View source for USFS Osprey

{{Short description|American steamer}}
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|Ship caption=USFS ''Osprey'' in 1914
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|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|United States|1912}}
|Ship name=SS ''Wigwam''
|Ship namesake=[[Wigwam]], a term used for a semi-permanent domed dwelling used by certain [[indigenous peoples of the Americas]] in the [[northeastern United States]] or [[Canada]]
|Ship owner=[[Alaska Packers' Association]]
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|Ship fate=Sold to U.S. [[United States Bureau of Fisheries|U.S. Bureau of Fisheries]] autumn&nbsp;1912
|Ship notes=Operated as commercial [[Cannery tender|cannery&nbsp;tender]]
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|Ship country=U.S. Bureau of Fisheries
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|United States|1912}} [[File:Flag of the United States Bureau of Fisheries.svg|55px]]
|Ship name=USFS ''Osprey''
|Ship namesake=[[Osprey]], a [[Piscivore|piscivorous]] [[bird of prey]] of the [[genus]] ''Pandion'' in the [[Family (biology)|family]] Pandionidae
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|Ship acquired=Autumn&nbsp;1912
|Ship commissioned=Sometime between 1&nbsp;and&nbsp;8&nbsp;July&nbsp;1913 (see&nbsp;text)
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|Ship fate=Sold on 14&nbsp;April or 29&nbsp;June&nbsp;1921 (see&nbsp;text)
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|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|United States|1912}}
|Ship name=''Foss No. 19''
|Ship namesake=[[Foss Launch and Tug Company]]
|Ship owner=[[Foss Launch and Tug Company]]
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|Ship fate=Sold 14 May 1965
|Ship notes=*Converted to [[motor vessel]] 1922
*Operated as commercial [[Tugboat|tug]]
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|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|United States|1912}}
|Ship name=''Kiowa''
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|Ship owner=Pat Stoppleman
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|Ship fate=Sold 1967
|Ship notes=Operated as commercial [[Tugboat|tug]]
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|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|United States|1912}}
|Ship name=''Kiowa''
|Ship namesake=Previous name retained
|Ship owner=[[Samson Tug & Barge]]
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|Ship acquired=1967
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|Ship fate=Sank 30 October 1978
|Ship notes=Operated as commercial [[Tugboat|tug]]
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|Header caption=(as&nbsp;BOF&nbsp;fishery&nbsp;patrol&nbsp;vessel)
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|Ship type=[[Fishery]] [[patrol vessel]]
|Ship tonnage=* {{GRT|50}}
* {{NRT|31–40}}
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|Ship length={{convert|72|ft|m|1|abbr=on}}
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|Ship propulsion=1 × {{convert|85|hp|kW|lk=on|abbr=on}} [[compound steam engine]], [[Scotch marine boiler|Scotch&nbsp;boiler]], and [[dynamo]] connected directly to a high-speed [[Corliss steam engine|Corliss&nbsp;engine]], 7.5 tons [[coal]]
|Ship speed={{convert|8|–|10|kn|lk=in}} (average)
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{{Infobox ship characteristics
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|Header caption=(as&nbsp;commercial&nbsp;motor&nbsp;tug)
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|Ship type=[[Tugboat|Tug]]
|Ship tonnage=* {{GRT|54}}
* {{NRT|37}}
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|Ship length={{convert|72|ft|m|1|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|17.3|ft|m|1|abbr=on}}
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|Ship depth={{convert|7.1|ft|m|1|abbr=on}}
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|Ship propulsion=* 1922: 1 × {{convert|180|hp|kW|abbr=on}} [[Fairbanks-Morse]] [[diesel engine]]
* ca. 1940: 1 × {{convert|200|hp|kW|abbr=on}} Enterprise diesel engine
* 1967: 1 × [[Caterpillar Inc.|Caterpillar]] D343 diesel engine
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'''USFS ''Osprey''''' was an American [[Steamship|steamer]] that served as a [[fishery]] [[patrol vessel]] in the waters of the [[Territory of Alaska]]. She was in commission in the [[United States Bureau of Fisheries]] (BOF) from 1913 to 1921, and was the first vessel the BOF ever operated on fishery patrols in [[Alaska]]. Before the BOF purchased her, she was the commercial [[cannery tender]] '''''Wigwam''''' from 1895 to 1912. After her BOF career ended, she operated as a commercial [[Motor vessel|motor]] [[Tugboat|tug]] with the name '''''Foss No. 19''''' from 1922 to 1965 and with the name '''''Kiowa''''' from 1965 until she sank in 1978.

