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The Belen Quezada (a Rum Runner) In Vancouver BC

by John MacFarlane 2021

Belen Quezada

The Belen Quezada (Photo from unknown source (donated to Nauticapedia by Dwight R. LaRiviere.)

The Belen Quezada was built in 1884 at Aberdeen Scotland by Hall Russell & Co. as the Zafiro. 213.6’ x 31.75’ x 15.5’ She was owned by the China and Manila Steamship Co. In 1898 she was owned by the US government as a collier. In 1910 she was owned by J. W. Zeeve, Seattle WA USA. In 1910 she was owned by the Chicago Junk Co., Seattle WA USA. In 1910, she was owned by George Gibbs and A. Goldberg, Vancouver BC. In 1920 she was reported to have been sold to a Mexican company.

She was operated with the steamer Nanshan between Hong Kong and Manila. AS the Zafiro she was a derelict on Puget Sound for several years. During the Spanish American War, when Admiral Dewey outfitted his fleet for the Battle of Manila she served as collier to supply the fleet there. She was converted to a coal barge. She was sold after laying up in the Bremerton Navy Yard. She was renamed as the Bowler.

She was laid up in Burrard Inlet. In 1919 she was owned by Robertson, Godson & Co., Vancouver. In 1919 she was refurbished at Vancouver by C.A. Godson and sailed ‘south’. In 1919 she was owned by the Van Hamerlyck interests and then by the Belen Quezada Shipping Co., as the Belen Quezada. She flew a ‘flag of convenience’, to facilitate running alcohol between Canada and the United States during Prohibition.

She was the only steel ship sheathed in 3 inches of wood on her hull (by C.A. Godson) – alone as a Lloyd’s Register Classification. In 1921 she was seized as a prize of war by the Government of Costa Rica) during the war with Panama while owned by the Panama Shipping Co. of New York. The vessel was deleted from the Panamanian ship registry in 1931 and, presumably, scrapped shortly after.


To quote from this article please cite:

MacFarlane, John (2021) The Belen Quezada (a Rum Runner) In Vancouver BC. Nauticapedia.ca 2020. http://nauticapedia.ca/Gallery/Belen_Quezada.php

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Site News: December 21, 2024

The vessel database has been updated and is now holding 94,824 vessel histories (with 16,274 images and 13,929 records of ship wrecks and marine disasters).

Vessel records are currently being reviewed and updated with more than 45,000 processed so far this year (2024).

The mariner and naval biography database has also been updated and now contains 58,599 entries (with 3996 images).

Thanks to Ray Warren who is beginning a long process of filling gaps in the photo record of vessel histories in the database. Ray has been documenting the ships of Vancouver Harbour for more than 60 years.

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