SS Mopang

SS Mopang was a Sub Boats type (EFC Design 1023) cargo ship built in 1920 by the Submarine Boat Company shipyard in Newark, New Jersey, owned by Electric Boat Company (later General Dynamics).[1] The ship was produced as part of a special [World War 1]] program of the United States Shipping Board that built 150 identical ships to offset for the losses from the war. Only 118 ships were built as the war ended. The steamship sank on July 1, 1921[2] after hitting a naval mine near the port of Burgas.[3]

This article is about the steamship. For other uses, see Mopang (disambiguation).

History
Name: SS Mopang
Owner: United States Shipping Board
Operator: A. H. Bull & Co.
Route: Constantinople to Burgas
Builder: Submarine Boat Company yards in Newark, New Jersey
Yard number: 90
Launched: 15 November 1919
Completed: 10 January 1920
Maiden voyage: 20 January 1920
Identification: Official number:219280,(USSB# 824)
Fate: Sank on 30 June 1921 after hitting a mine
General characteristics
Type: EFC Design 1023, postwar commercial completion
Tonnage:
Displacement: 7,615 tons
Length: 102.3 m (336 ft)
Beam: 14.1 m (46 ft)
Draft: 23 ft (7.0 m)
Depth: 28 ft 6 in (8.7 m) molded
Installed power: One steam engine producing 1,500 hp, 2 Babcock & Wilcox water tube boilers
Propulsion: One quadruple-blade propeller
Speed: 10.5 knots (19.4 km/h)
Crew: 39 men

The wreck lies largely intact on its starboard side at a depth between 20 m (66 ft) and 33 m (108 ft) of water. Height from the bottom is 7 m (23 ft). The main damage from the explosion is to the bow section of the ship. Clearly discernible are the superstructures, parts of the funnel and deck. The holds and some of the cabins are freely accessible. Parts of the cargo – a heap of boots, wooden boxes with spare parts, etc. are visible in the holds. The screw with a diameter of around three meters and the stern hoist are in place. The anchor chain slides along the hull and sinks into the silt on the bottom. Probably the anchor came loose at the time of sinking and wound itself about the ship.[4]

In August 2018, oil leaked from the ship after severe weather and strong underwater currents, but authorities described the leak as "minimal and quite limited." A ship from the European Maritime Safety Agency was sent to the area to collect oil that had leaked into the water. Plans were also made to pump the remaining fuel out of the ship's tanks.[5]

See also

References
  1. Search report for 2219280 Miramar Ship Index
  2. Sixth Annual Report of the United States Shipping Board—Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1922. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. 1922. p. 118.
  3. Submarine Boat Corporation (November 15, 1923). "Submarine Boat Company Steamers". Speed Up. Vol. 6 no. 11. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
  4. wrecksite Mopang
  5. "Fuel oil leaks from U.S. ship sunk in 1921 near Bulgaria". Xinhua. August 13, 2018.
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