SS Mona's Queen (1852)

Mona's Queen.
History
Name	Mona's Queen
Owner	1853–1880: IOMSPCo
Operator	1853–1880: IOMSPCo
Port of registry	Douglas, Isle of Man
Builder	J. and G. Thomson of Clydebank[1]
Cost	No official record, thought to be in the region of £14,000.
Yard number	6[1]
Laid down	1852
Launched	27 November 1852
Completed	1853
In service	February 1853
Out of service	1880
Identification	Official Number 21930 Code Letters N J H W
Fate	Scrapped 1880
General characteristics
Tonnage	600 GRT
Length	Initially 170 ft 0 in (51.8 m) lengthened to 186 ft 0 in (56.7 m) following refit.
Beam	27 ft 0 in (8.2 m)
Depth	13 ft (4.0 m)
Propulsion	Side Lever Engine
Speed	13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph)

SS (RMS) Mona's Queen (I) No. 21930 – the first vessel in the Company's history to bear the name – was an iron paddle-steamer which was owned and operated by the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company.

Construction and dimensions

Mona's Queen was built and engined by J. & G. Thomson of Govan, Glasgow and launched in 1852. She had a registered tonnage of 600 tons; length 186'; beam 27' and depth 13'. Her speed is recorded as 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph), and her horsepower is not recorded.^[1]

Mona's Queen carried a figurehead of Queen Victoria, and was the first vessel to break away from the Company's long association with Robert Napier & Co. The vessel's cost is not recorded, but a reference in the Company's old minute book suggests it was under £14,000. In 1855 she was lengthened (details not recorded) at a cost of £2,111.

Service life

Mona's Queen appears to have had a pretty uneventful career, with the exception of a collision with the steamer Sligo, which occurred in the River Mersey in January 1862. The official inquiry went against the Steam Packet Company who had to pay approximately £300 in damages and costs. The Captain was accordingly reduced from Second Class Master to Third, and his pay was cut from £275 to £250.

Disposal

After ten years service the directors decided to sell the ship and offered it to Cunard, Wilson and Co. for £20,000.

The offer was declined, and negotiations started with a Whitehaven company for a sale at £14,000.

Midway through 1864 the directors admitted they could not sell the vessel. Mona's Queen therefore continued in the Company's service until she was broken up in 1880.

References

Bibliography

This page was last edited on 2 October 2022, at 13:29