USS Bali ( ID - 2483 ) USS " Bali " ( ID 2483 ) was a large Dutch freighter seized in New York City by the U . S . Customs Service during World War I . She was assigned to the U . S . Navy and later the U . S . Army as a cargo ship to be used to carry military cargo to Allied forces in France . After a number of transatlantic voyages , she was returned to the Dutch government at war ’ s end . She subsequently remained busy transporting cargo until World War II , when she was wrecked by Luftwaffe bombers in the Mediterranean . Her remains were reclaimed and disposed of by scrapping in 1951 . Seized by U . S . Customs . " Bali " - a single screw steel - hulled freighter completed in 1917 at Rotterdam , the Netherlands by the Rotterdam Dry Dock Co . for the Stoomvaart Mattschappij Nederland — was seized by customs officials at New York City under Proclamation 1436 of 20 March 1918 ( 40 Stat . 1761 ) ; inspected by the Navy at New York on 23 March 1918 ; assigned the identification number ( Id . No . ) 2483 ; and commissioned at New York on 27 March , Lt . Comdr . Norman Ferguson , USNRF , in command . World War I service . Assigned to NOTS . Assigned to the Naval Overseas Transportation Service ( NOTS ) on an Army Account , " Bali " began loading cargo less than two hours after going into commission . She completed the evolution , as well as the bunkering of her fuel , by 1630 on 1 April 1918 . Sailing two hours later to chase and join a convoy that had left the harbor five hours earlier , " Bali " developed engineering difficulties that compelled her to anchor off Tompkinsville , Staten Island , to carry out repairs . First voyage to France . Underway again on 9 April with another convoy , " Bali " still failed to maintain speed well enough to keep pace , and she had to put in at Halifax , Nova Scotia , for repairs on 16 April . She resumed her voyage once again on 28 April ; and this time , " Bali " reached Brest , France , on 14 May despite a rough passage . She steamed thence to St . Nazaire the following day , but a crowded harbor kept her waiting for a berth . Finally able to discharge a portion of her cargo , she left St . Nazaire for Nantes on 6 June , where labor conditions were such that German prisoners of war had to be employed working the ship ' s hatches during the unloading process . She finished working her cargo and proceeded down the Loire River early in the evening of 15 June . " Bali " joined a convoy the following day and , after returning briefly to Brest on 16 June , sailed for the United States on the afternoon of 18 June . She reached Hoboken , New Jersey , on 2 July . Second voyage to France . Taking on board 6 , 759 tons of general cargo , " Bali " put to sea for Hampton Roads , Virginia , on 18 July and reached her destination the next day , mooring alongside the battleship USS " Mississippi " ( BB - 41 ) at the Norfolk Navy Yard . While in the yard , " Bali " received her main and secondary batteries , a 5 - inch gun and a 6 - pounder that had originally been installed on board the battleship USS " Arkansas " ( BB - 31 ) and the cruiser USS " Raleigh " ( C - 8 ) , respectively . Moving out of the yard on the morning of 21 July , she joined a convoy and sailed that afternoon for France . On 8 August , a few days before arriving at her destination , " Bali " observed a steamer on her starboard side sounding a submarine warning and opening fire on a “ suspicious object ” in the water . " Bali " opened fire with her forward gun , but apparently neither ship scored any hits . Dropping anchor in Quiberon Bay on 10 August , she proceeded thence first to La Pallice and then to Bordeaux on 13 August . After unloading her cargo , the freighter sailed for New York on 21 August and reached that port on 5 September . Third voyage to France . Sent to Hoboken on 6 September , the ship loaded 6 , 887 tons of general cargo and underwent repairs to her engines . Following a trial trip on 16 September , she sailed on 18 September for France . Reaching Verdon Roads on 5 October , " Bali " unloaded a portion of her cargo to a barge before mooring to a dock at Bordeaux on 9 October to finish unloading . She had to wait a number of days for a return convoy to be formed , but " Bali " finally sailed west again on the afternoon of 24 October and arrived back in New York on 7 November . Transporting horses to France . Word of the impending armistice with the Central Powers delayed the installation of stalls to enable her to serve as a horse transport . Three days after the armistice , however , she was docked at the Bush Docks in Hoboken , New Jersey , where modifications were made to accommodate 600 horses . " Bali " took the animals on board soon thereafter and loaded 2 , 551 tons of general cargo before sailing for France on 30 November . Reaching Verdon Roads on 14 December , the ship then proceeded up the Gironde River to Bordeaux on 16 December , where she discharged her cargo and loaded steel rails for ballast . She stood back down the river two days after Christmas of 1918 , bound for the United States . Bali collides off Sewall ’ s Point . " Bali " dropped anchor in Hampton Roads late on 11 January 1919 , and shifted to a mooring at Newport News , Virginia , the following day . There , workmen came on board and removed the horse stalls on 13 and 14 January . On the afternoon of 15 January , " Bali " entered the yard at the Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co . , where her guns were removed . From there , she proceeded to the Engineer Depot dock at Lambert ’ s Point on 23 January , where she unloaded the steel rail ballast she had carried from France . The ship then shifted to a berth off Sewall ’ s Point on 28 January . The next day , a flood tide and a strong breeze caused her to drag her anchors and drift down on the freighter " Bonafan " . The collision caused no great damage to either ship , and " Bali " steamed away under her own power . After coaling on 31 January , the freighter sailed for Baltimore , Maryland , on 3 February . Transfer to the Shipping Board . Having been transferred from the NOTS Army Account to the Shipping Board Account on 1 February 1919 , " Bali " reached Baltimore on 4 February and loaded 7 , 458 tons of Food Administration flour , peas , and beans earmarked for European relief . Then , having had “ otter gear ” installed for minesweeping at that port , she departed Baltimore for Denmark on 14 February . Reaching Copenhagen on 7 March , " Bali " unloaded her cargo and sailed for the British Isles on 20 March . Proceeding via the Kiel Canal and Heligoland , she reached Yarmouth on 23 March to await a pilot ; proceeding thence to Harwich and Plymouth , she reached the latter port on 25 March . She remained there until 29 March , when she sailed , in ballast , for the United States . " Bali " made port at New York City on 10 April , mooring at Jersey City , New Jersey that same afternoon . Moving thence to the Morgan Pier on 17 April and Shewan ’ s Drydock on 19 April , she underwent repairs on 19 and 20 April . Final war support voyage . After that , " Bali " moved to the West Shore Railroad dock on 22 April and loaded a cargo of lard and flour . She sailed for Europe on 29 April . Touching briefly at Falmouth , England , on 11 May for sailing orders and onward routing , she pushed on the next day , reaching Hamburg , Germany , on the morning of 16 May . Decommissioning . Arriving at Amsterdam on the morning of 24 May , Bali entered the Amsterdamsche Drydock Company drydock on 27 May . She was decommissioned at Amsterdam on 30 May 1919 and was returned to her owners . Her name was struck from the Navy list simultaneously . Subsequent destruction in World War II . Stoomvaart Maatschappij Nederland operated " Bali " until sometime in 1932 when she was acquired by Georges Portolo . Her port of registry then became Ithaca , Greece and she was renamed " Max Wolf " . The freighter operated under Greek colors until bombed by German planes off the coast of France between Roque and Berville , and two of her crew killed , on 9 June 1940 . Run aground to prevent her sinking , the wreck was used as a bombing target by the Luftwaffe during the German occupation of France . The wreck was subsequently broken up for scrap about 1951 .