SS Mona (1889)

PS Mona (III) - the third ship of the Company to bear the name - was a steel paddle-steamer which was originally owned and operated by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway Company, who then sold her to the Liverpool and Douglas Steamship Company, from whose liquidators she was acquired by the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company in 1903.

Construction and dimensions
Constructed in the yards of Faifields of Govan in 1889 she was originally named Calais/Douvres. Length 324'5"; beam 35'9"; depth 13'5". She was certified to carry 1212 passengers, and had a crew complement of 59.

Her engines produced an indicated horsepower of 5,400, but the vessel's speed is open to question. No speed is entered in the Register of Shipping, but her best run during her sea trials averaged 18.86 knots. The Steam Packet give it as 18 knots, but she is said to of steamed from Dover to Calais in three minutes under the hour at an average speed of 22.6 knots.

Service life
On completion, Calais/Douvres entered service with the London, Chatham and Dover Railway Company, plying between Calais and Dover - the two ports after which she was named. She was then acquired by Higginbottom's Liverpool and Douglas Steamers Ltd, and entered service on the Irish Sea in competition with the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company.

Upon the death of Mr Higginbottom in December, 1902, the Liverpool and Douglas Steamship Company ceased to exist, and the vessel was then bought from the liquidators by the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company in July 1903. The consideration was £6,000; and upon her purchase she was renamed Mona.

Disposal
Mona is mainly of interest as she was the last paddle-ship bought for the Steam Packet fleet. After six years of service with the line, Mona was sold for scrap in 1909.