SS Ruahine


SS Ruahine was a passenger ship that operated during the 20th century, primarily in line service between Great Britain and New Zealand for the New Zealand Shipping Company.
Ruahine was built by William Denny and Brothers, and was launched in 1909. She entered service for the New Zealand Shipping Company the following year, sailing from London to Auckland and Wellington via the Panama Canal. Her primary passenger traffic were immigrants outbound from London, and she transported cargo in both directions—finished goods to New Zealand and raw foods on the return. On 4 February 1938 she was involved in a collision with the Royal Fleet Auxiliary's tanker RFA Broomdale, which was undergoing sea trials at Glasgow. Broomdale underwent repairs at Greenock. Ruahine operated on the UK—New Zealand route until 1949, when she was sold to the Italian firm Fratelli Grimaldi, renamed Auriga, and began operating on immigrant routes from Italy and France. In 1957, she was retired from service and scrapped.
Ruahine measured 10,758 gross tons, and was long, with a beam of. She was powered by triple-expansion steam engines which drove two screws, giving her a service speed of. As built for line service, she had a three-class passenger configuration with a total capacity of 520; in her later Italian-flagged service she could carry 800 passengers.