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USS Kerowlee

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USS Kerowlee in port in 1919, possibly in Danzig
History
Name
  • 1901: Campania
  • 1917: Kerowlee
  • 1921: Mount Sterling
  • 1922: Balaton
  • 1927: Nicolaos A.
  • 1931: Evi
Namesake
Owner
Operator
  • 1901: L Kosović & D Tripcović
  • 1904: D Tripcović
  • 1917: US Army
  • 1918: US Navy
Port of registry
Route1920: Philadelphia – Baltimore – Hamburg
BuilderJ Readhead & Sons, S Shields
Yard number352
Launched18 February 1901
CompletedMarch 1901
Commissionedinto US Navy, 17 October 1918
Decommissionedfrom US Navy, 11 August 1919
Identification
Fatescrapped, 1933
General characteristics
Typecargo steamship
Tonnage3,076 GRT, 2,267 NRT
Displacement3,350 tons
Length
  • 350 ft (110 m) overall
  • 341.2 ft (104.0 m) registered
Beam46.7 ft (14.2 m)
Draft23 ft 0 in (7.01 m)
Depth37.8 ft (11.5 m)
Decks1
Installed power1 × triple-expansion engine, 1,475 ihp, 295 NHP
Propulsion1 × screw
Speed10 knots (19 km/h)
Complementin US Navy: 84
Armament1918: 2 × 3-inch/50-caliber guns
Notessister ship: Dardania

USS Kerowlee was a cargo steamship. She was built in England in 1901 as Campania for an Austro-Hungarian shipping company. The US interned her in 1914. In 1917 the US seized her, and sold her to the Kerr Navigation Corporation, who renamed her Kerowlee. The US Army took her over in December 1917. The United States Navy requisitioned her in October 1918, and commissioned her as USS Kerowlee. She was decommissioned in and returned to her owner in August 1919. The American Shipping and Commerce Corporation bought her in 1920, and by the end of that year had renamed her Mount Sterling. A Hungarian company bought her in 1922, and renamed her Balaton. A member of the Livanos Greek shipping family bought her in 1927, and renamed her Nicolaos A.. She was renamed Evi in 1931, and scrapped in Italy in 1933.

Campania and Dardania

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In 1899 and 1900, John Readhead & Sons of South Shields, on the River Tyne in North East England, built a pair of sister ships, of about 3,090 GRT each, for Lorenzo Kosović, an Austro-Hungarian shipowner. Yard number 339 was launched in April 1899 as Arcadia,[1] and yard number 350 was launched in November 1900 as Bitinia.[2]

Kosović went into partnership with Diodato Tripcović, and in 1901 Readhead built a pair of larger ships for the partners. Yard number 352 was launched on 18 February 1901 as Campania, and completed that March.[3] Yard number 353 was launched on 16 April 1901 as Dardania, and completed that May.[4]

Campania's lengths were 350 ft (110 m) overall,[5] and 341.2 ft (104.0 m) registered. Her beam was 46.7 ft (14.2 m), her depth was 37.8 ft (11.5 m),[6] and her draft was 23 ft 0 in (7.01 m).[5] Her tonnages were 3,076 GRT, 2,267 NRT,[6] and 3,350 tons displacement.[7] She had a single screw, driven by a three-cylinder triple-expansion engine. It was rated at 295 NHP,[6] or 1,475 ihp,[8] and gave her a speed of 10 knots (19 km/h).[5]

Kosović and Tripcović created single-ship companies to own some of their ships. The Campania Steamship Company owned Campania, and the Dardania Steamship Company owned Dardania, but both ships were managed by Kosović and Tripcović.[6] They registered Campania at Trieste. Her code letters were HDJS.[6] By 1904, Tripcović was listed as her sole manager.[9]

Internment

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When the First World War began in August 1914, Campania took refuge in Galveston, Texas.[10][11] By 17 August, another Austro-Hungarian cargo steamship, Morawitz, had also arrived in Galveston.[12] They were two among a total of 14 Austro-Hungarian merchant ships took refuge in US ports.[13] Among them were another two of Tripcović's ships, Franconia, Philadelphia; and Himalaia, in New York.[10][11]

By 18 August 1916, Campania been towed upriver to the turning basin of the Houston Ship Channel.[14] On 1 September, Morawitz followed her.[15]

