SS Bandırma was an Ottoman

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

 mixed-freight ship

Cargo ship

A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...

, which became famous for her historical role in taking Mustafa Kemal Pasha

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was an Ottoman and Turkish army officer, revolutionary statesman, writer, and the first President of Turkey. He is credited with being the founder of the Republic of Turkey....

 (Atatürk) from Constantinople (present day: Istanbul) to Samsun

Samsun

Samsun is a city of about half a million people on the north coast of Turkey. It is the provincial capital of Samsun Province and a major Black Sea port.-Name:...

 in May 1919 that marked the establishment of the Turkish national movement.

The ship

The steamer Bandırma, built 1878 in Paisley

Paisley

Paisley is the largest town in the historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland and serves as the administrative centre for the Renfrewshire council area...

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

, was a 47.7 metres (156.5 ft) cargo ship with 192 gross tons capacity. She was christened Torocarderto, and under this name she sailed five years long as a freighter for Dussey and Robinson. In 1883, she was purchased by a Greek

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

 ship-owner H. Psicha Preaus, and renamed SS Kymi. 7 years later, she was sold to another Greek ship-owner Cap. Andreadis sailing under the same name. In 1891, she went down following an accident, but could be floated again.

The Ottoman Maritime Co. purchased the ship in 1894, renaming her SS Panderma. She served in the Sea of Marmara

Sea of Marmara

The Sea of Marmara , also known as the Sea of Marmora or the Marmara Sea, and in the context of classical antiquity as the Propontis , is the inland sea that connects the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea, thus separating Turkey's Asian and European parts. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Black...

 as a passenger cargo vessel. On 28 October 1910, the company's status was changed, and it was renamed Ottoman Transportation Authority. The ship’s name was also changed to SS Bandırma, Turkish

Turkish language

Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...

 for Panderma, and she served then as a mail ship in the coastal waters of Ottoman Empire.

During World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, SS Bandırma collided with the British

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 submarine

Submarine

A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...

 HMS E11

HMS E11

HMS E11 was an E-class submarine of the Royal Navy launched on 23 April 1914. E11 was one of the most successful submarines in action during the 1915 naval operations in the Dardanelles Campaign, sinking over 80 vessels of all sizes in three tours of the Sea of Marmara.-European operations:In...

, and
survived a torpedo attack from the same vessel.

Bandırma was taken out of duty in 1924. She was sold 1925, and demolished in a shipyard in Golden Horn

Golden Horn

The Golden Horn is a historic inlet of the Bosphorus dividing the city of Istanbul and forming the natural harbor that has sheltered Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman and other ships for thousands of...

 within four months.

The mission

She went into the history of Republic of Turkey, when Mustafa Kemal Pasha

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was an Ottoman and Turkish army officer, revolutionary statesman, writer, and the first President of Turkey. He is credited with being the founder of the Republic of Turkey....

, who was appointed shortly before Inspector of the Ninth Army Troops Inspectorate of the Ottoman Empire in eastern Anatolia

Anatolia

Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...

, left Constantinople with SS Bandırma on 16 May 1919 for Samsun

Samsun

Samsun is a city of about half a million people on the north coast of Turkey. It is the provincial capital of Samsun Province and a major Black Sea port.-Name:...

. He was sent to Anatolia by sultan

Sultan

Sultan is a title with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic language abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", and "dictatorship", derived from the masdar سلطة , meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be used as the title of certain rulers who...

's decree to oversee the process of disbanding the Ottoman

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

 Army that was ordered by the Entente powers occupying the capital and controlling the Ottoman government.

Mustafa Kemal Pasha, accompanied with 22 officers, 25 soldiers and 8 administrative staff sailed in heavy weather on the old steamer with a not functioning compass needed to navigate in the wavy Black Sea

Black Sea

The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...

, and set foot on land in Samsun on 19 May 1919. Upon landing, Mustafa Kemal Pasha started the Turkish national movement contrary to the orders given to him by the Ottoman government in İstanbul that resulted in the declaration of Republic of Turkey after the Turkish War of Independence

Turkish War of Independence

The Turkish War of Independence was a war of independence waged by Turkish nationalists against the Allies, after the country was partitioned by the Allies following the Ottoman Empire's defeat in World War I...

 almost four years later.

The replica

In view of her important historical role in the birth of the Republic of Turkey, the governor and the mayor of Samsun Province

Samsun Province

Samsun Province is a province of Turkey on the Black Sea coast with a population of 1,252,693 . Its adjacent provinces are Sinop on the northwest, Çorum on the west, Amasya on the south, Tokat on the southeast, and Ordu on the east...

 both initiated the rebuilding of Bandırma in original dimensions and outlook. The building of the replica by Taşkınlar Shipbuilding Co. started on 9 May 2000, and was completed on 15 April 2001. The new Bandırma was opened as a museum ship by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been Prime Minister of Turkey since 2003 and is chairman of the ruling Justice and Development Party , which holds a majority of the seats in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. Erdoğan served as Mayor of Istanbul from 1994 to 1998. He graduated in 1981 from Marmara...

 on 19 May 2003 at Doğu Park (East Park) in Samsun. Wax figures of Mustafa Kemal Pasha and his followers on the ship are on display along with historical items in the museum ship today.

Ship's register

• 1878 SS Torocarderto, Great Britain
  Great Britain
  Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
  
  , Dussey and Robinson
• 1883 SS Kymi, Greece
  Kingdom of Greece
  The Kingdom of Greece was a state established in 1832 in the Convention of London by the Great Powers...
  
  , H. Psicha Preus
• 1890 SS Kymi, Greece, Cap. Andreadis
• 1894 SS Panderma, Ottoman Empire, Ottoman Maritime Co.
• 1910 SS Bandırma, Ottoman Empire, Ottoman Transportation Co.
• 1924 taken out of service
• 1925 demolished
• 2001 replica built
• 2003 replica put in service as museum ship in Samsun