SS ''Tropic'' was a

steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...

operated by the

White Star Line The White Star Line was a British shipping line. Founded out of the remains of a defunct Packet trade, packet company, it gradually grew to become one of the most prominent shipping companies in the world, providing passenger and cargo service ...

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

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

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 considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

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 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 10 passengers. After serving on the Liverpool to Calcutta route for one year, which proved unsuccessful, her route was changed to Liverpool to Valparaiso,

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

on 5 November 1872. This also proved commercially unsuccessful. In February 1873, a lifeboat was found from the sinking

barque A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel with three or more mast (sailing), masts of which the fore mast, mainmast, and any additional masts are Square rig, rigged square, and only the aftmost mast (mizzen in three-maste ...

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

Valparaíso Valparaíso () is a major city, Communes of Chile, commune, Port, seaport, and naval base facility in the Valparaíso Region of Chile. Valparaíso was originally named after Valparaíso de Arriba, in Castilla–La Mancha, Castile-La Mancha, Spain ...

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 1894.

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