SS Madiana was a passenger and cargo steam ship designed and built in the Robert Napier and Sons shipyard in Glasgow in 1877 as SS Balmoral Castle. She was sold several times over the next 20 years, being named SS San Augustin between 1882 and 1886, before reverting to Balmoral Castle. She was finally sold to the Quebec S.S. Company, Ltd. in 1893 and was renamed Madiana.[1]

SS Madiana at dock, St. Lucia, c.1900.
History
Name
  • SS Balmoral Castle (1877-1882)
  • SS San Augustin (1882-1886)
  • SS Balmoral Castle (1886-1893)
  • SS Madiana (1893-1903)
Owner
  • D. Currie & Co., London (1877-1882)
  • Marques de Campo, Santander (1882-1886)
  • A. Macmillan & Son, London / Glasgow (1886-1887)
  • Balmoral Castle S.S. Co. Ltd. - J. Kilgour, London (1887-1893)
  • Quebec Steamship Co., London (1893-1903)
BuilderRobert Napier and Sons, Govan
Yard number356
Launched2 November 1876
FateWrecked on 10 February 1903
General characteristics
Tonnage
Length344.8 ft (105.1 m)
Beam39.4 ft (12.0 m)
Depth29.1 ft (8.9 m)
PropulsionC2cyl (47 & 75 x 48in), 300hp, 1- Screw

On 16 December 1883 San Augustin caught fire north of La Coruna while on passage from Manila bound for Liverpool. Her crew abandoned ship, but she stayed afloat and was towed to La Coruna for repairs. She returned to service in June 1885.[2]

On the morning of 10 February 1903, the SS Madiana was approaching Bermuda after a voyage from New York City. She hit the reefs around the island and wrecked. The passengers and crew were able to evacuate the ship without any fatalities.

References

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  1. ^ "The Madiana". Bermuda 100. UC San Diego. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  2. ^ "Screw Steamer Balmoral Castle". clydeships.co.uk. Retrieved 28 March 2019.

Further reading

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  • Wedemeyer, A.J.D. (1903) On Sapphire Seas, - or cruising in the Tropics. A souvenir of the special cruise of the S.S. Madiana to Bermuda, the West Indies and Demerara, in February and March, nineteen hundred and two. Ernest Hart Printing Co., New York.
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