For over 50 years, just off
Sunset Beach, in Historic Cape May Point, New Jersey, lies
the concrete ship Atlantus.
Due to a critical shortage of
steel, during World War I, the federal government turned to
experimental design concrete ships. An emergency fleet of
38 concrete ships were planned, by the United States Sipping
Board. Only 12 of the concrete ships were ever put into service.
Two others had construction begun, but were never completed.
The "Atlantus" was the second
prototype, a 3,000 ton 250 foot long freighter, built with
a 5 inch thick hull of special concrete aggregate, to correct
shattering and brittleness problems found in the first concrete
ship.
The "Atlantus" was built by
the Liberty Shipbuilding Corporation, of Brunswick, Georgia.
She was launched on November 21st, 1918, at Wilmington, North
Carolina. Commissioned June 1st, 1919, the "Atlantus" served
for a year as a government owned privately-operated commercial
coal steamer in New England.
With the end of the war, the
more efficient steel ships were again available. The "Concrete
Fleet" was de-commissioned, and the "Atlantus' was sent to
the "Bone Yard" at "Pigs Point", in Norfolk, Virginia in September
of 1920. A year later, the "Atlantus" was stripped after being
purchased by a salvage company.
In 1926, the "Atlantus" was
towed to Cape May, New Jersey. A Baltimore firm was attempting
to start a ferry service from Cape May, New Jersey to Lewes,
Delaware. It was planned to have a channel dredged well into
shore. The "Atlantus" would then be forced into the channel.
A special drawbridge type of device was to be mounted on the
exposed end. Two other bulks would be sunk at angles creating
a "Y" shape. The ferry would dock by wedging in and cars and
passengers would load and unload by use of the drawbridge.
While awaiting positioning,
the "Atlantus" broke loose of her moorings during a storm
June 8th, 1926 and went aground. Several attempts were made
to free the "Atlantus" - they were futile.
Thousands of visitors come annually
to view the cracked weather-beaten hull and collect beautiful
"Cape May Diamonds" that
lie in abundance on Sunset Beach in Historic Cape May Point,
New Jersey. |
