USS West Coast ( ID - 3315 ) USS " West Coast " ( ID - 3315 ) was a cargo ship for the United States Navy during World War I . The ship was laid down as SS " War Dagger but launched in July 1918 as SS " West Coast and reverted to that name at the end of her Navy service . SS " West Coast " was a steam - powered for the as part of the " West " boats , a series of steel - hulled cargo ships built on the West Coast of the United States for the World War I war effort . She was the 7th ship built by the Columbia River Shipbuilding Company in Portland , Oregon . She was commissioned into the of the United States Navy in August 1918 . After two transatlantic roundtrips , she was decommissioned in May 1919 and returned to the . Little is known of " West Coast " s subsequent civilian career . She was scrapped at Baltimore , Maryland in the fourth quarter of 1930 . Design and construction . The " West " ships were cargo ship s of similar size and design built by several shipyards on the West Coast of the United States for the for emergency use during the First World War . All were given names that began with the word " West " , like " West Coast " , the 7th of some 30 " West " ships built by the Columbia River Shipbuilding Company of Portland , Oregon . " West Coast " ( Columbia River Shipbuilding yard number 7 ) was launched on 6 July 1918 , and was completed on 9 August 1918 . " West Coast " was , and was long ( between perpendiculars ) and abeam . She had a steel hull that displaced 12 , 200 t with a mean draught of . Her hold was deep . " West Coast " s power plant consisted of a single steam turbine driving a single screw propeller which moved the ship at up to . U . S . Navy career . Upon completion of " West Coast " on 9 August 1918 , she was handed over to the United States Navy for use in the . She was commissioned as USS " West Coast " ( ID - 3315 ) the same day with Lieutenant Commander Robert Crabb , USNRF , in command . " West Coast " departed the Pacific Northwest on 15 August , bound for Chile to take on a load of guano . The ship burned out a thrust - bearing in her turbine , however , and was forced to put into San Francisco on 17 August for extensive repairs which lasted until 7 December . Meanwhile , the Armistice ended World War I and curtailed the Allies ' need for nitrates . Hence " West Coast " s voyage to Chile was cancelled , and the cargo vessel was ordered to proceed via the Panama Canal to Norfolk , Virginia . She entered Hampton Roads , Virginia , on the last day of 1918 and sailed for France on 6 January 1919 . Arriving at Bordeaux on 21 January , " West Coast " discharged her cargo , loaded 1 , 994 tons of Army return cargo , and got underway for the United States on 16 February . The cargo vessel reached Newport News , Virginia , and unloaded . She departed Hampton Roads on 18 March and arrived at New Orleans eight days later . After loading a cargo of cotton , she sailed on 3 April and returned briefly to Norfolk , before getting underway for England on 10 April . She unloaded her cotton cargo in Falmouth and Liverpool and departed the British Isles on 30 May . Calling at Norfolk from 12 to 15 June , " West Coast " proceeded for the Gulf of Mexico and made port at Galveston , Texas , on 22 June . Four days later , the cargo vessel was decommissioned and her name struck from the Navy list . Civilian career . Little is known of " West Coast " s post - Navy career . After her decommissioning , " West Coast " was returned to the . Remaining in the custody of the , she was scrapped at Baltimore in the fourth quarter of 1930 .