SS Naronic

SS Naronic was a British cargo steamship built in 1892 by Harland and Wolff in Belfast for the White Star Line, a sister ship of SS Bovic. The company built her when it wanted a larger share of the live cattle trade on the North Atlantic, and she carried goods from Liverpool to New York City and American cattle on the return trip, with cabins for a few passengers. When she entered service Naronic was the largest cargo ship in operation. On 11 February 1893, less than a year after her maiden voyage, she went missing at sea on a westbound Atlantic crossing. No wreck was ever found, 74 people were lost, and the commission of inquiry could not explain her loss; storm damage and a chemical explosion in the hold were among the hypotheses offered.