USS West Carnifax ( ID - 3812 ) USS " West Carnifax " ( ID - 3812 ) was a cargo ship in the United States Navy shortly after World War I . After she was decommissioned from the Navy , the ship was known as SS " West Carnifax , SS " Exford , and SS " Pan Royal ( or sometimes Pan - Royal " ) in civilian service under American registry . " West Carnifax " was one of the " West " boats , a series of steel - hulled cargo ships built for the on the West Coast of the United States . The ship was the first ship built at Southwestern Shipbuilding in San Pedro , California , and was launched in October 1918 and delivered to the US Navy upon completion in late December . After commissioning , " West Carnifax " sailed from California with a load of wheat flour for the East Coast of the United States and , from there , to Europe . When she docked at Hamburg , Germany , in March 1919 , she became the first American ship to dock at Hamburg since before the start of World War I . At the conclusion of her trip to Germany she was decommissioned and returned to the . " West Carnifax " sailed to European ports for a time and in South American service for the American Republics Line while under ownership . After her sale for operation by the American Export Lines in 1928 , she began sailing in Mediterranean service . After a rename to SS " Exford " later in 1928 , she was used on a cargo service to Soviet Black Sea ports , and became the first American ship to dock in the Soviet Union since World War I . After a brief stint in intercoastal service , the ship was renamed " Pan Royal " in 1933 for service with a subsidiary of the Waterman Steamship Company . In convoy sailing during World War II , " Pan Royal " made two roundtrips between the United States and the United Kingdom , and one roundtrip to North Africa . At the beginning of her second voyage to Africa in February 1943 , " Pan Royal " was accidentally rammed by two other convoy ships and sunk . Eight crewmen lost their lives in the accident . 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 United States Shipping Board ( USSB ) for emergency use during World War I . All were given names that began with the word " West " , like " West Carnifax " , the first of some 18 " West " ships built by Southwestern Shipbuilding . " West Carnifax " ( Southwestern Shipbuilding No . 1 ) was laid down on 17 July as the first ship of the new Southwestern Shipbuilding shipyard . She was launched at 09 : 30 on 19 October 1918 by sponsor Marcoreta Hellman , the six - year - old daughter of yard superintendent Marco Hellman . When " West Carnifax " was delivered to the United States Navy upon completion in late December , the " Los Angeles Times " heralded the 134 - workday completion time as a " world record " for the completion of a new ship in a new shipyard . " West Carnifax " was , and was long ( between perpendiculars ) and abeam . " West Carnifax " had a steel hull , a mean draft of , and a displacement of 12 , 211 t . The ship had a single triple - expansion steam engine that drove a single screw propeller , and moved the ship at up to . Military career . USS " West Carnifax " ( ID - 3812 ) was commissioned into the Naval Overseas Transportation Service ( NOTS ) at San Pedro , California , on 31 December 1918 with Lieutenant Commander Robert H . Cowan , USNRF , in command . " West Carnifax " sailed from San Pedro on 4 January 1919 for San Francisco , where she took on an initial load of flour . She sailed for Norfolk , Virginia , on 31 January , and arrived at Hampton Roads on 15 March . Setting out four days later , " West Carnifax " was slated to sail to Danzig via Falmouth and the Hook of Holland , but was diverted en route . When she arrived at her new destination of Hamburg on 25 March , she became the first American ship to dock in that city since before World War I had begun over years before . When she had completed unloading her cargo of flour , noted as the " choicest California flour " by onlookers , she sailed for New Orleans by way of Plymouth on 2 April . On 9 May , four days after her arrival at New Orleans , " West Carnifax " was decommissioned and returned to the . Interwar years . Incomplete information is available regarding " West Carnifax " s activities after her return to the in 1919 . One incident of note was reported in " The New York Times " on February 1922 . The news item reported that " West Carnifax " , while heading from Rotterdam to Galveston , Texas , ran short of provisions and fuel and had to be towed into New York by United States Coast Guard