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SS ''San Juan'' was a passenger steamship owned by the Los Angeles and San Francisco Navigation Company. Previously, she was owned by the Pacific Mail Steamship Company and White Flyer Line. At the age of 47 years, the ''San Juan'' was involved in a collision with the steel hulled oil tanker ''S.C.T. Dodd''. Because of her aged iron hull, the ''San Juan'' was fatally damaged in the collision and sank three minutes later, killing 65 people. The loss of ''San Juan'' was strikingly similar to the loss of the ''Columbia''. ==History== The ''San Juan'' was constructed at John Roach and Sons of Chester, Pennsylvania in 1882. Her sister ship was the SS ''Humboldt''. In 1895, while the ''San Juan'' was in service with the Pacific Mail Steamship Company, the passenger steamer ''Colima'' sank in a storm off Mazatlán, killing 100 people. The ''San Juan'' arrived at the scene of the ''Colima's'' sinking and rescued her survivors. The crew of the ''San Juan'' was later blamed by the ''Colima's'' survivors for being negligent and leaving the scene of the disaster too fast. In April 1905, the ''San Juan'' was caught in a storm, which nearly capsized her. The storm damaged all her machinery, including her engine. Due to this, the ''San Juan'', now 24 years old, arrived late to San Francisco, California. At this point in her career, ''San Juan'' was known for being unreliably slow. In June 1905, the ''San Juan'' carried 58 Russian immigrants from Panama to California, where they joined a Slavic community in Los Angeles, California. The immigrants came from Batum. One Russian girl on the ''San Juan'' was supposedly suffering from trachoma, which threatened to have her deported when the steamer reached its American dock. On August 29, 1907, John P. Poe Jr., a man known for being a successful football player, miner and dedicated soldier, travelled on board the ''San Juan'' from Nicaragua to San Francisco. He had previously been arrested in Nicaragua when attempting to volunteer for an upcoming war. In November 1909, the ''San Juan'' carried 1,673 tons of cargo and valuable treasure from the Charles Butters Mine in El Salvador. A fireman from the steamer ''Peru'', Robert Latewitz, was also onboard the ''San Juan'', having been removed from his ship due to insanity. Latewitz was reported to have acted like a dog and walked on all fours across the ''San Juan's'' deck. In October, 1910, the ''San Juan'' was involved in a collision with its fellow Pacific Mail Steamship Company steamer ''City of Sydney''. The collision occurred while the ''San Juan'' was docked at the Pacific Mail Steamship Company's pier in San Francisco. The incident was attributed to a misunderstanding of signals. ''San Juan'' was owned by the Pacific Mail Steamship Company until it was acquired by W.R. Grace and Company in 1925. The newer and stronger vessels were kept by Grace, while the older vessels, including the ''San Juan'', were immediately offered for sale. ''San Juan'' and the ''Humboldt'' were then purchased by the White Flyer Line and placed on the San Francisco to Los Angeles route. Both ships were operated on cut rate services. In 1927, the White Flyer Line declared bankruptcy and the ''San Juan'' along with the ''Humboldt'' were sold to the Los Angeles and San Francisco Navigation Company. Despite the change in ownership, ''San Juan'' and ''Humboldt'' continued operating cut rate service along their usual route. The minimum cost of a ticket on board the ''San Juan'' and ''Humboldt'' was $8.00. Despite their lack of luxury and old age, both the ''San Juan'' and ''Humboldt'' appealed to many middle-class individuals on business purposes. Despite this, the ships of the Los Angeles and San Francisco Navigation Company mostly appealed to residents living in the two cities. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「SS San Juan」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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