Like many liners of her era, White Star Line’s Republic (1872) was forced to adapt to new owners and new roles as she grew older and faced competition from more modern vessels.
Built at Harland & Wolff in Belfast, Republic was a 3,707 GRT liner; 426 feet long with a 41-foot beam. The single-screw vessel was rated at 14 knots. She featured four masts capable of providing auxiliary sail power and one funnel.
Her Journey
Republic left on her final voyage for White Star—Liverpool to New York—on 16 January 1889. It was a route she had worked uneventfully for 17 years.
At the voyage’s conclusion, White Star sold Republic to Holland America Line, which renamed the vessel Maasdam and assigned her to the company’s Rotterdam-New York run. She worked this route until 6 March 1902.
Shortly thereafter, Maasdam was sold to an Italian shipping company and renamed Vittoria. Almost immediately, she was resold to another Italian line and renamed Citta di Napoli. Refitted to carry 1,424 steerage class passengers for the immigrant trade, she sailed the Genoa to Naples to New York route until April 1907.
Her Fate
The aged liner was finally scrapped in 1910 at Genoa. No vessel of her type exists today. The closest match is Brunel’s Great Britain (1845), which is currently a museum ship in Bristol, England.
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