cutter . By late 1923 , " West Carnifax " had been laid up at Norfolk , Virginia , but was reactivated and reconditioned in February 1924 . In early 1925 , " West Carnifax " had begun sailing for American Republics Lines , a - owned line that sailed in South American service . " West Carnifax " sailed in this service into 1927 and called at ports like Buenos Aires and Santos . In early 1928 , " West Carnifax " was sold to the Export Steamship Corporation for operation under their American Export Lines brand . In the first half of that year , " West Carnifax " was sailing in New York – Mediterranean service . While near the Azores sailing from Alexandria , Egypt , to Boston in October , " West Carnifax " responded to an SOS from the American tanker which reported being in trouble during a storm . According to a report in the " Los Angeles Times " , when the cargo ship arrived at the specified location after steaming overnight , no trace of the crew was found ; only oil slicks and a floating vegetable box were found on the surface . In October the following year , under her new name of SS " Exford " , the ship docked at the Soviet Black Sea port of Novorossiysk to deliver a cargo of machinery and became the first American ship to dock at a Soviet port since the end of World War I . " Exford " remained in Black Sea service into 1931 . In August 1933 , the " Los Angeles Times " reported that the Shepard Line had secured a year - long charter of " Exford " for their expanded intercoastal service between North Atlantic ports and the Pacific ports of Los Angeles ; San Francisco ; Portland , Oregon ; and Seattle . Later in 1933 , the ship was renamed " Pan Royal " to reflect the naming style of her new owners , the Pan - Atlantic Steamship Company , a subsidiary of Waterman Steamship Company . The Pan - Atlantic Line sailed in coastal service along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts , and it is likely that " Pan Royal " called at typical Pan - Atlantic ports such as Baltimore , Miami , Tampa , New Orleans , Philadelphia , New York , and Boston from this time . At 03 : 50 on 24 September 1934 , Cunard - White Star ocean liner collided with " Pan Royal " in a thick fog off the tip of Cape Cod . " Pan Royal " developed a leak and had to return to Boston , from which she had left for Galveston , Texas , the previous day . " Laconia " , leaving Boston after debarking 225 passengers , also had damage but proceeded to her destination of New York under her own power . No one was injured on either ship . Elvar R . Callaway , master of " Pan Royal " , claimed that " Laconia " could have avoided the collision by proper steering ; " Laconia " s master , B . B . Orum , contended that the collision was unavoidable because of the " impenetrable haze " . In November 1939 , " Pan Royal " was one of 21 ships that had been idled because of a strike by 5 , 000 longshoremen in New York . In June the following year , " The Christian Science Monitor " reported that " Pan Royal " had been engaged to return " Big Joe " to the Soviet Union . " Big Joe " was a nickname given to the Soviet worker holding a red star in his up - stretched hand . The statue had graced the column in front of the Soviet Socialist Republics Building at the New York World ' s Fair during the 1939 fair season . The Soviet pavilion was dismantled prior to the 1940 fair season after popular American opinion turned against the Soviet Union because of its November 1939 invasion of Finland . As part of the dismantling , " Big Joe " had been warehoused in Hoboken , New Jersey , but prevented from export by a United States Maritime Commission ruling enforcing a " moral embargo " that prohibited the charter of American ships on behalf of the Soviet Union . World War II . In June 1942 , seven months after the United States had entered World War II , " Pan Royal " made two roundtrips in transatlantic convoys between Boston and the United Kingdom via Halifax . While in the UK during her second visit , the ship had called at Belfast Lough , Barry , and Milford Haven before returning to New York in October . In mid November , " Pan Royal " sailed from Hampton Roads , Virginia , to Casablanca , and returned in mid - January 1943 . On 7 February 1943 , " Pan Royal " departed Hampton Roads in Convoy UGS - 5 for North Africa . Two days out , " Pan Royal " was accidentally rammed by both the Norwegian cargo ship " Evita " and the American Liberty ship . " Pan Royal " sank at position with the loss of eight men . Her 54 survivors were rescued by US Navy destroyer .