AH-WR-0102

Pinthis

Tanker · United States · Lost 1930 · Cape Cod & Nantucket Shoals

A gasoline tanker rammed in fog by the liner Fairfax in 1930, killing all 18 crew in a fireball off the Massachusetts coast.

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Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents. See the documented evidence.

Historically Reconstructed. Drawn from partial documentation of this vessel together with her known class and configuration. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

Pinthis was a steel coastal tanker built in 1919, owned by Lake Tankers Corporation and used to carry gasoline along the Atlantic coast. On June 10, 1930, in dense fog off Scituate, Massachusetts, she was rammed by the passenger steamer Fairfax, igniting her cargo of roughly 504,000 gallons of gasoline. All 18 of Pinthis's crew were killed; Fairfax caught fire but survived, with further casualties among her own passengers and crew. The wreck lies capsized on the sea floor.

Vessel

Built: 1919
Builder: Not established
Yard: Newburgh, New York
Material: Steel
Length: 206.8 ft
Beam: 35.6 ft
Tonnage: 1111
Propulsion: Diesel, single screw
Owners: Lake Tankers Corporation

Loss

Date: June 10, 1930
Cause: Collision
Location: About six miles east of Fourth Cliff, Scituate, Massachusetts
Water: Atlantic Ocean
Voyage: Not established
Cargo: About 504,000 gallons of gasoline
Aboard: 18
Lives lost: 18
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: 100 ft
Condition: Mostly intact, lying upside down on sand
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Exempted site, Massachusetts Board of Underwater Archaeological Resources