== Early history ==
The vessel was constructed as the {{convert|72|ft|m|1|adj=on}} [[coal]]-burning commercial [[Steamship|steamer]] ''Wigwam'' in [[San Francisco]], [[California]], in 1895.<ref name=afscosprey>[https://www.afsc.noaa.gov/History/vessels/boats/osprey.htm NOAA Fisheries Alaska Fisheries Science Center AFSC Historical Corner: ''Osprey'',  BOF's first Alaska patrol boat]</ref> Under the ownership of the [[Alaska Packers Association]], she became one of the first [[cannery tender]]s to operate in Alaska.<ref name=afscosprey/> At some point prior to her U.S. Bureau of Fisheries (BOF) service, the Alaska Packers Association rebuilt her to a high standard based on recommendations made by the [[Steamboat Inspection Service]].<ref name=afscosprey/>

==Bureau of Fisheries==
=== Acquisition and characteristics ===
After the [[United States]] purchased [[Russian America]] from the [[Russian Empire]] in 1867 and created the [[Department of Alaska]], enforcement of whatever fishery regulations existed in [[Alaska]] fell to the [[revenue cutter]]s of the United States Revenue-Marine, which in 1894 became the [[United States Revenue Cutter Service]] and was one of the ancestor organizations of the [[United States Coast Guard]].<ref name=afscearly>[https://www.afsc.noaa.gov/History/vessels/enforcement_vessels.htm NOAA Fisheries Alaska Fisheries Science Center AFSC Historical Corner: Early Fisheries Enforcement Patrol Boats  (1912-39)]</ref> On 14 June 1906, however, the [[United States Congress]] passed the [[Alien Fisheries Act]] to protect and regulate fisheries in what by then had become the [[District of Alaska]] by placing restrictions on the use of [[fishing tackle]] and on [[cannery]] operations in Alaska and authorizing the [[United States Bureau of Fisheries]] (BOF) to enforce the regulations.<ref name=afscearly/> The BOF had no vessels suitable for fishery patrols in Alaska, and during the next few years relied on vessels borrowed from other [[United States Government]] agencies (such as the Revenue Cutter Service), on chartered vessels, and on transportation that canneries offered for free to BOF agents.<ref name=afscearly/> This approach was not satisfactory for various reasons, such as the requirement for vessels of other government agencies to perform non-fishery-related functions, ethical concerns over accepting transportation from the canneries the BOF agents were supposed to regulate, and the difficulty of enforcing regulations when the local fishing and canning industry personnel warned one another of the approach of BOF agents who had accepted transportation on cannery vessels.<ref name=afscearly/> Each year after the 1906 passage of the Alien Fisheries Act, the BOF requested more personnel and vessels with which to fulfill its regulatory and [[law enforcement]] responsibilities.<ref name=afscearly/> By 1911, when the Alaska fishing industry reached an annual value of nearly [[USD|US$]]17 million,<ref name=afscosprey/> it had become clear that the United States Government needed to make radical changes in how it enforced the provisions of the Alien Fisheries Act, including funding the acquisition of a fleet of dedicated fishery [[patrol vessel]]s under the BOF.<ref name=afscearly/>

