The SS ''Cevic'' was a steam ship built by Harland and Wolff for the White Star Line for service initially in the

North Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe and ...

. Later she was transferred to the

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

run. On the outbreak of the First World War she was sold to the Admiralty and converted to a dummy capital ship. Later she was transferred to the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. After the war she was sold to the Anglo-Saxon Petroleum Company.

History

White Star Service

''Cevic'' was launched at the Harland and Wolff yard, Belfast, on 23 September 1893 and was completed on 6 January 1894. She was one of the largest cargo ships in the world in her day and, in addition to her normal cargo holds, was equipped to carry up to 1000 head of cattle. On 16 October 1902 ''Cevic'' was struck by a steam dredger while berthed in New York City. By 1908 the widespread adoption of refrigeration had led to the end of the livestock trade. ''Cevic'' was transferred to the United Kingdom-Australia service travelling via the Cape route in view of her deep draught. In 1910 the decision was taken to try routing her via the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popular ...

to save time. However she grounded several times in the canal and had to return to

Port Said Port Said ( ar, بورسعيد, Būrsaʿīd, ; grc, Πηλούσιον, Pēlousion) is a city that lies in northeast Egypt extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, north of the Suez Canal. With an approximate population of 6 ...

for repairs after taking on water. After this mishap she reverted to the longer route round the Cape. She was occasionally used on the North Atlantic during this period as she made two ice reports on 20 April 1912, shortly after the sinking of .

First World War

After the outbreak of war ''Cevic'' was sold to the Admiralty in October 1914 to be converted to a dummy capital ship by Harland and Wollf at Belfast. Fitted with two extra dummy funnels and wooden turrets she masqueraded as the

battlecruiser The battlecruiser (also written as battle cruiser or battle-cruiser) was a type of capital ship of the first half of the 20th century. These were similar in displacement, armament and cost to battleships, but differed in form and balance of attr ...

. After conversion ''Cevic'' left Belfast on 11 February 1915 only to be holed on a rock on the 13th en route to Loch Ewe. As a result, she had to put back into Belfast for repairs. On 10 April 1915 she left again only to run aground in fog on Rathlin Island. However she floated off on the next tide and continued on to Loch Ewe. Subsequently, while on patrol off the east coast of the United States, she was spotted by the German raider which put into New York on 25 April 1915 and applied for internment as she had failed to rendezvous with her supply ship and was running low on stores. In September 1915 ''Cevic'' was transferred to the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, renamed ''Bayol'' and fitted with oil tanks to serve as a fleet oiler. In 1917 she was transferred to the

Shipping Controller Shipping Controller was a post created by the Lloyd George Coalition Government in 1916 under the New Ministries and Secretaries Act (6 & 7 George 5 c.68) to regulate and organize merchant shipping in order to supply the United Kingdom with the m ...

and renamed ''Bayleaf''.

Post-war

In 1920 she was sold to the

Anglo-Saxon Petroleum Company Shell plc is a British multinational oil and gas company headquartered in London, England. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and secondary listings on Euronext Amsterdam and the New Yor ...

who renamed her ''Pyrula''. She served as a depot ship at New York until 1925 when she was transferred to

Curaçao Curaçao ( ; ; pap, Kòrsou, ), officially the Country of Curaçao ( nl, Land Curaçao; pap, Pais Kòrsou), is a Lesser Antilles island country in the southern Caribbean Sea and the Dutch Caribbean region, about north of the Venezuela coast ...

for the same purpose. ''Pyrula'' was sold for scrap to Henrico Haupt of Genoa in 1933.

References

External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20120531153244/http://www.red-duster.co.uk/WSTAR6.htm *http://www.titanic-titanic.com/cevic.shtml {{DEFAULTSORT:Cevic (1893) 1893 ships Ships built in Belfast Ships of the White Star Line Steamships Ships built by Harland and Wolff Ships of Anglo-Saxon Petroleum