''Príncipe de Asturias'' was a steam ocean liner, built in Scotland for the Spanish Naviera Pinillos. She was launched in 1914 and wrecked in 1916 with the loss of at least 445 lives. She was the sister ship of Pinillos' '' Infanta Isabel'', which was launched in 1912. ''Príncipe de Asturias'' was the last ocean liner to be built in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

for a Spanish shipping line. Thereafter the

Sociedad Española de Construcción Naval From 1909 until the Spanish Civil War, naval construction in Spain was monopolized by the Sociedad Española de Construcción Naval – (SECN) also Spanish Society for Naval Construction (SECN). During this time the majority of its shares were owne ...

(SECN) developed its shipyards to meet the Spanish merchant fleet's need for larger and more modern ships. The ship was named after the

Prince of Asturias Prince or Princess of Asturias ( es, link=no, Príncipe/Princesa de Asturias; ast, Príncipe d'Asturies) is the main substantive title used by the heir apparent or heir presumptive to the throne of Spain. According to the Spanish Constitution ...

, the title of the

heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

to the Spanish Crown. She is one of several ships to have been called ''Príncipe de Asturias''. Others include a 44-gun frigate sunk in 1721, the former sloop , which was converted into a merchant ship in 1920 and sank in 1930, and the , which was launched in 1982 and sold for scrap in 2015.

Building

Russell & Co Russell may refer to: People * Russell (given name) * Russell (surname) * Lady Russell (disambiguation) * Lord Russell (disambiguation) Places Australia *Russell, Australian Capital Territory *Russell Island, Queensland (disambiguation) **R ...

built ''Príncipe de Asturias'' in its Kingston yard at Port Glasgow,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

, launching her on 30 April 1914. Her sister ''Infanta Isabel'' had briefly been the largest ship in the Spanish merchant fleet. By the time ''Príncipe de Asturias'' had been built, Pinillos' main competitor,

Compañía Transatlántica Española Compañía Transatlántica Española, S.A. (''Transatlantic Company of Spain'', abbreviated CTE), also known as the Spanish Line in English, was a passenger ocean line that has largely ceased operations although it still exists as a company. It i ...

, had taken delivery of the larger liners ''Reina Victoria-Eugenia'' and ''Infanta Isabel de Borbón''. David Rowan & Co of Glasgow built ''Príncipe de Asturias'' engines. They were twin quadruple-expansion steam engines driving twin screws.

Route

In 1916 ''Príncipe de Asturias'' was assigned to the

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

–

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

route, with several intermediate ports of call, including Santos in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Loss

Shortly before dawn on 5 March 1916, while trying to approach the port of Santos in dense fog, the ship ran aground on shoals about east of Ponta do Boi on the island of

Ilhabela Ilhabela ( Portuguese for ''Beautiful Island'') is an archipelago and city situated in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of São Paulo state in Brazil. The city is from the city of São Paulo and from the city of Rio de Janeiro. The largest is ...

, opening a huge hole in her hull. Water entered her boiler room, causing some of her boilers to explode, and she lost power. The ship listed to starboard and soon capsized. She sank in five minutes, killing at least 445 of the 588 people aboard. Only one lifeboat was launched, initially carrying 20 people. At the dawn and in the morning the lifeboat recovered more than 100 people. The French cargo ship ''Vega'' rescued 143 people, including the swimmer Marina Vidal and the only Brazilian on board, José Martins Vianna.

References

Bibliography

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External links

* * – list of crew and passenger names * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Principe De Asturias 1914 ships 1916 in Brazil Maritime incidents in 1916 Maritime incidents in Brazil Ocean liners Passenger ships of Spain Ships built on the River Clyde Shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean Steamships of Spain 1916 disasters in South America