Meander (1855)

History
Name	SS Meander
Owner	James Moss & Co., Liverpool
Builder	George Kelson Stothert & Co, Bristol
Laid down	1854
Launched	6 January 1855
Completed	1856
Fate	Chartered to the French Government, 1856
Name	SS Meandre
Operator	French Government
Acquired	1856
Fate	Returned to James Moss & Co., 1856
Name	SS Meander
Namesake	SS Meandre
Owner	Bibby Line
Acquired	1857
Fate	Sold, 1868
Name	SS Baron Lambermont
Owner	Cie Generale Maritime, Antwerp
Acquired	1868
Fate	Sold, 1877
Name	SS Orient
Owner	E. Caillol et H. Saint-Pierre, Marseilles
Acquired	1877
Fate	Broken up, 1910
General characteristics
Type	Passenger ship
Tonnage	622 nrt, 974 grt (as built), 1023 grt (1885)
Length	239 ft (73 m)
Beam	27.66 ft (8.43 m)
Draft	19.03 ft (5.80 m)
Installed power	200 hp
Propulsion	2 cyl. Oscillating Engine (Stotherts)
Speed	8.0 knots
Capacity	10 passengers; 700 troops (as troop ship);

The SS Meander was an iron screw passenger steamship built for James Moss & Co. of Liverpool for the Moss Line.[1] She was launched on 6 January 1855 by the Bristol yard of George Kelson Stothert & Co.[2] She had two sisterships built at the same shipyard, the Scamander and Araxes.

History

Soon after completion, James Moss & Co. chartered the Meander with both her sisterships to the French Government for use as troopships in the Crimean War. She was renamed Meandre and returned after the Crimean War ended in February 1856.

She was purchased by Bibby Line the following year and reverted to her original name, although she was still referred to by the French and Lloyds Register as the Meandre. After a decade of service she was sold in 1868 to Cie Generale Maritime of Antwerp and renamed Baron Lambermont for operating out of Belgium. She again changed hands in 1877 when she was acquired by E. Caillol et H. Saint-Pierre of Marseilles and was renamed Orient.

Caillol & Saint-Pierre operated her on the Marseille to Corsica service carrying 10 passengers and 700 troops in the 'tween decks. She was refitted in 1885, when he engine was replaced with a compound engine by Fraissenet & Cie of Marseilles, increasing her tonnage to 1023 grt. This enabled her operation into the 20th century, but by late in her career she was relegated to a cargo ship, operating to Algeria. Meander was eventually broken up in Marseille in 1910.[3]

She is subject of a print entitled "Launch of the HMS Meander, from the Clifton Works, Bristol, 1855", although she never served in the Royal Navy.

References

Farr, Graham. Bristol Shipbuilding in the 19th Century. Bristol Branch of the Historical Association, University of Bristol, 1971 p20
Red Duster.co.uk: Bibby Line. Archived 27 November 2003 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 2010-09-17.
Armement Adolf Deppe Schepen voor en tijdens WW1: Ships before and during WW1. Archived 30 August 2009 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 2010-09-17.

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[1] Farr, Graham. Bristol Shipbuilding in the 19th Century. Bristol Branch of the Historical Association, University of Bristol, 1971 p20

[2] Red Duster.co.uk: Bibby Line. Archived 27 November 2003 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 2010-09-17.

[3] Armement Adolf Deppe Schepen voor en tijdens WW1: Ships before and during WW1. Archived 30 August 2009 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 2010-09-17.