The SS Prince George was a prominent passenger and cargo steamship built for service along the British Columbia and Alaska coasts. Ordered from Swan Hunter and Wigham Richardson Ltd at their Wallsend-on-Tyne yard (yard number 859), she was launched on March 10, 1910. Constructed with a gross register tonnage of 3,320 tons, she measured 307 feet 6 inches in length between perpendiculars, with a beam of 42 feet 4 inches and a draught of 15 feet 7 inches. The vessel was powered by two four-cylinder triple-expansion steam engines, fed by two double-ended and two single-ended boilers operating at 180 psi, collectively producing 6,500 indicated horsepower. This propulsion enabled her to reach a maximum speed of 18 knots. Initially coal-fired, the Prince George was converted to fuel oil in 1912, reflecting technological updates of the era. She was capable of carrying 350 tons of cargo and accommodated up to 200 first-class and 36 second-class passengers, with the capacity to transport up to 1,500 persons for excursions. Her service route initially included Seattle, Victoria, Vancouver, Prince Rupert, and Stewart, with later additions like Skagway, Alaska. Throughout her operational life, the Prince George experienced minor maritime incidents, including running aground in the First Narrows in 1910 (later refloated with minor damage) and striking the fishing vessel Lief E in Puget Sound in 1912. During World War I, she was briefly repurposed as a 200-bed hospital ship for the Royal Canadian Navy after being taken over in August 1914. Her distinctive appearance—three funnels and a cruiser stern—initially led to a mistaken identification as a German warship, but her identity was later confirmed. Post-war, the vessel transitioned through ownership changes, becoming part of the Canadian National Steamship Company by 1925. She continued service along the coast until her final voyage in 1945. On September 22, 1945, while docked in Ketchikan, Alaska, she caught fire due to a fuel tank explosion. Despite efforts by fire crews and Coast Guard vessels, the fire consumed the vessel over several days. The burned hull was beached on Gravina Island and remained there until it was towed to Seattle and broken up for scrap in the subsequent years. The SS Prince George remains a significant example of early 20th-century maritime coastal service in the Pacific Northwest.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.