S.S. Jamaica

S.S. Jamaica Image

Originally christened Segovia and then, after a fire, Peten, the S.S. Jamaica was one of six United Fruit Company sister ships with General Electric turbo-electric transmission designated as "Mail class" due to their design that met requirements for mail carriage subsidies. The other ships were Talamanca, Chiriqui, Antigua, Quirigua and Veragua. Postcards identical to the ones below were also produced with the names of sister ships.

The ship was 446 ft 9 in (136.2 m) long with 11,345 tons displacement and 196,000 cu ft (5,550.1 m3) cargo capacity.

On March 2, 1933 Peten made her maiden voyage from New York operating on a route calling at Havana, Kingston, Cristobal, Limón. In 1937 she was transferred to United Fruit's direct ownership and renamed Jamaica. She was delivered to the War Shipping Administration (WSA) on March 24, 1942 and was subsequently renamed USS Ariel seeing service with the Atlantic fleet, primarily in on the east coast and in the Caribbean but also sailing to Iceland and North Africa, the United Kingdom and Normandy.

In 1946 the ship was decommissioned and returned to the United Fruit Company. In 1957 Jamaica was sold to Union-Partenreederei T/S of Bremen, Germany, renamed D/S Blumenthal. She was scrapped in 1969 in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

S.S. Jamaica Image

United Fruit Company post card depicting the S.S. Jamaica

S.S. Jamaica Image

United Fruit Company post card depicting the T.E.S. Jamaica (turbine electric ship)

S.S. Jamaica Cancellation

Philatelic paquebot cover from S.S. Jamaica to New York via Havana, Cuba franked with United
States commemorative for the 50th anniversary of Montana statehood issued November 2, 1939.

Sources

Swiggum, S. and M. Kohli.The Ships List. 23 Nov. 2006. Web. 24 Nov. 2022.
     www.theshipslist.com/ships/lines/ufruit.shtml.

"USS Ariel (AF-22)." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. 4 Sep. 2022. Web. 24 Nov. 2022.
     en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Ariel_(AF-22).


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