Request for obsolete British warships by US corporation
On 13 October 1926, the Biscayne Navigation Corporation of Miami, Florida, wrote to the British Embassy in Washington DC requesting a list of vessels formerly in the service of the Canadian or British Navies which may be for sale, so that they may possibly obtain a speedy shallow-draft craft for an express service between Miami and Nassau in the Bahamas, which was to be operated under the British flag. They indicated that a destroyer type with a maximum draft of ten feet would be more advantageous than a larger vessel, and that a speed of about 20 to 25 knots was desirable.
Due to the suspicion that fast coastal craft in Caribbean waters may be involved in the smuggling of alcohol, the British Embassy conducted an inquiry to determine the bona-fides of the Biscayne Navigation Corporation before forwarding the request to the Foreign Office for consideration.