SS Platano

SS Platano was a refrigerated banana boat of the United Fruit Company.^[2] She was built in 1930, reflagged in 1947, renamed El Toro in 1965 and scrapped in 1966.^[1]

History
Name	1930–1965: SS Platano 1965–1966: SS El Toro[1]
Owner	from 1930: Balboa Shipping[2][3] by 1964: Empressa Hondurena de Vapores[4]
Operator	United Fruit Company[2][3]
Port of registry	1930–1947: Panama[2][3][1] 1947–1966: Honduras[1]
Builder	Cammell Laird, Birkenhead, England[2]
Launched	14 March 1930[1]
Completed	June 1930[1]
Identification	Call sign HPCG (from 1934)[2]
Fate	Scrapped 1966[1]
General characteristics
Tonnage	6,012 GRT[2][3] tonnage under deck 5,151[2] 2,784 NRT[2]
Length	416.3 ft (126.9 m) p/p[2] 432 ft (132 m) o/a[1]
Beam	56.2 ft (17.1 m)[2]
Draft	25.75 ft (7.85 m) fully laden[1]
Depth	30.5 ft (9.3 m)[2]
Propulsion	turbo-electric transmission, single screw[2]
Speed	15.5 knots (28.7 km/h)[1][4]
Sensors & processing systems	echo sounding device[2]
Armament	1 × 4"/50 caliber gun (1942)[1]
Notes	sister ship: SS Musa

Building

Platano was built by Cammell Laird of Birkenhead, England, launched on 13 March 1930 and completed that June.^[2] United Fruit had a sister ship, SS Musa, built in the same year by Workman, Clark of Belfast, Northern Ireland.^[5]

Platano had turbo-electric transmission built by British Thomson-Houston of Rugby, Warwickshire.^[2] Her oil-fired boilers supplied steam to a turbo generator that fed current to a propulsion motor on her single propeller shaft.^[2]

Career

Platano was owned by a United Fruit subsidiary, Balboa Shipping Co, Inc, which registered her under the Panamanian flag of convenience.^[2][3] In the Second World War the US War Shipping Administration allocated Platano and Musa to the United States Army Transportation Corps.^[1]

On 18 February 1943 the Director of the Naval Transportation Service approved acquiring the two ships as United States Navy auxiliary ships and on 1 March the Auxiliary Vessels Board endorsed the decision.^[1] On 16 March the Naval Transportation Service requested that Platano be assigned to the Navy and on 24 March the Auxiliary Vessels Board confirmed this had been done.^[1]

Soon the plan was changed, with an older banana boat, SS Ulua being substituted for Musa.^[1] On 22 April 1943 the Vice Chief of Naval Operations assigned Platano and Ulua the names and classifications USS Octans (AF-26) and USS Pictor (AF-27).^[1] Ulua was duly acquired, renamed and commissioned into the Navy but Platano was not.^[1] The Auxiliary Vessels Board decided on 22 May 1944 to cancel Platano's acquisition, and the cancellation was executed on 26 May.^[1]

In 1947 United Fruit reflagged Platano from Panama to the Honduran flag of convenience.^[1] By 1964 the company had transferred her from Balboa Shipping to another subsidiary, Empressa Hondurena de Vapores.^[4] She kept her original name until 1965, when she was renamed El Toro.^[1] She was scrapped in 1966.^[1]