The SS Ulysses was a steel-hulled, twin screw collier constructed at Sparrows Point, Maryland, by the Maryland Steel Company for the Panama Canal Company. Laid down on 19 May 1914 (hull number 144), she was launched on 12 December 1914 and completed trials by April 1915, being delivered to the Norfolk Navy Yard on 17 April 1915. The vessel measured approximately 536 feet in length overall, with a beam of 65 feet and a molded depth of nearly 39.5 feet. She was registered at 11,081 gross register tons (GRT) and 13,563 deadweight tons (DWT), designed specifically to transport coal to the Panama Canal and unload it using onshore equipment, which is why she lacked traditional coaling booms. Propelled by two triple-expansion steam engines powered by three double-ended Scotch marine boilers, Ulysses could achieve a speed of around 14 knots, with her trials averaging nearly 15 knots. Her powerplant produced a combined indicated horsepower of 7,200, driving two 17-foot propellers with adjustable pitch. She was equipped with electrical generators and a refrigeration unit for storing ship's provisions, and her accommodations could house 32 officers and 146 crew members. Designed primarily for coal transportation, Ulysses’s cargo holds included four for coal and two forward oil holds, covered by hinged hatches operated by ten king posts. She was part of the Panama Canal Company's fleet, shuttling between Hampton Roads and the Panama Canal Zone into 1917. During World War I, she was armed with a 5-inch gun and a 3-inch gun, manned by a Navy armed guard, though these weapons were likely removed after the war. Post-war, Ulysses continued her service until 1929 when she was sold and converted into a tanker for the American Tankers Corporation, reducing her GRT to 10,804. Later, in 1937, she was converted into a whale oil factory ship for Western Operating Corporation, with her GRT increasing to 12,056. In 1942, she was sold to the Argentinian company Yacimientos Petroliferos Fiscales and renamed San Blas, being converted back into a tanker. Her service ended with an explosion and fire at La Plata's Central Dock on 27 April 1944, marking the vessel's final chapter in maritime history.

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