The SS ''European'' was a

steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...

built by

Harland and Wolff Harland & Wolff is a British shipbuilding company based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It specialises in ship repair, shipbuilding and offshore construction. Harland & Wolff is famous for having built the majority of the ocean liners for the W ...

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

, which entered service in 1897. the ''European'' was a combined

cargo Cargo consists of bulk goods conveyed by water, air, or land. In economics, freight is cargo that is transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. ''Cargo'' was originally a shipload but now covers all types of freight, including trans ...

and passenger ship which was originally built for the

West India and Pacific Steamship Company West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some R ...

along with her sister ship the SS ''American''. In 1904 she passed to the

White Star Line The White Star Line was a British shipping company. Founded out of the remains of a defunct packet company, it gradually rose up to become one of the most prominent shipping lines in the world, providing passenger and cargo services between t ...

and was renamed ''Tropic'', the name she retained until she was sold to Italian ownership in 1924, after which she became known as ''Artico'' then ''Transilvania'' until being scrapped in 1933.

Design and construction

The ''European'' was launched at Belfast on 9 July 1896. She was principally a cargo ship, but also had accommodation for 60 steerage passengers. She was powered by two triple-expansion steam engines which could propel the ship to a maximum service speed of .

Career

The ''European'' started her maiden voyage on 9 January 1897, between

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 ...

and

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

and would remain serving this route for the next three years until 1900, when she was requisitioned as a war transport for the

Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sou ...

. The same year the entire 20 ship fleet of the West India and Pacific Steamship Company was bought by the

Leyland Line The Leyland Line was a British shipping transport line founded in 1873 by Frederick Richards Leyland after his apprenticeship in the firm of John Bibby, Sons & Co. After Frederick Leyland's death, the company was taken over by Sir John Ellerma ...

. In 1902 the Leyland Line and the

were taken over by the

International Mercantile Marine Co. The International Mercantile Marine Company, originally the International Navigation Company, was a trust formed in the early twentieth century as an attempt by J.P. Morgan to monopolize the shipping trade. IMM was founded by shipping magnates ...

(IMMCo) which set about transferring ships between its subsidiary companies in order to increase efficiency. In 1904 ''European'' was sold internally within the IMMCo group to White Star Line, and renamed ''Tropic'', making her the second White Star ship to bear that name. Her sister ship the ''American'' was also sold to White Star and renamed ''Cufic''. ''Tropic'' and ''Cufic'' were then deployed on the White Star's Australian service from Liverpool to

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, principally for cargo, but also with some berths for steerage passengers. In this role they supplemented White Star's five Jubilee Class ships on the Australian service. On 29 June 1905, ''Tropic'' was badly damaged after running aground 15 miles north of Constitución,

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

, presumably whilst returning to the UK from Australia via the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

. Her Second Officer and Purser reportedly drowned. After being refloated five days later it was found that the bottom of the ship had buckled and dislodged the boilers and machinery. On 12 December 1908 she collided with the Argonaut Steam Navigation Company's coaster ''Wyoming''. After the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

in 1914 ''Tropic'' initially remained in commercial service to Australia, but was taken up under the

Liner Requisition Scheme The Minister of Shipping was a British government post created in the First World War and again in the Second World War. In 1941 it was merged into the position of Minister of Transport which was then renamed Minister of War Transport. Minister of ...

between 30 June 1917 and 10 July 1919. Following this she returned to the Australian service, however a decline in trade on this route in the early 1920s, meant that ''Tropic'' was withdrawn from service and sold in December 1923 to Ditta L. Pittaluga of

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. In January the following year she was sold again within Italy to 'Soc. Anon. Ligure di Nav, A Vapore' along with her sister ''Cufic'' and was renamed ''Artico''. Three years later she was sold back to Ditta L. Pittaluga who renamed her ''Transilvania'', she remained in service with them until 2 February 1930, after which she was laid up for disposal at Genoa, where she was scrapped three years later.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:European 1896 ships Ships built by Harland and Wolff Ships built in Belfast Ships of the White Star Line Troop ships of the United Kingdom