Cape May in 1926 with the intent of sinking her for use as a ferry pier. After troubles, the project was abandoned, and her wreck lies just off the shore of Sunset Beach.

History

The Liberty Shipbuilding Company was originally contracted by the Shipping Board to construct on an experimental concrete ship on December 17, 1917,[18] with that contract later superseded by another that led to the Atlantus.[6] The experimental construction of the vessel was difficult,[19][6] and a new burned-clay light-aggregate concrete was developed for her.[10]: 164  The cost of the Atlantus was placed at $1,125,129.40 ($20.7 million in 2025).[4] The keel of the Atlantus was laid on March 18, 1918.[5] With the armistice, work on her and other Emergency Fleet vessels was de-prioritized, and she was one of only twelve concrete vessels that would have their construction continued.[20][17][21] Originally named Brokenbow,[22] her final name was given by Edith Wilson before being launched.[23] After two failed attempts,[15][24] the steamer was launched endwise[19][25] into Oglethorpe Bay on December 4, 1918, at 8:30 a.m.[15][6]

Her outfitting was done by the American Shipbuilding Company.[26] During a trial run on May 24, 1919, a small fire destroyed one of her life boats.[27] She was intended to sail to the Liberty Shipbuilding Company's shipyard in Wilmington, North Carolina on her initial voyage at 4 a.m. on May 27, 1919, for final touches prior to sailing for New York.[26][17] However, shortly into the journey, engine trouble forced her back to port for about a week for repairs.[28]

On August 16, 1919, she was turned over to the Raporel Steamship Line to be used in their West Indies service.[2] The Atlantus received temporary documents on November 19, 1919, and her permanent ones on January 24, 2020.[10]: 167  The Atlantus was later used by the Clyde Steamship Company, which had purchased Raporel in 1920,[10]: 167  to primarily transport coal from Norfolk, Virginia to New England.[19] After seventeen sailings, the ship was found to be unprofitable to operate due to a combination of freight rate drops and operating costs,[20]: 78  and she was returned to the Shipping Board to be laid up.[10]: 167  The ship was reported to have made several transatlantic journeys at some point before being laid up, but the port records in her log were damaged.[1][29]

The Atlantus was tied up in the James River in 1920,[1] and her documents were surrendered on October 25, 1922.[10]: 167  In 1925, she was purchased by H. P. Etheridge, a salvage company, for $3,025 ($55,535 in 2025).[1][30][9] She was stripped of most items of value and then moved to Pig Point off the Craney Island flats, where she sank on way to anchorage.[31][30] As she was deemed a navigational hazard, it was ordered she be refloated.[30]

On April 30, 1926, during the refloat efforts, Colonel Jesse Rosenfeld purchased the Atlantus. The intention was to use her and two other ships as part of the National Navigation Company's efforts to create a ferry service (a route now served by the Cape May–Lewes Ferry).[1][30] The plan was to dredge a channel into which the Atlantus would be towed, then submerged by filling it with sand, creating a bridge between the pier and the slips.[1] Afterward, the other two wooden ships would be anchored stern-to-stern with the Atlantus in a Y formation, which would also filled with sand and sunk to create the slips.[1] After being refloated in the afternoon of May 20, 1926, by the Wood Towing Company, she was brought to Norfolk Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Corporation to be readied for towing to Cape May Point.[30] In March 1926, the groundbreaking ceremonies were held for the construction of the ferry dock. The Atlantus arrived at Cape May Point on June 8 at 11 a.m., with the wooden ships slated to be towed in within the next few days.[32] Before she could be placed, the ship was beached in a storm on July 10, 1926.[33] She was refloated on July 11, but dragged anchor several times afterward, including snagging onto a sewer discharge pipe on July 12.[34][33][34] It took until the end of the month to free her, place her in the intended position, and sink her.[35] Work resumed with the Atlantus as the pier foundation,[36] but interest in the ferry waned and the project abandoned, leaving her wreck in place.[37][38][10]: 167 

The wreck was used by the nearby United States Coast Guard training center for breeches buoy training in 1927.[39] At one time there was a billboard on the side of the ship advertising boat insurance.[40] Her deteriorating wreckage is split in pieces off Sunset Beach; parts of her can only be viewed at low tide, while others are completely submerged.[40]

  • Outboard profile and deck plan
  • Deck plans
  • Postcard c.1940
  • Atlantus in July 2015

