Samarinda, a 6825 gross ton (12,300 tons displacement) cargo ship, was built at Port Glasgow, Scotland, in 1912 for the Rotterdam Lloyd shipping company. She was seized at New York by the United States Government on 20 March 1918 under the right of angary, which allowed a belligerant power to use the property of a neutral nation if necessary, subject to full indemnification. The Navy took her over and commissioned her as USS Samarinda (ID # 2511) on 29 March 1918. The ship departed New York on 9 April in a convoy, carrying Army supplies, and arrived at Brest, France, on 24 April. She departed France in a westbound convoy on 2 June, arriving at New York on the 15th. There she underwent repairs, which included the installation of a 5"/51 gun. After two more round trips between New York and France, Samarinda was modified at New York, receiving stalls for 550 horses. She completed one more round trip voyage to France, though she may not have carried any horses. On 19 March 1919 the freighter sailed from New York on a voyage for the Shipping Board to Copenhagen, and after calling at Hamburg arrived at Rotterdam on 14 May 1919. On the same day Samarinda was decommissioned and returned to her Dutch owner, whom she continued to serve until scrapped in Belgium in 1932.
This page features the only view we have concerning the Dutch freighter Samarinda, which was USS Samarinda (ID # 2511) in 1918-1919.
If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions." |
Click on the small photograph to prompt a larger view of the same image.
If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions." |
Page made 9 October 2007