The SS Germanic was an ocean liner built by Harland and Wolff

Harland and Wolff

Harland and Wolff Heavy Industries is a Northern Irish heavy industrial company, specialising in shipbuilding and offshore construction, located in Belfast, Northern Ireland....

 in 1875 and operated by the White Star Line

White Star Line

The Oceanic Steam Navigation Company or White Star Line of Boston Packets, more commonly known as the White Star Line, was a prominent British shipping company, today most famous for its ill-fated vessel, the RMS Titanic, and the World War I loss of Titanics sister ship Britannic...

. She was later operated by other lines under the names Ottawa, Gul Djemal and Gulcemal.

Germanic

Germanic was launched on 15 July 1874, and fitting out was completed in early 1875, but delivery was delayed until May of that year, so that she would arrive in time for the summer transatlantic season. Germanic was primarily powered by steam, although she also carried four masts, three of which were square-rigged. She departed on her maiden voyage

Maiden voyage

The maiden voyage of a ship, aircraft or other craft is the first journey made by the craft after shakedown. A number of traditions and superstitions are associated with it....

 on 30 May 1875, and in doing so, replaced Oceanic

RMS Oceanic (1870)

RMS Oceanic was the White Star Line's first liner and an important turning point in passenger liner design.-Design and construction:Oceanic was built by Harland and Wolff in Belfast, and was launched on 27 August 1870, arriving in Liverpool for her maiden voyage on 26 February 1871...

 the White Star's first post-Ismay

Thomas Henry Ismay

Thomas Henry Ismay was the founder of the Oceanic Steam Navigation Company, more commonly known as the White Star Line...

 steamliner.

In July during an eastbound run, Germanic set a transatlantic speed record of 15.76 knots (average), crossing the ocean in seven days, 11 hours and 17 minutes, winning the coveted Blue Riband

Blue Riband

The Blue Riband is an unofficial accolade given to the passenger liner crossing the Atlantic Ocean in regular service with the record highest speed. The term was borrowed from horse racing and was not widely used until after 1910. Under the unwritten rules, the record is based on average speed...

. In February, 1876, she beat her own record. On a subsequent trip, when the ship was south of Ireland, the propeller shaft sheared, and she had to limp into Waterford

Waterford

Waterford is a city in the South-East Region of Ireland. It is the oldest city in the country and fifth largest by population. Waterford City Council is the local government authority for the city and its immediate hinterland...

 on sail power alone.

In 1895, Germanic underwent a major re-fit, during which a larger triple-expansion steam engine

Steam engine

A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines are external combustion engines, where the working fluid is separate from the combustion products. Non-combustion heat sources such as solar power, nuclear power or geothermal energy may be...

 was installed, and consequently the square rigging was removed from the masts. On 13 February 1899, while being coal

Coal

Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...

ed at the White Star's New York City pier, a blizzard blanketed her decks with a heavy layer of snow. Now top heavy

Metacentric height

The metacentric height is a measurement of the static stability of a floating body. It is calculated as the distance between the centre of gravity of a ship and its metacentre . A larger metacentric height implies greater stability against overturning...

, she listed to port so much that water began to enter doors opened for coaling and Germanic settled on to the shallow harbour bottom. She was raised, and determined to be worth saving, so she returned to Belfast

Belfast

Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...

 for four months' worth of repairs.

Ottawa

On 3 September 1903, Germanic left on her final run as a White Star liner. She was then laid up for the winter, and in 1904, Germanic was sold to the American Line

American Line

The American Line was a shipping company based in Philadelphia that was founded in 1871. It began as part of the Pennsylvania Railroad, although the railroad got out of the shipping business soon after founding the company...

, one of White Star's sister companies under the International Mercantile Marine Co.

International Mercantile Marine Co.

The International Mercantile Marine Co., originally the International Navigation Co., was a trust formed in the early twentieth century as an attempt by J.P. Morgan to monopolize the shipping trade. The end result was heavy losses for Morgan....

 umbrella. There, still named Germanic, she served the Southampton to New York route, but for only six voyages. She was transferred yet again to another IMM company, the Dominion Line

Dominion Line

Trans-atlantic passenger line founded in 1870 as the Liverpool & Mississippi Steamship Co., with the official name being changed in 1872 to the Mississippi & Dominion Steamship Co Ltd. The firm was amalgamated in 1902 into the International Mercantile Marine Co....

, a niche company that served the immigrant trade. On 5 January 1905, Germanic was renamed Ottawa. For the next four years, Ottawa plied the Canadian waters, sailing only in the summer, between Quebec City

Quebec City

Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...

 and Montreal

Montreal

Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

. With the summer sailing for 1909 over, Ottawa was laid up for winter, but her age was showing, and her future clouded.

Gul Djemal

In 1910, the Government of Turkey bought the ship from IMM, and it became part of a five-ship transport fleet, leaving Liverpool for the last time on 15 May 1911, carrying the name Gul Djemal, and operated by the Administration de Nav. A Vapeur Ottomane. In a few months, she was carrying Turkish soldiers to war duty in Yemen

Yemen

The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....

. When 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...

 began, Turkey joined forces with Germany, and she again became a troop ship, ferrying fighters to the Gallipoli Peninsula. On 3 May 1915, Gul Djemal was on this run, carrying over 4,000 soldiers, when she was torpedoed by the Allied submarine E-14. Though she sank in shallow waters, and only up to her superstructure, most of those on board lost their lives.

Because Gul Djemal had not completely sunk, it was determined that she could be raised and repaired, and afterwards she continued to serve the war effort. In 1918, she carried 1,500 German troops to Dover

Dover

Dover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent's administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings...

, to the Allied control point there, where the soldiers were disarmed and sent home.

With the war finally over, Gul Djemal went to work for the Ottoman American Line, again carrying immigrants to new lives in America, making her first trip in this role on 10 October 1921. She later did duty in the 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...

.

Gulcemal

In 1928, she was transferred to Turkiye Seyrisefain Idaresi, and became the Gulcemal. In 1931, she was grounded in the Sea of Marmora, but managed to live on beyond that mishap, and even survived World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, although she played no notable part in it. By 1949, she was a storage ship, and in 1950 she was converted to a floating hotel. Finally, on 29 October of that year, the end had arrived, and she was moved to Messina for scrapping, having survived 75 years, three major mishaps and two World Wars. As the scrappers cut up her hull, her original White Star Line gold stripe could still be seen along her hull. Only Cunard's SS Parthia (1872) served a longer time afloat than Germanic, ending her days as a garbage scow in 1956. Parthia's record (84 years) as longest serving floating palace, in any capacity, still holds today.