SS Olympia

For the cruise ship, see SS Olympia (1953).

300px SS Olympia seen aground on Bligh Reef, December 10, 1910
History
Name:	SS Dunbar Castle (1883-1895), SS Olympia (1895-1910)
Operator:	Castle Mail Packet Company (1883-1895) Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company (1895-1897) Scottish American Steam Ship Co. (1897) Northern Pacific Steamship Line (1897-1898) North America Mail Steam Ship Co. (1898-1903) North Western Steam Ship Co. (1903-1904) Alaska Steam Ship Co. (1904-1910)
Builder:	Barclay, Curle and Co., Glasgow, Scotland
Completed:	1883
Fate:	ran aground December 10, 1910
General characteristics
Tonnage:	2,837 (gross)
Length:	335 ft (102 m)
Beam:	38 ft (12 m)

The SS Olympia was a steamship laid down as the SS Doune Castle and upon purchase named the SS Dunbar Castle that served the northwest United States and Alaska during the Klondike Gold Rush. It was built in 1883 by Barclay, Curle and Co. of Glasgow, Scotland, for the Castle Mail Packet Company. In 1895, the SS Dunbar Castle was sold to Fairfield Ship Building and Engineering Co. and renamed the SS Olympia.

In 1897, it was bought by the Scottish American Steam Ship Co., and later that year it was bought by the Northern Pacific Steamship Line. In 1898, it operated with the North America Mail Steam Ship Co. of Tacoma, Washington. In 1903, it operated under the North Western Steam Ship Co. of Seattle, Washington, which sold it to the Alaska Steam Ship Company in 1904. That year, lifeboats were installed. On December 10, 1910, it ran aground on Bligh Reef off Alaska's Prince William Sound and sank without loss of life.

Following the sinking, steamboat inspectors accused "Captain Daniels," in charge of the Olympia when it ran aground, of "unskillful navigation."

References

• Allen, Tony. "SS Olympia: History", wrecksite.eu. Retrieved March 4, 2011.
• "Details of the Wreck of the S.S. Olympia", Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. January 3, 1911. Page 2.