View source for SS Oceanic (1870)

{{Short description|British passenger liner, launched 1870}}
{{For|other ships of the same name|Oceanic (disambiguation){{!}}Oceanic}}
<!-- Please do not change the page title to RMS ''Oceanic'', that is a different ship -->
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2023}}

{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=[[File:RMS_Oceanic_1895.jpg|300px|SS ''Oceanic'']]
|Ship caption=The ''Oceanic'' off [[Cobh|Queenstown]] on her second homeward voyage from [[New York City|New York]], 12 June 1871, by [[William Lionel Wyllie]], 1895
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=United Kingdom
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|civil}}
|Ship name=''Oceanic''
|Ship owner=[[White Star Line]]
|Ship operator= [[White Star Line]] (1871–1875); chartered to [[Occidental and Oriental Steamship Company]] (1875–1895)
|Ship route=*[[Liverpool]] to New York (1871–1875)
*San Francisco, [[Yokohama]] and Hong Kong (1875–1895)
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=[[Harland and Wolff]], [[Belfast]]
|Ship yard number=73
|Ship way number=
|Ship laid down=
|Ship launched=27 August 1870
|Ship completed=24 February 1871
|Ship christened=
|Ship acquired=
|Ship maiden voyage=2 March 1871
|Ship out of service=17 May 1895
|Ship registry=
|Ship fate=*Sold for scrap 1895, broken up
*10 February 1896
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class={{sclass|Oceanic|ocean liner|2}}
|Ship type=[[Ocean liner]]
|Ship tonnage={{GRT|3,707}}
|Ship displacement=7,940 tons (loaded)
|Ship length={{convert|420|ft|4|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|40|ft|10|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship height=
|Ship draught=
|Ship draft=
|Ship depth={{convert|31|ft|5|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship decks=
|Ship sail plan=[[Barque]]
|Ship power=Four-cylinder compound steam reciprocating engine, comprising two high-pressure and two low-pressure cylinders, generating {{convert|1990|ihp|lk=in|abbr=on}} 
|Ship propulsion=Propeller, sails
|Ship speed= {{convert|14.5|kn}} (service speed)
|Ship capacity=166 first class and 1,000 third class passengers
|Ship crew=143
|Ship notes=
}}
|}
'''SS ''Oceanic''''' was the [[White Star Line]]'s first [[ocean liner|liner]] and first member of the [[Oceanic-class ocean liner|Oceanic-class]]; she was an important turning point in passenger liner design. Entering service in 1871 for [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]] crossings, she was later chartered to [[Occidental and Oriental Steamship Company]] (O&O) in 1875. The ship provided passenger service for O&O in the [[Pacific Ocean|Pacific]] until 1895 when she was sold for scrap. 

==Design and construction==
[[File:Builder's model of the Oceanic, 1871.jpg|thumb|left|Builder's model, at the [[Merseyside Maritime Museum]], showing the ship as altered in 1872.]]
''Oceanic'' was built by [[Harland and Wolff]] in [[Belfast]], and was launched on 27 August 1870, arriving in [[Liverpool]] for her maiden voyage on 26 February 1871. Powered by a combination of steam and sail, she had twelve boilers generating steam at 65&nbsp;[[pounds-force per square inch]] (450&nbsp;[[kPa]]) powering a single four cylinder [[compound steam engine]], 2 x {{convert|78|in|m|abbr=on}} and 2 x {{convert|41|in|m|abbr=on}}, with a [[Stroke (engine)|stroke]] of {{convert|60|in|m|abbr=on}}. A single funnel exhausted smoke. Four masts carried sail; square sails on the first three masts, and fore-and-aft sails on the [[mizzen]]mast, for a [[four-masted barque]] rig.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Oceanic (I) Fact File |url=https://www.titanicbelfast.com/history-of-titanic/ship-fact-files/oceanic-i-fact-file/ |access-date=2023-08-20 |website=History of Titanic |publisher=Titanic Belfast |language=en-gb}}</ref> The hull was constructed of iron and divided into eleven [[Ship floodability|watertight compartments]]. A crew of 143 operated the vessel.

The ''Oceanic'' had a capacity of approximately 1,000 third-class and 166 first-class passengers, known at the time as 'steerage' and 'saloon' class. The White Star Line was among only a handful of trans-Atlantic passenger lines to segregate their third-class accommodations; single men were berthed in the bow while berthing for single women and families was in the stern. First-class cabins were positioned amidship, away from ocean movements and the [[oscillation|vibration]] of the engines.

The contemporary press described her "more an imperial yacht than a passenger liner".{{citation needed|date=October 2023}}. Innovative features included running water and electric bells to summon stewards in the first-class cabins. [[Porthole]]s in the ship were much larger than on contemporary liners, providing more light. The saloon dining room was large enough to seat all first-class passengers at once.

