GENERAL M. C. MEIGS
Lost 9 January 1972US Navy troop transport ship.
7-mi south of Cape Flattery, WA.
Unmanned.
GENERAL M. C. MEIGS wreck, 1972 Near Tatoosh Island, WA. Photo by Roy Scully Original photo from the archives of the Saltwater People Historical Society |
Early 9 January 1972, the San Francisco tug BEAR put out to sea from the Strait of Juan de Fuca in the face of gale warnings, towing the 622-ft troop transport GEN. M. C. MEIGS, formerly in layup at the Olympia Reserve Fleet and en route to the remaining West Coast reserve fleet at Suisun Bay near San Fran. No sooner had the tug and tow rounded Tatoosh Island than the wind and seas tore the big two-stack transport loose and drove her ashore 7 miles south of Cape Flattery. Soon afterward she broke in two against a murderous cluster of pinnacle rocks. Although unmanned, the MEIGS was carrying much material from the Olympia Reserve Fleet, including a steel harbor tug chained on a deck forward [visible in photo].
The loss of the MEIGS and her valuable cargo aroused numerous questions in maritime circles, aside from the basic one of why the GEAR, under contract to the US Navy, proceeded to sea in defiance of a Force 8 gale. Several experienced mariners reported seeing the tug headed out with the transport on a short towline and an inadequate hitch. The Coast Guard does not investigate accidents involving naval vessels unless asked to do so, and the Navy made no such request, leaving many questions unanswered to the present day. Naval personnel were dispatched to the scene to clean up the spill of heavy bunker oil and to guard the wreck, although no effort was made to salvage anything from it. Subsequent winter storms have torn the ship into many pieces, with only a section of the bow and a mast remaining visible [at press time].
Above text: The H. W. McCurdy Marine History of the Pacific Northwest (1966-1976). Gordon Newell, editor. Superior, 1977.
Above text: The H. W. McCurdy Marine History of the Pacific Northwest (1966-1976). Gordon Newell, editor. Superior, 1977.
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