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Alaska Steamship Company: A Comprehensive Pictorial History of Ports and Vessels

Explore the history, routes, ships, and ports of the Alaska Steamship Company from its founding in 1894 to its closure in 1971, including key vessels and regional operations.

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ALASKA STEAMSHIP COMPANY A PICTORIAL HISTORY Ports and Ships of the By Dave Henderson
ALASKA STEAMSHIP COMPANY Formed in 1894/95 by a group of six men, the company enjoyed a near monopoly of freight and passenger service to Alaska for several decades. In the mid 1950s the company got out of the passenger business. Finally, in 1971, due to rising operating costs, the company was forced to shut down. CLICK FOR INFO
• On Aug. 3,1894 the Alaska Steamship Company was formed by Charles Peabody, Capt. George Roberts, Capt. Melville Nichols, George Lent, Frank E. Burns, and Walter Oakes. Their first vessel was the 140 ft. Steamer Willapa. • In 1907 the Alaska Syndicate bought the company, and in 1909 merged it with the Northwest Steamship Company, but retained the Alaska Steamship Company name. This new company began operations with 12 ships and eventually expanded up to 18. They served all of Southeast Alaska, Southwest Alaska, and the Seward Peninsula including St Michael and Nome, creating a virtual monopoly on the Alaska shipping industry. • When WWII broke out, the Federal Government took control of most registered ships to support the war effort, including Alaska Steamship Company’s (ASC) then fleet of 15 vessels. • On Aug. 1944, Alaska Steamship Company was purchased by the Skinner & Eddy Corporation, which also purchased the Northland Transportation Company, the only other major Alaska shipping company to survive after the war. • After the freight business slowed the company decided to focus on tourism. They introduced the Steamship Alaska in Jan. 1946, which was later joined by the Aleutian, Baranof, Yukon, and Denali. These ships, which could accommodate over 200 passengers, called at Ketchikan, Juneau, and Seward with intermediate stops in Wrangell, Petersburg, Skagway, Sitka, Cordova, Valdez, Kodiak and Seldovia. • Unable to compete with faster, cheaper air service, the company discontinued passenger service altogether in 1954 and concentrated on the container ship industry. Despite these efforts, the Alaska Steamship Company shut down in Jan. 1971.
Alaska Steamship Company (ASC) Headquarters Piers #1 & #2, Seattle, WA
Alaska Steamship Company Personnel (standing from left) - A.N. MacClellan (Freight Claim Agent), H.E. Chesebrough (Terminal Agent), T.J. Maloney (Anchorage), W.W. Sipprell (Seward), A.G. Gardiner (Fairbanks), E.A. Marlar (Kodiak), Leo McCormick (Wrangell), R.D. Kelsey (Valdez), W.R. Wood (Nome), George W. Hooker (Skagway), W.Plockwood (Ketchikan), R.I. Miller (Petersburg), Frank Burns (Cordova), W.J. Manahan (Asst. Gen. Traffic Mgr.), K.A. Cross (Asst. Gen. Pass. Agent). (Seated from left) - H.E. Green (Juneau), Fred Arnold (Sitka), J.D. Nelson (Asst. Gen. Traffic Mgr.), F.A. Zeusler (Exec. Asst. to the Pres.), G.W. Skinner (President), G.S. Duryea (Gen. Freight & Pass. Agent - Ketchikan), H.N. Peterson (Gen. Traffic Mgr.).
Alaska Steamship Company Routes 1936
ASC - Ports of Call
ASC SEATTLE, WA Alaska Steamship Co. Office, Dock & Warehouse Facility, Pier #21 (now Pier 51) Seattle, WA waterfront, 1910 CLICK FOR INFO
Seattle, WA Waterfront & Piers 52 & 51 – 1953. This rare color image shows Seattle’s Colman Dock (Pier 52) is on the left & the old Alaska Steamship Company Pier 51 (now gone) on the right.
