The Mersey was a 1,829 ton iron sailing ship with a length of 270.7 feet, breadth of 39 feet and depth of 22.5 feet. It was built by Charles Connell & Company of Glasgow, named after the River Mersey in north-western England and launched on 18 May 1894 for the Nourse Line. The ship was primarily used by the Nourse Line for the transportation of Indian indentured labourers to the colonies. Details of some of these voyages are as follows:
| Destination | Date of Arrival | Number of Passengers | Deaths During Voyage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Suriname | 10 April 1896 | n/a | n/a |
| Trinidad | 20 October 1897 | 668 | 11 |
| Suriname | 28 January 1902 | n/a | n/a |
| Fiji | 13 June 1903 | 585 | n/a |
| Trinidad | 8 February 1906 | 665 | 5 |
In 1908 the Mersey was sold to the White Star Line for use as a training ship for 60 cadets, makinge six voyages to Australia as a White Star training ship, traveling around the Cape of Good Hope outbound and Cape Horn inbound. In 1910, it became the first sailing ship to be equipped with a radio. It was also the first sailing ship aboard which an operation for appendicitis was performed on a cadet. In 1915 the White Star Line gave up their training scheme due to the war and sold the Mersey to Norwegian owners. It changed hands a number of times and the name was changed to Transatlantic then to Dvergso. In 1923 the ship was scrapped.