In the autumn of 1912, the BOF purchased ''Wigwam'' from the Alaska Packers Association for US$13,000 for use as the BOF's first fishery patrol vessel in what by then was the [[Territory of Alaska]] and renamed her USFS ''Osprey''.<ref name=afscosprey/><ref name=afscearly/> ''Osprey'' had two [[Mast (ship)|masts]], a [[Steam engine|steam]] [[winch]] on her forward main deck, a [[pilot house]] on her [[boat deck]] with quarters for three crew members, [[Berth (sleeping)|berths]] for six crew members in her [[forecastle]], and accommodation for four crew members in her after [[Cabin (ship)|cabin]], which was finished in [[Spanish cedar]] and had folding berths.<ref name=afscosprey/> Her [[Galley (kitchen)|galley]] and dining room were on the forward main deck below the pilot house.<ref name=afscosprey/> She had a [[Scotch marine boiler]] and an {{convert|85|hp|kW|lk=on|adj=on}} [[compound steam engine]] which gave her an average speed of {{convert|8|to|10|kn|lk=in}}.<ref name=afscosprey/> Her [[dynamo]] was connected directly to a high-speed [[Corliss steam engine]].<ref name=afscosprey/> For fuel, she could carry 7.5 tons of coal.<ref name=afscosprey/>

Before placing ''Osprey'' [[Ship commissioning|in commission]], the BOF had to await a Congressional appropriation to pay for a crew to man her, and meanwhile stored ''Osprey'' on the ways at [[Semiahmoo, Washington|Semiahmoo]], [[Washington (state)|Washington]].<ref name=afscosprey/> The appropriation for a crew came into effect on 1 July 1913,<ref name=afscosprey/> and the BOF quickly [[Ceremonial ship launching|relaunched]] ''Osprey'' at Semiahmoo, assigned a crew of six to her,<ref name=afscosprey/> commissioned her,<ref name=afscearly/> and prepared her for her first voyage to Alaska as a BOF vessel.

===Operational history===

''Osprey'' departed Washington on 8 July 1913 to steam north for her first season as a BOF patrol vessel in Alaskan waters.<ref name=afscosprey/> She was assigned [[Southeast Alaska]] as her operating area, with her home port at [[Juneau, Alaska|Juneau]], Territory of Alaska, and by the end of 1913 had logged {{convert|8,000|nmi|lk=in}} as a BOF vessel.<ref name=afscosprey/> Each summer, she enforced [[salmon]]-fishing laws and regulations in Southeast Alaska.<ref name=afscosprey/>

The BOF soon encountered difficulties in operating ''Osprey'' as a patrol vessel.<ref name=afscosprey/> The Congressional appropriation to pay her crew required them to pay their own mess bills aboard ship, leaving crew members without enough pay left over to make employment aboard ''Osprey'' worthwhile, so crewing her with competent personnel was difficult.<ref name=afscosprey/>  She could carry only 7.5 tons of coal, giving her only a {{convert|350|nmi|adj=on}} radius, far too small to patrol the districts assigned to her in a large area like Alaska, and coal was expensive in Alaska, costing US$8.50 to US$12.75 a ton.<ref name=afscosprey/> As a coal-burner, she emitted a cloud of smoke from her [[Funnel (ship)|stack]] that could be seen at a significant distance, and with few steam cannery tenders in service in Alaska, the sight of smoke on the horizon was almost a sure sign of the approach of ''Osprey'', giving fishery violators ample time to evade detection and interception.<ref name=afscosprey/> Her aging [[boiler]], installed when she was built in 1895, required constant maintenance – although the BOF never replaced it – and her seaworthiness was in question.<ref name=afscosprey/> The BOF's deputy commissioner, [[Ernest Lester Jones]], spent 60 days aboard her in 1914<ref name=afscosprey/> and – noting that she had only {{convert|1|ft|m|1}} of [[Freeboard (nautical)|freeboard]] amidships, a height of {{convert|14|ft|m|1}} from her main deck to the top of her pilothouse, and most of her machinery above the [[waterline]] – reported that she was top-heavy, on one occasion in the autumn of 1914 rolling without warning onto her side in a strong wind, causing her [[engine room]] to flood.<ref name=afscosprey/> He described her as unseaworthy, confined to her dock on many days when her boiler was in need of maintenance, and dangerously unstable, unable to leave port whenever a strong wind was blowing.<ref name=afscosprey/> In 1915, after two inspectors found ''Osprey'' to be in a poor state of repair, the BOF believed that she would be condemned at [[Ketchikan, Alaska|Ketchikan]], Territory of Alaska, but she avoided this fate and remained in service.<ref name=afscosprey/>

