S.S. Munargo at anchor off the bar, Nassau, Bahamas, c. 1930
Source: http://www.oldbahamas.com/id27.html
MAILBOAT NAME: S.S. Munargo
PAST NAMES:
DIMENSIONS:
BUILDER: New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey
YEAR BUILT: 1921
EARLY CAREER:
BAHAMAS CAREER: served Nassau and possibly other islands like Long Cay with international mail
CAPTAINS: not known but during WWII it was Commander Harold F. Ely
OWNERS: Munson Steamship Line – also owners of the Royal Victoria and British Colonial hotels in Nassau. Cora Munson, wife of the Frank Munson, was originally a “Mallory of Mystic”
FATE: Sold in 1938 due to the effects of the Great Depression. Converted to a troop carrier then a hospital ship for the US Army: “USS Munargo (AP-20) was a commercial vessel-class transport acquired by the U.S. Navy for service as a troop carrier during World War II. She operated in the Atlantic Ocean, and, during the war, she was converted into a U.S. Army Hospital ship and renamed Thistle. Munargo (AP 20) was completed in December 1921 by New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, New Jersey; acquired by the Navy from the Army 6 June 1941; and commissioned 4 June 1941, Comdr. Harold F. Ely in command.” Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Munargo
“The depression resulted in severely reduced traffic and ….Munson Line ran into financial troubles its ships were either laid up or scraped. The MUNARGO was transferred to a tourist service Miami, Nassau, Havana in 1937 but sold a year later when the company went bankrupt. The remaining passenger ships were taken over by the Maritime Commission.”
