SS Cuxhaven (1882)

History
United Kingdom
Name	1882–1910: Cuxhaven 1910–1916: Torero
Operator	1882–1895: Yorkshire Coal and Steamship Company 1895–1905: Goole Steam Shipping Company 1905–1910: Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway 1910–1912: Giuseppe Sfilio, Catania 1912–1916: Società Trasporti Internazionali Marittimi (Giacomo Randazzo)
Builder	William Thompson, Dundee
Yard number	40
Launched	6 May 1882
Fate	Sunk 1 November 1916
General characteristics
Tonnage	757  gross register tons  (GRT)
Length	220 feet (67 m)
Beam	32 feet (9.8 m)
Depth	13.7 feet (4.2 m)

SS Cuxhaven was a cargo ship built for the Yorkshire Coal and Steamship Company in 1882. ^[1]

History

The ship was built by William Thompson of Dundee, Scotland, for the Yorkshire Coal and Steamship Company and launched on 6 May 1882. ^[2]

On 20 April 1886 she was in collision with the Manchester Wholesale Co-operative Society steamer Progress, which left a breach in the Cuxhaven's stokehold. Cuxhaven was beached. ^[3] She was salvaged by the Dundee Salvage Company early in May which required the removal of 300 tons of mud. ^[4]

Cuxhaven, inwards from Hamburg, was damaged on 18 November 1890 when driven into the cargo steamer Equity in the Goole Channel after her anchor lifted during a heavy swell; she was then beached to avoid sinking. Refloated the following day, she entered Goole for discharge and repairs. ^{[5] [6]}

In 1895 Cuxhaven was acquired by the Goole Steam Shipping Company. In 1905 she was acquired by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway. She was sold in 1910 to Giuseppe Sfilio, Catania and renamed Torero. In 1912 she was sold to Giacomo Randazzo, Palermo and the following year the firm became the Società Trasporti Internazionali Marittimi. During World War I, she was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea on 1 November 1916 6 nautical miles (11 km) off Capo Gallo, Sicily ( 38°30′N13°28′E / 38.500°N 13.467°E / 38.500; 13.467 ) by the Imperial German Navy submarine SM U-21. Her crew survived. ^[7]

References

1. Duckworth, Christian Leslie Dyce; Langmuir, Graham Easton (1968). Railway and other Steamers. Prescot, Lancashire: T. Stephenson and Sons.
2. "Launch of a Steamer" . Dundee Evening Telegraph. Scotland. 6 May 1882. Retrieved 26 October 2015– via British Newspaper Archive.
3. "Collision between Steamers at Goole" . Hull Daily Mail. England. 21 April 1886. Retrieved 26 October 2015– via British Newspaper Archive.
4. "The Steamer Cuxhaven" . Dundee Evening Telegraph. Scotland. 3 May 1886. Retrieved 26 October 2015– via British Newspaper Archive.
5. "Shipping Casualties" . Evening Telegraph. No. 4285. Dundee. 18 November 1890. p. 3. Retrieved 22 April 2025– via British Newspaper Archive.
6. "Shipping Intelligence" . Howdenshire Gazette. No. 1361. Goole. 21 November 1890. p. 2. Retrieved 22 April 2025– via British Newspaper Archive.
7. "Torero". Uboat.net. Retrieved 27 September 2012.