Footnotes

  1. ^ The ship's designed deadweight tonnage.[11][12] Because the deadweight displacement ratio turned out lower than expected, the true figure was reported as low as 2,542 DWT.[12]
  2. ^ The original EFC plans indicate coal,[14] but her later owners reported oil to the press and to Lloyd's.[1][3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Concrete Ship, War Failure, to Serve Peace End". Milford Chronicle. June 25, 1926. pp. 1, 10. LCCN sn87062224. OCLC 15906106. Retrieved March 19, 2026.
  2. ^ a b c "Concrete Ship Launched". The Bennington Evening Banner. Washington, D.C. August 18, 1919 [article composed August 16, 1919]. p. 6. LCCN sn95066012. OCLC 32328856. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  3. ^ a b c d Lloyd's Register of Shipping, 1919–1920. Vol. II Steamers. London, England: Lloyd's Register. p. 88. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  4. ^ a b c Hearings Before the Select Committee To Inquire Into the Operations, Policies, and Affairs of the United States Shipping Board and the United States Emergency Fleet Corporation, House of Representatives, Sixty-Eighth Congress, First Session, Pursuant To House Resolution 186: Exhibits to Testimony, Part C (Report). Government Printing Office. 1925. p. 2075. LCCN 44033164. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  5. ^ a b "Concrete Ships at Brunswick Plant". The Wilmington Dispatch. Vol. XXIV, no. 69. March 18, 1918. p. 4. LCCN sn92073938. OCLC 25235531. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  6. ^ a b c d "First Government Concrete Ship Is Launched". Engineering News-Record. Vol. 81, no. 25. McGraw Hill Publishing Company. December 19, 1918. p. 1150. ISSN 0891-9526. LCCN sn83002431. OCLC 6745250. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Department of Commerce Bureau of Navigation (1920). Part II: Steam Vessels, Alphabetically Arranged. Fifty-second Annual List of Merchant Vessels of the United States (Report). United States Government Publishing Office. p. 70. LCCN sn88028129. OCLC 09336739. Retrieved March 18, 2026.
  8. ^ "Graded Aggregate: Concrete Ships". Concrete: A Monthly Magazine of the Construction Field. 23 (2). Detroit, Michigan: Concrete-Cement Age Publishing: 75–76. August 1923. OCLC 3382999. Retrieved March 17, 2026.
  9. ^ a b Ninth Annual Report of the United States Shipping Board (PDF) (Report). Government Printing Office. 1925. p. 165.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h Haviland, Jean (July 1962). "American Concrete Steamers of the First and Second World War". The American Neptune. XXII (3). Salem, Massachusetts: The American Neptune: 157–183. ISSN 0003-0155. LCCN 42021546. OCLC 1480480. Retrieved March 19, 2026.
  11. ^ a b c d e 12152-20. No. 66. Register of Ships Owned by the United States Shipping Board (Report). Emergency Fleet Corporation. August 1, 1920. Retrieved March 18, 2026.
  12. ^ a b Turner, H.C. (February 1920). "Report of Special Committee on Concrete Ships and Barges". Proceedings of the American Concrete Institute. 16: 162. ISSN 0272-4235. LCCN sc80000357. OCLC 5928144. Retrieved March 15, 2026.
  13. ^ a b McKellar, Norman L. (March–April 1960). "Ferro-concrete Ships". The Belgian Shiplover. Vol. XI, no. 74 #3/4. Brussels, Belgium: Belgian Nautical Research Association. p. 135a. LCCN 58035912. OCLC 5887022. Retrieved March 23, 2026.
  14. ^ 12152-20. No. 67. Register of Ships Owned by the United States Shipping Board (Report). Emergency Fleet Corporation. August 1, 1920. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  15. ^ a b c "First U.S. Concrete Ship Launched at Brunswick". The Atlanta Georgian. Vol. 17, no. 106. December 5, 1918 [article composed December 4, 1918]. p. 4. Retrieved March 1, 2026.
  16. ^ "Concrete Ships a Success". Birmingham Age-Herald. Vol. XXXXVIII, no. 307 B. March 19, 1919. p. 10. ISSN 2692-6318. LCCN sn85038485. OCLC 12607279. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  17. ^ a b c "First Concrete Vessel Built on the Atlantic on Initial Trip Monday". The Atlanta Constitution. Vol. LI, no. 344. Brunswick, Georgia. May 25, 1919. p. 5 A. ISSN 2473-1609. LCCN sn82015857. OCLC 8821030. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  18. ^ Hearings Before the Committee on Commerce United States Senate Sixty-Fifth Congress Second Session of Senate Resolution 170 (Report). Vol. 1. Government Printing Office. 1918. p. 337. LCCN 18011737. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  19. ^ a b c Harper, Walter R. (1922). "Concrete Ships Constructed by U.S. Shipping Board". Proceedings of the American Concrete Institute. 18: 83–114. ISSN 0272-4235. LCCN sc80000357. OCLC 5928144. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
