S.S. ''Ypiranga'' was a German-registered passenger/cargo steamer owned and operated by

Hamburg-America Line The Hamburg-Amerikanische Packetfahrt-Aktien-Gesellschaft (HAPAG), known in English as the Hamburg America Line, was a transatlantic shipping enterprise established in Hamburg, in 1847. Among those involved in its development were prominent citi ...

(

Hapag-Lloyd Hapag-Lloyd AG is a German international shipping and container transportation company. Hapag-Lloyd was formed in 1970 through a merger of Hamburg-American Line (HAPAG) and North German Lloyd. History The company was formed on September 1, 1 ...

) shipping company. It was built in 1908 by Germaniawerft and measured , and measured 8,142 gross register tons. After launch ''Ypiranga'' was found to be notoriously unsteady at sea. This was remedied by installing two water tanks near the fore and after masts on the upper deck, connected by a flying bridge. The flow of water between the tanks, controlled by regulating the movement of the air in the side branches, served to steady the ship in rough water, and it gained the reputation of being particularly steady after installation. ''Ypiranga's'' sister ship ''Corcovada'' was similarly outfitted. In September 1910, ''Ypiranga'' carried the German crews from the battleships and back from the Ottoman Empire, after the ships had been sold to the Ottoman Navy. The ousted Mexican dictator Porfirio Díaz, accompanied by his family, boarded ''Ypiranga'' at the docks of

Veracruz Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...

, on Wednesday, May 31, 1911, bound for

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

. He went into exile in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. On April 15th, 1912, ''Ypiranga'' was one of the many ships in contact with the as ''Titanic'' was sinking. ''Ypiranga''’s 26th voyage in April 1914 was the most notable; from Hamburg to the Mexican port of

, where it was detained by the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

for delivering arms and ammunition to the government of

Victoriano Huerta José Victoriano Huerta Márquez (; 22 December 1854 – 13 January 1916) was a general in the Mexican Federal Army and 39th President of Mexico, who came to power by coup against the democratically elected government of Francisco I. Madero wit ...

in an event coined the " ''Ypiranga'' Incident". ''Ypiranga'' served until 1919, when it was ceded to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

as a war reparation and placed under management of the

White Star Line The White Star Line was a British shipping company. Founded out of the remains of a defunct packet company, it gradually rose up to become one of the most prominent shipping lines in the world, providing passenger and cargo services between t ...

. In 1921 Anchor Line assumed control of the ship and renamed it ''Assyria'', used in their Bombay run. A Portuguese company, Companhia Colonial de Navegação, purchased the ship in 1929 and renamed it ''Colonial'' for use in their Lisbon-

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

Portuguese East Africa Portuguese Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique) or Portuguese East Africa (''África Oriental Portuguesa'') were the common terms by which Mozambique was designated during the period in which it was a Portuguese colony. Portuguese Mozambique originally ...

run. In 1950 there were plans to scrap the ship, but during the trip to the scrapyard under tow it broke free of her tug and wrecked near Campbeltown.Ypiranga
. shawsavillships.co.uk.

Citations

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ypiranga 1908 ships Ships built in Kiel Ships of the Hamburg America Line Steamships of Germany Passenger ships of Germany Merchant ships of Germany World War I passenger ships of Germany Steamships of Portugal Passenger ships of Portugal Merchant ships of Portugal World War II merchant ships of Portugal Steamships of the United Kingdom Passenger ships of the United Kingdom Merchant ships of the United Kingdom Shipwrecks of Scotland Maritime incidents in 1950