# Concrete ship

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{{Short description|Ship whose hull is primarily made of concrete}}
'''Concrete ships''' are ships with hulls built primarily with [concrete reinforced with steel](/source/reinforced_concrete)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Concrete Ship {{!}} MARAD |url=https://www.maritime.dot.gov/multimedia/concrete-ship |access-date=2023-06-11 |website=www.maritime.dot.gov}}</ref> rather than steel or wood. There are also similar ships made of [ferrocement](/source/ferrocement). The advantages of concrete construction are that materials are cheaper and readily available, maintenance is easier, they are fire-resistant, and the ships experience fewer vibrations. The disadvantages are that their labor and operating costs are higher, the ships weigh more, and they are less durable than steel.<ref name="SaOCS">{{cite book | title=Seagoing and Other Concrete Ships | author= Fougner, Nikolay Knudtzon| date=1922 | publisher=Henry Frowde and [Hodder & Stoughton](/source/Hodder_%26_Stoughton) | location=London | oclc=1084851042 | url=https://archive.org/details/seagoingothercon00fougrich/page/n10/mode/1up | access-date=March 17, 2026}}</ref>{{rp|6}}

During the late 19th century, there were concrete river [barge](/source/barge)s and pleasure craft in Europe, and during both [World War I](/source/World_War_I) and [World War II](/source/World_War_II), steel shortages led the US military to order the construction of small fleets of ocean-going concrete ships. Few concrete ships were completed in time to see wartime service during World War I, but concrete ships and barges were used to support Allied forces in World War II.

==History==
thumb|upright|Blueprints for a concrete boat
[[File:ConcreteBoat pic1.JPG|thumb|Concrete boat constructed by Walter Dowsey hauled out in [Chicago](/source/Chicago)]]
thumb|The ''Namsenfjord''

===First efforts===
The oldest known example is a rowboat built by [Joseph-Louis Lambot](/source/Joseph-Louis_Lambot) in [France](/source/France) in 1849.<ref name="CaRC">{{cite book | title=Concrete and Reinforced Concrete | publisher=[Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons](/source/Isaac_Pitman) | author=Twelvetrees, W. Noble | year=1922 | pages=124-125 | location=London | oclc=4389398 | url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc2.ark:/13960/t7hq3td6z&seq=138 | access-date=March 27, 2026}}</ref><ref name="NYTribConShips">{{cite news| url=https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83030214/1918-03-17/ed-1/?dl=all&sp=8&st=image&r=-0.081,0.272,0.662,0.383,0 | title=Concrete Ships | work=[New York Tribune](/source/New_York_Tribune) | date=March 17, 1918 | lccn=sn83030214 | issn=1941-0646 | oclc=9405688 | access-date=March 15, 2026}}</ref><ref name="HistEireCB"/> Lambot's boat was featured in the [Exposition Universelle](/source/Exposition_Universelle_(1855)) held in [Paris](/source/Paris) in 1855.<ref name="FoS">{{cite periodical | work=Surveyor | title=Fleet of Stone | date=Fall 2004 | author=Evangelista J. | pages=36-39 | url=https://www.escsi.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/4710.095-Fleet-of-Stone.pdf | access-date=March 15, 2026}}</ref><ref name="HistEireCB"/>

Over the next sixty years, concrete [barge](/source/barge)s and small ships were built for use on canals and rivers, including in Canada,<ref name="ConcSolution"/>{{rp|22}} England,<ref name="FoS"/> France,<ref name="CaRC"/> Germany,<ref name="NYTribConShips"/> Holland,{{efn|Including ''De Zeemeeuw'' (''The Seagull''), an 1887 ferrocement [sloop](/source/sloop) that remained in regular use until 1967.<ref name="NYTribConShips"/><ref name="CSVPPF"/>}}<ref name="ConcSolution">{{cite book | title=Concrete Ships: A Possible Solution of the Shipping Problem | publisher=Portland Cement Association | date=July 1917 | url=https://archive.org/details/concreteshipspos00port/page/16/mode/1up | access-date=March 23, 2026}}</ref>{{rp|16}} Italy,<ref name="eberhardt">{{cite journal | author=Eberhardt, Robert. |title=Concrete Shipbuilding in San Diego, 1918–1920 |work= Journal of San Diego History | volume=41 | number=2 | date=Spring 1995 |url=https://sandiegohistory.org/journal/1995/april/shipbuilding/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150306074612/https://sandiegohistory.org/journal/95spring/shipbuilding.htm| archive-date=March 6, 2015 | access-date=March 15, 2026}}</ref><ref name="YPaM">{{cite web | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/yourplaceandmine/topics/work/Y040226.shtml | title=Working Lives - Pat Durkin | publisher=BBC Ulster | work=[Your Place and Mine](/source/Your_Place_and_Mine) | access-date=March 24, 2026}}</ref> Panama,<ref name="eberhardt"/> Norway,<ref name="FoS"/><ref name="eberhardt"/> Norway,<ref name="FoS"/> and the United States.<ref name="eberhardt"/><ref name="FoS"/> [Ferrocement](/source/Ferrocement) craft were also built for recreational use.<ref name="eberhardt"/>

