Moosabee

Ship Stats

Aerial drone photographic mosaic of Mallows Bay, Maryland. Location of *Moosabee* is circled in red. (Source: Duke University/NOAA).

State ID: 18CH551

Vessel Type: Merchant vessel (steamship)

Location: 38°28'28.16"N, 77°16'2.89"W (38.47449, -77.26747) (Duke University, 2016)

Length: 281 feet 10 inches

Breadth: 45 feet 2 inches

Deadweight Tonnage: 3,500

Builder: G.M. Standifer Construction Corporation, Vancouver, Washington

Owner: Titled to the State of Maryland under the Abandoned Shipwreck Act

Flora & Fauna: Dense vegetation covers the entire vessel

Significance: United States Shipping Board vessel built for World War I effort

Wreck Site

Screenshot of drone footage of Moosabee in Mallows Bay, Maryland. (Photo: Duke University/NOAA).

Moosabee is part of a group of three wrecks called "The Three Sisters," which include the sites of Moosabee, Dertona, and an unidentified wreck. The bow of Moosabee is in an excellent state of preservation, and lies only 3 feet from the bluff shoreline. Survey of the remains indicate it measures over 267 feet in length, and 44 feet at beam (width). There is extensive evidence of fire damage throughout the forward half of the vessel. The remains of Moosabee are resting on its keel. Moosabee does not appear in its current location on the 1952 aerial photographs and apparently was towed or migrated there between 1952 and 1986, after having experienced some migration from its 1929 grounding site.

Aerial drone photographic mosaic of Three Sisters wrecks — Aerial drone photographic mosaic of "Three Sisters" wrecks, located within Mallows Bay-Potomac River National Marine Sanctuary. (Source: Duke University/NOAA).

Photograph of dignitaries on a raised podium with people looking up from below. July 13, 1918 (Source: Washington State Archives).

Photograph of the inside of Moosabee, hull number 23 under construction — Photograph of the inside of *Moosabee*, hull number 23 under construction. March 31, 1918. (Source: Washington State Archives).

bow of Moosabee, hull number 23, under construction — Photograph of the bow of *Moosabee*, hull number 23, under construction. June 30, 1918. (Source: Washington State Archives).

Photograph of dignitary Miss Elizabeth Boschke, daughter of George W. Boschke of the Oregon Rail and Navigation Company, holding flowers and standing near the bow of Moosabee, hull number 23. July 13, 1918. (Source: Washington State Archives).