SS Silverlip (1902)

SS Silverlip was a steam tanker built in 1902 by W.G. Armstrong, Whitworth and Company at Walker for Sir Marcus Samuel, chairman of Shell Transport and Trading Company of London, designed to carry petroleum products from Borneo and Texas to the United Kingdom and Europe. She was launched on 29 November 1902 as yard number 723, was 470 feet long and assessed at 7,492 gross tons, with a single triple expansion steam engine giving 11.5 knots. Her engines were fitted for liquid fuel as well as coal, and she had a special cleaning procedure so that she could also carry general cargo such as silk and tea. She was one of the largest vessels in the world when she entered service. She was lost to explosions in the Bay of Biscay on 1 May 1907, with five of her crew killed.