SS Canastota (formerly Falls of Orchy) was a British-flagged, coal-burning, two-masted, steel screw, cargo steamer of and . Canastota was last seen on 13 June 1921, leaving Sydney bound for Wellington, New Zealand. Although almost forgotten today, Canastota's loss was a major news item, in Australia and New Zealand, during the second half of 1921.
It was built in 1907 as Falls of Orchy at Napier and Miller's Old Kilpatrick Yard, Glasgow, Scotland, for the Falls Line. it was sold in 1914 and briefly owned by the New Zealand Shipping Co. it was renamed Canastota when purchased by the Canastota Steamship Co. Ltd in 1915.
SS Canastota is not to be confused with: USS Canastota (PC-1135), a World War II submarine chaser; or another ship, a U.S. Navy tug with a similar sounding name, , that also disappeared in 1921.
Earlier voyages
Voyages of Falls of Orchy
Falls of Orchy was launched on 9 October 1907. In June 1908, she sailed from Norfolk, Virginia, for Auckland and by August 1908 had been chartered to carry coal from Newcastle to the West Coast of the United States.
In December 1908, the ship arrived from Manila at Newcastle to load coal destined for the Philippines and one of the crew was found to be infected with smallpox. The ship was sent to Sydney and the entire crew and the Newcastle harbour pilot were admitted to the North Head Quarantine Station, while a relief crew took the ship back to Newcastle to be loaded. The ship then returned to Sydney and the original crew took over.
In February 1909, the ship arrived at Brisbane towing the steamer , which had run out of coal and, after then using wood from its hold ceiling and bulkheads to fuel its boilers, had been adrift east of Brisbane.
In June 1909, the ship came off the Newcastle-Manila run and was to be sent to Vladivostok to load for UK ports. From around July 1911, Falls of Orchy carried "case oil" from the United States to New Zealand ports for the Vacuum Oil Company. In March 1912, she was loading wheat for the UK at Wallaroo, South Australia, and in July 1912 was on the Tyne.
It was reported in August 1914 that Falls of Orchy had been sold to the New Zealand Shipping Company. In 1915,it was sold again and renamed Canastota.
Voyages of Canastota
From 1915 onwards, Canastota was on the run from the east coast of the United States to Australia and New Zealand, via the newly opened Panama Canal. During this time, it was chartered by the United States & Australia Line of New York.
On her first voyage to Australia as Canastota in 1915, it carried transformers and components for power lines associated with the Waddamana Hydro-Electric Power Station in Tasmania.
That first voyage did not begin well. Part of Canastotas cargo caught fire, while the ship was still alongside the wharf in New York. Crucially, the fire did not reach the 10,000 gallons of 'benzine' that were already on-board. Even so, the holds had to be flooded to extinguish the fire, leaving the ship's bow resting on the mud. The vessel was damaged and needed significant structural repairs before being able to leave for Australia after a delay of some weeks. There was a further delay due to a landslide in the Culebra Cut, part of the Panama Canal.
In early 1916, during World War I, she was taken off the United States to Australia run and used to transport Canadian troops and also as a collier and food supply vessel. One of her crew drowned in Genoa Harbour on 24 April 1918, was buried in the Staglieno Cemetery.
From 1919 to 1921 it ran a service from the ports of New York and Boston on the east coast of the United States to Australian ports—via the Panama Canal and Suva in Fiji—making the return journey, via New Zealand—Wellington or Auckland—and Suva, for the United States & Australia Line.
In 1920, the ship experienced problems with its tail-shaft bearings. It was repaired in Auckland Harbour, without entering a dry dock, by first shifting its cargo forward so that its propeller and tail-shaft gland were clear of the water.