USS Pollux (SP-2573)

The first USS Pollux (SP-2573) was a United States Navy cargo ship in commission for three weeks during April 1918.

For other ships with the same name, see USS Pollux.
History
United States
Name: USS Pollux
Namesake: Previous name retained
Builder: Werf voorheen Rijkee N. V., Rotterdam, the Netherlands
Yard number: 132
Completed: 1909
Acquired: 20 March 1918
Commissioned: 3 April 1918
Decommissioned: 24 April 1918
Fate: Transferred to United States Shipping Board 24 April 1918. Sunk as block ship in Scapa Flow 23 March 1941.
Notes: In commercial service 1909-1918, United States Shipping Board Service 1918-1919, and commercial service from 1919 as Pollux
General characteristics
Type: Cargo ship
Tonnage: 3,940 deadweight tons
Length: 326 ft 9 in (99.59 m) between perpendiculars
Beam: 44 ft 1 in (13.44 m)
Draft: 18 ft (5.5 m)
Speed: 9 knots
Complement: 70

SS Pollux was built in 1909 at Rotterdam, the Netherlands, by Werf voorheen Rijkee N. V. as a commercial cargo ship for KNSM The Royal Netherlands Steamship Company or De Konninklijke Nederlandsche Stoomboot-Maatschappij, a major Dutch shipping company at the time. SS Pollux was one of six very similar ships built for KNSM with SS Clio (USS Clio - ID-2578) built by Rijkee at Rotterdam in 1910, SS Saturnus built by Mij Fijenoord in Rotterdam in 1909 along with SS Mercurius (USS Mercurius - ID 2516), SS Minerva, and SS Stella built by William Hamilton & Co. Ltd. in Glasgow Scotland in 1909.[1][2]

During World War I, which began in 1914 and ended in 1918, the Netherlands was a neutral power. This meant that Dutch ships could not be used to support either side in the conflict. When the United States entered the war on 6 April 1917, the pressure increased on the Netherlands to allow their ships to be used, but they were not in a position to do this without risking German retaliation. Finally, on 20 and 21 March 1918, the U.S. and the British simply seized all the Dutch ships in their ports and justified it with the legal concept of the 'right of angary'. A total of 135 Dutch ships were seized including Pollux and two of her sister ships: Clio and Mercurius.[3]

The U.S. Navy acquired Pollux for World War I service from her owners, Koninklijke Nederlandsche Stoomboot-Maatschappij of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on 20 March 1918 and commissioned her at Key West on 3 April 1918 as USS Pollux (SP-2573), with Lieutenant Commander Geert Scheltens, USNRF, in command.

Manned by a skeleton crew of available sailors, Pollux departed Key West on 6 April 1918 for Cuba, where she took on board sugar at Havana, Cárdenas, and Matanzas. She arrived at New Orleans, Louisiana, on 22 April 1918 with 25,000 bags of sugar for the American Sugar Refinery Company, then began preparations for inactivation.

The Navy decommissioned Pollux and turned her over to the United States Shipping Board on 24 April 1918 for further use during World War I. She was returned to her owners in 1919.

In 1931 Pollux was renamed Tabarka. On 23 March 1941 Tabarka was sunk as a blockship in Scapa Flow.[4]

Citations
  1. Cockrill. K.N.S.M. The Royal Netherlands Steamship Company (1856-1981). p. 23.
  2. van Popta. De Koninklijke Nederlandsche Stoomboot Maatschappij-KNSM. p. 54.
  3. Van Tuyl. The Netherlands and World War I: Espionage, Diplomacy and Survival. pp. 205–207.
  4. Silverstone. The New Navy 1883-1922. p. 182.

References
  • Silverstone, Paul (2006). The New Navy 1883-1922. Taylor and Francis Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-415-97871-2.
  • Cockrill, Philip (1981). K.N.S.M. The Royal Netherlands Steamship Company (1856-1981). Phillip Cockrill.
  • van Popta, W.E. (1968). De Koninklijke Nederlandsche Stoomboot Maatschappij-KNSM. De Alk.
  • Van Tuyll, H.P. (2001). The Netherlands and World War I: Espionage, Diplomacy and Survival. Brill. ISBN 9789004122437.
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