🌺WW1::World's Largest Oil Tanker in drydock, Esquimalt, British Columbia.
"1914::SS DeSabla In Drydock in Esquimalt at the Outbreak of WW1"
Photo Clip: The Province (1914) Vancouver, British Columbia
Although it was thought that the Empress of Japan was the largest ship to drydock in Esquimalt before the Queen Elizabeth arrived, the title arguably belonged to the largest oil tanker on the coast called the SS Desabla. She was launched in November of 1913 and brought Peruvian oil to the west coast in June of 1914, only weeks before the outbreak of WW1.
Sadly, she was torpedoed off the coast of Northern Scotland in June the following year, almost exactly one year after drydocking in Esquimalt, but all of her crew survived.
"News of Torpedoed Ship S.S. Desabla"
Clip: Victoria Daily Times (1915)
Victoria, British Columbia
S.S. DeSabla torpedoed off the coast of Scotland one year after drydock in Esquimalt, BC