The USS Houston (AK-1) was a cargo ship originally built in 1903 by Bremer Vulcan in Vegesack, Germany, as the German freighter SS Liebenfels. Operated by the Hansa Line, she arrived in Charleston, South Carolina, in August 1914. Her German crew scuttled her on February 1, 1917, when she was found sunk and abandoned. U.S. authorities subsequently raised the vessel and refitted her at Charleston Navy Yard, leading to her commissioning as USS Houston (AK-1) on July 3, 1917. Constructed as a steel-hulled cargo vessel, Houston was assigned to the transport service during World War I. She departed Charleston on July 11, 1917, loaded coal and oil at Hampton Roads, and joined a convoy from New York on August 7, 1917. She arrived at Brest, France, on August 25 and completed four voyages between the U.S. and France, carrying radio equipment, trucks, airplanes, and general supplies. After the armistice, she supported U.S. naval operations along the coasts, making four additional voyages between December 1918 and April 1921, transporting coal, ordnance, lumber, and other materials between the East and West coasts of the United States. In May 1921, Houston was transferred to trans-Pacific duty, sailing from New York with cargo via Philadelphia, Norfolk, San Francisco, Pearl Harbor, and Guam, arriving in Manila in October 1921. She departed Cavite in November and returned to San Francisco in January 1922. She was decommissioned on March 23, 1922, and sold later that year to Frank M. Warren of Portland, Oregon, who renamed her SS North King in 1923. She was subsequently sold to Campania Diana de Vapores S.A., Panama. During World War II, she was chartered by the War Shipping Administration from Campania Diana de Vapores S.A. on December 30, 1941, and operated by the United States Lines Co. until she was returned to her owners in February 1946. The vessel was scrapped in 1958. Throughout her service, USS Houston played a significant role in transatlantic and transpacific supply operations, supporting U.S. naval efforts during and after World War I.

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