SS Coast Trader
Cargo Freighter · United States · Lost 1942 · The Salish Sea
A WWII freighter torpedoed by a Japanese submarine off Cape Flattery in 1942, now an artificial reef surveyed for lingering oil risk nearly 500 feet down.
Become Captain of RecordSee Shipwreck on Map
The Vessel and Her Loss
Built in 1920 as the cargo ship Holyoke Bridge, she later sailed as Coast Trader under Coastwise Line ownership out of Portland. On June 7, 1942, while under charter to the U.S. Army and outbound from Port Angeles, she was torpedoed by the Japanese submarine I-26 and sank about 35 miles southwest of Cape Flattery. Fifty-six of her 57 crew were rescued by a fishing boat and a Canadian corvette. The wreck was relocated and surveyed by ROV in 2016 due to concerns about its retained bunker fuel.
Vessel
- 1920
- US Official Number 219588
- Submarine Boat Corporation
- Newark, New Jersey
- Steel
- 335.6 ft
- 46 ft
- 3545
- Steam turbine, single screw
- Coastwise Line
Loss
- June 7, 1942
- Enemy action
- About 35 nautical miles southwest of Cape Flattery, Washington
- Pacific Ocean, near the Strait of Juan de Fuca
- Port Angeles, Washington → San Francisco, California
- Newsprint, approximately 1,250 tons
- 57
- 1
- Not established
The Wreck Today
- 490 ft
- Largely intact on the seabed and colonized by fish and invertebrates; surveyed by ROV in 2016, which found the hull sponge-encrusted with no visible oil release at that time.
- Not established
- Location confirmed by Canadian Hydrographic Service survey; surveyed by ROV in June 2016
- Near the boundary of Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary
Position
- 48.317° N 125.667° W
- Surveyed position
- Cape Flattery, Washington
Position confirmed by Canadian Hydrographic Service sonar survey and 2016 ROV dive.
Evidence
Overall confidence: Documented (88/100)
Loss narrative, casualties, rescue.
NOAA Office of Response and Restoration
Wreck depth, condition, and pollution-risk assessment.
Ocean Exploration Trust / Nautilus Live
2016 ROV survey depth and condition.