  20. ^ a b Fougner, Nikolay Knudtzon (1922). Seagoing and Other Concrete Ships. London: Henry Frowde and Hodder & Stoughton. p. 76. OCLC 1084851042. Retrieved March 17, 2026.
  21. ^ Third Annual Report of the United States Shipping Board (PDF) (Report). Government Printing Office. 1919. p. 70. LCCN 18026039. OCLC 5197522. Retrieved March 15, 2026.
  22. ^ Record Group 32, Series: Records of the Unites States Shipping Board. U.S. National Archives. – via Stephen S. Roberts, https://www.shipscribe.com/mckellar/wood-rename.html.
  23. ^ "Concrete Ship Atlantus". Evening Public Ledger and the Evening Telegraph. Vol. 5, no. 55 (Evening ed.). November 16, 1918. p. 10. ISSN 2151-3945. LCCN sn83045211. OCLC 9355469. Retrieved March 19, 2026.
  24. ^ Written at Brunswick, Georgia. "Defective Ways Prevent Launching of Vessel". The Leader Enterprise and Press. Vol. XXIII, no. 161. Fitzgerald, Georgia: Leader Publishing Company. November 27, 1918. p. 4. ISSN 2995-9780. LCCN sn89053306. OCLC 19965768. Retrieved March 19, 2026.
  25. ^ McMillan, Franklin R. (July 1920). "The Strainagraph and its Application to Concrete Ships". International Marine Engineering. XXV. Simmons-Boardman Publishing Company: 591. ISSN 0272-2879. LCCN sf84001090. OCLC 2227478. Retrieved March 15, 2026.
  26. ^ a b "Atlantus Will Go Out Early for Trial Spin". The Brunswick News. Vol. XVIII, no. 260. May 27, 1919. p. 1. LCCN sn90052143. OCLC 21707708. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  27. ^ "Burns Part of Her Lifeboat". The Brunswick News. Vol. XVIII, no. 259. May 25, 1919. p. 1. ISSN 1090-3895. LCCN sn90052143. OCLC 21707708. Retrieved March 21, 2026.
  28. ^ "Concrete Steamship Forced Back to Port". The Atlanta Constitution. Vol. LI, no. 348. May 29, 1919 [article composed May 28, 1919]. p. 5. ISSN 2473-1609. LCCN sn82015857. OCLC 8821030. Retrieved March 15, 2026.
  29. ^ "Last Concrete War-Time Ship to Be Sunk As Landing Place for Ferry at Cape May". The New York Times. June 13, 1926 [article composed June 12, 1926]. p. E6. ISSN 0362-4331. LCCN sn78004456. OCLC 1645522. Retrieved March 15, 2026.
  30. ^ a b c d e "Concrete Steamer Atlantus Raised". The Virginian-Pilot and the Norfolk Landmark. Vol. 104, no. 51. May 21, 1926. p. 4. LCCN sn86071780. OCLC 13994334. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  31. ^ "Moonshine Swells Criminal Docket in Federal Court: Under Navigation Laws". The Virginian-Pilot and the Norfolk Landmark. Vol. 104, no. 24. April 24, 1926. LCCN sn86071780. OCLC 13994334. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  32. ^ "First Foundation Hulk Reaches Cape May from Norfolk, Va". Atlantic City Daily Press. Vol. LVIII, no. 151. June 9, 1926 [article composed June 8, 1926]. p. 6. LCCN sn85035940. OCLC 13786854. Retrieved March 15, 2026.
  33. ^ a b "Ferry to Run Soon as Dock Completed". Atlantic City Daily Press. Vol. LIX, no. 29. Cape May. July 14, 1926 [article composed July 13, 1926]. p. 8. LCCN sn85035940. OCLC 13786854. Retrieved March 15, 2026.
  34. ^ a b "Atlantus on Sand at Cape May Point". Atlantic City Daily Press. Vol. LIX, no. 35. July 21, 1926. p. 12. LCCN sn85035940. OCLC 13786854. Retrieved March 15, 2026.
  35. ^ "Ferry Ready First of Oct". Atlantic City Daily Press. Vol. LIX, no. 48. August 5, 1926. p. 13. LCCN sn85035940. OCLC 13786854. Retrieved March 15, 2026.
  36. ^ "Start Work on Ferry Terminal". Milford Chronicle. August 20, 1926. p. 1. LCCN sn87062224. OCLC 15906106. Retrieved March 19, 2026.
  37. ^ "Dinner Stores: Cape May and Lewes, Del". The Pleasantville Press. Vol. XXXIII, no. 80. November 11, 1927. p. A3. ISSN 2831-9885. LCCN sn91064030. OCLC 24293088. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  38. ^ "South Jersey Ferry Still Floats After the Storm". The Home News. Cape May, New Jersey. AP. June 28, 1964. p. 23. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  39. ^ For Those in Peril. British Pathé. Pathé Newsreels/Pathé Gazette. December 15, 1927. 710.12. Retrieved March 15, 2026.
  40. ^ a b Roth, Jon (August 2016). "Beneath the Surface: The Story of the SS Atlantus". Cape May Magazine. Cape Publishing Inc. Retrieved February 10, 2026.
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