Erria (liner)

A disastrous fire broke out aboard the handsome white motor cargo -passenger liner Erria of the Danish East Asiatic Line off Astoria on December 20. The fire was discovered at about 2:00 a.m. as the motorship was at anchor awaiting a favorable tide to cross the bar. Most of the 114 passengers and crew were asleep. Eight passengers and three crew members were trapped amidships and burned to death. The burning ship was beached by Coast Guard and other rescue craft and pumped full of water and chemicals. She continued to smolder for several days, however. The scorched remains were towed to Portland, and eventually the owners dispatched the Dutch ocean tug Zwarte Zee to tow the vessel to Rotterdam. There she was rebuilt, without passenger accommodations, at a cost of $1,500,000. It was believed that the fire was caused by a shorted electric cable. Gordon Newell, Maritime Events of 1923, H.M. McCurdy Marine History of the Pacific Northwest, p. 578.

Citation: Tacoma Public Library