SS Belgic (1873)

Last updated

Belgic painting.jpg
History
Name
  • Belgic (1873-1883)
  • Goefredo (1883-1884)
Owner
Operator
  • White Star Line (1873–1875)
  • Occidental and Oriental Steamship Company (1875-1883)
  • Cia de Nav. 'La Flecha' (1883-1884)
Port of registryLiverpool
Builder Harland and Wolff, Belfast
Yard number81
Launched14 January 1873
Completed29 March 1873
Maiden voyage29 March 1873
In service29 March 1873
Out of service26 February 1884
FateWrecked on 26 February 1884
NotesFirst of four "Belgic"s for the White Star Line.
General characteristics
TypeCargo ship
Tonnage2,652  GRT
Length370 feet (112.78 m)
Beam36 feet 4 inches (11.07 m)
PropulsionSingle screw
Speed12 knots (22 km/h)
Capacity40 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.

Contents

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 This agreement continued for eight years, before the two ships were withdrawn from service in 1883 and sold to the Spanish company Cia de Nav.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 Gaelic, were originally under construction in the Harland and Wolff shipyards on behalf of a Liverpool company, the J. J. Bibby. The two ships were, however, bought by White Star Line even before their launch. Shortly after the launch of the Gaelic, the Belgic, like her, received a compound machine built by a company in Liverpool and was launched on 14 January 1873. [1] Like the other ships of the company at the time, she was propelled by steam by a propeller, but also under sails thanks to her four masts. [2] The ship sported a shape close to those of the Oceanic-class, with a tapered shape (her ratio between length and breadth was 10 to 1). She was originally intended to be only a cargo ship, however White Star Line added cabins to accommodate 40 first-class passengers. [3]

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 Republic, the Asiatic and the Tropic. [4] It was within this framework that the Belgic left, on 29 March 1873, for her maiden voyage between Liverpool and Valparaiso. [5] By this time, however, Thomas Henry Ismay and his associates had already abandoned the idea of having their larger ships frequented this route and were gradually withdrawing from it. The Belgic was the last steamship to remain there, until December 1873, after which the company only operated sailboats there. [6] The Belgic was then moved to the route between Liverpool and New York, on which she made a single crossing in May 1874 before being moved with the Gaelic to the London to New York route. [1] It was during her first crossing on this route that she rescued the Spanish steamer Tornas, which had broken down, and towed her to America. [5]

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 Germanic was put into service, following her sister-ship, the Britannic, which had arrived the previous year. The company thus tried to find a use for the surplus vessels. The opportunity arose that same year when George Bradbury, president of the Occidental and Oriental Steamship Company asked Ismay to set up a regular service on the Pacific Ocean. [7] White Star Line then agreed to let the new company charter the Gaelic, the Belgic, but also the prestigious Oceanic. [8]

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]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White Star Line</span> British shipping company

The White Star Line was a British shipping line. Founded out of the remains of a defunct packet company, it gradually rose up to become one of the most prominent shipping companies in the world, providing passenger and cargo services between the British Empire and the United States. While many other shipping lines focused primarily on speed, White Star branded their services by focusing more on providing comfortable passages for both upper class travellers and immigrants.

RMS <i>Baltic</i> (1903) Ocean liner

RMS Baltic was an ocean liner of the White Star Line that sailed between 1904 and 1932. At 23,876 gross register tonnage, she was the world's largest ship until May 1906. She was the third of a quartet of ships, all measuring over 20,000 gross register tons, dubbed The Big Four, the other three being RMS Celtic, RMS Cedric, and RMS Adriatic.

RMS <i>Gaelic</i> (1885) 1885–1907 British ship

RMS Gaelic was a passenger and cargo liner built for the White Star Line. She transported the first 102 Korean immigrants to the United States. Sold in 1905 for further service in the Pacific, she was scrapped in 1907.

SS <i>Naronic</i> Cargo ship built for the White star line

SSNaronic was a British cargo steamship built in 1892 by Harland and Wolff in Belfast, Ireland, for the White Star Line. A sister ship of SS Bovic, she was built at a time the company wanted to increase its market share in the transport of live cattle on the North Atlantic route. Along with other company's ships of the same type, she was responsible for transporting goods from Liverpool to New York City, United States, and bringing back American cattle on the return trip. She also had cabins that allowed her to carry a few passengers. At the time of her entry into service, Naronic was the largest cargo ship in operation.

RMS <i>Celtic</i> (1901) Early 20th century transatlantic liner

RMS Celtic was an ocean liner owned by the White Star Line. The first ship larger than SS Great Eastern by gross register tonnage, Celtic was the first of a quartet of ships over 20,000 tons, the dubbed The Big Four. She was the last ship ordered by Thomas Henry Ismay before his death in 1899. The second liner of her name she was put into service in 1901. Her large size and her low but economical speed inaugurated a new company policy aiming to favour size, luxury and comfort, to the detriment of speed.

RMS <i>Cedric</i> British liner

RMS Cedric was an ocean liner owned by the White Star Line. She was the second of a quartet of ships over 20,000 tons, dubbed the Big Four, and was the largest vessel in the world at the time of her entering service. Her career, peppered with collisions and minor incidents, took place mainly on the route from Liverpool to New York.

