SS Minnesotan

SS "Minnesotan" was a cargo ship built in 1912 for the American-Hawaiian Steamship Company. During World War I she was known as USAT "Minnesotan" in service for the United States Army and USS "Minnesotan" (ID-4545) in service for the United States Navy. Late in her career she was known as SS "Maria Luisa R." for Italian owners. She was built by the Maryland Steel Company as one of eight sister ships for the American-Hawaiian Steamship Company, and was employed in inter-coastal service via the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and the Panama Canal after it opened.

In World War I, USAT "Minnesotan" carried cargo and animals to France under charter to the U.S. Army from September 1917. When transferred to the U.S. Navy in August 1918, USS "Minnesotan" continued in the same duties, but after the Armistice, was converted to a troop transport and returned over 8,000 American troops from France. Returned to American-Hawaiian in 1919, "Minnesotan" resumed inter-coastal cargo service, and, at least twice, carried racing yachts from the U.S. East Coast to the California.

During World War II, "Minnesotan" was requisitioned by the War Shipping Administration and initially sailed between New York and Caribbean ports. In the latter half of 1943, "Minnesotan" sailed between Indian Ocean ports. The following year the cargo ship sailed between New York and ports in the United Kingdom, before returning to the Caribbean. In July 1949, American-Hawaiian sold "Minnesotan" to Italian owners. Renamed "Maria Luisa R." at that time, she was scrapped in 1952 at Bari.

Design and construction

In September 1911, the American-Hawaiian Steamship Company placed an order with the Maryland Steel Company of Sparrows Point, Maryland, for four new cargo ships—"Minnesotan", .Maryland Steel had built three ships—, , and was ]

"Minnesotan" did have one mishap during the interwar period. On 3 May 1936, "The New York Times" reported that the day before, a receding tide had stranded "Minnesotan" about a half-mile (800 m) off of Monomoy Point, Massachusetts. [cite news | title = Freighter runs aground | work = The New York Times | date = 3 May 1936 | page = 37 ] Any damage the freighter sustained must have been minor; the cargo ship sailed from New York for San Francisco two weeks later. [cite news | title = Shipping and mails | work = The New York Times | date = 17 May 1936 | page = S12 ]

Labor difficulties

"Minnesotan" played a part in several labor difficulties in the interwar years. In March 1935, the crew of "Minnesotan" called a wildcat strike that delayed the ship's sailing from Los Angeles by a day, but ended the strike after they were ordered back to work by their union. [cite news | last Drake | first = Waldo | title = Shipping news | work = Los Angeles Times | date = 8 March 1935 | page = 9 ] In October 1935, the deckhands and firemen of "Minnesotan" and fellow Hawaiian-American ships "Nevadan" and "Golden Tide" walked out—this time with the sanction of their union, the Sailors' Union of the Pacific (SUP)—after American-Hawaiian had suspended a member of the International Seamen's Union. [cite news | title = Crews return to last three tied-up ships | work = Los Angeles Times | date = 27 October 1935 | page = 1 ] In that same month, "Minnesotan"'s deck engineer, Otto Blaczinsky, was murdered while the ship was in Los Angeles Harbor. The Industrial Association of San Francisco, an organization of anti-union businessmen and employers, [cite web | title = Riots Precede San Francisco General Strike "Bloody Thursday" - 1934 | url = http://www.sfmuseum.net/hist/thursday.html | work = Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco | publisher = Museum of the City of San Francisco | date = | accessdate = 2008-08-22 ] believed that Blaczinsky was killed because he opposed union policies, and offered a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Blaczinsky's killer.cite news | title = Ship crew fingerprinted in hunt for knife-killer | work = Los Angeles Times | date = 24 March 1936 | page = 9 ] At the time of a similar murder of the Chief Engineer of freighter "Point Lobos" in March 1936, Blaczinsky's case was still open.] Threats of another Pacific coast strike in late 1936 caused west coast shippers to squeeze as much cargo as possible into "Minnesotan" and other ships; when "Minnesotan" arrived at Boston in October, "The Christian Science Monitor" reported that the ship had arrived "literally laden to her Plimsoll line". [cite news | title = Heavy cargoes from west coast | work = The Christian Science Monitor | date = 8 October 1936 | page = 9 ]

