The SS ''European'' 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 ...

built by

Harland and Wolff Harland & Wolff Holdings plc is a British shipbuilding and Metal fabrication, fabrication company headquartered in London with sites in Belfast, Arnish yard, Arnish, Appledore, Torridge, Appledore and Methil. It specialises in ship repair, ship ...

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

, which entered service in 1897. the ''European'' was a combined

cargo In transportation, cargo refers to goods transported by land, water or air, while freight refers to its conveyance. In economics, freight refers to goods transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. The term cargo is also used in cas ...

and passenger ship which was originally built for the

West India and Pacific Steamship Company West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic languages, Germanic word pass ...

along with her sister ship the SS ''American''. In 1904 she passed to 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 ...

and was renamed ''Tropic'', the name she retained until she was sold to Italian ownership in 1924, after which she became known as ''Artico'' then ''Transilvania'' until being scrapped in 1933.

Design and construction

The ''European'' was launched at Belfast on 9 July 1896. She was principally a cargo ship, but also had accommodation for 60 steerage passengers. She was powered by two triple-expansion steam engines which could propel the ship to a maximum service speed of .

Career

The ''European'' started her maiden voyage on 9 January 1897, between

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 ...

and

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

and would remain serving this route for the next three years until 1900, when she was requisitioned as a war transport for the

Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic an ...

. The same year the entire 20 ship fleet of the West India and Pacific Steamship Company was bought by the

Leyland Line The Leyland Line was a British shipping transport line founded in 1873 by Frederick Richards Leyland after his apprenticeship in the firm of John Bibby, Sons & Co. After Frederick Leyland's death, the company was taken over by Sir John Eller ...

. In 1902 the Leyland Line and the

were taken over by the IMM Co. which set about transferring ships between its subsidiary companies in order to increase efficiency. In 1904 ''European'' was sold internally within the IMMCo group to White Star Line, and renamed ''Tropic'', making her the second White Star ship to bear that name. Her sister ship the ''American'' was also sold to White Star and renamed ''Cufic''. ''Tropic'' and ''Cufic'' were then deployed on the White Star's Australian service from Liverpool to

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, principally for cargo, but also with some berths for steerage passengers. In this role they supplemented White Star's five Jubilee Class ships on the Australian service. On 29 June 1905, ''Tropic'' was badly damaged after running aground 15 miles north of Constitución,

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

, presumably whilst returning to the UK from Australia via the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...

. Her Second Officer and Purser reportedly drowned. After being refloated five days later it was found that the bottom of the ship had buckled and dislodged the boilers and machinery. On 12 December 1908 she collided with the Argonaut Steam Navigation Company's coaster ''Wyoming''. After the outbreak of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

in 1914 ''Tropic'' initially remained in commercial service to Australia, but was taken up under the Liner Requisition Scheme between 30 June 1917 and 10 July 1919. Following this she returned to the Australian service, however a decline in trade on this route in the early 1920s, meant that ''Tropic'' was withdrawn from service and sold in December 1923 to Ditta L. Pittaluga of

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. In January the following year she was sold again within Italy to 'Soc. Anon. Ligure di Nav, A Vapore' along with her sister ''Cufic'' and was renamed ''Artico''. Three years later she was sold back to Ditta L. Pittaluga who renamed her ''Transilvania'', she remained in service with them until 2 February 1930, after which she was laid up for disposal at Genoa, where she was scrapped three years later.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:European 1896 ships Ships built by Harland and Wolff Ships built in Belfast Ships of the Leyland Line Ships of the White Star Line Troop ships of the United Kingdom