JAPAN'S FORGOTTEN SUSHI SQUADRON

Sea Classics, Jun 2005 by Grover, David H

A number of the "Eastern" ships were eventually re-named by American operators and owners, but a few still had their original names two decades later when WWII was imminent. Collectively, the Japanese-built ships were never widely known, even among maritime history buffs. Their diversity prevented any kind of identifying phrase or nick-name from being applied to them in the fashion of the Lakers, Hog Islanders, and other such names associated with USSB ship types. So, they are simply referred to here as the Japanese-built ships or the "Eastern" group, unless a reader would prefer something more flamboyant such as "The Sushi Squadron."

For the most part, the ships were small to medium in size, but the largest vessels measured out at over 450-ft in length and displaced more than 12,000-tons, comparing favorably in size with the largest USSB freighters built in the United States. One of the more commendable features of these Japanese-built USSB vessels was the sturdiness and longevity they demonstrated. Like their Americanbuilt counterparts which between the wars were scrapped in large numbers by the Shipping Board to create a better supply-and demand ratio, about Ten of the "Eastern" ships appear to have met the same fate during the 1930s. More importantly, however, none was lost in a stranding or foundering.

Because of their original names, all these ships were relatively easy to identify and follow in ship directories, at least early in their service careers. Three ships had "East" in their name, followed respectively by "Cape," "Wind," and "Indian." Three others had no prefix, but were simply Easterling, Easterner, and Eastport. The largest number of names, however, began with the prefix "Eastern," followed by one of 39 nouns that generally indicated important occupations or environmental features.

All these ships were popular with well-known American steamship companies. On the eve of WWII the Calmar Line and the Luckenbach Line each had four of them, and American-Hawaiian had three. Other smaller companies operated about a dozen of the ships, while cement companies operated two more and three were still owned by the Maritime Commission which had replaced the Shipping Board in 1936.

A wide variety of hull sizes and layouts characterized this group of 45 ships, representing configurations already developed for ships being produced for European nations in the 15 participating Japanese shipyards. The eleven basic sizes in which the vessels were produced varied from 305-ft to 462-ft in length, and from 2900- to 8100-gross tons. These multi-dimensioned ships were powered with a diversity of engines that ranged from 1500- to 5600-indicated horsepower. Most had a triple expansion reciprocating steam engine driving a single screw; two, however, were twin-screw steamers, one of which was later converted to a motorship.

Inasmuch as they had been built from existing prototypes, a number of these ships had been available in WWI, unlike most of the built-at-home USSB ships which were too late for war service. Records indicate that substantial numbers of the "Eastern" ships were also available as WWII drew near, a significant accomplishment for any group of ships that were nearing 20 years of age. Of the 45 ships that are known to have been built or acquired under this * program, 36 were still identifiable as operational vessels in Lloyds Register in 1937-38. This point in time was significant, marking the moment when the Maritime Commission was beginning its last push to scrap or sell abroad the rest of the ships in the reserve fleet. Of the 36 extant "Eastern" vessels at that time, 32 were still under the American flag.