The SS American Star originally began service in 1940 as the ocean liner SS America, built for the United States Lines fleet. Designed by William Frances Gibbs, the ship could carry 1202 passengers and 643 crew. During WW2 the ship was converted into the troop ship USS West Point and would carry over 350,000 troops during her entire naval service. After the war the ship returned to the United States Lines until 1964. Afterwards the ship changed names and owners several times until she was sold in 1993 with the intention of being converted into a hotel ship in Thailand. While being towed from Greece to her new destination, the tow lines broke during a storm and she was left adrift. The ship ran aground off Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands on January 18th, 1994. Within 2 days the pounding surf broke the ship in two. She was stripped of all waste and salvageable materials and what remained was left to deteriorate into the ocean. The stern-half collapsed and sank in 1996. The bow section would remain as modeled until November 2005. From then the ship would continue to list and slowly collapse until almost completely disappearing beneath the waves. #Canary_Islands #Fuerteventura #ocean_liner #passenger_ship #shipwreck #SS_America #SS_American_Star #SS_Australis #United_States_Lines #USS_West_Point #wreck
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