A.J. Fuller
Sailing Ship · United States · Lost 1918 · Puget Sound & Discovery Bay
A Maine-built Downeaster loaded with Alaskan salmon was rammed at anchor in Elliott Bay fog in 1918, ending commercial sail in Seattle's own harbor.
Derek Railey
See Shipwreck on Map
The Vessel and Her Loss
A.J. Fuller was a classic Maine-built Downeaster launched in 1881 at Bath, and after years in the global grain and lumber trades she was purchased by the Northwestern Fisheries Company for the Alaska salmon trade. On October 30, 1918, while at anchor off Harbor Island in dense fog with only a skeletal anchor watch, she was rammed by the Japanese steamer Mexico Maru. Her crew escaped before she sank in deep water with 48,000 cases of canned salmon. The intact hull was located by sonar in the 1990s in about 240 feet of water.
Vessel
- 1881
- John McDonald
- Bath, Maine
- Wood
- 229 ft
- 41.5 ft
- 1,849 tons
- Sail
- Northwestern Fisheries Company
Loss
- October 30, 1918
- Collision
- Elliott Bay, off Harbor Island
- Elliott Bay
- Alaska → Seattle, Washington
- 48,000 cases of canned salmon and salt fish
- Not established
- 0
- Not established
The Wreck Today
- 240 ft
- Mostly intact hull with collapsed masts; scattered salmon cans on deck.
- Not established
- 1990s
- Documented as eligible for the National Register of Historic Places
Position
- 47.59° N 122.35° W
- Approximate position
- Seattle, Washington
Reported about 2,000 feet off Harbor Island; approximate.
Evidence
Overall confidence: Documented (85/100)
The captain at the time of loss is not documented in the sources reviewed.
Northwest Room, Tacoma Public Library
1918 loss date, position and depth.
JaWS Marine, A.J. Fuller dive logs
Cargo details and wreck condition.
