In 1863 Great Eastern made three voyages to New York, with 2,700 passengers being carried out and 970 back to Britain along with a large tonnage of cargo.
One of her paddle wheels was damaged on the last outward trip and she completed it using her screw, while on the return journey she ran down, damaged, and  sank Jane, a 775 ton sailing ship, with the loss of two of her 22 crew.
It was found that Great Eastern was not maintaining sufficient look-out for the speed she was steaming at; thus she was held to blame for the collision.
The company lost nearly £20,000 on the voyages due to a price war between the Cunard and Inman shipping lines, and ended up with debts of more than £142,000, which forced them to lay up Great Eastern.
In 1863 Great Eastern made three voyages to New York, with 2,700 passengers being carried out and 970 back to Britain along with a large tonnage of cargo. One of her paddle wheels was damaged on the last outward trip and she completed it using her screw, while on the return journey she ran down, damaged, and  sank Jane, a 775 ton sailing ship, with the loss of two of her 22 crew. It was found that Great Eastern was not maintaining sufficient look-out for the speed she was steaming at; thus she was held to blame for the collision. The company lost nearly £20,000 on the voyages due to a price war between the Cunard and Inman shipping lines, and ended up with debts of more than £142,000, which forced them to lay up Great Eastern.
SS Great Eastern