SS Princess Anne

SS Princess Anne

Princess Anne, after her lengthening from 246 to 335 ft.
History
Owner	Virginia Ferry Corp. (1932–64) Delaware River and Bay Authority (1964–79)
Operator	See owners
Route	Little Creek, VA – Kiptopeke Beach, VA (1932–64) Cape May, NJ – Lewes, DE (1964–79) Fire Island, NY – Block Island, RI (1979–8?)
Builder	Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. (Chester, PA)
Cost	$691,000
Launched	18 May 1936
Completed	July 1936
Maiden voyage	10 July 1936
In service	1936 – mid-1980s
Renamed	New Jersey (1964) Greenport (1979)
Identification	Official No. 235140
Fate	Sunk as artificial reef, 1993
General characteristics
Type	Ferry
Tonnage	1585 GRT, 805 NRT
Length	246 ft (75 m)
Beam	59 ft (18 m)
Depth	19 ft 6 in (5.94 m)
Installed power	Steam engines; 3014 HP
Propulsion	Twin screw
Speed	18 mph (29 km/h; 16 kn)
Crew	25

SS Princess Anne was a Virginia Ferry Company (VFC) steamship that plied the route across Chesapeake Bay between Little Creek, near Norfolk, and Kiptopeke Beach, at the southern end of the Eastern Shore of Virginia. She was known for her streamlined superstructure, designed by Raymond Loewy, which attracted the attention of the newsreels and the nautical press.

Princess Anne continued in service on Chesapeake Bay until 1964, when the opening of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge–Tunnel made the ferry service redundant. Sold to the Delaware River and Bay Authority, she was renamed New Jersey and placed on a route between Cape May, New Jersey, and Lewes, Delaware. In 1979, she was sold again, renamed Greenport, and subsequently operated between New York and Rhode Island.

After a failed attempt to convert her into a casino ship, she was sunk in 1993 as an artificial reef and scuba diving site off the coast of West Palm Beach, Florida.^[1]