Princess Sophia (steamer)

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On October 25, 1918, the SS Princess Sophia sunk on Vanderbilt Reef near Juneau, Alaska, all 353 passengers died in the worst maritime disaster in the Pacific Northwest. She was a steel screw ship of 2,320 tons gross and 1,466 tons net register and was built in Paisley, Scotland in 1912.

While not as luxurious as her fleet-mates serving the Pacific Northwest, she was comfortable throughout, particularly in first class. There was an observation lounge forward panelled in maple, and a dining room that could seat 112 people, who enjoyed large windows for observing the coastal scenery. There was also a social hall with a piano for first class passengers.

At the time of her sinking, Captain Leonard Locke, 66, commanded her.

She departed Skagway, Alaska at 10:10 p.m., more than three hours behind schedule, on October 23, 1918. She was due to stop at Juneau, Alaska and Wrangell, Alaska on the 24th, Ketchikan, Alaska and Prince Rupert, British Columbia, on the 25th, Alert Bay, British Columbia, on the 26th, and finally Vancouver, British Columbia on the 27th.

After leaving Skagway, the ship steamed down Lynn Canal towards Juneau. Shortly after 2:00 a.m. on October 24, the Princess Sophia ran up onto Vanderbilt Reef in the middle of the canal, and got firmly lodged.

The crew and passengers were unable to be rescued due to poor weather conditions, resulting in the rescue to be aborted for the day. The rescue vessels departed early in the afternoon of the 25th. By then, the ship and all aboard had been stranded at Vanderbilt Reef for a day and a half. Around 5:00 that afternoon, the ship started to sink. No one knows exactly what happened. Although the last SOS from the sinking ship was heard at 5:20, there is evidence that the ship stayed afloat until well after that, because many watches worn by the victims weren't stopped until almost 6:00. When the rescuers returned the next day, all that was left was the mast in the water, having sunk overnight. The loss of life of everyone onboard was the result of suffocation from the bunker oil (fuel) on the water. The only survivor was a dog, believed to belong to a wealthy couple aboard.

The sinking of Princess Sophia was overshadowed by the end of World War I and the Spanish flu.