SS Vesta
SS Vesta was a steam-powered, propeller-driven fishing ship built in 1853 in Nantes, France. It weighed about 250 gross tons, was 46 meters long, 6.2 meters wide, and drew 3.2 meters. Built by Hernoux et Cie for the Société Terreneuvienne of Granville, she served from Saint Pierre Island, supporting Grand Banks fisheries off Newfoundland.
On September 27, 1854, Vesta, carrying 50 crew and 147 fishermen and salters home, collided in heavy fog with the Collins Line paddle steamer SS Arctic. A large section of Vesta’s bow was torn off, but the hull remained watertight, and she stayed afloat. The Arctic, however, sank four hours later after being holed below the waterline. Only about a dozen Vesta crew and passengers died, when a lifeboat was accidentally run down by the Arctic.
Captain Alphonse Duchesne steered Vesta to St John’s, Newfoundland, where she arrived on September 29 and was repaired. On March 20, 1855, she sailed home, reaching Liverpool after 17 days of ice and storms. Later that year she was sold to the Compagnie Générale Maritime of Le Havre and ran Valencia–Le Havre via Málaga, Gibraltar, Cádiz and Lisbon, offering first- and second-class cabins.
In 1863 the ship was sold to J Amann of Bilbao and renamed Amberes. She then worked as a freighter between northern Spanish ports and Antwerp. On December 13, 1865, while sailing from Bordeaux to Antwerp, Amberes collided with the Danish schooner Ornen; Amberes had a hole in her side and lost some rigging, while Ornen took on water before Amberes towed her to Dartmouth.
On March 27, 1870, about 60 miles southwest of the Eddystone Lighthouse, Amberes’ boiler burst. The crew were unharmed, and she was towed to Plymouth Sound, arriving March 28. By June 1870 she was repaired at a cost of £1,200.
On December 9, 1873 Amberes sank in Santander harbour while carrying a cargo of flour, leading to changes that included the extension of a nearby pier.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 23:14 (CET).