Shawmut (steamer)

The Shawmut upon her arrival in the summer of 1902, became the largest merchant vessel ever to ply the waters of the North Pacific. Built the same year at Sparrows Point, Maryland, she was registered at 9,000 gross and 12,000 deadweight tons, being 505 feet long with a beam of 58 feet. She was powered by two triple- expansion engines and twin screws. The Shawmut was commanded by Capt. William M. Smith, formerly of the transport Kilpatrick. The big steamship had difficulty in taking on coal at the electric bunkers at Tacoma, her height being such that the chutes did not have sufficient pitch except at low tides. As a result it took a week to load 1,500 tons of fuel. The largest ships previously in Pacific service were the Algoa of the Pacific Mail Line, 455 x 58 x 23.4, and Alaskan, 471 x 58 x 42, of the American- Hawaiian Steamship Co. The Boston Steamship Co. provided the first direct service between Puget Sound and the Philippine Islands. Gordon Newell, Maritime Events of 1902. H.W. McCurdy, Marine History

Citation: Tacoma Public Library