SS Washingtonian (1913)

SS Washingtonian in port, c. 1914
History
Name	Washingtonian
Owner	American-Hawaiian Steamship Company
Ordered	September 1911[3]
Builder	Maryland Steel Sparrows Point, Maryland
Yard number	131[2]
Launched	11 October 1913[1]
Completed	16 January 1914[2]
Identification	U.S. official number: 211297[1]
Fate	Sunk in collision, 26 January 1915
General characteristics
Type	Cargo ship
Tonnage	6,649 GRT[6] 10,250 LT DWT[6]
Length	360 ft 11 in (110.01 m) (LPP)[1]
Beam	50 ft 2 in (15.29 m)[1]
Propulsion	oil-fired boilers[4] 1 × quadruple-expansion steam engine[1] 1 × screw propeller[4]
Speed	12.5 knots (23.2 km/h)[1]
Capacity	490,858 cubic feet (13,899.6 m3)[6]
Crew	40[5]
Notes	Sister ships: Minnesotan, Dakotan, Montanan, Pennsylvanian, Panaman, Iowan, Ohioan[2]

SS Washingtonian was a cargo ship launched in 1913 by the Maryland Steel Company of Sparrows Point, Maryland, near Baltimore, as one of eight sister ships for the American-Hawaiian Steamship Company. At the time of her launch, she was the largest cargo ship under American 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 U.S. 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 approximately 100 feet (30 m) of water, Washingtonian's wreck is one of the most popular recreational dive sites on the eastern seaboard.