In the spring of 1916, ''Osprey'' took part in stream investigation work at [[Wrangell, Alaska|Wrangell]], Territory of Alaska. After spending the summer of 1916 on her normal salmon enforcement duties in Southeast Alaska, she departed for [[Seattle]], Washington, in October 1916 to undergo repairs there.<ref name=afscosprey/> She remained in Seattle for the rest of 1916 and throughout 1917.<ref name=afscosprey/>

In January 1918, ''Osprey'' finally returned to Alaska. In the late spring of 1918 she came to the assistance of the boat ''Good Tidings'', which had broken down during a storm, and towed her {{convert|10|nmi}} to Ketchikan.<ref name=afscosprey/> After the [[Canada|Canadian]] [[Passenger ship|passenger liner]] {{SS|Princess Sophia}} ran aground on [[Vanderbilt Reef]] in [[Lynn Canal]] near [[Juneau, Alaska|Juneau]], Territory of Alaska, and sank in a storm on 25 October 1918 with the loss of all 343 people on board<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/sos/shipwrecks/002031-119.01-e.php?&document_code=002031-3&page=1&&page_id=23&&&&&&PHPSESSID=srqdf1afii2jp5282l77d8k837 |title=Report of wreck of Princess Sophia |access-date=7 December 2008 |work=RG 42, Marine Branch, Series B-1, Volume 290, File 47799, pt. 2|publisher=Marine Branch |date=14 February 2006}}</ref> – the worst maritime disaster in the combined history of Alaska and [[British Columbia]] – ''Osprey'' joined the BOF fishery patrol vessels {{ship|USFS|Auklet}} and {{ship|USFS|Murre}} in a fruitless search for survivors that lasted into November 1918.<ref name=mvaukletmvmurre>[https://www.afsc.noaa.gov/History/vessels/boats/auklet-murre.htm AFSC Historical Corner: ''Auklet'' and ''Murre'', 1917 Sister Patrol Vessels Retrieved September 17, 2018]</ref>

In June 1919, the BOF transferred ''Osprey'' to [[Southcentral Alaska]], where she patrolled until August 1919.<ref name=afscosprey/> The BOF found her so unseaworthy by that time that it sent her to [[Cordova, Alaska|Cordova]], Territory of Alaska, to be laid up, and decided to spend no more money on significant repairs to her.<ref name=afscosprey/> Plans called for her to patrol for the last time during the 1920 fishing season, after which the BOF would condemn and sell her.<ref name=afscosprey/> She was beached near Cordova in the spring of 1920 to have her [[Hull (ship)|hull]] cleaned and [[copper]] painted in preparation for patrol work in the 1920 season, but on 25 May 1920 she settled into the gravel on the beach, rolled away from the shore onto her side, filled with water, and became partially submerged.<ref name=afscosprey/> About a week later, the U.S. Coast Guard [[United States Coast Guard Cutter|cutter]] {{USCGC|Algonquin|WPG-75}} arrived to help. ''Osprey'' was refloated using a [[Bering River Coal Company]] [[scow]] and the water was pumped out of her.<ref name=afscosprey/> She patrolled off Southeast Alaska during the summer of 1920 and in September 1920 took part in salmon stream marking, bringing her BOF Alaska service to a close.<ref name=afscosprey/> In early 1921, USFS ''Auklet'' towed her to Seattle to be sold.<ref name=afscosprey/><ref name=mvaukletmvmurre/>

