The ''Ems'' was a 1,829 ton,

iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...

sailing ship A sailing ship is a sea-going vessel that uses sails mounted on masts to harness the power of wind and propel the vessel. There is a variety of sail plans that propel sailing ships, employing square-rigged or fore-and-aft sails. Some ships c ...

with a

length Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a base unit for length is chosen, from which all other units are derived. In the Interna ...

of , breadth of and depth of .

History

She was built by Charles Connell & Company,

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

for the

Nourse Line Nourse is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Alan E. Nourse, (1928–1992), American science fiction author and physician *Alice Tisdale Hobart, Alice Nourse (1882–1967), American novelist *Amos Nourse (1794–1877), American me ...

, and named after the Ems River in north west

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, and launched on 6 April 1893. She was primarily used for the transportation of

Indian indentured labourers The Indian indenture system was a system of indentured servitude, by which more than one million Indians were transported to labour in European colonies, as a substitute for slave labor, following the abolition of the trade in the early 19th cen ...

to the colonies. Details of some of these voyages are as follows: In 1898, she made a voyage from

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

in 87 days and in 1902 arrived in Calcutta from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

in 102 days. In 1910, the ''Ems'' was sold to Tønsberg Whaling Company of

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. She was resold in 1912 to another Norwegian owner and refitted as a

whaling Whaling is the process of hunting of whales for their usable products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that became increasingly important in the Industrial Revolution. It was practiced as an organized industry ...

and

guano Guano (Spanish from qu, wanu) is the accumulated excrement of seabirds or bats. As a manure, guano is a highly effective fertilizer due to the high content of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, all key nutrients essential for plant growth. G ...

ship. In 1916 she was sold to the Argentine Whaling Company, was renamed the ''Fortuna'' but kept her Norwegian crew. On 28 October 1927, she caught fire, off the Irish coast while on a voyage from

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

South Georgia South Georgia ( es, Isla San Pedro) is an island in the South Atlantic Ocean that is part of the British Overseas Territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. It lies around east of the Falkland Islands. Stretching in the east� ...

with

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...

and empty oil drums. She was abandoned at sea with the loss of five lives.

References

* *

External links

Genealogy.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ems History of Suriname Indian indenture ships to Fiji Whaling ships Guano trade Shipwrecks of Ireland Maritime incidents in 1927 Individual sailing vessels Victorian-era passenger ships of the United Kingdom Ships built on the River Clyde Merchant ships of Norway Merchant ships of Argentina 1893 ships

History

See also

References

External links