Czar (ship, 1912)
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The Czar ( Russian Царь ) was a 1912 transatlantic passenger steamer of the Russian shipping company Russian American Line , which was built for passenger traffic from Russia to New York. After the February Revolution in 1917 , the Czar came into British hands and changed name and operator several times. In 1949 the ship was scrapped in Blyth .
Commissioning
The 6,503 gross registered tons (GRT) steamship Czar was built at the Scottish shipyard Barclay, Curle and Company in Glasgow and was launched on March 23, 1912. The ship, which is 129.54 meters long and 16.15 meters wide, was powered by two quadruple expansion steam engines, which allowed a cruising speed of 15 knots. The passenger capacities were 30 passengers in first class, 260 in second class and 1,086 in third class.
The Czar was managed by the Russian shipping company Russian American Line, an offshoot of the Danish trading company Det Østasiatiske Kompagni ( East Asiatic Company ) founded in 1900 . She was built for the passenger and freight service from Libau via Copenhagen to New York and ran out on May 30, 1912 on her maiden voyage on this route. She reached New York on June 13th. On August 5, 1913, ten-year-old Mark Rothko and his family boarded the Czar in Libau to emigrate to the USA.
In October 1913, the Czar was among a total of ten ships that responded to the emergency calls from the flaming passenger steamer Volturno and took part in the rescue of the passengers. She picked up 102 people from the burning ship. For their efforts, 19 crew members of the Czar were awarded the Sea Gallantry Medal by King George V in March 1914 on the recommendation of the Board of Trade . On July 17, 1914, she started her last regular crossing on this route. From September 13, 1914, she drove from Arkhangelsk to New York.
After the Russian Revolution
After the February Revolution of 1917 , the Czar passed to Great Britain and was registered in London . She was chartered to the Cunard Line in 1917 , which she made available to the Cruiser and Transport Force of the United States Navy . The same happened to other ships of the Russian American Line such as the Kursk and the Czaritza . On April 16, 1918, ran Czar in Hoboken as part of a convoy to their first troops ride out. The escort vehicles included the Pocahontas , the El Oriente and the Czaritza . On October 7, 1918, she left Newport News with the Tenadores , Susquehanna and America . It was the last time she brought American soldiers to France. After that, she only carried British troops.
At the end of 1920, Cunard returned her to the Det Østasiatiske Kompagni. The following year she gave this to one of her other subdivisions, the Baltic America Line , which she renamed Estonia and put back on the transatlantic route. On January 11, 1921, ran Estonia in Glasgow for the first ride for the new owner to New York and back to Gdansk and Liepaja. From February 23, 1921, she steamed from Danzig and Libau to Boston and New York. In February 1925, the passenger accommodations were rebuilt, so that from then on there was space for 290 passengers in the cabin class and 500 in the third class. This changed again in March 1926 (110 cabin class, 180 tourist class, 500 third class).
The last trip for the Baltic America Line took the Estonia on January 31, 1930 from Danzig via Copenhagen to Halifax and New York. It was then sold to the Polish shipping company Gdynia America Line , which renamed it Pułaski and registered it in Gdynia . On March 13, 1930, the first trip for the Gdynia America Line from Danzig via Copenhagen to Halifax and New York and on August 18, 1935 the last. On February 18, 1936, the Pułaski was transferred to the route from Gdynia to Buenos Aires , on which it remained until April 24, 1939. On August 24, 1939, she ran out to Falmouth . During the Second World War, the ship was used as an Allied troop transport, first for the French and from 1940 for the British. For this purpose it operated in the North Atlantic and the Indian Ocean and also called at African ports.
On April 16, 1946, the steamer was returned to British civil authorities. She went into the fleet of Lamport & Holt and was used again as a passenger ship with home port Liverpool under the name Empire Penryn . In 1948, the 36-year-old ship was finally decommissioned and arrived on February 19, 1949 in the northern English port city of Blyth for scrapping.