SS Princess Victoria

Steamship Princess Victoria was a luxury passenger ship built in 1902 and operated by the Canadian Pacific Railway. Subsequently, converted into a bulk oil carrier under the name Tahsis No. 3, the ship struck a rock and sank on 10 March 1953.

This article is about the steamship built in 1902. For the British ferry that also sank in 1953, see MV Princess Victoria.
History
Canada
Name:
  • SS Princess Victoria
  • Tahsis No. 3
Operator: Canadian Pacific Railway
Route: Victoria, Vancouver and Seattle
Builder: CS Swan & Hunter, Wallsend, Newcastle on Tyne, England
Launched: 18 November 1902
Fate: sank 10 March 1953
General characteristics
Class and type:
  • Passenger steamship
  • later bulk oil carrier
Tonnage: 1,943 GT
Length: 300 feet (91 m)
Beam: 40.5 feet (12.3 m)

Princess Victoria was built in Wallsend, Newcastle upon Tyne, England, by the shipyards of CS Swan & Hunter Company. She was 300 feet (91 m) long, with a beam of 40.5 feet, 1,943 gross tons and three smokestacks. Christened on 18 November 1902, she arrived in Victoria, British Columbia on 28 March 1903. While the ship burned coal when it was built, Princess Victoria was converted to oil fuel in 1912. During her time in Victoria, Princess Victoria ran routes between Victoria, Vancouver and Seattle, Washington.

Princess Victoria was involved in a major accident on 26 August 1914, when she rammed and sank SS Admiral Sampson in Puget Sound during heavy fog.[1]

Laid up in 1950, Princess Victoria was sold to Tahsis & Company of Vancouver in November 1951 and converted into a bulk oil carrier named Tahsis No. 3. Shortly after the conversion, the ship struck a rock on 10 March 1953 and sank in Welcome Pass, a narrow passageway north of Vancouver, British Columbia.[2][3]

After its sinking, it was broken up at the Victoria Capital Iron Works and its engine room, telegraph, and steering were re-purposed for the MV Uchuck III which still runs today.[4]

References
  1. Liner Admiral Sampson Rammed and Sunk in Sound; Eleven Dead The Seattle Star 26 August 1914 page 1
  2. Loss of the Princess Victoria Railway Gazette 19 June 1953 page 693
  3. Princess Victoria Inquiry Findings Railway Gazette 19 June 1953 page 716
  4. "History of the MV Uchuck III". Retrieved July 5, 2018.
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