SS Mona's Queen (1852)
SS (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. & G. Thomson of Govan, Glasgow and launched in 1852. She had a registered tonnage of 600 tons; length 186'; beam 27' and depth 13'. Her speed is recorded as , and 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. In 1855 she was lengthened (details not recorded) at a cost of £2,111. Service life. "Mona's Queen" appears to have 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 in damages and costs. The Captain was accordingly reduced from Second Class Master to Third, and his pay was cut from £275 to £250. Disposal. After ten years service the directors decided to sell the ship and offered it to Cunard, Wilson an Co. for £20,000. The offer was declined, and negotiations started with a Whitehaven company for a sale at £14,000. 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. SS Mona's