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144 stories matching fleet
- The Navy Preferred British Coal. Seattle Wouldn’t Let It Go.
When the Bering Sea fleet was ordered to take Comox coal instead of Puget Sound fuel, Senator Squire and local coal men forced a test—and threatened to take the fight to the Senate.
- Seattle's Revenue Cutter Heads to Bering Sea to Crack Down on Seal Poachers
The U.S. revenue cutter Grant sails from Seattle for Sitka and the Bering Sea, carrying orders to seize illegal sealers; two fast new launches are being built at Port Townsend.
- The Octopus and the Seal: A Local Captain’s War Against a Washington Monopoly
In 1901, Port Townsend resident James G. Swan published affidavits from experienced hunters to debunk Professor Elliott’s claim that seal pups sink like stones, exposing the Alaska Commercial Company’s stranglehold on federal policy.
- Ten Gales, Three Lost Schooners, and a Widow Who Wasn't
A Seattle seal hunter back from eight months in the North Pacific describes a season that swallowed whole crews — and explains why he'd rather kill seals with a spear than a gun.
- The Bold Bet of Captain Brittain
After selling off his aging fleet of steamboats, a local captain risks his fortune on a custom-built, high-speed vessel to claim the future of Puget Sound transit.
- The Makah Nation’s Fleet Challenges the Seal Hunters
With firearms banned, the Makah sealers of Neah Bay turn to traditional hunting methods, outmaneuvering white commercial competitors.
- The Man Who Said He Spoke for the Czar
A smooth-talking stranger blew into Tacoma claiming to be the Russian government's agent in a Siberian railway steamship scheme — then turned out to be tangled up in the intrigue surrounding the state capitol commission.
- Japanese Sailors to March in Tacoma's Memorial Day Parade
In a historic first, Japanese naval regulars will march alongside U.S. troops during Memorial Day ceremonies in Tacoma.
- Newport to Metaline: The Steamboat Fleet vs. the Stagecoach
When Colville boasted a new tri-weekly stage line, Newport answered with daily steamer service, six Great Northern trains, and a reminder of who really controlled the east end.
- The Wooden Walls of Puget Sound
A survey of the booming fleet of vessels built in Washington Territory in 1877, and why the local economy was missing out on the profits of its own timber.
- The Cross-Border Tugboat War
Canadian tugboat operators are fuming over an unfair trade imbalance as American vessels dominate regional shipping routes.
- The Navy's Test of Bellingham Bay Coal
Secretary Herbert clarifies that Bellingham Bay coal tests for the Pacific fleet are not conclusive, signaling a win for Senator Squire against British interests.
- A River Pact Collapses, but the Metaline Returns to Service
A signed steamboat connection between the Ruth and the Pend Oreille River Navigation Company fell through within days, even as Newport’s river fleet shifted schedules and put the Metaline back to work.
- Kill Every Seal? An Alaska Official's Radical Fix for the Bering Sea
Sheldon Jackson told a Seattle reporter that wiping out the Pribilof herd was cheaper than chasing Canadian poachers—and warned that England would bulldoze the boundary if the U.S. didn't fight.
- The Cod Fishing Fleet of the North
A look inside the grueling, monotonous, and dangerous lives of the men hauling cod from the icy waters of the Okhotsk and Bering seas.
- The City of Shelton Takes to the Bay
A new vessel joins the fleet, promising daily trips between Tacoma and the booming town of Shelton.
- A New Shipping Route to Alaska Proposed for Tacoma
The Northwestern Commercial Company considers making Tacoma the primary port for its newly refurbished fleet of Alaska-bound liners.
- Ambitious Plan to Revive Columbia River Transit
Eastern investors propose a fleet of modern steel boats to compete directly with railroads for freight and passenger traffic.
- Seattle’s Turn Toward Global Power
While mourning lives lost in the Samoan crisis, local boosters embrace the promise of a massive naval expansion—and the federal contracts that come with it.
- The Great Fleet of the Northwest
As Seattle's harbor crowds with vessels, a maritime shift signals a new era for local tugboat commerce.
- The 'Mosquito Fleet' Gears Up to Patrol the Sound
A new revenue cutter, the Sybil, joins the effort to clamp down on smugglers navigating the complex and intricate channels of the Washington coast.
- The Yorktown Stays Put
A diplomatic win for the Seattle Chamber of Commerce keeps a U.S. Navy steamer stationed in local waters.
- The Rifle War: Knights of Labor vs. Mine Owners in Newcastle
A bitter feud between rival labor unions in King County erupts into armed conflict, with rifles smuggled from Seattle to support striking miners.
- The Great Debate: Where Should Seattle's Ship Canal Go?
In 1892, federal engineers weighed the massive engineering feat of connecting Lake Washington to Puget Sound, deliberating whether to carve the path through Salmon Bay or Smith Cove.
- The Ghostly Harvest of the North Pacific
A brutal accounting of how 19th-century pelagic sealers, operating out of Washington ports, pushed a species to the brink of extinction through industrial-scale slaughter.
Also about this, in other words
- The Ghost Fleet of the Pacific
Senator William Gwin rails against the government's refusal to fund military presence in the Pacific, leaving the coast vulnerable to 'filibusters' and privateers.
- The City Wharf That Nobody Wanted
Tacoma's attempt to force the 'mosquito fleet' into using the $3,000 municipal dock faces mockery from steamboat captains.
- The Sunset of the Union Pacific Fleet
A silent corporate takeover leaves 200 sailors and dockhands in Seattle suddenly out of work as the Puget Sound and Alaska Steamship Company assumes full control of the wharf.
- The Adjustable Ferry That Never Needed a Dock
A bold new invention proposed for the Tacoma waterfront promised to eliminate expensive landings by using adjustable decks to handle any tide.
- Efficiency on the Waterfront
A clever engineering fix replaces a main mast in record time at the Seattle docks.
- The Irish Flag Arrives in Seattle
The steamship Knockfierna marks a historic maritime moment by becoming the first vessel to sail into the port of Seattle flying the Irish flag.
- Puget Sound Fleet Hit with Heavy Fines
Sixteen steamships were penalized $750 each for failing to carry adequate life-saving equipment, according to the Collector of Customs.
- Marine Greyhounds for the Sound
New patrol boats for the Revenue Cutter Service are to be built locally in Port Townsend to crack down on smuggling.