According to a press report, ''Osprey'' was sold for US$550 at a [[public auction]] held in Seattle on 14 April 1921,<ref name=afscosprey/> but a May 1921 BOF bulletin claimed that the highest bid on 14 April, US$515, was too low, and the ship was not sold until a second auction on 29 June 1921 resulted in a winning bid of US$700.<ref name=afscosprey/>

==Later career==
After her sale, the vessel became a commercial [[Tugboat|tug]] and may have reverted to the name ''Wigwam''.<ref name=afscosprey/> By 1922, she had been resold to the [[Foss Launch and Tug Company]], which rebuilt her to improve seaworthiness and replaced her steam engine and boiler with a {{convert|180|hp|kW|0|adj=on}} [[Fairbanks-Morse]] [[diesel engine]].<ref name=afscosprey/> Renamed ''Foss No. 19'', she performed tug and [[towing]] services in both [[Puget Sound]] and Southeast Alaska, based at Ketchikan during her Alaska operations.<ref name=afscosprey/> She was the first Foss vessel to operate in Alaska.<ref name=afscosprey/> In the late 1930s, she began annual voyages to haul oil to communities in Southeast Alaska.<ref name=afscosprey/> Her engine was replaced around 1940 with a new {{convert|200|hp|kW|0|adj=on}} Enterprise diesel engine powerful enough to allow ''Foss No. 19'' to win many of the tug races she competed in during the 1950s.<ref name=afscosprey/>

On 14 May 1965, Foss sold ''Foss No. 19'' to Pat Stoppleman.<ref name=afscosprey/> Stoppleman renamed her ''Kiowa'' and replaced her engine with a [[Caterpillar Inc.|Caterpillar]] D343 diesel engine.<ref name=afscosprey/> In 1967,  Stoppleman sold ''Kiowa'' to [[Samson Tug & Barge]], which based her at [[Sitka, Alaska|Sitka]], Alaska.<ref name=afscosprey/>

==Loss==
While towing a raft of [[Trunk (botany)|logs]] to Wrangell, Alaska, with the Samson tug ''Calumet'' in Southeast Alaska on 29 October 1978, ''Kiowa'' suffered damage during a storm.<ref name=alaskashipwrecksk>[https://alaskashipwreck.com/shipwrecks-a-z/alaska-shipwrecks-k/ alaskashipwreck.com Alaska Shipwrecks (K)]</ref> ''Calumet'' towed  her to [[Herring Bay (Alaska)|Herring Bay]] ({{coord|57|07|N|134|22|W|name=Herring Bay}}) on [[Frederick Sound]] in the [[Alexander Archipelago]].<ref name=alaskashipwrecksk/> The two tugs were still there on 30 October 1978, when the log booms broke up in bad weather, scattering the logs, and some of the logs tore open ''Kiowa''{{'}}s [[stern]].<ref name=afscosprey/><ref name=alaskashipwrecksk/> The 83-year-old ''Kiowa'' sank in {{convert|30|ft|m|1}} of water without loss of life.<ref name=afscosprey/><ref name=alaskashipwrecksk/> ''Calumet'' rescued her crew.<ref name=afscosprey/><ref name=alaskashipwrecksk/> ''Kiowa'' was valued at US$80,000 at the time of her loss.<ref name=alaskashipwrecksk/>

<!-- ==Honors and awards== -->
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== References ==
{{Reflist}}
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{{1920 shipwrecks}}
{{1978 shipwrecks}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Osprey}}
[[Category:Fishery protection vessels]]
[[Category:Ships of the United States Bureau of Fisheries]]
[[Category:Ships built in San Francisco]]
[[Category:1895 ships]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1920]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1978]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of the Alaska coast]]