SS Canadian was launched on 10 December 1859 and completed in March 1860 at the Robert Steele & Co. shipyard in Greenock, United Kingdom for the Allan Line.
The ship was 86.9 metres (285 ft 1 in) long, with a beam of 10.4 metres (34 ft 1 in) and was assessed at 1.926 GRT. She had one 2-cylinder compound engine driving a single screw propeller.[1]
Sinking
On 4 June 1861, SS Canadian sailed from Quebec, Canada to Liverpool, United Kingdom with 60 crew and 241 passengers on board. When the Canadian sailed through the Strait of Belle Isle, ice and thick weather started to form and the captain ordered to slow the ship to 5 knots while passing through the ice. At 11:50 AM the Canadian struck an iceberg which, was largely hidden underwater, 4 nautical miles (7.4 km) north of Cape Bauld (51°30′N55°30′W / 51.500°N 55.500°W / 51.500; -55.500).[2]
The collision fatally damaged the ship and the ship's 3 compartments were 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. Since the ship was sinking quickly, the crew needed to work very fast to evacuate everyone. All the lifeboats were safely launched except lifeboat No. 8, which capsized when being lowered, killing at least 30 people. The ship sank beneath the freezing ice-filled waters 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 perished in the disaster.
Among those who perished was mail officer James Panton, who is considered to be one a hero of the sinking. He managed to guide 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 it went down. The 266 survivors were soon picked up by four French fishing vessels and taken to Quirpon Bay.[3]