Sailing day meant excitement for the Alaska Steamship Company liners. Here is the SS Alaska sailing from Seattle in 1952. ASC Seattle, WA
ASC KETCHIKAN, AK Alaska Steamship Office Building, Warehouse and Dock Facility, Ketchikan, AK CLICK FOR INFO
ASC Ketchikan, AK ASC Ketchikan, AK
Alaska Steamship Co. Steamships at the dock in Ketchikan, AK ASC Ketchikan, AK
ASC WRANGELL, AK Alaska Steamship Dock Facility, Wrangell, AK (upper right) CLICK FOR INFO
Steamship dock in Wrangell, AK (Center Left)
ASC PETERSBURG, AK Alaska Steamship Company SS Denali (#2) docked at Petersburg, Alaska CLICK FOR INFO
SS Baranof in Wrangell Narrows, heading for Petersburg, AK
ASC SITKA, AK Unknown Alaska Steamship loading/unloading freight in the Sitka Harbor. CLICK FOR INFO
Photo of the SS Denali, moored at Sitka, AK With the US Navy Seaplane Base in background. 1938.
ASC JUNEAU, AK Alaska Steamship Office Building, Warehouse & Dock Facility, Juneau, AK CLICK FOR INFO
ASC Juneau, AK
ASC Juneau, AK
ASC HAINES, AK Alaska Steamship Company vessel moored at Chilkoot Barracks, Haines, Alaska in 1936 CLICK FOR INFO
ASC SKAGWAY, AK Steamships along the dock at the City of Skagway, Alaska CLICK FOR INFO
Passenger train in Skagway, AK, With an Alaska Steamship in the background
ASC YAKATAT, AK SS Admiral Watson at the dock in Yakutat, Alaska, after plowing into the wharf. CLICK FOR INFO
ASC CORDOVA, AK Alaska Steamship Company Steamer Northwestern at the dock in Cordova, Alaska in 1923. CLICK FOR INFO
Copper River & Northwestern Railway cars as viewed from the deck of an Alaska Steamship Company steamer at the dock in Cordova, AK ASC Cordova, AK
ASC VALDEZ, AK CLICK FOR INFO Click icon to add picture No Photo Available
Steamship dock at Valdez, AK, in Prince William Sound.
ASC LATOUCHE, AK Steamship dock in Latouche, Alaska. Now long gone, this was a mining town situated on an island on the southern end of Prince William Sound, between Valdez and Seward. CLICK FOR INFO
A postcard of an ASC Steamer at the dock in Latouche, AK in 1910
ASC SEWARD, AK Alaska Steamship Company SS Oduna at the dock in Seward, Dec. 6, 1927 CLICK FOR INFO
ASC KODIAK, AK Alaska Steamship Company Steamer tied up at the old “Army Dock” in Kodiak, Alaska in the 1940’s CLICK FOR INFO
ASC ANCHORAGE, AK WW-I called many young Alaskans to the colors, and only a few soldiers guarded docks and bridges in Alaska. Among these was Company B, 21st Infantry, which arrived in Anchorage on board the steamship, SS ADMIRAL WATSON, on November 15, 1919. CLICK FOR INFO No Photo Available
ASC BETHEL, AK ASC Steamship Susitna docked at Bethel on the Kuskokwim River, Alaska. CLICK FOR INFO
ASC ST. MICHAEL, AK Northern Commercial Company Steamship Dock, St. Michael, AK. Docking consists partially of ASC. Water is deep enough for scows and light draft ships which must go in/out on high tide. CLICK FOR INFO
ASC NOME, AK Alaska Steamship Office Building, Nome, AK in 1957 CLICK FOR INFO
Crane loading barges onto Steamship in Nome, AK
ASC - Ships of the Line
SS ADMIRAL WATSON The vessel was built in 1913 to become a part of “The Admiral Line”, by the Pacific Steamship Company. In the 1930s she was acquired by the Alaska Steamship Company (ASC) when it purchased the Pacific Steamship Company, its long-time rival. Sometime in 1939 the vessel went aground on Triple Island, British Columbia, Canada. CLICK FOR INFO
SS Admiral Watson, Aground – Triple Island, BC SS Admiral Watson © 1920
SS Admiral Watson, Yakutat, AK SS Admiral Watson discharging freight and passengers at dock #2, Anchorage, July 28, 1919.
The SS Admiral Watson arriving in Kodiak, AK September 23, 1919 Steamer Watson landing freight & passengers at new dock, Oct. 18, 1919.
