The construction of this ship is peculiar in several respects.
In fact, it was the only time in sixty years that White Star Line ordered from the shipyard Harland & Wolff on the basis of a defined budget.
The Laurentic thus appeared to be a ship at a discount, an unusual fact in the history of the company.
The very origin of the construction was rather nebulous, since she was built with the hull number 470, while the Doric, put into service in 1923 (four years before her), had the hull number 573.
This would suggest that the decision to build the Laurentic was made in the early 1920s and that the construction sites retained the cumbersome unfinished structure for more than five years, but the cause of the delay is unknown.
Not only did it have a profile similar to that of the Doric, the  Laurentic  also stood out for its archaism: she was still propelled by coal when most of the newer ships were fueled by oil, and its propulsion is similar to the one used by the first Laurentic in 1909.
She used two quadruple expansion engines powering sided propellers and a low pressure turbine for the central propeller.
The construction was delayed by the 1926 United Kingdom general strike.
The ship was eventually launched without a ceremony on 16 June 1927.
She was completed five months later on 1 November, after which she left Belfast for Liverpool with representatives of the company and shipyards on board.
The construction of this ship is peculiar in several respects. In fact, it was the only time in sixty years that White Star Line ordered from the shipyard Harland & Wolff on the basis of a defined budget. The Laurentic thus appeared to be a ship at a discount, an unusual fact in the history of the company. The very origin of the construction was rather nebulous, since she was built with the hull number 470, while the Doric, put into service in 1923 (four years before her), had the hull number 573. This would suggest that the decision to build the Laurentic was made in the early 1920s and that the construction sites retained the cumbersome unfinished structure for more than five years, but the cause of the delay is unknown. Not only did it have a profile similar to that of the Doric, the  Laurentic  also stood out for its archaism: she was still propelled by coal when most of the newer ships were fueled by oil, and its propulsion is similar to the one used by the first Laurentic in 1909. She used two quadruple expansion engines powering sided propellers and a low pressure turbine for the central propeller. The construction was delayed by the 1926 United Kingdom general strike. The ship was eventually launched without a ceremony on 16 June 1927. She was completed five months later on 1 November, after which she left Belfast for Liverpool with representatives of the company and shipyards on board.
SS Laurentic (1927)