SS Mona's Queen (1853)

PS (RMS) Mona's Queen (I) No. 21930 - the first vessel in the Company's history to bear the name - was an iron paddle-steamer which was owned and operated by the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company.

Construction and dimensions
Mona's Queen was built and engined by J. and G. Thompson of Clydebank, and launched from Glasgow in 1853. She had a registered tonnage of 600 tons; length 186'; beam 27' and depth 13'. Her speed is recorded as 13 kn, however her horsepower is not recorded.

Mona's Queen carried a figurehead of Queen Victoria, and was the first vessel to break away from the Company's long association with Robert Napier & Co. The vessel's cost is not recorded, but a reference in the Company's old minute book suggests it was under £14,000 (£0 as of 2024). In 1855 she was lengthened (details not recorded) at a cost of £2,111(£0 as of 2024).

Service life
Mona's Queen appears to of had a pretty uneventful career, with the exception of a collision with the steamer Sligo, which occurred in the River Mersey in January 1862. The official inquiry went against the Steam Packet Company who had to pay approximately £300 (£0 as of 2024). in damages and costs. The Captain was accordingly reduced from Second Class Master to Third, and his pay was cut from £275 to £250 (£0 as of 2024)



Disposal
After ten years service the directors decided to sell the ship and offered it to Cunard, Wilson an Co. for £20,000 (£0 as of 2024).

The offer was declined, and negotiations started with a Whitehaven company for a sale at £14,000 (£0 as of 2024).

Midway through 1864 the directors admitted they could not sell the vessel. Mona's Queen therefore continued in the Company's service until she was broken up in 1880.