Several vessels have been named ''Alcyone'' (or ''Alcione''): * ''Alcyone'' was launched in 1810 at Kingston-on-Hull. She spent much of her career as a merchantman sailing across the Atlantic. She suffered a major grounding in 1824. Circa 1827 ''Alcyone'' sailed to India under a licence from the British

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

(EIC). After her one voyage to India, ''Alcyone'' traded to the Baltic and to North and Central America. In 1844–1845 she participated in the

guano Guano (Spanish from ) is the accumulated excrement of seabirds or bats. Guano is a highly effective fertiliser due to the high content of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, all key nutrients essential for plant growth. Guano was also, to a le ...

rush at Ichaboe Island. She was last listed in 1847. * was launched in France in 1810 and under another name. She was taken in

prize A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people (such as sporting teams and organizations) to recognize and reward their actions and achievements.

. Waters & Co. purchased her in 1814 and renamed her. She initially sailed to Asia and India under a licence from the British

. She then sailed between London and the

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( ) is a rocky headland on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A List of common misconceptions#Geography, common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Afri ...

. She was last listed in 1824. * is a ship launched at

La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle'') is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime Departments of France, department. Wi ...

in 1985 for the Cousteau Society. ''Alcyone'' was created as an expedition ship and to test the operation of a new kind of marine propulsion system, the

turbosail The turbosail or French is a marine propulsion system using a sail-like vertical surface and a powered boundary layer control system to improve lift across a wide angle of attack. This allows the sail to power the boat in any direction simply by ...

. ''Alcyone''s two turbosails augment its

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...

s. Since the accidental sinking of , ''Alcyone'' has been the Cousteau Society's expedition vessel.

See also