Alaska Reefer
Net Laying Ship / Fish Packer · United States · Lost 1961 · Puget Sound & Discovery Bay
A WWII Navy net-tender turned Alaska fish packer, now a popular North Puget Sound wreck dive off Indian Island where she burned and sank in 1961.
The Vessel and Her Loss
Built in 1944 as the net laying ship USS Pinon, she tended anti-submarine nets in Northern Ireland and England during World War II before decommissioning in 1946. Sold into merchant service, she was renamed Alaska Reefer and worked as a refrigerated fish packer out of Tacoma. In August 1961 she caught fire, was towed toward Port Townsend, and sank near Indian Island, taking a companion barge down with her. The wreck is now one of the best-known wreck dives in North Puget Sound.
Vessel
- 1944
- AN-66
- American Car and Foundry Company
- Wilmington, Delaware
- Wood
- 194.5 ft
- 37 ft
- Not established
- Diesel-electric, single screw
- U.S. Navy (as USS Pinon); later Alaska Reefer Fisheries Inc., Tacoma
Loss
- August 29, 1961
- Fire
- South of the ammunition dock, Indian Island, Port Townsend Bay
- Puget Sound
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
The Wreck Today
- 30-60
- Lies on her port side with much of the deck intact; large open holds; starboard side has largely fallen away, exposing the interior to light. An attending barge lies nearby, reduced to skeletal ribs.
- On port side
- Not established
- Not established
Position
- 48.05° N 122.75° W
- Approximate position
- Indian Island, Port Townsend Bay, Washington
Position reflects the reported location south of the Indian Island ammunition dock.
Evidence
Overall confidence: Documented (82/100)
NavSource Online Service Ship Photo Archive
Build data, naval service, loss location and date.
Fate and loss location as Alaska Reefer.
