Mesaba (ship, 1898)
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The Mesaba (I) was a passenger ship put into service in 1898 for the American shipping company Atlantic Transport Line . Between 1912 and 1914 she temporarily sailed under the Belgian flag for the Red Star Line . On September 1, 1918, she was sunk by a German submarine in the St. George Canal , killing 20 people.
The ship
The Mesaba was actually commissioned for the Wilson, Furness & Leyland Line, which was created in 1896 from the merger of the Leyland Line , the Wilson Line and Furness, Withy & Co. based in West Hartlepool. The ship was built under the name Winifreda and had four roughly identical sister ships, all of which were built in 1897–1898 at different shipyards . The others were the Victoria (6,849 GRT), the Alexandria (6,919 GRT), the Cleopatra (6,889 GRT) and the Boadicea (7,057 GRT). All five ships had a chimney, a propeller and four masts .
The 6,833 GRT steamship Winifreda was built by Harland & Wolff in Belfast , Northern Ireland , and was launched there on September 11, 1897 as the third of the five sister ships. It was equipped with a triple expansion steam engine that developed 772 nominal horsepower and allowed a cruising speed of 13 knots. The passenger accommodations were designed for 120 first-class travelers.
On February 17, 1898, the Winifreda was handed over to her owners and on March 3, 1898, she left for her maiden voyage to New York . In June 1898 she completed her last voyage from London to New York for the Wilson, Furness & Leyland Line. On July 21, 1898, she and her sister ships were bought by the US shipping company Atlantic Transport Line , which needed replacements for their steamers used by the US government in the Spanish-American War . All five ships were renamed in this context. The Victoria became the Manitou , the Alexandria the Menominee , the Cleopatra the Mohegan , the Winifreda the Mesaba and the Boadicea the Marquette . The Winifreda carried out two more Atlantic crossings for the Atlantic Transport Line under its original name before it was renamed. Between November 1898 and March 1914 she drove a total of 104 times to New York.
On September 22, 1900, the Mesaba (Captain Seagrave) collided with the Martello (Captain Jenkins) of the Wilson Line while leaving New York . The Mesaba was only slightly damaged, but the Martello was so badly damaged that she had to go into dry dock for repairs . When the Mesaba arrived in London at the end of the voyage on October 3rd, there was another collision, this time with the steamer Zeta .
When the new Minnewaska entered service in 1909 , the mesaba was only used as a reserve on the route from London to New York. For example, it served as a replacement for the Minnehaha after it had to be repaired in 1910 after an accident near the Isles of Scilly .
Between 1912 and 1914, the Mesaba made three crossings from Antwerp to Boston and Philadelphia for the Red Star Line , but was returned to the Atlantic Transport Line in June 1915.
Titanic
In April 1912, the Mesaba was one of the ships that warned the Titanic , which was on its maiden voyage , of ice. At 9:40 p.m. on the evening of April 14, the following radio message from the Mesaba was received on the Titanic :
“From the Mesaba to the Titanic and all ships heading east. At 42 ° N to 41 ° 25'N and 49 ° W to 50 ° 30'W, thick pack ice and numerous large icebergs were sighted, as well as ice fields. Weather good and clear. "
Five minutes later, the Titanic's radio operator confirmed receipt of the message. But she never got on the bridge of the Titanic . Exactly two hours later there was a collision with the iceberg .
Sinking
On September 1, 1918, the Mesaba was torpedoed and sunk in the St. George's Canal 21 miles northeast of Tuskar Rock on the coast of the Irish county of Wexford by the German submarine UB 118 (Kapitänleutnant Hermann Arthur Krauss). The ship was in a convoy en route from Liverpool to Philadelphia. 20 people were killed, including the commandant, Captain OP Clark.