SS Sierra (1900)

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SS Sierra was a steamship built for the Oceanic Steamship Company and launched in 1900. She sailed as a passenger liner on the San Francisco–Honolulu route and became a favorite for honeymoon travelers. By March 1914 she had completed her 100th voyage to Honolulu. In 1909 she was rebuilt to serve the San Francisco–Honolulu route, replacing the Alameda, and she was the first of three ships on this line’s Hawaii route, followed by Sonoma and Ventura. Sierra measured about 416 feet in length, with a beam of 50 feet 2 inches and a draft of 24 feet. She had two triple-expansion steam engines and could reach around 17 knots. The ship carried first-class, second-class, and between-decks passengers and was equipped with wireless direction finding.

During World War I, the United States Navy acquired Sierra on May 27, 1918, and commissioned her as USS Sierra (ID-1634) on July 1, 1918. She served as a troop transport, moving American soldiers to France and returning many home after the war. She was decommissioned and returned to her owners on October 1, 1919.

Back in civilian service, she was renamed SS Gdansk later on. In 1934, Yuji Kimoto of Osaka bought the ship for $59,500 and she returned to commercial passenger service as SS Sierra, later being renamed SS Gdansk.