USS Zuiderdijk ( ID - 2724 ) USS " Zuiderdijk " ( Id . No . 2724 ) was a cargo ship that served in the United States Navy from 1918 to 1919 . Pre - World War I commercial service and seizure for U . S . Navy . " Zuiderdijk " was built as the freighter SS " Sharistan " in 1912 by William Gray & Company Ltd . at West Hartlepool , England , in the United Kingdom . Later renamed SS " Zuiderdijk " , she was in commercial operation with the Holland - America Line in 1918 , when the pressing need of the United States for ships to transport men and material to the front in Europe during World War I forced President Woodrow Wilson to order the seizure of Dutch ships in American ports under international law ' s right of angary . Customs officials at San Juan , Puerto Rico , took possession of her on 21 March 1918 and turned her over to the U . S . Navy , which placed her in commission as USS " Zuiderdijk " ( Id . No . 2724 ) on 23 March 1918 , Lieutenant W . F . Reefer , USNRF , in command . World War I service . After preliminary refitting and arming , " Zuiderdijk " departed San Juan on 29 March 1918 and shaped a course for the Panama Canal Zone . She remained at Cristobal , Panama , for nearly a month before getting underway on 25 April 1918 and steaming north . The ship entered New York Harbor on 4 May 1918 , unloaded the Panama Railroad Company cargo she had picked up at Cristobal , and replaced it with United States Army supplies destined for Europe . " Zuiderdijk " departed the United States East Coast in convoy on 17 May 1918 and entered Le Havre , France , on 1 June 1918 . After discharging her cargo and taking on ballast , " Zuiderdijk " stood out of Le Havre on 12 June 1918 and headed for the United States . She concluded a 20 - day crossing of the Atlantic Ocean when she moored in New York , New York , again on 2 July 1918 . Eleven days of repairs and cargo loading preceded the ship ' s second departure for France on 13 July 1918 . Arriving at Gironde , France , on 28 July 1918 , " Zuiderdijk " pulled into St . Nazaire , France , on 29 July 1918 . She remained there until mid - August , trading the incoming cargo for one bound for New York . The cargo ship left St . Nazaire on 18 August 1918 and returned to New York on 31 August 1918 . During the ensuing two weeks , " Zuiderdijk " went into drydock for repairs , took on fuel , and loaded cargo for France . On 14 September 1918 , the ship stood out of New York on her third and final wartime voyage to Europe . Arriving at Brest , France , on 29 September 1918 , she moved to Le Verdon - sur - Mer , France , on 30 September 1918 and began discharging her cargo . Upon completion of that operation , " Zuiderdijk " loaded ballast and departed for the United States on 15 October 1918 . Post - World War I service . " Zuiderdijk " arrived in New York on 28 October 1918 . While she was there preparing for the return crossing , the armistice of 11 November 1918 ended hostilities . On the 12 November 1918 , she departed New York on the first of two postwar voyages to Europe . The ship reached Quiberon , France , on 25 November 1918 , unloaded her burden , and replaced it with a mixed load of 700 tons of rails for ballast and 500 tons of general cargo for return to the United States . She departed the French coast on 6 December 1918 and entered New York harbor on 24 December 1918 . After minor repairs , " Zuiderdijk " moved south to Norfolk , Virginia , where she loaded a cargo belonging to the United States Shipping Board . Late in January 1919 , she transported that cargo via the Panama Canal to Guayaquil , Ecuador , loaded a cargo of cocoa and , on 12 February 1919 , headed for the Panama Canal once again . On 10 March 1919 , the ship arrived at St . Thomas in the United States Virgin Islands , where she received orders to continue immediately on to France . " Zuiderdijk " entered Le Havre , France , on 27 March 1919 and remained there almost a month before heading back to the United States on 24 April 1919 . Arriving in New York on 7 May 1919 , " Zuiderdijk " began loading a United States Shipping Board cargo for her last voyage as a ship of the United States Navy . She stood out of New York on 17 June 1919 , discharged her cargo at London , England , during the first two weeks of July 1919 , and continued on to Rotterdam in the Netherlands . She reached Rotterdam on 17 July 1919 . There , on 21 July 1919 , " Zuiderdijk " simultaneously was decommissioned , struck from the Navy List , and returned to her former owners . Return to mercantile service . " Zuiderdijk " resumed mercantile service , first under the Dutch flag with the Holland - America Line and , after 1923 , with T . Law and Company as SS " Misty Law " . Her name disappeared from mercantile records in the early 1930s .