SS Ben-my-Chree (1845)

SS (RMS) Ben-my-Chree (I) No. 21922 was an iron paddle-steamer which served with the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company, and was the first vessel in the company to bear the name.

Dimensions
Ben-my-Chree had a registered tonnage of 458. However, in the Company's Fleet List it was recorded as 399. Length 151'9"; beam 23'; depth 12'5"; speed (approximately) 9 knots.

Construction and service life
Ben-my-Chree was built by Robert Napier & Son at Glasgow in 1845 at a cost of £11,500. Ben-my-Chree's engine was taken from another Company ship, the Queen of the Isle, before that vessel was sold and converted to a full rig sailing ship. The speed of Ben-my-Chree is not recorded, but Napier's engine had produced a speed of 9 knots in the earlier ship. It is also recorded that while the first registration of the Ben-my-Chree gives her tonnage as 458 GRT, the Company's Fleet List and other sources give it as 399 GRT. Boiler pressure had increased slightly in the 13 years since the start of the Steam Packet Company, and this vessel's was 20 psi.

Ben-my-Chree has the distinction of being the first iron-built vessel in the Steam Packet Fleet.

Disposal and subsequent fate
After 15 years service, Ben-my-Chree was disposed of by the Company in 1860. She was sent to Leith, Scotland, and sold by Tod and McGregor for £1,200 (£0 2024) to the African Steamship Company.

After many years service, she was reported to be lying a hulk on the Bonny River, West Africa, 85 years after her launching.