# SS Agwiworld > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/SS_Agwiworld > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/SS_Agwiworld.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Agwiworld > Source revision: 1327864786 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) '*SS*Agwiworld***was a [tanker ship](/source/Tanker_ship) that was able to evade an attack off the [coast](/source/Coastal_California) of [California](/source/California) in the early days of [World War II](/source/World_War_II).*Agwiworld*was built by [Sun Shipbuilding](/source/Sun_Shipbuilding) in [Chester, Pennsylvania](/source/Chester,_Pennsylvania) on the [Delaware River](/source/Delaware_River).*Agwiworld**s [keel](/source/Keel) was [laid down](/source/Keel_laying) on July 28, 1920. The vessel was [launched](/source/Ceremonial_ship_launching) on December 22, 1920, and delivered on January 19, 1921. *Agwiworld* was owned and operated by [Richfield Oil Company](/source/Richfield_Oil_Company) and homeport was [Los Angeles](/source/Los_Angeles), California. After the [Attack on Pearl Harbor](/source/Attack_on_Pearl_Harbor) on December 7, 1941 the [United States](/source/United_States) entered World War II. The [Imperial Japanese Navy](/source/Imperial_Japanese_Navy) sent [submarines](/source/Submarine) to attack ships off [Coastal](/source/Coastal_California) [California](/source/California). On December 20, 1941 at 2:15 pm the *Agwiworld* was 20 miles (32 km) off [Cypress Point](/source/Cypress_Point), [Monterey Peninsula](/source/Monterey_Peninsula) near [Monterey Bay](/source/Monterey_Bay) when the fired 14 [artillery shells](/source/Artillery_shell) at her from her single [14 cm (5.5 in) naval gun](/source/14_cm/40_11th_Year_Type_naval_gun). The first shell missed and exploded off the stern, Captain Frederick Goncalves saw the sub 500 yards (460 m) to the west. Goncalves took evasive moves, [zigzagging](/source/Zigzagging) to avoid the incoming shells and to flee the site. Goncalves had a [distress call](/source/Distress_call) sent to the [US Navy](/source/US_Navy). Captain Genichi Shibata of *I-23* was not able to get off accurate fire, nor able to follow the *Agwiworld*, as the water was rough that day. The sub *I-23* was faster than the *Agwiworld*, but with the [heavy swells](/source/Swell_(ocean)) Shibata called off the attack. Shibata's gun crew were on the deck and the heavy swells risked washing his crew overboard. The deck gun had a range of 9.6 miles (15.4 km) and continued to fire as *Agwiworld* departed. *Agwiworld* steamed to [Santa Cruz](/source/Santa_Cruz,_California), away from the sub, looking for a safe port. After the sub fired its last shell, it submerged. People, including golfers, on the Monterey peninsula saw the shells exploding around the ship as she entered the bay still zigzagging at top speed. [Salinas Air Base](/source/Salinas_Air_Base) sent out observation planes to look for the sub, but due to poor visibility they found nothing. It is reported that the Japanese submarine *I-23* was lost with all 96 crew members off [Hawaii](/source/Hawaii) on February 28, 1942. In 1949 the *Agwiworld* was sold to Cia. Atlantica Pacifica S.A. (Atlantic & Pacific Corporation) of [Panama City, Panama](/source/Panama_City,_Panama) and renamed the **SS *Edgewater***. In 1954 the ship was scrapped by the [British Iron and Steel Corporation](/source/British_Iron_and_Steel_Corporation). [1][2][3][4][5] [6] On the same day, December 20, 1941, at about the same time, 330 miles (530 km) to the north, off [Cape Mendocino](/source/Cape_Mendocino), the [Japanese submarine *I-17*](/source/Japanese_submarine_I-17) was able to hit is target, [SS *Emidio*](/source/SS_Emidio). Five shells and one torpedo killed five crew members and wrecked the *Emidio*, which ran aground. *I-17* was sunk on August 19, 1943 by [HMNZS *Tui*](/source/HMNZS_Tui_(T234)) and US [Kingfisher](/source/OS2U_Kingfisher) floatplanes.[7][8] ## See also - [SS *Dorothy Phillips*](/source/SS_Dorothy_Phillips) - [SS *Barbara Olson*](/source/SS_Barbara_Olson) - [California during World War II](/source/California_during_World_War_II) ## References 1. [militarymuseum.org SS Agwiworld](http://militarymuseum.org/Agwiworld.html) 1. [shipbuildinghistory.com, Sun Shipbuilding in Chester, Pennsylvania](http://shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/large/sun.htm) 1. Merchant Vessels of the United States: (including Yachts), By United States. Coast Guard, page 856 and 8 1. The Log, Volume 50, 1955, Page 144 1. Santa Cruz Sentinel-News, December 21, 1941 1. [mobileranger.com, World War 2 impact on California](http://www.mobileranger.com/blog/the-impact-of-wwii-on-the-california-coast/) 1. Malkin, Michelle (2013-01-29). [*In Defense of Internment: The Case for 'Racial Profiling' in World War II and the War on Terror*](https://books.google.com/books?id=urm4jlLKf0IC&q=ss+emidio&pg=PT35). Regnery Publishing. ISBN 9781621570981. 1. Waters, Sydney David (1956) *The Royal New Zealand Navy*, [Page 327-328](https://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-WH2Navy-c21.html#n327), Official History. --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [SS Agwiworld](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Agwiworld) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Agwiworld?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.