SS Atlantus is the most famous of the twelve concrete ship

Concrete ship

Concrete ships are ships built of steel and ferrocement instead of more traditional materials, such as steel or wood. The advantage of ferrocement construction is that materials are cheap and readily available, while the disadvantages are that construction labor costs are high, as are operating...

s built by the Liberty Ship Building Company in Brunswick, Georgia

Brunswick, Georgia

Brunswick is the major urban and economic center in southeastern Georgia in the United States. The municipality is located on a harbor near the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 30 miles north of Florida and 70 miles south of South Carolina. Brunswick is bordered on the east by the Atlantic...

 during and after World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

.

The steamer SS Atlantus was launched on 5 December 1918, and was the second concrete ship constructed in the World War I Emergency Fleet

United States Shipping Board Merchant Fleet Corporation

The Emergency Fleet Corporation was established by the United States Shipping Board, sometimes referred to as the War Shipping Board,http://www.gwpda.org/wwi-www/Hurley/bridgeTC.htm | The Bridge To France by Edward N. Hurley, Wartime Chairman of the U. S. Shipping Board 16 April 1917 pursuant to...

. The war had ended a month earlier, but the Atlantus was used to transport American troops back home from Europe and also to transport coal in New England. After 2 years of service, the ship was retired in 1920 to a salvage yard in Virginia.
In 1926, Colonel Jesse Rosenfeld purchased the Atlantus for use in the creation of a ferry dock (for a route now served by the Cape May-Lewes Ferry

Cape May-Lewes Ferry

The Cape May – Lewes Ferry is a ferry system that traverses a 17-mile crossing of the Delaware Bay to connect Cape May, New Jersey with Lewes, Delaware. The ferry doubles as a section of U.S. Route 9.-The system:...

) out of her and two of her sister ships. The plan was to dig a channel into the shore where the Atlantus would be placed, and the other two ships would be placed in a Y formation, creating a slip for a ferry to dock. In March 1926, the groundbreaking ceremonies were held for the construction of the ferry dock. The Atlantus was repaired and towed to Cape May, New Jersey

Cape May, New Jersey

Cape May is a city at the southern tip of Cape May Peninsula in Cape May County, New Jersey, where the Delaware Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean and is one of the country's oldest vacation resort destinations. It is part of the Ocean City Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 United States...

. On June 8th of the same year, a storm hit and the ship broke free of her moorings and ran aground 150 feet off the coast of Sunset Beach

Sunset Beach (New Jersey)

Sunset Beach is a beach located near Cape May Point, along the Delaware Bay, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a local tourist attraction, in part due to its proximity to the SS Atlantus and the Cape May Light. It is also famous for its beautiful sunsets, and a flag raising-lowering ceremony...

, New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

. Several attempts were made to free the ship, but none were successful.

At one time there was a billboard painted on the side of the ship advertising boat insurance. At present she remains a Cape May tourist draw, but her condition is rapidly deteriorating. The wreckage is currently split in three pieces, the stern is the most visible section, the middle is completely submerged, and the bow can only be viewed at low tide.

External links

• http://www.concreteships.org/ships/ww1/atlantus/