Scotia (barque)
Scotia at Laurie Island, 1903
|
|
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name: |
|
| Owner: |
|
| Operator: |
|
| Port of registry: |
|
| Builder: | Jørgensen & Knudsen |
| Launched: | 1872 |
| Out of service: | 18 January 1916 |
| Fate: | Caught fire and sank |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: |
|
| Tonnage: | 375 GRT |
| Length: | 139 feet 6 inches (42.5 m) |
| Beam: | 28 feet 9 inches (8.8 m) |
| Draught: | 15 feet 6 inches (4.7 m) |
| Installed power: | Steam engine (1902-16) |
| Propulsion: | Sails, later sails and screw propeller |
| Sail plan: | Barque |
| Speed: | 7 knots (13 km/h) |
Scotia was a barque that was built in 1872 as the Norwegian whaler Hekla. She was purchased in 1902 by William Spiers Bruce and refitted as a research vessel for use by the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition. After the expedition, she served as a sealer, patrol vessel and collier. She was destroyed by fire in January 1916.
The ship was 139 feet 6 inches (42.5 m), with a beam of 28 feet 9 inches (8.8 m). She had a draught of 15 feet 6 inches (4.7 m). The ship was assessed at 375 GRT.
Hekla was built as a barque in 1872 by Jørgensen & Knudsen, Drammen for S. S. Svendsen of Sandefjord. She was used as a sealer, making voyages to the east coast of Greenland from 1872–82 and to Scoresby Sound in 1892. In 1896, she was sold to N. Bugge, Tønsberg. She was sold in 1898 to A/S Sæl- og Hvalfangerskib Hekla, Christiania and was placed under the management of M. C. Tvethe. Hekla was sold in 1900 to A/S Hecla, Sandefjord, operated under the management of Anders Marcussen.
In 1902, she was purchased by William Spiers Bruce for kr 45,000 (£2,650). She was renamed Scotia and was rebuilt by the Ailsa Shipbuilding Company for use as a research vessel by the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition. The ship was strengthened internally, with beams 25 inches (640 mm) thick added to resist the pressure of ice whilst in the Antarctic. A new steam engine was fitted, which drove a single screw propeller. It could propel the vessel at 7 knots (13 km/h). The work was supervised by Fridtjof Nansen. When the conversion of the ship was complete, she was inspected by Colin Archer, who had prepared Fram for Nansen's 1893 expedition to the Arctic. Thomas Robertson was appointed captain of Scotia. He had twenty years experience of sailing in the Arctic and Antarctic on board the whalers Active and Balaena. Sea trials of the rebuilt ship were conducted in August 1902.
...
Wikipedia