Kapvik YO-155

Kapvik

Name coined by Rear Admiral Russell S,. Berkey, who fashioned it by combining the first three letters of the surname of Comdr. Leonard Kaplan with Vik, a village on the southermost point of Iceland.

(YO-155: dp. 792; 1. 208'1"; b. 39'1"; dr. 11'8"; a. none)

Kapvik (YO-155) was built as Poling Bros. Barge No. 9 by John H. Mathis Co., Camden, N.J., in 1934 and owned by Augustus and Chester A. Poling of New York City. Loaded with a partial cargo of gasoline, the commercial barge broke from her moorings in New York harbor during a storm in late 1941; drifted out to sea; and finally washed ashore in January 1942 8 miles east of Vik on the southern coast of Iceland. On 17 May plans were approved for the Naval Operating Base at Reykjavik, Iceland, to salvage Poling Bros. Barge No. 9.

Under the command of Comdr. L. Kaplan, Salvage Officer of the Naval Operating Base, salvage operations began 26 May. Though not a large undertaking, the task proved both challenging and trying. Along the coast of southern Iceland, where the sea was calm for less than 7 days out of the year, the powerful surf pounded the shore with "unremitting force." And yet, aided by a favorable sea and wind at the crucial moment, the barge was pulled off the shore 23 June by Barnegat (AVP-10) and refloated. The, following day she was towed to Hvalfjordur, Iceland. Renamed Kapvik, she was placed "in operation" 10 September.

Serving as a fuel oil barge, Kapvik operated out of Reykjavik and Skerjafjordur until 24 January 1944 when she was -transferred to the United Kingdom under the Lend-Lease Act. Returned to custody of the U.S. Navy 26 June 1946, she was struck from the Naval Register 29 September 1947, and transferred to the Maritime Commission for disposal.