Seizure

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At the beginning of February 1917, the Major commanding the coastal artillery near Galveston inquired into the condition of Campania and Morawitz. He refused to give any details as to the nature of his orders.[16]

On 6 April 1917, the US declared war against Germany, and seized all German ships in its ports. The US did not declare war against Austria-Hungary, so the 14 Austro-Hungarian ships in US ports were not seized. However, two days later, Austria-Hungary terminated diplomatic relations with the US, so the US responded by seizing all of those Austro-Hungarian ships.[17][18] Late on the afternoon of 9 April, US deputy marshals seized both Campania and Morawitz, and took their masters and crews to the immigration headquarters on Pelican Island.[19] The boilers of both ships were found to have been disabled. Their masters, Captain Rakos of Morowitz and Captain Lupis of Campania, said they had been ordered to disable their ships' machinery.[20] By 25 May, Morawitz had been towed from the turning basin back to Galveston, and Campania was to follow.[21]

Kerr Navigation Corporation

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By August 1917, the Kerr Navigation Corporation had bought Campania. She was one of eight Austro-Hungarian cargo ships that Kerr bought; with a combined tonnage of almost 57,000 GRT; for a total of $12 million. Kerr renamed its acquisitions, and registered them in New York. Campania became Kerowlee,[22] which is an old spelling of Karauli, a city in Rajasthan. She was given the US official number 215400, and code letters LHPK.[8] By 15 August, those ships which had been damaged by their crews had been repaired, and Kerr was using them in transatlantic trade.[22]

On 1 December 1917, Kerowlee was in Le Havre, France, when the US Army took her over.[5] She was defensively armed with two 3-inch/50-caliber guns.[7] On 17 October 1918, she was in Cardiff in Wales, when the US Navy requisitioned her. She was commissioned with Lieutenant Commander WL Strong, USNRF, as her commanding officer. Unusually, she was not given a Naval Registry Identification Number. On 3 November, she left Cardiff for Brest. She carried coal and military supplies across the English Channel between Britain and France. On 11 April 1919, she was assigned to the United States Food Administration to carry food between Saint-Nazaire and Danzig. On 1 June, she was transferred to the United States Shipping Board (USSB) account.[5] and on 4 June she left Rotterdam for New York.[23] She left St-Nazaire on 8 July with an Army cargo to the US,[5] calling at Cardiff, where she left on 10 July.[24] On 24 July she was expected in New York,[24] but she seems to have put into in Norfolk, Virginia instead, on 25 July. On 11 August was decommissioned from the Navy, and returned via the USSB to her owner.[5]

Kerr's Keresan in camouflage in 1918

Back with her civilian owner, Kerowlee left Norfolk the same day, and on 13 August she reached New York.[25] Kerr ran her between Hamburg and the US ports of Baltimore,[26] New York,[27][28] and Norfolk, VA,[29][30] continuing into 1920.[31] On at least one eastbound sailing, which left New York on 26 November 1919, she carried mail destined for Germany, Austria, and Czechoslovakia;[32] and emergency aid organised by the Central Committee for the Relief of Distress in Germany and Austria. At the same time, three other cargo ships carried relief from the US destined for Germany and Austria: Kerr's Keresan and Kerwood, and the Spanish Mar Rojo.[33] Kerowlee was one of at least five Kerr ships that continued to trade between the US and Hamburg in 1920, in partnership with Hamburg America Line.[34]

The ocean liner Mongolia, which repatriated Kerowlee's crew in May 1920

In late March 1920, Kerowlee grounded at the mouth of the Weser,[35] the river on which are the ports of Bremen and Bremerhaven. She was refloated at 15:00 hrs on 25 March, and went to Schillig Road for her hull to be examined.[36] On 30 March, she reached the mouth of the Elbe, on her way to Hamburg.[37] She was found to be unseaworthy, so that May her crew was repatriated to New York aboard Atlantic Transport Line's passenger liner Mongolia. The number of her officers and ratings aboard Mongolia was variously reported as 33 or 37.[38][39]