Based on experience with a concrete [lighter](/source/lighter_(barge)) in Manilla, Nicolay Fougner of Norway launched the ''Namsenfjord'', the first seagoing concrete ship, on August 2, 1917.<ref name="FoS"/><ref name="SaOCS"/>{{rp|7-18}} With the success of this ship, about twenty more concrete vessels were produced by him,<ref name="NYTribConShips"/> including the ''Staal-Beton'', the first concrete tug and icebreaker;<ref name="SaOCS"/>{{rp|50-56}} the first concrete floating dock;<ref name="SaOCS"/>{{rp|56-60}} and the ''Ildjemsflu'', the first concrete [lightship](/source/lightship).<ref name="SaOCS"/>{{rp|60-62}} In 1918, Fougner incorporated an American shipbuilding company, which constructed a number of concrete ships. These include the first concrete [oil tanker](/source/oil_tanker), on behalf of [Standard Oil](/source/Standard_Oil),{{rp|79}} the ''Socony'' 200, the first concrete [harbor barge](/source/scow);<ref name="SaOCS"/>{{rp|79–82}} and the {{SS|Polias}}, for the [Emergency Fleet Corporation](/source/Emergency_Fleet_Corporation).<ref name="SaOCS"/>{{rp|76–78}}

In 1917, California businessman [William Leslie Comyn](/source/William_Leslie_Comyn) began looking into building concrete ships. He formed the San Francisco Shipbuilding Company and hired Alan Macdonald and Victor Poss to design the first concrete ship in the United States, a {{DWT|5,000}}{{efn|As designed. Her actual [deadweight tonnage](/source/deadweight_tonnage) was lower in practice.}} steamer named the {{SS|Faith}}.<ref name="eberhardt"/> The ''Faith'' was launched March 14, 1918.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1918/03/15/archives/big-concrete-ship-afloat-in-pacific-launching-of-the-faith-so.html | title=Big Concrete Ship Afloat In Pacific | work=[New York Times](/source/New_York_Times) | page=7 | date=March 15, 1918 | orig-date=article composed March 14, 1918 | access-date=March 24, 2026 }}</ref> She was used to carry [bulk cargo](/source/bulk_cargo) for trade until 1921.<ref name="eberhardt"/><ref name="SaOCS"/>{{rp|68-71}}

===World War I===
thumb|The American concrete oil tanker {{SS|Palo Alto}}, originally meant for merchant service in the first World War, but completed in 1919

