Ships
The GER also operated a number of ferries.
| Ship | Launched | Tonnage (GRT) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| PS Adelaide | 1880 | 969 | Built by Barrow Shipbuilding Company. The company's first steel ship and last paddle steamer on Harwich – Rotterdam route. Sold for scrapping in 1896 |
| SS Amsterdam | 1894 | 1,745 | Built by Earle's Shipbuilding of Hull for Harwich – Hook of Holland route, and later transferred to Antwerp service in 1910 when replaced by modern tonnage. Scrapped in 1928 |
| RMS Antwerp | 1920 | 2,957 | Built by John Brown and Company of Clydebank for Harwich – Antwerp service. Scrapped in 1951 |
| SS Archangel | 1910 | 2,570 | Built by John Brown and Company of Clydebank for Harwich – Hook of Holland service. Bombed and sunk off east coast of Scotland in May 1941 |
| PS Avalon | 1865 | 670 | Built by J & W Dudgeon at Cubitt Town on the River Thames for service Harwich – Rotterdam. Sold in 1888 to Earle's Shipbuilding, Hull and wrecked off Jamaica in 1909. |
| SS Berlin | 1894 | 1,745 | Built for Harwich – Hook of Holland service by Earle's Shipbuilding of Hull. Sister of SS Amsterdam. Sank whilst entering Hook of Holland in February 1907 with loss of 112 lives. |
| PS Brandon | 1871 | 718 | Built as the "Richard Young" by J & W Dudgeon at Cubitt Town on the River Thames for the Harwich – Rotterdam service. Converted to a single screw by Earle's Shipbuilding in 1890 and renamed "Brandon", after which she was used for secondary and relief services. Scrapped in 1905. |
| Brightlingsea | 1925 | 51 | Built by Rowhedge Ironworks. Launch used between Harwich, Felixstowe Docks and occasionally Shotley, Suffolk. Passed to LNER, British Railways and Orwell and Harwich Navigation Co.Ltd., who re-opened Felixstowe Docks service in 1962. |
| SS Bruges | 1920 | 2,949 | Built by John Brown and Company at Clydebank for the Harwich – Antwerp service. Bombed and sunk at Le Havre in 1940 |
| SS Brussels | 1902 | 1,380 | Built by Gourlay Brothers, of Dundee for the Harwich – Antwerp service. Switched to Tilbury – Rotterdam when Harwich taken over by Admiralty in 1914. Captured by Germany in 1916 under command of Capt.Charles Fryatt who was tried and executed for an earlier war-like act. Scuttled 1918 at Zeebrugge. The ship was raised in 1919, sold at auction and repaired in 1920. She was eventually scrapped in 1929. |
| SS Cambridge | 1886 | 1,196 | Built by Earle's Shipbuilding of Hull for service from Harwich and her career included Antwerp, Rotterdam and Hook of Holland routes. Sold in 1912 to Anglo-Ottoman Steamship Company. |
| SS Chelmsford | 1893 | 1,635 | Built by Earle's Shipbuilding of Hull for the Harwich – Hook of Holland service.The first triple expansion vessel for the company and inaugurated the new terminal at Hook of Holland in June 1893. Sold in 1910 to the Great Western Railway and renamed Bretonne where she was placed on the Plymouth – Nantes route. |
| PS Claud Hamilton | 1875 | 922 | Built by John Elder and Company, who were later known as Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company in Govan and launched the Harwich – Hook of Holland service. The vessel was named after the Chairman of the company. Sold in 1897 to the City of London as a cattle carrier. Vessel broken up in 1914. |
| SS Colchester | 1889 | 1,160 | Built by Earle's Shipbuilding of Hull and with her sister "Cambridge" operated the three main routes from Harwich. Was operating to neutral Holland when captured by Germany in 1916. She grounded at Kiel in 1918 and was scrapped in 1919. |
