SS Dessoug
 Placing the Obelisk in the Hold of the Steam Dessoug. | |
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| Builder: | Hartlepool England |
| Fate: | Struck August 1896 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage: | 1,367 GRT |
| Length: | 233 ft 0 in (71 m) |
| Beam: | 33 ft 0 in (10 m) |
| Depth: | 23 ft (7 m) |
SS Dessoug was a 1,367 GRT cargo ship which was built in 1864 for the Khedive of Egypt as Denton. She was noteworthy for being selected by Henry Honychurch Gorringe for the purpose of transporting the Cleopatra's Needle Obelisk from Egypt to New York City. She was sold to Ocean Steam Company in 1880 and renamed Dessoug. She served between New York and Savanna for her final years. In 1896 she sailed to Cow Bay, Long Island and broken up for scrap.[1][2]
History
Denton was built in Hartlepool England in 1864 for the Khedive of Egypt.
She was selected by Henry Honychurch Gorringe for the purpose of transporting the Cleopatra's Needle Obelisk from Egypt to New York City. To do so a 30-foot-long (9.1 m) by 12-foot-tall (3.7 m) hole was cut in her starboard bow. Cannonballs were used as bearings to move the 220-ton obelisk inside. She set sail on 12 June 1880 for the United States. During the voyage her propeller shaft broke and was replaced using a spare while she was under sail power 1,300 miles (2,100 km) from shore.
She was later used between New York and Savanna until she was scrapped in 1890.
See also
- Cleopatra (cylinder ship), the vessel used to transport Cleopatra's Needle to London