SS Atlantus
Early twentieth-century concrete ship
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
SS Atlantus is a concrete ship built by the Liberty Shipbuilding Company in Brunswick, Georgia, United States and outfitted by the American Shipbuilding Company.[16][17] Although she was not finished in time for war service, as experimental EFC Design 1040,[4] she was the first of twelve concrete ships for the World War I Emergency Fleet that finished construction,[18] and the second concrete ship built in the United States (after the Faith).[19][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. Her name was given by Edith Wilson.[20]
- Raporel Steamship Line (August 16, 1919–1920)[2]
- Clyde Steamship Company (1920)[2]
- National Navigation Company (April 30, 1926-)[1]
SS Atlantus the day she ran aground | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | SS Atlantus |
| Owner | |
| Operator |
|
| Ordered | December 17, 1917 |
| Builder | Liberty Ship Building Company, Brunswick, Georgia[3] |
| Cost | $1,125,129.40 ($20.7 million in 2025)[4] |
| Laid down | March 18, 1918[5] |
| Launched | December 4, 1918[6] |
| In service | 1919 |
| Out of service | 1920[1] |
| Home port | Brunswick, Georgia[7] |
| Identification |
|
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Concrete freighter[7] |
| Tonnage | |
| Length | |
| Beam | 43 ft 6 in (13.26 m)[11] |
| Draft | 22 ft 6 in (6.86 m)[13] |
| Depth | 26 ft 9 in (8.15 m)[11] |
| Decks | One[7] |
| Installed power | Two boilers fueled by 16 oil bunkers of 220,000 US gallons (830,000 L; 180,000 imp gal) capacity[b] |
| Propulsion | |
| Speed | 10.5 knots (19.4 km/h; 12.1 mph)[13] |
| Crew | 34[7] |
History
She was originally contracted by the Shipping Board on December 17, 1917, though that contract was later superseded.[21][22] The experimental construction of the Atlantus was difficult and a new burned-clay light-aggregate concrete was developed for her.[22][10] The cost of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.[17][23] After two failed attempts,[24] the steamer was launched endwise[25][22][26] into Oglethorpe Bay on December 4, 1918 at 8:30 a.m.[15][6][22]
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. However, shortly into the journey, engine trouble forced her back to port for about a week for repairs.[16][17][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] The Atlantus was later used by the Clyde Steamship Company, which had purchased Raporel in 1920,[10] to primarily transport coal from Norfolk, Virginia to New England.[25] After seventeen sailings, the ship was found to be unprofitable to operate due to freight rate drops, and she was returned to the Shipping Board to be laid up at Norfolk.[25][10] At some point, she's reported to have made several transatlantic journeys, 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] 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.[37][38]
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 painted on the side of the ship advertising boat insurance.[40] Her slowly deteriorating hull has drawn tourists to Sunset Beach. The wreckage is currently split in pieces, parts of which are completely submerged, and others which can only be viewed at low tide.[40]
Gallery
Outboard profile and deck plan
Deck plans
Postcard c.1940
Atlantus in July 2015
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