SS Ypiranga

SS Ypiranga was a cargo liner that was launched in Germany in 1908 for the Hamburg America Line (HAPAG). In 1919 the United Kingdom seized her for World War I reparations. In 1921 Anchor Line acquired her and renamed her Assyria. In 1929 the Companhia Colonial de Navegação (CCN) bought her and renamed her Colonial. In 1950 she was sold for scrap, but she sank off the coast of Scotland while being towed to a scrapyard.

Ypiranga was built for HAPAG's route between Hamburg and Brazil, but in 1911 was transferred to the company's route to Mexico. There she became involved in the politics of the Mexican Revolution, first taking President Porfirio Díaz into exile in 1911, and then gun-running in 1914 in the Ypiranga incident.

Building
In 1908 Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft in Kiel completed a pair of sister ships for HAPAG. Yard number 133 was launched on 21 December 1907 as SS Corcovado and completed in April 1908. Yard number 134 was launched on 3 May 1908 as Ypiranga and completed on 8 August. HAPAG gave both ships Brazilian names, as they were built for a service to Brazil.

Ypiranga's registered length was 447.0 ft, her beam was 55.1 ft, and her depth was 27.8 ft. Her tonnages were and. As built, she had berths for 1,312 passengers: 136 in first class; 126 in second class; and 1,050 in steerage.

Ypiranga had twin screws, each driven by a quadruple-expansion steam engine. The combined power of her twin engines was 332 NHP or 4,000 ihp, and gave her a speed of 13+1/2 kn.

HAPAG career
HAPAG registered Ypiranga in Hamburg. Her code letters were RPWN. On 14 October she left Hamburg on her maiden voyage, which was to Brazil. In 1911 HAPAG extended her route to Río de la Plata.

In September 1910 Germany sold the battleships SMS Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm and SMS Weissenburg to the Ottoman Navy. Ypiranga repatriated the German crews that delivered them.

Early in her career, Ypiranga was found to roll badly. By 1911 this had been remedied by installing two antiroll tanks near her foremast and her mainmast, linked by a flying bridge. The flow of water between the tanks, controlled by regulating the movement of the air in the side branches, steadied her in rough seas. After this modification, Ypiranga was reputed to be particularly stable. Her sister ship Corcovado was similarly modified.

By 1911 Ypiranga was equipped with wireless telegraphy. By 1913 her wireless call sign was DYA.

In 1911 Ypiranga made one round trip between Hamburg and Philadelphia, and then HAPAG transferred her to its route between Hamburg and Mexico via Havana. On 25 May 1911 Porfirio Díaz abdicated as President of Mexico and fled Mexico City. On 31 May he and his family embarked on Ypiranga at Vera Cruz to go into exile. On 4 June the ship called at Havana, where the Mexican ambassador and representatives of the Cuban government came aboard to pay him farewell visits. Diaz remained aboard as far as Le Havre.

In April 1912 Ypiranga was on an eastbound crossing from Havana to Hamburg via Plymouth and Le Havre. On 13 April the Marconi Company wireless station on Cape Race signalled her, asking her to look for the Deutsch-Australische DG cargo ship SS Augsburg, which had left New York on 2 February for Durban, and had been reported missing on 22 March. Ypiranga altered course to the south to look for Augsburg. On the night of 15 April Ypirangas wireless operator received RMS Titanics first distress signal. However, having diverted to look for Augsburg, she was too far south to go to Titanic's aid. Augsburg was never found.

Ypiranga incident
In April and May 1914 Ypiranga delivered a cargo of rifles, machine guns and ammunition to Vera Cruz and Puerto Mexico (now Coatzacoalcos) for President Victoriano Huerta's army. The USA tried to intervene, but was forced to back down. This became known as the Ypiranga incident.

On 7 May Ypiranga reached the quarantine station in Mobile, Alabama. On 9 May she landed 190 refugees who had embarked at Vera Cruz and Tampico. 178 were Germans, and the remainder were from other European countries and the US. The refugees accused all sides in the Mexican Revolution of "barbarity", but especially the Zapatistas. One US refugee alleged that Zapatistas in Tabasco tortured to death a German mining engineer and his wife.

UK career
During the First World War Ypiranga was laid up in Hamburg. On 2 April 1919 the United Kingdom seized her. The Shipping Controller registered her in London. Her official number was 143166 and her code letters were JWKC. The Shipping Controller appointed White Star Line to manage her as a troop ship, repatriating troops to Australia.

In 1920 Ypiranga was laid up in Hull. In 1921 Anchor Line bought her and had her refitted as a two-class ship, with berths for 381 passengers: 241 in cabin class and 140 in third class. Anchor renamed her Assyria and registered her in Glasgow. On 28 May 1921 she left Glasgow on her new route, which was to New York. In August 1925 Anchor transferred her to its route between Glasgow and Bombay. She also made cruises.

Portuguese career
In 1929 CCN bought Assyria and had her refitted as a three-class ship, with berths for 429 passengers: 109 in first class, 81 in second class, and 239 in third class. She was renamed Colonial and registered in Luanda in Angola. Her code letters were LDBM. Her route was between Lisbon and Beira in Moçambique. Ports of call en route were Funchal, São Tomé, Sazaire, Luanda, Porto Amboim, Lobito, Moçâmedes, Lourenço Marques (now Maputo), and the Island of Mozambique.

In 1931 CCN also bought her sister ship, the former Corcovado, which by then had been renamed Maria Cristina. She was renamed Mouzinho. By 1934 Colonial's wireless call sign was CSCW, and this had superseded her code letters.

On 31 May 1941 a German U-boat sank the Clan Line motor ship Clan MacDougall north of Cape Verde. On 1 June the Portuguese ship Tarrafal found 85 survivors in four lifeboats 10 nmi off Santo Antão, Cape Verde. Tarrafal rescued them and landed them on São Vicente. On 4 July 1941 a U-boat sank the T & J Harrison steamship Auditor northwest of Cape Verde. 75 survivors in lifeboats reached the Azores on 15, 16 and 17 July.

On 25 July Mouzinho called at São Vicente, where she embarked some of Clan MacDougall's survivors to take them to Bathurst (now Banjul) in Gambia. On 21 August Colonial called at São Vicente, where she embarked some of Auditors survivors and the remainder of Clan MacDougalls survivors to take them to Cape Town in South Africa. On 10 September another CCN ship, Guiné, embarked the remainder of Auditor's survivors to take them to Bathurst.

In September 1950 CCN sold Colonial for scrap to the British Iron & Steel Corporation (BRISCO), who renamed her BRISCO 9. On 17 September she was being towed to a scrapyard in Scotland when she grounded at position 55.42569°N, -5.60259°W near Campbeltown in the Firth of Clyde. In 1951 she was scrapped in situ.