In October 1917, the U.S. government consulted with Fougner on the building of concrete ships in the United States.<ref name="SaOCS"/>{{rp|71-72}}<ref name="NYTribConShips"/><ref>Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Division for Economics and History. ''Preliminary Economic Studies of the War.'' London: Oxford University Press, 1919.</ref> On April 12, 1918, President [Woodrow Wilson](/source/Woodrow_Wilson) authorized the [Emergency Fleet Corporation](/source/United_States_Shipping_Board_Merchant_Fleet_Corporation) concrete ship program, which oversaw the construction of concrete ships for the war.<ref name="SaOCS"/>{{rp|72}} The builders of concrete ships had to prepare their own yards instead of converted existing ones for wooden ship, so their deployment was delayed.<ref name="SaOCS"/>{{rp|75-76}} When the war ended, none had yet been completed, and any of the ships that were not significantly far along in their construction were canceled, leaving only twelve of them. These twelve ships{{efn|''{{SS|Atlantus}}'', {{SS|Cape Fear}}, {{SS|Cuyamaca}}, {{SS|Dinsmore}}, {{SS|Latham}}, {{SS|Moffit}}, {{SS|Palo Alto}}, {{SS|Peralta}}, {{SS|Polias}}, {{SS|San Pasqual}}, {{SS|Sapona}}, and {{SS|Selma|1919|6}}<ref name="SaOCS"/>{{rp|76}}}} were eventually completed, but soon sold to private companies who used them for trading, storage, and scrap.<ref name="eberhardt"/> They amounted to {{DWT|69,000}} of the {{DWT|560,000}} that were ordered.<ref name="CSVPPF"/>{{rp|8}}

The United Kingdom's [Ministry of Shipping](/source/Ministry_of_Shipping_(United_Kingdom)) also had an extensive concrete ship program. It had ordered {{DWT|250,000}} of concrete ships, though with the war's end, only {{DWT|2,000}} were delivered.<ref name="CSVPPF"/>{{rp|8}} Their first seagoing concrete vessel was the {{DWT|1,150}} freighter {{SS|Armistice}}.<ref name="CSVPPF">{{cite report | title=Concrete Ships and Vessels, – Past, Present, and Future | author1= Liu, Tony C. | author2=McDonald, James E. | date=October 1977 | url=https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/tr/pdf/ADA045706.pdf | access-date=March 15, 2026}}</ref><ref name="SaOCS"/>{{rp|187-189, 194}}

Other countries that pursued concrete ship construction during this period included Denmark,{{efn|The {{DWT|1,800}} {{SS|Bartels}}<ref name="SaOCS"/>{{rp|189-194}}}} Italy<ref name="NYTribConShips"/>{{efn|The {{displacement|4,700|unknown|first=yes}} ''Persivoranza'', the largest concrete ship at the time<ref name="SaOCS"/>{{rp|196}}}} and Sweden.{{efn|The {{MS|Linnea}}, a [submarine](/source/submarine)-like vessel of {{DWT|700}})<ref name="SaOCS"/>{{rp|183-184}}}}

===Interwar===
With the surplus of WWI ships and the uncompetitive operation of concrete ships, there was little interest in the construction of new concrete cargo ships.<ref name="CSVPPF"/>{{rp|7}} Those completed as a result of World War I programs continued to be used for various purposes.<ref name="eberhardt"/>

===World War II===
In 1942, after the U.S. entered [World War II](/source/World_War_II), the U.S. military found that its contractors had steel shortages. Consequently, the U.S. government contracted [McCloskey & Company](/source/Matthew_McCloskey) of [Philadelphia, Pennsylvania](/source/Philadelphia%2C_Pennsylvania) to build 24 self-propelled concrete ships.<ref name="FoS"/> Construction started in July 1943. The shipyard was at Hookers Point in [Tampa, Florida](/source/Tampa%2C_Florida), and at its peak, it employed 6,000 workers.<ref name="builders">[http://www.coltoncompany.com/shipbldg/ussbldrs/wwii/merchantshipbuilders/concreteships.htm "Builders of Concrete Ships: WWII Construction Record"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070711235205/http://www.coltoncompany.com/shipbldg/ussbldrs/wwii/merchantshipbuilders/concreteships.htm |date=2007-07-11 }}</ref> The U.S. government also contracted with two companies in California for the construction of eighty concrete barges.<ref name="builders"/><ref name="FoS"/> A total capacity of {{DWT|488,000}} was produced.<ref name="CSVPPF"/>{{rp|8}}

In Europe, concrete ships played a role in World War II operations, where they were used for cargo transportation and as [corncobs](/source/Mulberry_harbours) during the [Normandy landings](/source/Normandy_landings).<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.usmm.org/concrete.html |title=D-Day 1944 and Why They Owe Me a Trip on the Queen Mary by Richard R. Powers |access-date=March 23, 2026 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180928035838/http://www.usmm.org/concrete.html |archive-date=2018-09-28 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="FoS"/> The United Kingdom produced hundreds of concrete barges, and some {{DWT|4,000}} of seagoing concrete ships.<ref name="CSVPPF"/>{{rp|8}} To save on steel, Germany also experimented with [prestressed concrete](/source/prestressed_concrete) in barges and produced {{DWT|18,000}} of large seagoing concrete ships.<ref name="CSVPPF"/>{{rp|8}} Scandinavian shipyards produced {{DWT|2,000}} of seagoing concrete ships.<ref name="CSVPPF"/>{{rp|8}}

