SS ''President Cleveland'' was an American

steam Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporizat ...

passenger ship A passenger ship is a merchant ship whose primary function is to carry passengers on the sea. The category does not include cargo vessels which have accommodations for limited numbers of passengers, such as the ubiquitous twelve-passenger freig ...

that operated from 1947 to 1973. She became the

Panamanian Panamanians (Spanish: ''Panameños'') are people identified with Panama, a transcontinental country in Central America (a region within North America) and South America, whose connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For ...

-flag passenger ship SS ''Oriental President'' in 1973 before being scrapped in 1974. She operated on routes in the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

History

Construction

''President Cleveland'' was originally ordered by the

Maritime Commission The United States Maritime Commission (MARCOM) was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, which was passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and was abolished on May 24, 19 ...

during World War II, as one of the Admiral-class Type P2-SE2-R1 transport ships, and intended to serve in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

with the name USS ''Admiral D. W. Taylor'' (AP-128). The ship was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one ...

on 28 August 1944 at the

Bethlehem Steel The Bethlehem Steel Corporation was an American steelmaking company headquartered in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. For most of the 20th century, it was one of the world's largest steel producing and shipbuilding companies. At the height of its succ ...

shipyard in

Alameda An alameda is a street or path lined with trees () and may refer to: Places Canada *Alameda, Saskatchewan, town in Saskatchewan **Grant Devine Dam, formerly ''Alameda Dam'', a dam and reservoir in southern Saskatchewan Chile * Alameda (Santiago ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

, but was cancelled on 16 December 1944. Redesigned for commercial passenger service, the ship was launched on 23 June 1946 with the name SS ''President Cleveland'', and she was completed in 1947.

Service history

''President Cleveland'' was operated by American President Lines under a

bareboat charter A bareboat charter or demise charter is an arrangement for the chartering or hiring of a ship or boat, whereby no crew or provisions are included as part of the agreement; instead, the people who rent the vessel from the owner are responsible ...

. She appeared in the background during an Embarcadero waterfront scene in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, California, in the 1950 film ''

Woman on the Run ''Woman on the Run'' is a 1950 American crime film noir directed by Norman Foster and starring Ann Sheridan and Dennis O'Keefe. The film was based on the April 1948 short story "Man on the Run" by Sylvia Tate and filmed on location in San Francis ...

'', featuring

Ann Sheridan Clara Lou "Ann" Sheridan (February 21, 1915 – January 21, 1967) was an American actress and singer. She is best known for her roles in the films ''San Quentin'' (1937) with Humphrey Bogart, '' Angels with Dirty Faces'' (1938) with James Cagn ...

, at 46 minutes and 40 seconds into the film. On 22 or 23 July 1958 (sources disagree), ''President Cleveland'' was in the

about from California during a voyage from

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the islan ...

Territory of Hawaii The Territory of Hawaii or Hawaii Territory (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ''Panalāʻau o Hawaiʻi'') was an organized incorporated territories of the United States, organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from Ap ...

, to San Francisco when U.S. Navy

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star " admiral" rank. It is often rega ...

Lynne C. Quiggle Lynne Cline Quiggle (22 May 1906 – July 1958) was a rear admiral of the United States Navy. He saw service in World War II and in the Cold War before he was lost at sea in 1958. Early life Quiggle was born in Grand Island, Nebraska, ...

, a passenger on board, disappeared. He was presumed to have jumped or fallen overboard.United Press International, "QUIGGLE STORY DENIED; Widow of Admiral Reported Disputing Statement," ''New York Times'', July 27, 1958.
/ref> ''President Cleveland'' appeared in the 1961 film ''

Susan Slade ''Susan Slade'' is a 1961 American Technicolor drama film directed by Delmer Daves and starring Troy Donahue, Connie Stevens, Dorothy McGuire and Lloyd Nolan. Based upon the 1961 novel ''The Sin of Susan Slade'' by Doris Hume, concerns a ...

'', featuring

Connie Stevens Connie Stevens (born Concetta Rosalie Ann Ingolia; August 8, 1938) is an American actress and singer. Born in Brooklyn, New York City to musician parents, Stevens was raised there until age 12, when she was sent to live with family friends in r ...

Troy Donahue Troy Donahue (born Merle Johnson Jr., January 27, 1936 – September 2, 2001) was an American film and television actor and singer. He was a popular sex symbol in the 1950s and 1960s. Biography Early years Born in New York City, Donahue was ...

Dorothy Maguire Dorothy Maguire (November 21, 1918 – August 2, 1981) was a catcher and outfielder who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Maguire batted and threw right-handed. She also played under the name of Dorothy ...

, and

Lloyd Nolan Lloyd Benedict Nolan (August 11, 1902 – September 27, 1985) was an American film and television actor. Among his many roles, Nolan is remembered for originating the role of private investigator Michael Shayne in a series of 1940s B movies. Bi ...

, and was featured in a 1962 Britannica Films production called ''The Seaport'', filmed in San Francisco. It is also seen at anchor in

Tokyo Bay is a bay located in the southern Kantō region of Japan, and spans the coasts of Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Chiba Prefecture. Tokyo Bay is connected to the Pacific Ocean by the Uraga Channel. The Tokyo Bay region is both the most populous ...

in the 1970 Japanese movie ''Hadaka no Jukyu-sai (Live Today, Die Tomorrow!)''. ''President Cleveland'' was sold to Oceanic Cruise Development, Inc. ( C.Y. Tung Group) on 9 February 1973, re-registered in

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

,''Energy Transportation Security Act of 1974: Hearings Before the Subcommittee on Merchant Marine of the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, House of Representatives, Ninety-Third Congress, First and Second Sessions'', Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1974, pp. 186–187.
/ref> and renamed ''Oriental President''. She was scrapped at Kaohsiung,

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northe ...

, in 1974.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:President Cleveland 1946 ships Ships built in Alameda, California Maritime incidents in 1958