Mersey

A steel full-rigged ship built in 1894 by Charles Connell & Co., Glasgow. Dimensions: 270'7"×39'0"×22'5" and tonnage: 1829 GRT, ____ NRT and ____ tons under deck. Rigged with a main skylsail and royal sails over single topgallant and double topsails.

Sistership to the same owner's ships Volga (1891), Arno (1893), Ems (1893), and Forth (1894).

1894: Launched at the shipyard of Charles Connell, Glasgow, for James Nourse, London. Assigned the official British Reg. No. ____ and signal ____. Employed in the Calcutta coolie trade.
1908: Sold to the White Star Line (Oceanic Steam Navigation Co.,) and was registered at Bridgetown, Barbadoes. Used as a sailing cadet training ship in the Australian wheat and wool trades. The main skysail was removed.
1912: Registered in Liverpool.
1914: Sold to Transatlantic Motor Ship Co. (Chr. Hannevig, Horten), Kristiania, Norway, and was renamed Transatlantic.
1915: Captain C. Johannesen, Fredrikstad.
1916 April: Sold to Sold to Kristiania Skoleskipsinstitution, Kristiania, and was planned to be rebuilt as a sail-training ship and to be renamed Christian Radich.
1917 April: Sold to Christianssands Shipping Co., Kristiansand.
1917: Captain Nielsen.
1918: Renamed Dvergsø.
1918: Captain Chr. Olsen.
1922: Sold to Otra Skibs Aktieselskab (Lars Jørgensen). [Norske Seilskuter has 1920.]
1920: Captain E.A. Olsen.
1923: Sold to Selviks Skibsrederi Aktieselskap (Lars Jørgensen), Selvik. [Norske Seilskuter has 1922.]
1923: Sold to British shipbreakers.

References:

Square-rigged ships, general references.
McManus, B.S.: The Mersey - the White Star Line's Training Ship.
Sea Breezes Vol. 71 (1997), pp 441-445, ill.

Updated 1997-05-23 by Lars Bruzelius

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