Some concrete barges were fitted with engines and used as mobile canteens and troop carriers. Some of these vessels survive as abandoned wrecks or sea defenses (against storm surges) in the [Thames Estuary](/source/River_Thames) including near [Rainham Marshes](/source/Rainham_Marshes_Nature_Reserve). Two remain in civil use as [moorings](/source/Mooring_(watercraft)) at [Westminster](/source/Westminster). 

Concrete barges also served in the [Pacific](/source/Pacific_Ocean_theater_of_World_War_II) during 1944 and 1945.{{efn|See, for example, {{USS|Quartz}}.}}

In 1944, a concrete firm in California proposed a [submarine](/source/submarine)-shaped [freighter](/source/cargo_ship) which was projected to achieve speeds of {{convert|75|knots}}, a claim which ''[Popular Science](/source/Popular_Science)'' called "seemingly extravagant".<ref>{{cite magazine| title=Concrete Liner | work=Popular Science | date=June 1944 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mCYDAAAAMBAJ&dq=Popular+Science+1931+plane&pg=PA80| access-date=March 17, 2026}}</ref>

One wartime barge, previously beached at [Canvey Island](/source/Canvey_Island), was removed in 2005 by the local sailing club, whose land it was on, for fear it was a "danger to children using it as a playground".<ref>{{cite web | title=Canvey's Concrete Barge |url=https://www.canveyisland.org/history-2/memories/the-1950s-and-beyond/canveys-concrete-barge-2 |website=CanveyIsland.org | publisher= [Canvey Island Rotary](/source/Rotary_International) | access-date=March 17, 2022 |language=en |date=October 20, 2010}}</ref>

One concrete barge under tow by ''Jicarilla'' (ATF-104) was lost off [Saipan](/source/Saipan) during a [typhoon](/source/typhoon), and another barge damaged the [Moreton Bay Pile Light](/source/Moreton_Bay_Pile_Light) in [Brisbane](/source/Brisbane),<ref>{{cite loa|QLD|Moreton%20Bay|Moreton Bay Pile Light}}</ref> but the rest served admirably.<ref>Carter, Worrall Reed. ''Beans, Bullets, and Black Oil: The Story of Fleet Logistics Afloat in the Pacific during World War II''. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1953.[http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/BBBO/BBBO-10.html]</ref>

===Post-war===
After the war, concrete vessels have been used as pontoons, barges, and [offshore concrete structure](/source/offshore_concrete_structure)s around the world,<ref name="FoS"/><ref name="CSVPPF"/>{{rp|8-13}} but no further large ships were produced.<ref name="FoS"/>

==Modern concrete ships==
[[File:DSC01115 - Tall Ship Larinda.jpg|thumb|upright|The concrete-hulled [schooner](/source/schooner) [Larinda](/source/Larinda) was launched in 1996.]]
Hobbyists build [ferrocement](/source/ferrocement) boats ({{not a typo|ferroboats}}), as their construction methods do not require special tools, and the materials are comparatively cheap. Since the 1960s, the [American Society of Civil Engineers](/source/American_Society_of_Civil_Engineers) has sponsored the National [Concrete Canoe](/source/concrete_canoe) Competition.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.asce.org/inside/nccc2004/history.cfm |title=History of the Concrete Canoe Competition |access-date=2007-03-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070407160503/http://www.asce.org/inside/nccc2004/history.cfm |archive-date=2007-04-07 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In Europe, especially the Netherlands, concrete is still used to build some of the barges on which [houseboat](/source/houseboat)s are built.

=== Remaining wartime ships ===
Surviving wartime concrete ships are no longer in use as ships. Several continue in use in various forms, mostly as museums or breakwaters.

