Nerissa (Passenger ship)

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A passenger and cargo steamer of 5,583 tons gross, the Nerissa was the final ship to be built for the old-established Red Cross Line service between New York, Halifax, and St. John's, Newfoundland. Her registered owners were the New York, Newfoundland Steamship Co. Ltd., the managers of which were C.T. Bowring & Co. Ltd., of Liverpool.
Her length b.p. was 349.5 ft, breadth mid 54 ft and depth mid 33 ft. The net tonnage was 3,116 and the Nerisssa could carry 3,110 tons d.w. on a draught of 20 ft 8 in. She was built by Wm. Hamilton & Co. Ltd., Port Glasgow, and her machinery by David Rowan & Co. Ltd. Of Glasgow. This was of 4-cylinder, triple-expansion type, with cylinders of 27, 45 and 54 (two) in. diameter and 45 in. stroke. Her boilers, four in number, were oil-fired and had a working pressure of 200 p.s.i. The hull had two continuous decks with a third one in the holds. Their cargo capacity was 197,430 cu. ft, this including 7290 cu. ft of insulated space. Her passenger capacity was given as 163 first-class and 66 second-class
In all she was an exceptionally well-equipped ship, yet she was built in a remarkably short time. Her owners needed her for the opening of the 1926 season and when they stressed this on 3 November, 1925 - the day when the contract was signed - many thought that Hamilton's would never achieve the deadline. However, the keel was laid within a week and the ship launched on 31 March. She ran preliminary trials on 27 May and during further runs in loaded condition she did over 15 1/2 knots. On 5 June she was away on her maiden voyage to New York.
The Red Cross Line relied largely on the American tourist traffic and this became increasingly affected by the trade depression. By 1927 it was decided that the service must be closed down and at the end of 1928 the Red Cross Line with its three ships, Nerissa, Rosalind and Silvia were sold to the Furness Withy Group. They then became part of the Bermuda & West Indies Steamship Co. Ltd., with their funnels repainted in Furness Withy style, black with two red bands, one narrow and one wide. The Nerissa continued on the New York - Halifax - St. Johns (N.F.) run at least until 1931. She was then switched to warmer routes, still based on New York but running to Bermuda, also to the West Indies as far south as Trinidad and Demerara. But she met her end in other waters, for it was in position 55-57N, I0-08W (to the N.W. of Ireland) when, on 30 April, 1941, she was torpedoed and sent to the bottom by German submarine U-552.
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When she was lost she was underway from Halifax and St John's N.F. to Liverpool and loaded with 1872 ton general cargo and 574 ton aluminium, 352 ton shells and 251 tons motor trucks,
When torpedoed the weather was very bad and the loss of lives was very high, 83 crew, 124 passengers lost their live, only 29 crew and 51 passengers were rescued.

Built as a passenger-cargo vessel under yard No 395 by William Hamilton & Co, at the Glen yard at Port Glasgow, Scotland.
31 January 1926 launched as the NERISSA.
She was strengthened for navigation in ice.
June 1926 Completed

Wikipedia has the following on her wartime.
Wartime service
In late 1939 NERISSA was modified as an auxiliary transport with accommodation for 250 men and was fitted with a 4-inch gun and a Bofors gun, with gun crews drawn from the Maritime Regiment of the Royal Artillery. Due to her capability to steam at a higher speed than the usual 9 kn (17 km/h; 10 mph) of escorted convoys, NERISSA sailed alone, since she was considered capable of outrunning enemy submarines.
On 7 September 1940, she left Liverpool bound for Halifax, with 34 evacuated children under the Children's Overseas Reception Board, their final destination was British Columbia.
By April 1941 NERISSA had made 39 wartime crossings of the North Atlantic. Her 40th crossing began on 21 April 1941 at Halifax, Nova Scotia. Carrying 145 Canadian servicemen along with RAF and Norwegian Army Air Service personnel, Northern Electric technicians, members of the press, and a number of civilians she sailed as part of a Britain bound convoy. At 10:15 she separated from the convoy to make her crossing alone, and arrived at St. John's, Newfoundland on 23 April, where her captain received his Admiralty orders and she sailed for Britain in the evening.
Sinking
On 30 April she entered the area patrolled by the aircraft of the Royal Navy's Coastal Command. A Lockheed Hudson aircraft flew over her at nightfall and signaled that the area was clear of enemy submarines; at 11:30 she was struck amidships by a torpedo fired from U-552, 200 mi (320 km) from her destination of Liverpool. The lifeboats were manned and in the process of being lowered when an explosion split the ship in two, destroying the unlowered boats. U-552 had fired an additional two torpedoes to ensure the ship's sinking which had struck together three minutes after the first.
In the short time between the two impacts, the ship's radio operator was able to send a Mayday signal along with the ship's position and at first light, a Bristol Blenheim of Coastal Command circled the scene. The British destroyer HMS VETERAN arrived an hour later at 07:50 and picked up the 84 survivors, who were transferred to the Flower-class corvette HMS KINGCUP and landed at Derry.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_NERISSA https://www.miramarshipindex.nz
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