What caused the sinking of the paddle steamer SS Arctic in 1854?

SS Arctic was a 2,856-ton and 284 feet length paddle steamer, one of the Collins Line, which operated a transatlantic passenger and mail steamship service during the 1850s.

It was the largest of a fleet of four, built with the aid of U.S. government subsidies to challenge the transatlantic supremacy of the British-backed Cunard Line. Paddle-driven, her two 1000 hp engines gave her a maximum speed of over 12 knots and allowed her to make Atlantic passages in ten days or less.

In September 1854 she left Liverpool for New York with 233 passengers, with a crew of 135. Dense fog was encountered on 27 September, about sixty miles southeast of Cape Race, Newfoundland, and collided with a much smaller ship that crossed it ahead, the SS Vesta, a French fishing vessel.

The captain of the Arctic initially perceived that the Vesta was sinking, but soon realized that the ship was not as badly damaged as it initially appeared and that his captain lightened the ship with his bow, strengthened the bulkhead and continued on course.

In the Arctic, three holes had opened below the waterline and it was flooding very fast. Four hours later, the water reached the furnaces and stopped the engines. The six lifeboats, with a capacity for 180 people, were launched, but discipline broke down and chaos reigned.

The final death-toll was 283. All the women and children on board it perished and the 85 survivors consisted of 61 of the crew and 24 male passengers.