SS Washingtonian (1913)

Washingtonian in port, about 1914
History
Name	Washingtonian
Owner	American-Hawaiian Steamship Company
Ordered	September 1911[4]
Builder	Maryland Steel Sparrows Point, MD
Yard number	131[2]
Launched	11 October 1913[3]
Completed	16 January 1914[2]
Identification	US official number 211297[1] code letters LDHW[1]
Fate	Sunk in collision, 26 January 1915
General characteristics
Type	refrigerated cargo ship
Tonnage	6,650 GRT, 4,064 NRT[1] 10,250 LT DWT[7]
Length	407.7 ft (124.3 m)[1] (LPP)
Beam	43.7 ft (13.3 m)[1]
Depth	36.1 ft (11.0 m)[1]
Installed power	704 NHP[1]
Propulsion	oil-fired boilers[5] 1 × quadruple-expansion engine[1] 1 × screw[1]
Speed	12.5 knots (23 km/h)[3]
Capacity	490,858 cubic feet (13,900 m3)[7]
Crew	40[6]
Notes	Sister ships: Minnesotan, Dakotan, Montanan, Pennsylvanian, Panaman, Iowan, Ohioan[2]

SS Washingtonian was a refrigerated cargo ship launched in 1913 by the Maryland Steel of Sparrows Point, Maryland, near Baltimore, as one of eight sister ships for the American-Hawaiian Steamship Company. When completed, she was the largest cargo ship in the US registry. During the United States occupation of Veracruz in April 1914, Washingtonian was chartered by the United States Department of the Navy for service as a non-commissioned refrigerated supply ship for the US fleet stationed off the Mexican coast.

In January 1915, after a little more than one year of service, Washingtonian collided with the schooner Elizabeth Palmer off the Delaware coast and sank in ten minutes with the loss of her $1,000,000 cargo of 10,000 long tons (10,200 t) of raw Hawaiian sugar. In the days after Washingtonian's sinking, the price of sugar in the United States increased almost nine percent, partly attributed to the loss of Washingtonian's cargo. Lying under about 100 feet (30 m) of water, Washingtonian's wreck is one of the most popular recreational dive sites on the eastern seaboard.