She was the first of three BI ships to be called Fultala. The second was a motor ship that was built in 1940 and sunk in 1942.[1] The third was a steamship that was built in 1948 and sold in 1961.[2]
Building
In 1890 William Doxford & Sons at Pallion in Sunderland built a pair of sister ships for BI. Yard number 199 was laid down on 12 May 1890, launched on 17 August as Fazilka, and delivered on 11 October.[3] Yard number 200 was launched on 4 October as Fultala, and completed that November.[4]
Fultala's registered length was 366.0 ft (111.6 m), her beam was 48.1 ft (14.7 m), her depth was 26.6 ft (8.1 m) and her draught was 23 ft 9 in (7.2 m). Her tonnages were 4,154 GRT, 2,702 NRT, and 5,900 DWT. She had berths for 12 first class passengers, and was licensed to carry 1,667 unberthed passengers on deck.[4]
Fultala had a single screw, driven by a three-cylinder triple-expansion engine. It was rated at 462 NHP[5] or 2,450 ihp, and gave her a speed of 11+1⁄2 knots (21.3 km/h).[4]
Her maiden voyage was from Britain to Aden. On Christmas Eve, 24 December 1890, she stopped at Gibraltar with engine failure. On 13 September 1897 she suffered a minor collision with the pier at Williamstown, Victoria.[4]
In 1901 Fultala took troops to Kismayo in Jubaland, which at that time was part of Britain's Kenya Colony.[4] From 1901 to 1906 she made four voyages taking Indian indentured labourers to Fiji, as shown in the table below.[citation needed]
Fiji voyages
Voyage Number
Date of Arrival
Number of Passengers
I
12 May 1901
809
II
10 April 1905
827
III
17 August 1905
790
IV
28 April 1906
801
Fultala was a troop ship in the First World War. In September 1914 she carried part of the 3rd (Lahore) Division from Bombay to Marseille. In June 1917 she came under the Liner Requisition Scheme.[4]