SS ALAMEDA The 3,000-ton vessel was built in 1883 by William Cramp & Sons, in Philadelphia, PA, as the ALAMEDA, for the Oceanic Navigation Company (Matson). She was purchased by ASC in 1910 and not renamed. The vessel burned at a Seattle pier in Nov. 28,1931 CLICK FOR INFO
SS Alameda, Valdez Bay, AK
On Apr. 25, 1912, the ASC Steamship Alameda crashed into Seattle’s Colman Dock (today’s Washington State Ferry Dock), toppling the dock’s clock tower, sinking the stern wheeler Steamboat Telegraph, and injuring five women.
SS ALASKA (#1) The 3,678-ton vessel was built by John Roach & Son, in Chester, PA, in 1889 as the KANSAS for the Ocean Steamship Company of Savannah, GA. In 1909 she was sold to Portland & San Francisco Steamship Co. and not renamed. In 1915 she was sold to Union Iron Works, San Francisco, then resold to ASC and renamed ALASKA. On Aug 6, 1921 she was stranded and sunk at Blunt’s Reef, CA.
SS ALASKA (#1) Diagram of the SS Alaska [1st] from the 1916 agents manual from the Alaska Steamship Co.
SS ALASKA (#1) SS Alaska ©1919/20
SS ALASKA (#2) The 4,515-ton vessel was built by Todd Drydock & Construction Co., Seattle, WA, in 1923 as the ALASKA for the Alaska Steamship Company. In 1954 she was sold to Margo Pacific Lines and renamed MAZATLAN. In 1955 she was scrapped.
SS ALASKA (#2)
SS ALASKA (#2) Launching of the S.S. ALASKA, April 19, 1923 SS Alaska (#2) moored at Ketchikan, AK
SS Alaska, August 12, 1948 (Inset – Capt. Leonard Williams) SS ALASKA (#2) SS Alaska
SS ALASKA (#3) Alaska Steamship Company's third ship named Alaska. CLICK FOR INFO
SS ALEUTIAN (#1) The 5,708-ton vessel was built in 1899 by William Cramp & Sons Shipbuilding Company for the New York and Cuba Mail Steamship Co. as the HAVANA. In 1905 she was sold to the Panama Railroad Steamship Co. and renamed the PANAMA. She was then sold to ASC later that same year and renamed ALEUTIAN. She was sunk off Kodiak Island on May 26, 1929. CLICK FOR INFO
SS Panama in the Culebra Cut on 7 February 1915 – The first excursion to go through the Panama Canal SS ALEUTIAN (#1)
SS ALEUTIAN (#2) The 6,361-ton vessel was built in 1906 by William Cramp & Sons Shipbuilding in Philadelphia as the MEXICO. In 1929 she was purchased by ASC from the Ward Line and renamed the ALEUTIAN. In 1955 she was sold to Caribbean Atlantic Lines as a tropical cruise liner and renamed TRADEWIND. In 1956 she was scrapped in Belgium.
SS ALEUTIAN (#2)
SS ALEUTIAN (#2) SS Aleutian
SS ALEUTIAN (#2) Crewman greets passengers in dining room, SS Aleutian Playing badminton aboard the SS Aleutian
SS BARANOF The 4,990-ton vessel was built in 1919 by the New York Shipbuilding Corp. in Camden, NY, as the SANTA ELISA. She was purchased by ASC from Grace Line in 1936 and renamed BARANOF. She was scrapped in 1955 CLICK FOR INFO
The Alaska Steamship Company’s passenger ship SS BARANOF tied up at Pier 51 (originally Pier 2 & now gone) in Seattle, Washington circa 1939. The 373 ft. ship had a beam of 51 feet & displaced 8900 tons. She was built in 1919 & sailed as the SANTA ELISA for the Grace Line until she was sold to Alaska SS Co. in 1936 and renamed BARANOF. She ran in coastal routes from Seattle, WA to various Alaskan ports until 1954. The ship continued in passenger service for Alaska Steamship until the company ceased passenger transportation in 1954 and the ship was then sold to shipbreakers & scrapped in 1955.
