“Mar Bianco” – A Steamer Sunk in Zadar’s Port

The passenger cargo steamer “Mar Bianco” was built in 1912 in Belfast under the name “Hawkes Bay”, with the official number 135175. It was launched on September 27, 1912, and completed on December 18, 1912. The Workman, Clark & Company Ltd. shipbuilding company, which operated in Belfast, Northern Ireland, from 1879 to 1935, constructed the ship for the Tyser Line Ltd. of London. The steamer was primarily designed for transporting frozen meat from New Zealand, particularly from Napier, a city in Hawke Bay, from which the ship derived its initial name. In addition to cargo, it could accommodate 750 passengers.

The ship measured 149.41 meters in length, 18.7 meters in width, and 10 meters in depth. It was powered by a triple-expansion steam engine, generating a speed of 13 knots (24 km/h). Its gross registered tonnage (GRT) was 10,641 tons, and its net tonnage was 5,430 tons.