Dertona
Wooden Steam Cargo Ship · United States · Lost Present at Mallows Bay since 1929 · Chesapeake Bay
A fire-scarred wooden steamship of an uncommon steel-reinforced design, one of Mallows Bay's 'Three Sisters' wreck group.
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The Vessel and Her Loss
Dertona was built in 1918 by the Supple and Ballin Shipbuilding Corporation of Portland, Oregon, using a distinctive design with steel topside reinforcement rather than the more common Ferris pattern. Like most wartime wooden steamers she never reached overseas service. She was retired, towed to Mallows Bay, and has rested there since 1929, part of a trio of hulks known as the 'Three Sisters.' Her bow shows clear fire damage from the shipbreaking operations once carried out on the fleet.
Vessel
- 1918
- Maryland archaeological site 18CH537
- Supple and Ballin Shipbuilding Corporation
- Portland, Oregon
- Wood
- 308 ft
- Not established
- 4000
- Steam, single screw
- United States Shipping Board; later coasting trade
Loss
- Present at Mallows Bay since 1929
- Fire
- Mallows Bay, Potomac River
- Potomac River, Chesapeake Bay watershed
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
The Wreck Today
- Not established
- Bow section largely intact with fire trauma exposing planking and frame patterning; hull double-planked in herringbone fashion over concrete-reinforced frames.
- Roughly parallel to shore, stern aground
- 1929 (documented at site)
- Within Mallows Bay-Potomac River National Marine Sanctuary and the Mallows Bay-Widewater National Register Historic District
Position
- 38.474° N 77.267° W
- Surveyed position
- Mallows Bay, Charles County, Maryland
Position from 2016 Duke University drone survey published by NOAA.
Evidence
Overall confidence: Documented (80/100)
The exact date and circumstance of the fire damage to her bow are not separately documented from the general shipbreaking-era fires at Mallows Bay.
NOAA Mallows Bay-Potomac River National Marine Sanctuary
Builder, dimensions, wreck description, fire damage, coordinates.
