SS ''Tropic'' was a steamship operated by 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 ...

. Built in 1871 by shipbuilders Thos. Royden & Co, the 2,122 gross register ton vessel operated on the

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comm ...

run in 1871, and in 1872 began serving

South American South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the souther ...

ports from Liverpool. In 1873, the ship was sold to Serra y Font, Bilbao, and renamed ''Federico''. She was operated by the White Star Line. She served alongside her sister ship, RMS ''Asiatic''.

History

SS ''Tropic'' was built by

Thomas Royden and Sons Thomas Royden and Sons was a shipbuilding company in Liverpool which operated from 1818 until 1893. Company history Thomas Royden, a master carpenter, opened a shipyard on Baffin Street on the west side of Queens Dock, Liverpool in 1818. After ...

in 1871. She and her sister SS ''Asiatic'' were bought by the White Star Line before their construction was finished. Even though ''Tropic'' was made to carry cargo, she also carried passengers. After serving on the Liverpool to Calcutta route for 1 year, her destination was changed to

Callao Callao () is a Peruvian seaside city and region on the Pacific Ocean in the Lima metropolitan area. Callao is Peru's chief seaport and home to its main airport, Jorge Chávez International Airport. Callao municipality consists of the whole Call ...

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

on 5th November 1872. In February 1873, a lifeboat was found from the sinking

barque A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing vessel with three or more masts having the fore- and mainmasts rigged square and only the mizzen (the aftmost mast) rigged fore and aft. Sometimes, the mizzen is only partly fore-and-aft rigged, b ...

''James W. Elwell'' with three survivors. ''James W. Elwell'' was sailing from Liverpool to

Valparaíso Valparaíso (; ) is a major city, seaport, naval base, and educational centre in the commune of Valparaíso, Chile. "Greater Valparaíso" is the second largest metropolitan area in the country. Valparaíso is located about northwest of Santiago ...

when she caught fire and blew up ten weeks prior. Fifteen crew had taken to the boat, but twelve of them had subsequently died. The survivors were taken back to Liverpool by SS ''Tropic''. On 4 June 1873, she began her last voyage for the White Star Line. Along with her sister, she was sold, because the company was having financial difficulties after the loss of SS ''Atlantic''. J. Serra y font, a Spanish shipping company, bought the two ships. Tropic was renamed ''Federico''. In 1884, she was sold to the La Flecha company, though retained her name and port of registry. After an uneventful career, she was sold for scrap in late 1896. https://shippingandshipbuilding.uk/view.php?official_number=&imo=&builder=&builder_eng=&year_built=&launch_after=&launch_before=&role=&type_ref1=&propulsion=&owner=&port=&flag=&disposal=&lost=&ref=200099&vessel=TROPIC

Citations

References

* * 1871 ships Ships built in Lancashire Ships of the White Star Line Passenger ships of the United Kingdom Steamships of the United Kingdom Passenger ships of Spain Steamships of Spain {{Ship-stub