SS Belgic (1873)
History | |
---|---|
Name |
|
Owner |
|
Operator |
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Port of registry | Liverpool |
Builder | Harland and Wolff, Belfast |
Yard number | 81 |
Launched | 14 January 1873 |
Completed | 29 March 1873 |
Maiden voyage | 29 March 1873 |
In service | 29 March 1873 |
Out of service | 26 February 1884 |
Fate | Wrecked on 26 February 1884 |
Notes | First of four "Belgic"s for the White Star Line. |
General characteristics | |
Type | Cargo ship |
Tonnage | 2,652 GRT |
Length | 370 feet (112.78 m) |
Beam | 36 feet 4 inches (11.07 m) |
Propulsion | Single screw |
Speed | 12 knots (22 km/h) |
Capacity | 40 first-class passengers |
SS Belgic was a steamship of the White Star Line. The first of the company's four ships bearing this name, she was first assigned, with her sister ship, the Gaelic on the route to France and South America, where the company has recently tried to establish itself. The experience was short-lived, however, and at the end of the year, the Belgic was the last White Star Line steamer to serve on this route. She was then moved to the North Atlantic route.
The following year, she and her sister ship were considered surplus, and were loaned to the fledgling Occidental and Oriental Steamship Company, which chartered them on the Pacific route. This agreement continued for eight years, before the two ships were withdrawn from service in 1883 and sold to the Spanish company Cia de Nav. La Flecha. Renamed Goefredo, the ship was about to have a promising career under a new flag, a career that was ultimately short-lived. She experienced two successive groundings, the second in February 1884 proving fatal to the ship.
History
Career under White Star Line
The Belgic and her sister ship, the
When it acquired this ship, White Star Line had been trying somehow to establish, since the end of 1872, a service to South America, briefly inaugurated with the
Charter, sale, and loss
Despite this service, the Belgic, like her sister ship, remained surplus ships to the company, a situation which was further reinforced in 1875 when the
On 29 May 1875, the two ships were therefore chartered on the route between San Francisco, Yokohama, and Hong Kong, originally for a five-year contract that was then extended.[9] For the Belgic, an uneventful period began, and the charter contract was extended to eight years.[1]
In 1883, the Belgic (like the Gaelic) was sold to the Compañia de Navigacion La Flecha in Bilbao for £30,000. She then continued her career under the Spanish flag with the new name Goefredo.[5] This new career turned out to be short-lived, however. On 27 January 1884, she ran aground while leaving Santiago de Cuba, and returned to Liverpool for repairs. When she left this port on 26 February for Havana, she ran aground again in the mouth of the River Mersey. This time, too much damage led to the permanent loss of the ship.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d de Kerbrech 2009, p. 25
- ^ Belgic (I), Titanic-Titanic.com
- ^ de Kerbrech 2009, p. 24
- ^ Anderson 1964, p. 50
- ^ a b c Haws 1990, p. 35
- ^ Anderson 1964, p. 51
- ^ Anderson 1964, p. 66
- ^ Anderson 1964, p. 67
- ^ Anderson 1964, p. 198
Bibliography
- Anderson, Roy Claude (1964). White Star. Prescot: T. Stephenson & Sons Ltd. OCLC 3134809.
- de Kerbrech, Richard (2009). Ships of the White Star Line. Shepperton: Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7110-3366-5.
- Eaton, John; Haas, Charles (1989). Falling Star, Misadventures of White Star Line Ships. Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-85260-084-5.
- Haws, Duncan (1990). White Star Line. Merchant Fleets. Vol. 17. Hereford: TCL Publications. OCLC 50214776.