Afrania
Wooden Steam Cargo Ship · United States · Lost Present at Mallows Bay by 1952 aerial photography; may have since drifted from original position · Chesapeake Bay
An Oregon-built wooden steamship now overgrown with a mature elm tree, its hull migrated from its original 1929 grounding site within Mallows Bay.
Become Captain of RecordSee Shipwreck on Map
The Vessel and Her Loss
Afrania was completed in 1918 by the Grant Smith-Porter Company of Portland, Oregon, for the United States Shipping Board's wartime shipbuilding program. Never used for overseas cargo runs before the Armistice, she was retired and towed east for scrapping. Surveys show her present position differs from a 1952 aerial photograph, suggesting she drifted along with several other hulks before being secured near shore. Today thick vegetation, including a tall elm, grows from her hull.
Vessel
- 1918
- Maryland archaeological site 18CH494
- Grant Smith-Porter Company
- Portland, Oregon
- Wood
- 281.8 ft
- 45.2 ft
- 3500
- Steam, single screw
- United States Shipping Board
Loss
- Present at Mallows Bay by 1952 aerial photography; may have since drifted from original position
- Intentional sinking
- Mallows Bay, Potomac River
- Potomac River, Chesapeake Bay watershed
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
The Wreck Today
- Not established
- Rests on its keel, partially submerged, bow facing north; dense vegetation including a large elm now grows amidships.
- Bow facing north
- Not established
- Within Mallows Bay-Potomac River National Marine Sanctuary and the Mallows Bay-Widewater National Register Historic District
Position
- 38.473° N 77.266° W
- Surveyed position
- Mallows Bay, Charles County, Maryland
Position from 2016 Duke University drone survey published by NOAA; the vessel is known to have drifted from its earlier location.
Evidence
Overall confidence: Documented (78/100)
The exact date of her arrival at Mallows Bay and the circumstances of her later drift are not fully documented.
NOAA Mallows Bay-Potomac River National Marine Sanctuary
Builder, dimensions, wreck description, migration history, coordinates.