==== Europe ====
One of the concrete ships built for the first [Ministry of Shipping](/source/Ministry_of_Shipping_(United_Kingdom)), the {{SS|Creteboom}}, lies abandoned in the [River Moy](/source/River_Moy), {{coord|54.135515|-9.138452}} just outside the town of [Ballina](/source/Ballina%2C_County_Mayo), County Mayo, Ireland.<ref name="HistEireCB">{{cite web | url=https://historyireland.com/ss-creteboom/ | title=SS Creteboom | work=[History Ireland](/source/History_Ireland) | author=Murphy, Damian | access-date=March 15, 2026}}</ref>

A concrete barge, the ''Cretetree'', is beached in the harbour of the [Isle of Scalpay](/source/Scalpay%2C_Outer_Hebrides) near [Tarbert](/source/Tarbert%2C_Harris), Harris, Scotland, {{coord|57.876873|-6.699965}}. It was built by [Aberdeen Concrete Ships](/source/Aberdeen_Concrete_Ships), and completed in 1919.<ref name="aberdeenships">{{cite web|url=http://www.aberdeenships.com/single.asp?index=100840|title=Aberdeen Ships {{!}} Cretetree|publisher=aberdeenships.com|accessdate=2014-06-01}}</ref>

The [Purton Hulks](/source/Purton_Hulks), a collection of vessels intentionally beached at [Purton](/source/Purton%2C_Berkeley) during the first half of the twentieth century as a method to prevent coastal erosion, includes eight ferro-concrete barges.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.friendsofpurton.org.uk/fcb-52/ | title=FCB 52 | publisher=Friends of Purton | access-date=March 23, 2026}}</ref>

The remains of a British [coaster](/source/coastal_trading_vessel), ''Violette'', can be seen at [Hoo](/source/Hoo_St_Werburgh), Kent, England.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.nationalhistoricships.org.uk/register/716/violette | title=Violette | publisher=National Historic Ships UK | access-date=March 24, 2026}}</ref>

A large collection of abandoned concrete barges are seen at River Thames in [Rainham, London](/source/Rainham%2C_London). {{coord|51.498608|0.18202}}

The wreckage of the {{lang|de|italic=yes|Ulrich Finsterwalder}}, a small [Nazi-era German](/source/Nazi_Germany) tanker, is visible in [Dąbie Lake](/source/D%C4%85bie_Lake), near [Szczecin](/source/Szczecin), Poland. It was sunk during a [Soviet](/source/Soviet_Union) air raid on 20 March 1945. In the late 1950s Polish authorities decided to lift it and tow it to another location to be converted into swimming pools, but during that operation it began sinking again, so it was abandoned in shallow water, where it has remained since.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Historia betonowych wraków na jeziorze Dąbie i Bałtyku |publisher=Nortus & Potworna spółka |url=http://nortus.pinger.pl/m/1464330|access-date=2020-07-12}}</ref>

<gallery mode="packed">
File:The_ss_creteboom_side_view.jpg|{{SS|Creteboom}}
File:Boat_graveyard_-_geograph.org.uk_-_103070.jpg|At [Purton](/source/Purton%2C_Berkeley)
File:Ferro-concrete_barges,_Rainham_waterfront_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1022440.jpg|At [Rainham](/source/Rainham%2C_London)
File:1109 Urlich Finsterwalde Wreck.jpg|''Ulrich Finsterwalder''
</gallery> 

During the [German occupation of Greece](/source/Axis_occupation_of_Greece) (1942–1944) during World War II, the [German Army](/source/German_Army_(Wehrmacht)) built 24 concrete cargo vessels for transporting goods to various [Greek islands](/source/Greek_islands), including [Crete](/source/Crete). These were constructed in the [Perama](/source/Perama) shipbuilding area of [Piraeus](/source/Piraeus). After the war, many of the vessels were used as piers (e.g., in [Rafina](/source/Rafina), {{coord|38.022056|24.010368}}) and [breakwater](/source/breakwater_(structure))s (e.g., in Agios Georgios, [Methana](/source/Methana), {{coord|37.638340|23.394544}}).

