SS Ottawa (1888)

Elbruze was sold to Pembroke & Co. Ltd. in 1895 and to Anglo-American Oil Co. Ltd. in 1900 after which she was renamed Ottawa. The ship was chartered by the British Admiralty after the outbreak of World War I in August 1914 and was returned to its owner in December 1918 following the end of the war. In February 1921, Ottawa departed Puerto Lobos, Mexico arriving at Norfolk, United States. She left Norfolk on 2 February en route to Manchester, United Kingdom with a cargo of 3,600 tons of fuel oil. Her last wireless communication occurred with SS Dorington Court on 6 February before she went missing. Ottawa was not the only ship in that area of the Atlantic Ocean that went missing during that period. Both the British cargo ship SS Esperanza de Larrinaga and Italian cargo ship SS Monte San Michele went missing on the same route on 2 February and 8 February respectively. An additional two ships, the Belgian cargo ship SS Bombardier and the French cargo ship SS Victorieux were abandoned on 7 February and 10 February respectively. These events were all attributed to a hurricane sweeping through the area at the time and all the missing ships including Ottawa are presumed lost with all hands although the exact number of crew on board Ottawa at the time of her loss is unknown.^[3]

Ottawa was crossing the Atlantic Ocean when on 6 June 1912, nearly two months after the sinking of RMS Titanic, the crew spotted a body floating in the ocean. A lifeboat was lowered and the body was hauled aboard after which Thomas Cook, the third officer aboard Ottawa, described the body as badly decomposed especially the hands and face while the name of the ship the man came from had washed off his lifebelt. Despite this, it had already become clear to the crew that this was a victim of the Titanic disaster. Still, in order to identify the man, his pockets were searched which resulted in the discovery of the man's wallet bearing the initials W. T. K. and bearing a love letter and a business card. The man was identified as 28-year-old William Thomas Kerley, a 2nd Class Assistant Saloon Steward from Titanic and was found about 543 miles (874 km) from Titanic's wrecksite. Mr. Kerley was given a proper sea burial according to the ceremony of the Church of England. William Thomas Kerley was the second to last victim recovered following the Titanic disaster.^[4][5]