SS Ganges (1906)

SS Ganges was the third Nourse Line ship to be named Ganges. The first Ganges was built in 1861 and wrecked in 1881. The second Ganges was built in 1885 and sold to Norway in 1904. SS Ganges was a 3,475 ton steam ship, built by Charles Connell & Company of Glasgow and launched on 9 March 1906. This ship made seven trips carrying Indian indentured labourers from Calcutta and Madras to Fiji, ten trips to Trinidad and also trips to Surinam as shown in the table.

Destination Date of Arrival Number of Passengers
Trinidad25 October 1906479
Trinidad10 October 1907344
Suriname17 February 1908n/a
Trinidad20 July 1908642
Trinidad16 June 1909819
Trinidad24 November 1910842
Trinidad25 March 1911776
Fiji22 July 1911860
Trinidad9 December 1911428
Suriname7 April 1912n/a
Fiji18 July 1912843
Fiji8 November 1912846
Fiji21 February 1913771
Fiji29 May 1913848
Fiji9 September 1913784
Fiji21 June 1915846
Trinidad11 November 1915325
Trinidad18 April 1916200
Trinidad22 April 1917421
For other ships with the same name, see Ganges (disambiguation).

SS Ganges
History
Name:
  • Ganges (1906–1930)
  • Seapro (1930–)
Owner:
  • Nourse Line
  • F. B. Saunders (1928–1929)
  • Sea Products of London (1929–)
Builder: Charles Connell & Company
Yard number: 303
Launched: 9 March 1906
Completed: May 1906
Fate: Scrapped 1934
General characteristics
Type: Steam ship
Tonnage: 3,475 GRT, 2,151 NT, 5,200 DWT
Installed power: Triple expansion steam, 426 hp (318 kW)
Propulsion: Single screw
Speed: 11.5 knots (21.3 km/h; 13.2 mph)

Having been in operation during the last years of the Indian indenture system, Ganges was the last ship to carry Indian indentured labourers to Trinidad and to British Guiana, docking in Georgetown on 18 April 1917.

Between 7 and 31 August 1914 she was requisitioned for use as a Royal Navy collier and from September of the same year to the following January became an Indian Expeditionary Force transport. For periods of 1916 and 1917 she was requisitioned to transport various bulk cargoes including coal, sugar and wheat. From 6 January 1918 through 19 April 1919 she came under the Liner Requisition Scheme. She was sold out of the fleet in 1928 to F. B. Saunders of London who sold her on the following year to Sea Products of London. She became Seapro in 1930 and served for a further four years before being sold for breaking to Thos W Ward in 1934.

Famous passengers

The parents of Fiji Indian businessman Sir Sathi Narain, Devara Suramma (Emigration Pass No. 52043) and Gompa Appalasamy (Emigration Pass No. 51617), arrived on this ship from India to Fiji in 1913. Abdul Wahid who ran as a Mayoral Candidate in Tracy, USA. His grand father Ali Mohammed f/n Mehardad was one of the indentured labor who came at the age of 20.

See also

References
  • "Nourse Line". Merchant Navy Officers.
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