SS ''Princess Victoria'' was a luxury passenger ship built in 1902 and operated by the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

. Subsequently, converted into a bulk oil carrier under the name ''Tahsis No. 3'', the ship struck a rock and sank on 10 March 1953. ''Princess Victoria'' was built in

Wallsend Wallsend () is a town in North Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England, at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 43,842 and lies east of Newcastle upon Tyne. History Roman Wallsend In Roman times, this was the site of the fort of ...

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

, England, by the shipyards of CS Swan & Hunter Company. She was long, with a beam of 40.5 feet, 1,943 gross register tons and three smokestacks. Christened on 18 November 1902, she arrived in

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...

on 28 March 1903. While the ship burned coal when it was built, ''Princess Victoria'' was converted to oil fuel in 1912. During her time in Victoria, ''Princess Victoria'' ran routes between Victoria,

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

and

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, Washington. ''Princess Victoria'' was involved in a major accident on 26 August 1914, when she rammed and sank in

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ; ) is a complex estuary, estuarine system of interconnected Marine habitat, marine waterways and basins located on the northwest coast of the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. As a part of the Salish Sea, the sound ...

during heavy fog. Laid up in 1950, ''Princess Victoria'' was sold to Tahsis & Company of Vancouver in November 1951 and converted into a bulk oil carrier named ''Tahsis No. 3''. Shortly after the conversion, the ship struck a rock on 10 March 1953 and sank in Welcome Pass, a narrow passageway north of

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

. After its sinking, it was broken up at the Victoria Capital Iron Works and its engine room, telegraph, and steering were re-purposed for the MV Uchuck III which still runs today.

References

* Gaeng, Betty Lou
"The Sinking of the Admiral Sampson,"
''The Sounder''. Vol. 25, No. 2. Sno-Isle Genealogical Society, 2011. Retrieved Aug. 29, 2014.

External links

Damaged bow of steamer ''Princess Victoria'' after sinking ''Admiral Sampson''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Princess Victoria Ocean liners Steamships of Canada 1902 ships Shipwrecks of the British Columbia coast Ships built by Swan Hunter Maritime incidents in August 1914 Maritime incidents in 1953