MV Penguin

USFS ''Penguin'' was an American cargo liner in commission in the fleet of the United States Bureau of Fisheries from 1930 to 1940 and, as US FWS ''Penguin'', in the fleet of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from 1940 to 1950. She ran a passenger-cargo service between Seattle, Washington, and the Pribilof Islands, and provided transportation between the two inhabited Pribilofs, Saint Paul Island and St. George Island. She also carried passengers, supplies, and provisions to destinations on the mainland of the Territory of Alaska and in the Aleutian Islands. She occasionally supported research activities in Alaskan waters and the North Pacific Ocean.

Construction and commissioning

On 21 April 1910, the United States Congress assigned the responsibility for the management and harvest of northern fur seals, foxes and other fur-bearing animals in the Pribilof Islands in the Bering Sea, as well as for the care, education, and welfare of the Aleut communities in the islands to the United States Bureau of Fisheries (BOF).AFSC Historical Corner: The Pribilof Islands Tender Vessels Retrieved September 4, 2018
/ref> The United States Department of the Interior′s Fish and Wildlife Service – renamed the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) after a 1956 reorganization – assumed these responsibilities when it replaced the Bureau of Fisheries in 1940. Since 1917, the Bureau of Fisheries had operated a "Pribilof tender," a dedicated supply vessel used to transport passengers and cargo to and from the Pribilof Islands.

In 1928, the BOF recommended the replacement of its existing Pribilof tender, the aging , with a new, larger, and more powerful vessel. The U.S. Congress appropriated US$125,000 for the construction of the new ship,afsc.noaa.gov AFSC Historical Corner: ''Penguin'', Pribilof Tender for 20 Years (1930–50) Retrieved September 7, 2018
/ref> which would be the largest BOF vessel to serve in the waters of the Territory of Alaska up to that time. The Seattle, Washington, naval architect Harold Cornelius Hanson – who became quite fond of the ship and referred to her as the "best wooden boat ever built" – designed the vessel as a wooden- hulled coastal cargo liner, with a sheathed ironbark hull that would allow her to operate in rough seas and drifting ice, twin screws driven by twin diesel engines, comfortable passenger quarters below deck, a 160-ton cargo capacity, and a cruising range of . With the low bid of $89,589, the Ballard Marine Railroad Company of Seattle won the contract to construct her.

The first attempt to launch the ship at Salmon Bay in Seattle on 7 January 1930 failed when, after she was christened with the traditional bottle of champagne broken across her bow, she did not move; the grease used on the launching skids had frozen and the ship remained stuck in place even after two boats in the bay attempted to pull her into the water. By 8 January 1930, the grease had thawed and, with a large and enthusiastic crowd looking on, the launching ceremony was repeated and the ship slid into Salmon Bay. After fitting out, the ship was commissioned into the BOF fleet in the spring of 1930 as USFS ''Penguin''.

Service history

Bureau of Fisheries

Immediately following her commissioning, ''Penguin'' departed Seattle on 5 May 1930 to begin her first voyage to the Pribilof Islands, where she arrived on 16 May 1930, delivering 17 BOF employees and 175 tons of general cargo. In September 1930, she spent two weeks supporting salmon escapement studies in Southeast Alaska's Ketchikan District. By the end of 1930, after only eight months in commission, ''Penguin'' had logged over and had proven her capability to operate in extreme weather conditions that arrived late in the year.

Commissioner of Fisheries Henry O'Malley – the chief of the BOF – and his party used ''Penguin'' for several weeks in July and August 1931 to inspect fisheries in various parts of the Territory of Alaska, and the BOF fishery patrol vessel substituted for ''Penguin'' as the BOF′s Pribilof tender during that period. In September 1932, ''Penguin'' transported three live fur seals and 19 live rosy finches from the Pribilof Islands to Seattle, from which the animals were shipped by train to the National Zoological Park in Washin