J. W. Westcott II

	J.W. Westcott II approaching a Canadian freighter
History
United States
Name	J. W. Westcott II
Namesake	company founder
Owner	J. W. Westcott Company
Route	Detroit River, Great Lakes
Ordered	1949
Builder	Paasch Marine Service, Erie, Pennsylvania
Homeport	Detroit, Michigan
Identification	Official number: 258859
Status	in service
General characteristics
Class and type	Pilot and mail boat
Tonnage	14 GT
Length	45 ft (14 m)
Beam	13 ft (4.0 m)
Draft	4 ft (1.2 m)
Propulsion	Detroit Diesel 6-71, 220 hp (160 kW) ; May 2010: Cummins Marine QSB 5.9, 305 hp (227 kW)[citation needed];
Speed	15 knots

J. W. Westcott II is a boat known for its delivery of mail to ships while they are underway. It operates out of Detroit, Michigan, and is the only floating ZIP Code in the United States.^[2]

History

The Westcott company was established in 1874 by Captain John Ward Westcott, who ferried supplies (and by 1895 the mail) to passing ships via rowboat.^[3] By 1949, the company commissioned Paasch Marine Service of Erie, Pennsylvania to build J.W. Westcott II, named in honor of the Westcott company's founder. The ship is 45 feet (14 m) in length and has a beam of 13 feet (4.0 m). A single screw is powered by a 305 horsepower (227 kW) marine diesel engine. The boat's speed is rated at 15 knots.^{[citation needed]}

Operation

Any mail addressed to members of ships' crews on vessels transiting the Detroit River can be delivered to them via J. W. Westcott II by being addressed "Vessel Name, Marine Post Office, Detroit, Michigan, 48222." The US postal zip code 48222 is exclusive to the floating post office and its ship addressees; as of 2016^[update], the boat has a contract with the US Postal Service through 2021.^[2] The mail is delivered to the appropriate ships (mainly lake freighters) as they transit the Detroit River, utilizing ropes and buckets.^[2]

Sinking

On 23 October 2001, J. W. Westcott II sank in the deep water under the Ambassador Bridge while caught in the wake of Norwegian oil tanker MT Sidsel Knutsen. The captain and one other crew member were killed; the two passengers, both pilots, were rescued. J. W. Westcott II was later salvaged, refurbished and returned to service.^[4]^[5]

References

^ ^a ^b "Dimensions". Westcott Co. Retrieved 10 April 2011.
^ ^a ^b ^c Kelly, Tyler (20 August 2016). "A Mail Boat Stays Afloat". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
^ Hebert, Jim (31 March 1999). "J. W. Westcott Company". Westcott Co. Archived from the original on 27 April 2011. Retrieved 10 April 2011.
^ "Two killed in sinking of mail boat J.W. Westcott II in Detroit River". Professional Mariner. February–March 2002. Archived from the original on 5 October 2011. Retrieved 10 April 2011.
^ REPORT OF THE CAPSIZING AND SINKING OF THE M/V J. W. WESTCOTT II (PDF) (Report). United States Coast Guard. 7 October 2002. Retrieved 9 June 2019.

External links

J. W. Westcott Co. website*"Westcott Co. Home Page". Archived from the original on 17 April 2011. Retrieved 10 April 2011.
"Images of J. W. Westcott II". Archived from the original on 25 May 2011. Retrieved 10 April 2011.

[spec-1] "Dimensions". Westcott Co. Retrieved 10 April 2011.

[NYT-2] Kelly, Tyler (20 August 2016). "A Mail Boat Stays Afloat". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 August 2016.

[3] Hebert, Jim (31 March 1999). "J. W. Westcott Company". Westcott Co. Archived from the original on 27 April 2011. Retrieved 10 April 2011.

[4] "Two killed in sinking of mail boat J.W. Westcott II in Detroit River". Professional Mariner. February–March 2002. Archived from the original on 5 October 2011. Retrieved 10 April 2011.

[5] REPORT OF THE CAPSIZING AND SINKING OF THE M/V J. W. WESTCOTT II (PDF) (Report). United States Coast Guard. 7 October 2002. Retrieved 9 June 2019.

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v t e United States Postal Service
Organizations	American Letter Mail Company American Postal Workers Union Board of Governors of the United States Postal Service Bureau of Transportation Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee National Alliance of Postal and Federal Employees National Association of Letter Carriers National Association of Presort Mailers National Postal Mail Handlers Union National Rural Letter Carriers' Association Postal Regulatory Commission Postal Transportation Service PostalWatch Incorporated United States Postal Inspection Service United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General
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Services	Click-N-Ship Express mail in the United States National Change Of Address Permit mail Permit Reply Mail Postal notes Railway Mail Service Registered mail Special Delivery Special handling
Facilities	Air mail facility Boat railway post office Community post office Dead letter office Highway post office J. W. Westcott II List of United States post offices National Postal Museum Network distribution center Railway mail service library Red Brick Roads Sectional center facility Streetcar railway post office Terminal railway post office
Legal	Comstock laws Post Office Act Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act Postal Reorganization Act Postal Service Act Postal Service Reform Act of 2022 Private Express Statutes Rural Post Roads Act of 1916 Title 39 of the United States Code
Related	2020 United States Postal Service crisis United States airmail service CAR-RT SORT Catcher pouch Cimarron Redoubt Domestic Mail Manual Facing Identification Mark Flats Grumman LLV Information-Based Indicia The Inspectors Intelligent Mail barcode Label 228 List of postal killings List of U.S. state abbreviations List of United States airmail stamps Mail bag Mail cover Mail hook Mail Isolation Control and Tracking Mail jumping Mail pouch Mail sack Mail satchel The Mail Story Nixie ORM-D Owney (dog) Pony Express mochila Postage stamps and postal history of the United States Postal Alpha Numeric Encoding Technique Postal Clause Postal voting in the United States Postal worker Postmaster General Prohibitory Order Remote Bar Coding System Rural Free Delivery Rural letter carrier STD-4C United States post office murals List of murals USPS Post Office Box Lobby Recycling program United States Postal Service creed

v t e Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 2001
Shipwrecks	16 Jan: Jessica 30 Jan: USS Barbel 31 Jan: USS John Paul Jones 9 Feb: Ehime Maru 14 Feb: USS Lynde McCormick 31 May: USS Reeves June (unknown date): USS Miller 10 July USS La Moure County 26 Jul: Sun 11 11 Aug: Windoc August (unknown date): ARM Riva Palacio 12 Sep: Themistoklis 13 Oct: ROCS Yuen Yang 16 Oct: USS Guam 19 Oct: SIEV X 20 Oct: HMCS Cape Breton 23 Oct: J. W. Westcott II 1 Nov: ROCS Chin Yang 24 Nov: HMAS Perth
Other incidents	9 Feb: USS Greeneville 27 Mar: CMA CGM Normandie
2000 2002