SS Storstad

Storstad was a steam cargo ship built in 1910 by Armstrong, Whitworth & Co Ltd of Newcastle for A. F. Klaveness & Co of Sandefjord, Norway. The ship was primarily employed as an ore and coal carrier doing tramp trade during her career. In May 1914 she accidentally rammed and sank the ocean liner , killing over 1,000 people. Design and construction Storstad was laid down at Armstrong, Whitworth & Co Low Walker shipyard in Newcastle and launched on 4 October 1910 (yard number 824). As the ship was being launched, she struck a nearby steamship SS Dardania from Trieste, and had her stern damaged. After successful completion of sea trials, during which the vessel was able to reach speed of , Storstad was handed over to her owners and fully commissioned in January 1911. To operate the vessel, she was transferred to a separate company, Aktieselskabet "Maritim", owned by A. F. Klaveness. The ship was built on the Isherwood longitudinal framing principle, and at the time of her launch was the largest vessel to be constructed in this manner. The ship was specifically designed for coal and iron ore carriage, and had very large hatches built, with 10 powerful winches installed for quick cargo discharge. As built, the ship was long (between perpendiculars) and abeam, a mean draft of . Storstad was assessed at , and had deadweight tonnage of approximately 10,650. The vessel had a steel hull, and a single 447 nhp triple-expansion steam engine, with cylinders of , , and diameter with a stroke, that drove a single screw propeller, and moved the ship at up to . Operational history Upon delivery, Storstad departed on 31 January 1911 for her maiden voyage from Newcastle for Narvik and arrived there on 4 February. The vessel loaded 9,609 tons of iron ore and sailed for Philadelphia on 11 February reaching it on 7 March. At the time, this was the largest cargo of iron ore unloaded in Philadelphia from a single ship. Storstad then proceeded to Jacksonville where she took on 6,500 tons of phosphate rock on 17 March, then continued on to Savannah and loaded 8,071 bales of cotton and departed for Hamburg on 28 March. Upon return from Europe on 20 May 1911 the ship was chartered to transport iron ore and coal from Wabana and North Sydney to Montreal and other ports along St. Lawrence River through the end of navigational season in late November.