United American Lines

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In October 1920, United American Lines acquired ten Kerr ships, including Kerowlee. The ships continued a weekly cargo service between Hamburg and New York, and also a service between Hamburg and the Río de la Plata, via ports in Brazil.[40] By November 1920, Kerowlee's advertised route was between Philadelphia and Hamburg, in a service run jointly by United American Lines and Hamburg America Line.[41] She also served Baltimore, MD,[42][43] and New Orelans.[44] By December 1920, Kerowlee was also serving Stettin, on the Baltic coast of Germany (now Szczecin in Poland).[45] By 1 January 1921, Kerowlee had been renamed Mount Sterling.[46][47][48] She continued to run between Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Hamburg until at least the end of January 1921.[49][50][51]

Hungarian and Greek ownership

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Kermoor, one of seven ships that Oceana bought in 1922

On 7 February 1922, it was announced that the Oceana Sea Navigation Co, Ltd, had bought seven former Austro-Hungarian merchant ships from the American Shipping and Commerce Corporation. Mount Sterling was one of them; along with Keresaspa, Kerkenna, Kermoor, Kermanshah, Mount Seward (formerly Keresan), and Mount Summit (formerly Kerlew).[52] Oceana renamed the ships, and registered them in Budapest. Mount Sterling became Balaton, after Lake Balaton in Hungary. Her code letters were JZBF.[53]

In 1927, NG Livanos, a relative of Stavros G. Livanos, bought Balaton. He renamed her Nicolaos A., and registered her in Chios in Greece.[54] By 1928, her code letters were JCNP.[55] In 1931, she was renamed Evi.[56] In the third quarter of 1933, she was scrapped in Italy.[3]