| SS Copenhagen | 1907 | 2,570 | Built by John Brown and Company at Clydebank as a replacement for the lost "Berlin" and was so successful that she was quickly followed by her sisters "Munich" and "St. Petersburg" on the Harwich – Hook of Holland service. The vessl was torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea in 1917 en-route to Hook of Holland. |
| SS Dresden | 1897 | 1,805 | Built by Earle's Shipbuilding of Hull for the Harwich – Antwerp service. Dr.Rudolf Diesel was travelling on the vessel in 1913 when he disappeared overboard in uncertain circumstances. The vessel was requisitioned by the Admiralty in 1915 and renamed Louvain, and was lost when torpedoed in the Aegean Sea in 1918. |
| Epping | 1914 | 21 | Small launch used between Harwich and Shotley, Suffolk. |
| PS Essex | 1896 | 297 | Built by Earle's Shipbuilding of Hull and employed on local services and coastal excursions from Harwich. Sold in 1913 and became a River Thames excursion vessel. |
| SS Frinton | 1903 | 1,419 | Previously Kilkenny, the vessel served the Harwich – Antwerp route. She passed to the LNER in 1923 and was sold on again in 1926. |
| Hainault | 1914 | 21 | Small launch used between Harwich and Shotley, Suffolk. |
| PS Ipswich | 1864 | 87 | Built by James Ash of Cubitt Town on the River Thames she served as a river steamer between Ipswich and Harwich. She was the first GER vessel having replaced the "Cardinal Wolsey" which was an Eastern Counties Railway ship on this service. Withdrawn 1873. |
| SS Ipswich | 1883 | 1,067 | Built by Earle's Shipbuilding of Hull, she was designed with her sister "Norwich" for the Company's new quay at Parkeston, Essex. Operated on the Antwerp service until retired in 1905. Sold in 1906 to Shah Steam Navigation Co, Bombay,where she was broken up in 1909. |
| SS Kilkenny | 1903 | 1,419 | Purchased in 1917 from City of Dublin Steam Packet Company, renamed Frinton in 1919.She was built at Port Glasgow and served on the Dublin – Liverpool and Cork – Liverpool routes. |
| PS Lady Tyler | 1880 | 995 | Built by T and W Smith at North Shields she operated on the Harwich – Rotterdam service. Sold in 1893 to Earle's Shipbuilding of Hull. |
| SS Malines | 1921 | 2,969 | Built by Armstrong Whitworth and Company at Newcastle, she was the final steamer ordered by the GER and entered service on the Harwich – Antwerp route. She was torpedoed by an air attack and was beached off Port Said in July 1942. Having been raised in September 1943 and towed back to her builders, the machinery damage caused her to be laid up 1945 and finally scrapped in 1948. |
| SS Munich | 1908 | 2,570 | Built by John Brown and Company of Clydebank for the Harwich – Hook of Holland service. A sister of "Copenhagen". Requisitioned in 1918, renamed St Denis and converted to a hospital ship. She retained her new name on return to GER and passed to LNER in 1923. She was relegated to relief and secondary services in 1932. Was scuttled when cornered in Amsterdam in 1940. Having been raised she changed her name to "Skorpion" and later "Barbara" and was found in Kiel in 1945 where she served as an accommodation ship for Kiel University. In 1950 she was towed to Sunderland and scrapped. |
| PS Norfolk | 1900 | 295 | Built by Gourlay Brothers, of Dundee. Used on local services and coastal excursions. Passed to LNER in 1923 and withdrawn in 1931. Scrapped in 1935. |
| SS Norwich | 1883 | 1,062 | Built by Earle's Shipbuilding at Hull as a sister to "Ipswich" for the Harwich – Antwerp service. Sold in 1905 to Channel Drydock & Shipbuilding Company, Harwich. Re-sold several times to companies in Cape Verde, Montevideo, New York and Mexico and sank in 1920. |
| PS Orwell | 1873 | 114 | Built by Lewis and Stockwell in London and operated on Ipswich – Harwich ferry service with her sister "Stour". Sold in 1890 for scrapping. |
