The Aurania (I) was an ocean liner put into service in 1883 by the British shipping company Cunard Line , which was used in passenger and freight traffic on the Liverpool - Queenstown - New York route. The Aurania was the first transatlantic liner with private suites. It was scrapped in 1905 after 22 years of service.
history
The steamship Aurania was built in Clydebank at the J. & G. Thomson shipyard, the predecessor of John Brown & Company , and was launched on December 26, 1882. The Aurania was built for Cunard's New York service and could carry 480 first and 700 third class passengers. The ship, 143.3 meters long and 17.4 meters wide, had two chimneys, three masts with the rigging of a barque and a single propeller. The three-cylinder compound steam engine from J. & G. Thomson developed 1500 hp and allowed a cruising speed of 16 knots (29.6 km / h). The steamer had a measurement of 7269 GRT, 3468 tons below deck and 4030 NRT. She was the first of three ships on the Cunard Line to be named Aurania .
On June 23, 1883, the Aurania ran from Liverpool on her maiden voyage via Queenstown to New York. During the voyage, the ship suffered engine damage due to overheating in the middle of the North Atlantic and had to be towed by three tugs to New York, where it arrived on July 4, 1883. Cunard blamed the shipyard for the damage. After repairs in Glasgow, the Aurania did not resume service until April 12, 1884. In 1885 there was a collision with the RMS Republic of the White Star Line .
The Aurania was considered a heavy rolling ship and never achieved the popularity with customers like other Cunard steamers. It was used until September 12, 1899 on the route Liverpool – Queenstown – New York and then served as a troop transport in the Boer War . During this time she transported more than 30,000 soldiers and officers, made troop trips to India and Australia and also transported prisoners of war .
On April 14, 1903, the Aurania was back on her old route, which she stayed on until September 29, 1903. On October 20, 1903, she left New York for her first trip to Trieste , Fiume and Naples . On February 16, 1904, she began the third and last trip on this route and was then decommissioned. The Aurania was sold in February 1905 for about £ 15,000 for demolition in Genoa , where it arrived on March 13, 1905 and was subsequently scrapped.