View source for SS Belgic (1873)

{{other ships|SS Belgic}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2016}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
| Ship image = Belgic painting.jpg
| Ship caption = 
}}
{{Infobox ship career
| Hide header = 
| Ship name = *''Belgic'' (1873-1883)
*''Goefredo'' (1883-1884)
| Ship owner = *[[White Star Line]] (1873–1883)
*Cia de Nav. 'La Flecha' (1883-1884)
| Ship operator = *White Star Line (1873–1875)
*Occidental and Oriental Steamship Company (1875-1883)
*Cia de Nav. 'La Flecha' (1883-1884)
| Ship registry = Liverpool
| Ship route = 
| Ship ordered = 
| Ship builder = [[Harland and Wolff]], [[Belfast]]
| Ship original cost = 
| Ship yard number = 81
| Ship way number = 
| Ship laid down = 
| Ship launched = 14 January 1873
| Ship completed = 29 March 1873
| Ship christened = 
| Ship acquired = 
| Ship maiden voyage = 29 March 1873
| Ship in service = 29 March 1873
| Ship out of service = 26 February 1884
| Ship identification = 
| Ship fate = Wrecked on 26 February 1884
| Ship notes = First of four "Belgic"s for the White Star Line.
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
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| Header caption = 
| Ship type = Cargo ship
| Ship tonnage = {{GRT|2652}}
| Ship displacement = 
| Ship length = {{convert|370|ft|m|2}}
| Ship beam = {{convert|36|ft|4|in|m|2}}
| Ship height = 
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| Ship decks = 
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| Ship power = 
| Ship propulsion = Single screw
| Ship speed = {{convert|12|kn|km/h}}
| Ship capacity = 40 first-class passengers
| Ship crew = 
| Ship notes = 
}}
|}

'''SS ''Belgic''''' was a steamship of the [[White Star Line]]. The first of the company's four ships bearing this name, she was first assigned, with her sister ship, the ''Gaelic'' on the route to France and South America, where the company has recently tried to establish itself. The experience was short-lived, however, and at the end of the year, the ''Belgic'' was the last White Star Line steamer to serve on this route. She was then moved to the North Atlantic route.

The following year, she and her sister ship were considered surplus, and were loaned to the fledgling [[Occidental and Oriental Steamship Company]], which chartered them on the Pacific route. This agreement continued for eight years, before the two ships were withdrawn from service in 1883 and sold to the Spanish company Cia de Nav. La Flecha. Renamed '''''Goefredo''''', the ship was about to have a promising career under a new flag, a career that was ultimately short-lived. She experienced two successive groundings, the second in February 1884 proving fatal to the ship.

==History==
===Career under White Star Line===
The ''Belgic'' and her sister ship, the [[SS Gaelic (1872)|''Gaelic'']], were originally under construction in the [[Harland and Wolff]] shipyards on behalf of a Liverpool company, the J. J. Bibby. The two ships were, however, bought by [[White Star Line]] even before their launch. Shortly after the launch of the ''Gaelic'', the Belgic, like her, received a compound machine built by a company in Liverpool and was launched on 14 January 1873.<ref name=RK25>{{harvnb|de Kerbrech|2009|p=25}}</ref> Like the other ships of the company at the time, she was propelled by steam by a propeller, but also under sails thanks to her four masts.<ref>[http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/index2.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.titanic-titanic.com%2Fbelgic_1.shtml Belgic (I), ''Titanic-Titanic.com'']</ref> The ship sported a shape close to those of the [[Oceanic-class ocean liner|Oceanic-class]], with a tapered shape (her ratio between length and breadth was 10 to 1). She was originally intended to be only a cargo ship, however White Star Line added cabins to accommodate 40 first-class passengers.<ref name=RK24>{{harvnb|de Kerbrech|2009|p=24}}</ref>

