Ganges (1882)

The ship Ganges
History
United Kingdom
Name	Ganges
Owner	Nourse Line
Builder	Osbourne, Graham & Company, Sunderland
Launched	25 March 1882
Norway
Acquired	1904
Renamed	Asters
Fate	Sunk, 28 May 1917
General characteristics
Class and type	Iron barque
Tons burthen	1,768 tons
Length	241 ft (73 m)
Beam	37.2 ft (11.3 m)
Draught	22.5 ft (6.9 m)

Ganges was the second Nourse Line ship to be named Ganges. The first Ganges was built in 1861 and wrecked in 1881. Ganges was a 1,529-ton iron barque, built by Osbourne, Graham & Company of Sunderland and launched on 25 March 1882. She was 241 feet (73 m) long, with a beam of 37.2 feet (11.3 m) and a draught of 22.5 feet (6.9 m).

Ganges made three trips to Fiji, the first on 27 June 1885 carrying 523 Indian indentured labourers. She arrived next on 3 September 1899, carrying 464 Indian indentured labourers and finally on 21 June 1900, carrying 554 passengers. She also made voyages to the West Indies, arriving in Trinidad on 25 November 1890 carrying 568 passengers and arriving in Suriname on 23 April 1889.

She was sold to Norwegian owners in 1904 and renamed Asters. During World War I, she was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean on 28 May 1917 by the Imperial German Navy submarine SM UC-55 150 miles (240 km) northwest of the Isles of Scilly while on a voyage from Le Havre, France, to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with a cargo of oil and wax. All on board Asters survived.^[1]

• SS Ganges
• Indian Indenture Ships to Fiji
• Indian indenture system

Lubbock, Basil (1981). Coolie ships and oil sailors. Brown, Son & Ferguson. ISBN 0-85174-111-8.

• Media related to Ganges (ship, 1882) at Wikimedia Commons
• Genealogy.com
• Nourse Line