References

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  1. ↑ "Arcadia". Tyne Built Ships. Shipping and Shipbuilding Research Trust. Retrieved 18 May 2026.
  2. ↑ "Bitinia". Tyne Built Ships. Shipping and Shipbuilding Research Trust. Retrieved 18 May 2026.
  3. 1 2 "Campania". Tyne Built Ships. Shipping and Shipbuilding Research Trust. Retrieved 18 May 2026.
  4. ↑ "Dardania". Tyne Built Ships. Shipping and Shipbuilding Research Trust. Retrieved 18 May 2026.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Kerowlee". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 18 May 2026.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Lloyd's Register 1902, CAM
  7. 1 2 Radigan, Joseph M. "Kerowlee". NavSource. Retrieved 17 May 2026.
  8. 1 2 Bureau of Navigation 1918, p. 127
  9. ↑ Lloyd's Register 1904, CAM.
  10. 1 2 "Deutsche Schiffe in hiesigen Häfen". Deutscher Herold (in German). Sioux Falls, SD. 18 March 1915. p. 7 – via Chronicling America.
  11. 1 2 "Long List of German Ships Now Tied Up During War at American Ports". The Richmond Virginian. Richmond, VA. 23 May 1915. p. 6 – via Chronicling America.
  12. ↑ "British Warriors Chased Austrian Into Galveston". The Brownsville Herald. Vol. XXII, no. 38. San Antonio, TX. 1 February 1917. p. 1 – via Chronicling America.
  13. ↑ "Opposition gegen die Dienst-Pflicht". Freie Presse Für Texas (in German). No. 819. San Antonio, TX. 10 April 1917. p. 1 – via Chronicling America.
  14. ↑ "Campania Towed Away". Grand Forks Herald. Grand Forks, ND. 18 August 1916. p. 1 – via Chronicling America.
  15. ↑ "Big Interned Steamship Coming Up Ship Channel". Waxahachie Daily Light. Waxahachie, TX. 6 September 1916. p. 1 – via Chronicling America.
  16. ↑ "Texas". Freie Presse Für Texas (in German). No. 763. San Antonio, TX. 3 February 1917. p. 4 – via Chronicling America.
  17. ↑ "14 Austrian Liners Seized in our Ports". The New York Times. 10 April 1917. p. 3 – via Times Machine.
  18. ↑ "Opposition gegen die Dienst-Pflicht". Freie Presse Für Texas (in German). No. 819. San Antonio, TX. 10 April 1917. p. 1 – via Chronicling America.
  19. ↑ "Austrian Ships Seized; Crews Held". The Evening Star. Washington, DC. 10 April 1917. p. 7 – via Chronicling America.
  20. ↑ "Crippled Machinery on Orders". Alexandria Gazette. Alexandria, VA. 10 April 1917. p. 3 – via Chronicling America.
  21. ↑ "Das österreichische Parlament". Freie Presse Für Texas (in German). No. 858. San Antonio, TX. 25 May 1917. p. 1 – via Chronicling America.
  22. 1 2 "Oesterreichische Handelsschiffe übernommen". Der Deutsche Correspondent (in German). Baltimore, MD. 16 August 1917. p. 1 – via Chronicling America.
  23. ↑ "Foreign Ports". New-York Tribune. 11 June 1919. p. 10 – via Chronicling America.
  24. 1 2 "Incoming Steamships". The Sun. New York. 23 July 1919. p. 17 – via Chronicling America.
  25. ↑ "Arrivals—Wednesday, August 3 [sic: should say August 13]". The Sun. New York. 14 August 1919. p. 15 – via Chronicling America.
  26. ↑ "Foreign Ports". New-York Tribune. 15 October 1919. p. 20 – via Chronicling America.
  27. ↑ "Sailed for New York". The Sun. New York. 19 October 1919. p. 21 – via Chronicling America.
  28. ↑ "Transatlantic Mails". The Sun. New York. 19 November 1919. p. 11 – via Chronicling America.
  29. ↑ "Arrived". The Sun and The New York Herald. New York. 11 February 1920. p. 16 – via Chronicling America.
  30. ↑ "Sail Saturday". New-York Tribune. 26 February 1920. p. 20 – via Chronicling America.
  31. ↑ "Outgoing Steamships". New-York Tribune. 3 March 1920. p. 20 – via Chronicling America.
  32. ↑ "Transatlantic Mails". The Sun. New York. 24 November 1919. p. 17 – via Chronicling America.
  33. ↑ "Liebesgaben-Versandt nach Deutschland". Tägliche Omaha Tribüne (in German). Omaha, NE. 27 November 1919. p. 8 – via Chronicling America.
  34. ↑ "Helping the Hamburgers". The New York Times. 29 March 1920. p. 12 – via Times Machine.
  35. ↑ "Serious Marine Casualties". The Times. No. 42370. London. 27 March 1920. col. B, p. 18.
  36. ↑ "American Steamship Refloated". Part 2. The Sunday Star. Washington, DC. 28 March 1920. p. 7 – via Chronicling America.
  37. ↑ "Refloat Large Steamer". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Richmond, VA. 31 March 1920. p. 6 – via Chronicling America.
  38. ↑ "Maritime Miscellany". The Sun and The New York Herald. New York. 14 May 1920. p. 16 – via Chronicling America.
  39. ↑ "British Board Here to Discuss Ship Problems". New-York Tribune. 14 May 1920. p. 9 – via Chronicling America.
  40. ↑ "To Extend Ocean Service". The New York Times. 21 October 1920. p. 29 – via Times Machine.
  41. ↑ "United American Lines (advertisement)". Evening Public Ledger. 22 November 1920. p. 25 – via Chronicling America.
  42. ↑ "Hamburg; From Baltimore". New-York Tribune. 27 November 1920. p. 16 – via Chronicling America.
  43. ↑ "Cable Reports". New-York Tribune. 1 December 1920. p. 20 – via Chronicling America.
  44. ↑ "Cable Reports". The New York Herald. New York. 23 November 1920. p. 8 – via Chronicling America.
  45. ↑ "Hamburg; From New York". New-York Tribune. 27 December 1920. p. 16 – via Chronicling America.
  46. ↑ "American Ports". New-York Tribune. 1 January 1921. p. 13 – via Chronicling America.
  47. ↑ Bureau of Navigation 1921, p. 139.
  48. ↑ Lloyd's Register 1921, MOU.
  49. ↑ "Europe; Hamburg—Continued". New-York Tribune. 15 January 1921. p. 16 – via Chronicling America.
  50. ↑ "Europe; Hamburg—Continued". New-York Tribune. 19 January 1921. p. 16 – via Chronicling America.
  51. ↑ "Cable Reports". The New York Herald. New York. 27 January 1921. p. 18 – via Chronicling America.
  52. ↑ "7 American Ships Sold to Hungarians". The New York Herald. 8 February 1922. p. 21 – via Chronicling America.
  53. ↑ Lloyd's Register 1922, DE–DEE.
  54. ↑ Lloyd's Register 1927, NIC.
  55. ↑ Lloyd's Register 1928, NIC.
  56. ↑ Lloyd's Register 1927, EVE–EXC.

Bibliography

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