Captain Joseph Ramsauer on the bridge, SS Baranof SS Baranoff
SS CHENA (CHIEF WASHAKIE) The 7,216-ton vessel was built in 1942 by Oregon Shipbuilding Corp., in Portland, OR, as a Liberty ship (Type EC-S-C1), with the name CHIEF WASHAKIE. She was purchased from the US Maritime Commission by Northland Transportation Co. in 1946. In 1949 she was purchased by ASC and in 1950 was renamed CHENA. In 1953 she was modified to carry containers and in then in 1971 she was scrapped at Kaohsiung. CLICK FOR INFO
SS Chena at Valdez in 1964
For the ship whose crew brought her through Alaska's destructive earthquake of March 27, 1964, the SS Chena of the Alaska Steamship Company received the highest industry honor given to a U. S. flag ship -- the ship safety achievement award.
SS CHIPPEWA The 996-ton vessel was built in 1900 by Craig Shipbuilding Company, MI, for the Arnold Transit Co. in Mackinaw, MI. She was purchased by ASC in 1907 and then transferred to Puget Sound Navigation Co. in 1908. In 1951 she was sold to the Washington Toll Bridge Authority in Seattle, WA. In 1968 she was converted to a floating restaurant. CLICK FOR INFO
Steamer CHIPPEWA at the dock in Seattle, approximately 1912
Chippewa after her the WTBA purchase and rebuild, 1925-26. Chippewa after purchase by Puget Sound Navigation Company (Black Ball Line)
Years after being converted to a car ferry, the Chippewa sat in Lake Union unused until sold to for renovation into a museum, shopping mall, and restaurant in the San Francisco Bay area. Unfortunately, the new life for the vessel was not to be. While undergoing conversion, the vessel caught fire on the night of 28 June 1968 while tied to an Oakland pier. She was complete gutted.
SS COLUMBIA The 5,270-ton vessel was built in 1906 by the New York Shipbuilding Co., Camden, New York, as the PRESIDENT for the Pacific Coast Steamship Co. She was purchased by the Pacific Steamship Co. (The Admiral Line) in 1916 and renamed DOROTHY ALEXANDER. In 1926 she was sold to R. Dollar & Co.. In 1938 she was sold to ASC and renamed COLUMBIA. She was then sold to Empresa de Navegacio Mercante SARL and renamed PORTUGAL in 1946. She was later scrapped in 1952 at La Spezia. CLICK FOR INFO
SS CORDOVA The 2,273-ton vessel was built in 1912 by Harlan & Hollingsworth, Wilmington, DE. In 1947 she was sold to Lee Che Industrial Col, Shanghai and renamed Lee Kunk. In 1949 she was sold to Wallem & Co. in Panama where her name reverted back to CORDOVA. She was scrapped in Hong Kong in 1951. CLICK FOR INFO
SS Cordova in Alaskan waters, 1937 SS Cordova leaving Yakutat Oct, 1937
Click icon to add picture SS CURACAO The 1,503-ton vessel was built in 1895 by William Cramp & Sons Shipbuilding Co., Philadelphia, PA, for the Atlantic & Caribbean Steamship Co., Wilmington, DE, as the CURACAO. In 1934 she was purchased by ASC from The Admiral Line of Tacoma, WA. In 1940 she was sold to China Hellenic Lines and renamed HELLENIC SKIPPER. On 10 July 1940 she caught fire off Astoria, WA. She was taken in tow but later sank on 13 July. CLICK FOR INFO No Photo Available
SS DENALI The 4,302-ton vessel was built in 1927 by the Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Newport News, VA as the CARACAS. In 1938 she was purchased by ASC from the Atlantic & Caribbean Co. (The Red Line) and renamed DENALI. In 1954 she was sold to the Peninsular & Occidental Steamship Co, Miami, FL and renamed CUBA. In 1955 she was renamed SOUTHERN CROSS and in 1960 she was scrapped. CLICK FOR INFO
SS Denali
SS Denali SS Denali stateroom
SS DIRIGO The 843-ton vessel was built in 1898 by P. Mathews, Grays Harbor, WA, for the JS Kimball Co., San Francisco, CA. She was purchased in 1900 by ASC. On 16 November 1914 she sank approximately 100 miles west of Cape Fairweather on a voyage from Cordova, AK to Seattle, WA. CLICK FOR INFO