SS Canadian

SS Canadian was an iron-hulled passenger ship that sank by striking an iceberg in the Strait of Belle Isle while she was sailing from Quebec in Canada to Liverpool in the United Kingdom in 1861. 35 out of 301 persons aboard the ship were killed in the disaster.

History
Name	Canadian
Owner	Allan Line
Port of registry	Glasgow
Builder	R Steele & Co, Greenock
Yard number	21
Launched	10 December 1859
Completed	March 1860
Identification	UK official number 28222
Fate	Sunk by striking an iceberg, 4 June 1861
General characteristics
Type	Passenger ship
Tonnage	1,926 GRT, 1,310 NRT
Length	301.6 ft (91.9 m)
Beam	35.9 ft (10.9 m)
Depth	16.6 ft (5.1 m)
Decks	2
Installed power	1 x compound engine
Propulsion	1 × screw
Speed	14 knots (26 km/h)
Capacity	75 x 1st class; 300 3rd class
Crew	60

Building

Canadian was launched on 10 December 1859 and completed in March 1860 at the Robert Steele & Company shipyard in Greenock, Scotland for the Allan Line. Her registered length was 301.6 ft (91.9 m), her beam was 35.9 ft (10.9 m), and her depth was 16.6 ft (5.1 m). She had berths for 375 passengers: 75 in first class, and 300 in third class.^[1] Her tonnages were 1,926 GRT and 1,310 NRT. She had a single screw, driven by a two-cylinder compound engine that gave her a speed of 14 knots (26 km/h).^[2]

Loss

On 4 June 1861, Canadian left Quebec, Canada for Liverpool, England, with 60 crew and 241 passengers aboard. When she sailed through the Strait of Belle Isle, ice and thick weather started to form. Her Captain ordered to slow the ship to 5 knots (9 km/h) while passing through the ice. At 11:50 hrs she struck an iceberg, which was largely underwater, 4 nautical miles (7.4 km) north of Cape Bauld, at position 51°30′N 55°30′W.^[3][4]

The ship's three compartments quickly flooded. Since the collision was at such a low speed, and most passengers were preparing for lunch, most passengers did not know anything was wrong until they noticed that the crew, on order of the captain, were preparing the lifeboats to be lowered. The ship was sinking quickly, so the crew worked very quickly to evacuate everyone. All the lifeboats were safely launched except No. 8, which capsized when being lowered, killing at least 30 people. The ship sank about a half-hour after striking the iceberg. Some passengers and crew did not board a lifeboat, and went down with the ship. In total 35 people were killed in the disaster.

Among the dead was mail officer James Panton, who is considered to be one a hero of the sinking. He guided many people to the lifeboats, and even saved some of his mailbags. He also gave up his seat in a lifeboat for a female passenger. Mr. Panton was last seen hanging by a rope over the side of the ship as she sank. The 266 survivors were soon rescued by four French fishing vessels, and taken to Quirpon Bay.^[5]