Isthmian Line -Liberty Ships -Victory Ships -WWII

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Isthmian Name:	Steel Surveyor	Period:	Modern

Gross Tonnage:	8,040	Net:	4,682
Dimensions:	492' 0" x 69' 7" x 29' 5"	MC Type:	C3-S-A2

Builder:	Western Pipe & Steel Co. San Francisco, CA	Hull # USMC Hull # Date of Build: Delivered:	95 283 1944 1/31/44
Engines:	2 Steam Turbines DR Geared to Single Screwed Shaft	Engine Builder:	General Electric Co. Lynn, MA
Navigation:	DF, ESD, GC, RDR, RT	Decks, etc.:	2 Decks & Open Shelter Deck

Began Isthmian Service:

1947

Ended Isthmian Service:

1971

----------------------------------- Vessel History -----------------------------------

Date	Vessel #	Vessel Name	Vessel Owner	Call Ltrs	Home Port	Flag
1944	244968	*Sea Corporal*	US War Shipping Administration, operated by American President Lines as Army Troopship	KVUO	San Francisco	USWB
1946	244968	*Sea Corporal*	US Maritime Commission	KVUO	San Francisco	US
1947	244968	*Steel Surveyor*	Isthmian Lines, Inc. New York	KVUO	New York	US

Events:
5/25/43: Keel laid.
8/26/43: Launched, sponsored by Mrs. Fern Larsen.
1/31/44: Delivered as a Transport (2,811 troops) by building yard for operation by the WSA with American President Lines as operator, equipped with a capacity of 2,165 troops and 227,536 cubic feet of cargo.
2/7/44: Departed San Francisco on maiden voyage for Brisbane, Australia, staying in service between the West Coast and many ports in the South and Western Pacific until December 1945.
2/16/46: Departed Los Angeles with 2,000 POWs to be returned to Le Havre.
3/46: Released from troop service.
4/25/46: Released to U.S. Maritime Commission; laid up at Reserve Fleet at Lee Hall, VA, in James River.
1946: Conversion contract awarded to Maryland Drydock Co., Baltimore, MD, at a cost of $246,799, to be completed in 50 days.
2/48: Heavy weather damage to plates, floors and frames; repair, clean and steam tanks at a cost of $8,100.
3/48: Lost anchor and 49 lengths of cable; repair cost $7,652.
12/49: Hit submerged object; renew shaft and coupling bolts and rewood bushings at Galveston at a cost of $11,500.
1/16/50: Grounding.
6/15/50: Collision with barge.
6/27/51: While leaving Saigon, on a voyage Baltimore to Belawan, collided with four junks loaded with sulfate of ammonia, two with bags of sand. One junk beached, losing 1,600 bags of cargo.
9/28/51: Grounding.
8/11/52: Collision with barge.
10/14/52: On voyage New York to Indonesia, lube oil pump became airlocked, stopping flow of oil to main engine, resulting in severe engine damage; repairs at Norfolk and New York.
6/23/53: From grounding 1/16/60, straighten 3 plates and frames, steam, clean and test tanks. From collision with barge 6/15/50, straighten 5 plates. From grounding 9/28/51, partially renew bilge keel. From collision with barge 8/11/52, repair propeller, fit spare, draw shaft and test in lathe, together with sundry damages. All repairs at New York.
3/12/54: Lost port anchor and chain.
6/22/54: From losing port anchor and chain 3/12/54, renew port anchor and 1 length of chain, together with sundry damages; repairs at Galveston.
2/56: Heavy weather.
3/27/56: Collided with barge.
6/19/56: From heavy weather damage in 2/56 on voyage Houston for Calcutta, rudder repair, 2 gudgeon bushes and 1 pintle sleeve renew, rails and stanchions repair, together with sundry damages. From collision with barge 3/27/56, propeller recondition, spare propeller install, tailshaft draw for examination, together with sundry damages. Drydocking and all repairs at Baltimore.
2/7 - 2/8/57: Struck submerged object in the Mississippi River.
5/23/58: At Yokohama, Steamer STEEL SURVEYOR: Previous grounding damage. - Lloyd's Agents per Salvage Association.
9/4/58: From striking submerged object 2/7 - 2/8/58, propeller recondition, fractured tailshaft repair, owner's spare shaft install with new coupling bolts, outer stern bushings renew, stern tube build up with welding and rebore, stern bushings rewood, together with sundry damages and removals. Repairs completed at Baltimore.
7/24 - 25/67: Port lifeboat fall parting while on passage from Colombo to Port Fortin, Trinidad.
11/28/67: From New York: From damage alleged sustained 7/24 -25/67 in consequence of port lifeboat fall parting while on passage from Colombo to Port Fortin, Trinidad: Owners furnished lifeboat, wire falls and forward davit track renew, davit arms, fittings and guardrails fair and partially renew, together with sundry damages and removals; repairs partially completed.
3/12/68: Steamer STEEL SURVEYOR, Houston for Karachi, lost anchor and four and a half lengths of chain outside Durban. Vessel's agents advise endeavoring to arrange recovery on "no cure no pay" basis.
4/15/68: Collided with a pontoon anchored afloat and fouling the pontoon's mooring cable at Bombay.
8/9/68: From New York: From damage alleged sustained 3/12/68 in loss of starboard anchor and 4 1/2 shots of anchor cable off Durban: Starboard anchor and five shots of stud anchor cable renew, together with sundry damages and removals; repairs completed. From damage alleged sustained 4/15/68 in consequence of collision with pontoon at Bombay: Rudder remove, cracks in casting and plating vee-out and weld, alignment check, rudder refit, centre pintle machine, bush renew, propeller fair, water cone renew and propeller and nut examine, together with sundry damages and removals; repairs completed.
5/12/69: Steamer STEEL SURVEYOR arrived Kobe.
5/15/69: From Kobe: Steamer STEEL SURVEYOR has low pressure turbine damage.
6/19/69: From Kobe: Steamer STEEL SURVEYOR, main engine turbine astern thrust bearing damage during testing of astern movement: Damaged parts to replace, all to check and test.

Disposition Date	Comments
1971	Delivered to Taiwan Shipbreakers, arriving at Kaohsiung 7/28/71. Scrapped 7/71 Kaohsiung. Reported 9/71: Sold to the Republic of China (Taiwan) for Scrapping.

The information on this page is the kind contribution of Skip Lewis. Skip, whose dad sailed for Isthmian, is an avid collector and researcher of everything Isthmian. In his quest, he has used many sources and publications including Lloyd's of London and Imperial Steel by John Atherton. Thank you, Skip. Copyright © 2003-2007 - All rights reserved.

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