USS Pollux (SP-2573)

The first USS Pollux (SP-2573) was a United States Navy cargo ship in commission for three weeks during April 1918.

Pollux was built in 1909 at Rotterdam, the Netherlands, by Werf voorheen Rijkee N. V. as a commercial cargo ship. She was interned at Key West, Florida, during World War I.

The U.S. Navy acquired Pollux for World War I service from her owners, Koninklijke Nederlandsche Stoomboot Maatschappij of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on 20 March 1918 and commissioned her at Key West on 3 April 1918 as USS Pollux (SP-2573), with Lieutenant Commander Geert Scheltens, USNRF, in command.

Manned by a skeleton crew of available sailors, Pollux departed Key West on 6 April 1918 for Cuba, where she took on board sugar at Havana, Cárdenas, and Matanzas. She arrived at New Orleans, Louisiana, on 22 April 1918 with 25,000 bags of sugar for the American Sugar Refinery Company, then began preparations for inactivation.

The Navy decommissioned Pollux and turned her over to the United States Shipping Board on 24 April 1918 for further use during World War I. She was returned to her owners in 1919.