AH-WR-2019

Poseidon

Freighter · Lost 1918 · Delaware Bay & the Approaches

The Dutch freighter Poseidon, chartered for American wartime service, sank off Cape May in July 1918 after a collision with the Somerset; six of thirty-seven died.

Become Captain of Record

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

Interpretive Reconstruction, drawn to convey the vessel's era, type and general form. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

Built at Glasgow in 1914 for the Royal Netherlands Steamship Company, the 295-foot steel freighter Poseidon was chartered by the U.S. government in 1918. On July 31, steaming from Boston to Norfolk with coal, she collided with the Somerset about five miles north-northeast of the Five Fathom Bank Lightship off Cape May and sank. Six of the thirty-seven aboard died.

Vessel

Built: 1914
Builder: Not established
Yard: Glasgow, Scotland
Material: Steel
Length: 295 ft
Beam: 43 ft
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: Steam (screw)
Owners: Not established

Loss

Date: July 31, 1918
Cause: Collision
Location: About 5 miles north-northeast of the Five Fathom Bank Lightship
Water: Atlantic Ocean
Voyage: Boston, Massachusetts → Norfolk, Virginia
Cargo: Coal
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: 6
Master: J. Dorie

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Not established
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Not established

Position

Coordinates: Not established
Accuracy: Position not established
Nearest: Cape May, New Jersey
Region: Delaware Bay & the Approaches

No pin: the museum describes its positions as approximations.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Partially documented (65/100)

Based on the New Jersey Maritime Museum's shipwreck database, compiled from newspapers, Life-Saving Service reports and books; those original records were not independently inspected.

New Jersey Maritime Museum — Shipwreck Database
Museum's compiled data sheet for this loss (dimensions, owner, master, voyage, crew, cargo, cause, lives lost).
MaSS — Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed, Poseidon
Built 1914 by Dunlop, Bremner & Co for KNSM; sank 31 July 1918 off Cape May after a collision; six casualties.