SS Suevic - Design and Construction

Design and Construction

When White Star inaugurated service from Liverpool to Sydney in 1899, they commissioned three ships to be built for that route, Afric, Medic and Persic. All three were single-funnel liners which measured just under 12,000 gross register tons (GRT) and were configured to carry 320 steerage or third class passengers. Because these ships were launched in the last year of the 19th century, they were referred to as the "Jubilee Class", reflecting the popular mood regarding the coming of the new century. With the popularity of this route amongst immigrants to Australia, White Star quickly decided to order two more of the class, both of which would be slightly larger than the first three. The first of these was Runic (the second ship of that name), launched on 25 October 1900. The second, and largest of the class, was Suevic, at 12,531 GRT. Runic and Suevic had several minor design changes, the most noticeable of which were the lengthening of the poop deck, and the moving of the bridge closer to the bow. These ships could carry 400 passengers and had seven cargo holds, some of which were refrigerated.