Due to the need to deliver necessary raw materials (such as oil, weapons, ammunition, food and drugs) through mined river currents, [Adolf Hitler](/source/Adolf_Hitler) ordered the production of fifty concrete ships for different purposes. Most were concrete barges made for oil transportation from Romania, and needed raw materials that were driven to the Baltic front. A smaller number of ships was intended for transporting food (specializing in cold storages). The most valuable ships were the specialized ship-hospitals, which evacuated seriously wounded and "important" soldiers to German hospitals along rivers.{{cn|date=February 2023}}

==== Japan ====
Several concrete ships were grounded on the west beach of [Iwo To](/source/Iwo_To) (Iwo Jima) in Japan, {{coord|24.78238|141.293095}}, to make a breakwater by the US forces in 1945.<ref>[http://www.justinmuseum.com/jkjustin2/gibson4.html Beachead Cargo, Iwo Jima, Arvin S. Gibson, Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army, Transportation Corps, Hq. and Hq. Co., AGF, APO 86]</ref> Most of them were broken by typhoons but one was used as a pier.<ref>[http://hotair.com/archives/2006/08/23/photos-from-iwo-jima/ "Photos from Iwo Jima"]. ''Hot Air''</ref>

Japan built four concrete ships named ''[Takechi Maru](/source/Takechi_Maru_class)'' ({{lang|ja|武智丸}}) during World War II. After the war, two of them turned into a breakwater in [Kure, Hiroshima](/source/Kure%2C_Hiroshima), {{coord|34.280089|132.756295}}.

<gallery mode="packed">
File:US Navy 070314-N-4124C-162 Dock landing ship USS Harpers Ferry (LSD 49) steams close to shore of Iwo Jima while on station to support the 62nd Commemoration of the Battle of Iwo Jima.jpg|At Iwo To
File:Concrete ship.jpg|''Takechi Maru'' No.2
</gallery>

==== North America ====
The largest collection is at [Powell River](/source/Powell_River%2C_British_Columbia), [British Columbia](/source/British_Columbia), {{coord|49.865238| -124.555821}}, where a lumber mill uses ten floating concrete ships as a breakwater, known as [The Hulks](/source/The_Hulks).

The [Kiptopeke](/source/Kiptopeke_State_Park) Breakwater in [Chesapeake Bay](/source/Chesapeake_Bay), Virginia, {{coord|37.164267|-75.991402}}, is formed by nine sunken concrete ships built in World War II.

{{SS|San Pasqual}}, a former oil tanker, lies abandoned off the coast of [Cayo Las Brujas](/source/Villa_Clara_Province), [Cuba](/source/Cuba), {{coord|22.623439|-79.22327}}, where it served as a hotel, then as a base for divers.

The wreckage of {{SS|Atlantus}} is visible off [Sunset Beach](/source/Sunset_Beach_(New_Jersey)) near [Cape May](/source/Cape_May), [New Jersey](/source/New_Jersey), {{coord|38.944322|-74.972083}}.

The tanker {{SS|Selma|1919|6}} is located northwest of the fishing pier at [Seawolf Park](/source/Seawolf_Park) in [Galveston](/source/Galveston), {{coord|29.344249|-94.786343}}. The ship was launched the same day Germany signed the [Treaty of Versailles](/source/Treaty_of_Versailles), ending the war, so it never saw wartime duty and instead was used as an oil tanker in the [Gulf of Mexico](/source/Gulf_of_Mexico).<ref name="SSselmaMarker">{{cite web | title=S.S. Selma Ship Texas Historical Marker | url=http://www.stoppingpoints.com/texas/sights.cgi?marker=SS+Selma&cnty=galveston | author=State Historical Commission }}</ref>

The tanker {{SS|Palo Alto}} was purchased and turned into an amusement pier, and is still visible at [Seacliff State Beach](/source/Seacliff_State_Beach), near [Aptos](/source/Aptos), [California](/source/California), {{coord|36.969704|-121.913947}}. It broke up during a January 2017 storm.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Famed-Calif-cement-ship-flipped-broken-up-by-10875861.php |title=Famed Calif. 'cement ship' flipped, broken up by strong waves| date=23 January 2017 |work=San Francisco Chronicle}}</ref>