''Oceanic'' was built at a cost of £120,000 ({{Inflation|UK-GDP|120000|1870|r=-4|fmt=eq|cursign=£}}){{Inflation-fn|UK-GDP|df=y}} She was the first White Star ship to use a name ending with ''ic'', beginning a naming tradition which would last for the rest of the company's existence.<ref name="Haws">{{cite book |last1=Haws |first1=Duncan |title=White Star Line (Oceanic Steam Navigation Company) |date=1990 |isbn=0-946378-16-9 |pages=30–31}}</ref> She was to be the first ship of the [[Oceanic-class ocean liner|''Oceanic''-class]]; a series of six [[sister ship]]s constructed in rapid succession: {{SS|Atlantic|1870|2}}, {{SS|Baltic| 1871|2}}, {{SS|Republic|1871|2}}, {{SS|Adriatic|1871|2}} and {{SS|Celtic|1872|2}}. All were of the same approximate dimensions with differences in [[tonnage]], with the exception of the ''Adriatic'' and the ''Celtic,'' the designs for which were later modified to slightly increase their sizes.

==Service history==
''Oceanic'' left for her maiden voyage from Liverpool on 2 March 1871. This was the White Star Line's inaugural service on the North Atlantic run against established competitors, and it initially failed to generate much custom, as ''Oceanic'' carried only 64 passengers, whilst 300 sailed on the parallel departure of the [[Cunard Line]]'s ''Calabria''. Not long after departing, she had to return because of overheated bearings. Her voyage restarted on 16 March. When she reached New York, she was visited by 50,000 people. From that point onward, business picked up and ''Oceanic'' was a success for the White Star Line.<ref name="Haws"/>

In January 1872, ''Oceanic'' underwent a refit, during which a large [[forecastle]] was added to help prevent the [[Bow (ship)|bow]] being inundated during high seas. Two new boilers were added to increase steam pressure and thus engine power, and the four masts were shortened.<ref name="Haws"/>

[[File:SS Oceanic 1 (image 4).jpg|thumb|''Oceanic'' at [[Amoy]] in 1879]]
''Oceanic'' continued sailing with the White Star Line on the Liverpool to [[New York City]] route until 11 March 1875, when she became surplus to the company's needs on the North Atlantic when the larger [[SS Britannic (1874)|''Britannic'']] entered service. Instead, ''Oceanic'' was chartered to the [[Occidental and Oriental Steamship Company]] (O&O) for service on the [[Pacific Ocean]] between [[San Francisco]], [[Yokohama]] and [[Hong Kong]]. The White Star Line provided the officers, while the crew was Chinese. The ship itself remained in White Star Line colours, but flew the O&O flag. During the repositioning voyage from Liverpool to Hong Kong, ''Oceanic'' set a speed record for that route. Later, she also set a speed record for Yokohama to San Francisco in December 1876, of 14 days, 15 hours, and then broke her own record over that route in November 1889, with a time of 13&nbsp;days, 14&nbsp;hours and 5&nbsp;minutes.<ref name="Haws"/>

During 1879-80 she returned to Liverpool for another major refit, which included new boilers.<ref name="Haws"/>

[[File:"City of Chester" Hit and Sunk By "Oceanic" (cropped).JPG|thumb|left|A painting of ''Oceanic''&nbsp;(left) standing by the sinking {{SS|City of Chester||2}}]]On 22 August 1888, ''Oceanic'' collided with the coastal liner {{SS|City of Chester}}<!-- NB: not RMS ''City of Chester'' of the [[Inman Line]] --> just outside the [[Golden Gate]]; the latter ship sank, killing 16 on board.<ref>The New York Times, 23 August 1888</ref>{{Page needed|date=August 2023}}

On 7 January 1890, [[Nellie Bly]] boarded ''Oceanic'' in Yokohama to cross the Pacific as part of her voyage ''[[Around the World in Seventy-Two Days]]''. She arrived in San Francisco on 21 January 1890, which was a day behind schedule as a result of rough weather.

In 1895, ''Oceanic'' was returned to the White Star Line, which planned to modernise the ship, and put her back into service. She was sent back to Harland and Wolff for new engines to be installed, but when the ship was inspected closely, it was found not to be cost-effective to carry out the work. Instead, she was sold for scrap for £8,000, and left Belfast for the last time on 10 February 1896, under tow, for a scrapyard on the [[River Thames]].<ref name="Haws"/>

==See also==
* [[RMS Oceanic (1899)]] – later namesake ship of the White Star Line
* [[Oceanic (unfinished ship)]] – proposed White Star Liner of the 1920s which was never built

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Oceanic (ship, 1870)}}
*[http://thegreatoceanliners.com/articles/oceanic-i/ ''Oceanic'' info at The Great Ocean Liners]
*[http://www.immigrantships.net/v7/1800v7/oceanic18710330.html For a listing of passengers on one voyage]

{{White Star Line ships}}
{{Oceanic-class ocean liners}}
{{1888 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oceanic (1870)}}
[[Category:Ships built in Belfast]]
[[Category:Steamships of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Ships of the White Star Line]]
[[Category:1870 ships]]
[[Category:Ships built by Harland and Wolff]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in August 1888]]