SS (RMS) Ben-my-Chree (I) No. 21922 was an iron paddle-steamer which served with the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company, and was the first vessel in the company to bear the name.
Ben-my-Chree had a registered tonnage of 458. However, in the Company's Fleet List it was recorded as 399. Length 151'9"; beam 23'; depth 12'5"; speed (approximately) 9 knots.
Ben-my-Chree was built by Robert Napier and Sons at Glasgow in 1845 at a cost of £11,500. Ben-my-Chrees engine was taken from another Company ship, the Queen of the Isle, before that vessel was sold and converted to a full rig sailing ship. The speed of Ben-my-Chree is not recorded, but Napier's engine had produced a speed of 9 knots in the earlier ship. It is also recorded that while the first registration of the Ben-my-Chree gives her tonnage as, the Company's Fleet List and other sources give it as . Boiler pressure had increased slightly in the 13 years since the start of the Steam Packet Company, and this vessel's was .
Ben-my-Chree has the distinction of being the first iron-built vessel in the Steam Packet Fleet.[1]
After 15 years service, Ben-my-Chree was disposed of by the Company in 1860. She was sent to Leith, Scotland, and sold by Tod and McGregor for £1,200 (equivalent to £ in) to the African Steamship Company.
After many years service, she was reported to be lying a hulk on the Bonny River, West Africa, 85 years after her launching.[2]