In September 1941, "Minnesotan" played a peripheral part in a larger protest by union sailors over war bonuses for sailing in the West Indies.cite news | title = Strike-bound merchant ships must move, Roosevelt warns | work = The Washington Post | date = 24 September 1941 | page 16 ] cite news | title = Acts in emergency | work = The New York Times | date = 19 September 1941 | pages = 1, 15 ] The SUP struck on "Minnesotan" and fellow American-Hawaiian ship "Oklahoman" on 18 September in sympathy with the Seafarers International Organization, which had called a strike on eleven ships a week before. Both of the American-Hawaiian ships were idled while docked in New York. [cite news | title = U.S. signs crews for struck ships; one due to sail | work = The New York Times | date = 20 September 1941| page = 1 ] On 24 September, President Franklin D. Roosevelt called on the unions to end the strike three separate times during his press conference. Roosevelt's admonition was heeded and both unions ended their strike after the National Mediation Board agreed to address the wartime bonus dispute. [cite news | author = Associated Press | title = Sailors free 25 vessels by ending strike | work = Chicago Daily Tribune | date = 25 September 1941 | page = 32 ]

World War II

By January 1941, "Minnesotan", though still operated by American-Hawaiian, was engaged in defense work for the U.S. government, sailing to ports in South Africa. [cite news | title = Sailors tell of fast and heavily armed British mystery ship | work = Chicago Daily Tribune | date = 21 January 1941 | page = 2 ] After the United States entered World War II, "Minnesotan" was requisitioned by the War Shipping Administration and frequently sailed in convoys. Though complete records of her sailings are unavailable, partial records indicate some of the ports that "Minnesotan" visited during the conflict and some of the cargo. From July 1942 to April 1943, "Minnesotan" sailed between New York and Caribbean ports, calling at Trinidad, Key West, Hampton Roads, Guantánamo Bay, and Cristóbal.cite web | title = Port Arrivals/Departures: Minnesotan | url = http://convoyweb.org.uk/ports/index.html?search.php?vessel=MINNESOTAN~armain | work = Arnold Hague's Ports Database | publisher = Convoy Web | date = | accessdate = 2008-08-21 ]

In June 1943, "Minnesotan" called at Bombay and sailed in the Indian Ocean between Calcutta, Colombo, and Bandar Abbas through August. On her last recorded sailing in the Indian Ocean, "Minnesotan" carried steel rails between Colombo and Calcutta. [cite AHCD | convoytype = JC | convoynumber = 17 | accessdate = 2008-08-21 ] "Minnesotan" was back in New York by early December, and sailed to Florida and back by the end of the month.

On 29 December, "Minnesotan", loaded with a general cargo that included machinery and explosives,cite AHCD | convoytype = HX | convoynumber = 276 | accessdate = 2008-08-21 ] sailed as part of Convoy HX-273 from New York for Liverpool. "Minnesotan" developed an undisclosed problem and returned to St. John's, Newfoundland, [cite AHCD | convoytype = HX | convoynumber = 273 | accessdate = 2008-08-21 ] where she arrived on 13 January 1944. Thirteen days later, she sailed from St. John's to join Convoy HX-276 for Liverpool, where she arrived with the convoy on 7 February. After calling at Methil and Loch Ewe, "Minnesotan" returned to New York in mid March.

"Minnesotan" sailed on another roundtrip to Liverpool in May, but was back in New York by early June. Her last recorded World War II sailings show her sailing from New York to Key West, Guantánamo Bay, and Cristóbal, where she arrived in late July 1944. Sources do not reveal where or in what capacity "Minnesotan" spent the remainder of the war.

Later career

After the war's end, American-Hawaiian continued operating "Minnesotan" for several more years, but in mid-July 1949, the company announced the sale of "Minnesotan" to Italian owners in a move approved by the United States Maritime Commission several days later.cite news | title = Shipping News and Notes: Two ships sold abroad | work = The New York Times | date = 15 July 1949 | page = 39 ] cite news | last = Horne | first = George | title = 2 Ship transfers protested by CIO | work = The New York Times | date = 25 July 1949 | page = 29 ] American-Hawaiian's 1919 ship "Hawaiian" was also sold at the same time to Panamanian interests.] The sale of "Minnesotan" was protested by the Congress of Industrial Organizations who urged the United States Congress to intervene and to help retain American Merchant Marine jobs. Nevertheless, "Maria Luisa R.", the new name of the former "Minnesotan", remained in Italian hands until she was scrapped in 1952 at Bari.

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