SS Vestris
Postcard of Vestris
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| History | |
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 United Kingdom
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| Name: | Vestris |
| Owner: | Liverpool, Brazil and River Plate Steam Navigation Co |
| Operator: | Lamport and Holt Line |
| Builder: | Workman, Clark & Co, Belfast |
| Launched: | 16 May 1912 |
| Maiden voyage: | 19 September 1912 from Liverpool to the River Plate. 26 October 1912 First sailing to New York |
| Fate: | Sunk 12 November 1928 |
| Notes: | Final voyage from Hoboken, New Jersey sailing from New York to Barbados and South American ports 10 November 1928 – 12 November 1928 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Passenger and cargo liner |
| Tonnage: | |
| Length: | 496 feet (151 m) |
| Beam: | 60 feet 6 inches (18.44 m) |
| Draught: | Salt water draught in 1912 by Lloyds, 26 feet 9¼ inches for summer, and 26 feet 3¼ inches for winter. Salt water draught on her final voyage was found to have been 26 feet 11½ inches |
| Decks: | 614 NHP, producing 8,000 IHP |
| Propulsion: | 2 × 4-cylinder quadruple-expansion engines, twin screw |
| Speed: | 15 knots (28 km/h) |
| Capacity: | Passengers: 280 First Class, 130 Second Class, 200 Third Class |
| Crew: | 250 |
| Notes: | sister ships: Vandyck, Vauban |
Coordinates: 37°38′N 70°23′W / 37.633°N 70.383°W
SS Vestris was a 1912 passenger steamship owned by Lamport and Holt Line and used in their New York to River Plate service. On 12 November 1928 she began listing about 200 miles off Hampton Roads, Virginia, was abandoned, and sank, killing more than 100 people. Her wreck is thought to rest some 1.2 miles (2 km) beneath the North Atlantic.
The sinking, which attracted much press coverage at the time, remains notable for the loss of life, particularly of women and children, after the vessel was abandoned. The sinking and subsequent inquiries may also have shaped the second International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) in 1929.
Workman, Clark & Company of Belfast, Ireland built Vestris in 1912. She was the third of an order of three V-class sister ships from the same yard, the others being SS Vandyck and SS Vauban. They were built for the New York to River Plate service. Vestris was launched 16 May 1912 and made her maiden voyage on 19 September 1912 from Liverpool to River Plate.
Vestris was chartered as a military transport in World War I to cross the Atlantic Ocean from the United States to France. While on this service she was narrowly missed by a torpedo in the English Channel. In 1919 Cunard Line chartered Vestris and she operated six circular services; Buenos Aires – Liverpool – New York – Buenos Aires. According to A. A. Hoehling Vestris was among the last ships in contact with USS Cyclops in 1918.
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Wikipedia