The {{SS|McKittrick}}, launched in 1921 in [Wilmington, North Carolina](/source/Wilmington%2C_North_Carolina), later became the {{SS|Monte Carlo}}, a [gambling ship](/source/gambling_ship) off [Coronado, California](/source/Coronado%2C_California), that ran aground on December 31, 1936. The wreck is periodically exposed by strong storm tides.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/jan/31/one-gamble-that-didnt-pay-off/ |title=Tide, storms expose gaming ship|work=The San Diego Union-Tribune|date=2010-01-31 |accessdate=2012-08-21}}</ref>

The vessel aground in the surf at Shipwreck Beach on the north shore of [Lanai](/source/Lanai), Hawaii is the wreck of [YOG-42](/source/YOG-42), {{coord|20.921299|-156.910139}}, a concrete gasoline barge built for the US Navy in 1942 and placed in service in 1943. The wreck is often misidentified as a [Liberty ship](/source/Liberty_ship).<ref>Roberts, Stephen S. (September 14, 2010). [http://www.shipscribe.com/usnaux/IX2/YO144.html "Class: Concrete Barges (YO-144, YOG-40)"]; Van Tilburg, Hans K. 2003. [https://web.archive.org/web/20100410185604/http://www.history.navy.mil/branches/UA_ResourcesMgt.pdf "Department of Defense Legacy Management Program. Underwater Cultural Resources Management and Protection. Project (01-121)"]. Washington, DC: Naval Historical Center, pp. 373–375.</ref>

The remains of the ''[Col. J. E. Sawyer](/source/Col._J._E._Sawyer)'' can be seen near the {{USS|Yorktown|CV-10|6}} in Charleston Harbor, {{coord|32.798761|-79.906863}}, South Carolina.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sc-mountpleasant.civicplus.com/DocumentCenter/View/5676 |title=Mount Pleasant Old Sunken Hull Historical Marker|publisher=Mount Pleasant Historical Commission |date=2012-02-13 |accessdate=2015-01-05}}</ref>

The wreckage of the {{SS|Sapona}} is visible slightly south of Bimini Island in the Bahamas, {{coord|25.65063|-79.29337}}. It is a popular snorkeling site and boating landmark in the area.
<gallery>
File:Powell River Aerial 2004.jpg|At [Powell River](/source/Powell_River%2C_British_Columbia)
File:Walkway at Kiptopeke State Park.jpg|At Kiptopeke
File:Atlantus.jpg|{{SS|Atlantus}}
File:S.S. Selma, Galveston, TX - DSC 0125.jpg|{{SS|Selma|1919|6}}
File:SS Palo Alto - DSC 7069cementBoat-w.JPG|{{SS|Palo Alto}}
File:SS Monte Carlo Shipwreck 2010-01-30.jpg|{{SS|Monte Carlo}}
File:Shipwreck - Shipwreck Beach.jpg|[YOGN 42](/source/YOG%E2%80%9342)
</gallery>

==See also==
*[Capella (concrete ship)](/source/Capella_(concrete_ship))
*[Concrete canoe](/source/Concrete_canoe)
*[Concrete Ship](/source/Concrete_Ship), former concrete hospital ship
*[Trefoil-class concrete barge](/source/Trefoil-class_concrete_barge)

==Footnotes==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Concrete ships}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070307231217/http://www.mareud.com/Ferro-Concrete/fc_historygbr.htm History of ferro-concrete ships]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20071015190601/http://mareud.com/Ferro-Concrete/f-c-list.htm Comprehensive list of ferro-concrete builders]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20180930081300/http://viewfinder.english-heritage.org.uk/search/results.aspx?index=0&form=advanced&collection=Koos%20(concrete%20ships) Images of construction and launch of the ''Cretemanor'' from the National Monuments Record ]
*[https://books.google.com/books?id=7igDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA73 "Pour in the Concrete and Take Out a Ship"], February 1919 ''[Popular Science](/source/Popular_Science)''
*[https://books.google.com/books?id=uicDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA124#v=onepage&f=false "How Pour Ships Are Made"], June 1943, ''Popular Science''

{{Design 1100 tankers}}
{{Trefoil class concrete barge}}
{{MARCOMships}}
{{Design 1070 ships}}

Category:Concrete ships
Category:Ship types
Category:Concrete
Category:Barges
Category:French inventions

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Concrete ship](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concrete_ship) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concrete_ship?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.