Astral

A four-masted steel ship built in 1900 by Arthur Sewall & Co., Bath, ME.
Dimensions 101,26×13,86×7,92 meters [332'3"×45'4"×26'0"] and tonnage: 3292 GRT and 2987 NRT.

There was no figurehead or other decoration except for a black stripe at the level of the main deck on the otherwise white painted hull. She was rigged with dubbel top- and topgallant sails and royal sails. Later re-rigged with a baldheaded rig.

1900 December 8: Launched at the shipyard of Arthur Sewall & Co., Bath, ME, for Standard Oil Co., New York. Employed in the case-oil trade from the US North Atlantic ports.
1901 February 8 - June 16: Sailed from New York to Shanghai in 128 days.
1901 July 19 - August 30: Sailed from Shanghai to San Francisco in 43 days.
1901 November 10 - March 13: Sailed from San Francisco to New York in 123 days.
1902 May - September 12: Sailed from New York to Hong Kong 118 days.
1902 December 19 - June 5: Sailed from Sourabaya to Delaware Breakwater in 168 days.
1903 August 27 - January 18: Sailed from Hampton Roads to San Francisco in 144 days.
1904 April 23 - September 3: Sailed from Honolulu - Philadelphia in 133 days.
1904 October 6 - March 30: Sailed from Philadelphia to Hiogo in 175 days.
1905 May 18 - June 28: Sailed from Hiogo to San Francisco in 42 days.
1905 August 6 - December 31: Sailed from San Francisco to New York in 147 days.
1906 February 2 - June 16: Sailed from New York to Yokkaichi in 134 days.
1906 July 6 - August 6: Sailed from Yokkaichi to Honolulu in 32 days.
1906 November 16 - January 15: Sailed from San Francisco to Yokkaichi in 59 days.
1907 April 13 - August 13: Sailed from Honolulu to Delaware Breakwater in 122 days.
1907 October 8 - February 10: Sailed from Norfolk to Honolulu in 125 days.
1908 April 6 - August 31: Sailed from Hilo to Delaware Breakwater in 147 days.
1908 October 1: Sailed from Baltimore for San Francisco but lost her topgallant masts in a hurricane and had to be towed to New York two weeks out for repairs.
1908 November 28 - May 6: Sailed from New York to San Francisco in 159 days.
1909 September 9 - January 18: Sailed from San Francisco to New York in 122 days.
1910 April 15 - September 16: Sailed from New York to San Francisco in 154 days.
1910: Sold to Alaska Packers' Association, San Francisco, CA, and was renamed Star of Zealand.
1935 August: Sold to Japan to be broken up.
1935 November: Broken up in Japan.

References:

Four- and five masted ships, general references.
Thober, Frank W.: American Oil Ships. Astral, Acme, and Atlas.
Nautical research Journal Vol. 8, Brooklyn, 1956. pp 2-10, ill.
Thober, Frank W.: American Oil Ships. The Barks Acme, Astral, and Atlas.
Nautical research Journal Vol. 11, Brooklyn, 1960. pp 7-17, ill.

Updated 1999-03-13 by Lars Bruzelius.

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