When it acquired this ship, White Star Line had been trying somehow to establish, since the end of 1872, a service to South America, briefly inaugurated with the [[SS Republic (1871)|''Republic'']], the [[SS Asiatic (1870)|''Asiatic'']] and the [[SS Tropic (1871)|''Tropic'']].<ref>{{harvnb|Anderson|1964|p=50}}</ref> It was within this framework that the Belgic left, on 29 March 1873, for her maiden voyage between [[Liverpool]] and [[Valparaiso]].<ref name=DH>{{harvnb|Haws|1990|p=35}}</ref> By this time, however, [[Thomas Henry Ismay]] and his associates had already abandoned the idea of having their larger ships frequented this route and were gradually withdrawing from it. The ''Belgic'' was the last steamship to remain there, until December 1873, after which the company only operated sailboats there.<ref>{{harvnb|Anderson|1964|p=51}}</ref> The ''Belgic'' was then moved to the route between Liverpool and [[New York City|New York]], on which she made a single crossing in May 1874 before being moved with the ''Gaelic'' to the London to New York route.<ref name=RK25/> It was during her first crossing on this route that she rescued the Spanish steamer ''Tornas'', which had broken down, and towed her to America.<ref name=DH/>

===Charter, sale, and loss===
Despite this service, the ''Belgic'', like her sister ship, remained surplus ships to the company, a situation which was further reinforced in 1875 when the [[SS Germanic (1874)|''Germanic'']] was put into service, following her sister-ship, the [[SS Britannic (1874)|''Britannic'']], which had arrived the previous year. The company thus tried to find a use for the surplus vessels. The opportunity arose that same year when George Bradbury, president of the [[Occidental and Oriental Steamship Company]] asked Ismay to set up a regular service on the Pacific Ocean.<ref>{{harvnb|Anderson|1964|p=66}}</ref> White Star Line then agreed to let the new company charter the ''Gaelic'', the ''Belgic'', but also the prestigious [[RMS Oceanic (1870)|''Oceanic'']].<ref>{{harvnb|Anderson|1964|p=67}}</ref>

On 29 May 1875, the two ships were therefore chartered on the route between [[San Francisco]], [[Yokohama]], and [[Hong Kong]], originally for a five-year contract that was then extended.<ref>{{harvnb|Anderson|1964|p=198}}</ref> For the ''Belgic'', an uneventful period began, and the charter contract was extended to eight years.<ref name=RK25/>

In 1883, the ''Belgic'' (like the ''Gaelic'') was sold to the Compañia de Navigacion La Flecha in [[Bilbao]] for £30,000. She then continued her career under the Spanish flag with the new name ''Goefredo''.<ref name=DH/> This new career turned out to be short-lived, however. On 27 January 1884, she ran aground while leaving [[Santiago de Cuba]], and returned to Liverpool for repairs. When she left this port on 26 February for [[Havana]], she ran aground again in the mouth of the [[River Mersey]]. This time, too much damage led to the permanent loss of the ship.<ref name=RK25/>

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Bibliography==
*{{cite book|last=Anderson|first=Roy Claude|title=White Star|location=Prescot|publisher=T. Stephenson & Sons Ltd|year=1964|oclc=3134809}}
*{{cite book |last=de Kerbrech |first=Richard |year=2009 |title=Ships of the White Star Line |place=Shepperton  |publisher=Ian Allan Publishing |isbn=978-0-7110-3366-5 }}
*{{cite book |last1=Eaton |first1=John |last2=Haas |first2=Charles |year=1989 |title=Falling Star, Misadventures of White Star Line Ships |publisher=Patrick Stephens Ltd |isbn=1-85260-084-5 }}
*{{cite book|last=Haws|first=Duncan|title=White Star Line|series=Merchant Fleets|volume=17|location=Hereford|publisher=TCL Publications|year=1990|isbn=0-946378-16-9|oclc=50214776}}

{{White Star Line ships}}
{{1884 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Belgic (1873)}}
[[Category:1873 ships]]
[[Category:Ships of the White Star Line]]
[[Category:Ships built in Belfast]]
[[Category:Merchant ships of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Steamships of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in July 1874]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in January 1884]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks in the Irish Sea]]
[[Category:Ships built by Harland and Wolff]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in February 1884]]