Elemental Steamship Company

The Elemental Sailing Packet Company, or ESPC, was founded in 1804 by John Roberts (1777-1835). It was created to charter cheap sailing vessels designed for large quantities of cargo, and they were set to depart Liverpool to Melbourne and made huge profits. However, in spite of their success, many of their old sailing ships never made it. The most famous incident was the SV Selenium, which crashed into Hobart, Tanzania in 1818 after only a year of service with the loss of 326 people of the 367 onboard. Despite the high death toll, the inquires blamed the currents and the little warnings. This helped the public still trust the company, and their ships continued to sail to Australia and back. The names of its ships were based on elements of the periodic table. At first, they ran spice trade on schooners to Australia, but soon after in 1807 two ships were ordered for passenger service as well as cargo and most of the previously owned ships were converted to have passenger spaces. In 1817, they began running ferry trips across the English Channel. They often used the all-new steam-ships and gained a reliable and prestigious reputation among the public. Through the 1820s the business ran as a ferry-only company and became a well-known line among the public. In June of 1835, Roberts suffered an unexpected stroke and was hospitalised, however he was discharged after a few weeks. At home, his condition appeared to improve, but on 20th July he had another stroke.

Roberts’ poor health continued to get worse and on 8th August 1835, he died at home. He had no sons and thus had no next of kin to run the company. However, the public still had a good impression of the company and in December the same year a businessman by the name of William James (1809-1873) bought the newly collapsed company for £1800. It focused on the brand new transatlantic routes, and soon after its founding he ordered two wooden-hulled paddle steamers named Lithium and Natrium (now known as sodium). These were sold to the newly founded Rivers & Oceans Transatlantic Line and GAL-Puppy Line respectively in 1843. Two more ships of similar design, but slightly longer to gain the prestigious title of UMS (US Mail Ship), were ordered the following year. These were named U.M.S Glucinium (now Beryllium) and U.M.S. Magnesium. They were both sold in 1845 after a prestigious career.

After the last of the Lithium Class was put to sea, a new ship class, the Sulphur Class, consisting of four wooden-hulled paddle steamers similar to the new P.S. Unicorn were ordered and built. These ships were called U.M.S.-: Sulphur (1837), Nitrogen (1838), Selenium (1838) and Phosphorus (1839). Although a successful class, the Selenium was the first disaster for the company. She left port on a voyage in 1842, and neither the ship nor her passengers were ever seen or heard from again. The rest of the class were sold off in 1845-47.

After the launch of the third ship of the Sulphur class, Selenium, James ordered yet another class of ship, a trio of the smallest ships yet. These three were named P.S. Calcium, Strontium and Barium and measured only 37.5m, not including the sprit. Strontium and Barium had calm careers, being sold off in 1847 and 1849 respectively however Calcium went through a storm in 1843 which shook her violently. Cargo became loose and the collective mass of the passengers, mail, and other cargo caused her to lean enough so that water flooded into portholes. Reminiscent of the Mary Rose, once she got to the fatal point she had little time left. Noticing water, only a few passengers made it onto deck before her masts and funnel collapsed and the ship dropped like a rock. This was ESC's second disaster in only 2 years and Lithium and Natrium were sold off in order to pay for the losses.