RMS <i>Adriatic</i> (1906) British ocean liner

RMS Adriatic was a British ocean liner of the White Star Line. She was the fourth of a quartet of ships of more than 20,000 GRT, dubbed The Big Four. The ship was the only one of the four which was never the world's largest ship. However, she was the largest, the fastest, and the most luxurious of the Big Four, being the first ocean liner to have an indoor swimming pool and a Turkish bath.

SS <i>Baltic</i> (1871)

SS Baltic was an Oceanic-class ocean liner that was built in 1871 for the White Star Line. She was one of the first four ships ordered by White Star from shipbuilders Harland & Wolff after Thomas Ismay bought the company, and the third ship of the Oceanic class to be delivered. In 1888 Holland America Line bought her, and renamed her Veendam. In 1898 she struck a submerged wreck and sank, but with no loss of life.

SS <i>Celtic</i> (1872) Ocean liner

SS Celtic was an ocean liner built for the White Star Line by shipbuilders Harland and Wolff of Belfast.

SS <i>Republic</i> (1871)

SS Republic was an ocean liner built in 1871 by Harland and Wolff for White Star Line. It was intended to be the last of four vessels forming the Oceanic-class, before two new ships were commissioned. After a rough maiden voyage from Liverpool to New York City on 1 February 1872, the ship was chosen to be on White Star Line's first voyage on the South Atlantic and Pacific line with four other ships, destined for Chile. In 1874, the construction of modern ships SS Germanic and SS Britannic led to SS Republic's becoming the standby vessel of White Star Line. It occupied this position for 15 years, and attempts were made to modernise it in 1888. When RMS Teutonic and RMS Majestic entered service in the following year, the Republic became surplus to White Star's needs.

SS <i>Laurentic</i> (1927) Steam ocean liner

The second SS Laurentic was a 18,724 GRT steam ocean liner built in 1927 by Harland and Wolff, Belfast, for White Star Line. She was the last steamship to be built for White Star Line.

SS <i>Doric</i> (1922)

SS Doric was a British ocean liner operated by White Star Line. She was put into service in 1923. She was the second ship of the company to bear this name. Built by Harland and Wolff in Belfast, she was the company's second and last ship to be exclusively powered by turbines, after SS Vedic.

SS <i>Doric</i> (1883)

SS Doric was a British ocean liner operated by White Star Line. She was put into service in 1883. Built by the Harland and Wolff shipyards in Belfast, she was the sister ship of the Ionic which was put into service a few months earlier. Although the original purpose of the construction of the two ships was not known with certainty, both began their careers chartered by the New Zealand Shipping Co. which operated them on the route from London to Wellington.

SS <i>Gaelic</i> (1872) Steamship of the White Star Line built by Harland and Wolff of Belfast.

SS Gaelic was a steamship of the White Star Line, built by shipbuilders Harland and Wolff of Belfast.

SS <i>Haverford</i>

SS Haverford was an American transatlantic liner commissioned in 1901 for the American Line on the route from Southampton to New York, then quickly on the route from Liverpool to Boston and Philadelphia. During her early years, this ship, mainly designed to transport migrants and goods, was the victim of several incidents. Her company was integrated into the International Mercantile Marine Co. (IMM) in 1902 and she was used by other companies within the trust, the Dominion Line and the Red Star Line.

SS <i>Arabic</i> (1881)

SS Arabic was a steamship of the White Star Line and its first steel-hulled vessel. Like her predecessors, she was built by shipbuilders Harland and Wolff of Belfast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Occidental and Oriental Steamship Company</span>

The Occidental and Oriental Steamship Company was an American shipping company founded in 1874 by US railroads wishing to provide competition to the Pacific Mail Steamship Company which had not complied with its obligations to them. Chartering vessels from different companies, the most important being the British White Star Line, the company quickly became financially successful, against the expectations of its founders.

SS <i>Belgic</i> (1885)

The SS Belgic was a steam ship built by Harland and Wolff for the White Star Line for service in the Far East and across the Pacific. Sold to the Atlantic Transport Line in 1899 she was transferred to the North Atlantic. After service as a Boer War transport she was scrapped in 1903.

Oceanic-class ocean liner Iron-hulled ocean liner class

The Oceanic class were a group of six ocean liners built by Harland and Wolff at Belfast, for the White Star Line, for the transatlantic service. They were the company's first generation of steamships to serve the North Atlantic passenger trade, entering service between 1871 and 1872.

SS <i>Delphic</i> (1925) British freighter and cargo ship

The Delphic was a British freighter operated by the White Star Line, the company's second ship to bear this name. She was built by the Harland & Wolff shipyards in 1916 to serve the war effort under the name of War Icarus, belonging to the series of "Type G" cargo ships. Launched in September 1918 and commissioned in the following October, she was the only ship in the series to be completed before the end of the First World War. During this time, she was operated by a Liverpool company.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 de Kerbrech 2009 , p. 25
  2. ↑ Belgic (I), Titanic-Titanic.com
  3. ↑ de Kerbrech 2009 , p. 24
  4. ↑ Anderson 1964 , p. 50
  5. 1 2 3 Haws 1990 , p. 35
  6. ↑ Anderson 1964 , p. 51
  7. ↑ Anderson 1964 , p. 66
  8. ↑ Anderson 1964 , p. 67
  9. ↑ Anderson 1964 , p. 198

Bibliography

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.