The steamer was launched on 5 December 1918, and was the second concrete ship constructed in the World War I Emergency Fleet.

[6] The plan was to dig a channel to the shore where the Atlantus would be placed, and the other two ships would be placed in a Y formation, creating a slip for a ferry to dock.

On June 8 of the same year, a storm hit and the ship broke free of her moorings and ran aground 150 feet off the coast of Sunset Beach.

[8] Since her sinking, her slowly deteriorating hull has drawn tourists, although little of her is left visible above the water line.

The stern is the most visible section, the middle is completely submerged, and the bow can only be viewed at low tide.