| Pinmill | 1912 | 11 | Small launch used between Harwich and Shotley. Withdrawn from ferry service in 1925, converted to work boat. Still in service in 1985. |
| PS Princess of Wales | 1878 | 1,098 | Built by London and Glasgow Shipbuilding Company at Govan. Entered Harwich – Rotterdam service and transferred to the Hook of Holland service when it opened in 1893. Sold and scrapped in May 1896. |
| PS Richard Young | 1871 | 718 | Built by J & W Dudgeon at Cubitt Town in London. Served on the Harwich – Rotterdam service. Converted to single screw propulsion by Earle's Shipbuilding of Hull and was renamed Brandon in 1890. |
| SS Roulers | 1894 | 1,753 | Built by Earle's Shipbuilding at Hull and was launched as "Vienna". Entered Harwich – Hook of Holland service with sister "Amsterdam" Was transferred to the Antwerp service in 1910. Renamed "Roulers" when she entered Harwich – Zeebrugge service in 1920. Passed to LNER in 1923. Was withdrawn and scrapped in 1930. |
| SS St Denis | 1908 | 2,570 | Built by John Brown and Company at Clydebank and launched as "Munich" for the Harwich – Hook of Holland service. Renamed "St. Denis" in 1914 and returned to GER service with the new name after the war. Passed to LNER in 1923 and relegated to relief work in 1932. Scuttled in 1940 at Amsterdam,salvaged by the Germans and repaired. Scrapped 1950. |
| SS St George | 1906 | 2,456 | Built by Cammell Laird at Birkenhead for the GWR and was sold to Canadian interests in 1913. Purchased from the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1919 by GER. Passed to LNER in 1923 and scrapped in 1929. |
| PS Stour | 1864 | 87 | Built by James Ash at Cubitt Town on the River Thames. A sister of "Ipswich" and operated as a river steamer from Ipswich to Harwich. Withdrawn in 1878 and replaced by a slightly larger newbuilding with the same name. |
| PS Stour | 1878 | 112 | Built by Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company and a sister of the "Orwell". Based in Ipswich for the river service to Harwich. Replaced slightly smaller vessel of same name.Sold in 1900 for River Thames river service. |
| SS St Petersburg | 1910 | 2,570 | Built by John Brown and Company of Clydebank. A sister of the very successful "Copenhagen" for the Harwich – Hook of Holland service. Renamed Archangel in 1916 and used a cross-channel troop ship. Resumed service after the war and passed to LNER in 1923. The vessel was bombed and sank off Scotland in 1941. |
| PS Suffolk | 1895 | 245 | Built by Earle's Shipbuilding of Hull and employed on local services and coastal excursions from Harwich. Used as a picket ship at Harwich from 1914 to 1918. re-opened her pre-war services in 1919. Withdrawn in 1931. |
| SS Vienna | 1894 | 1,753 | Buily by Earle's Shipbuilding as a sister for "Amsterdam". Entered Hook of Holland service. Transferred to the Antwerp service in 1910. Renamed Roulers in 1920 when transferred to the Harwich – Zeebrugge route.Passed to LNER in 1923 and withdrawn in 1930. |
| SS Yarmouth | 1903 | 805 | Built by Gourlay Brothers, Dundee, for the Rotterdam–Harwich cargo service. Sank with all hands in the North Sea on 27 October 1908. |
| PS Zealous | 1864 | 613 | Built by J & W Dudgeon at Cubitt Town on the Thames. Served on the Harwich – Rotterdam and Antwerp routes. Scrapped in 1887. |
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Famous quotes containing the word ships:
“Two lives that once part are as ships that divide.”
—Edward Bulwer-Lytton (1803–1873)
“The ships we sank with women and children aboard. The lifeboats we shelled. Mmm ... we were good at that.”
—Emeric Pressburger (1902–1988)
“I have seen old ships sail like swans asleep”
—James Elroy Flecker (1884–1919)