The Greatest Iron Ship S.S. Great Eastern

1. The Greatest Iron ShipS.S. Great Eastern Presented By – Gerard Murphy

2. Conception • Sailing ships reliant on weather conditions. • Steam ships now a proven technology. • Asia and Australia forms the majority of the Empires trade. • Gold Found in Australia. • Growing demand for transport of People and Cargo.

3. Problems Faced • Main problem is that a steam ship would have to re-fuel en route. • If you double the size – Quadruple the volume. • Construct a ship big enough to carry enough fuel for a return trip. • The longer the ship the higher the speed it could reach.

4. Specification • 693 Feet Long. • 32,000 tons displacement. • Double Hull. • Propulsion by screw (24 feet), 2 paddles (52 feet) and 6 sailing masts. • Top speed of 14 knots (18 mph).

5. Victoria Limited cargo capacity 300 passengers 60 days £12,000 with refuelling stops Great Eastern Huge cargo capacity – 5,000 tons 3,000 passengers 30 – 35 days £7,200 for return trip Competitor Comparison

6. The Deal • Proposed TWO ships. • Cost £50,000 per ship (£25 million). • Construction began May 1854. • Estimated 18 months to complete. “At a time when a ship of 1,000 tons was considered large the Great Eastern at 22,374 tons was truly monstrous!”

7. Construction Everything connected with the great ship demanded new tools, techniques and enlarged facilities of all kinds.

8. Litany of Problems • Fire at Russell's yard – no Insurance. • Death of major shareholder. • Brunel’s insistence of approval on smallest details. • Crimean war – labour shortage & costs. • Fall in demand for shipping.

9. Launch After 41 months (23 late), ready to launch. First ever side-ways launch.

10. Launch • 3rd November 1957. • Desperate for money company sold tickets. • At 12:30 christened Leviathan and order to launch given. • Chains snap, five men injured one fatally - ship has only moved 4 feet. • Over the next 12 week ship is pushed and pulled into the Thames - afloat 30th Jan 1858. • Launch costs £14,000 -> £25,000 -> £100,000 -> £170,000. • Ships cost so far £732,000 (£35 million).

11. Service Life • 1858 – Sea trials, blocked safety valve causes explosion. • 1860 – Maiden voyage Southampton to New York. • 1861 – Caught in severe storm, stranded for 3 days (£60,000). • 1863 – 80ft hole ripped in side (£70,000). • 1864 – Ship ‘Laid Up’, made a total of 9 transatlantic crossings. • 1865 Eastern Steam Navigation company declared bankrupt.

12. Service Life – cont. 1866 – First Successful transatlantic cable laid.

13. Service Life – cont. • 1867 – Bought by French Gov, Paris exhibition only 191 out of 3,000 berths sold. • 1869 – Resumes cable laying duties – 5 transatlantic cables and 1 to Aden, Bombay and Suez. • 1872 – ‘Laid up’, replaced by purpose built cable layers. • 1885 – Leased by a Mr Lewis – floating amusement park. • 1888 – Sold for scrap £16,500, 2 years to break up, inspiring the invention of the wrecking ball.

14. Lessons learned • Rapid advancement in technology, tools, techniques and innovations. • Failure not just down to bad luck but also management. • Leap in scale appreciated but perhaps not leap in risks.

15. Conclusion • First ship ever built that exceeded the dimensions of Noah’s Ark. • Six times larger than any ship in existence. • 50 years before it size was surpassed. • Influenced the design of every large ship ever since.