and Porto Rico Steamship Company a rea veranda, all elaborarely decorared and furnished . Th e ships carried 154 offi cers and crew, includ ing rhe o rchesrra. The Coamo and Borinquen were in liner service carrying US mail, cargo, and passengers. In 1940 ir was adve nised rhar rhe Coamo, inrroduced inro service in 1926, had never fa iled, nor even a day, on irs regular roure, which represenred an ex-
Pueno Rico fo r rhe firs r few monrhs. The New York- to- Pue n o Rico ro ure crossed ri ghr rh ro ugh U- boar infesred wa rers. In co mpliance wirh orders from rhe US Navy, rhe shi ps rraveled under blackour cond irions ar nighr and mainrai ned radio silence ar all rimes. By February of 1942, as rhe war escalared , rhe govern menr requisi rio ned borh vessels fo r use as US Army
16 Brirish Army personnel rh ar should nor have been rhere. Due to rhe immediare disp arch of rhe Coamo by rhe Bri tish Adm iralry, it was not possible to make a transfer.
S . S. "BORINQUEN "
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rrao rdinary fear in rhe annals of naviga rion . The same can be said abour rhe Borinquen. To a remarkable degree, rhe shipping line became inrerrwined in everyday life on rhe island; in pon , rhe ships rhemselves became rhe cenrer of commerce berween Puen o Ricans and markers in N ew York. Borh rhe social and commercial clocks of rhe islands we re ser by rhe ships' schedules, and any change in rheir irineraries wo uld li kewise airer people's ro urines, nor only in rhe ciry, bur also in rhe inrerior. Afrer rhe Unired Srares enrered in to Wo rld War II, rhe Coamo and Borinquen mainrained regularly scheduled service to
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S . S . "C OAM O"
troo p ships. SS Coamo did not survive rhe war and was sun k by rhe German sub marine U-604, wirh a loss of 186 lives, on 2 D ecember 1942 in rhe Nor rh Ad anric: 133 crew, 37 Naval Arm ed Guard, and
SS Borinquen did sur vive rhe wa r, servi ng in every war cheater before being returned to AGWI in 1946 . The company refurbished her as a Cabi n C lass passe nger vessel in May of 1947. I remember the ship well from that period; I served as the 2nd O ffi cer. In March of 1949, AGWI sold the asse ts of the Porto Rico Line, which included the Borinquen. The ship was first bought by Bull Line and later sold and operated under various owners and fo reign Bags. A lthough her name changed several times, she stayed in passenger service unril she ran agro und and was wrecked in a ga le near Port Hueneme,
(left) A view of San Juan and the Porto Rico Line's first liner SS Coamo at the dock, 19 07. The arrival and departure of these Large passenger ships were big events on the island, both commercially and in society. Today, modern cruise ships still tie up in that exact Location in "Old San Juan. " Captain Frederick W Folker was master of both the "old" 19 02 Coamo and the "new " 1926 Coamo during his employment with the Porto Rico Line.
SEA HISTORY 130, SPRING 2010
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