The Pacific-Alaska Navigation Company was an American passenger and freight ocean shipping company that operated between 1912 and 1916 on the West Coast of North America. It was formed as a holding company during the merger of the

Alaska Pacific Steamship Company The Alaska Pacific Steamship Company was a short-lived freight and passenger shipping line that operated on the West Coast of North America between 1906 and 1912. The company was created by E.E. Caine, who used the steamships ''Buckman'' and ''Wats ...

and the

Alaska Coast Company Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...

. During its four years of life, its fleet became known as the Admiral Line because its ships (for example, the ) were usually named for former U.S. Navy admirals. The company was operated by president H.F. "Bert" Alexander, a former Tacoma longshoreman who worked his way up the ranks. During the company's brief history, it suffered at least two significant accidents. The steamer '' SS Yukon'' ran aground June 23, 1913 on the northwest coast of

Sanak Island Sanak Island ( ale, Sanaĝax) is an island in the Fox Islands group of the Aleutian Islands in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is located at . Sanak Island and Caton Island are the largest islands in the Sanak Islands subgroup of the Fox Islands. T ...

on a reef subsequently named for the ship. A second major accident occurred Aug. 26, 1914 when the ''

SS Admiral Sampson The SS ''Admiral Sampson'' was a U.S.-flagged cargo and passenger steamship that served three owners between 1898 and 1914, when it was rammed by a Canadian passenger liner and sank in Puget Sound. Following its sinking off Point No Point, the '' ...

'' was rammed by the '' SS Princess Victoria'' of the

Canadian Pacific Line CP Ships was a large Canadian shipping company established in the 19th century. From the late 1880s until after World War II, the company was Canada's largest operator of Atlantic and Pacific steamships. Many immigrants travelled on CP ships fr ...

. Both ships were operating in heavy fog within Puget Sound, 18 miles north of Seattle. The ''Admiral Sampson'' sank, killing 11, while the ''Princess Victoria'' returned to Seattle with the survivors of the accident. In 1916, the Pacific-Alaska Navigation Company operated nine steamships when it merged with the

Pacific Coast Steamship Company The Pacific Coast Steamship Company was an important early shipping company that operated steamships on the west coast of North America. It was first organized in 1867 under the name Goodall, Nelson and Perkins. The Goodall, Nelson & Perkins Stea ...

, operator of 13 ships. The resulting company became known as the

Pacific Steamship Company The Pacific Steamship Company was a US freight and passenger shipping company that operated between 1916 and 1936. The company was formed by the merger of the Pacific Coast Steamship Company and the Pacific-Alaska Navigation Company and was a di ...

."Pacific Coast Ship Merger," ''Commerce and Finance'' Vol. No. 40. Oct. 14, 1916. p. 1118

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